and Glory exalted in our Nature at the Right Hand of God through whose meritorious Undertakings we come to be presented unto God and to stand in his Presence with Confidence and Joy as having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing There are the glorious Angels the Cherubims and Seraphims with all the glorified Saints and Servants of God that have lived in all Ages of the World as Patriarchs Prophets and Apostles who are always standing round about the Throne of God crying Alleiuja Praise Honour and Glory unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb for evermore In Heaven there is not only a perfect freedom from all Sin but from all Inclinations yea from all Temptations thereunto Grace and Holiness are there in their Fulness in their Perfection and Glory There it is that this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal shall put on Immortality There it is that these vile Bodies of ours shall be made like unto the glorious Body of Jesus Christ There it is that these Souls of ours shall be enlarged in their utmost Capacities and Desires and yet filled and satisfied to the utmost also There it is that there is fulness of Joy excellency of Glory with an Eternity of Enjoyment of both This now is the Building of God that House not made with hands eternal in the Heavens 2 Cor. 5.1 This is that Kingdom that is to be inherited by the People of God prepared for them from the foundation of the World Matth. 25.46 This is that City that hath Foundations whose Builder and Maker is God Heb. 11.10 The Streets whereof are paved with Gold and the Gates whereof are Pearl Rev. 21.21 In which there is no Temple for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it Where there is no more Night no more Candle nor any need of the Sun or of the Moon to shine in it for the Lord God giveth them Light and they shall reign for ever and ever Rev. 22.5 This now is Heaven and much more than all this for when we have spent all our Days and Time in Hearing in Reading in Discoursing in Meditating upon Heaven and upon nothing else yet after we have done all we can said all we can thought all we can yet can we never set forth the Thousandth Part of that Happiness that is to be enjoyed in Heaven for it is that which is beyond expression beyond imagination but blessed be God it is not beyond enjoyment for the having and possessing of these things in their Fulness in their Perfection and in their Perpetuity is that which as it makes the Happiness of Heaven so excellent and glorious so doth it make it also so desirable to be enjoyed CHAP. II. A more particular Consideration of the Happiness of Heaven Of the Company and Society Believers shall enjoy in Heaven as 1. Communion with all the People of God 2. Communion with Angels 3. Enjoyment of Jesus Christ their Redeemer 4. Sight and Fruition of God What kind of Sight or Vision of God Saints shall have in Heaven Which shall be 1. Immediate and clear 2. Transforming 3. Joyful 4. Permanent and perpetual This Sight and Vision of God in Heaven will be a great Happiness because God is 1. An Vniversal Good 2. A Pure and Vnmixed Good 3. A Suitable Good 4 An All sufficient Good 5. A Satisfying Good 6. An Everlasting Good HAving in the Conclusion of the Former Chapter laid down a brief Description of Heaven and the Happiness thereof I now come to a more particular distinct handling of the several Branches of it Now here the First Thing that I shall instance in as a Part of that Happiness is the Company and Society that the Saints shall eternally enjoy in Heaven Which is comprehended in these Four Particulars Fellowship with all the Saints Communion with Angels The Sight of Jesus Christ as our Blessed and Glorious Redeemer And the eternal Vision and Enjoyment of God himself First The Happiness of Believers in Heaven consists in their Fellowship and Society with the Saints and People of God that have lived in all Ages of the World The Communion of Saints and the great Delight the People of God have taken therein is that we often read of in Scripture Holy David speaks of it with great pleasure Psal 42.4 I went says he to the House of God with the voice of Joy and Praise But why so it was says he with a Multitude that kept Holy-Day Such Society were the Delight of his Soul Psal 16.3 But to the Saints the excellent ones of the Earth in whom is all my Delight O how rejoycingly doth his Soul speak when such Company came unto him I was glad when they said unto me Come let us go up unto the House of the Lord Psal 122.1 It is true David's greatest Delight was in God and in the enjoyment of him and therefore says he I will go unto God my exceeding Joy and Chear Psal 42.4 But next unto God the People of God and Communion with them were those he most esteemed And therefore though his going to the House of God was chiefly to meet with God whom his Soul did most pant and breath after yet was it no small matter of Joy to him that he went to the House of God in such Company And if the People of God now be accounted by a Godly man to be such delightful Company here on Earth whilst Sin as well as Grace is in them in conjunction O how delightful will their Company be in Heaven when they shall be free from all Sin and Corruption having nothing but Grace in them in Perfection Here on Earth the Communion of Saints is sweet and desirable though mixed with Communion with the World so that while we have Fellowship with them we are to have Fellowship with Sinners at the same time and indeed there is no Society so pure and holy but there are and will be a Number of unholy ones among them To be full of Holiness our selves and to have none but holy ones in our company is a desirable thing on Earth but enjoyed only in Heaven Here the Chaff and the Wheat must grow together All that are now called by the Name of the Lord are not all holy but Saints and Sinners dwell together in the same House sit together at the same Table lie together in the same Bed yea eat both of the same Spiritual Meat and drink the same Spiritual Drink enjoy the same Ordinances partake of the same Sacrament even the Body and Blood of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ So that the People of God though they have Communion one with another yet have they Fellowship with Sinners also And this will always be the state of the People of God while they are here But now in Heaven Believers shall have Communion with the Saints and Servants of God and with none but them for all Sinners shall be eternally excluded out
for my Name sake Rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven Thus whatever condition the People of God are in yet still they ought always to joy and rejoyce in God and the Reason is this because they have the special Presence of God with them and where that is there are frequent though secret discoveries of God's Love unto them How often doth God lift up the light of his Countenance upon such whilst they are attending upon him in holy Duties secretly whispering to their Souls that they are accepted in the Beloved vouchsafing to them some Discoveries of the invisible and unseen but yet real Glory and Happiness of Heaven and of their Interest in it whereby their Souls are even ravished with an excess of strange and unusual Joy and Delight beyond what they are able to express And yet all this is whilst as the Apostle speaks Believers walk by Faith and not by Sight Now if this little Sight and these small Enjoyments that the Saints have of God here which in comparison of what they shall see and enjoy of God hereafter may be said to be no Sight for so the Apostle calls it 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom as yet having not seen if this Sight of God which as it follows in the next Words is only our Believing in God if this fills the Soul of a Believer with so great Joy and Delight what then shall the Beatifical Vision of God in Heaven do If Faith and Hope do so ravish the Souls of Believers with Joy and Delight even then whilst we are absent from the Lord for as the Apostle speaks Whilst we are at home in the Body we are absent from the Lord. If yet the Joy of Faith and Hope be so great O what then shall the Joy of Vision be when Believers shall not only be absent from the Body and present with the Lord but shall be ever present with the Lord both in Soul and Body seeing him face to face and enjoying him as he is Surely this Joy must needs be unspeakably great and glorious indeed this Sight of God is that which will not only amaze the Eye with wonder but ravish the Heart with eternal Ecstasies of Joy and Delight Fourthly The Saints Sight and Vision of God in Heaven shall be permanent and perpetual In this Life the People of God have not always the Presence of God with them nor the Manifestations of his Love and Favour towards them but are often in the dark for either they sin away God's Presence from them which is most frequent or else God for wise and holy Ends sees good to withdraw himself from them for a time and when either of these happen it is a sad time with such Souls especially if Sin hath been the Cause of it Such therefore walk very dejectedly and the Truth is their Case is very sad but yet it is that which many of the People of God have experienced See how the Church complains Esa 49.14 But Sion said the Lord hath forsaken me my God hath forgotten me So the Spouse Cant. 5.6 I opened to my Beloved but my Beloved had withdrawn himself my Soul failed when he spake I sought him but I could not find him I called him but he gave me no Answer And as it hath been thus with the People of God formerly so sad Experience tells us it is so with many of them still Sometimes they enjoy something of God his Presence and the Manifestations of his Love towards them in a Duty and O how sweet and delightful is it to their Souls when they thus meet with God! It is Heaven upon Earth but these things do not last for when Duties are ended the People of God grow careless and remiss yield to Temptations give way to Sin become vain and worldly and so lose the Presence of God by reason whereof they walk in Darkness have no Manifestations of his Love and Favour towards them insomuch that their Souls are even ready to faint and sink within them under a despair of Mercy This now is the Case of many a Child of God in this World sometimes he hath the benign Instuences of the Divine Favour darted into his Soul which makes him greatly to rejoyce but what God thus graciously gives he doth not wisely and holily retain These joyful Seasons abide not always with the People of God but they soon lose them the Light of God's Countenance is eclipsed and his Face hid from them by reason of their Foolishness But it is not thus in Heaven no Sin comes there to intercept between the Face of God and those holy Souls for ever There is no complaining of any Saint in Heaven that God hath forsaken him or hides his Face from him But it shall ever be with those holy Ones as our Lord tells us it is now with their Angels Matth. 18.10 They shall always behold the Face of God in Glory This blessed Object of the Saints Happiness in Heaven shall never be withdrawn from them to eternity nor shall their Sight ever be wearied with beholding of it nay without this constant Vision and enjoyment of God Heaven would not be a Happiness great enough to fill and satisfie the Desires of the Saints Their Souls are so raised so capacious that they cannot be content with any thing even in Heaven it self unless they enjoy God there Should God bestow upon them the Glory of all the Creatures either in Heaven or in Earth should he confer upon them the Glory of all the Kings and Emperors in the World yea should he add to that the Glory of the Sun Moon and Stars nay should he add to them the Glory of all the Angels and Cherubims in Heaven yet still they would say they had not enough to make them happy for all these are not God When therefore God hath given Heaven to the Saints he must there give them the Vision and Enjoyment of himself or else they will not account themselves happy Nay I will go a little farther still it is not the Vision and Enjoyment of God in Heaven for a little time suppose it were for a few Days or Years nay were it for many Thousands of them this would not give their Souls full Satisfaction and Contentment unless they could eternally enjoy God This only can make them compleatly happy and now and never till now do they say they have enough And O how sweet is this Word Ever unto the Saints in Heaven in the sense I am speaking of Ever to be with the Lord ever to have him smile upon the Soul ever to behold his Face ever to have his Presence with it and ever to be under the Manifestations of his Love and Favour Here here is Heaven and Happiness indeed thus to see and enjoy God for ever And so much for the First Thing What kind of Sight or Vision of God the Saints shall have in Heaven Secondly Wherein doth it appear that this Vision of God
