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A34447
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Misthoskopia, A prospect of heavenly glory for the comfort of Sion's mourners by Joseph Cooper ...
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Cooper, Joseph, 1635-1699.
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1700
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Wing C6058; ESTC R23381
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387,192
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690
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Job 28.13 14. So if the like Enquiry be made after True Happiness both Sea and Land both the Riches of the Earth and the hidden Treasures of the Deep must needs say It is not in them A Man having Crowns and Scepters and Bags of Gold under his Feet may seem to stand upon a little higher Ground than his Neighbours But for all that if God in Christ be not his Portion he is not one Cubit higher in the Stature of true Blessedness The Truth is we are all ready as Samuel in the case of David to mistake the Blessed Man and to set the Crown of Happiness upon their Heads for whom God never intended it as Samuel over look'd little David and would fain have Anointed Eliab King because so goodly a Personage But we must not Measure Happiness by Worldly Things nor pronounce them Heirs of Heaven and Glory who have the fairest Portion of Earth and Earthly Enjoyments The Pen-Men of Holy Scripture when-ever they go about to Decipher a Blessed Man they never do it by his Outward Condition but by his Inward Qualification not by his Large Purchases but by his Holy Practices not by what he hath in Possession for this Life but by what he hath in Reversion after Death Hence it is that you shall never hear any such Words fall from their Mouthes as to say Blessed are they that are Rich. Blessed are they that are Mighty Blessed are they that are Honoured before Men. Blessed are they that have Gorgeous Apparel and Fare Deliciously every day But Blessed are they whose Sins are Forgiven them Psal 31.1 2. Blessed are they that Walk in the Law of the Lord. Blessed are they that Mourn Mat. 5.3 11. Blessed are they that Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness Sake Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see God A Man may have many Blessings and yet not be Bless'd And again he may lye under many Miseries and yet not be Miserable Have all the Blessings in the World yet without God thy Condition is Miserable Have all the Miseries that the World can inflict yet still if God be thy Portion thou art perfectly Blessed 'T is not what Men have but what they are not what is their Present and Temporal but what shall be their Future and their Eternal Condition that speaks them to be either compleatly Miserable or truly Blessed THIS Ensuing Treatise have I therefore Composed on purpose to beget both in my own and others Hearts more serious fixed Thoughts of our Eternal Condition And as you will find that in it which may be as a flaming fiery Sword turning every way to keep Men from having any thing to do with the Forbidden Fruit of Sin So it may be for a Jacob's Ladder to the Righteous whereby Scaling the Walls of the New Jerusalem as in an Holy Storm they may come to eat at length of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God Durst I compare this Treatise with the Ark of the Covenant I might tell you there is laid up in it both an Aaron's Rod and a Pot of Mannah There is something of Hell's Horrour discover'd to Affright Men out of their Ungodly Courses and a Glimpse of Heaven's Glory such as it is to Decoy them into a Life of serious practical Holiness Every Man is either of God by Regeneration living a Life of Faith and going to Heaven Or of Satan by Corruption living a life of Sense and running on in a swift Career to Hell This Discourse have I suited to both Conditions endeavouring to shew you according to the small Talent wherewith the Lord hath entrusted me That if there be any Fire in Hell the Wicked shall Everlastingly be Tormented in it and if there be any Glory in Heaven God's People shall for Ever be Crowned with it When Zuinglius at any time like a Boanerges a Son of Thunder was Rattling proud and hard-hearted Sinners he would often like a Barnabas a Son of Consolation let fall some Beam of Comfort upon the poor trembling Soul Bone Christiane haec nihil ad te Whatever Terrour is here spoken will fall heavy upon none but the Wicked who walk according to their own Hearts Lusts There is a Vein of Comfort laid in to Refresh God's People the whole Discourse is a River of Life sendâ—ng out thô through an Earthen Pipe those Streams which may well make Glad every Gracious Heart Hell I have herein Deciphered to deter from Sin when Men shall fear the Vengeance of Eternal Fire which will follow after Heaven I have also in some measure Described to work Joy in Well doing when God's People shall fix their Eyes upon that far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory to which it leads He that by patient continuance in Well-doing â—eeks for Glory Honour and Immortality may turn and read of Heaven how Blessed he is like to be when God shall Crown him with Life Everlasting He that hardens his Heart in a Course of Ungodliness let him turn and read of Hell how dreadfully Miserable he is sure to be when he shall be Punished both Soul and Body from the Presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Power THE * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epigrammatist would have the Silver Axe of Justice carried before the Magistrate to Proclaim If thou be an Offender let not the Silver Flatter thee but if an Innocent let not the Axe Fright thee I testify the same to every one that shall Read the Words of this Book if thou be an Impenitent Ungodly Sinner let not the Glory discoursed of Flatter thee since Wrath and Hell are thy Portion But if thou be a Child of God let not the Flames and Misery that abide Ungodly Men Affright thee for there is a Crown of Righteousness there is a Kingdom of Eternal Glory that will after all present Troubles fall to thy share Truth is what ever Discourses we can make of this kind have neither Thunder enough in them to Awaken us nor yet Glory enough to Attract our Eyes to the due Beholding of those Eternal Concernments which God hath set before us Men are generally as Careless in Religious Affairs as if Hell were but a Melancholick Dream and Heaven a Devout Fancy as if there were no Horrour in the one to Affright them nor any Glory in the other to Engage their Thoughts and Attract their Desires Most Men are so Infatuated with the Painted Beauty of this Earthly Jezabel the World that they can let out their Affections upon nothing else They set up their Rest here building Tabernacles below never caring for that Building which is of God Eternal in the Heavens How many Thousands doth the World carry Captives at her Wheels so strangely Tyranizing over fond Mortals Affections that they can neither Spirare nor Sperare Coelestia no more Hope for than Breath after Eternal Enjoyments 'T is Storied of the Duke of Alva That being ask'd by Henry the
