Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	body_n	eternal_a	good_a	3,595	5	3.1999	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44540	A sermon preached at the solemnity of the funeral of Mrs. Dorothy St. John, fourth daughter of the late Sir Oliver St. John, Knight and Baronet, of Woodford in Northamptonshire, in the parish church of St. Martins in the Fields, on the 24th of June, 1677 by Anthony Horneck ...	Horneck, Anthony, 1641-1697.	1677 (1677)	Wing H2849; ESTC R7942	28,330	40

be drown'd by Water and another time destroy'd by Fire And this conflagration whereby the World shall be renew'd and reinstated into its primitive splendor all the Creatures groan for and travel as it were in pain together until now to use the Apostles phrase v. 22. with hopes to be deliver'd from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the Children of God Thus far the sense of the words which sense I do the rather pitch upon because both Ancient and Modern Divines some few only excepted agree in 't And now what subject of discourse can be fitter for this present occasion than THE VANITY OF THE CREATURE Can we see a curious Fabrick here all broke to pieces and a Creature that was made a little lower than the Angels cut off before half her race was run and tumbling down as she was going up the Hill and forbear crying out with Solomon Vanity of vanities all is vanity There are few men that pretend either to sense or reason but will freely acknowledg the vanity of all sublunary Objects and yet to see them dote on things which by their own confession are fickle inconstant and unsatisfactory to see them hug this Vanity as if it were Mount Sion which shall never be moved as if it were the rock of ages against which the gates of Hell shall not be able to prevail would make any contemplative man bless himself and wonder Quis daemon subiens praecordia flammam Concitat raptam tollit de cardine mentem What evil spirit makes them act contrary to those convictions cross those principles give themselves the lie and love such contradictions But it 's no new thing to speak well and to act ill and to make a learned Harangue of the emptyness and weakness of things below while the affections are so set upon the World that you had as good attempt to move the Pyramids of Egypt out of their places as hope to disentangle the heart from these bryars and thorns The great Idols of this Earth Riches Honors Pleasures Life Health Children c. which the World adores with preposterous Devotion alas what are they all but vanity in grain I. Riches when the Magnificent Croesus sat upon his Throne deck'd with beaten Gold adorn'd with a thousand Jewels and precious Stones he had the curiosity to ask Solon whether he had ever seen a more glorious sight Yes Sir saith Solon for I have seen Hens and Phesants and Partridges more gloriously array'd than you The Philosopher saw the vanity of all this wealth and cost and laught at it The covetous man indeed that Son of the Earth sees with other eyes and cannot think himself solidly happy except he swims in Wealth This is it engrosses the secret wishes of his mind and to have as much as other men is that his soul doth chiefly long for So have I heard a man in a Feavor wish for a cup of cold water which when he hath obtain'd hath prov'd his death and ruine What happyness doth the wretch fancy in a little shining clay He sees no vanity in great Possessions and he thinks that man liv'd like a God that could say I will pull down my Barns and build greater and there I will bestow all my fruits and my goods What ever other men think of Nabal he commends him and calls that living like himself when he scrapes what wealth he can together to feed his appetite and luxury Have not you read of whited Sepulchers which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead mens bones and of all uncleanness So here there is a veil drawn over this glittering dust and the veil is painted and gaudy and takes the eye but that man which hath courage to lift it up and to see what is underneath will quickly find that these are things which to day caress their favourite and to morrow make themselves wings and flee away and that they can neither preserve the Body from disasters for in despight of all my Treasures Lightning from Heaven may strike through my sides and kill me and Vapours of the Earth may infect my spirits and blow my life away and sickness may breed in my bones and rack me nor afford any real content to the Soul for when I see a Judas tremble with his purse full of money and Gehazi walk in fear while he brings home his talents of Silver and an Alexander in the midst of all his opulency dissatisfied and tor●ured with Ambition and Belshazzar with all his Golden cups about him grow pale as Ashes and quake at the sight of the fatal hand when I see how their outward plenty entices men to that which will undo them and how strong a temptation it proves to run away from him who is the proper center of their Souls how it doth teach men to sin and fills their carnal minds with car●s and carkings and anxieties makes Man the noblest work of the Creation a slave to Dust dethrones his reason thrusts him into Vassallage and trrnsforms that part which is like to Angels in o a beast and consequently prepares him for shame and confusion in the end and by degrees breeds in him the Worm that dies not What name what title can I bestow upon it but that of the Apostle Deceitful riches which lead men into snares and drown them in destruction and perdition 1 Tim. 6. 9. Not but that our of this Mercury a wholesom Medicine may be drawn and men may lay up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on Eternal life But where one prepares an Elixir of it thousands makes nothing of it but Sublimate so strong a Poyson as doth not only kill the body but lays force on the soul makes it sick to death and which is strange for morte carent animae murther that part which the great Creator hath blessed with immortality II. Honour What a stir do men make about greatness and reputation in the world and what is it all but the breath of dying men He that sees the ambitious clamber that Mountain as if it were the Hill of God and there lay the way to Heaven would wonder what the man means to labour so hard when in good truth he only leaps to catch an atom tumbling and playing in a Sun-beam He stands on firm ground and nothing will serve him but a slippery place from whence the least frown of a Monarch throws him down Consul Bibulus surrounded with Acclamations and Euge's knows not where he is whether he is riding in his Chariot or treading air But see the sad reverse which waits on humane triumphs while his fond thoughts and the numerous multitude with their praises swell him above himself a Tilestone falling accidentally from a house puts an end to his life and all his glories together before he can reach the Capitol Sejanus is honored like a God to day to morrow kick'd

