A09977:411
Life eternalLife eternall
Life eternal or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.Life eternall or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie, master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inne.
London: printed by Richard, 1631
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Well, seeing God hath brought this point to our hands this day, let me but prevail with you so far, as to set some time apart the following week, where you may enter into a serious consideration of eternity, the very thinking of it, will be of great moment to you; for look what the object is, such is the soul, about which it is conversant; high objects lift up the soul to the Lord, and make the mind answerable to them, and low objects make the mind like to them. Now eternity is an high object, and it will work in men high minds; and hence it is, for the want of this consideration, that when a man comes to die, and sees eternity before him, how it doth then so amaze the soul of man? I have seen it by experience: I knew one who said, If it were but for a thousand years, I could bear it, but seeing it is to eternity, this amazeth me. Behold, if you would consider, that after many thousands of years are past, yet you are to begin as at the first; if men did consider this seriously, would they let their eternal estate depend so upon uncertainties. And let them consider this, that are yet strangers to the life of God, that if death should come, they should ⟨p. 166⟩not escape eternal death: it is good to keep our thoughts upon this, and it would make us not to hasten after the things of the world, as we do; and for thy sin thou dotest on so, there are three things to be considered in it: First, the pleasure of it; is as the speckled skin of the Serpent: Secondly, the sting of sin: and thirdly, the eternity of that sting. Now look not thou upon the pleasure of sin, that endures but for a season, but consider the hurt that comes from sin, and then consider the eternity of it: a candle in a dark night makes a great show, but when the Sun comes, it vanisheth, and is nothing; so would all these things that we do so affect now, if they come before eternity in our thoughts: it is great wisdom in this kind to husband our thoughts well, 1 Cor. 7.29, 30, 31.1 Use this world, as not using it, for the fashion of this world passeth away: that is, mind them not much, be not much affected with them, one way or other, either in joy or grief, let them be such as if they were not; for why? they are temporal things, passing things, things that continue not: