Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n
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A26342
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The earthly and heavenly building opened in a sermon on 2d. Corinthians, Chap. V. Verse 1, at the funeral of the late ... Henry Hurst ... / by Richard Adams ...
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Adams, Richard, 1626?-1698.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing A490; ESTC R20830
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24,177
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34
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〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The EARTHLY AND HEAVENLY Building Opened in a SERMON ON 2d Corinthians Chap. v. Verse 1. AT THE FUNERAL OF THE Late Reverend Minister of Jesus Christ Henry Hurst M. A. Sometime Fellow of Merton Colledge in Oxon. Preached and published at the earnest Desires of his Relatives and People By Richard Adams M. A. sometimes Fellow of Brazen-Nose Colledge in Oxon LONDON Printed for John Weld at the Crown between the Temple-Gates in Fleet Street MDCIC ERRATA PAge 2 line 21. r. Mutable p. 3. l. 2. after as r. in l. 6. in Marg. r. ◠p. 9. l. 24. after of r. a. p. 12. l. 24. r. may p. 13. l. 12. after Disciples r. with this in my Fathers House saith he there are many p. 14 l. 24. r. preserv'd p. 16. Marg. r scibilis p. 17. Marg. r. Emanare To the much respected Mrs. DOROTHY HVRST the sorrowful Widow of Mr. HENRY HVRST late Minister of the Gospel together with his People who desired the Preaching and publishing of this ensuing Sermon THO I am sensible of several Failures in this Discourse which Second Thoughts might have somewhat amended by expunging altering or adding somewhat which came to the Ear Yet that I might not incur more Censures by varying much from what was preached I have altered added or omitted nothing material further than what is requisite betwixt the Pulpit and the Press That what you have made current by your Approbation and Desires may hopefully pass with fewer censorious Remarks To you the disconsolate Relict of the Deceased I heartily wish for the allay of your Grief and composure of your Spirit That you would seriously deliberate upon what that excellent young Gentlewoman in her Day Mrs. Katherine Stubbs said to her Husband on her Death-bed desiring him not to mourn for her upon this strong Reason That she was not in a Case to be mourned for but rather to be rejoiced of for that she should pass from Earth to Heaven from Men to holy Angels Cherubims and Seraphims to holy Saints Patriarchs and Fathers yea to God himself Changing Persons I doubt not but upon the departure of your most pious Son Arthur you have heard your own dear Husband that Righteous Abel as I may allude comforting of you his Wife from the same unanswerable Reason And being Dead he yet speaketh a Heb. 11.4 I pray you hear his Voice Now is the time you should hear his Voice from God As you know the Day before he was summoned hence in his last Sermon He was pressing the People to Day to hear God's Voice If you now stop your Ears and do not mind it his surviving Son and Daughter your dear Children who will yet a while be more led by their Mothers Example than by her Directions will heardly believe their Fathers present Joys I question not but their Father said to You at your last great Mourning as Elkanah said to his Wife Hannah b 2 Sam. 1.8 Dorothy Why weepest thou Why eatest thou not And why is thy Heart grieved Am not I better to thee than Sons Thy Maker is thy Husband the Lord of Host is his Name c Is 54.5 Doth not he say unto you now Am not I better than Ten Husbands Let these dearest young ones know that you really believe it by your cheerful Carriage that when Nature hath had its Course with decencie and they begin to consider what it is to want such an earthly Father as they had they may begin to hope and say Our Heavenly Father will be better to us than Ten earthly Fathers Add not therefore to your sweet Childrens Loss by casting your self into their Father's Grave which you are likely to do if you immoderately mourn over it You know what your excellent Husband's last Lecture at High-gare was as if it sounded his own Knell from Luke 2.29 Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation To you that were of his Congregation and special Charge having in the close of the Sermon urged a steddy Practice of what your worthy Pastor did deliver and recommend to you I shall add little more Yet I would be your Remembrancer of what he recorded in his Sermon at the Funeral of Mr. Cawton as his Words spoken to his People viz. Prize a Guide that will be faithful to your Souls keep the Unity of the Spirit into which you are called by the Gospel and seek God earnestly for both I shall add no more but heartily begg of God That he would take care of the mournful Widow and hers and of the Widowed People And supply all your Wants upon the departure of so obliging a Relative through Jesus Christ the best Husband and chief Shepheard In his Hands He leaves you who looking to Jesus doth commend you all to God and to the Word of his Grace which is able to build you up and give you an Inheritance among all them which are Sanctified d Act 20.30 Your Souls Friend and Servant in our dear Lord Christ Richard Adams April 24. 1690. 2. Cor. Chap. v. Verse the 1st For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a Building of God an House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens THE very First Particle in my Text doth introduce it as a Confirmation of that the Apostle had last asserted in the precedent Chapter wherein he shews how far the Reward of the sincere Ministers and Members of Christ doth surpass their Suffering Having premis'd a distinction of the inward and outward Man which last when adorn'd with a Saints Eye aims not at the things which are seen they are but temporarie and so lye under a disparagement but at the things which are not seen they are eternal and so most desirable as may by a due comparing of Circumstances further appear from that Two-fold Prospect which the quick sighted Apostle doth present to our View in the Words read Wherein we have The STATE ACT of a Believer Cognitum Cognitio 1. The State or Thing known of a true Believer who hath a double Residence one at Present another Future one here another hereafter one above another below One visible which is the Object of the bodily Eye and seen by it the other invisible which is the Object of the spiritual Eye not seen by the Eye of Sense but only by the Eye of Faith And therefore by a Metaphor drawn from Architecture the believing Soul comes under our Consideration As in her LOWER and VPPER Habitation In the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Former is called an House of the same Nature and Structure with that of Unbeleevers The Latter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Building of another nature a more stately Structure proper to the Saints The First is no other than the organized Body unto which the Soul is at present united As e're while the Corps of our deceased Friend
