Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n
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A51436
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Religious meditations on Ecclesiastes, Chap. 12. vers. 13, 14
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Mosse, John.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing M2857A; ESTC R221919
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20,870
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69
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RELIGIOUS MEDITATIONS ON Ecclesiastes Chap. 12. Vers 13 14. Let us hear the Conclusion of the whole matter Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole Duty Man For God shall bring every work into Judgment with every Secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil I will Meditate in thy Precepts and have respect unto thy ways I will delight my self in thy Statutes I will not forget thy word Oh how I love thy Law it is my Meditation all the day Psal 119. Vers 15 16.97 LONDON Printed in the Year 1699. DEDICATION TO THE Piously affected Young Man My Beloved Friend AS it hath pleased the God of Infinite Mercy to incline our heart to seek after him in our tender years and to give us a clear perception of those things which pertains to Eternal Life and Salvation so hath be also Glory to his Name in the Highest given us cause to testifie to the truth of that promise Pro. 8.17 Those that seek me early shall find me And altho' secular concerns may sometimes be ready to prevail yet in retired and serene Speculations of mind the vanity of all created obâ—ects is discerned and the Soul meeting with nothing of Satisfaction here below Soars aloft to a Supream being its proper center and place of rest from whence is beheld the World with all its fulness as only filth and dregs and unworthy for an Immortal Soul to be wholy imployed in In such contemplations being exercis'd amidsts various occasions for thoughts of another kind I have many times been fully sensible of the blindness that is over the Hearts of Men who are preferring transitory and earthly Goods to real and durable Riches and that are seeking more earnestly for Treasure here below Matth. 6.19 20.33 than to lay it up in Heaven where Moth or Rust cannot corrupt nor Theif break through and Steal and desires have been rais'd to obey the precepts of Jesus who said First seek the Kingdom of Heaven and the Righteousness thereof c. And that such desires may be strengthen'd and encourag'd let us wait upon the Lord let us trust and repose all our confidence in him and he will provide for all our wants all our necessities of what relation soever shall be supplied and we shall be upheld through all occasions of falling that we may pass through But Oh that we may not presume to think of security by a God that we do not know let us feel after him in whom we live move and have our being Acts 17.22.31 he is not far from any altho' they may be wholy Ignorant of it But he is imperceptable to the Carnal in Heart they are wholly strangers to him he beholds them a far off But let us meditate on his Laws that we may be partakers of his Blessings and let us be low and humble that we may inherit his Glory Prov. 3.34 35 who scorneth the scornful and giveth Grace unto the lowly in Heart To the improvement of my received Talent are these following Meditations produc'd and I expose them to publick view not to be taken for a Methodical comment or learned exposition For as I am too young and uncapable were there occasion for such a Work so am I Old enough to see that too many of the Books abroad in the World of such a kind prove more to the confusion then confirmation of the Readers especially when they treat of places hard to be understood But those comprehensive words that I make the Subject of my thoughts Eccles 12.13 14. as it is one of the most full so t is of the most easie and intelligable places of Scripture which I chose to exercise my privat Meditations on not designing at the first that they should appear in this publick manner And if any remote from God should hereby he induced to approach the throne of his Grace and return from the evil of their ways then shall I think the Publication hereof to be done in a happy Hour But if it be so unsuccessful as to work no such effect yet my comfort is that it has been a greater benefit to my self than it can be a hurt to any And that thou Pious Reader maye'st be further encouraged I present thee with these following metucally exprest Cogitations Contemn the World its Glory all desise It is too base for noble minds to prize How vain and empty is its three fold Treasure Compris'd in Honour Profit and in Pleasure We know such Honours base and such esteem Is set not as we are but as we seem T is like a new Blown but a fading flower Of small continuance and of smaller power It gives no real content no lasting peace But as a blast of Wind doth puff and cease If lean'd upon 't is but a broken reed And only doth our crasy fancies feed But not our Souls they must have food Divine That 's suiting to their 〈◊〉 els they pine And then for profit how can we obtain A real sufficient and a sollid gain That will to such a lasting profit â—end As will not fail to be a comfort in the end This lower Region will not yeild I 'm sure One grain of gain that always can endure We know such Earthly peâ—â—'s esteem'd for Wealth That can't afford our crasy Bodies Health Much less can all its combin'd force prevail To yeild content when final fears assail The troubled Soul which rowls in sorrow now And from its high flown Seat in forc'd to bow To th' pale attacques of Death whose mighty power No strength of Riches can defer an hour But Pleasures limits seem of most extent As to afford a joy without relent And Peoples minds are wrapt so far therein As not to deem the worser of 'em Sin So swiming in this Sea of vain delight Are plung'd into that dark and dismal night Of an Eternal Woe a just reward To those that think their Souls not worthy of regard But Oh let 's flie the cause of such neglect That so we mayn't be cursed by its sad effect And with an Elevated Soul aspire Above these mean delights to something higher That to a Soul enflamed with Celestial fire Seems worthy of pursuit and of a great desire And as one glimps thereof does Elevate the Soul In what an extasie will all our Spirits roul When that most dazeling Glory shall appear To Principate our joy and end our fear Then shall we sound eternal Hymns and Lays Of Anthems Songs and never ending Praise Unto our great Creator whom we must Admire at in his Love to make of Dust Poor Creatures and at last to make 'em blest By the enjoyment of an Everlasting rest By John Mosse Jun. Aetat Anno 19 20. Baldock Hertford-shire the 20th of April 1699. RELIGIOUS MEDITATIONS On Eccles Ch. 12. Ve. 13 14. THE Wise Preacher 1 Kings 3.9.13.10.23.4.30 2 Chron. 1.10.12 Eccles 12.9.10 whose Supplication was for Wisdom which the Lord not only
