Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	angel_n	glory_n	grace_n	1,893	5	5.0355	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39353	Justifying faith: or, That faith by which the just do live briefly describ'd in a discourse on 1 Joh. 5.12. By the author of a late book, entitled Summum bonum, or, An explication of the divine goodness, &c. To this discourse is added, an abstract of some letters to an eminent learned person, concerning the excellency of the Book of common prayer, &c.	Elys, Edmund, ca. 1634-ca. 1707.	1679 (1679)	Wing E675C; ESTC R204257	23,218	50

by Faith for so the Apostle phrases it in his Prayer for the Ephesians that they might syncerely Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ That Christ sayes he may Dwell in your Hearts by Faith But alas what Stirs and Petulant Controversies have there been and are still continued amongst those that joyntly Profess the Christian Religion concerning the Nature of Faith in Christ of the Faith of GODS ELECT A man can hardly say any thing by way of Description of it but presently up starts one or other with some Argument to Disprove what we say I shall do what I can in Declaring my Sense of it to speak Convincingly and Unexceptionably and therfore I shall pass by all such Descriptions of it as I have found to have been Controverted though I do heartily Approve many of them as Implying the same Truth which I shall endeavour to set forth in these words The Faith we speak of Faith by which the Just do Live Faith that Overcometh the World Faith that worketh by Love is Such an ASSENT to the Truths contained in the Holy Scriptures which includes in its Nature the Trusting in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth for Grace and for Glory through the Merits of the Past Sufferings and the Power and Virtue of the Present Intercession of Jesus Christ His Only Son Our Lord. By Grace I understand Principally All those Measures of Holiness of Purity of Heart of Participation of the Divine Nature which are Attainable here upon Earth and Secondarily whatsoever the Onely Wise God Judges to be the Means of Attaining thereunto By Glory I understand the Full Perfect Eternal Enjoyment of the Holy Blessed and Glorious TRINITY in the Kingdome of Heaven By Trusting in God for Grace and for Glory Through the Merits and Incession of Jesus Christ I understand a Syncere Absolute Expectation from God of whatsoever He Knowes to conduce to our Eternal Happiness that is a Perfect CONFORMITY to Our Blessed Redeemer both in Body and Soul Upon the bare Account of His Promise to Give us Freely whatsoever we shall Ask of Him in the Name of His SON that is to say in a Syncere Beliefe that the SON Being Over All GOD Blessed for Ever did in Time for Us Sinful Creatures to Reconcile Us to the Holy Creator of All Things Take upon Him the Nature of Man Was conceiv'd by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffer'd under Pontius Pilate was Crucifyed Dead and Buried he descended into Hell the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead The Syncerity of this Belief consists in a True and Real Bent or Intention of the Heart to Live no longer unto our selves but unto him that Dyed for us and Rose again But here it may be say'd why do you not mention the Pardon of Our Sins must we not Trust in God for that also I Answer God's Pardoning of our Sins is implyed in the Giving us his Grace in making us Partakers of the Divine Nature in shedding abroad his Love in our Hearts by the Holy Ghost For they that are Partakers of the Divine Nature they that Love God Above All things from whence Necessarily flowes the Loving of Every Man as themselves They are in Christ and Christ in Them And you know the Apostle sayes There is no Condemnation to Them who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8. 1. From the Due Consideration of what has been say'd This most Important Truth shines forth most evidently That we cannot Do any thing Acceptable unto God but only in the Power of the Holy Blessed and Glorious TRINITY and hence it is that the Frequent Repetition of the Gloria Patri that most Excellent Doxologie Glory be to the Father c. And the like Frequent Mention of the Name and Merits of Jesus Christ Our Lord Hence it is I say that these Excellent Passages in Our Liturgie which some Naughty men have call'd Vain Repetitions cannot but be exceeding Pleasing and Satisfactory to All Truly Christian Devout Souls As for those who are still so Mad as to Dislike this Truly