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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	church_n	matter_n	see_v	1,546	5	3.4343	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A80847	The peoples need of a living pastor: asserted and explained in a sermon, preached Novemb. 4. 1656. At the sad and solemn funerals of that late, learned, pious and eminently hopeful minister of the gospel, Mr. John Frost, batchelor in divinity, late fellow of St. Johns Colledge in Cambridge, and pastor of St. Olaves Hart-steeet [sic], London. Together with a narrative of his life and death. By Z. C. minister of the Word at Botolph-Aldgate, London.	Crofton, Zachary, 1625 or 6-1672.	1657 (1657)	Wing C6997; Thomason E909_1; ESTC R207455	39,189	68

which stood at a distance from others which were more strange and retired He was in all Companies freely communicative mildly hearing and freely answering all enquiries some of his Parish sadly lament his losse on this very account He would have come to us been so familiar with us we could have moved any question to him he would have freely resolved us 2. Grave and meek he had a gravity which kept his person from contempt his levity never led any to despise his youth but the gravity of his carriage convicted men that he was considerate of the place in which he was and work which lay on his shoulders in common conference he was ready to rebuke with all authority yet his gravity was naturall not affected tempered with such a meek and amiable disposition and countenance as made him acceptable to all that it might have been said of him as of Anthony the Monk he might have been known among hundreds of his Order by his cheerfull countenance though an humble serious and mortified man 4. Holy and exemplary What he preached to others he first preached to himself and after to them by practise as well as in the Pulpit I have heard him say he would not deny but God might use a profane Minister to be the Instrument of Conversion but he observed he rarely did and was perswaded would not So studious was he to be an example to his people that he dayly prayed Lord give me so to walk that I may say to thy people So walk as ye have me for an example He made it his great care that his Family should serve the Lord and on his death-bed he gave it in charge to his Yoak-fellow whom he hath but a while enjoyed that she should be carefull of the worship of God in her Family And this his piety as it ran through his life it did sparkle with much beauty in his death the which we shall briefly note and so conclude In his death much may not be expected by reason His dying carriage that the disease gave neither time nor opportunity to his friends to be frequent with him in observing his frame of spirit His distempers seized on him with force on Monday the 27. of October such was his care and respect to his friends that he would not suffer his friends to come to him he apprehending his distemper to be contagious Being the Small-pox and fearing it might fasten on them for indeed his more then ordinary fear of this noysome distemper His only infirmity was the great infirmity of his flesh but he was very silent under and submisse to the hand of his God when herein inflicted desirous he was and diligent in the use of means for recovery I pray God pardon the feared preposterous course held with him by his Physitian He continuing very ill on Friday received the sentence of death in himself and on Saturday morning sent to me if I were not afraid to come to him which I accordingly did and coming to him found him much composed in his spirit Discoursing with him he declared himself much comforted and encouraged in the prayers of the people of God Saints prayers his souls comfort he heard that he did enjoy and desired me to pray with him which I did he very seriously attending and assenting to every Petition He declared himself willing to live for the good of the Church in speciall his own people whom he comfortably apprehended to have been much moved by his last Sermon on the duty of searching the Scriptures from Joh. 5.39 And hoped would be bettered by it yet he was submisse to the determination of God When I asked him how he did he still answered me full of silence and sweet patience in submission to and dependence on God my Saviour Last Act. When I was gone the pangs of death began more forcibly to approach of which he being sensible called together his Family and friends and in his own person prayed with much livelinesse and affection this was the last act of his life that as it becomes a Minister to die praying or preaching he was no Sabbath out of Heaven when taken off his preaching and prayer was his last performance on earth Prayer being ended he called to his Brother for something to drink which having received he cryed out Vincimus Vincimus his wife lying in his bosome not understanding it he did himself translate it We have overcome overcome and so spake no more but remained quiet untill the midnight following When his conflict ended