acquainted with here continually singing Praises and Hallelujahs unto the great God and to the Lamb that sits upon the Throne and be no more weary thereof than the Angels themselves are understanding perfectly the Will of God and readily obeying it without so much as one vain Thought passing thorough their Minds or one idle Word dropping from their Mouths or one wry Look in their Countenances to Eternity O what a blessed Frame is here What would not a Gracious Soul give or do that he could attain to it now How would he rejoice to find a connaturality or perfect suitableness and agreement in himself unto Divine and Heavenly Employments O how happy would he think himself were his heart always as holy as his work Unto this tend all his Duties and performances even unto the perfecting of him in Grace and Holiness it is for this that he so often fasts and prays it is for this that he so often hears reads and meditates upon the Word of God for this it is he so often partakes of the Supper of the Lord and is so frequent in the Communion of Saints even for the destroying of Sin and Corruption and the encreasing and perfecting of Grace in his Soul Oh how full of longing Desires is he after that Day and Time Oh how earnestly doth he cry when when will the shadows flee away when will Days and Nights be at an end when will Time be spent when shall the Curtains be drawn that he may not only look at but eternally possess that blessed Place where Sin shall be for ever excluded both out of him and it where Grace and Holiness shall be perfected in him and where he shall always behold it shining in its ravishing Beauty and Glory Well be of good Chear O all ye Holy and Gracious Souls whose Desires are thus bent for in Mount Sion there shall be both a Deliverance from Sin and a Perfection of Holiness In Heaven the Spirits of just Men are made perfect Let the Thoughts therefore of your perfect Holiness in Heaven support you against all your natural Infirmities and Failings here on Earth Yea let all those that have a real Love to Holiness and a Hatred unto Sin long for Heaven and be desirous to die that they may sin no more but be for ever perfect in Grace and Holiness Fifthly The Saints in Heaven shall be Partakers of Fulness of Joy Joy is the peculiar Privilege of a Saint None in all the World notwithstanding all their great Possessions have that Cause of rejoicing that a godly Man hath That which makes a wicked Man rejoice is something that delights his Senses something that pleaseth his Fancy all which is vain and vanishing But that which delights a Godly Man is that which is solid and substantial something within that reacheth the very Soul and Conscience and that is God reconciled to him in Jesus Christ evidenced to his Soul upon Scripture grounds followed with the Testimony of the blessed Spirit in his Conscience witnessing with his Spirit that he is among the number of the Children of God upon which follows the Love of God shed abroad in his Heart by the same Spirit filling him with that Joy and Peace by Believing that is unspeakable and glorious Now though this be the Privilege of a godly Man yet hath he not always the sense and feeling of this Joy but though he hath not always the Comfort of it yet hath he always the ground of this Joy for Light is always sown for the Righteous and Gladness for the Vpright in Heart Psalm 97.11 Though it doth not presently spring up and break sorth yet the Seed of it is there None in all the World do or might lead such a pleasant joyful Life as the People of God were it not their own Fault they giving way to the omission of some Duty or the commission of some Sin and this mars all their Joy It is true the Devil doth what he can to disquiet them and the Wicked of the World give them molestation and trouble sometimes they are tempted with the Allurements of Profit and Advantage and sometimes they are aw'd with Fears and Threatnings But if they would put forth their Grace into Exercise and by Prayer implore Divine Assistance they would be enabled not only to stand up against all the Enemies of their Peace but with a holy Joy and Triumph to vanquish and over come them This is that Life a godly Man might lead were he so watchful as he ought But Experience tells us it is not so for there are many Clouds of Discontent and Trouble that darken the Sun-shine of a Believer's Joy O the Complaints of past Sorrows O the Sense of present Evils and the Fears of worse for the future these in a great measure share our Lives among them But in Heaven it shall not be so there 's no Sorrow no Troubles no Evils no Dangers no nor so much as any Fears of them for all is Peace there 's nothing but Joy nothing but Pleasure and Sweetness Nor can it be otherwise with a godly Man in Heaven because that which was the Cause of all his Grief and Sorrow which is Sin is now perfectly taken away Now in the Joys of Heaven there are these four Properties they are pure they are spiritual they are full they are everlasting Joys First The Joys of a Saint in Heaven are pure Joys and pure they are in respect of the Object of them and in their being free from any Mixture First They are pure in respect of the Object of them The Joy of the Wicked is terminated upon some carnal Object His Joy is in the Flesh not in the Spirit When he rejoiceth it is among his wicked Companions his Delight is commonly in something that is sinful or sensual in Chambring and Wantonness or at best in Corn Wine and Oil. But now the Joy of a Saint is in God he now cries out with Holy David Psalm 73.25 Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee Thy Favour O Lord is Life and thy Loving Kindness is better than Life And with how much greater Joy and Delight doth a Saint say so of God and of the Enjoyment of him in Heaven It is true Saints in Heaven enjoy the Blessedness of Peace and Rest from all their former Troubles and Sorrows which they remember with Delight and Praise unto their Deliverer but though this eternal Peace and Rest be a great Blessing and that which passeth all Understanding yet is it the least part of the Saints Happiness in Heaven for their greatest Satisfaction and Contentment ariseth from the Joy and Delight which proceeds from beholding the Face of God in Heaven This is that which fills and satifies yea ravisheth the Soul of a Saint when enlarged to its utmost Capacity with that Joy and Delight that is unexpressibly great and glorious Secondly The Joys of Heaven are pure Joys in
regard they are free from any Mixtures The Joys of the Wicked are always mixed with Fear and Sorrow and so are oftentimes the Joys of the Saints also And herein God manifests great Wisdom and Goodness to his People thus to temper their Joys Even as it is with Men of weak Constitutions who must have their Wine mingled with Water for fear of distempering their Bodies And so must the Godly in this Life such is their Weakness have their Joys mingled with Fears and Sorrows lest they should grow proud or wanton Sometimes their Joys are mixed with Fear Hence it is Psalm 2.11 that we are commanded to serve the Lord with fear and to rejoice with trembling And thus we read of the two Women Matth. 28.8 who though assured by Angels that Christ was risen yet 't is said they departed from the Sepulchre with fear and great joy And so is it with a godly Man though by an Eye of Faith he beholds the Death and Sufferings of Christ and looking into his Grave is assured that he is risen from thence for his Justification and Salvation yet cannot but have his heart filled with a fearful trembling kind of Joy And as a Saint's Joy here is mixed with Fear so is it also sometimes mixed with Sorrow for when a Believer by Faith looks upon Christ crucified and considers that a person so infinitely great and glorious should die such a painful shameful cursed Death for so vile a Sinner and so great an Enemy unto God as he was the consideration of this so great and incomprehensible a Love manifested towards him in reconciling God and him together in delivering him from Wrath and Hell and in obtaining Eternal Life for him in Heaven Though this Love of Christ in doing all this for him cannot but affect him with great Joy yet the Consideration of his Sins that pierced and wounded yea crucified the Lord of Life and Glory cannot but break his Heart with godly Sorrow But now in Heaven the Joy of a Saint will be free from all mixtures both of Sorrow and Fear there shall be no Sorrow for present Troubles nor any Fears of future Dangers all their Sorrows will then be turned into Joy The sight of their Eyes will then affect their Hearts that is the sight and knowledge of the great God the Supreme and Insinite Good whom the Saints shall always have with them in Heaven is that which will fill and ravish their Souls with unspeakable Joy Secondly the Joys of a Saint in Heaven are spiritual Joys Now spiritual things are things both of the greatest Reality and of the greatest Excellency Spiritual things are things of the greatest Reality all other things comparatively are not they are such things as have no Being no Subsistence therefore says the Wise Man Why wilt thou set thine Eyes upon that which is not speaking of the admired things of the World We do but abusively call Men that abound with worldly Enjoyments rich substantial Men for Substance is no where but with God he only is the true substantial Good the things of this World are no more than a shadow If a Man were hungry would painted Bread satisfie him if a Man were starving with Cold would painted Fire warm him No why truly all the things of this World will appear no better to a Man when he comes to die there 's no Comfort nor Satisfaction to be fetch'd from them The Reality and Substantialness of Good is only laid up in God and in the Enjoyment of him who is the Saint's Happiness both on Earth and in Heaven There is a Vanity as in all the Troubles of the World so also in all the Comforts of the World There is a Vanity in the Troubles that the Saints endure they are but skin-deep a varnish of Trouble so says the Apostle 2 Cor. 6.10 as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing yet possessing all things And as it is with the Troubles of the World so is it with the Comforts of the World all that sense looks at it is meerly out-side and appearing all the Enjoyments of the World are but a shadow an appearance of that which is Good God and Heaven are Realities but whatever else is Good is but appearingly so The things of the World are not when they are they are not in Reality when they are in Appearance It is a very great mistake to think nothing to be real but what we can touch and handle with our hands or what we can see with our Eyes such as Gold Silver Houses Lands these are not really substantially good things they make a fair show outwardly they have a Gaudery and Excellency as to Sense but nothing of real Excellency as to the Soul Nothing is real but what is spiritual though the Body be more seen than the Soul yet the Soul is a more real Good because it is a spiritual Good and comes nearest to God who is a Spirit and who only is so says the Prophet speaking concerning God Isai 43.11 who only art and there is none besides thee God Christ Grace and Heaven these are spiritually and substantially good and therefore it is said of Christ I cause them that love me to inherit Substance Prov. 8.21 And the Apostle tells the believing Hebrews Heb. 10.34 Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your Goods knowing that in Heaven you have a better and an enduring Substance The Joys and Delights of Heaven they are real because they are spiritual But this is not all for the Saints Joys in Heaven because they are spiritual they are therefore excellent yea the most excellent There is nothing that is earthy in Heaven but all of a spiritual and refined Nature and therefore the more real and the more excellent and by how much the more spiritual by so much the more real and the more excellent also All Joy and Delight placed upon any thing below God is carnal and earthly that which hath dregs in it and comes not up to the Excellency of the Soul it may refresh the Senses and delight the outward Man but it reacheth not the Soul and Conscience it must be something that is spiritual for its Nature and refined for its Excellency that must suit with and be the Delight of a Soul that is spiritual and such is Heaven and the Joys and Delights that are there superlatively excellent and spiritual flowing into the noblest and most excellent part of Man his Soul and Spirit from God who is a Spirit Thirdly The Joys of Heaven are full Joys The Psalmist calls them Fulnesses of Joy and Rivers of Pleasures for the abundance of them Psal 116.11 And the Apostle speaking of Believers tells us 1 Pet. 1.8 That though now they see him not yet believing they rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of Glory If now the Joy of Faith in the Promises of God from some small experience of his Love and Favour to the Soul be above
