A77608:599
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.
Fifthly, If you would have your1 Assurance strengthened and maintained, then labour to improve your Assurance, improve it to the strengthening of you against temptations, to the fencing of you against corruptions, to the raising of your resolutions, to the inflaming of your affections, to the bettering ⟨p. 584⟩of your conversations. Assurance is a pearl of price, he that will keep it, must improve it. The ready way to maintain our natural strength, and to increase it, is to improve it: So the ready way to maintain our Assurance, and to increase it, is to improve it. Assurance is one of the choicest and chiefest talents that ever God entrusted man with, and he that doth not improve it and employ it, will quickly lose it, &c. God will not suffer so2 golden a talent to gather rust. Win gold and wear gold, improve gold and keep gold; win Assurance and wear Assurance, improve Assurance and keep Assurance. Dionysius the elder, being advised of one that had hidden great store of money, commands him upon pain of death to bring it to him; which he did, but not all; But with the remainder he went and dwelt in another Country, where he bought an Inheritance, and fell upon some employment; which when Dionysius heard, he sent him his money again, which he had taken from him, saying, Now thou knowest how to use riches, take that I had from thee. I shall leave you to ⟨p. 585⟩make the application.
Fifthly, If you would have your1 Assurance strengthened and maintained, then labor to improve your Assurance, improve it to the strengthening of you against temptations, to the fencing of you against corruptions, to the raising of your resolutions, to the inflaming of your affections, to the bettering ⟨p. 584⟩of your conversations. Assurance is a pearl of price, he that will keep it, must improve it. The ready way to maintain our natural strength, and to increase it, is to improve it: So the ready way to maintain our Assurance, and to increase it, is to improve it. Assurance is one of the choicest and chiefest talents that ever God intrusted man with, and he that doth not improve it and imploy it, will quickly lose it, &c. God will not suffer so