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spirit_n contrite_a humble_a revive_v 5,567 5 11.6295 5 false
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A30729 A sermon preached at the funeral of Mr. James Lordel who was buried at St. Magnus Church March 27, 1694 by Lilly Butler. Butler, Charles, d. 1647. 1694 (1694) Wing B6279; ESTC R30263 10,864 31

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common fruit or punishment of it So that were it possible to make their hearts as visible as their vices we should soon see what little reason there is to call the proud happy or to disbelieve the testimony of the Prophet That there is no peace to the wicked As for Good and Righteous men it cannot be imagined that they should be acquainted with rest and happiness where they are strangers and pilgrims at so great a distance from their Father's house and the inheritance prepared and reserved for them They are not of the world and therefore the world hateth them and is ready to say and do all manner of evil against them They are not perfectly free from Sin which is it self a heavy burthen to them and moveth their Heavenly Father to correct them They carry a body of flesh about them which lusteth and warreth against the Spirit They have an Adversary the Devil that continually assaults them And amidst all these disturbances who can be happy Most certain then is it that here is not our rest that amongst the Living Blessedness cannot be found but as we are taught in the Text it is the Portion of the Dead Blessed are the Dead And were this true of all that are so it were a comfortable doctrine indeed and Death would deserve some mild and gentle name instead of that frightfull character The King of Terrors But it is not every one that dies but only those that die in the Lord that are made Partakers of this happiness Which brings me to the other part of their character Who are Blessed and Happy men Secondly They are those Which die in the Lord. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. In speaking to this I shall shew First Who they are that die in the Lord and Secondly That these only are Blessed First Who they are which die in the Lord. Some instead of in the Lord read for the Lord taking the Blessedness of the Text to be pronounced of those that in the times of persecution lost their Lives for the sake of their Lord and Master Jesus Christ But I rather think the words are to be taken in a larger sense as signifying those which St. Paul calleth The dead in Christ 1 Thess 4.16 all those that die in the Fear of God and in the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ Those that are faithfull unto death and keep the works of God unto the end or as they are described in the Verse before the Text They that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus They that do this and notwithstanding all the opposition they meet with persevere in doing thus unto the end These and which is the next thing I am to shew Secondly These only being Dead are Blessed The wicked is driven away in his wickedness saith Solomon but the righteous hath hope in his death Prov. 14.32 When a wicked man dieth his expectation shall perish and the hope of unjust men perisheth Whilst they live they may and often do flatter themselves with hopes of Happiness hereafter but Death makes a lamentable discovery of the vanity and deceit of all such presumptuous expectations The Son of God himself hath told us that If we will enter into life we must keep the commandments Matt. 19.17 that the Blessed are those that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city Rev. 22.14 The promises of eternal life glory honour and immortality belong only to them who by patient continuance in well doing are made meet to be partakers of them But to those that obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness God will render saith S. Paul indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil Rom. 2.7 8 9. Indeed if we do but seriously consider the refined and spiritual nature of true Happiness we should certainly think it a most absurd thing to imagin that those who die in their wickedness should be made Partakers of it Can you think that God will doe himself that which he hath forbidden us that he will cast pearls before swine or that he will throw his childrens meat unto dogs that he will prostitute the divine and spiritual Blessings of the world to come to those that have drowned their souls in the bruitish pleasures of flesh and sense But if we could suppose that God who is of purer eyes than to behold evil that cannot look upon iniquity should be willing to receive the obstinate workers of it to dwell for ever in his presence yet even there they would not be happy For there are many Sins which in their own nature include trouble as envy wrath malice covetousness excess with many others But they are all contrary to the pure and holy nature of God to his Image which is the Glory and Happiness of the Saints in Heaven and wheresoever they are they are always attended with a darkness of the Understanding a perverseness of the Will a disorder and depravation of the Soul And is it possible a man should be happy and at the same time incumbred with these the worst of evils such as corrupt and distemper the Soul the better part of Man and are most opposite to the greatest good to God the only enjoyment that can make us happy If then as the Tree falls so it lies If we must go into the other World in the same state we leave this and those that die unjust and filthy must be unjust and filthy still it is impossible that they should be happy who instead of being faithfull and obedient continue wicked unto death unless we can reconcile torment and bliss sin and holiness the image of the Devil and the image of God But on the other side Lift up your heads O ye Righteous and be not dismay'd at the thoughts of Death For as that approacheth so your redemption draweth nigh In your Father's house there are many mansions and the Blessed Jesus is gone before to prepare a place for you and yet a little while and he will come again and receive you unto himself that where he is there ye may be also In the mean time he hath not left you comfortless for he hath given the Holy Spirit to revive the humble and contrite soul to give invincible testimony to the truth of all his promises particularly to that of Blessedness to them that die in the Lord Which brings me to the next thing observed in the Text which is Secondly The certainty of their Blessedness who die in the Lord from the testimony of the Spirit Yea saith the Spirit Wicked men may think it in vain to serve God and count the life of the righteous madness but it were happy for them if they might die the death of the righteous and have their latter end like theirs For when a Good man dies then all his labour and sorrow is at an end and he