his Soul was crowned with glory and his life hid with Christ at whose appearance we may expect to see him again In the mean let us leave him to rest in hope and do our own work lamenting the losse of him for that he was a Good man and so is a great losse to humane society Gracious Minister the want of whom is a great dammage to the Church of God Of great parts and by his death the hopes of Gods people are frustrate Newly fixed and his sudden removall is a sad Symptome of Divine displeasure Suitable for our sad times wherein seducers do abound and gainsayers of the truth call for such as are able to convince And cause hath this Congregation to fear now he is gone men will arise teaching perverse things and drawing away Disciples after them And therefore we may all weep for that we must see his face no more FINIS In pag. 47. l. 22. for master read matter Books printed are to be sold by Thomas Parkhurst who prints and sells this Sermon of Mr. Zach. Crofton at the Sign of the Three Crowns over against the Great Conduit at the lower end of Cheapside THE Dead Saint speaking to Saints and Sinners living In severall Treatises By Samuel Bolton D. D. There is newly come forth Mr. William Fenner his Continuation of Christs Alarm to Drowsie Saints with a Treatise of Effectuall Calling The killing power of the Law The Spirituall Watch New Birth A Christians ingrafting into Christ Fol. The Journal or Diary of a thankfull Christian wherein is contained Directions for the right method of keeping and using according to the Rules of Practice a Day-book of Nationall and Publick personall and private passages of Gods providence to help Christians to thankfullnesse and experience By John Beadle Minister of the Gospel at Barnstone in Essex large 8. A learned Commentary or Exposition upon the first Chapter of the second Epistle to the Corinthians by Dr. Richard Sibbs Published for publick good by Thomas Manton Fol. Mr. Robinsons Christian Armour in large 8. The young mans Guide to Godlinesse by Wil. Penkins 12. FINIS

Gospel Ministers with which our Age and City abounds the many opportunities that might be taken to destroy them I can not but admire that a Gospel Minister should die in his bed but we see very fully that God esteems the lives of his Ministers at an high rate and it is no marvel for they are his servants his Embassadors and instruments of his Churches good as we shall note anon and therefore the prayers of the people is the Preachers guard I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you Philemon 22. Argum. 2 2. As Gods esteem of so also Satans envy at Ministers lives is an evident argument of their absolute necessity in the Church of God for Satan is the adversary envying the Churches good and alwaies endevouring to deprive them of things needful that thereby he may destroy them and constrain them to renounce the profession of Christ and his truth to their utter ruine 1 Pet. 5.8 the Devil is that roaring lion who daily goeth about seeking whom he may devour he is the malicious red Dragon who pursueth the woman into the Wilderness Revel 11. and he and his Angels maketh war against Michael and his Angels he erects his Synagogue where ever God builds his Church and knowing that these two cannot stand together studieth how to hinder Gods Temple from going forward and being built to perfection and finding Ministers to be labourers both stout and skilful in the work of the Lord against them he levels all his malice and improves his power policy to put a period to their lives and so their abilities and endevours saying in all Ages Nehem. 4. as Tobiah and Sanballat the Arabians Ammonites and Ashdodites Let us conspire and hinder the work even by cruelty we will go up against them they shall not know nor see till we come in the midst among them and slay them and cause the work to cease constraining the builders in Gods Temple to be working warriours to labour in their armour with their swords gird to their sides and spears in the one hand and trowels in the other craft in the Church of God without cruelty against faithful Ministers could never effect the Devils design hence he is a subtle seducer of souls from the truth until he gain power into his hand and then by bloudy persecution he ever proclaims open war and pursueth with fire and sword specially bending his force at the Ministers of the Church thus he did in all the apostasies of Israel unto idolatry giving cause of Elijah his complaint The children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant thrown down thine Altars and slain thy Prophets and I even I only am escaped 1 King 19.10 in all the Ages of the Churches of the Jewes the false prophets ever studied to cut off the lives of the true Prophets and contracted that grievous guilt on the whole nation of the Jewes and City of Jerusalem with which our Saviour upbraids them Mat. 23.27 O Jerusalem that killest the Prophets and slayest them that are sent unto thee and as this was his course under the Law we shall finde he forsook it