A29687:248
The crown & glory of Christianity, or, Holiness, the only way to happiness discovered…The crovvn & glory of Christianity, or, Holiness, the only way to happiness discovered…
The crown & glory of Christianity, or, Holiness, the only way to happiness discovered in LVIII sermons from Heb. 12. 14, where you have the necessity, excellency, rarity, beauty and glory of holiness set forth, with the resolution of many weighty questions and cases, also motives and means to perfect holiness : with many other things of very high and great importance to all the sons and daughters of men, that had rather be blessed then cursed, saved then damned / by Thomas Brooks ...The crovvn & glory of Christianity, or, Holiness, the only way to happiness discovered in LVIII sermons from Heb. 12. 14, where you have the necessity, excellency, rarity, beauty and glory of holiness set forth, with the resolution of many weighty questions and cases, also motives and means to perfect holiness : with many other things of very high and great importance to all the sons and daughters of men, that had rather be blessed then cursed, saved then damned / by Thomas Brooks ...
London: printed for H. Crips, 1662
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.
Sixthly, Consider, If upon trial you shall find in you §6this real holiness that paves the way to happiness, it will turn exceedingly to your accounts: thy happiness depends upon the real being of holiness (in thee) but thy comfort depends upon thy seeing of holiness. Real holiness will yield thee a heaven hereafter; but the seeing of holiness will yield thee a heaven here: he that hath holiness and knows it, shall have two heavens; a heaven of joy, comfort, peace, content and assurance here; and a heaven of happiness and blessedness hereafter; but he that hath holiness and doth not know it, shall certainly be saved,1 yet so as by fire; he shall have a heaven at last, but he must pass to it by the flaming sword. When a person is heir to a great estate, and knows it; when a person is son to a King, and knows it; when a person is highly in favour, & knows it; when a person is out of all hazard and danger, and knows it; when a persons pardon is sealed, and he knows it: then the springs of joy and comfort rises in him. So, when a man is holy, and knows it,2 then the springs of divine joy and comfort rises in his soul, as the waters rise in Ezekiels Sanctuary. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will make heavy afflictions light: long afflictions short, and bitter afflictions sweet: the knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate, will make thee frequent, fervent, constant, and abundant in the work of the Lord. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will strengthen thy faith, raise thy hope, inflame thy love,3 increase thy patience, and brighten thy zeal. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will make ⟨p. 98⟩every mercy sweet, every duty sweet, every ordinance sweet, and every providence sweet. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will rid thee of all thy sinful fears and cares;4 it will give thee ease under every burden, and it will make death more desirable then life. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will make thee more strong to resist temptation, more victorious over opposition, and more silent in every condition. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate, will turn every Winter night into a Summers day; every cross into a crown, and every wilderness into a Paradise.