CATHOLICK Doxologie they are more Fit for our Pity than our Arguments And let that Pity ever Move us to Pray Our Almighty and most Merciful Father to Draw them out of those Waters of Strife those Loose Variable Turbulent Opinions and to Lead them by His Good Spirit in the Pleasant Wayes of Truth and Peace And now my Brethren Let us seriously Examine our own Hearts and See whether or no we are Spiritually Living or Dead Men. Does the main Stream of our affections Run out not upon the things that are on the Earth but the things that are Above where Jesus sitteth on the Right Hand of GOD Do we find any Rational Contentment and Satisfaction even in the Objects of our Sensible Sorrows in our Sicknesses and Reproaches in ●he Sicknesses and Reproaches of our nearest Friends and Relations or in any other kind of Affliction Certainly he that hath the SON he that Dwelleth ●n Love cannot but Know and Feel that the LORD Our GOD is as constantly GOOD in All that he Does as True in All that He Sayes that ●●her's nothing Absolutely and in its own Naure EVIL but only the Aversion of the WILL of the Creature from the Infinite Wise and Good Creator that All things work together for the Good of those that ●ove GOD and therefore he Rejoyceth in Tribulation and gives Thanks Always for all Things to God even the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ Do we indeed and in Truth Resolve through Christ enabling us to do Always to All men as we Would that in the like Case any one should Do unto Us If so then we begin to Live Then we begin to Satisfie our Immortal Soules which Finite Objects can never in any measure truly Satifie Then I say we begin to Satisfie our Thirsty Soules with the Participation of the Divine Nature with the Real Enjoyment of the Lord Our God who calls Himself the Fountain of Living Waters and He that drinketh of this Water shall never Thirst but it shall be in him a well of Water springing up into Everlasting Life Joh. 4. 14. Here it may be some Unsanctifyed man may say in his Heart but what if I find that I am in a State of Death what shall I doe I cannot give Life unto My self 'T is true Thou can'st not but CHRIST will give thee Life if Thou wilt not Reject it Awake thou that sleepest and Arise from the Dead and Christ shall give thee Light the Light of that Glorious Day that shall never End that Light in which thou shalt for Ever See and Enjoy Him in whose Presence there is Fullness of Joy and at whose Right Hand there are Pleasures for ever more But I am not

are the Rejoycing of his Heart The Perfection he wants c. are not but only in GOD the Fullness of All that he Wants and certainly it is actually Good for him That there is in God whatsoever is Wanting unto him By being Actually in this Divine Temper I mean the exerting of an Act of Divine Love or Adhaerence of the Heart unto God in which Act there is nothing Culpable though there may remain Dispositions in the Heart very contrary thereunto from which it often comes to pass that many of us who are in some measure Sanctified Sink deep into such Impurities of Heart and Mind as we sometimes Fancy our selves Elevated so far Above that there 's no Danger of Falling into them But I can far more easily Describe what it is to be Holy i. e. to be in the Light than Discourse accurately and Clearly of the Works of Darkness He cannot Ask any thing not Agreeable to the Divine Will who Desires nothing but This or in Subordination thereunto that his Will may be Conformable to the Divine Will in All things Whether he Pray Directly and Expresly for Things Temporal or Spiritual he Actuates his Heart in a way of Conformity to the Will of God who Prays as he Ought viz. Asking in Faith which worketh by Love I suppose by what I have already say'd you will perceive that ●n Asking for Holiness we Virtually Ask for Justification or Pardon and the continuance of being c. And when we expresly Ask for these According to the Mind of Christ We Virtually Ask for Holiness or Purity of Heart The Consummation whereof is the Fullness of Life and Glory All Desires of Holiness are Acts of Holiness Consider'd with Respect to their Efficacy to make way for further Acts or Tendencies of Heart unto God The Free Mercy of GOD in JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD is the Root and Principle of all that Good which groweth in Us or if you will in which We Grow the Sense of which is implyed in all Motions ●● the Heart acceptable unto God By Absolutely I mean but what we are to understand by Fi●●● in