Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	death_n	sin_n	sting_n	4,673	5	12.3740	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60346	A funeral sermon. Delivered upon occasion of the death of that worthy gentleman John Marsh, Esq; who lived at Garston-Hall in Watford Parish in the county of Hartford; and died in the Lord, and was buried Septemb. 16, 1681. By Samuel Slater, late minister of the Gospel at Edmunds-Bury in Suffolk.	Slater, Samuel, d. 1704.	1682 (1682)	Wing S3964; ESTC R222772	32,362	44

good and comfort which he expects and waits for he goeth out full of hopes and returns home blank He looks for much but gets little he cannot see his Fathers face that is covered with a Cloud nor can he hear his Saviours voice for he hath withdrawn himself and is gone he cannot find those kindly meltings and warmings and quickenings and enlargings that he desires but he goeth with a pittifully cold hard straitned dead heart so that he begins to question Gods Love and his own Faith If he doth at any time meet with his gracious God and is sensible of his doing so If he can say God was with me of a truth I have this day sate under the shadow of my dearest Saviour with great delight and his Fruit hath been sweet to my taste Alas it is but short Rara hora brevis mora it comes but seldom and it lasts not long It is but a little visit and no sooner it may be hath the gracious Soul done blessing himself in his enjoyments but he sees cause to bemoan himself for his loss But however it be with some particular Saints upon whom the Sun of Righteousness stands and shines with constant beams yet this is most certain as to all the Saints that the most sweet and full enjoyment which they have of God while they are here the most pleasant and comfortable communion they have with him is but mediate Christ looks upon him through the Lattice and they see him but as in a glass darkly All their refreshings are conveyed by Pipes they do not lie at the Fountain-head When they are most present with the Lord they are even then absent from the Lord and upon this account it is no matter of wonder to see or hear that they are willing to exchange a dark vision for a clear one seeing in a glass for a seeing face to face to exchange interrupt pleasures for permanent and abiding ones and mediate fellowship for that which is immediate Love is an uniting affection and is set for the strictest and closest embraces of it's indeared object And so a Soul that truly loves God cannot but desire to be as near to him as it can be and ready to exchange the comforts of the way for the joys and pleasures of the Countrey 3. He that hath seen God's Salvation hath seen enough to deliver him from the dread and terrour of Death for this is evident and obvious that if Christ be any mans Salvation it is utterly impossible that Death should be his destruction A man that is in Christ is not out of the reach of Death but he is secured from the hurt of Death Take an unregenerate man one that is a stranger unto Christ and he cannot see any thing in Death that should commend it to him It hath a dreadful aspect and a worse issue he hath cause to fear both Death and its Followers He is stript at Death and lasht in Hell Death to him is a dark passage to outer and endless darkness But now as grim as Death looks a Believer can easily discover a great deal that will make it lovely even Death it self hath its beauty as thus It is a conquered Enemy Christ went into the Grave it 's strongest hold and there he baffled it broke its Chains and carried away its Gates he disarmed and unstung it so that Holy Paul did and every true Believer may play with it and triumph over it 1 Cor. 15. O Death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory the sting of Death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law but thanks be to God who hath given us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Though Death kill the Believer yet it doth not dammage him and though it separate between his Soul and Body yet not between him and God who shall separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord Shall Death saith Paul no saith he in that as well as in other things we are more than Conquerors through him that loved us Nay through Christ death is not only conquered but also reconciled to all the Saints it is now become your Friend and Servant and doth you a real kindness So that as Solomon tells us The day of your Death is better than the day of your Birth You came into the World crying but you may go out of it Triumphing and with the voice of melodie The Primitive Christians did not array themselves in Sables at the Funerals of their Friends but in White looking upon their Dying Day as the Day of their Nuptials It was most terrible to Nature to be torn in pieces by Wild Beasts to die at a Stake to breathe their last in Flames yet in such a Death did they glory counting Martyrdom their Crown What though Death carry you from all your present comforts it doth at the same time set you out of the reach of all troubles and as it carries you from comforts so it carries you to comforts yea to such comforts as are far better than those you part with It pulls down this decaying and tottering Tabernacle that a more beautiful and stately Fabrick may be erected It takes you out of your sorry Cottages and carries you to those Blissful Mansions which are in your Fathers House The Grave it self though it be darksome and lonely yet it is a good resting place ever since our Lord lay there He hath perfum'd it and made it both soft and safe That Bed of Dust is now better than a Bed of Down or Roses It is true in the Grave though Christ's Body did not yet ours must see Corruption they must putrifie and at last be Converted into Dust but that Dust is more precious than Gold Oar and shall accordingly be most curiously preserved not an Atome of it shall be lost And that Body which is sown in weakness shall be raised in power and cloathed with immortality and made like unto Christ's own most glorious Body 4. And Lastly That man who hath seen Gods Salvation hath also seen all things amiable and desireable in the other World whither Death will carry him He hath looked within the Vail and had a prospect of that better Countrey There hath he by the Eye of Faith seen incomparable beauties to enamour him an excellent Glory to adorn him unspeakable comforts to delight him the best of Friends to invite him and an innumerable Company of Angels and Saints to bid him welcome There shall be nothing at all that may offend nothing in him to offend God nothing without to offend him nothing of sin and nothing of sorrow no temptation no affliction no danger no loss no frown no fear no sickness no pain no want no angry withdrawings not one pricking Briar nor one vexing Thorn But there shall be all things that you can desire and are suitable to that glorious State unto which you shall be advanced all things that will contribute to your happiness and

