A77608:402
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.
Faith presents all worldly things, as impotent, as mixed, as mutable, as momentary to the soul, and so makes the soul victorious; Faith makes a man to see the prickles that be in every Rose, the thorns that be in every Crown, the scabs that be under every Gown, the poison that is in the Golden Cup, the snare that is in the delicate dish, the spot that is in the shining Pearl, and so makes a Christian count and call all these things, as indeed they are, vanity of vanity; and so the believing soul1 slights the world, and tramples upon it, as dung and dross. Fifthly and lastly, Faith overcomes the world by presenting Jesus Christ to the soul, as a most excellent, glorious, and comprehensive good, as such a good that comprehends ⟨p. 399⟩all good. Christ is that one good that comprehends all good, that one thing that comprehends all things. All the beauties, all the rarities, all the excellencies, all the riches, all the glories of all created Creatures are comprehended in Christ. As the worth and value of many pieces of silver, is connected in one piece of Gold, or in one precious Jewel, so all the whole volume of perfections which is spread through Heaven and Earth, is epitomized in Christ; and the sight and sense of this makes the soul to triumph over the world. Faith presents more excellencies, and better excellencies in Christ, then can be lost for Christ, and so it makes the soul a conqueror. I have been long upon these things, because they are of much weight, and worth, I shall be the briefer in what follows; but before I leave this point, I shall give you these hints.
Faith presents all worldly things, as impotent, as mixt, as mutable, as momentary to the soul, and so makes the soul victorious; Faith makes a man to see the prickles that be in every Rose, the thorns that be in every Crown, the scabs that be under every Gown, the poyson that is in the Golden Cup, the snare that is in the delicate dish, the spot that is in the shining Pearl, and so makes a Christian count and call all these things, as indeed they are, vanity of vanity; and so the believing soul1 slights the world, and tramples upon it, as dung and dross. Fifthly and lastly, Faith overcomes the world by presenting Jesus Christ to the soul, as a most excellent, glorious, and comprehensive good, as such a good that comprehends