Selected quad for the lemma: father_n
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B01765
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Happiness at hand. Or A plain and practical discourse of the joy of just mens souls in the state of separation from the body. For the instruction of weak Christians, and for the comfort of the afflicated. / By J. B. Rector of Finchamsted in the county of Berks.
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Brandon, John, b. 1644 or 5.
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1687
(1687)
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Wing B4250; ESTC R170761
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60,226
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213
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acute Thalyaeus in Anat. Samosat quaest 2. And whereas some do much urge Luke 1.35 to prove that Christ was the Son of God by reason of his miraculous Conception because 't is immediately added Wherefore also that holy thing that shall be Born of Thee shall be called the Son of God. This I say will not serve their purpose And if from hence they could make such a knot as we could not untie yet that would not make the matter e're the clearer on their side And whether we can search the depth of that sacred Text or no yet we may soon be perswaded that this his miraculous conception was not the chief reason of his being or being called the Son of God. For if so he must have been the Son of the Holy Ghost because this work is peculiarly ascribed to him in the foregoing verse But Christ we are told is the Son of the Father John 2.3 and the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Son Gal. 4.6 2. If Christ was the Son of God on account of his miraculous conception then he began to be so when that began But 't is not so certainly For he was the Son of God long before and was so called Psal 2.7.12 and he had Glory with his Father before the World was Joh. 17.5 He was therefore the Eternal Son of the Father as our Church speaketh on account of an eternal and unspeakable Generation And being a Person of infinite Dignity his Love must needs be of infinite value so that the utmost conceivable kindness of all the Angels in Heaven if they were as many as the drops in the Sea and the Sands on the Shore would be utterly inconsiderable in comparison of His and exceed the Understandings of mortal Men almost as far as it doth their Deservings which by the next Section may farther appear SECT XIV Discovering the Greatness of Christ's Love in what he did and suffered for Sinners That the sense of the love of Christ will be the special matter of the joy of Just Mens Souls after Death will easily be granted and may in its place be farther proved At present I think it my Duty and full enough to my purpose to set forth the greatness of his Love in the great things that he did and suffered for Sinners sake And first I may fitly instance in his taking our nature into unity with his own Divine Person so as to become true and very Man like unto us Sin excepted If St. John so much admired that such as we should be called the Sons of God by Adoption Behold what manner of Love is this 1 John 3.1 How then may we wonder at that Love that moved the Son of God from Everlasting to become the Son of Man in Time What a height of kindness and condescension was that which moved the most High and Holy one to stoop so low for our sakes and Salvation Sure the utmost kindness that the best of Creatures can have towards us in comparison of this Love of Christ is but as a drop to the Sea or as a Mote in the Sun to the whole frame of Nature For let us but think with our selves what a wondrous thing it was that the Son of God should vouchsafe to take our Nature on him and be made in the likeness of sinfull Flesh Rom. 8.3 well may we say in this as the Psalmist doth Lord what is Man that thou art mindfull of him For the Nature of Man that is corrupt with sin and subject to the darkness of the Grave what is this I say to him who is the Light of the City of God and had Glory with the Father before the World was John 17.5 Thus therefore to assume our Nature might seem a matter infinitely below him but that his love thought nothing so And as he took Humane Nature to himself so in it he did those excellent things that expressed the greatness of his Love towards Men and the care he took of their eternal Salvation He came into the World to save Sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 He went about doing good preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and working the most absolute uncontrollable miracles for Confirmation of his holy Doctrine leading them in the way to Heaven by his own blessed example bearing patiently the greatest Slanders and suffering the contradictions of Sinners against himself Heb. 12.3 Overcoming daily their evil with good and inviting them to himself to come unto him that they might have Life And the eminency of his Love and Goodness will be especially visible in the evils that he suffered and voluntarily exposed himself to for the sake of Sinners which being compared with the excellency and innocency of his Person will easily appear to exceed the most enlarged thoughts of Men and Angels As to this therefore I must say with the Apostle who is sufficient for these things And as it was said of old who hath declared his Generation So I may as justly who can declare his Humiliation and Passion and that Sacred Depth of Divine Love that was discovered therein That he whom the Heaven of Heavens could not contain and of whom they borrow their Brightness and Glory should be laid in a Manger and live in Meanness and Obscurity That He who is Rich from all Eternity should in time become poor for our Sakes That He who was the God of Israel the Author and Maintainer of the Water of Life Rev. 22.1 should Himself be subject to Weariness and Thirst and be fain to refresh himself with so weak a Cordial as the Water of Jacob's Well John 4. That He whom the Highest Angels worshipped should be abused by the basest Men be reviled and scorn'd buffeted and spitted on and at last be Crucified between two Malefactours as if he had been the worst of the Three That He who was purer than all the created Inhabitants of the high and holy Place should suffer himself to be tempted to Sin and bear Day by Day the vilest Assaults of the unclean Spirit Math. 4. That He who upholdeth all things by the word of his power Heb. 1. should be weak and faint and in the midst of sorrows give up the Ghost That He who was the Heir of all things and the Son of the Blessed should be deprived of all Comforts and cry out upon the Cross My God my God why hast thou forsaken me and in a word fall under Condemnation and be made a Curse Gal. 3.13 Wonder Christian Reader wonder evermore at that Superlative Love which moved him to do and suffer such marvellous things for such as we Methinks our Hearts should be mightily affected with it and our whole Souls be swallowed up as it were in this blessed and boundless Ocean And because we can know but little of it whilst we live let us be content to dye that our Souls may know it better For certainly the perfect Knowledge and Enjoyment of this transcendent Love of Christ must needs be no less than
