Heavenlize Your Spirit

Bartholomew Ashwood, The Heavenly Trade, pp. 144-146:

Fifthly, Dwell much in the meditation of Heaven; this will heavenlize your spirit: 'Twas this made the Apostles persons of such heavenly spirits; they did often look to things above. 1 Cor. 4.18. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. No affliction could discourage them from owning and professing Christ; nor earthly comforts allure their desires and delights from Christ; and that which so strongly guarded their hearts from either of these dangers, was a firm persuasion of an interest in future glory, and a diligent observing eye upon this glory: a levelling look at this mark does wonderfully raise the heart towards it, and put in a new spirit and life into the soul, strongly engaging all its attempts towards the enjoyment of it: Frequent contemplations of Heaven do much wean the heart from this Earth. If thou remembrest thou art not of this world, earthly things shall only be admitted into the Court of the Temple, not into the heart, which is the Holy of Holies, [Anthony Burgess] on 17. John. How contemptibly did those Worthies of old look on this world, when once they got sights of Heaven! Heb. 11, They counted themselves strangers and pilgrims on the Earth; were not mindful of their own Country; went out from it; would no more return to it; sought an heavenly Country; were persuaded of those great and glorious things above, and embraced them; laid hold of them by faith: and made after them: and that which did so powerfully work over their spirits to these things above, was their believing sights of them. V. 13. These all died in the faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off; that, the things promised, (viz.) heavenly things, of which Canaan was a type. So [David] Pareus refers the participles here to the things signified of the promise, that heavenly Country which they only desired. Things nearest Heaven (saith one [Thomas Adams]) take least care of the Earth: The Fowls of the Air neither plow nor sow. The glory of the world seems little to one that dwells much on the believing views of Heaven. 'Tis said of Fulgentius, That when he beheld the splendour and joy of Rome, the glory of the Roman nobility, the triumphant pomp of King Theodorick, he was so far from being taken with it, that it raised up his desires after heavenly joys the more, saying, How beautiful may the Celestial Jerusalem be, when [terrestrial] Rome so glittereth! If such honour be given to lovers of vanity, what glory shall be imparted to the Saints, who are lovers and followers of truth! Serious thoughts of Heaven will inflame desires after it: Our conversation is in Heaven (saith Paul) whence also we look for the Saviour, who shall change our vile bodies into the likeness of his glorious body. Phil. 3.20. We wait, hope for, and expect Heaven, to be where this blessed Country is; the breadth and length of which we now look into by faith. If your thoughts be much on Heaven, your longings will be much for Heaven. I have read of one being in his journey towards Jerusalem, though he saw famous Cities in his way, and met with many friendly entertainments; yet would often say, I must not stay here this is not Jerusalem: So will thy heart say (if thou conversest much in Heaven now) when thou meetest with the most desirable comforts of this life; yet this is not Heaven; my affections must not stay here. Allow time every day to take some turns in the upper world, and to get thy heart held in the galleries above; where are the sweetest delicacies, and most delighting views to take thy heart, and sublimate thy affections to these pure and eternal things?

Thomas Watson, A Body of Practical Divinity, p. 448:

1. Are we heavenly in our Contemplations? Do our Thoughts run upon this Kingdom? Do we get sometimes upon Mount Pisgah; and take a Prospect of Glory? Thoughts are as Travellers: Most of David's Thoughts travelled Heaven's Road, Psalm 139.17. Are our Minds heavenliz'd? Psalm 4812. Walk about Zion, tell the Towers thereof, mark ye well her Bulwarks. Do we walk into the heavenly Mount, and see what a Glorious situation it is? Do we tell the Towers of that Kingdom? While a Christian fixeth his Thoughts on God and Glory, he doth as it were tread upon the Borders of the heavenly Kingdom, and he peeps within the Vail: As Moses, who had a sight of Canaan, tho' he did not enter into it; so the heavenly Christian hath a sight of Heaven, tho he be not yet entered into it.