the Gospel where Our Saviour sayes Se●ye First the Kingdom of God c. i. e. Chiefly an● Principally so as to Ask nothing else but in Su●ordination thereunto and upon Condition if ● may conduce to our furtherance in the Way of Holiness which Lead unto Everlasting G●●ry I do still most confidently Averr that this is most Dangerous Disease of the Soul to Conce●● that any thing can be Directly and in its own Nature the Hind'rance of Our Attainment to farther Degrees of Grace save only the Naughtiness o● Our own Hearts But say you Must we not carefully avoid that which Indirectly hinders also I Answer We must Avoid or Set our Heart against nothing but what we find to be the Will of God Reveal'd in his Word that we should Loath or b● Averse from Any thing which for ought w● know God will bring to pass as to the Deprivin● us of any particular Means of Grace we must endeavour to prevent by all wayes of Duty to God and Man which we Apprehend probable to prove Successfull for the Prevention thereof But we must have a Care that our Heart be Mov'd again this which for ought we know God will effect for the Glory of His Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with Exception as I spake in my last You say the penal withholding of the Operations the Spirit is a Direct Hindrance and in its own Nature If it be True that whatsoever God is the Author ●f can never be in any wise Evil to us but only ●y our Wrong or Perverse apprehensions of it then ● suppose you will grant that this Proposition of ●ours bears no Force against me And whether this be a Truth or no I shall referr you to Consider by taking a Review of what I have already Written of the Divine Goodness And by your most ●erious and unprejudic'd Judgement of what I shall say hereafter in giving my Reflexions on your Animadversions on my saying that Gods Will is the Same with Infinite Goodness c. The Good Lord Lift up the Light of His Countenance upon Us that we may at length attain to the Full Enjoyment of the Way the Truth and the Life I shall here present you some more of my Apprehensions of the IMMENSE Influence of the Divine Goodness upon All and Every Part of the Creation I am Conscious to my self of the smalness of my Abilities to Express such a Truth in any way answerable to the Excellency and Importance thereof But some Sparklings of that Light viz. the Notion I have of the IMMENSITY of the Divine Goodness which from my Youth up has given me far greater Satisfactions than I should ever have had in all the Learning in the World without it some Sparklings I trust you will perceive in these following Lines You say to these words of mine Gods Will is the Same with infinite Goodness Very true but the Question is what that Goodness is I say it is not a Wi● to communicate to Creatures as much Good as he can For then the World had been Eternal c. I Answer that the Goodness of God is Himself the INFINITY of Goodness Wisdom Power of all Excellency and Perfection 'T was not Essential to Him to Create i. e. not necessary for the INFINITY of Being to Produce out of Himself these Finite Essences But they being Produc'd by His Power according to His Wisdom i. e. the Councell of His INFINITELY Good Will 't is Essential or Necessary to His being INFINITE to be ALL in them All. The Divine Power being INFINITE such Expressions as these as many Creatures as God can make c. can in no wise import any Reality to the Understanding To your saying that All Saints and Angels would have the same Degree of Glory I Answer that there is no Want in Heaven no Absence or Privative Not-Being of any Degree of Glory or Communicated Divine Goodness there is nothing but Refulgency of the GLORIOUS DIVINE NATURE That one Creature should be better to It self and to other Creatures is most Rational to conceive it being no way Inconsistent with the Notion of the One Infinite Goodness As for Damnation this I say So far as it imports nothing else but what is of God It is in its own Nature altogether Good It becomes Evil only to those to whom the Infinity of Love is a Consuming Fire There 's nothing Absolutely and in its own Nature Evil but SIN But of all Instances say there 's none that confuies me more than the per●●sion of Sin To this I Answer that by Permision of Sin we must not conceive any thing of which ●e may say It is of God but only His making such ●eatures whose Nature implies a Possibility of ●nning and the continuing them in Being after ●●ey have Sinned There is say you an Higher thing in God which his Goodness