perfect Lineaments of Christ will then be drawn upon it A weak and small measure of Grace which is the highest attainment that any Saint reacheth to here compared with what we shall do hereafter and is also the Image of Christ upon the Soul of a Believer yet even this imperfect Grace and Holiness makes the Soul to shine gloriously here how much more then shall Glory that is the Perfection of Grace and the perfecting of the Image of Christ upon the Soul make the Soul of a believer to exceed in Glory Not that the Saints in Heaven shall be continually receiving new additions to their Grace or Glory and so be made more and more like unto Christ by the Vision they shall there have of him No this is a Saint's Work and Employment here on Earth whilst he beholds Christ only by an eye of Faith in the Glass of Duties and Ordinances thus to be changed into his Image from Glory to Glory But this Sight of Christ shall vanish away in Heaven and the Saints shall have an immediate Vision of God and Christ and their Souls shall thereby be changed into an exact and perfect conformity unto the Image of Christ It shall not then be from Glory to Glory from one degree of Grace to another as it is now but Grace and Holiness in Heaven shall be always in them in its height and perfection The Souls of Believers upon their entrance into that Holy Place become perfectly and compleatly glorious having the perfection of Grace and Holiness in them without the least remainders of Sin and Corruption which in this World the holiest Persons are not totally free'd from But to speak a little more particularly concerning the Happiness of the Souls of Believers in Heaven and here First In Heaven the Vnderstandings of the Saints shall be enlarged Knowledge is a necessary Engredient unto the Soul's Happiness in Heaven and the more enlarged the Vnderstanding of a Saint is the greater is his Happiness An ignorant Soul cannot be a happy Soul neither on Earth nor in Heaven Ignorant Persons are look'd upon with pity and contempt That the Soul be without knowledge says the Wise Man is not nor cannot be good Prov. 19.2 Knowledge is a great Ornament in any Man but much more in a Christian It is a great Commendation to have an insight into the Secrets of Nature to be skill'd in Arts and Sciences to understand Logick Philosophy Metaphysicks and the like but the Excellency of Knowledge lies not in these things but in the knowledge of the Highest and Chief Good of all and that is God and Christ This the Scripture calls the Excellency of Knowledge So says the Apostle Philip. 3.9 I count all things but Loss and Dung for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord and John 17.2 This is Life eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent This is excellent Knowledge indeed to know God to know the Lord Jesus Christ to understand the wonderful Work of Man's Redemption to be acquainted with the Mysteries of Divine Providence This is a knowledge wherein Angels may delightfully busie themselves in the contemplation of and not stoop below the Excellency and Dignity of their Natures Something of Light and Knowledge they have into these Objects now But alas it 's little we know of God of Christ of the Mysteries of Redemption and Providence to what shall be known in Heaven Some of these blessed Objects are far above out of our sight others are far above the reach of our Vnderstanding to comprehend the depth of those Mysteries of Wisdom Grace and Love that are contained in them But in Heaven our Capacities shall be enlarged to take in the Knowledge of these high and glorious Objects In Heaven God will take off the Vail from his Face that we may see him Face to Face and not only so but will strengthen us that we may be able to look upon and behold his Glory and Excellency which otherwise would astonish and confound us There shall we see the blessed Lord Jesus who for our sakes was for a little while made a little lower than the Angels crowned with Glory and Honour All the wonderful and astonishing Mysteries of our Redemption shall be there unfolded to us There it is that we shall see all the glorious Attributes of God Wisdom Justice Mercy Holiness Faithfulness and Truth sweetly reconciled and fully satisfied and contented in the contrivance of our Redemption by Jesus Christ There we shall with great satisfaction understand the deep and obscure Mysteries of Religion which here the most profound Scholars were never able fully to comprehend There shall the most dark and difficult Passages of that divine and heavenly Book the Scriptures be made clear and plain to our Understanding There it shall be given us to discern how exquisitely the several parts of Holy Writ were by the All wise and Fore seeing Author of them God fitted and adapted unto the several Times Places Persons and Occurrences for which they were intended chiefly to be used We shall then plainly see not only a Reconcileableness but a Friendship and perfect Harmony between those Sacred Texts in Holy Writ that seem'd most to jarr and be at greatest variance Yea there shall we discover not only the meaning of the most dark and obscure Passages of that Sacred Book but how fit it was that they should be so together with the infinite Wisdom of the great God that caused them to be written so obscurely There it is that those Riddles of Divine Providence shall be expounded and laid open before us which have made not only wicked Men to deny but tempted even good Men themselves sometimes to call in question the infinite and unerring Wisdom of the great God in his Government of the World when they behold wicked and ungodly Men to prosper grow rich and great having all their Hearts can wish whilst upright and righteous ones are continually exposed to Poverty Reproach and Contempt There shall we be fully convinced that all these seeming Irregularities are not only consistent with God's Justice and Goodness but are the wise productions of them And though the Belief hereof doth to wise and understanding Persons seem to be a piece of great Self-denial yet when we come to Heaven it will appear to be as highly rational as now we find it to be hard and difficult Man of himself is no fit Judge of the Providence of God at any time but especially not in this World because he cannot see the whole of his Providential Workings at once His Days as Job speaks are but as a shadow upon Earth and they fly away So that he can see but little of what God is doing But when we come to Heaven the whole Conduct of God's Providence in the Administration of Affairs in the World shall be laid open to our view Then shall all the Revolutions and Occurrences of Empires States
and a part of the Happiness thereof as every thing that the heart of Man can desire or imagine that is truly excellent doth make up the Happiness of that blessed State But that which chiefly constitutes Heaven is Holiness there is a holy God there is a holy Place there is holy Company and Society yea every thing that is holy and nothing but what is holy There it is that holy Souls shall be for ever united to a holy God by a continual fervour of holy Love there it is that they shall always holily depend upon God by holy and heavenly Acts of Faith and Hope There it is that they shall eternally obey God with a holy Joy and Delight and all this with the same holy Love Faith Hope and Joy which they did put forth towards God here upon Earth only in Heaven these Graces shall be advanced and exalted above all those Imperfections and Frailties that in this Life did attend them This now is the Glory of Heaven and indeed what greater Glory can there be than this Holiness being the Glory of God himself Thus Moses stiles God in his triumphant Song Exod. 15.11 Where he tells us though he be a God that is fearful in Praises and infinite in Power yet that wherein he is most glorious is his Holiness Who is a God like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods Who is like unto thee glorious in Holiness fearful in Praises doing Wonders And what is the Glory of the Saints in Heaven but only a Reflexion of the Glory of God cast upon them Now as God is in an especial manner glorious in his Holiness so are they glorious in their Holiness And what then will become of all the hopes of wicked and profane Sinners whose Hearts are full of Hatred and Malice not only against those that are holy but against Holiness it self witness their impious and profane scoffing at Holiness their persecuting all those that make a stricter Profession of it than themselves What a strange kind of Heaven do these Men hope for and how miserably do they deceive themselves for if Grace and Glory if Holiness and Heaven be one and the same thing as they are then certainly all the hopes of such wretched Sinners are built upon a rotten Foundation For how can they that hate and persecute a little Holiness in a Saint on Earth where it is mingled with much Sin and Corruption take delight in Heaven where there are greater measures and degrees of Grace and Holiness than all the Saints that ever lived here upon Earth did or could attain to in this World yea where there is nothing else but Grace and Holiness In vain O Sinner dost thou wish or hope for a Heaven where there is nothing but Ease and Pleasure a Place where thou may'st be above all thy Cares and Fears where thou may'st enjoy a constant Freedom from all thy Pains and Distresses that now afflict and torment thee such a Heaven as this is impossible God never made any such nor canst thou in reason expect it but contrarywise know thou must to thy Terror and Amazement that the great God hath joyned sin and the curse so close together that Heaven it self would be no Sanctuary to secure thee either from the stinging Horrors of an Evil and now too late awakened and accusing Conscience nor from the ghasty and tormenting Fears of Wrath and Hell if sin and guilt should enter with thee into that Holy Place Secondly Holiness is a necessary Qualification for Heaven because without it there is no suitableness between us and Heaven All true Pleasure and Delight is caused from the suitableness that there is between the Object and the Power or Faculty in man that receives it It is therefore a pleasant thing for the Eyes to behold the Light and so is it also for the Ears to hear melodious sounds because these Objects are suited unto those Sences which otherwise would not be delightful to them as we see in those that are Blind and Deaf the one takes no Pleasure in the Light nor the other in Musick And so it is with us in reference unto Heaven there is nothing there would be Pleasant and Delightful to us did not God before hand prepare and suit our Souls by his Grace unto that Glory that shall there be revealed to us Hence we find the Apostle Col. 1.12 Giving thanks unto God who by a work of Sanctification had made them meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light To illustrate this a little further there is a two fold unsuitableness between every wicked man and Heaven he is unsuitable to the work of Heaven and he is unsuitable to the Reward of Heaven both which are Holy First Every wicked man is unsuitable to the work of Heaven What shall be the work of Holy Souls in Heaven but to admire and adore to Bless and Praise and with Pleasure and Delight to Love and Serve God for ever This is that joyful work wherein Saints and Angles shall spend an Eternity in And canst thou O Prophane Sinner who hast all thy life time accustomed thy self to wallow in sin and uncleanness impose such a cheat upon thy Soul as to think thou shalt be able to croud into the number of that Holy and Blessed Company in Heaven and there joyn with them in those Holy and Blessed Works that will be the Delight of those Holy ones to all Eternity If Sanctification and Holiness be the only Qualification that manifests any do belong to that Holy Place What shall we then say unto all wicked and prophane sinners who not only take no Delight in the practice of Holiness but unto whom the thoughts of it are grievous and burthensome who are so far from keeping up in their minds constant Meditations of Holy things accompanied with strong and lively affections towards them that they know no Task or Burthen so heavy upon them nor so affictive to them nor that they undertake so unwillingly as the Duties of Holiness and Obedience Oh what a trouble to them is it sometimes to be drawn though but to the external performance of Holy Duties witness their so seldom engaging in them with their so slight and careless management of them If I should now enquire what is the reason of all this why truly that which lies at the bottom of all is an unholy Heart an unsanctified Nature and what would such as these do in Heaven would not that Holy place be a Hell rather than a Heaven to them a place of Torment rather than a place of Happiness it being that place where Saints and Angels spend an Eternity in the most Holy fixed Contemplations and most ardent Love of God And surely they that cannot bear the weak and imperfect Holiness of the People of God here without railing at it as a piece of unnecessary and peevish preciseness will never be able to bear that perfect spotless Holiness that is in Heaven In
