A29687:574
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.
Object. 3 Thirdly, But if we should thus press and pursue after holiness, then we must take our farewell of all joy and comfort, of all delight and pleasure, and never expect to enjoy one merry day more, for we observe that there are no persons under heaven, that live such a melancholy, sad, sorrowful, pensive life, as those who press most after holiness, and who make most stir and noise about holiness, and therefore if we should resolve to follow after holiness, we must resolve to spend our days in sorrow and sadness, in sighing and mourning, and this we had as leave die as do, &c.
Object. 3 Thirdly, But if we should thus press and pursue after holiness, then we must take our farewell of all joy and comfort, of all delight and pleasure, and never expect to enjoy one merry day more, for we observe that there are no persons under heaven, that live such a melancholy, sad, sorrowfull, pensive life, as those who press most after holiness, and who make most stir and noise about holiness, and therefore if we should resolve to follow after holiness, we must resolve to spend our dayes in sorrow and sadness, in sighing and mourning, and this we had as leave die as doe, &c.
Now to this grand objection, I shall give these eight answers.
First, It may be thou lookest only on the dark side of the cloud, and not on the bright, thou lookest only on thy left hand, where the mourners in Zion stand, but didst thou but cast an eye on thy right hand, there thou wouldst see many of the precious sons and daughters of Zion rejoicing and triumphing;1 Now thus to look, what is it but to look for a straw to thrust out thine own eyes with. O Sirs, 'tis neither wisdom nor righteousness to look only upon those who mourn, and not upon those that rejoice,