Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	further_a	future_a	great_a	14	3	2.1077	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67173	The mourners memorial in two sermons on the death of the truly pious Mris. Susanna Soame, late wife of Bartholomew Soame of Thurlow, Esq., who deceased Febru. 14, 1691/2 : with some account of her death / by Timothy Wright, Robert Fleming.	Wright, Timothy.; Fleming, Robert, 1660?-1716.	1695 (1695)	Wing W3712; ESTC R25216	54,544	137

carryed in a steady current for the most part towards those things that are above which therefore are the Subject of their daily meditation As there is nothing more natural to us than to be thinking much and often upon that which is the great Object of our desire and aim And so they have their conversation in Phil. 3. v. 20. Heaven even while their commoration and stay is yet upon earth 3. It doth further imply a strong emotion of ardent desires and earnest longings of Soul after those great and glorious enjoyments which constitute the happiness of the future state and after whatsoever is antecedently necessary in order to their attainment of a gracious Title unto and meetness for them Desire is that Affection of the Soul whereby it moves towards that which is the Object of its Choice and Love as it rests in Delight when it hath attained to the full possession of it And therefore the heavenly minded Christian in this imperfect state not having yet attained is Phil. 3. v. 13 14. earnestly reaching forth and pressing forward toward the Mark that is before him And so there is nothing in which those Noble Souls that are seriously engaged in seeking for Glory and Honour and Immortality do more frequently or intensely exercise themselves than in constant humble Addresses unto God by fervent Prayer for his Grace in Christ Jesus to fit them for and conduct them through present duty and service unto eternal Glory and Happiness And then 4. It doth in the last place imply a serious diligence and Conscientious care in the use of all divinely-prescribed and appointed means for the improvement of their Spirits in all the excellent habits of Grace and Holiness here in order to their being meetly prepared and qualified in due time for the eternal enjoyment of Glory and Happiness hereafter together with an humble dependance upon the divine Grace implored by earnest Prayer for the making all such means effectually conducive to their proper end Thirdly That which we are to consider in the next place respecting the excellent Character of these happy Persons is the regular Way or right Line in which their Desires move and their Aims are directed towards this blessed Mark and that is a patient continuance in well-doing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Vulgar Latine renders thus secundum patientiam boni operis according to the patience of a good work or to bring it nearer to the words of our Translation by patience in well-doing Arias Montanus renders it secundum permanentiam by perseverance in well-doing and Beza Translates it secundum patientem expect ationem by patient expectation But I think our own Translation is the most full and emphatical of them all putting that together which is severally express'd in them Reading it thus by patient continuance in well-doing therefore I shall adhere to that and so much the rather because I find the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth in Scripture stile signifie both patience and perseverance And I think the Emphasis of it here cannot be better expressed than by putting them both together and so understanding it to signifie patient continuance or perseverance with patience in well-doing Nor do I see any thing in the more immediate context or in the scope of the Text it self to incline me to prefer any other Translation of these words that I have seen before this which we have in our English Bibles And therefore I shall follow in giving you a brief account of the way wherein the Heirs of future blessedness do seek for glory and honour and immortality as it is here described namely by patient continuance in well-doing In which description of it we may easily perceive these three gradations in it by well-doing by continuance or perseverance in well-doing and by patient continuance in well-doing All which I shall speak distinctly to in a few words beginning with the lowest degree first viz. 1. All that do regularly seek for glory and honour and immortality seek them in the way of well-doing which expression being indefinite is to be understood in a very large extent reaching to all the Duties incumbent upon a Christian in this present state For as this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or well-doing doth in the very formal notion of it carry a reference to some Rule by which what is done is to be measured and to which so far as it is well done it doth accord So it must be understood here to have a special reference unto the Gospel or the Law of Faith as the rule and measure of it And therefore this well-doing doth plainly import a steady conformity in a Man's Actions as to the main bent and course of his conversation unto the holy precepts of Christ Jesus lay'd down in the Gospel as the rule and standard of a Christians deportment And so that which is manifestly intended in this general expression is no less than an heedful attendance to all the duties of Christianity or a serious care studious endeavour throughout the whole course of a Mans life to yield obedience to the Laws of Christ and so to walk worthy Col. 1. 10 of the Lord unto all pleasing And being so understood it is so far from excluding that Faith in Christ whereby a sinner doth embrace and receive him according to the Offer of the Gospel as the way to obtain Salvation by him that it doth necessarily include it Forasmuch as this believing is an essential part of that well-doing by which all serious Christians do seek for glory and honour and immortality And therefore our Lord himself doth emphatically call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the work of God It is by well-doing in John 6. v. 29. this comprehensive sense as it takes in both Faith and Good Works in conformity to the Precepts of the Gospel that we must seek for eternal glory and happiness if ever we would obtain it And whosoever they be that seek it any other way either separating the one of these from the other or carelesly neglecting and disregarding both they will find at last that they did herein miserably deceive themselves and put a destructive Cheat upon their own Souls For the Lord Jesus Christ is the Author Heb. 5. v. 9. of Eternal Salvation not promiscuously unto all but only to all those that obey him And therefore he himself also tells us that not every one that saith unto him Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doeth the Will of Mat. 7. v. 21. his Father which is in Heaven 2. A further gradation express'd in this discription of the only regular way of seeking for future glory and blessedness is that it is to be done by continuance in well-doing or by perseverance therein unto the end And this is no less necessary than the former For if any man draw back it will be to his own perdition because God hath declared he will

