Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	bless_v	lord_n	star_n	2,155	5	10.0592	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13022	A learned treatise in three parts, 1 The definition 2 The distribution of Divinity. 3 The happinesse of man; as it was scholastically handled by John Stoughton D.D. in Immanuell Colledge Chappell in Cambridge, while he was fellow there: and now published according to the copy left under his own hand.	Stoughton, John, d. 1639.; Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664.	1640 (1640)	STC 23309; ESTC S121757	47,895	106

estate of the reasonable creature wherein it injoyes all that good which is due unto it And this perhaps might have sufficed alone to have described Happinesse to have been the fruition of all good due to man though the other make it more plaine and full where First by good that is due I meane not by any necessary bond or obligation in which God is tyed to the creature to give it but that which hath proportion unto and congruity with the nature of man and to which therefore man hath a naturall aptitude and appetite or propension Secondly by all good I say because man being a compound creature must have a compound happines of many ingredients because the perfection of the whole must result from the perfection of every part and you may digest them thus the good is either Summum which is God as I said or Subordinatum and this again is either internum within the essence of a man or externum without him Internum is either Bonum Corporis or Bonum Animae bonum Animae is either Intellectus or Voluntatis or if you had rather take them without this curiosity of Art they are five First God and his favor as the supreame Lord. Secondly Reason right and conformable to God Thirdly a will in tune and conformable to right reason Fourthly a body in good temper and disposition serviceable to a will tuned Fiftly outward blessings answerable to all the rest these make the spheare and circle of good which upon whose head soever they fall doe crowne him with compleat and perfect happines which because of my propounded brevity it shall suffice to have made an enumeration of without illustration Thirdly for fruition I may conveniently and proportionably name five degrees of it though perhaps every one of them shall not be judged exactly necessary First possession and usurpation or use of those good for I joyn those two together because perhaps they cannot alway be well distinguished in that respect they have to happinesse which is for the most part by the action of virtue secondly knowledge of that possession and a consideration reflected upon our riches and happines Thirdly delight springing from that knowledge fourthly quiet of all parts filled with that delight and satisfied fiftly security of that quiet upon assurance reasonable of the continuance and perpetuity of that estate and those good All these where they meet are enough to milk out all the good that can be in them to suck out all the juice and sweetnesse all the marrow and fatnesse that they have and the name of felicity sometimes imports some one of these sometime two or more and the opinions of Philosophers and divines accordingly pitch upon them but where there is a concourse of all I cannot see what should bee wanting for he that hath such a fruition of all good eternall internall externall in body Soule and whole man as brings with it a perfect quietation of the naturall appetite joyned with unspeakable delight and unmoved security that I may contract all into a narrow roome Quis non illum beatum dixerit non potius beatissimum I might enlarge these things with illustrations and probations if the matter required but I think it so perspicuous and evident to any that will consider it that it would be but lost labour to dwell any longer upon it especially this being agreeable with that definition which you know is common out of Boetius that Beatitudo est status bonorum omnium aggregatione perfectus and that of Anselm Sufficientia commodorum omnium and that of Austin Beatus est qui habet quicquid vult nihil mali vult as they are alleaged by Gregory de Valentia and I thinke it is the common notion that presents it selfe to all men when they heare that word Happines to think presently upon some universall good and he that would make an emblem or picture of happinesse must set it forth like that of Peace among the Ancients with a cornucopia an horn of plenty in the hand or like the picture of Pan with all shapes and infinite variety and therefore according to my promise and desire I will now proceed to the second assertion which shall explaine what essentiall happinesse is and wherein it consists wherein I may be more punctuall because it will be more properly Theologicall as you shall perceive Essentiall Happines I understand which though it want many particulars which are de integritate felicitatis yet it hath all things that are de essentia and hath enough to salve the name and title of happinesse in truth and propriety as a man that wants his arms or legs is not integer homo but so long as the Soule is united to the body is a man or as the name being given according to the predominant part wine doth not lose the name of wine for a little water mingled with it so here though there be some wants and consequently some misery mingled with this happines yet taking more of happines then misery it hath the name and nature of happines and this I call essentiall Happines and this I say must be placed in God alone and our fruition of him or union with him But to handle this point more fully as I purpose in the rest hereafter to take some place of Scripture for a ground and foundation to build upon where it may be done conveniently so I will doe here and that you shall find in the last verse of the 144 Psalme where ye have these words Blessed are the people that are in such a case yea blessed are the people whose God is the Lord which as you see speaks of blessednes and as I conceive couch as much of that argument and for our present scope as any that I could meet withall and I am only sorry the time is so short that I shall be forced but to name the things I have to deliver because I resolve to goe through with this point and dispatch it at this time The Psalme as may seeme was composed in time of war and is partly spent in a laudatory thanksgiving for successe and victory Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight and partly is petitory conteining a suite to God for further safety and deliverance from the proud enemy and war that the Church might injoy the blessings of peace Bow thy heavens ô Lord and come downe touch the mountaines and they shall smoke that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth that our daughters may be as corner stones polished after the similitude of a pallace and there having made a Catalogue of the benefits of peace the Psalmist concludes all with this Epilogue this sweet and patheticall Epiphonema Blessed are the people that are in such a case yea blessed are the people whose God is the Lord which hath two parts as ye see like the portion of Acsah that Caleb gave her the

