Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	enter_v	kingdom_n	lord_n	7,476	5	4.1420	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65555	A practical and plain discourse of the form of godliness, visible in the present age and of the power of godliness: how and when it obtains; how denied or oppressed; and how to be instated or recovered. With some advices to all that pretend to the power of godliness. By Edward Lord Bishop of Cork and Rosse.	Wettenhall, Edward, 1636-1713.	1683 (1683)	Wing W1512; ESTC R222295	59,356	200

or even the Possession of heavenly advantages means to blessedness in it constitute no man godly but a confidence in them too often proves a fatal Form of Godliness No man certainly is religious ex traduce by descent no nor by Birth-place or any of those felicities which were his fate not his choice Let us sadly reflect how little good it did them John viii 33. that they could boast themselves to be Abrahams Seed or chap. ix 28. Moses his Disciples that is in our modern language born in the true Church or bred up in the true Faith for such certainly till our Lords coming was the Seed of Abraham and the Doctrine of Moses that they could cry up the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord Jerem. vii 4. that is as we now speak Purity of Ordinances A dreadful Caveat it was of St. John Baptists to this purpose Matth. iii. 9. Think not to say within your selves we have Abraham to our Father for I say unto you God is able out of these stones which lay by the Water-side where he was baptizing to raise up Children unto Abraham In other terms rather than evil men however born of Saints or faithful Progenitors and confident in their Church priviledges shall ever enter into the Kingdom of Heaven God will work Miracles and turn Stones into Men that he may have wherewith to people the heavenly Kingdom So useless a Form of Godliness is a meer Claim to the true Church 6. How many men make a great Figure in the world as to their Religion meerly for having censured others less holy than themselves and forborn their Conversation or withdrawn themselves from their Communion Yet has this also been an old as it is a present Self-deceit In the Prophets time Stand by thy self come not neer to me for I am holier than thou Isai lxv 5. which seems to me undoubtedly alluded to by our Lord in the Character he gives of one of those Gentlemen in his days who stood and prayed I am not as this Publican Luk. xviii 11. A deplorable thing indeed that Pride Vncharitableness and Division the true spawn of Hell should pass for Godliness but so it comes to pass too often However let not Readers censure this in others for they cannot see their Hearts but let them examin each his own Conscience and condemn reform and beg pardon of whatsoever they find thereof in themselves And for as much as there are few sinners so singular in the world whose parallels are not too easily frequently to be found when therefore they humble themselves for this their own Sin let them do what they can to reform and at least earnestly pray to God to reform and pardon it in the Christian world 7. And lastly The most plausible and specious Form of Godliness in the world that which comes neerest and looks likest to true Godliness yet is not it is a fair course of outward and partial Conformity to the Law of God consisting in a good measure of what we usually call Negative Righteousness with the addition of some positive but chiefly bodily Devotions and especially of such particulars of both as may most recommend to the good thoughts and fair esteem of men This was the heighth and noblest pitch of the Pharisaical Virtue As to Negative Holiness says he I am no Extortioner no unjust person no Adulterer nor as the Publican Men of these Characters were infamous and accounted amongst Jews it were to be wish'd they were so amongst Christians unfit for humane society And as to the positive part I fast twice in the week namely Mondays and Thursdays as was the strictest Jews practice J pay tithes of all that I possess Luk. xviii 11 12. not only even to Pot-herbs and Sallating as we have sound already out of St. Luke but as to the meanest sort of Spicery Annise and Cummine Matth. xxiii 23. God forbid we should censure that all who do thus much do no more We may not for we can neither fully know mens secret Practices nor as said at all see their Hearts But let all men examine their own Morals and Religion let them search their Hearts and Consciences There is no man so bad in whom some good nay perhaps some complication and train of good actions is not in one part or other of his life to be found Even Herod observed John Baptist and when he heard him he did many things and heard him gladly Mark vi 20. yet no one ever admired his Saintship And that hopeful young man whom Jesus loved had we will suppose so far as not to be scandulously or notoriously obnoxious observed all the Commandments of the second Table Mark x. 19 20 21. yet lacked so much as never to arrive at the true Love of God or perhaps exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees I say then it is not a fair civil Conversation in the world though accompanied with many acts of Justice and of like moral Virtues no nor with seeming Diligence and Regularity in the outward Worship of God which will set a man beyond a Form of Godliness All these may be where yet the Heart is void of a radicated Belief Fear and Love of God not at all resign'd and given up unto him void of Charity Humility Contempt of this world Heavenly mindedness and the like Qualifications wherein above all Godliness doth consist And therefore these may make up but a Form Image or Appearance of Godliness though the fairest of them all and so far amiable that our Lord as above-mentioned is said to have loved him who had it § 7. Diverse other particulars possibly might be collected and enumerated by which many in the world make out and keep up a Form of Godliness to the utter suppression of the Power of it in themselves and the great prejudice of it in others But these mentioned I conceive the most rife and frequent amongst us and by regard had hereto and parity of Reason an ordinary Judgment will be able to conclude of any other which shall occur That only I would here further admonish and beseech all to remember it that be the Form of Godliness in whatsoever it shall be it also never so far advanced and completed the more to the life this Picture is drawn the more Industry Care and Art there is used in the Colours or working as I may so speak the more odious is it in Gods eyes Where it is in any the issue of their Natural or Providential infelicities and approaches as neer Godliness as such mens state would well admit there it may find some commiseration and may be an alloy to their misery as well as guilt But where it is affected and matter of a studied design there the more artificial it is by so much the more abominable and vile is it 'T is the heighth and complement of all their other Villanies And such persons except Truth it self could Iye shall receive the greater

