A29687:293
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.
1Devout Cornelius gets his kinsmen and near friends together, that they also might be partakers of the grace and mercy of God with him: he had experienced a work of grace and holiness upon his own ⟨p. 135⟩heart, and he uses his best endeavours that they might experience the same on theirs. A holy Christian is like a lodestone that draws to it self first one iron ring, and that another, and that a third.2 As there is a natural instinct in all creatures to propagate their own kind, as in beasts, birds and fishes; so there is a holy, a spiritual instinct in all gracious hearts to propagate grace and holiness in whatever hearts they can. Look as fire will assimilate and turn every thing that comes near it into its own nature; so will a holy heart labour to make all that comes near him like himself. Look as one drunkard labours to make another, and one swearer another, and one wanton another, and one thief another, and one idle person another, and one fearful person another, and one doubtful person another, and one erroneous person another, &c. So one holy heart labours to make another, one gracious heart labours to make another, he that is humble will labour to make others humble, he that is sincere will labour to make others sincere, he that is faithful will labour to make others to be faithful, he that is fruitful will labour to make others fruitful, and he that is watchful will labour to make others watchful. A heart that is truly holy, will labour by prayers, reproofs, tears, example, counsel, and commands, to make others like himself: He knows that there is no love, no wisdom, no care, no pains (next to that which he takes with his own heart) to that which is laid out to make unholy hearts holy. And therefore he prays and weeps, and weeps and prays, that holiness may be written upon all that his name is written upon; he learns and teaches, and he teaches and learns, and all that he may teach and learn others to be holy; he counts it not worth while to live in this world, were it not for the glory of God, and the good of his own and others souls; but now what shall we say of those persons who are so far from being holy, who are so far from drawing others to be holy, that they do what they can to make those that are holy to become unholy; and who strongly tempt those that are unholy to be more unholy;