Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	great_a	lord_n	power_n	7,329	5	4.8289	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95842	An antidote against sorrovv, in order to the obtaining of sanctified joy. An excellent treatise first written in French by N. Vedelius, then translated into Latine by Gallus Pareus, and now into English, by Cadwallader Winne, M.A.	Vedel, Nicolaus, 1596-1642.; Winne, Cadwallader, b. 1622 or 3, translator.	1650 (1650)	Wing V167; Thomason E1421_1; ESTC R209478	59,453	229

fatherly affection and so more base and worser than earthly fathers God forbid for even as he is more infinitly perfect than those so for goodnesse and bountifulnesse towards his children hee infinitly surpasseth them Our Saviour tearmes our earthly fathers evill for that sometimes they forsake their children make them mischievous and bring them to destruction but there is not this nor any such vitiosity in God he being goodnesse mercy and love it selfe so that howsoever a woman may forget her sucking infant yet God cannot his children whom he hath graven upon the palmes of his hands The greatnesse of his paternall affection is herein evident that hee so loved the world the world I say which had so many manner of wayes offended him that hee gave his onely begotten sonne Joh. 3.16 He that spared not his owne sonne but delivered him up for us all how shall hee not give us all things Rom. 8.32 Moreover hee is not onely a father of that goodnesse whereby willingly he hath care of thee but his will is conjoyned with power so that hee can provide necessaries for his children Neither may hee bee resembled to those earthly fathers who oftentimes verily are altogether willing to succour the necessity and misery of their children but being destitute of meanes cannot bring their will to effect wherupon oftentimes a most loving father is constrained to behold his child expiring and perishing but cannot help him or being certified of the misery of his child living elsewhere from him cannot succour him or which is more he is oftentimes ignorant of the state of his child he is so farre off from relieving him The case is farre otherwise with our heavenly father for hee is God and therefore most wise who is acquainted with all our necssities takes notice of all our banishments and puts our tears into his bottles your heavenly father knoweth that yee have need of all these things Matth. 6.8 If the devill and world imagine any thing against thee he knows long before their machinations for he penetrateth the deepest thoughts Hee is acquainted with such meanes as tend to thy comfort conservation and deliverance hee overseeth and ordaines things or ever they exist hee can extract good from evill and of darknesse create light he is omnipotent for by the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the hoast of them by the breath of his mouth for he speaks and whatsoever is is done hee commandeth and it stands fast Psal 33.6.9 he preserveth and ordereth all the creatures insomuch that they cannot move without his permission and will The sea earth and all that therein is depend upon his beck he healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds hee telleth the number of the starres and calleth them all by their names Great is our Lord and of great power his understanding is infinite The Lord lifteth up the meek hee casteth the wicked downe to the ground Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving sing praise upon the Harpe unto our God who covereth the heavens with clouds who prepareth raine for the earth hee sendeth forth his commandements upon the earth his word runneth very swiftly hee giveth snow like wooll hee scattereth his hoare frost like ashes hee casteth forth his ice like morsels who can stand before his cold hee sendeth forth his word and melteth them he causeth the wind to blow and the waters flow Psal 147.3,4,5,6,7,8,15,16,17,18 Wherefore seeing thou hast such a gracious powerfull father wilt thou doubt he will not bee carefull of thee and will not and cannot further thy imployments In the second place I would have thee consider what great care hee took of thee hitherto how he hath till this present houre governed thee by his providence nourished cherished conserved preserved thee from innumerable evills and rid thee out of a great many dangers and afflictions how often and how many manner of wayes hast thou had experience of his benevolence as we have declared especially in the preceding chapter say then to thy selfe hee that hitherto hath beene carefull of me yea before I came into this world even hee will care for me for the future and as hitherto hee hath not forsaken mee so hereafter hee will not be wanting unto mee I would have thee consider further what manifold benefits hee hath bestowed upon thee even before thy conversion when thou wert under the dominion of sinne a sworne enemy unto God and child of wrath so that thou couldst hope for no other than punishment instead of benefits and curses instead of blessings yet notwithstanding he hath really testified unto thee how gracious his goodnesse is and that hee maketh his sun to rise on the evill and on the good Matth. 