EEBO Editions in Print

Since late last year, EEBO (Early English Books Online) has partnered with BiblioLife to produce hardcopy (paperback) print editions of its material. At present, at least 3,000 different works are now available through Amazon under the brand name Proquest EEBO Print Editions. Researchers and lovers of 17th-century Puritan works have long known that EEBO was a goldmine for great literature published in England from 1475-1700. Now, in facsimile paperback form, EEBO Editions are becoming widely available at Amazon. Back in December 2010, I published a reading list for Christians. Many of those works were available -- either exclusively, or primarily -- through EEBO in PDF form, but now, in such a short time, so many of them are available in paperback. Some notable examples from my reading list, with a few others included, are:

• Richard Rogers, Seven Treatises;
• Richard Rogers, et al., A Garden of Spiritual Flowers;
  
• Anthony Burgess, Vindiciae Legis: or, A Vindication of the Moral Law and the Covenants, from the Errors of Papists, Arminians, Socinians, and more especially, Antinomians;
• David Dickson, Therapeutica Sacra;
  
• William Gouge, A Guide to Go to God: or, An Explanation of the Perfect Pattern of Prayer;
• Samuel Smith, Davids repentance, or, A plaine and familiar exposition of the 51. Psalme first preached, and now published for the benefit of Gods church;
• William Ames, Conscience With the Power and Cases Thereof;
• Nicholas Byfield, The Rules of a Holy Life;
• William Attersoll, A Commentary on the Epistle of St. Paul to Philemon;
• Westminster Assembly, The Grand Debate;
• William Perkins, An exposition of the Lords prayer in the vvay of catechising seruing for ignorant people. Hereunto are adioined the praiers of Paule, taken out of his epistles and An exposition of the symbole or creede of the apostles according to the tenour of the scriptures, and the consent of the orthodoxe fathers of the church and Christian oeconomie, or, A short survey of the right manner of erecting and ordering a familie according to the Scriptures;
• Samuel Clarke, Annotations on the New Testament;
• John Dod & Robert Cleaver, A Plain and Familiar Exposition of the Ten Commandments;
• Thomas Doolittle, A Plain Method of Catechizing;
• Thomas Lye, A plain and familiar method of instructing the younger sort According to the lesser catechism of the late reverend Assembly of Divines;
• Thomas Gataker, The Spiritual Watch and Marriage Duties;
• Arthur Jackson, Annotations on Isaiah;
• Theodore Beza, Commentary on Job and Sermons on Song of Songs 1-3;
  
• Thomas Cobbet, A Practical Discourse of Prayer and A just vindication of the covenant and church-estate of children of church-members as also of their right unto bastisme;
• Smectymnuus (Stephen Marshall, Edmund Calamy, Thomas Young, Matthew Newcomen, and William Spurstowe), Smectymnuus redivivus Being an answer to a book, intituled An humble remonstrance in which the original of liturgy Episcopacy is discussed and queries propounded concerning both; and more.
  

It is also worth noting that some interesting works are presently available at Amazon's Canadian site, but not on the U.S. site, such as:

• Edward Leigh, Annotations on Five Poetical Books of the Old Testament (Viz.) Job, Psalmes, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles.

I encourage interested readers to explore the goldmine that has recently become accessible in print. The works listed here are only the tip of the iceberg. Tolle lege!

Love the Brethren

Anthony Burgess, Spiritual Refining: The Anatomy of True and False Conversion, Vol. 1, p. 42:

The second proposition is, that Love of the Brethren is that sign and mark whereby we know assuredly, that we are in this happy estate; so that our love is no merit or cause, but a sign only; hence it is good to observe, that this very self-same privilege of passing from death to live, is attributed to faith, John 5:24, but in a different sense to faith, as that instrumental cause, which puts into such a condition, to love as an effect or sign only; for though love unites us to Christ as well as faith, yet faith does it by inward receiving of Christ to us, love by going out in our works for him; Hence the union by love is posterior to that of faith; Hence also it is that if love should justify, the dignity of it would arise from the act of love, because it's union consists in doing something out of us, but in faith's union, the dignity is wholly from the object, viz. Christ embraced, because this union is by inward reception and application.

