Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n
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A20805
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The lambes spouse or the heauenly bride A theologicall discourse, wherin the contract betwixt Christ and the church; the preparation against the mariage; and the solemnization it selfe, and the exclusion of hypocrites and temporizers, is plainly and profitably, with the partucular vses, set forth. Whereunto is annexed an exact preparatiue to the Lords Supper. By T.D. Minister of the word of God.
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Draxe, Thomas, d. 1618.
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1608
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STC 7185; ESTC S114693
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59,295
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the marriage and our consumation Vse If wee would bee perfect conquerers and raigne and triumph with Christ in Heauen we must in earth take his part against the mighty Iudg. 5. 23. We must vnder the conduâ—t of our generall Christ Iesus our Heauenly Michaell as his Angels and souldiers fight against the dragon and his Angells and wee shall ouercome by the bloud of the Lambe and by the worde of his testimony and by not louing our liues vnto death Apoc. 12. 7. 11. Finally wee must put on the whole armour of GOD fayth hope conscience confession and profession of the truth righteousnesse and the sworde of the Spirit which is the worde of GOD Ephesi 6. 13. And wee must pray constantly with all manner of prayer and supplications in the Spirit for our selues and for all Saints c. And by the right vse and continuall handling of these wee shall crucifie the flesh with the affectons and lustes thereof Gallathians 5. 24 wee shal be able to resist in the euill day and hauing finished all things to stand fast and wee shall ouercome sathan and all his batteries and temptations and then after all our fight contention and victory ended wee shall in the life to come eate of the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradice of GOD Apoc. 2. 17. we shall eate of the hidden Manna Apoc. 2. 17. wee shall haue power ouer nations vers 26. wee shall bee cloathed with white araye and our name neuer put out of the Booke of life Chap. 35. wee shall be pillers in Gods house and goe out no more 16 12. And to conclude we shall sit with Christ in his Throne euen as he sitteth with his Father in his throne Apoc. 3. 21. which God at length fulfill and accomplish in vs for his most deerely beloued sonnes sake Iesus Christ our onely and all-sufficient redeemer and mediator Amen NOw we are briefly to consider the place where this marriage shal be solemnized and all this glory ioy and priuileges eternally possessed communicated vnto vs. The place therfore is the highest heauens the throne of GOD and the Lambe the heauenly Hierusalem the Cittie of the liuing God Paradise the seates and habitations of the saints Angels the wedding chamber and finally the new heauen the new earth This blessed heauen is a place in respect of substance subiect to no change and corruption in respect of quantity and extent farre exceeding other places and of sufficient capacitie to receiue all the elect of God in respect of qualities it is of all places most bright most glorious most pleasant finally it is such a place wherin no euill can be feared and no good can be wanting and in which GOD doth offer himselfe to bee seene of men and Angels face to face and the humanitie of CHRIST more glorious then the Sunne shall bee seene and bee beheld with vs euen with our bodily eyes Apoc. 21. the whole Chapter and Chapter 22 from the first verse to the sixt verse Hebrew 11. Iohn 14. Wherfore fat be it from vs that vainly looking for a visible Church heere without all spot or wrinckle in order and maner and seeing and finding it not proudly vnthankfully rashly and without cause to deuide and seperate our selues as is the maner of Schismatickes froÌ„ the Church of God which notwithstaÌ„ding al other defects whether in doctrine that is not fundamental or policy yet firmely and purely retaineth the scuÌ„d Preaching of Apostolicall doctrine pure inuocation of Gods name in Christ and right vse of the two Sacraments Baptisme and the Lords supper for these notes are essentiall substantiall and of the life of the Church other things are outward accidentall and circumstantial and rather of the comelinesse well beeing and ornament then of the simple necessity and essence of the Church yet it were to be much wished that the defects were supplied abuses remoued corruptions taken away but it must bee done by theÌ„ who haue lawfull authority in order without tumult and rashnes and