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
A45544	Cardvvs benedictvs, the advantage of affliction, or, The reward of patience unfolded in a sermon preached at the funeralls of Mr. Thomas Bowyer, merchant, who died the 8th day of February 1659, and was buried the 22th of the same moneth, in the parish church of St. Olaves Jewry / by Nath. Hardy ...	Hardy, Nathaniel, 1618-1670.	1695 (1695)	Wing H712; ESTC R17381	22,241	42

very apposite to this purpose if with some Expositors we construe it of our love to Christ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or disiress or persecution or famine or nakedness or perill or sword Whilest love to Christ will enable us to endure all these for Christs sake Hence it is that the holy Scriptures compare it to death not onely because it separateth as it were the soul from the body to joyn it with its beloved object but likewise as St Austin observeth because as there is no opposition to be made against death so neither against Love which overcometh all difficulties even death it self and in that respect is not only strong as but stronger then death 3. Once more Them that love him carrieth with it an enlargement of this remuneration as belonging not onely to them who actually endure but to all who love Christ All Christians are not called to endure temptation and if they be not called to it they ought not to put themselves upon it To you saith the Apostle it is given not only to beleeve but to suffer ability of suffering especially death is a gift not conferr'd on all Christians and this Lord onely calls them to suffer whom he fits for it But least those Christians who were not put upon such eminent service might think that therefore they had no part in the Crown the Apostle enlargeth the qualification to all who love Christ Indeed every Christian ought to have a minde in some measure ready to endure what Christ shall require and where there is this love of Christ there will be this readiness But if it please this Lord that thy Lott fall in halcyion dayes when the Church enjoyeth rest and prosperity or if in suffering times by his providence thou art not called to endure yet be not discouraged this Crown is promised by this Lord not onely to them that endure but to them that love him I end all therefore with that exhortation of the Psalmist Oh love the Lord all you his Saints Love him for his own sake that is amor amicitiae a love of friendship and most acceptable Indeed if you look upon him you cannot choose but love him for he is altogether lovely to a spirituall eye And shew the reality of your love by your sorrow for his absence and joy in his presence fear to offend him care to please him by avoiding what he forbids and performing what he requireth by your willingness to hate Father and Mother goods and lands to endure reproach and shame losses and crosses for his sake and then quid non speramus amantes what may not Christs friends hope for If you love him he will love you nay he loved you before you loved him and by that so much the more obligeth you to love him he loved you so as to doe nay so as to die not onely by acting but enduring let your love answer his and if nothing else will prevail love him for your own sakes for the Crownes sake which he hath promised to and will in due time confer on all them that love him And thus I have finished the Text wherein you have beheld the bliss of the man that endureth temptation and loveth the Lord But perhaps you will ask Where is this man to be found The truth is such an one like those Pearls called Unions because found one by one is very rare but yet such there have been in all ages and loe here the liveless dust of such a man Mr Thomas Bowyer Merchant of whom I can truly say whilest he lived he loved the Lord and endured temptation and now he is dead I justly hope he is blessed with a Crown of life If you peruse the sacred Writ you will finde the blessed man described by severall characters the Ladder which reacheth to Heaven consisting of many steps nor do I know any of them which might not in some measure be applied to him Indeed he was not onely a Starre but a Constellation or rather an Heaven bespangled with many Starres his life was not a single leaf but a book of many leaves and those filled with the lines of good works Finally he was not onely Flower but a Garden adorned with the choice flowers of many excellent Virtues To gather them all would ask more time then can be spared and therefore passing over his Temperance Iustice Prudence with many others I shall onely cull out four choice Flowers to strew upon his Herse and then I shall commit him to the ground and you to God 1. The first is the Marygold of Piety which is called in my Text the love of the Lord a grace whereof he gave manifest evidence by his due regard of Gods worship affectionate love to Christs Ministers constant adherence to the Truth and passionate sympathy with the Church 1. He was a man much given to Religious exercises and as he made choice of a single life so for some years before his death he sequestred himself from secular affairs that he might have more opportunity of conversing with God So long as he had ability of going and hearing he duly waited on the publique administrations where I have severall times been an eye witness of his reverend and devout attention Nor was he as I fear too many are negligent of family dutyes in praying with and giving instructions to them withall allotting much time to his closet devotions so that I may truly say of him in the words of David concerning the blessed man His delight was in the Law of the Lord and therein he did exercise himself day and night 2. He was an entire and cordiall friend to the Orthodox and faithfull dispensers of the Word of Christ he delighted to hear them joyed to see them desired their prayers their company and was never better then when he had them at his Table yea their very feet were beautifull in his eyes 3. The truly Reformed Religion of the Church of England in which he had been educated he stedfastly adhered to and according to his knowledge which was not small in Divine as well as other matters he zealously asserted her Doctrine and Discipline against hereticall and schismaticall Antagonists Finally He was one of the mourners in Sion for the heynous sins of the Nation and grievous calamities of the Church oftimes sending up cryes and groans to Heaven in secret for the forgiveness of the one and redress of the other Upon all which considerations I suppose none will deny him the title of Religious man 2. A second Flower is the Rose of Charity a Virtue which ever attendeth upon the former the Lov● of God and of our neighbour being inseperable The Charity of this our Brother was though extended to all yet especially directed towards the poor and needy whom according to another character of Davids blessed man he considered and that so as to relieve answerable to that estate wherewith God had

