Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	day_n	heaven_n	lord_n	22,364	5	4.1952	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44071	The hoary head crowned a sermon preached at Brackley at the funerall of Fran. Walbank, a very aged and religious matron / by Thomas Hodges ...	Hodges, Thomas, d. 1688.	1652 (1652)	Wing H2320; ESTC R14545	20,718	34

him and honour him with long life will I satisfy him and shew him my salvation When God sees men earthly minded 't is just with him to bring them speedily to the earth to say unto them Earth Earth Earth hear the word of the Lord Earth thou art and unto Earth shalt thou return I see thou art an Earthworm and to the wormes of the Earth shalt thou goe Thy flesh shall be for meat unto the wormes of the Earth Oh get more and more nearer nearer acquaintāce with God who is our life and the length of our dayes In his favour is life the sense assurance of his love is a Cordiall wil renew our strength and renew our youth like the Eagles Moses who talked with God as a man with his friend Oh how vigorous fresh and lively was he how green and flourishing was he to and in old age Deut 34.7 't is said his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated Enoch walked with God and was translated and saw no Corruption The beloved disciple John who lay most in the bosome of Christ and had afterwards the greatest revelations of the mind of Christ concerning his Church He it was who survived all the rest of the Apostles upon earth Paul likewise who whilst he lived upon earth was rapt up into the third heavē He was such an one as Paul the aged so he styles himselfe before he dyed he had the Crown of old age before the Crown of Martyrdom But you 'l say many times the best and towardliest children most righteous young mē dye soonest never attain to old age are cropt either in the bud or blossom or whilst they are green flourishing whilst their breasts are full of milk and their bones of marrow We usually say of those who are remarkably forward in Religion and goodnesse above their fellows they are not like to live long they are too good for this world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whom God loves best he takes first How is it then you teach us that Religion and righteousnesse holinesse and heavenly-mindednesse are the way to attain to a good old age especially when 't is somtimes notoriously known that wicked men have the largest portion as of the things of this life so of life it selfe Ans As concerning religious children which dye soon I answer It may be their Parents doate too much upon them It may be they Idolize them As the wicked Israelites sometimes offered their children unto Idols unto devils So too often 't is seen that good Parents are too too apt to make little gods that is indeed Idols of their children And hence God is provoked to take from such Parents the desire and delight of their eyes and the dearly beloved of their soules Parents you may kill your children with overmuch kindnesse You may kill the child with overloving it as the Nurse doth sometimes with overlaying it If you lay or hang too great a weight or lean too hard that is trust too much upon one of these young and tender branches you will soon break it off the Tree of life Children are flowers if you carry them too much in your bosome they will wither and dye Oh then forsake not the living God If you would have right to the living child least God call this sinne to remembrance and slay your child even the choycest of them Or 2. I say it may be God takes away such children from the evill to come either from temptations which they are likely to be exposed unto and in danger to be overcome by or from the evill day coming upon the place where they lived God saies in such cases oh my sonne or oh my daughter enter into thy chamber shut the door till these calamities be overpast When there 's danger abroad then Parents look out and fetch home their little ones and so doth God Or 3. I affirme that these children live much in a little time that these children are young in years as Josias was 2 Chron 34.3 but old in grace that these are the children which dye an hundred years old as 't is Es 65.20 these are like nimble Racers who run as far in an houre as some heavy heeld horses will goe in a day these are apt schollers who having betimes learnt their lesson may have leave to goe home the sooner their work is soon done and the Lord of heaven and earth call them home to receive their reward Or 4. It may be said that these children's losse of temporall life is abundantly recompenced with eternall life God promised long life and he gives them everlasting life doth he doe them any wrong he promised them a penny in silver and payes them a pound in Gold yea a talent of gold and is he not as good and better then his word he promised such the silver crown of old age that corruptible crown and he gives them the crown of glory of everlasting life a crown which is incorruptible and fadeth not away As for good men who dye young those who are the glory of their time and yet dye in the flower of their age I say 't is either because of some disobedience or unrighteousnesse before grace or after grace received for which God pleaseth thus temporally to correct them of this latter sort were the unworthy Communicants at Corinth 1. Cor. 11. to whom the bread of life became through their default the bread of death Or because men do at too much upon these men and begin to give the glory of God unto these upon whom they see his image and superscription Or where 't is otherwise the cases and examples are very rare a few exceptions from the generall rule and such as have although a short life yet a sweet such as have the life of life that is the comforts and blessings of life in abundance whilst they live such as have enough of the things of this life and of life it selfe as much as is good for them and of the favour of God very much which is better then life it self and when they dye they are paid with usurie in heaven for the losse of a temporary life here Of whom I may say in a sense as it was said of Enoch they are not because God hath taken them they walked with God they are translated to him As for wicked men who sometimes attain to a long life it may be said that they are a great while rather then that they live a great while as it was said of one diu fuit non diu vixit and as we say of a ship which hath been a long time tossed too and fro by stormes and tempests but hath not all that while tended towards the harbour that she hath been thus long driven to and fro but hath not thus long sailed So we may say of wicked men they have been a great while tossed to and fro in the sea of this world but they have not sailed long because