not under the Gospel with what envy may we observe him acted towards the life of our Lord Jesus Christ the great Prophet of Gods Church when his temptation would not succeed to draw him into sin and so to destroy the design of our redemption how doth he maliciously engage against him to put an end to his daies Mat. 2. exciting Herod to the cruel murther of all the Infants from two years old and under in Bethlehem Melius est Herodis esse porcum quam filium Macrob. and the coasts thereabout not sparing his own son giving Augustus Caesar cause to say It were better to be Herods swine then son and that to the end so eminent an author of future good might have been cut off before he could work nipped in the bud and crushed in the shell And all the time of his appearance in the earth what counsel and conspiracies against his life what rage and malice was continually exprest how many times may we observe they would have layed hands on him and durst not for the multitude would have stoned and violently put him to death if he had not miraculously conveyed himself from them and yet they never rested until they crucified the Lord of glory and as they dealt with the Master so also they persecuted his servants with those very death-threatning dangers foretold by our Saviour to attend his Disciples daily and bloudily persecuting the lives of the Apostles on this very ground they taught the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead Act. 4.2 Which of the Apostles of our Saviour did the Devil suffer to die a natural death nay he did not so much as exempt James the Just though a man beloved by the people but brought him to a violent death to the very detestation of all men and as it was thus in the first Age of the Church may we not trace all the Ages of the Church and finde the Devils design to destroy the Church of God by cutting down faithful Ministers what shall we mention to you the many pious and grave Bishops of the Church that suffered under Pagans and the constant curious search that was made for Ministers to bring them to their death As was Athanasius for the death of Arsenius hidden by the Arrians of purpose to destroy the good Bishop nay and if any do but read the persecution of the Arrians and Donatists what an enmity is observable against Ministers lives the orthodox Bishops and Ministers are the men especially hated maliciously accused as guilty of murthers and villanies deserving death cruelly banished and put to death Alphonsus Diazius not being able to reduce his brother John Diazius from advancing the truth never rested until he murthered him nay if we come nearer what shall we say of the Popish persecutions principally directed against Luther Calvin Latimer Ridley Cranmer and famous reforming Ministers The time would fail to tell you the stories which might clearly manifest the Devils envie at the lives of godly Ministers and witness to the Church that Ministers are no less needful to them and useful among them then Alexanders demand of the Orators out of Athens did witness them to be Athenian guards as Mastiffs are the defence of the flock against the fury of the Wolves and so engage every Christian to esteem the life of Ministers Argum. 3 3 As Gods esteem of and the Devils envy at the lives of godly Ministers do witness their lives to be needful to the Churches good so also doth the expressed experiences of Gods Saints and people in all Ages who upon their own experimental observation are constrained to say with the Apostle nevertheless it is more needful for us that you live they see the sundry dangers to which the Church of God is obnoxious and the several

being and affectionate sorrow for their loss are the duties by which we witness with the Apostle that they abide in the flesh is more needful for the Church my next exhortation is to my brethren in the Ministry Exhort 2. to Ministers and to my self Let us so carry as to witness our sense that our death might be our gain but life our peoples advantage our affection towards the Church for whose good we are appointed must not only bring us into a straight what to chuse but must cast the scales of our thoughts and constrain us to say and confess that it is more needful for them that we abide in the flesh To this end we must 1. Carefully preserve our lives for the Churches good not casting our lives away it is indeed true if the cause of Christ and the Gospel call for them Act. 20.24 we must not count our lives dear but readily lay them down but yet our care must be to preserve our lives in the due use of all lawful means and prevent where we can do it without sin our sufferings and death and that we must do with the more care for the Churches good 2 Conscionably lay out your lives for the Churches good not sparing our pains in our Ministerial duties for fear of hastning our end the Ministery is the end of our life and our life is the only time of our work let us therefore work and that with diligence the night is coming when we cannot work it is good to check our fainting in