Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A37223
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A sermon on Psal. CXIX, v. 57 shewing wherein the good man's portion and dependence consists / by James Davies.
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Davies, James, fl. 1657-1709.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing D386; ESTC R26076
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19,113
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40
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we are mortal God hath made every thing here mutable by the standing Laws of his Providence and he hath made our condition here as well by the Laws and Constitutions of our Nature as by his positive Sentence and Appointment so that in either respect we can have here no durable certain portion But what a weakness or rather madness is it to chuse that for ones portion which he is sure to lose how extremely miserable must his condition be when he comes to have his Portion taken from him When a man who has made this World and his own will and pleasure in it his only end and portion shall be strip't of these and have nothing left to carry with him when he goes out of it but an accusing Conscience nothing of good not so much as good hope lest to nourish and satisfie his Soul in its endless duration How much a wiser and happier course shall we take to secure to our selves that other Portion which is certain and perpetual God is Eternal and his Favour is Endless 't is not subject in its own Nature to diminution or decay It lasts as long as we live and when we die it accompanies us into the other World and gives us comfort and confidence in his presence and the holy Angels and puts us into the possession of never-ceasing joyes To this Portion therefore does our Blessed Saviour direct his Disciples Matth. 6. 19 20. Lay not up for your selves treasures upon Earth where rust and moth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal but lay up for your selves Treasures in Heaven where neither rust nor moth do corrupt and where Thieves do not break through nor steal Thirdly This is such a Portion as provides for the necessities of the Soul The comforts of it are spiritual and internal and so more suitable to the rational and better part of Man The Soul is a Principle distinct from the Body as appears by this amongst other Arguments that 't is not to be satisfied with bodily Objects or Enjoyments In the midst of these a man's mind may be ill at ease It may be wounded with guilt or overwhelmed with sorrow or amazed with fear of the Divine Vengeance It may be disturbed as Belshazzar was in the midst of his Beasting and Jollity It often happens that in the midst of this kind of laughter the Heart is sad and the end of that mirth is heaviness The Soul is so far from being satisfied with these things that the abundance of them is rather apt to cloud and debase and darken it and to make its condition worse than it would be in the absence of such abundance So that these are no suitable Portion for the Soul We might as well expect to satisfie a hungry stomach with good words as to satisfie the Soul with sensual Enjoyments These are as much too gross for the Soul as the other are too thin and meagre for the Body But the Portion here mentioned is abundantly sufficient to inrich and satisfie the Soul The devout Contemplation of God and of his Excellent Power Glory and Goodness do mightily raise and refine and delight the Soul how much more the enjoyment of him As he is the Author so he is the proper Object of our spirits which never seem to be at home but when they are conversant with him And therefore it was absurdly affirm'd by Epicurus as Plutarch well Observes and largely proves That the disbelief of a God and of all future recompence tends to the quiet and happiness of mens lives whereas there is nothing more true than the contrary The very thoughts of God are better able to stay our Minds and calm our Passions and ease our troubles than any other consideration whatsoever And the comforts of his Word and assistances of his Grace and other Emanations of his Goodness such as have been mentioned have that force upon our spirits that when we can attain to some sence of these and keep our selves in some moderate possession of them we cannot but think our selves happy in this imperfect state We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ saith the Apostle Rom. 5. 11. and Vers. 2. We rejoyce in hope of the glory of God And Vers. 165. of this Psalm Great peace have they who love thy Law Now Peace and Joy and good Hope are the proper Entertainments of the Soul And these issue naturally from a Religious application of our selves to God and from the sence of his favour by which our Minds are refreshed and comforted for the present until they can be restored to that Immense Fountain of Goodness and be made to drink of those Rivers of Pleasure for ever Thus much concerning the great things contained in this Portion and the excellent Properties of it A Second Head of Arguments to prove the Wisdom of this choice may be taken from the Effects and Benefits that are consequent to it Particularly 1. The fixing of our hearts firmly upon God as our Portion is a good help to make us steady and constant in that which is good and to prevent the contrary evil of Inconstancy We know of how great moment Constancy is in matters of Religion It is a property that cannot be separated from it without frustrating the whole design of it It is the great Condition our Saviour requires of his Disciples If ye continue in my Word then shall ye be my Disciples indeed Joh. 8. 31. and Chap. 15. 4 5 6. Abide in me and I in you He that abideth in me the same bringeth forth much fruit If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch cut off from the Tree Therefore Vers. 9. Continue ye in my Love There is scarcely any man so bad so utterly void of all sence of Religion or Humanity but that at one time or other he may do some worthy things Nero himself whose name is so in-famous for Cruelty and Bloodshed is said once in his life to have wept when the Sentence of a Malefactor was brought to him to be signed and to wish that he could never have written It is only Order Moderation and Constancy that shews a wise Man and a good Christian. All other things may be found in an indifferent and defective man Now what likelier means can there be to establish the heart and make a man constant than fixed and deliberate Choice When the Mind is engaged upon one Object and so not at liberty to rove and wander after others Whereas a double-minded man that is one who is undetermined in his Judgment and Choice is unstable in all his waies Jam. 1. 8. Such a one lives like a man that walks without any design who is indifferent what hast he makes or what path he takes Sometimes he goes forward and sometimes he stands still and looks about him and by and by he turns aside to the next Object that invites his Eye whereas he that is to run for the Goal makes