Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	church_n	earth_n	militant_a	5,036	5	12.4963	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20729	The Christians freedome wherein is fully expressed the doctrine of Christian libertie. By the rt. reuerend father in God, George Downeham, Doctor of Diuinity and Ld. Bp. of Derry.	Downame, George, d. 1634.	1635 (1635)	STC 7111; ESTC S102215	96,431	253

abide not only to the end of their daies in the Church militant which is the house of God vpon earth but also for euer in the Church triumphant which is Gods house in heauen 3. That the faithfull attaine to this freedome by adoption in Christ. For to so m any as receiue him by faith hee hath giuen this liberty or power to be the sonnes of God And if sonnes then also heires This a●●ertion is presupposed in this place as being the hypothesis wherupon this inference is grounded Those that be the sonnes of God abide in the house of God for euer therefore if the Sonne shall make you free c. presupposing that men attaine to the freedome of Gods sonnes by the benefit of Christ the onely begotten Sonne of God Wherupon as I said is inferred the fourth thing which is my text If the Sonne therefore shall make you free you shall be free indeed As if hee had said you haue no cause to cauil at the promise of libertie which I make to all them which truly beleeue in me For I tell you vpon my word which is Amen that is true and infallible that both you and all men by nature though the seed of Abraham as you are though liuing as you do in the visible Church of God are the very seruants of sinne that being seruants and not sonnes they must not looke to inherite with the sons of the promise or to abide in the house for euer but when the time of separation commeth they shall as chaffe be seuered from the wheate as tares from the corne as goates from the sheepe as Hagar and Ismael from Isaak the sonne of the promise Therefore though your pride will not suffer you to see and acknowledge thus much yet certainly great need haue you to bee made free that of the seruants of sinne you may become the sons of God But you who are as all men by nature are the children of wrath cannot possiblie bee the sons of God except you beleeue in me who am the only begotten Son of God that I may by the grace of adoption communicate that vnto you which I my selfe am by nature and eternall generation So shall you of the seruants of sinne sons of Satan and heires of Hell and damnation be made the sons of God heires of eternall life citizens and free denizens of the kingdome of heauen Whereas now therefore you are miserable seruants notwithstanding your corporall and carnall libertie whereof you vaunt which is not a true libertie but a voluntarie seruice of sin if you shall beleeue in me and approue your selues to be my true disciples by abiding in my words I who am the truth will make you free not with a counterfeit or imaginary freedome such as is your libertie but with a true and spirituall freedome which is the gracious and the glorious libertie of the sons of God Thus haue you heard the context or coherence of these words with the former whereunto wee are referred by this word of inference therefore wherein diuers things might profitablie bee obserued but that the text calleth me vnto it as containing matter of greatest importance For Christian libertie which is the argument of my text is as the Apostle ●aith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the verie good of Christians which Christ our Sauiour taking vpon him the forme of a seruant hath purchased with his owne most precious blood which is the benefit of the Messias whereunto wee are called Galath 5. 13. which hee hath promised as a reward to his true disciples vers 32. which as himselfe came to preach Luk. 4. 18. so doth he send vs his Embassadours to the same end viz. to preach the Gospell which is the law of libertie and the doctrine of redemption and freedome by him that by our Ministerie men may be brought out of spirituall bondage vnto the libertie of Gods children The consideration whereof as it bindeth me with all reuerent care and intention of mind to intreate of this argument so ought it to moue you to heare the same with great diligence and attention And the rather not only because among vs who professe the Gospell many do not know the Christian libertie and more do abuse it to their owne perdition but also because the Papists are both enemies of the liberty it self endeauouring by their Antichristian doctrine to bereaue vs of the chiefe parts thereof and also malicious standeres of the most Christian cōfortable doctrine of our Churches concerning the same But to come to the words of my text the summe and effect whereof is this that Christ the Sonne of God is the author of true libertie to all those that truly beleeue in him For the explication wherof wee are first to speake of this libertie in generall and afterwards to descend vnto the particulars In the generall doctrine wee are to consider these foure things 1. What it is and wherein generally it doth consist 2. Who is the author of this libertie which in the text is expressed to bee the onely begotten Sonne of God 3. The subiect or the parties on whom this libertie is conferred which is plainly gathered out of the context or in●erence of these words vpon the former to bee all the sonnes of God by adoption 4. The generall property of this liberty that it is not a counterfait or imagina●y but a true liberty Of all which points I will speake very briefly As touching the first for as much as Logicians teach that the definition of the speciall is to bee ●etched from the distribution of the generall for which cause the diuine Philosopher calleth a distribution 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as being the ready and as it were the Kings way to a definition wee will therefore take a suruey of the diuers sorts of liberty For there is an outward or externall liberty and there is an inward or internall libe●ty The former is the liberty of the outward man from externall or bodily seruitude which may be called the corporall or ciuill liberty Of this our Sauiour speaketh not though the Iewes would seeme so to vnderstand him but of the internall which may well stand with the outward or ciuill bondage For as our Sauiour Christ noted them though outwardly free to bee in spirituall bondage so contrariwise those who in respect of the inner man are free may notwithstanding bee subiect to the external or ciuill seruitude which nothing impeacheth or impaireth the liberty of the soule and conscience before God In which regard the Apostle saith Hee that is called in the Lord being a seruant is the Lords freeman So that the liberty whereof we speake is a liberty of the soule or inner man Wicked therefore is the doctrine of the Anabaptists who therby exempt themselues from all subiection to the ciuill Magistrate vnder pretence of Christian liberty I call their doctrine