4. Convert or turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and of the children to their fathers left he come and smite our land with a curse 3. Then honour old men especially religious old men It was Idolatrie to fall down and worship the golden Image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up but 't is Religion to fall down and worship with Civil worship or reverence the religious old man whom God hath set up Goe forth O ye sons and daughters of Jerusalem and behold the good old man with the Crown wherewith his heavenly father hath crowned him in the day of his hoary head 4. Is a good old age to be found in the way of religion and righteousnesse Oh then let the young generation who desire to live long and to see good dayes let them hence be exhorted to pietie and holinesse Come ye children hearken unto me and I will teach you the way to live to be honoured old men live well if you would live long The more you live to God the longer you 'l live in the world the Papists have a saying that Nemo senescit dum interest Missae that is that no man is never the older for the time he spendes in hearing Masse Truly the time we spend in religion and religious exercises is time well saved is time redeemed They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength their youth shall be renewed like the Eagles Ps 103. But as for evill doers the Lord shall wound the hairie scalp and the hoarie head too of him that goes on in his wickednesse if he live to age Well therefore doth the wise man advise Ecclesiastes 7.17 Be not overmuch wicked neither be thou foolish why shouldest thou dye before thy time Men naturally desire to prolong their dayes To this end what dyet will they not keep what exercises will they not use what Medicines will not they take skin for skin and all that a man hath will he give for his life The Princes and Potentates of the earth have their Physitians to counsell them alway what course to take that they may live long upon the earth But behold I shew unto you all this day a more exellent way and that is the way of the text the way of righteousnesse Get the Crown of religion if you would have that other crown of a hoarie head The same way that leads to Eternall life leads to a long life More particularly as ever you would live to a good old age Beware of those speciall sins which ordinarily cut the thred of mens lives before the time which either as thieves doe wast or as winds blow out the candle of life before it is burnt half to the socket 1. As first If thou desirest to live to be old take heed of Cains sin the sin of blood-guiltinesse he that is guilty of of blood may Justly fear least every one that meets him should slay him The Hue and Crie the blood-hound the Avenger of blood doth ordinarily overtake such before old age Justice saith Give him blood to drink for he is worthy 2. The sin of uncleanesse whether naturall or unnaturall For Onan's sin the Lord slew him God rained down fire from heaven upon the unclean Sodomites and destroyed them speedily the Lord made a short work with them and Prov 7.22 't is said He that followes an harlot goes as an Oxe to the slaughter Shechems sin of uncleannesse with Dinah cost him his father and the Shechemites their lives So Amnon's incest with his sister Tamar cost him his life 3. Disobedience to Parents When Hophni and Phinehas hearkned not to the voyce of their father it was a signe and presage that the Lord would slay them Absolom's rebellion against his father David caused his sun to set at noon When the children of Bethel mock'd the Prophet Elisha saying goe up thou bald head c that is why doest not thou goe up to heaven after thy master two shee Bears tore 42 of them 2 King 2.24 4. Covetousnesse especially if dyed in oppression and injustice Immoderate cares feares and excessive turmoyling the usuall concomitants of them that will be rich do naturally shorten the life of man but besides an untimely death seems to be the penalty denounced against this sinne according to the Statute Law of the great Lawgiver Jerem 17.11 As the Partridge sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not so he that getteth goods and not by right shall leave them in the mid'st of his dayes and at his end shall be a foole As the Partridg gathereth eggs together to sit on and to hatch but hatcheth them not her eggs either proving windy and addle as they say it oft falleth out with those eggs which she hath produced as she doth frequently without the company of the male or otherwise miscarrying the male many times breaking them that he may have the company of his mate Or else as some others think the Partridge or Heb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kore having got together the eggs of other Fowles and sitting on them as her own untill they be hatched they then leave her and keep with and follow those of their own kind So Covetous men desirous to enrich themselves by oppression and taking from others that which is not their owne and sitting brooding upon the eggs or baggs which they have thus gathered together at last these their riches take themselves wings and fly away Prov 23.5 or they are taken from them Luk. 12.20 5. Is the hoarie head a crown of glory if it be found or when it is found in the way of righteousnesse then hence we learn that want of religon in an old man is a great abatement of honour in his Coat The best flower in his garland the choycest pearle of his crown is wanting The old sinner together with his crown hath a curse upon his head the sinner of a hundred years old is accursed As God and man love an old Friend so they hate and abhorre an old Enimie Old sinners are like old toads and old serpents the fullest of poyson and therefore most abominable He is an old Thiefe saith the Judge away with him Away with him 't is not fit such an one should live So saith God he is an old Idolater drunkard unclean person swearer c I have borne with him these forty fifty or sixty years and upwards I crowned every one of those years with my goodnesse but ungratefull unworthy wretch he hath gone on to rebell against me and goes on to this day and will not turne Now therefore oh ye evill angels this night or this week or this yeare see ye that yee require his soule of him or els oh death let not his hoarie head goe down to the grave in peace as David charged Solomon concerning Joab 1 King 2.6 or oh thou sword of the Lord his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood as David charg'd Solomon concerning Shimei 1 King 2.9 Oh consider this ye