what it is to have this God to be our God and truly no more are we able to tell what it is to have the Heaven of God to be ours and as God himself so the Heaven in which God dwells both which shall be the Reward of the Saints hereafter by reason of their infinite Greatness and Glory are better known to us by what they are not than by what they are and we may best conceive of that Recompence of Reward that the Saints shall partake of in Heaven when we are told there is nothing there that may affright or afflict us nothing that may grieve molest or trouble us but an everlasting Enjoyment of the highest and sweetest Delight and Satistaction that the now but much more then vast and capacious Soul of Man can receive desire or in agine Art thou now O Soul oppressed with the grievous and intolerable burthen of thy Sins those daily though also unavoidable Infirmities by which thou dishonour est God grievest his Spirit woundest thy own Conscience under which thou criest out as a Man distracted O wretched Man that I am where and by whom shall I find Deliverance Why assure thy self the Old Man shall never more molest thee in Heaven there is no Entrance for this Body of Sin and Death into Life All the motions and stirrings of Sin shall forever cease in that eternal Rest Art thou now overwhelmed with Grief and Sorrow and doth the smart of one Affliction no sooner wear off but the bitterness of another comes in the room of it and is there thus daily a Succession of them one after another for the Trial and Exercise of thy Patience So that thou may'st say thou art continually a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief as thy Lord and Master was before thee Why in Heaven God shall wipe away all Tears from thy Eyes and Sorrow and Sighing shall for ever fly away Art thou now continually harassed with Temptations Will not the Evil One let thee rest Day nor Night but is perpetually haunting thee with horrid and blasphemous Thoughts as black as Hell it self can invent In Heaven thou shalt not only be out of the reach of his fiery Darts but shalt have an everliving Fountain within thy Soul that shall be eternally springing up in such spiritual Contemplations and heavenly Raptures beyond whatever thou wert acquainted with in thy State of Mortality even when thou wert in the most spiritual and heavenly Frame Art thou here under Clouds and Desertions And doest thou walk up and down mournfully and disconsolately for want of the Light of God's Countenance and the manifestations of his Love and Favour towards thee Doth God seem to hide his Face from thee in Anger and Displeasure so that thou roarest and criest out by reason of the Disquietness of thy Soul Why in Heaven all those Clouds shall vanish away and thou shalt have such clear and full Discoveries of God's Love and Favour and the Light of his Countenance shall beat so fully and everlastingly upon thee that it is impossible thou shouldst be under the least Fears or Doubtings thereof for ever For thou shalt then no more see him through a Glass darkly but Face to Face without any interruption or obscurity to all Eternity This now is something of that great and glorious Reward that shall be bestowed upon the Saints in Heaven but the fulness and perfection of it cannot be known but by Enjoyment CHAP. VI. An Essay towards the Resolution of some Questions as 1. Whether the Saints shall know one another in Heaven 2. Whether there are different Degrees of Glory in Heaven 3. How the Saints are said to be equal with and like unto the Angels in Heaven 4 In what respects Heaven is called a Reward or Recompence Some Vseful and Necessary Inferences from the Consideration of that Happiness the Saints shall enjoy in Heaven deduced in order unto Practice as 1. Hopes of Heaven should make the World contemptible unto Believers 2. None that expect Heaven hereafter should be offended at any thing they meet with in their way thither 3 Expectations of Heaven should make Christians live as those that are Heirs of so great a Happiness 4. Frequent Thoughts and Meditations of Heaven should possess the Minds of those that Hope to partake of the Happiness of Heaven 5. The greatness of the Happiness of Heaven should put Christians upon examining themselves what Right and Title they have thereunto 6. Hopes and Expectations of Heaven hereafter should reconcile to Believers the Thoughts of their own Death and moderate their Sorrows for the Death of their Godly Friends and Relations 7. Hopes of Heaven should put Christians upon unwearied Diligence that is attended with such a Reward 8. The consideration of so great a Happiness as Heaven is should cause in all Believers a Holy longing of Soul after the Enjoyment of it The Conclusion THat which remains to be Discoursed of before we come to the Conclusion of this delightful Subject is to endeavour to give some light into though not full Solution of some Questions the Answering whereof will tend much to the further illustration of the greatness of the Saints happiness in Heaven And here First Some may be inquisitive whether the Saints shall know one another in Heaven or not To this I Answer it is highly probable that the Saints shall know one another in Heaven Were Adam Enoch Noah Abraham Isaac Jacob David Hezekiah Josiah Esay Jeremiah Daniel Paul Peter John with all the rest of the Apostles Saints and Martyrs of God in all Ages of whom we have either read in Scripture or heard of in History who have been Eminent in Grace and Holiness some for their Humility some for their Meekness some for Faith some for Patience some for Self-denial some for Zeal some for Contempt of the World and the like were all these Blessed Saints of God living together at one time and in one place here on Earth as they now are in Heaven would not every Godly man be greatly desirous if it were possible to see them and to live with them especially if there were none but such among them that they might be particularly and distinctly acquainted with them and would not this Knowledge tend much to their Delight and Satisfaction surely it would And is it Irrational to suppose that when all the Saints that have lived from the beginning of the World unto the end of it shall all meet together in Heaven that they might be desirous of a particular Knowledge of one another then Or was it so Delightful and therefore so desirable a thing to be acquainted with the Saints of God particularly when they lived here on Earth when they were men of like Passions and Infirmities as we now are And will it not be a much more desirable thing to have a particular acquaintance with them in Heaven when all their Sins and Imperfections shall be done away and they have nothing in them
come Frequently therefore O Christian have recourse unto Heaven dwell much there in thy Thoughts and Contemplations this will inflame thy Soul with Love to God this will make thee pray with Zeal and Fervour hear with earnestness and attention and perform all the Duties God requires of thee with activity and liveliness Thirdly A Heart set upon Heaven will make a Christian live the most joyful and comfortable Life in the World A Heavenly Mind will be a joyful Mind A Saint on Earth hath the same ground of Joy that a Saint in Heaven hath he derives his Joy and Peace from the Apprehensions he hath of God's being his God and Father in Jesus Christ and from the sence and enjoyment of his Love and Favour manifested to his Soul And so doth a Saint in Heaven only he hath a clearer knowledge and discovery as also a larger and fuller enjoyment thereof at present than a Saint on Earth hath but what he wants in Enjoyment he hath in the Promise and the Promises to a Saint on Earth are as certain and as true as the performance of them to a Saint in Heaven for God is never worse but usually better than his Word to his People here but to be sure they always find it so when they come to Heaven Now they that are Rich in Promises as all the People of God are and can act Faith upon them may very well live a Life of Peace and Joy for whatever they have not in possession they have in reversion And when a Believer's Faith and Hope is entertained above with the delightful Views and Contemplations of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven which he shall ere long be in the possession of what should make him walk uncomfortably and sadly here below In Heaven all is Peace and Joy and most of Peace and Joy here below resides with those that live most in Heaven while they are here on Earth an instance of this we have in the Holy Apostle none ever lived a more Heavenly Life on this side Heaven than Blessed St. Paul did and none also ever lived a more Peaceable and Joyful Life than he did How full of Joy doth he express himself upon all Occasions I Joy and Rejoice with you all says he Philip. 2.17 I am filled with comfort I am exceeding Joyful in all our Tribulations 2 Cor. 7.4 So in Rom. 5.1 2. Being justified by Faith we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and Rejoice in Hope of the Glory of God And not only so but we Glory in Tribulation And Verse 11. We also Joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have received the Atonement So in 2 Tim. 4.8 I have fought a good Fight I have finished my Course I have kept the Faith henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give unto me at that Day Now he that could say all this must needs be full of Joy and Comfort and being thus filled with Joy and Peace in believing though he knew that Bonds and Imprisonments did abide him in every place yet could he say that none of these things moved him neither counted he his Life dear unto him so he might finish his Course with Joy as himself speaks Acts 20.23 24. And this Joy of the Lord being his strength how earnestly and passionately doth he expostulate and chide with those Friends of his that would have disswaded him from Suffering Acts 21.13 What mean ye to weep and break mine Heart I am ready not only to be bound but to die for the Name of the Lord Jesus at Jerusalem From whence now came all this Courage and Boldness from whence did he receive and draw all this Joy and Consolation why it came from thence where his Hope his Heart his Life and Conversation was and that is from Heaven for so himself tells us Philip. 3.20 Our Conversation is in Heaven from whence we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ O this Hope of Eternal Life laid up for the Saints in Heaven as the Scripture calls it This laying hold of the blessed Hope set before us as it is called Heb. 6.18 19. This this was that which the Aposile had as an Anchor to his Soul sure and stedfast being that which entereth into that within the Vail that is into Heaven This made him not only to be content in every State and Condition but to rejoice in the worst that did befal him witness that strange Triumphant Speech of his 2 Cor. 12.3 I take pleasure says he in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in disiresses Now this peaceable joyful Life that this Blessed Apostle lived was not a Priviledge granted only unto him by way of special Grace and Favour because he was so eminent an Apostle and Servant of God but it is a Priviledge that is extended more commonly also unto other Believers it being that of which the Kingdom consists as the Apostle himself tells us Rom. 14.17 The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Ghost And therefore as a Duty incumbent upon Christians he urgeth the practice of it in several Scriptures So we read Philip. 3.1 Finally my Brethren rejoice in the Lord and in 1 Thess 5.10 Rejoice evermore Phil. 4.4 Rejoice always in the Lord and again I say rejoice Now the way for Christians to attain unto a Life of Peace and Joy is to be much conversant above to live a Heavenly Life to exercise his Thoughts and Contemplations daily upon Heaven and that State of Bliss and Happiness that is to be eternally enjoyed there Heaven is a place full of Peace and Joy yea a place where there is nothing else and the more of Heaven comes down into any Soul in this Life or the more any Soul ascends up into Heaven in Divine Contemplations the more comfortable and joyful Life doth that Soul lead while it is here upon Earth Fifthly Is there such a State of Bliss and Happiness to be enjoyed by the People of God hereafter let every one then examine themselves what Right and Title they have thereunto whether they are such as are qualified for the enjoyment of that blessed State First Examine thy self whether ever thou didst experience a work of Sanctification and Holiness wrought upon thy Soul if not whatever thy pretences for Heaven may be they are false and groundless and will end in Horror and Vexation of Soul The Command of God is that we should be Holy in all manner of Conversation that we should be Holy as God is Holy and the great Pattern and Exemplar of our Holiness is the Lord Jesus Christ who as the Apostle tells us was Holy Harmless Vndefiled separated from Sin and from all pollution and defilement both from Sin and Sinners Here now is both a Christian's Rule and a Christian's Example Now though a Christian cannot reach the exactness and perfection
