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	know_v	word_n	4,525	5	4.2540	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61268	A sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen at the Guild-Hall Chappel, Jan. 20, 1683 by John Standish ...	Standish, John, d. 1686.	1684 (1684)	Wing S5218; ESTC R13597	15,137	29

of our Rejoycing It is the Natural effect of Adversity to make Men consider and grow Wiser To come to themselves to their right Wits like the Prodigal reduced to his last husk No Lectures of Morality make such Impression as those that are back'd with the Rod of Affliction no Law compels and forces its own Execution like that of Necessity which makes us say proverbially that hath no Law against it I remember Lactantius observes well that the very Pagans themselves when Scourged with depopulating Wars Contagious Diseases unusual droughts great Rains Inundations Storms Hurricans or any other grievous publick Calamity fall down on their knees presently to the GOD of Heaven and invoke him earnestly and unanimously with Prayers and Tears to divert and remove his Judgment from them To which he adds if any of them be reduced to extream Poverty and forced to beg his Bread from Door to Door he makes use of the Name of GOD as the most powerful Argument of his Petition beseeching Men for GODS sake to have pitty and Compassion on Him But then as he goes on postquàm metus deser uit c. So soon as ever they are well rid of that danger Fear or Misery they return in whole Shoals to the CONVENTICLES of their Idol Gods and Sacrifice all the time of their Prosperity to them Lact. Lib. 2. Divin Instit These were professed Heathen but what shall we say if some pretended Christians are not ashamed to Act the same part or something very like it I might bring in the Merchant in a Storm who will offer freely even to half nay all his Estate to Charitable uses rather then fail provided he may have his Life for a prey Skin for Skin will he venture for that but when that danger is once over and he got safe a Shore he forfeits his Vow and cheats his GOD by making some three-penny Largess or pitiful Alms to serve the turn Or I might tell you at large of the Woman in Travail who goes for a pure Saint a Seraphick Votress whilst the pangs of Death are upon her but soon after her more formal then hearty Acknowledgments she utterly forgets that great though common Deliverance But I shall only instance in the Man thrown into a Malignant Feaver by his own intemperance when the Disease grows upon him and begins to prey upon his Vitals insomuch that his ablest Physicians halt between two opinions whether he will Live or Die and himself finds small hopes of Recovery from within Oh! what Sighs and Groans are fetcht from the very bottom of his Heart what earnest Prayers what loud indefatigable Expostulations proceed out of his Mouth what an importunate Suit doth he present before the Throne of Grace that he may be spared a little little while and have space to Repent before he go hence and be no more seen what Golden Promises doth he freely pass what warm Protestations doth he make of his speedy Conversion Oh that I could but escape this one approaching Fiery Fit I would most certainly become a New Man I would Correct the dangerous Errors of my Ways Contemn the little Lusts and Vanities of the World and serve my GOD with all my Heart with all my Soul and all my Strength Sweet JESUS grant me but this one Request try me once more and if I be not henceforth a Reformed Man I ask no more Mercy then let me die the Death Truly the Man speaks well and who would not believe that he is in Earnest considering they are for ought he knows the last words he is to say Well! the Almighty hears and is overcome by his importunity He restores his Health and Strength beyond all humane expectation and renews the Lease of his Life for many very many Years Now is it possible for this Man to be worse then his word I am afraid No I am ashamed to tell you but rather refer it to your own daily and sad Experience Yet thus much I must needs say that if after all this he Relapse into his former wicked Life he is Vnjust as well as Ingrateful to his GOD and the last Estate of that Man must needs be far worse then the first Which that it may never be Verified of any of us I befeech you let us call to mind the time past and seriously reflect upon the Sacred Resolutions we took and Solemn Promises we made to GOD in our extreme distress and be careful with DAVID to pay all our Vows unto the most High 5. Lastly Consider we the true Reasons that moved GOD to turn our Captivity pluck down Enemies and Oppressors and Redeem us from a more than Egyptian Bondage to renew our former Peace and Happiness Restore our lost Religion and Ancient Government and give us Princes as at the first and Judges as at the Beginning For that Success must needs infer a good Cause is a Turkish fallacy which yet of late hath much imposed upon the Christian World Indeed it is an old mistake a Branch of Natural Pride in Men to attribute Victory and Deliverance to their own Sword their own Merit Prowess and Gallantry whereas they belong to a far different Cause But Moses hath long since determined against them in the Case of Israel Deut 9.4.5 Speak not thou in thy heart after that the Lord thy GOD hath cast thine Enemies out before thee saying for my Righteousness hath the LORD brought me in to possess this Land but for the Wickedness of these Nations the Lord doth drive them out Not for thy Righteousness or for the Vprightness of thine heart as he goes on for thou art a stiff-necked and gain-saying People Thus we ought not to impute our many and great Blessings and particularly the late Wonderful Deliverance of Our Gracious KING His only Royal Brother and all His Most Loyal Subjects out of the hands of those Blood-thirsty Men to our own Righteousness but to their Malicions Wickedness to GODS mere Mercy to us and Exemplary Justice upon them for their studied Marders Solemn Perjuries Notorious Sacriledg formed Conspiracies unwearied fowlest Treasons and which is the Spring of all their Motions their damnable Hypocrisy in making a mock of all Religion So many and such weighty reasons we have to remember HIM in the day of Peace and Triumph who remembred us when we were in trouble and saved us so lately when we were upon the very brink of Ruin and then especially to beware lest we forget the LORD To close up this Second general 't is a thousand pities that fair weather should do any harm that when the Sun is most prodigal of his wealthy beams and spends his richeft influence to maintain Natures Glory he should most tan her Beauty and scorch her Hair yet that it is so sometimes every drought can witness but it is not to be attributed to any blemish in the Sun that bright Eye of the World whose Rays are ever the same apt to cherish and preserve Life but

