A77608:388
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 first Property of that Faith1 that accompanies Salvation, is this, It puts forth it self into vital operations, it makes a man full of life and activity for God; it will make a man diligent and venturous in the work, and ways of God. Faith is a most active quality in it self, and so it makes a Christian most active; it is a doing thing, and it makes the person doing, Faith will not suffer the soul to be idle; Faith is like the virtuous Woman in the last of the Proverbs, who put her hand to every work, who would suffer none of her Hand-maids to be idle; Faith puts the soul upon grieving for2 sin, upon combating with sin, upon weeping over sin, upon trembling at the occasions of sin, upon resisting temptations that leads to sin, upon fighting it out to the death with sin: ⟨p. 377⟩Faith puts a man upon walking with3 God, upon waiting on God, upon working for God, upon wrestling with God, upon bearing for God, and upon parting with any thing for God: Faith makes Religious duties to be easy to the soul, to be delightful to the soul, to be profitable to the soul: Faith makes the soul to be serious and conscientious in doing, to be careful & faithful in doing, to be delightful & cheerful in doing, to be diligent and faithful in doing.4 That faith that is not a working faith, is no faith; that faith that is not a working faith, is a dead faith; that faith that is not a working faith, is a deluding faith; that faith that is not a working faith, is a worthless faith; that faith that is not a working faith, will leave a man short of Heaven and happiness, in the latter day. Faith that accompanies Salvation, is better at doing, then at thinking, at obeying, then at disputing, at walking, then at talking. Tit. 3. 8. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God, might be careful to maintain good works. Faith will make a man endeavour ⟨p. 378⟩