Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	day_n	earth_n	great_a	11,067	5	3.2684	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10916	The glory and happines of a true Christian A sermon preached by Master Rogers at Needham in Norfolke the 28 of Iune. 1617	Rogers, John, of Chacombe.	1618 (1618)	STC 21186; ESTC S100039	21,430	65

can tell you there will be but a few left behinde But some man may say why doe you thus search into vs of our estates and of the danger of them Why because wee must fanne the chaffe from the wheate And Paule doth bid you try and proue your selues whether you be in the faith or no and if yee be not in the faith yee are no better then Reprobates for ought as yet yee know or wee either But wee see among men how much the backe and the belly is cared for as for the poore soule that is little cared for Wee are combred about many things but few are carefull for that one needfull thing the reason is for few are elected Such as come to heare Gods word should pray that the Lord would raise them from the death of sinne for man nor Angell cannot doe it In the 5 of Iohn The dead shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of God and they that heare it shall liue There be many which liue in the visible Church which shall be damned Desire that thou which art dead in the graue of sinne euen as dead as Lazarus that the Lord would speake powerfully by his word and call thee out of this graue Seeke for the power of sauing grace for it is possible that thou which wert dead maist become aliue and thou that wert a Persecutor as cruel as the Iayler maist becōe humble Thou that wert couetuous as Zacheus maist become liberall Thou that art an Hyppocrite but halfe a Christian as Agrippa maist become a whole Christiā And why not we all of vs once were dead the best of vs drawne from among such as you be Let this then be the day of your rising if ye liue the life of grace yee shall liue the life of glory but if yee go on in that natural course yee shall misse of that glorious life And I speake it from my heart I call heauen and earth to witnesse yee shall be surely damned and the greater shall your condemnation be because the Ministers of God doe now rowse you vp and woe be to the Ministers that daube vp your consciences If you goe on in your ignorance prophane ciuill or hipocriticall courses yee shall surely be damned and this that is spoken this day shall be for your further condemnation because yee were fairely warned but would not take heede or take a faire warning Now touching the second sort of Christians namely such as had receiued from the Lord sauing grace but they were much abated of that they were at the first calling or else sluggish these may be said to be of the second sorts also whereof the first are such as had beene very zealous and forward but now decayed The second sort are those that be drowsie Christians and were neuer much better but stand at a stay Concerning the first sort there be many men that haue beene very zealous in the profession of the Gospell and carefull of good things which be now falne in tempering with the world and into much worldly businesse and follow the fashions and courses of worldlings are much decayed in grace and shamefully falne from their first loue yet this many of these at their first calling were so forward as they could not tell how to be thankefull enough and zealous enough but soone after they grew to be cold in zeale and very carelesse and remisse in the practise of godlines such men in regard of Gods vnchangeable loue cannot quite fall away from the grace they haue receiued yet they doe shamefully dishoner God and giue occasion of scandall and offence to others and bring sorrow and smart to their owne soules and great shame reproach to themselues to other Professors For as a man that hath borne skot and lott as wee say in a towne if he be brought to such a poore estate as that hee is constrayed to take almes of his neighbours it must needes be a great griefe and shame vnto him so is it with these kinde of Christians whereas they should grow forward in the loue of God as the light doth increase after the Sunne newly risen they on the other side grow backeward and this must needes be grieuous vnto God and it openeth the mouth of the wicked to the reproach of their profession and they will say seeing these forward men make a stay of their forwardnesse in their course what neede wee set forward and be so hott in the spirit and they bring a slander vppon the land of Canaan Thus many men when they were young were very zealous in religion and being come to temper and deale in the world then they make a stay of their forwardnesse like vnto a dogge that at the first setting forth runneth swiftly after the game or chase till he meete with a peece of carrion then he standeth and goeth no further And this befalleth vnto these men either because they neglect the meanes as prayer hearing of the word and meditating vpon the same if done yet very carelesly so that their zeale is decayed as fire goeth out for want of tending it or putting fit matter to it to cherish it But indeed the chiefe cause of all this decaying grace is the loue of this vild world which eateth vp all and hindreth greatly the growth of godlinesse Euen as a great high Ash will suffer nothing to thriue that groweth vnder it And this commeth by reason of our plentie caused by our long peace For euerie man almost now layeth about him how to make or feather his owne nest and to prouide store of riches for him and his posteritie And Christians liuing among these worldlings they learne to doe as they doe but if wee had warres euery three or foure yeares and put in feare of the enemie wee would then say what should wee gather so much goods for the enemie to spoyle vs and them But oh what a shame is it for a man once to make heauen his chiefe treasure shall now fall to seeking so greedily after the earth Can God take this well at our hands NO such as doe see are like vnto a man yet hauing a comely woman to his wife shall forsake her and seeke after the company of some vild blouze or base harlot Such cold Christians may well be ashamed when they doe seriously consider what they once were and now what they are fallen into Now for the second sort of Christians which need to be awaked they are such as were euill dull and sluggish in the practise of the duties of godlinesse they hang as it were by the eye lids for they hauing receiued of God a little measure of faith and of sanctifiing grace are content to ioyne with others in good things and company with some of the forwarder sort But their seruice to God is so poore and so cold as it is little worth and indeed the vilde loue of the world eateth vp these two they heare the word but