repugnance cause and sound ground In the meane time it is the dutie of priuate persons to take the benefit of the word and sacrameÌ„ts with thankesgiuing least God for their vnthaÌ„kefulnes in time take it away and to pray for the amendment of that which is amisse and patiently expecting it in the interim to walke in their seuerall callings with diligence and conscience Vse 2. Seeing all blisse felicitie and euer-during happinesse is onely in heauen and not in earth wee must not rest in these temporall and transitorie things of honour wealth preferment beauty buildings credit pleasure delights recreations outward peace and prosperitie neither must wee thinke that true felicitie and happinesse consisteth herein for first all these are vncertaine and transitorie as the grasse vapor flower shaddow they are like Ionas his gourde of one dayes continuance and are like Reeds or rotten posts fayling and causing them to fall that leane vpon them Secondly they are rather by reason of our corrupt nature fnares baits and traps to deceiue and hurt vs as infinite examples euince theÌ„ simply meanes and instruments of our selicity and faluation Thirdly they cannot saue our soules and make vs blessed before GOD as Solomon acknowledged when hee called them all vanity of vanities but this worke is proper onely to grace and GODS speciall mercy in Christ. Fourthly they are no especiall and proper endowments of Gods Church and Children though sometimes they in good sort enioy them and pertake of them for the wicked commonly possesse them in farre greater measure then the Godly who are rather rich in minde and in grace then in these externall and perishable profits honours and pleasures Wherefore wee must eleuate our hearts and mindes farre aboue these earthly and momentary things and seeke the things aboue wee must get vs vp into the mountaine of deuine contemplation and by the eyes of true fayth behold and view our Country the Heauenly Canaan we haue no abiding Citie here wherefore we must seeke one to come hauing a foundation whose builder and maker is GOD. And as for these worldly and outward things wee must onely vse them so farre forth as they are lawfull and are helpes vnto vs for the furthering of of our Iorney the aduancement of Godlinesse and no otherwise for els it is better that they should perish then wee and it is farre better that wee should alienate and withdrawe our mindes and affections from them then that they should seperate vs from GOD as they doe the most and depriue vs of the kingdome of Heauen and in this case if they were as deere and necessary vnto vs as our eyes handes feete yea Fathers and Mothers yet we must cut them off and hate them And thus much touching the place The fourth and the last branche is the manifold vses and applications of this doctrine of the heauenly mariage first by consideration hereof wee must be stirred vp
we want it wee must vse the meanes to get and obtaiâ—e it and if wee finde our selues possessed with it wee must then preserue cherish and norish this holy flame with the knowledgâ— of Gods word with the vse of the Sacraments by conference by meditation by prayer by practise of good workes and by hope expecting and waiting for the ende of it euen the saluation of our soules For first our faith through the frequency and violence of temptations is often fore assaulted and weakened and therefore it had neede be repayred and confirmed Secondly onely that faith that vsually doth growe and encrease is the sauing and liuely faith and shall neuer be extinct for defect of oile nor pine away by any spirituall consumption but continueth firme and vnmoueable and obtaineth the promises Eph. 4. 11. 12. 13. Lastly if faith haue not as before specified his continuall supply of food it will faile as the wine did at the mariage in Cana of Galil if it be not norished and preserued it will wither like the corne sowen in the stony ground for want of moisture and it wil be lost as we see how it was in the foolish virgins at the Bride groomes comming and that argued that it was not true faith in existence but onely in apparence and that it was rather an opinion then a deepe impression for otherwise the faith of Peter and so of Gods elect shall not faile and the gifts of God namely that directly concerne saluation are without repentance Luk 22. 32. Rom. 11. 