God at present does for us or however we may for the future flatter our selves nothing but publick Ruin or an overflowing Scourge can be the end of these things I will profess that I cannot think any reasonable person will judge either my Charge or Proof to have been too severe § 7. But I will withal desire that it may be remembred what has now been not seldom suggested that the Design of these Papers is not fruitlesly to accuse and brand the Age much less to gratifie a censorious or ill-natur'd humour in inveighing at any thing unpleasing to me therein but only to stir us all up to judge our selves that we may not one day be judged and condemned of the Lord to awaken such amongst us who have a name that they live but behold they are dead at least to contribute or cast in these poor Mites which were in my hand towards the Healing that Drowsie Evil our Nations labour under in the matter of Religion And whereas in compliance with such design there are but two things that I can think of remaining yet untouch'd namely first to represent how little satisfactory a Form of Godliness should be to any one and secondly to give some Advice for Advancing the Power of Godliness the next Chapter shall treat touching both for the further compleating the whole CHAP. V. Endervours for Redress Sect. 1. The Nature of a Form of Godliness considered is a sufficient Dissuasive from resting in it Sect. 2. Particular Considerations urged to dissuade it Sect. 3. Directions for Asserting Godliness into its Power in private persons Sect. 4. Somewhat may be done as to the Publick Sect. 5. The Conclusion of the whole § 1. FOr the Dissuading men from resting in or satisfying themselves with a Form of Godliness in matter of Religion if men would but be brought to think little more need to be said than has been Some things sufficiently expose themselves meerly to have viewed what a Form of Godliness is a man would conceive to be a sufficient Dissuasive from resting in it I would desire therefore the Reader to recollect or to peruse again and seriously consider what was discoursed in the beginning touching this Subject that a Form of Godliness is made up only of some empty Pretence and bold Claims of some superficial vainglorious and fallacious Practices Let him then think with himself whether he can force himself to love or like a person of such a Character as there represented Is it amiable to be a pretending Smatterer in Religious Knowledge To profess I believe those things to be my Felicity which I know I never concern my self for To pride my self in false Gists To strain at Gnats and swallow Camels To talk of and make a stir about the true Church when really I am of none and perhaps live like an Heathen if not worse And so of the rest Certainly a man that can but get leave of himself to think will soon loath this Character and himself if deserving it But the better to ensure success we will descend to some more particular and if possible more effectual considerations § 2. And first let it be considered a Form of Godliness alters not a man one jot as to his estate God-wards It neither avails him to the justification of his person that is the Pardon of his Sins nor to the Sanctification or changing of his Heart Behold the days come saith the Lord that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised and the reason is added for all the circumcised House of Israel is uncircumcised in the Heart Jer. ix 25 26. And these days undoubtedly are all along the Gospel state under which Circumcision availeth nothing nor uncircumcision but the new Creature Gal. vi 15. or Faith working by Love chap. v. vers 6. which is plainly the Power of Godliness A Form of Godliness then removes not the Guilt of Sin Neither doth it put or work in the man any real Sanctity or spiritual Excellency A man may be in a manner as vitious as the Devil the World and his own Lusts can make him and yet for all that have a Form of Godliness They were so in the place whence we had the Term 2 Tim. iii. 2 c. Lovers of themselves covetous proud Blasphemers Traitors c. yet having a Form of Godliness Now me thinks this is a dreadful and wounding consideration when a man shall descend into himself and see I have been thus and thus long a Professor of the Christian Religion but I am as far from the Pardon of any one Sin through Christ as I was the first day I knew or heard the Name of Christ I am also still a graceless wretch I know my self thus and thus wicked and devoid of all Christian Virtue which yet I have a long time hypocritically and impudently pretended to Can any man who has one grain of the Belief of a God or even of common Ingenuity in him content himself in such an estate Secondly As a Form of Godliness alters not a mans estate here so neither will it operate to any future Reward to him Let a man take never so much pains in the most excellent Practices which can accomplish a meer Form of Godliness and after all he may sit down and say with himself Verily I have my Reward I have all the Heaven I am to look for These were we know our Lords words Matt. vi touching those famous people we have heard so much above of They gave Alms they prayed they fasted all materially great good Works and they took care the World should know all these their Virtues and that they might appear unto men What now was their Reward They did appear men took notice of their Acts and the ignorant generality perhaps believed the Actors to be pretious good men These persons therefore had their end and here was their Heaven Now is this an Heaven any man would be content with would be thus put off as to a future happiness surely we would not Thirdly Whereas it is pretended and indeed is a great Truth that there are some cases wherein nothing can stand us in stead or administer any comfort to us but Religion I say a Form of Godliness in these cases will be so far from affording any comfort that contrariwise the reflecting on it will prove the greatest torment imaginable and even the Beginning of Hell-pains These cases we may conceive chiefly two 1. Any dreadful complication of outward calamities as when Estate Health nay even Friends and those of our very own flesh and blood may fail us as it was with poor Job stript of all Now what had he in that case to comfort him Lord Job x. 7. Thou knowest that I am not wicked And chap. xxiii 10 11. He hath tried me and I shall come forth as gold My foot hath held his steps his way have I not declined Again Chap. xxvii 6. My righteousness I hold fast and