Selected quad for the lemma: glory_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A70263
|
Several sermons upon the fifth of St. Matthew .... [vol. 1] being part of Christ's Sermon on the mount / by Anthony Horneck ... ; to which is added, the life of the author, by Richard Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells.
|
Horneck, Anthony, 1641-1697.
|
1698
(1698)
|
Wing H2851; ESTC R40468
|
201,926
|
515
|
from Aaron's head ran down to his Beard and the skirts of his Cloathing Therefore as it was devout and serious without the help of the body and in the good works in which the Body was concern'd was the first mover of the fact so it shall see the Glory of God before the Body and separated from the Body and while the Body participates of the common Fate But 4. Let me end all with David's excellent Motto Psal. LXXIII 1. Truly God is good to Israel even to them who are of a clean Heart Good indeed good to them in a time of Peace good in Adversity good to them in publick Commotions good to them in his Promises good to them in their life time good to them at their Death and good to them after Death The pure in heart they tast they see they feel his Goodness this supports them this comforts them this strengthens them All the World see his Goodness but O how great is that Goodness that God hath laid up for the pure in heart The pure in heart they shall see God Ay! that 's the Goodness God hath laid up for them And O what a happiness do they enjoy the purblind World sees not the Beauty the Order the Harmony of Providence the pure in Heart behold it and are thankfull Good God! To see thee what ravishments must that cause To see the fountain of Goodness what delights must flow from that sight To enter into a Prince's Cabinet and to see the Pearls the Diamonds the Rubies the precious Stones the Curiosities the Rarities the Riches the Plenty the costly Things the great Variety that is there this is something But what is all this to the seeing of God in whom are concenter'd all the Beauties and Rarities of Heaven and Earth To see but one Attribute of his clearly and distinctly suppose his Wisdom is enough to charm a Soul into eternal Admiration Behold how men run to see an Indian or African Ambassador or a Craesus a Darius an Alexander any thing that is attended with Pomp and Greatness Rejoyce ye that are pure in heart you run to see a greater thing than the greatest Emperour in the World Could you see all the Riches and Glories of the world at one view all that is above and within the Earth all that is within and above the sea and all the Men and Women that have been since the Creation of the World it would not be so stately a sight as a clear sight of God blessed for evermore This is your shield your exceeding great reward this most glorious Object you shall see at last see him and admire him see him and desire to be with him see him and love him see him and rejoyce in him see him and be united to him see him and cling to him for ever You shall see all the Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets all the holy Apostles all the Martyrs that have suffered for the Testimony of Jesus You shall see the great Jesus that died at Jerusalem was crucified on Mount Calvary sweated drops of Blood in the Garden of Gethsemane was crucified and rose again and is set down on the right hand of Majesty on high The Believers St. Peter speaks of saw him not yet rejoyced in him with joy unspeakable and full of Glory What then will your joy be when you shall see him face to face For this we want expressions and therefore I shall draw a veil over it and leave you to live in joyfull Thoughts and expectations of it that when his Glory shall appear you also may appear with him in Glory SERMON IX St. Matth. Ch. V. Ver. 9. Blessed are the Peace-makers for they shall be called the Children of God AS in this divine Sermon of our Saviour Men and Women are pronounced blessed and happy with respect to things which the dull sensual World spies no felicity in or as here those are counted happy whom the World counts miserable and those miserable whom the World counts happy so it fares with the persons mentioned in the words before you and the Blessedness which attends them the world you know magnifies great Generals and Soldiers and Martial Men who can fight well and are very skilfull in besieging Towns and in scaling Walls in bombarding Castles and surprizing Forts and defeating Armies and slaying Men and he that with Saul hath kill'd his thousands and with David his ten thousands is cry'd up and the Bells ring at his entrance into a conquer'd Town all sing his Praises Flowers of Rhetorick and Applause are strow'd in his way publick Intelligences are fill'd with his Commendations and who so much talk'd of as the man who is very expert in making maintaining and managing a War Our blessed Master over-looks all these partial verdicts of the World and knowing that Nature and Vice and Profit and Honour Ambition and Lust are enough to inspire a man with courage and Wisdom to fight and to cause Disorders and Disturbances among Men instead of commending men who are skilfull in making War set a peculiar mark of favour on those who are skilfull in making Peace in the words I have read to you Blessed are the Peace-makers for they shall be called the Children of God Blessed are the Peace-makers what All Peace-makers Then Turks and Infidels Heathens and Pagans and the most licentious of Christian Princes do all come into the number of the blessed and all must be Children of God For there is no Prince though never so great a Tyrant though he hath spilt Blood like Water in his Conquests though he hath made no more of destroying mens Lives than Tarquinius did of taking off the heads of Poppies or Domitian of killing Flies yet makes Peace sometimes and tired with the Toyl and Fatigue of the War concludes a Truce at last with his Enemy and what Do all these come into the society of the blessed To give you light into this affair I shall enquire I. Who these Peace-makers are that are pronounced blessed here II. I shall examine the reasons of the supposition or the thing supposed and implied here that those who have an aversion from this Peace-making are and cannot be blessed III. I shall take the blessedness of these Peace makers into consideration and shew how and upon what account they are and shall be call'd the Children of God I. Who these Peace-makers are that are said to be blessed here The word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which as Interpreters observe in Greek Authors signifies and denotes strictly those who make or procure Peace among Persons who disagree and unite those who are at variance but in Scripture the expression is of a larger extent and includes a great deal more than a bare reconciling of Enemies and the persons here aimed at are as follows 1. Such as do make Peace with God and with their Consciences To this purpose is the exhortation Job XXI 22. Acquaint now thy self