5.45 How much more carefull will hee be of thee in providing thee all necessaries since thou art received into his grace and made partaker of that honour whereby thou art one of the number of his sonnes and consequently a brother and friend of Jesus Christ and since thou walkest in his feare and indevourest in thine infirmities to be conformable to his will hating thy sins and addicting thy selfe to his service And verily Gods children are continually tried in their adversities strengthning themselves in the hope of future things by such things as are past whereof the kingly Prophet David affords us a notable example to wit in the 27. Psal for considering with himselfe in times past how that God had delivered him from the hands of all his enemies he is confident and fully perswades himselfe that God will continue for the future and always his favour and succour towards him When the wicked even mine enemies and my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh they stumbled and fell Though an hoast of men were laid against me yet I will put my trust in him Psal 27.3 But if thou shouldst indure some unheard-of miseries which experience could not paralell thou shouldst then have some reason of doubting and diffidence in that which concernes thee but since thy owne experience can prove this to be otherwise thou shouldst in no wise doubt of his divine providence for the future and of his fatherly care of thee for the present But what doe I multiplie words touching his providence which is cleerly seene in thy behalfe the great husbandman extendeth his care even to the least creatures to their profit good and conservation and provideth them all necessaries hee giveth fodder unto the cattell and feedeth the young ravens that call upon him Psal 147.9 O Lord thou savest man and beast Psal 36.7 all these wait upon thee that thou mayest give them meat in due season Thou givest it them they gather it and when thou openest thy hand they are filled with good Psal 104.27.28 How much more carefull will hee be of thee Thus the Lord himselfe teacheth us to reason behold the foules of the aire for they sow not neither doe they reap nor gather into barnes yet your heavenly

to wit Job worthy our observation of all these afflictions so wee have a lively representation of the faithfull mans triall in the wrastling of Jacob the patriarch who after hee had valiantly strove all night and obtained the victory and his soule delivered I have seen God saith hee face to face and my life is preserved Gen. 32.20 O most wonderfull combat where the assailant and defendant is the very same where the conquerour and the party conquered is the very same and where the conquerour gives the glory to the party conquerd which is also given to the conquerour where the party conquered is as a King ruling and commanding and the conquerour is as an humble servant obeying him The third and last sort of the afflictions of the godly is martyrdome which comprehendeth all such afflictions as the faithfull man suffereth and sustaineth for the constant profession of celestiall truth as banishment imprisonment stripes torments losse of goods and especially death it selfe And this sort of afflictions containes in it more good things and commodities than the former for besides the joyfull end that it hath common with chastisements and trials by the promise of Christ who saith blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousnesse sake for theirs is the Kingdome of heaven Matth. 5.10 Besides this I say God honoureth the faithfull witnesses of his truth with more prerogative in that hee promiseth them above others a greater measure of reward in his heavenly kingdome and therefore he saith not onely such as endure persecutions have a reward in heaven but he addeth also this Great is your reward in heaven whereby he implies some singular glory which the Martyrs enjoy in heaven Hither that of S. Paul is to be referred our light which is but for a moment worketh for us farre more exceeding and eternall weight of glory 2 Cor. 4.18 for albeit this sentence may bee applied to the two former sorts of afflictions which procure also eternall life yet the Apostle here especially speaks of those afflictions which he and the rest of his faithfull associats suffered for the word of truth Moreover these sufferings have Gods notable promise of the benefits of this life also Verily I say unto you saith Christ there is no man that hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the Gospells but hee shall receive a hundred told now in this time houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecution and in the world to come eternall life Mar. 10.29,30 This promise in some of the faithfull is literally fulfilled God oftentimes bestowing upon them farre more good things honours and commodities than they were deprived of for the acknowledgement of his truth whereas in others it takes effect by equivalence for it is most manifest that all the particles thereof are not literally to be fulfilled As for example sake if one instead of his father or mother or sonne should obtain thousand fathers mothers c. they reap then the fruit and verity of this promise when they