Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	creature_n	lord_n	praise_v	2,323	5	9.4645	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93739	The exceeding great comfort and benefit of having walked before God in truth, and with a perfect heart, and of having done that which is good in his sight set forth in several discourses on Isaiah 38. 2, 3 / by Richard Stafford ...	Stafford, Richard, 1663-1703.	1699 (1699)	Wing S5118A; ESTC R43773	94,501	125

133. 3. The words foregoing are to be taken notice of As the Dew of Hermon and as the Dew that descended upon the Mountains of Zion Even so this Life for evermore is to descend upon the Reasonable Inhabitants of this Earth after they are descended into the Bars 〈◊〉 the Pit Which it is as easy for God to give unto th●se his Creatures as to command his Dew to descend down from above It is as easy a matter with Almighty God to Link and Annex on Life for evermore as soon as this Life which is as a Vapour and continueth not is ended as to add Fifteen Years or any Days Weeks Months or Years to this Temporal Life or as it was to hold our Souls in Life those Days which are past already or as it is to give any Life at first All things are equally possible to an Almighty Power and what he hath said shall be fulfilled And therefore it fitly and properly comes in the middle of that aforequoted Place out of Titus In hope of Eternal Life which God that cannot lie promised before the World began Titus 1. 2. For indeed it is promised throughout all the Old Testament tho' it be most commonly shaded there in Dark Speeches and General Expressions as I am the God of Abraham c. I am thy God I commanded them Statutes which if a Man do He shall even live in them This of necessity must be understood of future and Eternal Life for Transgressors also did live this Present and Temporal Life The Lord the hope of thy Fathers And therefore they must remain and be raised up again in being tho' dead and gone or otherwise God could not be properly and truly stiled their Hope And so this adding of Fifteen Years unto the Days of Hezekiah was an earnest and pledge before-hand and also a making known and shewing unto him in a mystery that God would add and annex unto him Life for evermore when those Fifteen Years of Reprieve should be gone out In a Word the difference between the Preaching manifestation and making known of Eternal Life under the Old Testament And that to us now made under the Gospel was as the first breaking of the Day or Twilight is now as to the Shining more and more unto perfect Day or as an Hour and an half before Sun rising is to its shining in its fullest and clearest Brightness For those of old time had but just a Guess and Glimeering thereof Search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life John 5. 39. But we know and are assured that in them we have Eternal Life Now Jesus Christ hath Abolished Death and brought Life and Immortality to Light which before was in the Twilight only through the Gospel And this is the promise that he hath promised us even Eternal Life 1 John 2. 25. O Eternity Eternity Eternity How dost thou fill and swallow up our Thoughts with Terrour and Amazement To Launch forth into thee which we unavoidably must seems at first sight as dreadful as for us little Creatures to throw our selves into the great and wide Sea where we are as it were lost and are as nothing in Comparison of it Or as it seems dreadful to stand alone upon an exceeding high Pinacle having no more room than only just to se t our foot upon with nothing to hold by but encompassed about only with the thin Vast and Spacious Air. Unless we have hope the Anchor of the Soul which must have some Ground or Object to fix on Now the Object of Hope is the Promises and Particularly and in a most eminent manner that great Promise which he hath Promised even Eternal Life Otherwise we shall be of all Men yea of all Creatures most miserable For as the Tree Falls so it lies As Death leaves us so Judgment find us As the Soul goes out of the Body whether sanctified and renewed or unsanctified and unrenewed so it remains and so it must appear in Gods sight when she shall come before him and is to receive accordingly There is no Redressing or Altering her Condition in Eternity Fifteen Years yea Fifteen Thousand Years yea Fifteen Millions of Years yea Fifteen Millions of Millions of Years for 〈◊〉 many will God add unto the Life of every one of us as soon as ever this fluid Breath is gone forth out of our Nostrils And so to go on in Numbers after that manner 〈◊〉 as long a scrowl of Figures as long as the Earth is 〈◊〉 Circumference which is about 21000 Miles or as would Reach up from hence to the highest Heavens which is 〈◊〉 thousand times longer which would amount to such 〈◊〉 Number as no Man can Number And yet all this would b● no more in Comparison to Eternity than the twinkling 〈◊〉 an Eye is to our whole Life here Conceive in your Though● all the Sand that is on the Seashore or on the Earth all the Piles of Grass that did ever Grow or are now Growing 〈◊〉 the Grains of Corn all the leaves of Trees all the dro●● of Rain that ever fell or the drops of water that are in th 〈…〉 Sea and Rivers all the Stars that are in the Firmamen 〈…〉 In a Word all the Creatures Men Beasts Birds Fishe 〈…〉 Flies and Insects which were ever or now are Take 〈◊〉 reckon all this together which will amount to a Prod 〈…〉 ous I had almost said Infinite Number but that would be improper speaking for the greatest Number is not 〈◊〉 And all this again is no more to the Years of Eternity 〈◊〉 Proportionable to the duration thereof than a Minute 〈◊〉 second now is unto a Year I cannot go further in the description of Eternity whi●● like the High and Lofty one the Inhabiter thereof hat● no Bounds nor measure Two Practical uses and inferences from what hath be●● now said I would recommend and leave for 〈◊〉 Readers own Private particular and several Meditation● 1. Think always I mean before ye are entred into it 〈◊〉 think much upon Eternity 2. Pray without ceasing and be ye always in a Prayin● Posture of mind Having your heart continually lifted u● towards the Invisible God and Requesting those Mean and Preparatory things of him For himself having spoken to us his Creatures Do this and live there the heart is always to be Answering and Saying Lord evermore give us this Bread even that Bread which cometh down from Heaven and giveth Life unto the World Lord Give us Grace Strength and Power to do all those several things which thou requirest of us that we may also do these things and live After two Days will He revive us in the third Day he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight Hos 6. 2. That he would hear our Prayer and see our Tears even that he may add to our Days Fifteen Years or how few soever the remaining Evil Days of our Pilgrimage are or shall be according as it is in