you have continued waiting but a few days longes God will grant your Desires for when you come to Heaven whither Death will certainly and suddenly bring you Sin an unholy Heart and Nature shall never more afflict or trouble you for Sin that was here your Burthen to feel shall there be your Delight to be for ever without that impenitent unbelieving Heart those vain yea sinful Thoughts which were wont to lie down and rise up with you which did use to follow you to every Duty and accompany you in every Place and Service and which you could no more leave behind you when you went to Pray to Hear to Read or to Meditate than you could leave your selves behind you shall all be left behind you when you come to die they did and would keep you company while you lived but they shall not go one step with you beyond Death then you take your leave of them bidding an eternal Farewel to all Sin O my Soul when shall that blessed day come that thou shalt thus take thy leave of Sin never to wound thy Conscience never to defile thy Soul nor never to displease thy God thereby any more O what a blessed state will that be when Death shall send a godly Man to Heaven perfectly free from all Sin not only as to the Power of it but also as to the vexing and disquieting Presence of it where he shall spend ars Eternity in serving and praising of God without the least interruption imperfection or weariness of Soul for ever And doth not Death in this appear a Believer's great Friend in that what Prayers and Tears Sighs and Groans together with the assistance of the Spirit of God did gradually that is mortifie and destroy Sin that Death doth for a Believer at one blow perfectly freeing him from the Burthen and Being of Sin for ever Fourthly In Heaven the People of God shall arrive unto a Perfection of Grace and Holiness As all that the Saints have here is but mean compared to what they shall attain to hereafter so all that the Saints do here is but mean compared to what they shall be enabled to do hereafter Grace in a godly Man in this Life is in its minority and therefore the acting of Grace must needs be accordingly The Excellency and Beauty of a Saint lies inward in the hidden Man of the Heart or as the Psalmist speaks he is one that is all glorious within And because Grace in him is inward therefore its Excellency is not so visible and apparent Grace in a godly Man neither doth nor can shine forth in its Glory and Beauty here because Sin in him eclipses the splendor of its appearance The imperfection of Grace is discernable here but the Perfection and Beauty of Grace is neither known nor attainable here The highest degrees of Grace and Holiness that the best of God's People reach unto here comes infinitely short to what they shall attain to in Heaven It is true a little Grace in a Saint now makes him glorious in the eyes of those who have a Spirit of discerning to behold it in respect whereof the Saints are called the excellent ones of the Earth Psal 16.3 Now if the weakness and imperfection of Grace for that which the People of God attain to of Grace here it no more compared with what they shall attain to in Heaven if this weakness and imperfection of Grace be so excellent and glorious O how exceeding glorious will the perfection and beauty of Grace be hereafter How glorious have some of the Saints of God of old appeared when their Excellency hath chiefly appeared in the Oriency and sparkling Beauty but of some one particular Grace as for instance How glorious was Abraham for his Faith Moses for his meekness self-denial Nehemiah for his zeal for God and his Glory David for his Love to God and his Ordinances Job for his Patience S. Paul for his unwearied Industry and Laboriousness in the Work of God and the Service of Souls O how eminently glorious have the particular actings of these particular Graces in these Servants of God made them in all Ages insomuch that the Spirit of God hath thought good to record their Excellencies in the holy Scriptures and their Praise shall be in all the Churches of God to the end of the World Now if the Saints Eminency in some particular Graces have made them so glorious notwithstanding their Imperfections other ways how glorious and excellent will they appear when all that Grace and Holiness that shall accompany them to Heaven and is there necessary unto their Happiness that they may see and enjoy God to eternity shall be fully and compleatly perfected having nothing of the least allay of any spot or imperfection in their Graces or in their Persons to take off from the Beauty and Glory of the one or of the other for ever In Heaven Grace in a Saint is in its excellency and in its visibility there is Grace and nothing but Grace there is Grace and all Grace yea there is all Grace shining forth in its fulness and utmost perfection of Glory to eternity In this Life Grace in the People of God is never perfect in some things they are always defective in other things always wanting they are continually aiming at and going on unto Perfection though while they are here they do not attain unto it In the Work of Regeneration they are truly sanctified and made holy but it is in Heaven only that they are perfectly sanctified The Lord Jesus Christ now loves his Church and he hath abundantly manifested that he doth so in giving himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word as the Apostle speaks But he never presents it to himself a Glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle till he brings it to Heaven By a work of Sanctification he is now daily cleansing and purifying of it but the full Perfection and Beauty of Holiness is not put upon it till the Marriage between him and his Church be consummated in Glory Here in this Life there is much Imperfection in the Righteousness and Holiness of the Saints many Faults and Infirmities they have that others may censure and condemn and themselves ought to bewail and mourn for but in Heaven they shall be Faultless so saith the Apostle Jude 24. Whilst the Church is Militant upon Earth though she is black and hath her spots yet is she comely but when she comes to be Triumphant in Heaven then will she be as a beautiful Bride adorned with fulness and perfection of Grace and Holiness fitted and prepared for her Lord and Husband's Company Rev. 22.2 where every Saint shall behold and love the Blessed and Holy God and their dear Lord Jesus with a Love equal to Angels and Cherubims satiating and delighting their Souls in him with a Joy far exceeding the highest Joys that any of the People of God ever were
the Grass which flourisheth for a while but is soon withered and gone 1 Pet. 1.24 But the heavenly Glory is permanent and perpetual a Flower that never withers Saints shall receive a Crown that fadeth not away CHAP. IV. Of the Resurrection of the Body in order to the Saints Happiness in Heaven A more particular Description of the Happiness of the Bodies of the Saints in Heaven which shall there be 1. Incorruptible 2. Spiritual 3. Powerful 4. Beautiful Of the Happiness of the Soul in Heaven which consists 1. In having its Vnderstanding enlarged 2. In its being perfected in Holiness 3. In having its Affections brought into a perfect Regularity Of the Eternity of the Saints Happiness in Heaven A Discourse of the Happiness of Heaven is like the breaking of the Bread by our Saviour in his miraculous feeding so many Thousands with a few Loaves and a few small Fishes which multiplied and increased by being broken And so doth the Happiness of Heaven by being search'd into for the more we look into it the more we discover of its Excellency and Perfection In this blessed Search much of Sweetness and Delightfulness hath been found out already but upon farther Enquiry into what the Scripture reveals concerning it we shall find much more than what hath hitherto been discovered Now that which presents it self to us as the Matter of our Discourse in this Chapter is the Consideration of the Subject of this Happiness in Heaven and that is the Bodies and Souls of the Righteous I begin with the First of these and that is to shew That the Bodies of the Righteous shall be the Subject of the Happiness of Heaven Now before the Body can be a partaker of this Biessedness it must first have a Resurrection from the Grave for till that be done it is not capable of enjoying the Glory and Happiness of Heaven Now that there shall be a Resurrection of the Body out of the Dust notwithstanding the seeming difficulties yea impossibilities also unto Sense and carnal Reason is very clear from the Scripture which though it be not against Reason yet is it in many things above Reason as it seems to be in this particular case and therefore though a Christian is not here wholly to lay aside his Reason yet must he chiefly make use of his Faith in this Point yet were it my Employment to treat of this Subject I doubt not but it might be demonstratively proved That the Resurrection of the Body is a great Truth not only by Scripture but by Reason also though when all that is or can be said our chief Light and Knowledge into this great Truth must and doth come from Divine Revelation But this is not my Work at present being only discoursing of it as a necessary Introduction to the Happiness that the Body shall be a partaker of hereafter in Heaven which that it may it must of necessity first be raised from the dead Now the Resurrection of the Body is that which is the Inlet as it were to all its future Happiness and Glory The Bodies of the Saints are as the Apostle speaks sacred Temples wherein the Holy Ghost dwells and therefore God will not suffer them to lie buried always in forgetfulness It is true their Bodies do dissolve into dust in their Graves but it is as true they perish not there God takes notice of them then and even at that time is their Dust precious in his sight and so it will appear at the last Day when by his All-powerful voice he shall call them forth out of their Graves and raise them up thence shining with such excellent Beauty and Glory as shall exceed the Sun in its Brightness and Glory It is a very difficult thing to believe that the Bodies of Men some whereof have lain rotting in the Grave Thousands of Years and others whose Bodies have been eaten up of wild Beasts or burnt and consumed to Ashes by Fire and those Ashes blown up and down the Earth or into the Water by the Wind or that when so many Multitudes of Ages and Generations of Men dying one after another and their Dust mingled one with another should all of them rise again and the same several Parcels of Dust come together again to make up the same Bodies of Men as once they were before O how impossible is it that such a thing as this is says carnal Reason should ever come to pass Were this great and wonderful Work to be effected by the combined strength and power of all the Saints and Angels in Heaven we might despair of its accomplishment but when we consider who is the Undertaker of this great Work even the Great and Almighty God this may well silence all Objections that can be made against it For he hath undertaken it for whom nothing is impossible And as none of us know what God is in himself so none of us know what this great God can do As it is with the sowing of Seed when Men cast it into the ground they sow not as the Apostle saith that Body that shall be and if the Seed sown did spring up by chance it might possibly bear Wheat or some other Grain but says he God giveth it a Body as it pleaseth him and to every Seed his own Body And so shall it be in the Resurrection at the last Day God raiseth up all Mens Bodies out of their Graves but this is not all but that every Man may have his own Body he giveth unto every Body it s own Dust And what reason is there that any should doubt of the Truth hereof For if a Gardener that hath a hundred several Seeds in his hand at once is able to distinguish between Seed and Seed Or if a skilful Chymist is able to extract one Metal out of another yea to take all the four Elements out of one and the same thing shall not the Almighty Omnipotent God be much more able to distinguish and separate one Man's Dust from another and give to every Man his own Dust Why then O why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should thus raise the Dead Consider a little who this God is one that is of infinite Power and able to do whatsoever he pleaseth both in Heaven and in Earth it is he that at first made the World out of nothing and cannot he rally together our lifeless Dust and scattered Bones and make them stand up and live surely he can Is he able to raise up Children unto Abraham out of stones as our Lord tells the Jews and can he not raise up our Bodies out of the same Dust into which they were dissolved Nay doth he not every day do as great Wonders as this is What is every Night but the Burial or Grave of the Light of the Day And what is every Morning but the Resurrection of the Day Again what is the cold Winter but the Death of the Fruits of the Earth And what is