receive things of equivalent or better value to the things promised and that with persecution that is to say though they want and are deprived of these earthly commodities which happens when the faithfull man is most assured of his adoption and consequently of heavenly inheritance which is farre more excellent and better than all riches and rewards and indeed is the onely reward worthy to be given of God and received of the faithfull Hence it is that he is capable to know that all the riches of the world are his by the right of adoption as being the child of God and designed to Lord it over all the creatures howsoever they be conferred upon him according to meane and measure even as his tutour and physician yea his heavenly father knowes it to be expedient and conducible Hee is assured also of Gods providence and most fully perswaded in himselfe that hee hath therein an unexhausted fountaine and oile that will never faile for hee believes his word to be most true seek ye first the Kingdome of heaven and his righteousnesse and all these things shall be added unto you Matth. 6.33 He that spareth not his owne sonne but delivered him up for us all how shall hee not with him freely give us all things Rom. 8.31 Such joy attends this certainty of salvation in him as surpasseth all the riches of this world for godlinesse with contentment is great gaine 1 Tim. 6.6 which vertuous contentment gives cleerer and brighter lustre by comparing it with its contrary in them which willingly would suffer not any thing for Gods truth but turne their backs thereunto renouncing Christ for in the midst of their abundance of the goods and honours of this world by the just judgement of God they are not contented with their owne condition but are tossed with most grievous perturbations by reason of the torments of their conscience which will sooner or later awake Adde hereunto this benefit to wit the honour which God imparteth unto such as have constantly suffered for his heavenly truth for what great honour is it I beseech thee that the King of Kings vouchsafes to call a miserable terrestriall worme to be a witnesse against his enemies that accuse him of falsehood to plead his cause and defend his honour what great honour is it to be received and enrolled into the Colledge and society of the Prophets Apostles and that grand cloud of Martyrs that have suffered for his heavenly truth yea what great honour is it to be a companion of Jesus Christ the Prince of our salvation who was consecrated through afflictions to be cloathed with the same rayment and weare the crowne of thornes with him and so to bee conformable unto him and alwayes to beare about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body 2 Cor. 4.10 What great honour doth Christ vouchsafe us also in taking our afflictions to be his when as he saith that our persecutions and sufferings are the residues and reliques of his afflictions and markes what honour is it to be chosen of God as a great Emperour or warlike Commander to besiege with a strong Army a certaine City for which purpose hee electeth not dastards or cowards but most generous and valiant men so that these sufferings are publique testimonies of our valiancy and royall charters whereof wee may glory with the Apostle who saith most gladly will I glory in my infirmities that the power of God may rest upon me 2 Cor. 12.9 what great honour is it to fight in the sight of the King of Kings who is president and overseer of the combat and distributes crownes what great honour is it to be such a wonderfull instrument as God useth to increase his Church the bloud and afflictions of the Martyrs being the seed of the Church which

Orthodox Religion rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven Mat. 5.12 but rejoyce inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christs sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed yee may be glad also with exceeding joy if ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are yee for the spirit of glory and God resteth upon you on their part he is evill spoken of but on your part he is glorified 1 Pet. 4.13,14 shew thy selfe to be a Disciple of the Apostles who being for the confession of Jesus Christ beaten with rods went away rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name Act. 5.13,14 and by Saint Pauls testimony did glory in tribulations Rom. 5.3 Imitate the Saints among the Hebrewes who did take joyfully the spoiling of their goods knowing in themselves they had in heaven a better and more enduring substance Heb. 10.34 Neither doth it only become thee in afflictions to be joyfull but thankfull unto God who by this means offers thee many good things and acts the part of a Physician or Benefactor Say therefore with Job who had exactly learned this lesson and wherfore he gave God thanks in the midst of his afflictions when thou art deprived of some earthly commodity The Lord gave the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord Job 1.21 To the end thou mayest be joyfull and thankfull unto thy heavenly father consider forthwith those most excellent and unspeakable good things that are in afflictions and thereby redound unto thee