So long as we are in this world we are under tryall nor are we tryed and approved till we go out of it and then we receive the Crown The whole day of life is the time of labouring in the vineyard untill the evening of death when we receive our wages we are not fully tryed in the Christian race till we come to the goal of death and then if we be found worthy we shall obtain the prize There are too many who endure for a time and then fall away thereby manifesting themselves to be not gold but dross which melts away in the heat of the fire and therefore it is our Saviours counsell to the Angell of the Church of Smyrna Be thou faithfull unto the death and I will give thee a Crown of life 2. When we are sufficiently tryed we shall be called out of this world to the fruition of our Crown This world is the field wherein the good corn stands so long till it be ripe and then it is cut down by death to be carried into the barn of glory It is the school of the Cross wherein it pleaseth God to train us and then by death he taketh us to the Academy of Heaven our heavenly Physition will keep us no longer in physick but till we are throughly purged our mercifull refiner will no longer detain us in the furnace but till we are sufficiently purified when once by enduring temptation we are tryed and fitted for Heaven death doth come to put an end to all our troubles and put us into a partiall possession of that Crown which in the day of Iudgment the Righteous Iudg shall plenarily confer upon us Let then the Christian endurer be content to wait and not repine at the delay of his reward The thing is certain he shall receive I and the time is set too when he is tryed nor can it be long since it is only during the short time of life It may perhaps seem long to thee and so much the longer because of the temptations which befall thee but surely a Crown and especially a Crown of life is worth the waiting for and when it is received thou wilt acknowledg thy self abundantly recompenced for the greatness and length of thy sufferings And if at any time distrustfull thoughts arise in thy mind concerning this Crown whether it shall be conferd fix thy eyes on the last clause of the Text which now remaineth to be discussed it is the Crown of life 2. Which the Lord hath promised to them that love him it is that which I call the collaterall confirmation as being a strong argument assuring the reception of that Crown which denominateth the suffering Christian blessed Wherein more particularly there are two things observable The means of conveiance in those words which the Lord hath promised The subject of reception in those to them that love him 1. The Crown of life is that which the Lord hath promised The title of Lord here used is very frequently throughout the new Testament given to Christ and that upon a double account 1. Quatenus Deus Inasmuch as he is God the Lordship belongs to him Iure naturali by naturall right He is the Son of God by eternall generation and being so he is equall with the Father and God over all blessed for ever 2. Quatenus Mediator Inasmuch as he is God man this Lordship belongs to him Iure donativo by deed of gift All power saith our blessed Saviour is committed to him in Heaven and earth namely by God the Father to him as Mediator And thus 1. He is Lord of the whole world having power ad dominandum to rule over all his creatures 2. He is Lord of his enemies ad domandum to subdue and vanquish them 3. He is Lord of his Church ad donandum to confer gifts upon her especially this Crown● And knowing to how manifold temptations she would be subject in this life he is pleased to vouchsafe the promise of this Grown to be as it were a bit to stay her stomach till the full meal It were easie to multiply instances how this Lord promised this reward vivâ voce to his Disciples whilest he was on earth and that though not expresly as we read under this very metaphor of a Crown yet frequently under the resemblance of a Kingdom to which a Crown relateth Indeed though this bliss was promised before to wit in the old Testament by Moses and the Prophets yet it was not so clearly and fully revealed by them as it was afterwards by this Lord and his Apostles so that now we have to allude to St Peters phrase a more sure or at least a more plain word of promise to which we shall do well to take heed as to a light shining in a dark place to revive our hearts with a confident expectation even when we are involved in the darkness of affliction That which may the more excite our faith encourage our hope and thereby strengthen our patience in enduring is the consideration of this Lord who hath promised this Crown Inasmuch as 1. In generall this Lord never faileth in whatsoever he promiseth St Paul faith All the promises are in him yea and Amen surely then all his promises are yea and Amen and as they are made so they are made good In the preface of the Epistle to the Angell of the Philadelphians he is called the Amen the faithfull witness as being true in all his sayings and more especially in his promises The words of the Lord saith David are pure words as silver tryed in the fire purified seaven times It is true of all but principally meant of the words of promise which are said to be as silver purified seaven times because they are free from the least dross of deceit This Lord never promiseth but what he really intends and effectually performeth 2. In speciall as to this promise he who promiseth is fully able and willing to fulfill it He is called by this Apostle the Lord of glory and therefore can confer the glory of a Crown by St Paul the Lord of life and therefore can bestow a Crown of life There cannot be a clearer title to any thing then that which a man hath by a lawfull purchase from the right owner This Lord hath purchased this Crown of his Father at a dear rate not with corruptible gold and silver but his own most pretious bloud yea he is gone into Heaven to take possession of his purchase whereby it is now fully in his hands to bestow nay which is yet more he hath purchased it in our name and possesseth it in our behalf no wonder if he hath promised it to us nor need we doubt at all of his power or will to confer it on us The Devill once took our blessed Lord up to an exceeding high mountain and shewed him all the Kingdoms of the world and the glory of them yea not only shewed