the Eyes remain so hearing and the other senses are taken away altho' their proper organs are remaining So is it with respect to the Soul of Man 't is depraved in its senses having Eyes it sees not having Ears it doth not hear and tho' 't is Life to the Body yet it lives not because resting in Adam where all die and under subjection to the principle of disobedience 'T is a most noble truth that as the Soul of man animates the Body so the Spirit of God gives Life to the Soul the Soul is Life to the Body and the Holy Spirit quickens the Soul and as the Body without the Soul is Dead and unable to perform any office so is the Soul of man not enliven'd by the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 15 45 47. the quickning Spirit the Lord from Heaven Dead and unable to perform its office to God which is to fear and obey him To retreive and remedy this disability of the Soul is the Son of God manifest 1 John 3.5.8 even to destroy the works of the Devil which have filled the Soul and bruised the heel of the Womans Seed to bring it from under captivity to Sin and Satan Rom. 8.21 into the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God which is incomprehensible to the carnal in Heart which the Natural and unrenewed man cannot perceive but to the Spiritually minded man to the Heavenly attracted Soul to the Soul enflamed with a Celestial love with aspiring desires with noble and heroick affections how conâ—enting how ravishing how sweetly consolating is the sensible enjoyment of a restoration to this Glorious Liberty to this unconceivable joy peculiar to the redeemed Souls when the morning Stars sing together and all the Sons of God adopted Children pure peaceable and reconciled in Herrt and Soul do sing for Joy So that 't is not for the carnal mind to pry into these Divine secrets which are disclosed to none but the Spiritually inclin'd to those whose affections are set on things above whose conversation is in Heaven Mat. 6.21 whose treasures and hearts are there these alone shall not only know the means but feel the power of redemption the Blood of Jesus to purge their Consciences from dead works Heb. 9.14 to serve the living God these will know that they must die unto Sin and live unto Righteousness 1 Pet. 2.24.3.18 that the Redeemer came to deliver them from this present evil World and that they are saved according to his mercy Gal. 1.4 Tit. 3.5 6 7. by the washing of Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost that being Justified by his Grace they may be made heirs of eternal Life Further that they must not live to themselves 1 Cor. 5.15 Ephes 5.25.26 but to him which died for them that he might sanctifie and cleanse them with the washing of Water by the Word to present them to his Father Holy and without Blemish that he might redeem them from all Iniquity Tit. â— 23 2â— and purifie to himself a peculiar people Zealous of good works And that Love Peace Ephes 5.22 Joy Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance against which there is no Law may abound amongst them and wherein they that are Christs having Crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts do live and walk Now would'st thou know the means of redemption and would'st thou be blest with the same hearken and hear and thy soul shall Live Thou hast been or still art by Nature a Child of Wrath and thy affections are joyned to Earthly things to Transitory and Perishing objects that disagree to the pure Nature of thy soul but above all that capital Lust of Pride which as t' was most prevalent in the first Man Adam takes up the greatest part of thy heart so that not being yet acquainted with that power of Jesus which redeems from sin thou art Exalted and Puffed up in thy Fleshly mind which covets after this world and thereby art become wholly estranged from any good to thee in this desperate condition Mat. 11.28 29 30 does the Son of God cry Come unto me learn of me I am meek and lowly in heart and if thou wilt be humble I 'le teach thee of my ways my Doctrine shall be as the Diew it shall inspire Life into thy soul man lives not by Bread alone Mat. 4.4 but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God Joh. 6.48.63 the words that I speak unto thee they are Spirit Mt â— 18.11 and they are Life I am come to seek and to save I am come to abase the Proud and to exalt the Humble in soul he that exalts himself shall be abased but he that abases himself will I exalt Take my Yoke upon thee saith Jesus for thou'lt soon find it easie and my burthen to be light and follow me in the way of self-denyal and of Regeneration tho' thou art Blind I will restore thy sight tho' thou art Darkness I 'le make thee light nay tho' thou art dead I will give thee Life It shall come to pass that the Dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and those that hear shall live Oh blessed promise God is speaking from Heaven by his Son who is Infusing Life even his own Spirit into the Souls and making it to live Then the Dead cannot praise thee neither can they that go down to the grave celebrate thy Name but the living the living can praise thee and magnifie thy Glorious Name who hast redeemed them by thy mighty Power from Death and destruction from Sin and Satan by thy precious Blood by thy virifying Life by that word of eternal Life by which the World was made Man was created and Man is redeemed again through whom to the alwise and almighty Creator be sounded never ending Anthems and Hallelujah's Glory and everlasting Praise Amen Thus is the redeemed Soul engag'd to fear and obey the great restorer of breaches and of paths to walk in John 13.15 who as he left an example for us to follow his steps not assuming Glory to himself but submitting in all things to his Fathers will and at length laid down his Life for his greatest enemies so 1 Pet. 2.21 must we thereby learn to walk in self denial and newness of Life in meekness and in humiliation in submision and pure obedience to the internal revelation of the Divine word which teaches to love enemies to do good to them which hate us to bless them that curse and dispitefully use us Heb. 12.1 2 3. and to take him for our pattern who endured the Cross and despised the shame for the joy that was set before him who being without Sin bore the punishment due for Sin that Man might Sin no more but be restored by means of that Grace which came by Jesus Joh. 1.17 to such a state of Righteousness and perfection as to be enabled to fear