Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	great_a	know_v	sin_n	3,760	5	4.7877	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45539	The saints gain by death, and their assurance thereof a sermon preached at the funerall of that worthy patriot Richard More, esquire, late one of the burgesses in this present Convention of Parliament for the town of Bishops-Castle in the countie of Salop / by Humphrey Hardwick ...	Hardwick, Humphrey, b. 1601 or 2.	1644 (1644)	Wing H705; ESTC R279	16,113	31

Christians have this honour that the building not made with hands is onely theirs The third considerable circumstance in my Text is the order here we may note the first is that which is naturall then that which is spirituall the first is of the Earth earthie the second in Heaven heavenly By the frail house we passe to the firme habitation when the former is dissolved the latter takes place The last thing I shall propound is the note Certainty in the first word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We know it was not a thing S. Paul much doubted or had a meer conceit or conjecture of but a thing of which he was fully perswaded He knew of a certainty that when his earthen Tabernacle was dissolved he should be possessed of the Heavenly building and what he speakes for himselfe he intimates for the comfort of others of all that are vessels of honour heirs of grace called by the Word and sanctified These the severall passages considerable in the words I read yeeld us three circumstances of holy doctrine 1 From the description of our earthly Mansion we may collect that our estate in this life is fraile transitory perishing 2. From the excellency of the building not made with hands we gather that the state of a true Christian in the world to come is blessed and eternall in the heavens 3. By the note of certainty we may conclude that every converted heart and carefull soul may and ought to be assured that when his body shall be dissolved his soul shall have an happy dwelling with God in heaven These sentences of holy doctrine are too plentifull subjects to be fully discoursed of in one Sermon I will speak in a word of the two former and but briefly of the last That our state and condition in this life is fraile transitory perishing who can deny Let old Iacob come in and he will affirm that few and evill are the dayes and yeers of his life and My dayes are swifter then a weavers shuttle Oh remember that my life is wind said Iob Iob 7.6 7. And again is not man born to trouble as sparks flie upward The Scripture is wont to compare our present state with things most frail perishing Our life is as a flower as smoke a dew a blast a breath a bubble it is vanity it is as nothing I fetch arguments to confirm this from what we are and what are the best things we can have 1. Consider we have frail bodies no better then a lump of earth an handfull of wormes at best liable to a thousand griefs paines aches diseases distempers 2. Have we not frail spirits also subject to many troubles doubts feares terrours perplexities and amazes What is the union of these being our naturall life but a fading perishing dying kind of being still spending it self and burning out its own candle They have judged right who have wrote that misery and mans life are convertible tearms And when the Limners do picture sorrow they make it like a man Thus from what we are we may see this truth And what good things doth this life afford riches honours pleasures and secular learning As for riches Riches what are these but a finer kinde of earth having an high price stamped on it and if man could compasse all the treasure under heaven what a deal of discontenting gold would there be too much to use too little to content the greedy heart of man Midas-like we would be glad to be rid of our first wish Not all but a part would man have yet I trow it 's the biggest part Dives would have none so rich as he Sed quid juvat immensum what good will a great heap do us was ever man happy in abundance great riches is but matter of trouble dangerous to the possessor an ill master a treacherous servant There is a dying nature in them they have wings and will be gone and yeeld but little content while they stay for he that loveth silver is not satisfied with it this is vanity and vexation of spirit What are honours in this life Honours but supposed excellencies which have no true being accompanied with cares and cumber the object as well of envie as of esteem If we could go to the ashes of dead Alexander they 'l tell us what he found in his great preferments surely they would acquaint us that those honours were not worth the labour equitandì per Britannos cursitandi per Germanos pati pruinam It was a subtle trick of Satan when he tempted Christ with the offer of worldly honours that he shewed onely the Kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them never pointing out the cares troubles discontents which abounded in those kingdoms for then they would have been no provocation at all The man in Plutarch said wisely that he who considers the troubles of a Crown well would not gather it up in the street The happinesse of great places is more in that they are thought so then that they are so You that are our Senators do now throughoutly know what poor happinesse it is to be incessantly troubled with a world of other mens businesses and have little time to think on your selvs and your own affairs and lo that is the good of high places I may compare earthly honours to the plate at a Lottery it is exposed to open view makes a great shew and if a man do chance to light on a prise it is no great matter only it is drummed out and trumpeted abroad to tell the world and this is the glory of it Even so if some of those many that venture hard for honours do speed it is no such great matter onely the businesse is trumpeted out told abroad and the world hath some apprehension of it but alas the wisest of mortals found this also to be vanitie yea a fleeting vanitie Gloria Crocodilus flying fastest from such as pursue it most How oft hath one day found a man in high honours and low disgrace A third sort of the best things of this life are pleasures Pleasures now what froth what chaffe what nothings are these I may sever them into harmlesse recreations or sinfull delights the former being the best of pleasures are a kind of fading vanities which perish in the use of them there is but a meer shadow of content in them which we apprehend to be before us but alas wee seldome overtake it Cast back your thoughts on our youthfull pastimes how did we prize our gains and hopes of winning but an handfull of Counters no pleasures in the world I think can ever so much take us as those did yet a few years with discretion do shew us what poor contentments they were Manhood deems as meanly of the frolicks of our youth age and riper judgement well knows all pleasures to be a fleeting joy which is gone as soon as had As for sinfull delights Satan so tampers with our