and be exceeding glad for this Reason because great is their Reward in Heaven At once to prove and paraphrase upon this Subject 1. The Question is not Whether the Rewards of Heaven are matter of Joy and Gladness to those who are already actually possess'd of them who have left this World and exchanged this Life for a better and as they have heard see in the City of our God and see no more darkly as through a glass but face to face There is no Dispute among Christians but that these Rewards are Joy and Gladness to such What! Can they forbear rejoycing that lie at the Fountain drink of the River of God which is full of Water even Water of Life Can they be sorrowful that have the Bridegroom always present with them and are out of all Danger to be deprived of his Company Can they be sad that are united to the bright increated Sun which irradiates the vast Territories of Heaven and are perpetually warmed into Strength and Vigor to praise and adore the Author and Life and Glory of their Being The Question is not concerning these but such as are on this side Heaven in this Land of the Living in this Valley of Misery and are afflicted reviled persecuted abused as if they were forsaken not only of Men but of Heaven too Whether the Rewards of Heaven things invisible and unseen out of their reach and sight and for which they have nothing to shew but a few Lines in a Book call'd the Bible whether such things as these can be just Cause of Joy and Gladness and to Persons who are despicable and miserable and perhaps made the off-scouring of all things This is the Point I am to prove and therefore 2. That these Rewards of Heaven as much out of sight as they are have been and are matter of Joy and Gladness to wise rational and inquisitive Persons is evident from what Experience tells us and when I was upon the Tenth Verse of this Chapter I gave you very considerable Instances of it nor is this Age so barren of Goodness but that several excellent Christians do rejoyce and are exceeding glad at these Rewards and are able to say with the Apostle and the Believers of old We rejoyce in the hope of the Glory of God Rom. V. 2. So that the matter of fact is certain All the Difficulty lies here Whether these Rewards so much talk'd of are Ground sufficient and solid enough to build such Joy and Gladness upon for Men may delude themselves with Fancies as we see People in Bedlam do But even this will soon be made out for if a Man have sufficient ground to believe that there are such Rewards in Heaven and that the Book call'd the Bible contains the Promises and Oracles of the Living God and that God hath certainly promis'd such Rewards and Rewards so great so wonderful as that Book speaks of to Persons duly qualified then such a Man hath sufficient reason to rejoyce in the Hope and Expectation of it And that what the Bible saith of these Rewards is the express Word and Promise of God is evident from hence because the several Writers of that Book and particularly the Assertors of these Rewards whose Prevarication and Aberration from the Truth could never be proved do peremptorily affirm it And that they affirm nothing but the Truth the Miracles they wrought before whole Multitudes in Confirmation of what they say and the Truth of which hath been convey'd and handed down from Age to Age and sealed with a thousand and a thousand Deaths do sufficiently demonstrate And as true Miracles can be nothing but the Effects of an Omnipotent Power so it is absurd to think that God would lend or vouchsafe his Omnipotent Power to confirm a Lye And we may as well question the Publick Acts and Edicts in such a King's Reign who lived two or three hundred years ago attested by publick Authority as the Records of these Miracles for the former we have only the Testimony of a single Nation for the other the Testimony of the whole Christian World even that of Enemies not to mention that the natural Dictates of Reason and the Light of Nature speaks though more darkly to the same purpose So that there is no room left for any rational Doubt that there are such Rewards which may certainly be had and consequently they are just matter of Gladness and Rejoycing And yet 3. We see that these Rewards do not cause this Joy in all the generality rejoycing more in Temporal and External than Spiritual and Eternal Blessings nor indeed do we find this Joy in all Persons who are in Distress for the Sorrow they lie under and their secret Fondness of these outward Enjoyments we see drown their Joy or Rejoycing in these Rewards Tho' I know Heaven at such times is often talk'd of yet it 's evident it moves not the Discourse may be amuses the Party or for the present makes him attentive but being over like a Stone forced up into the Air when that Force is withdrawn it sinks to its Mother Earth again We must suppose therefore that he who can rejoyce in this Reward I mean truly rejoyce must be a Person duly qualified and that which qualifies a Man for it is a lively Belief of it a lively Representation of it to the Mind and Understanding a firm Perswasion of the Certainty and of our Right and Title to it a very high Esteem of it and an actual preferring it before the Satisfactions of this present World and accordingly we find that those who have been thus qualified have rejoyced in these Rewards with joy unspeakable and full of glory as we see 1 Pet. I. 8. But 4. Besides this there are two Qualifications more which very much promote this Joy or help towards it and that 's 1. A blameless Life 2. Suffering in the midst of that blameless Life 1. A blameless Life A Man that lives in Sin or minds little but the World or allows himself in any thing that 's manifestly contrary to the Gospel cannot possibly rejoyce in these Rewards as well may a Beggar rejoyce in such a Nobleman's Estate who is a meer Stranger to him as a Person who is loth to submit to Christ's Yoke rejoyce in the hopes of these Rewards which do not at all belong to him Purity of Life hath the Promise of this Reward and therefore the pure Liver only is the Person that can justly rejoyce in it especially 2. If he suffers notwithstanding his blameless Life for in this case the Rewards of Heaven he takes a View of assure him that the time will shortly come when all this Troubles shall vanish away like Smoak at the glorious Presence of God that it will not be long before he shall be out of the reach of all slanderous and malicious Tongues and that the greater his Sufferings are the greater will his Glory and Triumph and Satisfaction be His Sufferings fix his