others came in their room which proved incurable and terminated in Death But when the Bodies of the Saints shall be raised out of their Graves at the general Resurrection they shall perfectly be healed of all their Distempers and shall die no more for then shall be brought to pass that saying that is written Death is swallowed up in Victory 1 Cr. 15.54 Secondly In Heaven the Bodies of the Saints shall become spiritual not that they shall be changed into spiritual Substances and so become absolutely spiritual for then they must cease to be Bodies but yet they shall become spiritual because they shall be endowed with spiritual Qualities Now concerning this Spirituality of the Body the Apostle speaks very clearly in 1 Cor. 15.44 it is sown says he a natural Body it is raised a spiritual Body Now the Bodies of the Saints in Heaven are said to be spiritual in these respects First Because in Heaven they shall be in a condition that is spiritual Their Bodies shall then stand in no more need of Meat or Drink Sleep or Apparel the now necessary and appointed means for its supportation In Heaven there is no eating or drinking no marrying or giving in Marriage but we shall there be as the Angels of God so saith our Lord Matth. 22.30 If Moses in this state of Mortality whilst he was with God in the Mount forty Days and forty nights did neither eat Bread nor drink Water as we read Exod. 34 28. how much more shall the Saints be enabled to live without the use of these things when they come to Heaven where they shall always live in the Presence of God Secondly The Spirituality of the Saints Bodies in Heaven consists in that entire and absolute Subjection they shall then be in unto their Spirits In this Life the Soul is debased made to stoop and become serviceable to the Flesh and when it is at the best with the Saints there is still a contention and strife between the Spirit and the Flesh so that when the Spirit is willing the Flesh is weak nay often refractary But in Heaven there shall be an absolute Subjection of the Body to the Spirit What a great Happiness would a godly Man now count it to have a Body every way serviceable to his Soul that whenever the Soul moves God ward and Heaven-ward in any holy Duty the Body might willingly and readily comply with it How delightful would this make a godly Man's Life to be Why in Heaven it shall be so in that state of Glory and Happiness the Soul shall not depend upon the Body but the Body upon the Soul for the Body shall then become spiritual because it shall be perfectly serviceable to the Spirit This certainly will be a blessed time Saints therefore should long for its approach Thirdly The Bodies of the Saints in Heaven shall be spiritual in regard they will then be more capable of and more fitted for spiritual Vses and Services Nothing that is of an earthy dreggy Nature shall then cleave to them all carnal sordid employments are greatly below them their Work is altogether heavenly and spiritual formerly their time and strength was laid out upon Employments that were earthly suitable unto their then earthly Bodies But now that their Bodies are changed and of earthly become spiritual their Employment is changed and become spiritual also And because there is such a change in the Employment of their Bodies it is an evident Demonstration that there is a change made in their Bodies also Heretofore the World was the Habitation in which their Bodies dwelt and their Designs then were worldly also But now that they are removed from Earth to Heaven the Habitation of Spirits their Bodies are refined and made spiritual suitable unto the Habitation to the Inhabitants to the Employments and Enjoyments that are there which are altogether spiritual Thirdly The Bodies of the Saints in Heaven shall be full of Power and Agility They are sown says the Apostle in Weakness they are frail sinful Bodies and therefore they must die yet shall they be raised in Power Now this Power and Agility that shall be bestowed upon Glorified Bodies is very wonderful being that whereby they shall be able to move to and fro in Heaven according as the Will shall command it without difficulty or weariness and possibly so as to be able to keep pace even with Angels themselves in their Motion And considering the spaciousness of Heaven that place where God Christ and those multitudes of glorious Saints and Angels do inhabit this Agility of Body may be very necessary Now there are two Reasons why it is so necessary that the Bodies of the Saints should be thus strong and powerful First That hereby they may be able to attend the Operations of their Souls and become fit for such Work as in Heaven they must be employed in Were their Bodies as weak and feeble in Heaven as they now are on Earth they could never undergo such work and motions as they must be employed in there but they would soon tire and faint Scripture and Experience tells us this that when the Soul is exercised about any high and glorious Object the Body presently sinks and fails So it was in the Ecstasies of the Prophet when God did reveal himself in an extraordinary manner unto Daniel his Body failed he fainted and was sick many Days Dan. 8.27 But now in Heaven the Bodies of the Saints shall be so strong and powerful that they shall become serviceable to their Souls in their highest and most glorious Operations Here the People of God have Souls willing to serve the Lord that would fain attend upon him in his Ordinances and never be weary or drowsie but though the Spirit be willing yet the Flesh is Weak their frail Bodies cannot keep pace with their Souls in Duty thus is it continually with them here but in Heaven it shall be otherwise their Bodies shall then be as good Companions for their Souls as they can desire and both together shall praise God with eternal Hallelujahs and never be weary Secondly It is necessary that the Bodies of the Saints in Heaven should be strong and powerful because otherwise they are not able to bear that weight of Glory and Happiness that there they shall be Partakers of We are easily persuaded to believe that a Man may be so miserable that he cannot bear it but it is as true that Man's highest Happiness cannot be born by the strength he now hath Extraordinary Joy will overcome and destroy as well as extraordinary Sorrow I have heard of one whom a great King in this Nation caused to be imprisoned and thrown into a Dungeon where lying hourly in expectation of losing his Life being suddenly surprized with News of a Pardon his Joy was so great that it overwhelm'd his Spirit and he died immediately The Condition of our Bodies here is a Condition of Weakness and Frallty And the Glory and Happiness of
Heaven is by the Apostle called an excessive weight of Glory Now it is not possible for a weak Head to bear an excessive weight of Glory What the Saints shall there see with their bodily Eyes is so excellent and glorious that it would now sink and overwhelm their weak Bodies to behold it Those ravishing Transports of Joy and Delight which glorified Souls shall have in the Vision of God will crack yea break a weak Vessel into pieces The Bodies of the Saints therefore must be made strong to bear the Glory of that Place otherwise the Excellency of the Object will destroy the Faculty When the Sun in the Firmament shines in its full strength the Glory of it is so great that the strongest Eye is not able to behold it but is soon overcome by its dazling Brightness O how much more unable then is any mortal Eye to see God and to behold his infinite Glory The Scripture therefore tells us He dwells in Light that is unapproachable 1 Tim. 6.16 And says the Apostle 1 Cor. 15. and 50. Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God Now by Flesh and Blood he doth not mean Sin and Corruption though that is very true but he means a Natural Body a Body as it is in this irail State so it cannot enter into Glory No the Soul must be purified and the Body must be spiritualized made powerful and strong before it can enter into Glory for otherwise it is not able to behold God and to enjoy the Glory and Happiness of Heaven Moreover the Bodies of the Saints must endure to all Eternity in Heaven and that without Reparation by Meats or Drinks or Sleep Doubtless therefore their Bodies at the Resurrection entring into a Place of so great Glory and Happiness as Heaven is shall be raised to a high and eminent degree of Power and Strength that they may be able to bear that weight of Glory that shall then be put upon them Fourthly The Bodies of the Saints in Heaven shall be Beautiful and Glorious The Words of the Apostle are very clear 1 Cor. 15.33 Speaking of the Body and that disgrace that it is brought under when thrown into the Grave it is sown says he in dishonour This indeed is but poor comfort to a Believer to think that his Body shall be vilified and disgraced in the Grave where it shall turn to corruption and rottenness But as if the Apostle had said Let not this trouble you for there will be a Time when the Body shall have a blessed Resurrection from that contempt and Disgrace that it now suffered under for though it be sown in dishonour yet it shall be raised in Glory and become a far more glorious and beautiful Body than ever it was here on Earth Some Glory and Majesty there is put upon the Bodies of Men now above the Bodies of all other Creatures in respect whereof our Bodies are said to be God's Workmanship Thy hands have made me and fashioned me says Job Yea they are said to be fearfully and wonderfully made and to be curiously wrought by God himself so we read Psal 139.14 15. But yet that Glory which the Bodies of the Saints now have is no Glory compared with that Glory that their Bodies shall be cloathed with in Heaven There is a vast difference between Celestial Bodies and Terrestrial Bodies How glorious is the Body of the Sun compared with the Body of a Worm or a Fly But there is a far greater difference between the Bodies of the Saints on Earth and the same Bodies when glorified in Heaven for then they shall become celestial and Heavenly Bodies shining with a Glory and Beauty that shall transcend the Stars yea the Sun in the Firmament The Apostle gives us the Sum of it in a few words Phil. 3.21 he tells us our Body of Christ They are now vile Bodies as he calls them made so by Sin being Instruments thereunto and they are Earthy because they bear the Image of the Earthly Adam but they shall be made Glorious Bodies because they shall for ever bear the Image of the Heavenly Adam the Lord Jesus Christ Exod. 34.29 We read when Moses had been in the Mount with God forty days and came down among the Israelites again his Face did shine so gloriously that they were not able to behold it Now if Moses's Body that was but a frail mortal Body and was shortly to lie in the Dust did by being with God for a little time shine so gloriously Oh with what Glory and Beauty shall the Bodies of the Saints shine in Heaven when they shall become immortal and enjoy the Presence of God with them to all eternity Secondly As the Body shall be a great sharer in the Glory and Happiness of Heaven so shall the Soul be also Not only the Excellency but the Capaciousness of the Soul renders it an Object of greater Happiness and Glory than the Body As the Soul is the more excellent part of a Saint than the Body so shall it have a more excellent Glory put upon it than the Body In Gen. 48.19 When Jacob was blessing the Two Sons of Joseph Manasseh and Ephraim Jacob tells Joseph that Manasseh the first-born should be a great Man but his Brother should be greater than he the same may be said of the Bodies and Souls of the Saints in Heaven It is true their Bodies shall be very beautiful and glorious but truly their Souls shall far excell them in Glory In Heaven the Bodies of the Saints shall be suited to and capacitated for that Glory and Happiness that is designed for and to be enjoyed by them there which now they are not But their Souls as they shall then take in more of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven than their Bodies so are they now in some measure but shall then be much more capacitated both to receive and bear the greatness of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven than the Body can or will be for the Happiness of Heaven being of a spiritual and refined Nature it is most suitable unto the spiritual part of Man which is his Soul And this is the Reason why we understand so little of the Happiness of the Soul in Heaven because it is spiritual Here we understand little what our Souls are and therefore can understand but little what that Happiness is that they shall attain to hereafter The Scripture calls it a Glory that shall be revealed Rom. 8.18 The Sufferings of this present Life are not to be compared to the Glory that shall be revealed in us that is in the Soul A Glory and Happiness there is that waits for Believers in the other World but it is not yet revealed what or how great it shall be No says the Apostle It doth not yet appear what we shall be but when Christ who is our Life shall appear we shall be like him The Beauty of the Soul will then be excellent and glorious because the