natures as to make them seem great in expectation before they are attained but when they come to be possessed they vanish What sugared delights do beloved sinnes promise but alas they still shamefully deceive our expectation the delight wings away and the act leaves a guilt behind How little is our life the better for our pleasures The last ornaments of our earthly tabernacles is humane or secular learning Learning Litera tutissimae sunt divitiae quae nec eripi possunt nec gravant circumferentem Erasm these I grant are of all the safest treasures they can neither be plundered nor be they burthensome to the bearer but true it is that no full content or perfection can be had in knowledge fraile man but weake of brain hath his vessell too shallow to comprehend sufficiencie Our study doth but learn us of our want put us on to a further search into letters and render us still lesse satisfied I gave my heart said Solomon to know wisdom and I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit for in much wisdom is much grief and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow Eccles 1.17 18. Lo thus my brethren we have taken a brief view of all the things which our earthly house of this tabernacle doth afford and we have found as well by what we have as what we are that our state and condition here is frail transitory perishing As evident likewise will it appear that the building not made with hands the state of a faithful soul after this life is blessed and eternall Witnesse first the many titles of excellencie which in Gods book are given to it The Apostle speaking of it calls it the riches glory and inheritance of Saints in light so he stiles it by way of eminencie Now riches doth there comprehend all things profitable glory all things gracefull and delighting inheritance signifieth perpetuity everlastingnesse In other places it is called light life joy blessednesse all in abstracts to intimate the most transcendent perfections that can be Yea more it is affirmed to be a kingdom to be a Crown to be a kingdom of glory to be a crown of life to be an eternall weight of glory which passeth not away The time would fail me to set forth the least part of that high praise those sweet and admirable testimonies which the holy Scriptures give of it 1. And in reason it may appear thus if we consider who provided this building and at what rates it was purchased Know we then that as it was not of mans framing so was it not of his providing this was such a building as eye had not seen nor eare heard nor could it enter into the heart of man it was not in his power to turn his hand to making of any such provision none of them can by any means redeem his brother or give God a ransome the redemption of the soul is pretious man must let that alone for ever Psal 49.7 8. nor could the Angels reach this work they fell and cannot help themselvs nor can their own fellow Angels steed them in this behalf it was an infinit work to provide these mansions none therefore but the blessed Sonne of God who is coequall with the Father could prepare this building nor could he obtain it at any lower rate then his own precious blood shed in a most ignominious and cursed manner and by this we may guesse at the worth of this building 2. Secondly consider for whom it is provided not for the world Christ would not so much as pray for them it was for his own for those who were his Fathers children the elect of God holy and beloved the sonnes and daughters of the King of glory If men that are evill will provide fair buildings for their children what buildings will our heavenly Father by his Son provide for his Yet more these Mansions were prepared for the best of Angels those incomparable spirits which remained pure as they came out of the hands of God Christ provided the place we speak of for their eternal habitation which may sufficiently prove the building not made with hands to be blessed and glorious Lastly call we to mind the chiefe end for which it serves namely to manifest therein the highest degree of Gods revealed glory and to participate the most transcendent measure of happinesse to the chiefest creatures therefore this building that state and condition must needs be blessed and eternall in the heavens If I had time to stay on this point I could further illustrate the glory of our future condition in the particulars of it As 1. the taking again of the soul into the blessed hands of God who gave it 2. The beautifying of it with glorious endowments polishing it for an heavenly eternall being 3. The actuall admittance of it into the Empyreall heaven that is above 4. The conjoyning or planting of it into the all-ravishing societie of Saints and Angels 5. The uniting of it to our glorified Saviour as its head or husband 6. The conferring on it fulnesse of joy and infinite rivers of pleasures 7. The filling of it with the blessed vision and fruition of Jehovahs face in glory Take a glimpse of these things in the sight of our minds and I shall need stay no longer in the confirmation of the point Now the light of these holy truths reflected on our selves doth wonderfully accuse almost all men and women of folly and madnesse for our so much love seeking joying delighting and contenting our selves in our earthly house of this tabernacle how foolish and unwise are we to chuse the worser baser building to be taken up wholly with the things before us to place our heart and affections on things below which are fraile transitory perishing Wee can blame Esau for preferring a messe of pottage before his birth-right Ahab for selling his soul to get a vineyard the fool for building bigger barnes and solacing his soul with goods laid up but alas we are many of us guilty of the same folly we live taken up with a secure joy out of a vain apprehension of pleasure in our present state and the enjoyment of outward things as if we had chosen them to be our chiefe portion and this world to be our Heaven Your consciences can tel you that you are even more guiltie then I can speak you do and will love most the house of tabernacle and will not be perswaded to unglue your affection and take off the eagernesse of your pursuit after the things that perish We have many warnings especially in these times from heaven from earth from God from man by the losse of goods friends houses lands fathers children husbands all bespeaking us to abate our love to the world and the things of this world yet pitie it is few or none will enter into a due and dutifull consideration of the vanitie of these worldly things or once in good earnest endeavour to wean their hearts from these earthen