A09977:659
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.
Answ. IF you ask the question, Quest. How a man shall come to this greatness of mind, what rise it hath from the greatness of God? 1I answer.
Answ. IF you aske the question, Quest. How a man shall come to this greatnesse of mind, what rise it hath from the greatnesse of God? 1I answer.
- 1How a man shall come by this greatness of mind, and what rise it hath from Gods greatne•How a man shall come by this greatnesse of minde, and what rise it hath from Gods greatne•
First, it ariseth thus from it. When a man considers that GOD is so exceeding great, and that he ⟨p. 138⟩hath interest in him, that will make him to despise all other things, as small things in comparison of him. Indeed, if GOD was great, and we had no interest in him, then there was no cause why we should take to our selves this magnanimity upon any such ground: but seeing that he is so great, and that his greatness shall be improved to our advantage, what addition can any thing else make unto us? You shall see that Paul raised his heart upon this ground: Phil. 3.8. considering the privileges that he had in Christ, this makes him to account other things as nothing. Hence in James 1.10. Let him that is of a high degree, rejoice in that he is made low: that is, let him rejoice that he is enabled to look upon his riches which he did so highly magnify before, to think them as nothing, but as fading flowers; let him rejoice in it, because now he is made a greater man, because he seems too big for them; they are no such things, as before he thought them to be: not that they are made less, but because he is exalted and lifted above them.