principally followed Thirdly obserue from these words but a few names that God taketh particular note of the godly and zealous Christians by name and one of them bee better then an hundred drowsie Christians Hee knoweth them by name as he did Noah and Lot Before the destroyer went the Lord caused them all to bee marked on the forehead in Ierusalem that mourned for the iniquitie of the time Now good people labour to bee vpright in heart and though thou be neuer so poore yet if thou art godly the Lord surely hath a speciall care of thee and hee will in the ende take thee vnto himselfe therefore comfort thy selfe in this that God and his holy Angels doe loue and respect thee What though the world and the prophane sort hate thee scoffe and deride thee thou needest not care for it If a man bee loued and gratiously respected of the King and Nobles of the Court what neede he care for the skullery in the kitchin though they mocke and hate him Euen so thou mayest acccunt and esteeme of these vngodly mockers of Gods children though they weare a veluet coate yet they are but as the skullians and in base account before God That haue kept their garments from defiling c. In this the Lord commendeth these few godlie ones in Sardis namely for that they had not defiled their garments which indeede is a borrowed speech For heere is meant that either they had not spotted their soules with contagious sinnes or else stayned and blotted their profession of the Gospell by an vngodly conuersation and of this thing also we ought to be very wary and carefull to bemering or polluting of our garments We know we are to blame yong children if they defile their new clothes Let not vs then which professe the Gospell and thereby to be the children of God let vs not I say staine and blot our holy profession by a wicked conuersation But alack alack there be many who though they haue some goodnesse in them and haue receiued some graces from God yet now and then defile their garment few walke as Zacharie did iustly without reproofe Many heereby giue occasion to the profane to speake euill of the profession of the gospell But let vs consider this God hath giuen vs new garments which wee should not defile If a man had the Kings liuery he would keepe it well and cleane if it were but for the Kings sake that gaue it vnto him It cannot be denied but that a true christian his garments may as it were catch lint that is be soyled with some infirmity but let vs take heede that our garmēts be not defiled that is our profession stained with grosse sinnes as Pride Worldlinesse Impudencie and such like It is a comely thing as can be seene on Gods earth to see a Christian walke answerably to his calling I graunt that many haue slanderous reports raised against them but yet let vs be carefull to giue no iust offence or occasion to the wicked to reproach our profession and to say loe such a one for all his profession he is as much giuen to the world as others or bringeth vp his children as proudly as others And they shall walke with him in white for they are worthy Heere now he commeth to make an excellent promise to sincere and good Christians whom before he had commended which is this that they shall walke with him that is liue with Christ Iesus in ioy and happinesse heereafter which is to be vnderstoode by this borrowed speech of walking with him in white a fit promise to those which in their life time had care to keepe their garments from defiling Such as walke after Christ in holinesse shall walke with him in glory and happinesse This is an excellent promise to them which hold out to the end and an argument to encourage vs vnto this chearefull keeping our garments cleane in this life though it be somewhat painefull and troublesome Who will not be content to indure some crosses take some paines heere to liue godly Seeing such may be assured they shall one day raigne with Christ in glory Let not all the profits of the world or flesh or diuell make vs loose our white garments in heauen that is eternall glory holines happinesse with Iesus Christ there wee shall be paid for all our paines As for those which are vngodly they shall not vvalke in white but in blacke yea they shall goe to the blacknesse of darknesse for that they liued heere to commit the workes of darkenesse they shall partake of the tormēts in the lake of vtter darkenesse where shall be weeping for euer where as they on the other side are blessed that hauing cleane garmēts doe make conscience to keepe them cleane still such shall be sure that their labour shall not be in vaine in the Lord. But let not lazie Christians thinke to haue the like portion of eternall ioy and happinesse as the other sort that be zealous Christiansas before said And as for such as are wholly giuen to walke after their lusts they shall not walke with Christ in white but with the diuell in darkenesse and torment For they are worthy This worthinesse is in regard that they are cloathed with the righteousnes of Christ Iesus But as for the Papists heere is nothing that will make for their meriting by workes for no workes can merit vnlesse first they be our owne secondly they must be perfect in themselues Indeede the wicked they shall haue torments giuen them so they are worthy because their workes are perfectly wicked As for the godly their worthines is onely in regard of Christ his righteousnesse There be many poore afflicted Christiās which thinke they be not worthy to walke vpon the ground yet indeede they are worthy of greater things because they are ioyned vnto Christ and accepted in and for him As for the former fiue sorts of dead ones they are worthy of all paines and plagues yet there is a way for them also to bee freed from that their estate and to become partakers of mercy for if either thou art ignorant or a liuer stil in some grosse sin or a worldling or but a meere ciuill person or an Hyppocrite canst yet bewaile thy sinnes loath them and craue pardon for them in Christ by faith apprehend his righteousnesse then thou maiest bee saued But if the ciuill man or any other stand vpon his own righteousnesse then wilt thou be confounded for such can no more stand before the flaming fire Oh that many men had grace to see into their vildenesse and how wretched they are if they be not cloathed with Christs righteousnesse First obserue if Gods children bee counted worthy of heauen what then shall become of this vilde world that doe iustle Gods children vp in corners or against the wals and hate scorne them A good man loueth them that feare the Lord but in the wicked vilde persons are most regarded