A77608:145
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.
The best believer that breaths,1 may have his Summer-day turned into a Winter-night, his rejoicing into sighing, his singing into weeping, his wedding Robes into mourning weeds, his wine into water, his sweet into bitter; his Manna, his Angelsfood into husks, his pleasant grapes into the grapes of Sodom, his fruitful Canaan, his delightful Paradise into a barren and unlovely wilderness. Look as faith is often attended with unbelief, and sincerity, with hypocrisy, and humility, with vain glory; so is Assurance, with fears and doubts. Blessed Hooker lived near2 thirty years in close communion with God, without any considerable withdrawings of God, all that while; and yet upon his dying-bed, he went away ⟨p. 71⟩without any sense of assurance, or discoveries of the smiles of God; to the wonder, and deceiving of the expectation of many precious souls, and without doubt in judgement to wicked men. Look as many a man loses the sight of the City when he comes near to it: So many a choice soul loses the sight of heaven, even then when he is nearest to heaven. Abraham (you know) had assurance in an extraordinary way concerning his protection from God, and yet says3 Abraham, say thou art my sister, for otherwise they will kill me. Ah, how was the freshness, the greenness, the beauty and glory of his assurance wore off, that he should out of slavish fears, expose his wife to other mens pleasure, and himself, and his neighbour to Gods displeasure, that he should wound four at once, the honour of God, his wives chastity, his own conscience, and Pharaohs soul. David, you know, sometimes sings it out sweetly, The Lord is my portion, and the lot of mine inheritance, he is my salvation, of whom shall I be afraid, he is my 4Rock, and fortress, and my deliverer, ⟨p. 72⟩my God, my strength, my trust, my buckler and my high Tower. At other times you have him sighing it out, Why art thou cast down, O my soul, why art thou disquieted in me, why hast thou forgotten me, O God, my Rock, why go I mourning?