directive Rules how we may best reduce it to Practice I begin with the First And 1. To forget the LORD imports in general to contemn the power of Religion and with that old Fool to say in ones heart there is no GOD no Judge or Judgment to come at least to deny Him that Honour and Worship due to His Holy and Reverend Name and give it to Another to put ones trust and confidence in Creatures or Idols the works of God's or of Mens hands more then the Creator and cast his Commandments behind ones back as if he owed no duty either to God or Man It implies a stupid habitual neglect of Gods Service which is the great business and chief end of our Creation when a Man immerseth himself so deep in the fruitless cares the frothy Vanities of this World and the sinful Lusts of the Flesh that GOD is not in all his ferious thoughts that is not in one of them All but he lives and dies an Atheist Epicure Idolater or ungodly Infidel and so plungeth himself headlong into that dreadful Doom in the Psalm The wicked shall be turned into Hell and all the Nations that forget GOD. 2. To forget the LORD signifies here more especially not to recount and value not to be duly sensible of and truly thankful for his past or present Mercies and Deliverances not to lay them to heart and call them to mind not to suffer them to have their proper effect upon us when his own beloved and of late distressed People forget GOD their SAVIOUR who brought them out of Aegypt with a high Hand and stretched out Arm who led them through the Wilderness and fought all their battels for them drowning some of their Enemies in the depth of the Sea and routing all others at Land and planted them in a good Land in another Paradice even the Land of Promise a Land of Corn Wine and Oyl a Land flowing with Rivers of Milk and Brooks of Honey For them to Rebel and lift up their heel against Him merely out of wantonness and too much Peace and Plenty were beyond all Parallel if not all Pardon also for as the Royal Prophet observes the merciful and gracious LORD hath so done his marvellous works that they ought to be had in Remembrance And therefore 3. And Lastly To discover the full strength and force of the Caution we must fly to that usual figure in Rhetorick whereby much more is implied then is expressed like that of the Prophet Can a Woman forget her sucking Child and not have compassion on the Son of her Womb It is impossible in Nature That of St. Paul I am not ashamed of that is I glory in the Gospel and Cross of CHRIST albeit the wise Greeks account it Foolishness or that of the holy Psalmist If I forget thee ô Jerusalem let my right hand forget her cunning if I do not remember thee then let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth the sweet singer of Israel wisheth his curious right hand useless and his graceful Tongue disabled from chanting any more Hallelujahs to his Harp if instead of forgetting He doth not prefer Jerusalem's distress above his own chiefest Delight and Joy Then beware lest thou forget the LORD That is be sure that thou remember to love and honour him in the day of thy Prosperity for then thou hast all the reason in the world and the strongest obligations imaginable to praise and glorifie his holy Name and that not in Word and Tongue only saying GOD be thanked the LORD be praised though that sounds well but indeed and in Truth also as that dying Roman said to his Friend Quae voluerit meminisse quae mandaverit exequi To remember his Will and Pleasure and do all his Commands For to be truly thankful to GOD is certainly to love him and if ye love me keep my Commandments saith the LORD And yet after all that Jeshurun waxing fat in her fresh Pasture grew sturdy and restiff and Kicked against her Feeder and most shamefully forgot the Lord her Redemer appears by the Writings of the Prophets as a Cloud of Witnesses as also by those stupendious Showers of Judgments which fell upon them according to the Predictions of those Prophets and lastly by their utter Extirpation and Destruction their being Blotted out of the List of Nations for Crucifying the Lord of Life and Killing their only Lord and Saviour For to this day they are under a Curse they are Vagabonds over all the Earth they are no People they have no Laws or Government no King in Israel neither God nor Man Which things happened unto them for Ensamples says St. Paul and are written that is left upon Record Chiefly for our Admonition upon whom the Ends of the World are come And therefore lest we should tread in their Ungracious Steps and forget the Lord when we are full fed with his Manifold Mercies lest we should tempt Christ as some of them also tempted and be Destroyed of the Destroyer lest our Iniquity also should be our Ruine I proceed 2ly To back and Inforce this seasonable Caution with some proper Arguments or Confiderations that it may make the deeper Impression upon all our Spirits And 1. Consider we that by forgetting GOD and growing careless of his Laws in the midst of our temporal Felicities we provoke the best Friend we have to become our professed Enemy For they draw not GODS Attributes to the Life and Truth who allow him only Mercy for a Penitent and no Justice at all for a Presumptuous Sinner They are more False Prophets then Balaam himself who would stretch the Words of his Parable to signifie that GOD doth not behold but Connive at all manner of Iniquity in the beloved Jacob because he saw none there at that time that cried loud enough for Speedy and Publick Vengeance which is the undoubted meaning of that Place No GOD is not so fond of any of his Servants as to be in love with their Follies The dearest Child he hath must tast of the Rod if he deserve it David was indeed a Man after GODS own heart in other things but yet his Murder and Adultery were Damnable Sins for all that as he had found by woful Experience if he had not carefully washed them away with his own Penitent Tears more Richly Influenced with his Redeemers Blood St. Peter was a Man of Undaunted Courage and most forward Faith at other times but yet there is no excuse to be made for his denying his Lord and Master and that with an Oath saying I know not the Man Israel was once GODS Elect peculiar People of all others Engraven upon the Palms of his Hands and kept as the Apple of his Eye so tender he was of them but all this while their Sins were written with a Pen of Iron and the point of a Diamond saith the Prophet to shew that the Memory of them was lasting and they so far from being winked at