Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	earth_n	great_a	let_v	6,859	5	4.2631	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30217	A sermon preached at Owburne in Buckinghamshire at the funerall of the right worshipfull, and truly religious gentlewoman, Mris Margaret Elmes On the twenty-seaventh of Iuly. 1641. By George Burches batchlour of divinity.	Burches, George, d. 1658.	1641 (1641)	Wing B5615; ESTC R215067	18,917	40

her beginning at her birth and pedigree She was cut out of no meane quarry It was a custome amongst the Indians sayes Phylostratus after the death of any worthy person to inscribe his acts upon the dores of his house for the ennobling of his issue So it was ever esteemd no meane blessing to be well descended And surely if I should take upon me here the part of an Herald in imitation of them write upon the doors of her house her descent both by father and mother I could easily derive her as you know better then my felfe descending from Honourable Right Honourable and truly noble blood But what is greatnesse without grace or honour without goodnesse but as the Cabanet which wants the Iewell or the Casket that is empty of gold It is the greatest infamy to bee like unto hills the higher the barrener when wee should be as Diamonds the bigger the better But such was not this vertuous gentlewoman I may say of her truly in the words of the Apostle she was fruitfull in good works These shined in her devout soule like heaps of Diamonds in rings of gold being the Characters of true nobility did declare to the world her descent from the royallest blood the great King of heaven It is Godlines that makes us truly great and though wee bee never so much honoured amongst men on earth yet if we be not Gods favourites we dye in infamy and our very names shall rot But enough of her birth which wee all know was honourable Let us come in the next place to her life shee had as we all now have A course to finish but this is her happinesse her journey is at an end our misery we are still a travailing towards it Shee hath that in fruition which we only yet hope for even this crown of righteousnesse in the text Now if the world enquire how she hath got it or the way she took to obtaine it I answer in the words of S. Paul by fighting a good fight and keeping the faith She was a right constant heavenly warriour that at the conclusion of her dayes not three houres before that last one of her death I found her to have her weapons in readinesse Knowledge Courage Love and Power First Knowledge which by continuall practise from dayly reading of the word she had procured Shee did not like Martha encomber her selfe with wordly businesse but with Mary did chuse the better part And this did her dayly practise declare whose constant course was foure times in the day to set her selfe a part for the service of her God So that I may say of her as it is spoken of devout S. Hierome she lived every day as her last day And thus labouring to encrease in knowledge she did attain to no small measure of it for a litle before her death when I began to tell her of Satans wiles to beat us off from being confident of Gods favour when wee were in the weakest state to resist him with much confidence she returnes me answer in that comfortable expression of S. Pauls Rom. 8. I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angells Rom. 8.38.39 nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall bee able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thus word for word as strong as she was able a litle before her dissolution exprest her selfe Neither was this perswasion grounded on a generall knowledge which is a common guift but on a practicall experimentall and saving knowledge which none are enricht with but such for whom God hath layed up a crown of righteousnesse There are indeed a generation of men and women that pretend much knowledge but in her it was reall not in pretence Shee was none of those talking Ladies whose Religion appeares onely in the tongue But shee was more for good works then words Much like unto that worthy woman the mother of S. Greg Nazianzen of whom it is said that had shee an Ocean of wealth shee would have emptyed it all into the bellies of the poore So I may say of this vertuous Gētlewomā there was an Ocean of pitty enclosed within the compasse of her heart and when any poore neighbour stood in need of her bounty she gave most liberally to them And all this did arise from her knowledge who knowing that the smallest releife given to the distressed members of Christ should not passe unrewarded at the last day 2ly As shee did abound in knowledge so with Courage for though death which to nature and sense is said to bee the most terrible of terribles yet the thought of it did not any way daunt her spirits She could with boldnesse looke death in the face which when she was put in mind of the approaching hour thus heavenly exprest her selfe that howsoever God was pleased to dispose of her whether for life or death like a couragious christian she concluded shee should bee the Lords Resolving like Iob to undergoe affliction patiently and with S. Paul to suffer death willingly if the Lord be so pleased or hath appointed it Now would you know the reason of this courage It was that holy practise of her life whereby continuall purging and embracing all gracious opportunities of hearing the word preached shee did so dayly renew her covenant with her God as that hereby the sting of death being taken away it could not any way affright her A rare patterne for the greatest Ladyes to follow whose life if they did but seriously consider would confine themselves more unto their closets to meditate on God and goodnesse then now they loose time in their chambers in contriving of fashions and following the vanities of this sinfull world Oh remember you great ones of the world that you are but dust and you know not how soone you may bee resolv'd to your first principle which is dust Now if in the midst of your worldly pomp and honour you should see death appeare unexpectedly as Belthazar's hand-writing did on the wall before you had made your peace with your God how would it make your joynts to tremble how would it fill you with horror and amazement especially to thinke that you have served no other God but your pleasures you never sought after that which would have made you truly honourable Surely if these serious thoughts could but possesse your soules with this vertuous Gentlewoman you would turn your times of playing into praying and by making the word of God your delight would endeavour with this now glorious Saint to procure the assurance which at the finishing of your course would make you more then Conquerors through the Lord Iesus Christ that loved us 3ly She was armed with Love in respect of which vertue I may say of her as Solomon speaks of the good woman Prov. 31.2 Many daughters have done vertuously but thou surpassest them all Her goodnesse