But good Simeon did not care how soon Death came he lookt for it yea and he long'd for it he thought it was too slow pac'd and its motions towards him not quick enough He knew Death would do him a good turn and therefore he was a voluntier in dying And I must say this supposing that a Godly man have no cloud upon his Spirit and no flaw nor blurr in his Evidence supposing that God shines upon his Soul with the bright and comfortable Beams of his love and favour and that his own Conscience doth speak comfort to him plainly I know no reason no solid substantial reason why he should be backward and unwilling to dye unless it be serviceableness and usefulness in the World If once a Christians work be done what should he stay here for If once he be full ripe for Glory why should he stand any longer It is not worth his while to continue here were it not that he may do good in his place and be helpfull to others and yet farther serve the interest of Gods name and glory and upon that account he ought to deny himself and be willing to wait yet longer for his Rest and Crown Thus it was with Holy Paul Phil 1. 23. I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better It was better for him he knew he should mend himself But saith he ver 24. Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needfull for you They would need his company and his labours his counsels and his comforts and upon that account he submitted Ver. 25. Having this confidence I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of Faith And he was content so to abide Indeed there is not any reason at all why a wicked man should be willing to dye he can promise himself no good by it It doth not come Peaceably to him it brings it's sting along with it He dyes to dye his Natural Death is a passage to Eternal He loseth all by Death and gets nothing Therefore I say there is no reason at all why he should desire to dye And there is but one reason I mean which is worth any thing and which is not easily answered why a truly Godly man should be willing to live And that is serving his Generation according to the will of God But I am sure there are a great many weighty and cogent reasons why such an one should be willing to dye and not only submit to Death but also welcome it and long for it of which I shall speak more by and by Doct. 6. A Sixth Instruction which these words do most freely afford us is this That though a Godly man be never so desirous to dye yet it is his duty and will be his business to stoop and submit his will to the will of God Thus it was with this holy man he was willing and desireous to dye he even longed to be gone Lord lettest thou thy servant depart but he would not go without license he would stay Gods time Though Heaven be never so desireable and this World never so troublesome though the Country be never so pleasant and the way thither never so tedious Be our sicknesses pains and crosses never so great and heavy Be our enemies never so furious and violent our dangers never so eminent our persecutions never so sharp and bitter our temptations never so fierce and fiery we must in patience possess our Souls and be content to bear them till God shall please in his own time to command for us a deliverance out of them Let our conditions be never so dark and dismal we must not escape by opening the door with the Devils Key nor break out of Prison by offering violence to our own lives Job had very dreadfull exercises his State was sad and deplorable He was stript of all his outward enjoyments bereaved of his beloved Children smitten in his body with sores and inflammations his Wife was a cross to him and his Friends cruel God himself carried as his enemy and set him up for a mark to shoot at He had but one comfort left him that was the Testimony of a good Conscience Yet he was resolved to wait all the days of his appointed time untill his change should come He would not make more hast than good speed As long as God was pleased to tarry holy Job was well pleas'd to wait VVe should write after so fair a Copy so to do is both our wisdom and our interest For God is wiser than we his VVisdom is infinite and his time is always best He that goeth to his grave in Gods time goes as a shock of Corn in its season God always plucks his fruit vvhen it is ripe and fit to be gathered He vvill not pluck it sooner and it shall not hang any longer Doct. 7. The seventh Doctrine vvhich these vvords afford us is this Gods promises are to be pleaded by us Thus in the Text Novv lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace according to thy word There is the argument that he useth for the enforcing his Petition He had received a Revelation from God that he should not see Death i. e. that he should not die he should not taste of Death though he saw the Death of others yet he should not see his own Death until he had seen the Lord's Christ the Messiah or the Lord 's anointed one namely Jesus the Saviour And now saith He Lord now that I have seen him do thou graciously grant me my dismission Be it unto me according to thy word Have you a word O Christians a word of promise blessed be God you are rich in them God hath abounded in promises to his people You have words of inestimable value words better than Gold better than mans bonds words that are suitable to and cordial in every condition into which providence can cast you Now then what is your duty with reference to these words but to make use of them It is pity they should lie by neglected as useless Fetch them out as you have occasion and live upon them that when you are rich in promifes you may not be poor in comforts You do deal disingeniously with God and unworthily with promises unless you use them Q. If any one should propound this question What is that right and proper use which we should make of promises A. I Answer Turn them into Faith and Prayer make use of the promises as food for your Faith and matter for your Prayers Promises are the Life of Faith by these things men live said good Hezekiah and they are the strength of Prayer So then 1. You must believe the promises Set to your Seal that God is true and faithful that his Word is setled in Heaven that all his promises are in Christ yea and in him Amen i. e. of a most sure and certain accomplishment and accordingly do you hope in them and