and Seriousness of Spirit For then indeed it is a weighty and near affecting thing that the Soul is going about when she is a going away into Life Eternal or into Everlasting Punishment when she hath but one Cast or Throw which is to make the Final and Everlasting Decision for Endless Happiness or Misery We see by Poor Malefactors when they come to receive the due reward of their deeds what a crying and howling will they make at the Place of Execution and this they do not so much for the Pains which they shall undergo In being cut off hastily and violently from this Land of the living but out of a fearful Expectation of yet greater misery to come But Hezekiahs weeping sore or great weeping was not for this Reason for his Life was True Perfect and Good So that after him none was like unto him among all the Kings of Judah And God that cannot lie hath now under the Gospel promised Eternal Life to the patient continuance in well doing Rom. 2. 7. But probably Hezekiah did not know of this as the Saints and Servants of God of latter Ages do And then like one who is turned and dispossessed out of a Cottage may at first take it in Indignation and Vexation when He then knows not that it is in order to be removed into a Pallace or ●●ner House as He afterwards finds it So Hezekiah then not knowing that if He should be taken out of his Earthly Pallace that He should be received up into Heaven the City of the Great King which would be much better He might probably think it Irksome and a Loss to be taken from the other That Hezekiah was partly Ignorant of thus much appears from his own Words in the following Part of this Chapter For the Grave cannot Praise thee Death cannot Celebrate thee They that go down to the Pit cannot Hope for thy Truth This last He spake as one under that Dispensation from the Mount Sinah which gendreth Bondage Gal. 4. 24. And so this his Distrust and Ignorance did Gender Tears and Weeping in him But by your leave Good Hezekiah we under the Gospel can contradict the latter part of your saying for from thence we do believe yea we know and are assured that they which go down to the Pit can and do Hope for Gods Truth And Notwithstanding it is Written in the Old Testament For in Death there is no Remembrance of thee Yet now Christ hath abolished Death and brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel we can truly contradict that saying also for in Death there 〈◊〉 most Remembrance of God For the Remembrane● which we have of God in this life is much less and as 〈◊〉 Remembrance in Comparison of what Remembrance of God we shall have in and after our several Deaths An● we now can give a Plain and Satisfactory Answer in th● Affirmative altho' by its being asked so short it seems to imply a strong Negation for we know that God will shew wonders to the Dead as that will be a wonderfu●● thing indeed to fullfil in a litteral sense in the last Day what is Written in Ezek. 37. 6 7 8 9 10. And th● Dead will Arise and Praise God Psal 88. 10. And ou● flesh also shall rest in Hope for it shall be raised up an● rendred intire flesh again Notwithstanding it will fo● some time be left in the Grave and see Corruption as th● Holy one of God did not when Jesus Christ shal● change our vile Body that it may be Fashioned like unto his Glorious Body according to his working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto himself Here is to be observed that Good and Godly Mind o● Hezekiah and of David for these did weep and wer● grieved at Death because they thought that thereby the● should be hindred from Praising of God and telling 〈◊〉 his Truth and Wonderful Works They thought the● should be deprived of his Worship and from having an● Sense and Remembrance of him Which as to be wi●● God is the greatest Happiness of Man especially to the Soul that seeketh and serveth him who loveth and delighteth in him and chooseth the things that please h●● So to be without God in the World or to be turned in●● nothing after Death in Respect of God this is th● greatest misery of Man especially if it be considere● what an Unexpressible Benefit Comfort and Satisfactio●●t is to be with God Herein the Godly and Graciou● Soul is quite opposite and perfectly contrary unto th● Ungodly and Graceless Person for the first cannot bea● or away with the thoughts of being without God bot● in this Life and in the Life to come Nothing less wi●● suffice that Soul then to be with God for ever and to have God for her Portion for ever But the Ungodly and Graceless Person as He is An alien from the common wealth of Israel and without God in the World For he makes it his own wretched and willful choice to be so And herein tho' He was made in Honour capable to know God to serve him and enjoy him hereafter yet by not understanding and doing thereafter He doth become like the Beasts that Perish So such an one would desire with all his heart to be without God in the other World also for He fears and apprehends and expects no Good from him but Evil For in the other World He will be either the God of Mercy or the Lord to whom Vengeance belongeth He will be so one of these two ways unto all the Reasonable Inhabitants of the Earth And who would not fear him in this World shall feel him in the next Those who in this Life did despise and would not accept of his Goodness shall partake and be sensible of his severity in the next It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God Every Sinner or Ungodly Person is a Fool as may be demonstrated particularly And as it is Written The Fool hath said in his heart there is no God Even so they that are corrupt and have done abominable works the Sinner and Ungodly the Hypocrite do indeed wish and desire that there was no God for they would not have God Reign over them But that same wish and desire of theirs is as Vain and Impossible as it is yet further provoking and makes their sin yet exceeding more sinful in the sight of him with whom we have to do What strange Imaginations do sinners conceive in their minds that they may not receive in themselves a Recompence meet for their Evil deeds which yet are all to no purpose avail or behoof as any other ways to possibly avoid the Wrath and Indignation of God against them They had better agree with their Adversary quickly whilst they are yet in the way Or let him take hold of my strength that He may make Peace with me and He shall make Peace with me Isa 27. 5. As the Apostle Paul could