A09977:614
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.
A man that is on and off in his ways, Solomon compares him to a City whose walls are broken down, that is, if a temptation come, and set upon him, it hath free entrance, and the temptation comes in, because his soul was without guard and ward. But on the other side, a man that doth not stand trifling with the Lord, to say, I wish I could, and I am sorry that I cannot, but he will go through a good course, such a man is like to a City which hath walls round about it; that if a temptation come, there is something to keep it out. I say, as thou art to judge of other things by the mutability of them: so of thy self. There is nothing better than to have a peremptory resolution in well-doing, to be constant therein, and there is nothing worse than to be peremptory in evil. Use 6
A man that is on and off in his wayes, Salomon compares him to a City whose walls are broken downe, that is, if a temptation come, and set upon him, it hath free entrance, and the temptation comes in, because his soule was without guard and ward. But on the other side, a man that doth not stand trifling with the Lord, to say, I wish I could, and I am sorry that I cannot, but he will goe through a good course, such a man is like to a City which hath walls round about it; that if a temptation come, there is something to keepe it out. I say, as thou art to judge of other things by the mutability of them: so of thy selfe. There is nothing better than to have a peremptory resolution in well-doing, to be constant therein, and there is nothing worse than to bee peremptory in evill. Vse 6
If God be immutable, then thou knowest whither to go to get this constancy,1 to make thy ⟨p. 114⟩self unchangeable, and immutable and constant in well-doing. For, for what end hath he revealed to us that he is unchangeable? is it not for our use? Sure it is, even to teach us, that when we find our selves subject to mutability, we should go to God, and beseech him to establish our hearts. No creature is able to do it. Every creature is mutable, only so far unchangeable, as he maketh it to be so; he only is originally unchangeable; all friends and all other things in the world are no further unchangeable than he communicates it to them, (as was said before:) and the same is true of thine own heart, and of thy purposes. Therefore thou must think with thy self, and make this use of the unchangeableness of God, that he only can make thee unchangeable. Therefore when a man wants direction, he must go to GOD: