A77608:312
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.
These things being premised, see now what gift of God there is in thee, that brings thee within the compass of the promise of Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness; and to help you a little ⟨p. 284⟩in this, I shall put you in mind of these following particulars.
These things being premised, see now what gift of God there is in thee, that brings thee within the compass of the promise of Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness; and to help you a little ⟨p. 284⟩in this, I shall put you in minde of these following particulars.
First, Faith is a gift of God that brings the soul within the promise of Everlasting Blessedness, as the Scripture doth every where evidence, He 1that believes shall be saved; he that believes, shall not come into condemnation, he shall not perish, he shall have eternal life, &c. Now believing is nothing else, but the accepting of Christ2 for thy Lord and Saviour, as he is offered to thee in the Gospel; and this accepting is principally (if not only) the act of thy will; so that if thou art sincerely and cordially willing to have Christ upon his own terms, upon Gospel terms, that is, to save thee, and rule thee, to redeem thee, and to reign over thee, then thou art a Believer, thy sincere willingness to believe, is thy Faith; and this gift brings thee within the compass of the promise of Eternal Happiness, and Blessedness. Christian Reader, in the following Discourse thou wilt find the nature, the properties, and the excellencies of a found saving Faith, clearly and largely laid open before thee; and therefore ⟨p. 285⟩I shall say no more to it in this place, but refer thee to what follows.