A77608:54
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 fourth ground of my presenting this Treatise to public view, is, that little well-grounded Assurance that is to be found among ⟨image 18⟩Christians; most Christians living1 between fears and hopes, and hanging as it were between Heaven and Hell: Sometimes they hope that their State is good, at other times they fear that their state is bad; Now they hope that all is well, and that it shall go well with them for ever; anon they fear that they shall perish by the hand of such or such a corruption, or by the prevalency of such or such a temptation; and so they are like a ship in a storm, tossed here and there, &c. Now that these weak souls may be strengthened, that these unstable souls may be established, that these disconsolate souls may be comforted, &c. I have presented this Tract to the world, not doubting but that if the Lord shall draw out their spirits to a serious perusal of it, they shall find (through the blessing of Jehovah) that it will contribute very much to their attaining of a full Assurance of their everlasting happiness and blessedness, as also to the keeping and maintaining of that full and blessed Assurance; which that it may, I shall follow it with my prayers.
The fourth ground of my presenting this Treatise to publick view, is, that little welgrounded Assurance that is to be found among ⟨image 18⟩Christians; most Christians living1 between feares and hopes, and hanging as it were between Heaven and Hell: Sometimes they hope that their State is good, at othertimes they fear that their state is bad; Now they hope that all is well, and that it shall go well with them for ever; anon they fear that they shal perish by the hand of such or such a corruption, or by the prevalency of such or such a temptation; and so they are like a ship in a storme, tost here and there, &c. Now that these weak soules may be strengthned, that these unstable soules may be established, that these disconsolate souls may be comforted, &c. I have presented this Tract to the world, not doubting but that if the Lord shall draw out their spirits to a serious perusal of it, they shall find (through the blessing of Jehovah) that it will contribute very much to their attaining of a full Assurance of their everlasting happiness and blessedness, as also to the keeping and maintaining of that ful and blessed Assurance; which that it may, I shal follow it with my prayers.