That love of the brethren is a sign of true grace.

As the Apostle makes it here a sign to ourselves, so in other places to others, Hereby shall all men know ye are my disciples, if ye love one another; he does not say, if you work miracles, if you cast out devils, but if you love. Hence the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter. 1:7 bids them add to godliness, brotherly kindness. As if we could not have any true comfort from all our religious duties towards God, unless this also be added to it, or with it.

Converting Afflictions

Anthony Burgess, Spiritual Refining: The Anatomy of True and False Conversions, Vol. 2, pp. 115-117:

A second branch of chastisements, are indeed for sin, and flow from God's anger, but they are wholly medicinal: They are to let blood, like the physician who intends health; not like the butcher, who is to destroy; because God would discipline us by them as children, not punish us as condemned malefactors.

And if you say, How can these be for conversion, when sometimes they fall upon those that are converted, such as are made God's children already?

To answer this, you must remember what was said heretofore, that even those who are converted, do yet need daily to draw nigher and nigher to God; they are to be converted daily from those frequent corruptions, which estrange them from God; and thus when God's own people have their afflictions, they are to consider, is not this to turn me nearer to God? Is there no such pride, such dulness and coldness in the service of God, that I am to be turned from? Well, it's clear, to God's own children, they are thus medicinal; but by the texts forementioned, and in several other places, it's also evident, even to those who are sinners, and remain in an unconverted estate, God reacheth out his gracious offer in their troubles: That as it is said of several Psalms, which more principally contain the subjects of affliction, A Psalm to give understanding; so shouldst thou write, as it were, upon every trouble, upon every affliction, An affliction to give understanding. Do not physicians command men distracted, and out of their wits, to be kept in dark dungeons, to be bound in straight chains and fetters, to have hard and miserable fare, that so by all this hardship, they may come to their understandings again? Thus God doth, men by their sins are turned mad, they are grown out of their right reason; they indeed think strictness and preciseness is the way to make men out of their wits; but thy lusts and thy wickedness, deprive thee of all sound judgment; now God, that he may recover thee, binds thee in chains, afflicts thee with several judgments, that so at last you may seriously consider of your self, and your condition; so that there was never any trouble befall you but you should make as good use of it, as ever you did of the best sermon you have heard. Hence Parisiensis will not call these afflictions evil, but good; and therefore divides God's dispensations into bona attractionis, and bona retractionis; good things drawing or attractive, these are God's mercies; good things withdrawing or retractive from sin, and these are afflictions.
...
Secondly, Afflictions are converting, and not destructive, when God doth vouchsafe, inward teachings of the soul, inward melting and humiliations of the Spirit with them. God's judgments upon Pharaoh, had no gracious operation upon him, because his heart was more hardened every day. Hence the Psalmist, Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest and teachest thy way, Psalm 94:12, when God's chastening and God's teaching go together, then there is hope of an hearty conversion unto God: when God strikes on the back, and opens the eyes at the same time, then are afflictions blessed and happy to such men: The bitterness of them is quickly recompensed with the fruits of righteousness they bring forth, Consider then, doth the rod give thee wisdom and understanding: doth God speak wisdom to thy heart, while thy outward man is so sharply exercised? Then these things come from love, and will end in love: Oh this undoeth us in our calamities! We attend to the outward burden, and grievous nature of them, we ask, when will we be gone? We cry out, How long Lord? but we never remember that we are by our calamities in God's school; we consider not, neither do we hearken to what God saith unto us; look then to have teaching, as well as striking: Oh woe be to that man, whom God only beats and beats, but teacheth him not at all: This is a forerunner of sad destruction.