A77608:110
Heaven on Earth
Heaven on earth or a serious discourse touching a well-grounded assurance of mens everlasting happiness and blessedness. Discovering the nature of assurance, the possibility of attaining it, the causes, springs, and degrees of it, with the resolution of several weighty questions. By Thomas Brooks, preacher of the Gospel at Margarets Fishstreet-Hill.Heaven on earth or a serious discourse touching a wel-grounded assurance of mens everlasting happiness and blessedness. Discovering the nature of assurance, the possibility of attaining it, the causes, springs, and degrees of it, with the resolution of several weighty questions. By Thomas Brooks, preacher of the Gospel at Margarets Fishstreet-Hill.
London: printed by R.I. for John Hancock, 1654
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
Secondly, The Lord denies Assurance to his dearest ones, that he may keep them in the exercise of those Religious duties that are most costly, and contrary to flesh and blood, as to mourning, repenting, self-judging, self-loathing, self-abhorring, and self-searching; As that 1 Sam. 16. For these things I weep, mine eye, mine ⟨p. 37⟩eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul, is far from me, Chap. 3. verse 2, 3. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, 1not into light; Surely against me he is 2turned, he turneth his hand against▪ me all the day, verse 17. And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgot prosperity. Now what this sad dealings of God puts the Church upon, you may see in verse 40. Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord: And if you look throughout3 the book, you shall find the4 Church much in self-examining, self-judging, self-loathing, &c. upon this ground, That God had hid his face, and drawn a curtain between him and them, and stood at a distance from them, and would not speak comfortably, and friendly to them.
Secondly, The Lord denies Assurance to his dearest ones, that he may keep them in the exercise of those Religious duties that are most costly, and contrary to flesh and blood, as to mourning, repenting, selfe-judging, selfe-loathing, selfe-abhorring, and selfe-searching; As that 1 Sam. 16. For these things I weep, mine eye, mine ⟨p. 37⟩eye runneth downe with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soule, is far from me, Chap. 3. verse 2, 3. Hee hath led me, and brought me into darknesse,