A77608:509
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.
Verily, Jehovah loves to see every one of his Petitioners to come to him with a steadfast Faith, and not with a trembling Hand. Christ gets most glory, and the Soul gets most good, by those Prayers that are accompanied with the actings of Faith.
Verily, Iehovah loves to see every one of his Petitioners to come to him with a stedfast Faith, and not with a trembling Hand. Christ gets most glory, and the Soul gets most good, by those Prayers that are accompanied with the actings of Faith.
Thirdly, To pray in a right manner, is to pray intensely, fervently, earnestly. So Jam. 5. 16. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much; 1or as the Greek hath it, The working Prayer; that is, such Prayer as sets the whole man a work; the word signifies, such a working as notes the liveliest activity that can be. As Physic kills the body, if it work not; so doth ⟨p. 494⟩Prayer the soul, if it be not a working-prayer. As a painted fire is no fire, a dead man no man; so a cold prayer is no prayer: In a painted fire there is no heat, in a dead man there is no life; so in a cold prayer there is no omnipotency, no devotion, no blessing. It is not cold, but working prayer, that can lock up Heaven three years, and open Heavens gate at pleasure, and bring down the sweetest blessings upon our heads, and the choicest favours into our hearts. Cold Prayers are as Arrows without heads, as Swords without edges, as Birds without wings, they pierce not, they cut not, they fly not up to Heaven: Cold Prayers do always freeze before they reach to Heaven. So Jacob was earnest in his wrestling with God. Let 2me alone, says God: I will not let thee go, except thou bless me, says Jacob. Jacob, though lamed, and hard laid at, will not let the Lord go without a blessing: Jacob holds with his hands, when his joints were out of joint; and so as a Prince prevails with God. Jacob prays and weeps, and weeps