Gods work through fear of approaching death with the answer of famous Dr. Rainolds nec propter vitam vivendi perdere finem and say with the Apostle 2 Cor. 12.15 we are willing to spend and be spent for you we are lamps lighted up that we may be wasted in giving light to others now that God hath taken off another painful labourer the work lieth the more heavy on our hands let us not loyter but improve lively the time and the strength we do enjoy lest our studies affections and endevou●s be anticipated by our death sed verbum sat sapienti Lastly I shall speak a word Exhort 3. to the Parish and but a word to you of this Parish and Congregation on whom in special God hath made the breach by the death of this reverend and learned Minister Mr. Fenten and Mr. John Frest within these two years God hath removed two very eminently hopeful instruments of his glory and his Churches good you cannot but see the footsteps of a furious God in these sad providences I pray God sanct●fie them to you and let me intreat you as convinced of the truth of the Doctrine and in special that it had been more needful for you that this your reverend and hopeful Pastor had abiden in the flesh carefully to discharge these duties Direct 1 1. Lament your lesse it is great to the Church it is greater to you your particular edification under his Ministry made him a blessing to the body you were objects of his especial care study and qualifications and constant subjects of his able and holy administrations of the Mysteries of God and salvation if he be layed to heart abroad and not lamented at home it will be the scandal of his name but the sin and shame of your souls But some may be ready to object and say Sir Why should we so much lament the losse of this Minister he was but a man as we are and must die and though he be gone we can soon get another Answ This objection is too full of stupidity and profaneness to deserve an answer yet let me say to it thus much 1. Though the temptation be common he was a man and mortal yet the breach is present you are a people without a Pastor your shepherd is smitten and you must needs be scattered were it not a stupidity would make nature blush to see a wife senslesly nay and sensually interre a deceased husband rendring this reason that he was mortall she may have another so God loseth the end and effect of the present smart and breach 2. Pitiful distractions and divisions may overtake you before you enjoy another Mr. Carter since dead when you were to fix one on the late resignation of a Minister you know what distractions and divisions you run into before you did agree in this your late Minister you did agree I pray God his death do not subject you to new divisions 3. You may obtain another but not easily such another Mr Frost was not ordinary as you shall hear anon you lie open to seducers Wolves in sheeps cloathing among us abound and may if not wisely prevented become your leaders unto ruine nay you may enjoy a lawful and pious Minister but he may want Mr. Frosts parts and prudence learning and piety 4. It is not with souls as with calves that change of pasture should make them fat Botolph Aldgate Sept. 15 1656. but of boyes change of School-masters make them backward in their learning it was his own note at my Church in the late morning exercise the word preached doth not profit because the hearer keeps not fixed to the preacher another must study your temper and disposition lay foundation work for Catechising and principling in Religion before he proceed to edifying dispensations this he had done intending to leave principles and carry you forward if God would but it is evident God will have you yet back again If then you are any way sensible of Gods hand and serious in reference to your own good you see cause to lament your loss Direct 2 Let your lives and conversations now he is dead witness that it had been more needful for you that he had continued in the flesh your union in him your resorting to him your acceptance of him and attendance on his Ministry did witness the necessity of his life among you there now wants the piety of your lives as an evidence of your proficiency in grace under his Ministry to witness it let me tell you Christians he did travel in birth to have Christ formed in you he studied the keeping of your affections for the good of your souls he delighted in your free and forward attentions to his Ministry it was his comfort on his death-bed So much he did declare that he had preached to you the Doctrine of the Scriptures and your duty to search them from Joh. 5.39 for he believed it seized on your hearts as he preached take heed you do not frustrate his hope and witness to the world you loved to hear him but would not do what he said when he shall meet you in the judgement of Jesus Christ how heavy will it be to you that he shall see you deceived his hopes and he laboured in vain among you your practice on what he preached will make all to say What pity was it Mr. Frost lived not longer at the Crouched Fryers 3.