or at least some tendency to it But then if we cast our eyes forward upon that blessed state that is to ensue upon the back of death we may there see this invaluable blessing actually attained No cloud doth then offuscate the mind and judgment no vanity of thought no perversness of will no irregularity of affections no treachery of Memory no deficiency in duty I say none of all these things is then present to disturb or corrupt the Soul And when the great period of the Resurrection comes perfect health will be also the inseparable property of the Body In order to which it remains in the mean time in the grave in order to purification and preparation for such a state as being even then united to Christ as we see 1 Cor. 6. 14 15. 2. Full Enjoyment of Good True Life is not only inclusive of subjective but of Objective Happiness too And therefore there must not only be perfect Health considered in its notion but the full Enjoyment of Good even of all good and the supreme good But now let us reflect seriously with our selves if this be attainable here But what Are we not absent from the Lord whilst we are at home in the body And is it possible that we can be reckoned to enjoy fully true good whilst we are at such a distance from the supreme good God himself It is true we may enjoy here some tasts of Gods love and favour But these are but some drops compared with the ocean of felicity Do we not here Complain Cry and Lament that we want this and the other good thing We are still craving and never satisfied And therefore it is sufficiently evident that we want many things needful and conducive to make our life truly happy But on the other hand what can be wanting to us when we come to enjoy God fully who is the only necessary Good the only suitable Good and the All sufficient Good O this blessed feast upon the hive of sweetness the ocean of pleasure the Treasure of Happiness upon which the Celestial inhabitants are ever feasting and yet ever full Who can conceive the infinite bounty of the King of Heaven which he there lets out to the wonder and ravishment of Angels and glorified Souls Who can express the joy the satisfaction the ecstasie that sills the thoughts and dilates the affections of those happy Banquetters All tears are now wiped away from the Saints once sorrowful and weeping eyes They have forgotten their former poverty and remember their misery no more O blessed blessed ever blessed they who are now got safe into this banquetting House and who have the banner of love displayed over them to the full O how pure How perfect Are those pleasures which are at Gods right hand What can be thought to be wanting to those who see the face of God and the Lamb for ever and who are admitted to eat of the tree of life that is in the midst of the Paradise of God They thirst no more but are led to the pure fountains of living water that flows from the throne of God In a word we may easily conceive what their abundance and affluence of all things is when we have said that God himself will be to them all in all 3. True Peace and Joy And now what else can be the result and effect of both subjective and objective happiness but undisturbed peace and unmixed joy Which are such blessings as we have only some pledges and earnests of here below For we all know or at least may know what allays these admit of here by troubles and perplexities griefs and fears that constantly attend us and give us sufficient reason to conclude that our rest is not here All our mirth joy and quiet here is fleshly vain and transitory Our laughter is like the crackling of thorns under a pot and oftimes in the midst thereof the heart is sorrowful and the end thereof heaviness And if at any time we are here admitted to the manifestations of Gods love and the sight of his face as a just ground of peace and joy yet how quickly do these remove from us whereby our Sky becomes overcast again with new clouds which return after the rain But if we cast our eyes within the vail we shall perceive true rest peace and joy prepared for the Saints in so much that even Heaven it self is upon this account termed singly peace Isa 57. 1 2. Thete our praises shall be brim full with Raptures of satisfaction joy and gladness 4. The most delightful Place of Abode A pleasant situation is that which adds much to the satisfaction of ones abode here and a delightful seat and place to be in is certainly one of the greatest Conveniences of Life But can any spot of Earth bear this Character in a true and full sense when the very ground is cursed upon the account of mans sin No no we may justly cry out with David wo is me that I dwell in Meschesh and in the Sun scorch'd Tents of Kedar We are here only in a wilderness state And tho' God hath given us many eminent Instances of his wisdom and power in the admirable frame even of this lower Creation Yet alas all these are but the dark shadows of the glorious Lanskip of the upper Paradise For it is Heaven alone that can answer such a Character as being a place wholly made for true pleasure and delight If the Palace of the great God may be thought to be infinitely glorious and admirable above the clay-cottages of those whose habitation is in the dust then let us entertain more suitable thoughts of that so desirable a place Which is such as the heart of man could never conceive any thing to bear any true resemblance unto it the most magnificent representation of it in Scripture Rev. 21. Being only figurative and therefore far short of what it is in it self 5. The most Excellent Company It is Society that Alleviats in a great measure our sorrows and griefs here and makes up the defects of other things And as man is made for Society so there is nothing more desirable than excellent and suitable company But tho' comparatively speaking some such may be found here yet our best company on earth is as other things vain and short of the true Idea of such a blessing The best men are men at best and subject to unruely passions and humours which is a great allay unto their company besides that oft-times sins and scandals miseries and wants render the company of men but little acceptable to one another And if there were none of these things to disturb us yet all men are mortal and can enjoy one a-another but for a short time on earth But then if we turn our thoughts from earth to heaven we find our wishes and desires this way fully answered For there we shall be admitted to converse with the great God himself the most glorious object of delights