view their consummation and glorious end and say to thy selfe O what gracious benefits through afflictions I have obtained which God sends upon mee by means whereof ones outward man perisheth yet the inward is renew'd day by day 2 Cor. 4.16 Say therefore for example God deprives me of my child thereby to make me tread more constantly the path of Gods children hee hath taken away my father or mother that instead of him he may be my father for ever and be more carefull of mee than awoman can be of the fruit of her wombe hee is willing I should have experience of the perfidiousnesse of my friends that I may enjoy his eternall love It is his pleasure I should be deprived of authorities dignities and honors that I may obtaine the honour to Lord it over all the creatures I am driven to poverty that I may possesse that heavenly inheritance I am detained in prison that I may obtaine that freedome that the son of God hath purchased for me I am banished that I come to my heavenly countrey I am deformed and maimed in body that I may grow to a perfect man according to the stature of Christ and that this corruptible body may be cloathed with incorruption I die now to live eternally And what are all the afflictions that thou sufferest or couldst endure if either thou considerest their quality or duration compared with those inestimable good things which they carry with them Consider and meditate diligently thou devout soule upon these things being in affliction which now affects thee with sorrow in so doing thy water shall be turned into nuptiall wine thy sorrow into mirth and joy so thou shalt taste how sweet the Lord is though hee seemes to thee at the first blush or appearance rigid yet thou shalt discerne the rod of our heavenly Jonathan who wrought so great salvation in Israel to bee dipped at the end therof in an hony combe which will enlighten our eyes refresh our hearts teach our hands to warre and make us more than Conquerours so that thou shalt find that Saint Paul said not without cause Rejoyce evermore 1 Thess 5.16 forasmuch as not only the time of prosperity but of adversity yieldeth matter of rejoycing CHAP. VII The seventh and last ground or reason is drawne from the condition of the faithfull man in this world which consisteth herein that hee is a traveller journeying into his countrey IT is manifest by the third reason above-mentioned that even as sinne expelled thee out of Paradise and banished thee from heaven thy countrey and first place of abode so thou art solely by Gods grace called back from banishment and invited to returne to thy Countrey Hence it followeth that during this life thou art in a continuall pilgrimage whose limit or end is heaven and eternall happinesse This world then is not thy dwelling place and countrey but a place of pilgrimage and banishment so that thou mayest say with David I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were Psal 39.12 And againe I am a stranger in the earth Psal 119.19 why art thou then so sorely troubled and of a dejected mind whensoever thou art smitten with adversity it grieves thee that all things fall not out according to thy mind but art thou ignorant thou art a travelling so that it cannot be that all things should happen as thy heart could wish for either thou must endure the discommodities of the way or not enter into it and consequently never come to thy countrey One of these conditions thou must chuse there is not a third I say againe thou must endure them or obstain wholly from travelling If thou beest a traveller as verily thou art be of a couragious spirit in afflictions for that which thou now endurest shall not be perpetuall nor shall last longer than thy journey What traveller is there which will not endure the discommodities of his way and asswage them with these or the like meditations that upon the accomplishment of his journey they shall cease and hee be freed of them as soone as hee comes home Consider further that howsoever thy journey be grievous it is but short If the dayes of thy pilgrimage will be as many as the dayes of Iacob's the Patriarch to wit a 130 years yet neverthelesse thou mayest say with him The dayes of the years of my pilgrimage are few and evill and have not attained unto the dayes of the yeares of the life of my fathers in the dayes of their pilgrimage Gen. 47.9 And when thou hast finished thy course which will shortly come to passe all afflictions and the matter of all sorrow shall cease thou hunger no more neither shall the Sun light on thee nor any heat for the Lambe which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed thee and shall lead thee unto living foun●aines of waters and God shall wipe away all teares from thine eyes Rom. 7.16,17 Since thou ●rt a traveller in this world and ●hat thy countrey is not here be●ow there is no place therefore in ●his world whence if thou beest ●riven thou mayest say thou art in ●anishment Neither doe thy ri●hes by the same reason consist in ●ome earthly glebe in houses fields ●r some other possession how small or ample soever it be yea if a Kingdome or Kingdomes happen unto thee Neither doth thy honour likewise consist in the dignities and preferments of this world