Selected quad for the lemma: life_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	believe_v	jesus_n	lord_n	8,211	5	3.8236	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41561	Some observations upon the keeping the thirtieth of January, and twenty ninth of May by J.G.G.	Gailhard, J. (Jean)	1694 (1694)	Wing G129; ESTC R17606	41,903	64

SOME OBSERVATIONS UPON THE KEEPING THE Thirtieth of January AND Twenty ninth of MAY. Gal. 4.10 11. Ye observe Days and Months and Times and Years I am afraid of you least I have bestowed upon you labour in vain By J. G. G. LONDON Printed and are to be Sold by Ric. Baldwin at the Oxford-Arms in Warwick-lane 1694. SOME OBSERVATIONS Upon the Keeping the Thirtieth of January and XXIXth of May. EVERY Thirtieth of January doth yearly renew my Thoughts upon the occasion of the day We say it hath been appointed to be kept to mourn and humble the Nation for the Death of King Charles I. The thing hath two several Aspects for either it looks upon the Act of some Men against the Living or upon what others have done and do for the Dead both which I take to be ill the one because to me it seems Unlawful and the other as Contrary to True Religion I agree the Fact was an Horrid Murther Execrable as Black as Words can make it neither am ignorant how Blood defiles the Land what a loud and crying Sin is Blood-guiltiness according to other several strong Expressions in Holy Scriptures But when all is said after Justice hath been executed upon the Guilty after 45 Years there ought to be an end It were better more according to Charity and Christian Prudence to forget those things than to renew the Memory of them which continues Divisions for we know 't is too usual on that day to hear from the Pulpit about those who sold him of others that brought him to the Block and of those who cut off his Head which doth not restore to Life nor remedy that which is past and only Exasperates the Spirits of Men. This is too like the Italian Custom to keep and shew Handkerchiefs dipped in the Blood of those that were killed or such like Tokens only to infuse a desire of Vengeance and to make irreconcilable Enmities between Families and Parties after Acts of Oblivion for such things are passed the Memory thereof ought to be forgotten Such things do and must admit of a Prescription neither can I find any sound reason why such a Performance should be entailed upon us and our Posterity 't is enough once for all really and heartily to have done after that it degenerates into Formality and Bigoticism if I may so call it I know amongst us we have Men Zealous without Knowledge guided by Ignorance and as thorough-paced in their way as any Papist is in his who know not how to keep within bounds in many things they do Every one knows the keeping of this day was enacted after a Revolution amidst Heats and Desires of Revengefulness in some who looked upon themselves as having been ill used by others The Order for keeping that day was brought forth with some other things which by and by I shall have occasion to mention but because I do not intend to insist upon the Civil but the Religious part of keeping that day which is the principal thing of it and as the taking away of his Life was an ill thing so by the Grace of God I will shew that every Year keeping a day on that account is as bad if not worse in as much as the Honour and Worship of God are therein concerned What St. Paul saith to the People of Athens in general I may say to some amongst us in particular in this thing * Acts 17.22 You are too Superstitious For I am satisfied we cannot without Superstition whereof the very appearance ought to be avoided keep an Anniversary or a certain day every Year upon any Mans account and on the same day go to Church the place appointed only for God's Worship there to hear a Sermon preached on that Subject and to have a Collect Epistle and Gospel yea such a part of Gospel taken out of a Parable wherein our Blessed Saviour foretells his Death and this must be applied to a Dead Man Nay in that Service we pray to God he will be pleased to give us the Grace to follow that Man's Charity and Patience surely in this we are too Superstitious now Time Place and Service being appointed next thing for us to do will be to Pray to him Heathens had their Apotheosis of Men to make Gods after their Death Papists have their Canonizations or making of Saints but I think our Church ought to be free from such Errors and Abuses without Kalenders and Legends I am sure the best Reformed Churches beyond Sea admit of no such things let for brevities sake the Testimony of one serve for all * Festa autem hominibus divis instituta non probamus Helvet Confess cap. 24. de feriis We approve not of days dedicated to Saints Would to God we had not so many of these Relicks of Popery amongst us such as the Purification of the Virgin a Jewish Ceremony Annunciation Conception c. All Saints Michael and all Angels Innocents c. which as the already quoted Confession saith † Ibidem habent absurda inutilia minimeque toleranda have many things Absurd Superstitious and not to be endured It may be made a question Whether God will ever forgive it those who so stiffly retain such things and oppose a thorough Reformation keeping the Clogs of such Superstitions and Fopperies upon our Holy Religion whereof the Purity is thereby defiled What St. Paul saith to the Galatians You observe days c. I am afraid of you Gal. 4.10 11. least I have bestowed upon you labour in vain may justly be applied to many amongst us I know this enlargement will not be thought to deviate from our purpose But we are not satisfied of him to make a Saint but a Martyr too for that 's now the Name given him the Martyr by Excellency I confess here I am somewhat at a stand to see such a Name so much misapplied but before I proceed I declare I charitably believe God shewed him Mercy but withall 't is not the Manner but the Cause of Death makes one a Martyr I know several kinds of Perswasions have their Witnesses and Martyrs but for us the Martyr who suffers for the Testimony of the Lord Jesus he is the true Martyr who loses his Life for the sake of Christ for his Person for his Attributes for his Offices for his Faith such an one was * Acts 7. St. Stephen such † Acts 12. St. James such ‖ Rev. 2.13 Antipas whom the Lord called his faithful Martyr and many others after for the same Cause and here by the bye I must take notice how the Apostolical Church appointed no day nor Rubrick to remember or mourn for their Death not so much as for that of our Lord and Saviour nor of his Birth only that of his Resurrection the first day of the Week which St. John calls the * Rev. 1.10 Lords-day But for Charles I. he must be a Saint and a Martyr of a new Coining but