and Delights in him will be to joy and rejoice in him without bounds and limits Let our rejoicing in him be never so great it cannot be so great as he deserves Were it possible for one glorified Soul in Heaven to contain in it all the Affections of Love and Delight that are scattered up and down in all the Saints and Angels in Heaven and to put forth the Extremity of those Affections towards the great and blessed God in loving and delighting in him to the utmost of its Capacity yet when that Soul hath acted with the greatest ardency of all these Affections towards God still is there more of Worth and Excellency in God than all these Affections can reach unto and infinitely more doth he still deserve to be loved and delighted in It is true a gracious Soul in Heaven shall have other Objects to delight in as Saints and Angels and the glorious place of its Habitation the highest Heavens But whatever Joy or Delight the Soul expresseth in or towards any of these Objects it is because of the Divine Excellencies and Perfections that are communicated to them and do shine forth gloriously in them But still God is the chiefest Object of their Joy Here on Earth a Saint's Joy is chiefly in God Hab. 3. I will rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of my Salvation Psal 34.2 My Soul shall make her boast in the Lord Psal 33.1 Rejoice in the Lord O ye Righteous And if it be thus with the People of God here much more will it be so with them in Heaven that which is now their Duty shall there be their eternal Reward always to rejoice in God for in his presence is fulness of Joy and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore And oh what a support may this be to a Soul that by the excess of its Joy and Delight in worldly Enjoyments hath provoked God to hide his Face from it and being sensible of its Sin is returning unto God seeking after him with weeping and mourning because of its offending him though as yet it cannot find God graciously smiling upon it Go on still O Soul seek him and mourn after him and remember for thy Comfort though weeping may endure for a night yet joy will come in the morning there is a time coming when thy Sorrow shall be turned into Joy yea when thou shalt have fullness and perpetuity of Joy in Conjunction for it shall be that in which thou shalt bathe thy Soul with infinite Pleasure and Delight to all Eternity I shall now close this Chapter with a short Discourse of that which is a necessary addition unto all that hath been said for the compleating the Saints Happiness in Heaven and that is the perpetuity or eternity thereof This is a Crown unto our Crown of Glory that it shall be eternal It is true God is the chief Happiness of a Saint in Heaven but tho' God be the chief yea the only Happiness of glorified Souls and Heaven it self were no Happiness to a Saint without God there yet if it be not an eternal Enjoyment of God in Heaven a Believer's Happiness there would be as it were no Happiness to him for the greater the Good is that is enjoyed if mixed with continual Fears of losing it the less Joy and Delight is there unto any in the possessing of it because the fear of being deprived of so great a Good abates so much of the Happiness and Comfort that otherwise would accrue unto the Soul in the enjoying of it that it makes it to be very little comparatively to what it would be That which otherwise would be unexpressibly delectable in the Enjoyment by our Fears of losing it gives little Contentment to us while we are possessed of it Now though there be just Cause for us to fear the loss of all earthly Enjoyments and possibly it may be necessary that God should suffer such Fears to prevail upon us that worldly things may have less of our Hearts and Affections and himself the more yet as to Heaven and the Happiness thereof there is no ground for any such Fears Nay though the Happiness of Heaven be Ten thousand times greater than what we can promise our selves in all worldly Enjoyments yet that which adds to the excellency of that Happiness is this that it is a thousand times more certain and secure than any worldly thing can be The Happiness of Heaven is not only a full and compleat Happiness but it is also a secure Happiness It is a full Happiness holy Souls though they are never satisfied till then yet are they then fully satisfied In Heaven there is a Cessation of Desire In the enjoyment of God in that glorious Place there is more of Happiness than the Soul is able to receive or bear And as this Happiness is full and satisfactory so is it also secure it is a Happiness that cannot be lost The Gates of the New Jerusalem that is of Heaven are therefore said to stand open to shew there is no fear of any Enemies Approach to take away the Happiness of a Saint there God will never take away the Happiness of a Saint from him the Devil nor Sin cannot take it away neither shall Man himself either lose or throw it away The Happiness of a Saint in Heaven is not like the Happiness of Man in Paradise which was in his own keeping and so was soon lost by him but it is in God's hands and so it cannot be lost As the Power of God now preserves and keeps a Saint for the enjoyment of Heaven therefore says the Apostle 1 Pet. 1.5 You are kept by the mighty Power of God through Faith unto Salvation So the Love the Grace the Mercy of God that hath bestowed the Happiness of Heaven upon them will for ever secure the Enjoyment of it to them And as the Happiness of Heaven cannot be lost so it shall never decay it is therefore called by the Apostle 1 Pet. 1.4 An Inheritance incorruptible undefiled that fadeth not away And says the same Apostle chap. 5.4 When the chief Shepherd shall appear you shall receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away neither Moth nor Thief comes there neither internal nor external Means of Corruption or Decay Here on Earth the sweetest Comforts soonest fade as the sweetest Rose soonest withers But in Heaven there 's an eternal Freshness and Greenness upon a Saint's Blessedness When glorified Souls have sung the Song of Moses and the Lamb Millions of Millions of Years it is a new Song still and as pleasant and delightful as ever And that a Saint's Happiness may be perfect and compleat it is that which shall never have an end Heaven is not a Tenement at Will but an Inheritance purchased for the Saints by the Blood of Christ and setled upon them for ever We know says the Apostle that when this earthly house of our Tabernacle shall be dissolved we have a Building of
this World wicked men at once both vex and laugh at the Purity and Holiness of the Saints inwardly they vex and fret at it though outwardly in their Speeches and Countenances they laugh and deride it Yea and to some it is though it be a Devilish Contentment to them that they can reproach the Defects of the Godly Should such as these enter Heaven while they are such Heaven would be a place of exact Torture and Torment to them because there they would find nothing of that Sin and Wickedness which is agreeable to their corrupt Hearts and Natures but contrarily all that Purity and Holiness which they hate yea and nothing but perfect Purity and Holiness which hath no defects for them to abuse O the woful and deplorable but withal certain and unavoidable Misery of all unregenerate unsanctified persons for tho' Heaven be a place of unconceivable Bliss and Happiness yet Heaven it self cannot make such as they are happy Tell me O all ye wicked and prophane wretches who think no time mispent or lost but what is thrown away in Holy Duties that grudge at every word spoken in Prayer that think much of every sand in the Glass that runs at a Sermon and unto whom every Summons to the publick Service of God is as unacceptable as their Passing Bell that cry when will the Sabbath be gone and the Ordinances be over What would you do in Heaven or what can such unholy hearts as yours do there where a Sabbath shall not be barely as long as a day or a week or a year but as long as Eternity it self where there shall be nothing but a continual performance of Holy Duties and Services without so much as one spare minute or a vain thought or an idle word for ever where whatsoever you shall hear see or converse with shall be all Holy And let me add this by how much the more perfect the Holiness of Heaven is than what the Holiness of the Saints here on Earth was by so much the more irksome and intolerable will it be to the wicked for if their sore Eyes cannot endure the light of a Star how will they be able to bear the dazling brightness of the Sun Secondly Wicked men are not only unsuitable to the Work of Heaven but they are unsuitable to the Reward of Heaven The Work of Heaven is Holy and Spiritual and so is the Reward of Heaven a Holy and Spiritual Reward and it lies chiefly in two things both of them unsuitable to a wicked and carnal heart one is a clear and constant Vision of the Great and Blessed God and the other is an unconceivable entireness of Communion and Fellowship with him Now of all things in the World these are the things which as unboly Persons are unacquainted with so of all things in the World they cannot endure to speak of each of these briefly First For the Reward of Heaven that consists in a clear constant Vision of the Great God this a Sinner cannot bear Nothing is more terrible to a guilty Sinner than the sight of a Righteous and Holy God The Scripture acquaints us that many of God's own People have had dreadful apprehensions of God upon some though but restrained discoveries that he hath been pleased to make of himself unto them Thus Job in Job 42.5 6. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the Ear but now mine Eye sees thee wherefore I abhor my self and repent in Dust and Ashes So the Prophet Esay cries out Woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts And when our Saviour put forth his Divine Power in the working of a Miracle the Glory of it was so terrible that Holy Peter cries out Luke 6. Depart from me O Lord for I am a sinful man What was it now that made these Holy Men so full of fear and trembling upon these discoveries of God Why it was only from a likeness that was in them unto Wicked men from those remainders of Sin and Corruption that still abide in them whereby they too much resemble ungodly men which Grace in this life cannot perfectly destroy Adam in Innocency had not nor have the Saints in Heaven any such dreadful apprehensions of God No Adam then did and the Saints in Heaven shall for ever enjoy the smiles of God's face beaming forth upon them If now the faint and weak discoveries of God that he hath made of himself unto Holy Men be so astonishing O what a confounding sight will it be unto Sinners to have all the Glorious Attributes of God break forth in a full flash of Lightning not only upon the Faces but into the Consciences of Sinners and when particularly among the rest of them they shall behold that dreadful Attribute his provoked Justice not only sworn but armed with Power and bent for their Destruction Is this such a Sight of God and wicked men shall behold no other as will make Heaven desirable unto Sinners surely it is not O that such would think of it before it be too late Secondly Another part of the Reward of Heaven stands in that unconceivable entireness of Communion and Fellowship with God which the Saints there enjoy This is their great Happiness both on Earth and in Heaven Holy David therefore tells us He had none in Heaven but God and that there was none on Earth that he desired in comparison of him And the Apostle speaking of himself and other Believers saith Their Fellowship was with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ And O how sweet and delightful are those intercourses that pass between God and Holy Souls in the Duties of his Worship and Service O what blessed exchanges of Love for Love what returns of Obedience and Praise for Grace and Mercy received which is the sweetness of every Duty and that which powerfully draws and engages Holy Souls to the daily performance of them And in Heaven in self the fulness and perfection of the Saints Happiness is that there they shall be for ever with the Lord. Now these Spiritual and Heavenly Enjoyments wicked men are not only unsuitable to but they are things which they also hate they were ever strangers to them here on Earth and how then shall they be fit for them in Heaven Certainly for wicked men to be tyed up to such Spiritualities as these will make Heaven it self but an uncomfortable place to them But though wicked Men are neither fitted for the Work nor suited to the Reward of Heaven yet is there both a Work and a Reward in Heaven that remains to be performed and enjoyed by the People of God That Heaven is a Place of Rest Ease and Refreshment is the common and received Notion that all Men have of it but that is not all that the Happiness of Heaven is made up of For it is not only a place of Rest but it is also a place
