Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	old_a	time_n	write_v	2,855	5	5.4973	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A32952	The inheritance of the saints in light set forth in a sermon preach'd at Whitehall, August 11, 1700 / by Ab. Campion ...	Campion, Abraham, d. 1701.	1700 (1700)	Wing C405; ESTC R1424	15,676	29

by his Folly God has mercifully restor'd to him again by Grace So that he who is by his Natural Birth now a Child of Wrath is by his Spiritual Birth become a Child of God again He is adopted Son and Heir of God not for any desert of his There can be no pretence of merit in being Born to an Estate and truly not more in being adopted Son of God It was meer Grace unprovoked Goodness For whilst Man continu'd in his Rebellion whilst in his Blood and Filth God cast his Love upon him He past by those Noble Creatures the Angels for Reasons best known to himself to make Man his Son and his Heir too by giving him a good Title to the Estate of God his Father who is Lord of Heaven and Earth Who would not be ambitious to be his Heir who has such large Patrimony to bestow not cantled into Portions but every Heir has a Title to the whole He that overcomes shall inherit all things We are assured by the Infallible Charter Rev. 21.7 They shall Inherit the Earth for none have so good a Title to the Creature as those who honour the Creator So much of the Earth they shall be sure of as their loving Father sees best for them and will best consist with their Eternal Inheritance For Heaven is the chief Patrimony of God Here we live like Heirs under Age under Tutors and Governors 'till we are train'd up and fitted to have our Estate put into our hands to be invested with the full Possession of that vast Inheritance Rom. 8.17 where we are to be admitted as Joint Heirs to the Natural Son of God partakers of the same Glories with himself sitting with him upon Thrones Mat. 19.28 In this Life we have given us that ample Security that is fit for Heirs at present to have sufficient for our incouragement our Immortal Inheritance being set before us in a clear Light Eternal Life is not secured to all the Heirs of Salvation by absolute Decree for it is plain that many perish for whom Christ died And it will no doubt be an heavy-aggravation of the Damnation of Christians that they refused that Salvation which they might have obtain'd and sold their Spiritual-Birth-right for a Mess of Pottage It will be the Sting of their Misery that it was by their own fault that they fell short God having given all the Security that is fit for him to give For we have 1. His repeated Promises of Salvation to all that Believe and Repent and sooner shall Heaven and Earth fail than one tittle of what he has promis'd God so loved the World his Promises are so very great to Sinners as that they might appear incredible We might with some colour of Reason stagger in our Faith if we were not well assured of the Reality of his Promise To help therefore our Infirmities that we may not suspect the goodness of his word he has 2. Confirm'd it by an Oath that our Consolation might be strong Heb. 6.18 having two immutable things to support it the Promise and the Oath of God And yet these two things in themselves unchangeable for our more abundant security are 3. farther confirm'd by the Blood of God the Seal of the Covenant of this Eternal Life it being an ancient way of making Covenants inviolable by Sealing them with Blood And lastly If it were possible for all these to fail us this Covenant of God is Seal'd by the Spirit also given as an Earnest of our Eternal Inheritance His Graces are not only Pledges but part of Payment the Glory of the Saints in Light being only Grace in perfection Having so good reason to be well satisfied with our Title to this Inheritance our next Concern then may be 3dly To Consider of the Qualifications requisite to make us meet to partake of it The State and Condition of the Place does sufficiently discover how he ought to be qualified that would be admitted into that Holy Place No unclean thing can enter there none can be happy there The Light will shame and expose its filthiness and render every spot an Object of hatred and abhorrency to all the pure Inhabitants All Works of Darkness would there appear monstrous whatever we either are or should be ashamed of what wants concealment and will not bear the Light can never be fit for a state of the purest Light But yet we need not inquire who shall ascend into Heaven for us to view those Regions of Happiness and bring down to us a Description of the Place and Character of the Blessed Inhabitants All that we need to know in this Case is very nigh us the direct way to Heaven is in the Book of God which we have in our hands drawn out in plain Rules and Precepts and if it be not our fault it is legible in our Hearts also Besides this because Examples are usually more powerful as having more of Life in them than the dead Letter of a Precept we have therefore in the Gospel drawn out to the Life an Heir of Heaven God shew'd us at first what manner of Men we ought to be even such as he made us at first when we came pure out of his hands when we were like himself For it is the Design of Religion to reduce us back again by the Methods of Grace as near as possible to our Primitive Original State to Sanctifie and make us clean even Innocent once again if it might be However to come as near to Innocence as our present State of Flesh and Blood will permit If much of that State of Innocence is not to be learnt from the first Adam by reason of his short continuance in that Original State in the second Adam we have a compleat Pattern it being the great Design of his coming from Heaven at least of his living so long upon the Earth that he might shew the way thither by his Example He gave us therefore the Pattern of a most Holy and for the most part of a very imitable Life A continued practice of those Vertues with which he would have his Followers to be exercis'd and distinguish'd and train'd up for their Heavenly Inheritance We may thence learn the whole Duty of Man towards God and every Person For he did truly Love God as he requires us to do with all his Heart and Soul God was in all his thoughts It was therefore his constant indeavour to do what he knew to be most pleasing to him It was his meat and drink to do the will of his Father to work the work of him that sent him while it was day before the night came When but Twelve Years Old he slip'd from his Secular Parents that he might spend some time in his Father's House or as we translate it be about his Father's Business Knowing what was wrote in the Volume of God's Book he voluntarily came to do his Will seeing it highly pleasing to his Father that lost Mankind