19. neuer extinct or taken away But that neither with the ignorant nor with the hypocrites nor yet with the Papists and other heretikes wee content and deceiue our selues with a mocke faith an historicall and temporary faith or with a crackt and erronious faith insteed of that which is sauing and iustifying we must found and search our soules whether wee bee Orthodoxe and vncorrupt in the principles of faith whether we rest wholy vpon the right obiect whether it be ioyned with particuler application and lastly whether we discerne and find in our selues the inward outward signes and euidences of it for then vndoubtedly wee haue that faith that iustifieth the sinner purgeth the heart engrafteth vs into Christ and saueth our soules But of these and the like particulers briefely and in order Principles and foundations of faith are these preaching of the word of God is the ordinary and principall meanes of saluation Rom. 10 14. Christ is both God and Man in one person perfect GOD and perfect man man to suffer and dye and satisfie for sinne in our nature that had offended and God to support his humanitie to giue efficacie and power to his doctrine and miracles and to adde infinite merite and desert to all his actions and sufferings Thirdly onely faith is the hand and instrument to apprehend and apply CHRIST vnto vs with all his blessingâ— and so to iustifie vs. Faith is like the eye which albeit in the acte and vertue of seeing it is alone yet not solitarye and alone in the bodye but ioyned to other parts so faith albeit it alone iustifieth vs before GOD yet it is not solitarie and alone but alwayes according to the proportion of it accompanied with holy life and good workes Gal. 5. verse 6. There are onely two Sacraments which Christ instituted and left vnto the Church Baptisme the sacrament of our new birth and entrance into christianity the outward signe whereof is Water and the Lords Supper the sacrament of our growth and perfect nourishment and encrease in Christianity the outward signes and matter whereof are Bread and Wine remaining both Bread and Wine for substance both in the sacramentall vse of them and afterwards as Paul maketh it manifest 1. Cor. 11. 26. 27. That no man performe and fulfill the lawe and therfore no man is to hope and looke for righteousnesse and saluation by that obedience which hee sheweth to the lawe Rom. 8. 3. Gal. 2. 15. 16. That we cannot make satisfaction to God for the least of our sinnes but that Christ alone hath most fully and onely performed it 1. Pet. 2. 24. Apoc. 1. 5. 6. That the saluation of all that beleeue is certaine and infallible not onely in Gods decree but also to themselues Rom. 8. 38. Heb. 10. 22. and therefore that the opinion of the Papists is wicked which make faith vncertaine and so holde our saluation to bee doubtfull That all doctrine necessary to saluation is contained in the Scriptures so that nothing is either to be added to it or detracted from it Deut. 4. 2. Apoc. 22. 18. 19. Gal. 1. 8. That the knowledge of the Scriptures are necessary for all sorts of people for their saluation and therefore that they ought to read them that they may thereby learne and vnderstand what God would haue them to beleeue and doe Iohn 5. 39. Mar. 12. 24. Math 22. 29. That God alone is to be adored of vs and that no part of diuine worship is to bee giuen vnto any creature Math. 4. 10. That holinesse of life good workes as effects and consequents of faith and the way wherein wee should walke Ephes. 2. 10. is necessarily required of all that will be saued Hebr. 12. That the Sacraments are onelye signes and seales of righteousnesse and not causes of saluation and therefore our saluation doth not so depend vpon them that they that want them must needs bee damned whereas our saluation consisteth onely in Christ his merits Marc. 16. 16. which none can dispoile and dismantle vs of That Christ his body was but once conceiued of the substance of the Virgin Mary and cannot bee made of any other matter and that CHRIST hath onely one body and therefore it is not made of Wheate bread as the Papists say it is dayly for it is not the seede of Dauid and bread is not the flesh of the Virgin That the humaine nature of Christ is now onely resident and contained in heauen and therefore it is not to be adored in earth Acts. 3. That the whole force vertue and efficacie of our saluation and redemption is in the onely and once offered sacrifice of CHRIST Heb. 10. 12. 14. and that this sacrifice could bee offered of none but Christ who was to be a Priest for euer Lastly to omit diuers other articles which bee more plaine and confessed it is a foundation of faith to know beleeue and hold that then immediatly after the dissolution from the body the soules of the righteous are carryed by the Angels into heauen and the soules of the wicked and impenitent are carryed by the diuill into hell and that the same bodyes with all their perfect partes and demensions shall for substance bee raised vp by CHRIST at the day of iudgment Iob. 19. 25. 26. Of this maine and principall article many are ignorant or at least not iuditiously and soundly perswaded as may appeare by the examinatioÌ„ of the ignorant people both