A77608:231
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 fourth Impediment that keeps1 many precious souls from Assurance is, their mistakes about the work of grace. Look, as many Hypocrites do take a good nature for grace; and those common gifts and graces that may be in a Saul, a Jehu, a Judas, for a special distinguishing grace, &c. So the dear Saints of God are very apt to take grace for a good nature, to take Pearls of price for stones of no value,2 to take special grace for common grace. Many trembling souls are apt to call their Faith, unbelief, with the man in the Gospel, and their Confidence, presumption, and their Zeal, passion, &c. And by this means many ⟨p. 187⟩are kept off from Assurance. Now the way to remove this Impediment, is, wisely and seriously to distinguish between renewing grace, and restraining grace, betwixt common grace, and special grace, betwixt temporary grace, and sanctifying grace. Now the difference betwixt the one, and the other, I have showed in Ten particulars in my* Treatise, called Precious remedies against Satan's devices, from page 217. to page 230. And to that I refer thee for full and complete satisfaction; if thou wilt cast thy eye upon the particulars, I doubt not, but thou wilt find that profit and content, that will recompense4 thee for thy pains. And this I thought more convenient to hint to thee, then to write over the same things, that there thou wilt find to thy delight and settlement.
The fourth Impediment that keeps1 many precious souls from Assurance is, their mistakes about the work of grace. Look, as many Hypocrites do take a good nature for grace; and those common gifts and graces that may be in a Saul, a Jehu, a Judas, for a special distinguishing grace, &c. So the dear Saints of God are very apt to take grace for a good nature, to take Pearls of price for stones of no value,2