the Tree of your Christian profession never so stately and flourishing yet vain-glory is a Worm that will smite it and so quickly make it wither away that you must never expect to gather any clusters of Canaan any ripe fruits of Paradise any gleanings of true Happiness from it The Pharisees they fasted and prayed and gave Alms but because they did it all to be seen of Men this took the Crown from off their Heads and robb'd them of all future Happiness (d) Matth. 6.2 Verily I say unto you saith Christ reproving their Hypocrisy they have received their reward They sought in all their religious performances the praise of Man not the Glory of God and therefore their Sin it becomes their punishment The praise of Man they shall have but the Glory which comes from God only they shall never have And yet tho vain-glory be thus like the Curse of Christ to the barren Fig-tree causing all our Plants so to wither that the ripe fruit of Eternal Glory will never grow upon them Yet how apt are the very best to let all their performances be sowred with this Leaven and to suffer this Worm to corrupt their Choicest Fruits and Flowers Oh how rare a thing is it to see Men acted not by any carnal respect or vain-glorious motive in what they do but by spiritual motives and Heavenly considerations such as are the Love of God a desire of Communion with him and the hope of an Eternal reward from him (a) Molendinum non circumagitur nec facit farinam nisi excitetur vento sic multi non facerent farinam bonorum operum â—â—si fâ—â—te vento vanitatis Stella de Cont. Mundi vanit lâ—b 1. cap. 11. Esteem of Men popular Applause and worldly Glory these make many Persons take some little tincture of Religions who otherwise would never have had so much as a shew of it Many thousand there are who count godliness not gain unless they can make a gain of godliness nor will they at all lay forth themselves in the service of Christ unless thereby they can raise up to their own name a Monument of worldly Glory But oh how unworthy and sordid is the practice of such self-designers in religion who do thus subordinate the Glory of God the credit of Religion and the joys of Heaven to their own carnal ends and make them all subservient to the lust of their own hypocritical vain-glorious and ambitious Hearts Is there not beauty enough in God to attract our love and Glory enough in Heaven to recompence all our labours unless we may have and ambitiously design for ourselves the praise of Men To follow God in religious performances to be seen of Men to make a profession of Christianity meerly that our names may be famous and admired in the World what is this but to be a Judas selling Christ for Mony or Esau selling our Birthright for a Mess of Pottage Beware then that you never enter into this temptation which that you may not do pray hard for an upright frame of Spirit and consider often as a motive to all holy duties the Glory Happiness and Eternal joy which God hath set before you As Aaron's Rod devoured the Rods of the Magicians So that Crown of Life and Eternal Glory which shall shortly be put upon us should utterly devour consume and eat up all desires after vain-glory If stately and sumptuous Buildings allure you think often what Cottages these are in comparison of those Heavenly Mansions which Christ is preparing for us If gorgeous and fantastical Apparel bewitch you think seriously what wages these are in comparison of those white Robes wherewith all the people of God shall be cloathed in the Kingdom of their Father If any worldly splendour and Glory have an influence upon you oh think what a Bubble it is in comparison of that far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory which lies before us in all the ways of obedience Let a Man but often revolve in his thoughts and always keep in his Eye the Reward of Eternal life and he will not need to look abroad in the World for any motives to all upright self-denying and holy walking before the Lord. Oh how little should a Christian be affected with all Earthly Glory and how upright should it make him when God allows him in all the ways of obedience a Tree of Life to feed upon causing him by faith to see the Glory and to anticipate the pleasures of the Heavenly Jerusalem What is it not enough that there is Heaven at the end unless you may have the praise of Men in the way of obedience Will not the Glory which comes from God alone satisfy you unless vain Men like yourselves admire you Is it nothing to be walking on towards a Crown of life unless others see and count every step that you take in Heavens way Can you think you have cleansed your Hearts in vain and count all your labour lost in the service of God who will shortly reward you with an Eternal reward if you have not the praise of Men given you into the bargain Oh dreadful hypocrisy and never to be bewailed but with tears of Blood If thus you be acted by vain-glory and sinister ends in the service of God in vain shall you expect a Mansion of Eternal Glory in God's Heavenly Kingdom Our first Patents by eating of the Tree of Knowledge they lost their right to the Tree of life Thus if you will seek the praise of Man and live upon the Wind of popular applause in the service of God you cannot but forfeit your right to Eternal Glory (b) Non virtue sed causa virtutis apud Deum mercedem habet August de Temp. Serm. 59. For as Austin well observes 't is not the greatest doers but the sincerest Livers not Men of a glorious profession and many performances but Men of holy motives and pure intentions whom God will reward with Eternal life So much better it is not to seem and be than not to be and yet seem a true Christian Beware therefore lest being wholly acted by Vain-glory and other sinister ends in the service of God there be found under the name of a Christian nothing else but the Heart of an Infidel 3 Walk contentedly not murmuring against Heaven but sitting down as well satisfied with your present condition be it what it will 'T was hard enough with old Jacob when there was a Famine in the Land of Canaan but having received the glad tidings of his Sons welfare he is now at ease and as one fully satisfied he cries out it is enough Joseph is yet alive So whatever hardships attend you and whatever Troubles you stand involved in yet Christians methinks the glad Tidings of Eternal Life prepared for you and of that everlastingly glorious Reward which God sets before you should make you sit down well satisfied and cry out as in an extasy of admiration it is