that he pronounceth the first authors thereof and professors happy Felices animae quibus haec cognoscere primum Inque domos superas scandere cura fuit Then how happy are those that are busied in the contemplation of God himselfe who made the heaven and stars and all for it is not onely true which the father said facilius invenit syderum conditorem humilis pietas quam syderum conditionem superba curiositas not only facilius but I am sure much more felicius this is the chiefe happinesse in an higher degree then here we do which we look for in heaven as all the Schoolemen determine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Nazianzen this is an Angelical office for I say unto you their Angels behold the face of their heavenly father continually sayth our Saviour Third for the necessity of the end which is that one thing that is necessary eternall life and happines we read in the 19. Acts. That of those that beleeved many which used curious Arts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 brought their books and burnt them before all men and they counted the price of them and found it fifty thousand peeces of silver all other Arts and books in comparison of this are but superfluous and curious this is that one thing that is necessary and if all were either burnt as they did or banisht as Lycurgus did all unnecessary trades out of Sparta that they might be the more unnecessary that wee might more excell in this the matter would not be so great Fourth I might adde to this the Antiquity and use no other probation for it then the last commendation for as Peter Martyr hath well observed as the Athenians proved themselves the most ancient people because the invention of corn that most necessary helpe for the life of man proceeded from them so that Doctrine must needs be most ancient which hath the bread of life and is therefore most necessary Fifth I might commend it from the Author which I touched in the 1 condition God himself which makes much to inflame our affections toward it for who would be ashamed to be Gods Scholler Or who would not rather think himself highly honored When Moses had talked with God in the mount his face shined and shall not the Doctrine of Gods own mouth make their face shine whom God vouchsafeth to instruct in it Wherefore ô yee Prophets sons cast off all impediments and let no other imployment hinder your alacrity in this study consider the excellency of this Science and know the time of your visitation while the Sun of prosperity shineth labor whiles the harvest of the Gospell lasteth gather the sheaves unto the barn that winter find not you unprovided 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 When the Emperor passing through Jury beheld the Land a goodly land but without culture and tillage through the lazines of the people he cryed out O marcomanni ô Sarmatae ô Qua di c. O lazy Germans I have found a people more lazy then you take heed this be not said of you that Themistocles said of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that foole hath a price in his hand but he hath no heart to use it First be diligent therefore in reading the word of God say with David thy word O Lord is more sweet unto me than hony and more pretious than gold Desiderabilia super aurum pretiosum multum as the old translation hath it in the 19. Psal aut multum aurum aut multum pretiosum aut multum desiderabilia tum multum hoc haeretico parum as Austin glosses upon the variety of the construction Second Be diligent in hearing the word of God let every word be pretious unto thee and let not one of them fall to the ground O how rich how soon would this divine husbandry make us Third Be diligent in prayer the father said he got more by Prayer than by study 't is most true in this Art if thou want wisdome faith James ask it of God the secret of the Lord is with them that feare him saith the Psalmist this knowledge is better gotten by praying to God then prying into Schoolemen And to conclude alway remember that this is a Practicall Art and requires not knowing but doing bare and naked speculation is the tree of knowledge that bears nothing but the apple of strife betweene us and God and death Practise Practise is the tree of Life CHAP. II. The Distribution of Divinity HAving already dispatched the definition of Divinity with such incident observations as I thought fittest to raise from thence the threed of method leads me by the hand to the distribution therof to which I think I may not unfitly accommodate that cōmon Maxim of Machiavellian policy Divide Regna divide and rule and say to the best Divines not abusing it but alluding to it Divide Regna divide Divinity and be King of Divines divide it and I will warrant you Master of your Art these knots of divisions are nodi Gordiani that portend an Empire as you heard in another case this Argument of Distribution is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Royall Argument as Plato cals it professing also that if he could meet with such a Captaine or leader that had the skill of dividing aright he would follow him as some God and for this Art especially I would think my selfe happy to be his companion my purpose was to have represented unto you a veiw a Synopsis of Theology and to have taken some more then common paines in the contriving thereof by reason of the excellent use it might have yeelded and the great variety which you shall finde among authors and withall to have examined some of the most received forms where I judge them defective for the maine I continue still in the same mind but I shall not do it so fully as I thought First because of the difficulty it being the highest pitch and last point of all in an art to digest the precepts and parts into method and supposing an exact inquisition and certain determination of all particular truths as you know out of Logick but for my selfe I confesse I am but a Scholler to search not a Doctor to teach authentically viator not comprehensor that I may allude to the Schoole distinction Second because of the inconvenience for if I did so I should be forced to hold you too long in a Scholasticall and artificiall discourse of notions which I have done too much already and desire now to proceed to things rather substantiall and more profitable if not for instruction of knowledge at least for direction of practice And therefore I will contract my meditations and draw them into as narrow a compasse as I can propounding only two of the most usuall manner of proceeding out of infinite variety and onely propounding them without any strict search made into them and then commending a third and new for mine owne exercise and yours in this inquiry to