Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n
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A31657
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A sermon preached for the funeral of that humble and faithful servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. Nathanael Smith late of Malmesbury, in the county of Wilts. : with a brief account of his life, in an epistle to Dr. Annesley / by Henry Chandler ...
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Chandler, Henry.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing C1927; ESTC R43079
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16,505
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32
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saith with David Psal 119.71 'T was good for me that I was afflicted c. As a Pleuretick Person is ready to dye when he sees the Surgeon and Lancet who notwithstanding finds ease whilst the Blood runs and afterwards rejoyceth that 't is done Therefore let me entreat you that fear the Lord to endeavour to conceive aright of all the severities of your Heavenly Father and here I shall offer you these helps 1. You may be confident that however he afflicts you he designs not to satisfie His Justice by any thing He inflicts upon you and therefore he will not wound you either in Extremity or to Eternity When God Punisheth the Reprobate part of the World He is demanding satisfaction of them and hence it is that they cannot possibly tell how much or how long it is they shall suffer But 't is not so with the Saints their Surety hath fully answered the demands of justice in their stead and God will not yea in justice cannot require it of the Principal when he hath already received it of the Surety and that Jesus Christ did satisfie the Father for the Sins of the Elect is one of the Articles of our Creed and we are not Christians if we question it God acknowldgeth it in Job 33.24 as also in that he raised him up from the dead and admitted him into Heaven every Believer therefore may assure himself that however God deal with him He designs not to satisfie His justice upon him nor intends to give the demerit of his Sins to him 2. Whatever sad Providence befal you God intends no proper loss or real damage shall befall you no Revolutions shall Impoverish or Spoil a Servant of Jesus for though the Enemy in Persecution may take away his Worldly goods he is no more damnified than he is whose house is emptied of worthless lumber that he may come at his Cupboard or Coffers Though a Distemper take away his ease or strength he is not hurt for the Grace he receives instead thereof doth more than make him amends Affliction takes nothing away from a Gracious Soul but what is better missed than had and therefore though it takes all his days he is never the poorer A Gracious Person hath but Three things worth the keeping and those no Enemy shall take away 1. His Soul 2. His Grace 3. His God 1. His Soul which though it may by Death be separated from the Body yet shall it never be in the hands of an Enemy I mean under the Tyranny of the World Flesh or Devil for the Lord will redeem the Souls of his servants Psal 34.22 Tho the Cabinet may by an undistinguishing Providence be thrown here and there yet God will take care of the Precious Jewel That that be not lost 2. His Grace which indeed is the only brightness of this Jewel this the Soul shall never be totally deprived of John 4.14 This spark is kindled by Heaven and all the breath of Hell and Water on Earth shall never quench it God hath set this plant and it will grow in all Weathers for Almighty Power protects it whatever a Believer loses he never loses the Image of God that cannot be lost 3. His God Who though he may hide His Face yet will not deny his Covenant nor forget that he is the Believer's God by a sure deed of Gift all the World can no more deprive a Believer of His God than they can deprive God of Himself for neither death uor life c. 1 Cor. 8.38 now this being believed and considered there is not so much matter of Terror in any Providence to a Soul that hath repented of Sin and Believed in Christ 3. What Troubles soever come upon you are in the account of infinite Wisdom needful for you to the carrying on your Sanctification and fitting you for the life of Heaven as you may see in the 1 Peter 1.6 Mark 13.7 c. God appoints no Visitation for his People but what is necessary for them not but that God could save them another way for he can make his People perfectly Holy and take them to Heaven the same instant he converts them but he hath not so purposed neither dare we say or think it would be best that he should that way and method that God hath set for the saving of his People requires that in this state they be exercised with various afflictions to fit them for a better Acts 14.22 What though we cannot see the expediency of such Troubles must they therefore be needless God's ways are not as our ways nor his thoughts as our thoughts if he saith they be needful for us 't is our Duty as Creatures and Christians to do honour to his Infinite Wisdom by a chearful compliance with his Providence Should God stop the course of nature and give us continually dry warm weather because we think there is no need of showers or frosts the World were undone and as certainly should we be in great want did God withhold all those evils He inflict without our Approbation Christian firmly believe it for it is certainly true That thou never feltest any pain sufferedst any damage met'st with any Trouble underwentest any Persecution but what was truly proper for thee in thy Circumstances but what thou didst really want as an hungry Man wants Bread or a sick Man Physick And assure thy self thou nor the Church of Christ shall ever smart under any new grief till you stand in real need of it For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men Lam. 3.33 God delighth not to afflict any of the Children of Men without cause much less will he disquiet his own dear Children but when he sees it will promote his Glory and their Good This one Consideration would be of mighty force to quiet our Souls in the most dismal day if seriously weighed and throughly believed by us 4. It may be the Evils you feel or fear Christ Jesus hath suffered before you Are you poor So was he without Estate or Money as in Matth. 