A09977:664
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.
And so should we do in regard of his goodness, Hos: 3. ult: Men shall fear his goodness: that is, if his goodness be so great and infinite, as himself, then the loss of it, is a loss above all things in the world. Whatsoever is precious to ⟨p. 142⟩us, that we fear the loss of, as our liberties and lives: and as things are more precious to us, the more we fear the loss of them. Now the goodness of God is greater than all other things, it is beyond all these, as having all these in it: therefore we are to fear the loss of it as the greatest evil in the world.
And so should we doe in regard of his goodnesse, Hos: 3. vlt: Men shall feare his goodnesse: that is, if his goodnesse be so great and infinite, as himselfe, then the losse of it, is a losse above all things in the world. Whatsoever is precious to ⟨p. 142⟩us, that we feare the losse of, as our liberties and lives: and as things are more precious to us, the more we feare the losse of them. Now the goodnesse of God is greater than all other things, it is beyond all these, as having all these in it: therfore wee are to feare the losse of it as the greatest evill in the world.
Therefore if we could see the extension of his wrath and goodness, the loss of the one would be the greatest loss, and the other the greatest cross; the enjoying of the one the greatest good, and the […] of the other the greatest evil in the world: and the consideration of this would help us to guide our hopes and fears aright: for a great cause of misleading us in our ways, are the vain hopes and fears that we are subject to: we fear the loss of friends, and loss of lives and liberties; but these in comparison are not to be feared. This use Christ makes of it: Fear not those that can kill the body, but fear the great God, that can destroy both body and soul. The greatness of his wrath we should fear as the greatest evil: and his goodness as the chiefest good: and our thoughts and intentions being taken up about these two, it would set our hopes and fears aright; and worldly things, as credit, and profit, &c. would seem nothing to us, and prevail nothing with us.