denied themselves in all superfluities that they might have the more to give to pious uses nay would not allow themselves conveniencies that they might be in a better capacity to cloath the Naked They stooped to the meanest offices and were not ashamed to converse with men of the lowest rank as with Brethren They laid aside their grandeur to obey the precepts of the Gospel and would not suffer any outward respects to take them off from a close adherence to God's will They would visit Hospitals and with their own hands dress meat for them that lay upon the bed of Languishing This World seem'd so contemptible to them that they prayed day and night to be deliver'd from it and it might be truly said of them that the World was crucified unto them and they unto the World And thus they despis'd the vanity of these sublunary objects and by despising believ'd it Disparage not your great immortal Souls Beloved Hearers they are capable of another happiness than this World can afford and when God hath provided for them Angels food and bread of Heaven why should you feed them with trash and husks to impoverish and weaken them for ever Arise Christians and depart for here is not your Rest. Advance into yonder regions of Bliss and live there where you may hope to live for ever Let the World be your Slave and God your only Master Let it not be said that your Souls are subject to Vanity as well as your Bodies and do something to convince the World that you dare to have your conversation in Heaven The Creature was made subject unto Vanity on purpose that you might flee away from it and breath after a more solid good Will you do less than Pagans Will you fall short of Men that never heard the Gospel Will you sink beneath those that never had any other light but what the glimmering Candle of Nature gave them Can you see Philosophers contemn this Vanity and dare you be in love with it Shall a Diogenes to shew how little these things which sensual men admire ought to be valued take as much delight in his Tub as Xerxes in his Babylon and in dry bread as much as Smindyrides in his sauces in ordinary spring-water as much as Cambyses in his richer fountains in common Sun-shine as much as Sardanapalus in his purple in his staff as much as Alexander in his Spear and in his Mallet as much as Craesus in his treasures Shall a Pagan look on these outward glories as unworthy of his affections and will you suffer yours to be entangled with them Shall a Plato a Socrates an Agesilaus a Spartan look upon these outward things as dross and dung trample them under his feet look upon them between anger and scorn and think it below a Creature made after the image of God to dote on Earth and dust and can you that pretend to have learn'd Christ and pretend to be followers of the humble self-denying Jesus come behind Heathens whom you call Blind and Wretched Will not they be your Judges one day Will not their temperance and abstinence condemn your greediness after these perishable objects Will not they shame you that did more by the strength of nature than you with all the encouragements of the Holy Ghost Will not this aggravate your neglect and change your Rods into Scorpions Will not this make your furnace hotter Will not this fill your faces with greater confusion Will God let your unprofitableness under the richest means of grace go unpunish'd And doth the clearest manifestation of Heaven add no weight to your guilt and stubborness If you turn the grace of God into wantonness will God play with it do you think as you do It was a Mahometan King could cause the following words to be written upon the Gates of his Pleasure-house and the story saith his Life was answerable to the grave Sentences This World will not continue long it 's pride and lustre will soon be gone Remember Brother and apply thy heart to him who only intended this World for our Inn. Let not thy life be united to this bitter sweet for it hath drawn in many first jested with them and then butchered them If thy Soul can but come away from her prison pure and undefiled and reach the Mark it 's no great matter whether thou diest on a Throne or on a Dung-hill O Christians delude not your own souls God is resolved they shall be withdrawn from this world while you live here or they shall never arrive to the inheritance of the Saints in light God is resolved they shall be loosened from this Earth even in the midst of your strength and health and plenty and liberty or they shall never ascend his Holy Hill Away then with those fond conceits that glue your hearts to things below Let God be the great and dear object of your souls Let the rivers of your delight run all into that Ocean For him spend your strength your labour and your care Make room for him in your hearts and whatever hath had supremacy or priority there pull it down and shew it the ruler it must for the time to come obey Breath after another Country where true and lasting pleasures are where the presence of God makes hearts chearful and ravishes souls for ever where the society of Angels gives content and endless bliss shuts out all imperfection and vanity and as they say of Boleslaus King of Poland that he used to wear his Fathers Picture in his bosom and whenever he was to do any thing of moment he pull'd out the Picture lookt upon it and begg'd of God that he might do nothing unworthy of so great so good so wise a Father so you let the Landskip of that celestial Country hang always before your eyes and whatever you are doing whether you are rising or sitting down whether you are walking or standing whether you are travelling or conversing with men still look upon that Pourtraiture and let this be your resolution to do nothing unworthy of that Heaven you are aiming at And then when you come to die and no friend no relation no acquaintance no riches no honours no children can give you ease this remembrance that your mind hath been endeavouring to extricate it self from the vanity of the creature and that you have lived like persons that have indeed looked for a City which hath foundations this remembrance I say will give you ease this will make you die with joy at the kiss of God as the Jews say of Moses and enable you to triumph over death O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy victory But thanks be to God that gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. III. The Creature is made subject unto vanity but what shall we say to those that subject the creature to greater vanity than ever it was condemn'd to The Idolater that melts his Gold and makes a God of