of the Righteous and the Wicked They may I grant be alike in their ends but they will not be alike afterwards Though they may die the same kind of Death yet Death will not be the same to both the one shall be a gainer by it and be with Christ which is far better than any condition here the other shall be a looser by it and be in greater misery than any he feared in this World. That which by any means cuts the thread of his Life casts down also all the Pillars of his hope Proverbs 11.7 When a Wicked Man dyeth The Wicked Man's misery after Death his Expectation shall Perish and the hope of unjust Men Perisheth As then he is deprived of all his Wealth and Honour Sport and Pleasure and all that outward good or comfort which here he took any contentment in so his departed Soul will find nothing to supply the want of them 'T is true It hath to doe with God but not in a way of mercy and favour and therefore his presence will not comfort it in the absence of earthly comforts The Spirit says Solomon returns to God that gave it that 's spoken of the Spirit or Soul of Man in general whether good or bad The Spirit of a good Man returneth to God as to a gracious Father the Spirit of a bad Man as to a Righteous Judge and disposer of it And we cannot imagine that the Soul of one that would never return in a holy sense in his life time should return to God in a happy sense when his life is ended For he will recompense him according to his ways saith the Prophet and hath revealed his Wrath against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men Rom. 1.18 'T is said of the unbeliever so continuing that the Wrath of God abideth on him John 3.36 And every ungodly Man we doubt not is an unbeliever in a Scripture sense though he cares not to think so ill of himself And what wonder is it if the holy one shew his high displeasure against the departed Soul of that Sinner that would not Religiously depart from Evil nor was ever reconciled through Jesus Christ Now what a dreadfull case will this be What a terrible taking will a guilty Impenitent Soul be in when it sees it self in the Regions of Eternal Darkness When it hath lost all comforts and comfortable Expectations and shall never see any more good when Money and Lands when Acquaintance and Friends when Time and Hope and all is gone O what deep distress what substantial sorrows will it be filled with when 't is compast about with miseries unchangeable and utterly swallowed up without help or hope in the depths of God's revenging Wrath Consider of it Reader in the fear of God and never let thy Soul be satisfied without that mercy and grace which may fit thee to escape such a fearfull condition 2. It may also keep us from wondring at or at least from stumbling at the troubles of true obedient Christians in this World. They come on them many times thick and threefold as we call it and are so far from moving the careless World to pity them that they expose them rather but too commonly to the utmost scorn and contempt Sometimes also they are ready to Blaspheme on that occasion and say Behold what good doth all their Godliness do them For how miserably do they live and who is there round about that have more sorrows and grievances than many of those that make so much adoe about Religion But assuredly all this will not warrant them to despise Religion or those that love and follow it For besides other considerations that might be urged namely Their remaining sinfulness which maketh the chastisements of their Heavenly Father needfull for them with that most wise providence and Fatherly love that ordereth and limiteth them together with the nature of Sin it self that makes them worthy of more and greater sufferings than in this mortal life they can ever bear Death eternal being the wages of Sin Rom 6.23 I say besides these and the like considerations that may be urged the shortness of their troubles and the certainty of their Souls Happiness after Death may abundantly satisfie them and is more than sufficient to countervail the saddest sufferings of this mortal State as will farther be evinced by the nature and property of that Felicity which in its place with God's Assistance I shall endeavour to explicate SECT X. Being a perswasive to several great Duties THE truth of the present point may be looked on as a true and just ground for Christian practices and 't is great pity but People should be somewhat the better for a point of so much comfort and encouragement to Goodness Here therefore I may fitly endeavour to engage my self and others to the duties following 1. Patience under God's afflicting hand whether by outward or inward troubles Men of ordinary prudence can follow very unpleasant methods of Physick from the meer prospect of that ease and health which they hope in time to find by so doing though none do promise them health much less assure them of the continuance of it How should a Christian then endeavour more and more that patience may have its perfect work when he foresees by Faith that blessed Rest which his Soul shall have after death hath seized upon his Body and hath the word of God to assure him that this happiness shall never end but be compleated at the Resurrection of the just when their wasted Bodies shall forsake their dark Prisons and Shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father Mat. 13.43 He may therefore say with chearfulness as once a worthy Servant of Christ Hold out Faith and Patience for your work will shortly be at an end 2. The Duty of Charity should hence be enforced upon us according to our place and power What if Men be never so unworthy or unthankfull yet Christians should be ready to extend their Charity to them in any reasonable way for the sake of that good God who will do them so much good after death How can they do less than shew forth real compassions on all fit occasions yea towards their very names if they find them wronged therein when they remember their heavenly Father's Love and consider how shortly he will receive their immortal Souls and Crown them with his tenderest mercies 3. Upright living in the general how should this engage a Christian to honour his God what he can and as the Apostle exhorts to do all to his Glory to live by Faith and walk in Love and be ready to every good work For as Samuel said 1 Sam. 12.24 Serve the Lord in truth with all your heart for consider what great things he hath done for you How fitly then may I say to such a one be diligent in thy duty and lead thy life to the glory of that gracious God who will satisfie thy Soul with his glorious