but as he hath appointed it for his more peculiar Pallace to be more glorious than the rest for his more especial Residence This he hath ordained for the chief Seat of his Kingdom which no Soul enslaved to Satan shall ever see or enter into until he be regenerated by the Holy Spirit Into this Holy of Holies which the glorious God did design for his own Chamber of Presence no unclean thing can be admitted Again as it is described from the Author so from 2. The Nature and Composure of the Fabrick which is not made with Hands of no humane Artifice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but of a transcendent spiritual Nature infinitely surpassing in the framing of it the rarest Mysteries that all the most skillful handi-crafts Men in the World can devise being like that other Work of Gods immediate Power for Christ Tabernacling here below l Heb. 9.11 As the Subject which is made fit for it is to be circumcised with the Circumcision made without Hands m Coll. 2.11 i. e. spiritual and not seen so was this goodly Fabrick framed and modell'd by God himself in a most spiritual and glorious way far above the reach of our finite Apprehensions according to the Counsel of Gods own Will Again it is described from 3. The duration or strength and lastingness of it The stability and firmness of a building doth exceedingly commend the excellency of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 now this is a Building made to last for ever 'T is without end as well as without hand It was prepared from the Foundation of the World n Matt. 25.34 and it will last when this World is ended 'T will never go to decay or ruine when all tears are wiped away from our Eyes we shall see this Prospect will never grow less Glorious throughout the days of Eternity which may more easily be conceived if we consider how it is describ'd from 4. It s Scituation aloft far above the narrow sight of any mortal Eye in the Heavens which do much surmount 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in dignity the Skie ennamel'd with the Stars that we cast our Eye upon even there where the Empyrean seat of glory the Chair of State and Throne of the most high God is Thus having view'd the Twofold State of a Believing Soul so far as the Text makes a discovery which was The thing Known of a Believer I am now breifly to unfold Secondly The Knowing act of a Believer we know St. Paul was not dubious about his future blessed State 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but he and other believers excercising of their Faith on sure grounds were fully perswaded of possessing that building they had an interest in Here 's a prospect excells all other here 's the Royalty of sight He doth not say our Opinion is we shall have but noting the certainty considering the Principles of Faith on which He did proceed taking in others with himself saith He as confidently as if it had been a thing known by a Mathematical demonstration we know we have which is as certain as if we were in posession of an Heavenly habitation Our Apostle also hath the same word Originaly refering to future retribution concerning Servants as well as Masters o Col. 3.24 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance and that ye also have a Master in Heaven Here He asserts Believers assurance of an interest in that state by the earnest desires after it which are wrought in their Hearts by the Holy Spirit Having with what convenient brevity I could Explained the words I might easily from the Context the Contexture of the words themselves and the Particular Materials merion'd under each part commend unto you very many Observations But I shall only pitch upon Three viz. Two from the Twofold State and one from the Act of St Paul and other Believers Observ 1 1. Our estate in the Body is Corruptable Mutable and Dissolvable Even believers here in this life do stay but a while in an earthly tabernacle which must be pull'd in pieces We see this is evident from the first Prospect that the Apostle gives us of his own and others Condition in this present World being common with all Men David would have it very seriously thought on by us that Verily every Man at his best State is altogether Vanity and therefore He prays for himself as every one of us should do not in impatiency but with piety Lord make me to know mine end and the Measure of my days what it is that I may know how frail I am p Ps◠9. i.e. Practically to Consider the days of our Pilgrimage and our fleeting condition as good old Jacob did and Eliphaz told Job that these houses of Clay are destroyed or beaten to pieces from Morning to Evening and so perish without any regarding q Job 4.19 20 Oh! that we were perswaded now to regard it But I am afraid too many even whiles I am treating upon this Theam are saying in their Hearts this is nothing but an old beaten Subject we have often heard of and slight the benefit they might gain by a Practical Consideration of this necessary point Which is so clearly evident from Experience and the Epithets given to Mans life 1. From most ample Experience for above 5000 years publish'd by all sorts of Men who have Complain'd of their weak Constitution and Helpless Condition And no Contribution of Creatures could free them from Disolution 1. Their meak Constitution we have had Scriptural Experience already attesting and might produce many more insances that in our whole frame and every bodily part ve are Corruptible Variable and Disolvable The Building cannot be stable and durable if all the Materials be roten and perishable and therefore saith Job r Job 6.11 What is my strength that I should hope and what is mine end that I should prolong my Life And elsewhere s 〈…〉 17 1◠I have said to Corruption Thou art my father to the Worm Thou art my mother and my sister And where is now my hope Alas Man is but a piece of brittle Earth nearly made up Terra fri◠bilis that is ready continually to crumble in pieces and moulder away Yea and by reason of the union since the poyson of Sin hath spread it self into every part and faculty even the Soul and Spirit suffers whilst it stays in this House by reason of it's Crasiness and when the Soul hath left this House then the strewing of the most Fragrant Flowers will not long countervail the noisome scent of its Corruption and notwithstanding the sweetest Embalmings the Coffin wherein it is laid is lined with an unsavory Corps 2. Experience further acquaints us with Mens Complaints of their Helpless Condition shewing that they have no strength to support their Tottering House but every little thing doth not only trouble them in it but also