A77608:30
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, Make a speedy and a thorough1 improvement of all opportunities of grace and mercy, sleep not in Harvest time; trifle not away your Market hours, your golden seasons, you have much work to do in a short time; you have2 a God to honour, a Christ to rest on, a Race to run, a Crown to win, a Hell to escape, a Heaven to obtain; you have weak Graces to strengthen, and strong Corruptions to weaken; you have many Temptations to withstand, and Afflictions to bear; you have many Mercies to improve, and many Services to perform, &c. Therefore take hold on all opportunities and advantages, whereby you may be strengthened and bettered in your noble3 part. Take heed of crying cras, cras, tomorrow, tomorrow, when God saith, to day if you will hear my voice harden not your hearts. Manna must be gathered in the morning, and the orient pearl is generated of the ⟨image 8⟩morning dew. It is a very sad thing for a man to begin to die, before he begins to live. He that neglects a golden opportunity doth but create to himself a great deal of misery, as Saul, and many others, have found by sad experience. He that would to the purpose do a good action, must not neglect his season. The men of Issachar were4 famous in Davids account for wisdom, because they acted seasonably and opportunely. God will repute and write that man a wise man, who knows and observes his seasons of doing. Such there have been, who, by giving a glass of water opportunely, have obtained a Kingdom, as you may see in the story of Thaumastus and King Agrippa. 5Time, saith one, were a good commodity 6in hell, and the traffic of it most gainful, where for one day a man would give ten thousand worlds if he had them. One passing through the streets of Rome, and seeing many of the women playing and delighting themselves with Monkeys and Baboons, and such like things, asked whether they had no children to play and delight themselves with? So when men trifle away their precious