8.20 Matth. 17.27 Are you despised So was he Isa 53.3 Are you dejected in Spirit tempted of Satan deserted of God persecuted of Men Why all this did the blessed Redeemer suffer before you Matth. 26.38 Matth. 4.1 Math. 27.46 c. and is it such an heinous thing that God should deal with us as he hath with his only begotten Eternal well-beloved Son Did our Lord and Master conflict with Sufferings whilst in this Life and shall we be offended unless we go free Why should we think it much to pledge Jesus Christ What tho it be a bitter Draught 't is not destructive Poyson otherwise the Son of God would never have put it to his Lips We should not have such black thoughts of suffering did we consider that a God-man was was the greatest sufferer on Earth yea a greater than any in Hell 3. God hath not laid upon you any Burthen but what he has
tried other Saints with before and so he serves you as he serves the rest of his Children and why should you expect to fare better than your Fellows There hath no temptation happened to you but such as is common to men 1 Cor. 10.13 And sure this should qualify you that God hath not singled you out as eminent instances of extraordinary Indignation Oh! that this may fit us for all God's will and mould us into an holy Compliance with his Sovereign Pleasure If God bring the Sword upon us and destroy us by War he hath dealt so already with France Hungary Ireland and other Christian Countries and we are not better than they 't will be well for us if we be not found worse than any of them 6. Whatever Calamity he visits you with he will mightily support you under and maintain you in When God bringeth his People into the Wilderness he doth not leave them there to make their Party good in their own strength if he did they were undone but stands by and assists them according to his good word in Isa 41.10 Isa 43.2 And indeed such sweet Experience have the Saints had of God's faithfulness in this matter that in the midst of their Sufferings they have forgot where they were and have been even insensible of Torture whilst it hath been inflicting Nay one when he was let down from the Rack was even sorry that he was to be tortured no longer And the same promises that were made good to them are given to you therefore think not unbecomingly of any Affliction For this God is your God for ever and ever he will be your guide even unto death as in Psalm 48.14 Say not you are weak and shall sink under the weight of your Affliction for his Power shall be made known and in him you shall be able to do or suffer all things 7. Whatever Affliction God doth visit you with he will exceedingly profit you by for by it he will convey an encrease of Grace and fitness for Glory therefore let it not seem so terrible to you to be in Poverty Sickness Pain and Persecution if thereby you may be made more like God and fitted for the heavenly Glory 8. Whatever trouble God brings you into he will bring you victorious out of for with the Temptation he will provide a way for escape that ye maybe able to hear it 1 Cor. 10.13 Your Tryals as they are not extream so they shall not be everlasting as before but either he will deliver you alive or dead perhaps God will yet spare you to enjoy a Tranquility and a prosperous State with the Church here on Earth and give you quiet from your Troubles all round about according to that in Joshua 22.44 or which is far better take your Souls to the World of Rest and Peace where you shall be out of Gun-shot c. 9. All your Troubles shall turn to your account in the other World being managed to the Glory of God by you in this through the assistance of the Spirit of Grace God will not forget that Humility Brokenness Self-resignation and Faith that you exercise under all your Afflictions but will plentifully reward all another day Rev. 2.2 3 19. God takes notice how the gracious Soul acteth Grace in tryal and is well-pleased with it designs it a blessed recompence so that a state of Affliction should not be thought so terrible by you FINIS An Acrostical EPITAPH Nature defil'd with Sin harass'd with Pain A while dissolved is 'T will meet again Throughly refin'd and perfectly at ease Heal'd of all Sin and cur'd of all Disease The Body speaks Above the highest Star my Soul is gone No where to stay till to the holy One. All Love and Praise she offers on her Knee Encompassed with Heavens Nobility Long 't will not be ere Christ shall fetch me there Sound as his Angels sweet as Heavens Air. Many a day we both pray'd for this thing I mean to see enthron'd Heaven's Glorious King 'T is not in vain to pray my Soul doth see Her Lord and I expect that Liberty FINIS ADVERTISEMENTS THe Reasonableness of Personal Reformation and the necessity of Conversion the true Methods of making all Men happy in this World and in the World to come Seasonably discoursed and earnestly pressed upon this Licentious Age. ΠΛΑÎΗΛΟΓΙΑ A Succinct and Seasonable Discourse of the Occasions Causes Nature Rise Growth and Remedies of Mental Errors Written some Months since and now made publick both for the healing and prevention of the Sins and Calamiscandal of Religion hardening of the Wicked and obstruction of Reformation Whereunto are subjoined by way of Appendix I. Vindiciarum Vindex Being a Succinct but full Answer to Mr. Philip Cary's weak and impertinent Exceptions to my Vindiciae Legis Foederis II. A Synopsis of Ancient and Modern Antinomian Errors with Scriptural Arguments and Reasons against them III. A Sermon composed for the preventing and healing of Rents and Divisions in the Churches of Christ Both by John Flavell Preacher of the Gospel at Dartmouth in Deven