Lord in the holy Mount Therefore saith the Apostle it shall rise a Glorious Body yea a Spirituall Body not in Substance but in quality preserued by spirituall meanes and hauing as an Angell agility to descend and ascend What a honour is this That our bodyes falling more vile then a carrion should thus arise in glory like vnto the Body of the Son of God 4. Lastly they together with all the holy Angels there keepe without any labour to distract them a perpetuall Sabbath to the glory honour and praise of the all Blessed Trinity for the Creating Redeeming and Sanctifying of the Church and for his Power Wisdome Iustice Mercy and goodnesse in the gouernment of Heauen and Earth They shall know God with a perfect knowledge so farre as creatures can possibly comprehend the Creator For there we shall see the Word the Creator and in the Word all Creatures that by the Word were created that we shall not neede to learne of the thing which wee made the knowledge of him by whom all things were made The excellentest creatures of this life are but a darke vaile drawne betwixt God and vs but when this vaile shall bee drawen aside then shall wee see God face to face and know him as wee are knowne Wee shall know the power of the Father the Wisdome of the Son the grace of the Holy Ghost the indiuisible nature of the blessed Trinity The greatest knowledg that men can attaine vnto in this life comes as farre short of the knowledge which wee shall haue in Heauen as the knowledge of a child that cannot yet speake plaine is to the knowledge of the greatest Philosopher in the world They who thirst for knowledge let them long bee Students in this Vniuersity For all the light by which we know any thing in this world is nothing but the shadow of God But when wee shall know God in heauen wee shall in him know the manner of the worke of the Creation the misteries of the worke of our Redemption Yea so much knowledge as a Creature can possibly conceiue of the Creator and his works But whilst wee are in this life wee may say with Iob how little a portion heare we of him and assure our selues with Siracides that there are high yea greater things then these bee and that wee haue seene but a few of Gods works For so soone as she is admitted into actuall fruition of the beatificall essence of God shee hath all the goodnes beauty glory and perfection of all creatures in all the world vnited together and at once presented to her in the sight of God If any be in Loue there they shall enioy that which is more amiable If any delight in fairenesse the fairest beauty is but a dusty shadow to that hee that delights in pleasures shall there find varieties without either interruption of griefe or distraction of paine Hee that loueth Honor shall there enioy it without the disgrace of cankered enuy hee that loueth treasure shall there possesse it and neuer bee beguiled of it There they shall haue knowledge void of all ignorance health that no sicknesse shall impaire and life that no death can determine By vertue of this the penitent soule may bouldly goe and say vnto Christ as Ruth vnto Boaz Spread o Christ the wing of thy garment of thy mercy ouer thine handmaid for thou art my kinsmā Indeed God is all in all to vs in Earth but by means and in a small measure But in heauen God himselfe immediately in fulnesse of measure without all meanes will bee vnto vs all the good things that our soules and bodyes can wish and desire Hee himselfe will bee saluation and ioy to our soules life and health to our bodyes beauty to our Eyes musick to our Eares honey to our mouthes perfume to our nostrils meat to our bellyes light to our vnderstandings contentment to our wils delight to our hearts and what can bee lacking where God himselfe will bee the Soule of our soules When therefore wee behold any thing that is excellent in any creatures let vs say to our selues how much more excellent is hee who gaue them this excellency When wee behold the wisdome of men who ouerrule creatures stronger then themselues outrunne the Sunne and Moone in discourse prescribing many yeeres before in what courses they shall be eclypsed let vs say to our selues how admirable is the wisdome of God who made men so wise when we consider the streng●● of Whales and Elephants the tēpests of winds and terror of Thunder let vs say to our selues how strong how mighty how terrible is that God that makes these mighty and fearfull creatures When wee taste things that are delicately sweete let vs say to our selues O how sweete is that God from whom all these creatures haue receiued this sweetnesse And if our louing God hath thus prouided vs so many excellent delights for our passage through this Bachin or valley of teares what are those pleasurs which hee hath prepared for vs when we shall enter into the pallace of our Masters ioy How shall our soules bee there rauished with the loue of so louely a God In a word looke how farre this wide world surpasseth for light pleasures and comfort the darke and narrow wombe where in thou wast conceiued a child so much doth the world to come exceede in ioyes solace and consolation this present world How happy then shall wee bee when this life is changed and wee thither translated This shall bee thyne eternall happinesse in the Kingdome of Heauen where thy life shal be a communion with the blessed Trinity thy ioy the presence of the Lambe thy exercise singing thy ditty Alleluiah thy consorts Saints and Angels where youth flourisheth that neuer shall waxe old Beauty Lasteth that neuer fadeth loue aboundeth that neuer cooleth health continueth that neuer slaketh and life remayneth that neuer endeth A Prayer O Lord God heauenly Father when I doe consider how many wayes and by how many sorts of sinnes I haue offended thee night and day and doe duely call to minde how graciously thou hast kept me this night and how many blessings and fauours I haue receiued of thee without number I am euen astonished at my great ingratitude and doe vtterly condemne my selfe of highest rebellion against thee Many haue been the dayes weeks moneths and yeeres that thou hast here afforded mee to liue and in all the time of my life hitherunto thou hast graciously preserued mee plentifully relieued mee and continually kept me vnder thy Fatherly protection in all my nights and dayes and hast beene euermore watchfull ouer mee that I haue from time to time from night to day and from day to night beene euer sustained through thy grace though I haue sometimes felt thy correcting rod by some crosses for my sinnes yet haue they beene euer easy in comparison of my deseruings and profitable vnto me Lord pardon