A29687:34
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
Dedication: To all the Lords, Knights, Ladies, Gentry, Ministers and Commons of England, (and the D…
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.
Thirdly, As you must do justice speedily, so you must do justice sincerely;1 you must do justice out of love to justice. When the golden Angels appear to draw you to perver• justice,2 you must say as Peter did to Simon Magus, Thy money perish with thee. Deut. 16.20. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Or rather as the Hebrew hath it, [Greek or Hebrew] Tsedek, Tsedek; Justice, Justice shalt thou follow, that is, pure Justice shalt thou follow. The streams of justice should be always pure and clear. Justice, Justice shalt thou follow; that is, all manner of Justice shalt thou follow, and nothing but Justice shalt thou follow; and thou shalt follow Justice sincerely, exactly, carefully, and constantly: thou shalt be not seemingly just, but really just; ⟨image 10⟩not hypocritically just, but entirely just; not partially just, but universally just; not just to some, but just to all; not transiently just, but perpetually just; not sometimes just, but always just; and so much the Geminating of the word Justice, Justice, imports. Prov. 21.15. It is joy to the just to do judgement. This argues much sincerity and integrity in a mans spirit, when he doth not only do judgment, but joys to do judgement; it is a vanity to do justice slightly, lightly, wantonly; but it is an honour to do justice from a principle of divine joy; he that joys to do judgement, he will do justice sincerely, he will do justice out of love to justice; and indeed there are no Judges, there are no Justices to those that do justice out of love to justice. Mazarinus complaineth of Foreign Judges, that they too much resembled the blood-stone, which hath a special property to stanch blood, but as Jewellers observe, it puts not forth this virtue, unless it be let in or covered over with silver, and so applied to the vein: but certainly these men were far from doing justice sincerely, from doing justice out of love to justice. Some Judges and Justices there have been, who for the cleanliness of the conveyance, would like Mendicant Friars, touch no money themselves, but have a boy or a Clerk with a bag to receive it for them: Certainly these were as far from doing justice out of love to justice, as heaven is from hell, or as the Pope, the Turk and the Devil, are from being real Saints.