but the fulness and perfection of that Grace and Holiness the Initials and Beginnings whereof makes the Knowledge and Society of them so desirable here on Earth Now certainly if this be a thing desirable in Heaven as I humbly conceive it is a thing very probable why then it will follow that Satisfaction and Contentment herein shall not be wanting in Heaven for in Heaven there shall be no desire in Holy Souls that are Holy and Regular and in Heaven there shall be none but such that shall be unanswered or unsatisfied But further the Scripture seems enclining this way that the Saints in Heaven shall know one another and that not only those who lived together here on Earth but all those who ever did or shall live upon God's Earth may be known to one another in Heaven When God had created Adam he threw him into a deep sleep and of one of his Ribs which he then took out of him he formed Eve and brings her unto Adam who as soon as he saw her presently knew her and what manner of Creature she was and therefore says of her she is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh and how came Adam by this Knowledge why it was by being filled with the Holy Ghost by which he understood in an extraordinary manner who she was Why now after the same manner say some shall the Saints be renewed by Christ in Heaven and thereby come to know their Godly Friends and Relations yea and all the Saints of God in Heaven much more perfectly than Adam did know Eve So in Luke 16. which some take to be a History others only a Parable if it be a History it is plainly said there of Abraham that he knew Lazarus and of Lazarus that he knew Abraham and yet they lived near two thousand years distance in time one from the other so that they could not know one another on Earth and yet are they said to know one another in Heaven If it be only a Parable yet by it Abraham the Father of the Faithful is represented as one that had Knowledge both of the person and happy condition in which Lazarus was by which some say is represented the Knowledge Saints shall have of one another in Heave We read also Matt. 17.4 that when the three Disciples were with Christ at his Transfiguration there appeared unto him Moses and Elias whom the Apostles knew for they say unto him Let us build here three Tabernacles one for thee one for Moses and one for Elias and yet it is very apparent that the Apostles never saw Moses non Elias in the Flesh Again If the Saints shall not know one another in Heaven why is it made by our Lord a part of the Saints Happiness hereafter that they shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven Matt. 11. Memory in Heaven shall not be abolished but perfected neither shall our Knowledge there be impared much less extinguished but greatly enlarged and increased In Heaven Saints enjoy every good thing and partake of every good gift that may add to their Joy and Felicity will now the meeting with and knowing of our former near Acquaintance and dear Relations together with all the Glorious Inhabitants of that Heavenly Place tend to the increasing of that Joy and Delight that shall there fill and ravish the Souls of the Blessed surely it will Society being nothing so Comfortable without intimacy of Familiarity and Acquaintance It being thus now it is very probable there shall be a Knowledge in the Saints of one another hereafter Certainly now from all that hath been said and more that might be added we may conclude it highly probable that the Saints in Heaven shall have a distinct Knowledge of one anothers Persons since nothing requisite unto the Happiness of that Blissful place shall or can be wanting to the Inhabitants thereof To conclude this head though a Saint's chief desire to be in Heaven should be and always is that he may see God and that he may be with the Lord Iesus Christ and therefore with his Soul he cries out as the Psalmist He hath none in Heaven but God and with the Apostle I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is best of all yet this may add a little to the quickning of his desires Heaven-ward the consideration of his being admitted into the blessed Society of all the Saints and People of God from the beginning of the World unto the end of it even those who were once the excellent ones of the Earth and now next unto God and Christ are the most Excellent and Delightful Company in Heaven who shall there be particularly and distinctly known beloved and delighted in by him to all Eternity Secondly Another Question is this Whether there shall be different Degrees of Glory in Heaven or not Now in Answer unto this Question I find Holy and Learned Men have different apprehensions some positively affirming it others strongly denying it and both pleading Scripture to maintain their Assertions Those that affirm there shall be different Degrees of Glory in Heaven urge such Scriptures as these in the defence of it Daniel 12.3 where it is said Some shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and others as the Stars for ever and ever So Matth. 25.28 29. We read that he that received five Talents and made a good improvement of them received a greater Reward than he that received but two though he improved them also So Corinth 15.41 The Apostle tells us That one Star differeth from another Star in Glory and adds withal that So it shall be in the Resurrection of the Dead So in Matt. 5.11 12. our Saviour bids those that were persecuted wrongfully for his Names sake to Rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great should be their Reward in Heaven Those now that are against different Degrees of Glory they urge such Sctiptures as these in the defence of their Opinion Matt. 13.43 where our Lord speaking indefinitely of the Righteous tells us That they shall shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father without mentioning any different Degrees of Glory that some shall partake of more than others So in Luke 20.36 Our Lord speaking concerning the happy State of the Godly after the Resurrection tells us that they shall die no more but shall be equal unto the Angels and how can they in that State of Bliss he equai to the Angeis and yet unequal among themselves So again in that place Matt. 20. where the Labourers in the Vineyard are all said to receive a like Reward though for different Work and Labour for so we read at evening when the Lord of the Vineyard came to reckon with his Servants he gave them every one a Penny making those that camt in at the last hour equal with those that had born the heat and burthen of the day rendring this as a Reason for what he had done
our Salvation Is it not there that we shall be for ever out of the reach of Satan's Temptations with which a Believer is so assaulted and harassed here as renders his Life not only uncomfortable but even burthensome to himself Is it not there that our frail Bodies which now are subject to Pains and Diseases because defiled with Sin shall be for ever loosed from all Weaknesses and Infirmities being made like unto the Glorious Body of Jesus Christ perfectly freed from Mortality and Corruption and from all Sin and Defilement Is it not there that all the People of God shall be of one Heart and of one Mind that being taken away both from within and from without which was the cause of all their Divisions and Contentions here on Earth and instead thereof there shall be a sweet union of Hearts and Affections all of them abundantly delighting and satisfying themselves in one God as the Object of their Happiness without the least jarring or discord among them to all Eternity While the People of God are in this Vail of Tears they labour under much Blindness and Ignorance about the Mysteries of Salvation as revealed in the Gospel but in Heaven these Mysteries shall all be fully and perfectly made known to us In this Life we take in our Knowledge of God of Heaven and of the Gospel by which we are savingly enlightned in either by little and little as a Man that desires to know what is contained in a Book before it is exposed to publick view reads it Sheet by Sheet from the Press and so understands a little and a little of it by Degrees And truly so do Christians concerning the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God now they hear a Sermon and by that they gain a little light and in some short time they hear another Sermon and by that they encrease their light a little more and thus their Stock of Divine Knowledge encreaseth a little and a little at time by the help of means and opportunities that they enjoy But now in Heaven all is done without travail or trouble for though it is true Glorified Saints there cease not from working yet is it as true that they cease from labour Here our Passions are strong and prevalent by reason whereof our minds are blinded and we easily mistake Error for Truth and Truth for Error but hereafter all these Clouds shall be blown away and we shall see things nakedly and truly as they are in themselves Here the weakness and smallness of many mens Natural Parts keeps them in the dark and renders them incapable of apprehending some Truths of God which others of greater abilities can search into with pleasure and delight But then as the Apostle speaking concerning the day of Judgment tells us They that are alive then shall not prevent those that are asleep So in Heaven they that are strong shall not prevent those that are weak but the Scholar shall there know as much as his Master and the People understand as much as their Minister In this World Contentions and Quarrellings among Holy and Learned Men leave the Weak and Ignorant at great uncertainties what to Judge concerning many Gospel Truths But in Heaven there shall be a perfect Reconciliation and Agreement among them all yea while we are here it often falls out that in our most diligent searching after Truth we meet with many hindrances and disturbances sometimes the necessary Affairs of this World cause us to lay aside our Enquiries at other times many Distempers that attend our infirm Bodies divert and hinder us in our most serious Inquisitions But in Heaven our Bodies will be above all these things we shall there no more be liable to nor annoy'd with any Weaknesses and Infirmities In that Glorious place we shall not need to provide either Raiment for the back or Food for the belly O what a Happiness have Believers by dying who are thereby at once eased of all the aches of their Bodies and of all the conflicts of their Souls how comfortably may they look Death in the Face who is the only Physician that cures them of all their Distempers at once O when that blessed hour comes how joyfully may they lift up their heads for as soon as they are passed through that dark and gloomy Valley they shall be brought into a place of unconceivable Bliss and Happiness where they shall behold him whom their Souls so much loved and longed to see even their Blessed Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ not at a distance or afar off as they were wont to do by an Eye of Faith through the Glass of an Ordinance or Promise but with a Glorified Eye draw near to him and look upon his blessed Person the Glorious sight of whom they shall never more lose to all Eternity When a Believer shall not as here he hath now and then some little glimpses of his Face and some small tastes of his Love in a little Sacramental Bread and Wine but he shall lay his Mouth to the Fountain head and from his Bosom drink full and large draughts of those Rivers of the Waters of Life that proceed out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb for evermore He shall then no more have any descriptions of Heaven by fear say as he was wont to have it described to him here by the sorry Rhetorick of a Mortal Man either by Preaching or Writing of that which he himself had little Love to and less Knowledge and Acquaintance with but shall himself walk up and down and view the Streets of that Glorious City And O with what Wonder and Astonishment will a Believer bless himself there when he reflects back upon those poor and low thoughts that himself and the best of Preachers also had thereof when on Earth he did Meditate and they did Preach or Write upon that Subject One moment's sight of that Glory will give the Soul a thousand times better Information and Satisfaction what Heaven is than all the Discourses that it ever heard or all the Books it ever read here on Earth were ever able to do And canst thou O Believer hear all this concerning Heaven and thy Faith tell thee that all this is true and add also that Heaven is ten thousand times more and better than what all the Men in the World can imagine concerning it and yet not feel some springings up of Holy Joy and Delight in thee followed with earnest longings of Soul after the Enjoyment of it O whence doth this dulness and backwardness proceed this is not a temper of Soul suitable unto the Hopes of so great a Happiness as Heaven will be Why dost thou not O Believing Soul cry out with Holy Longings and Desires How long O Lord most Holy and True shall it be before thou bringest me into the Possession of this most Blissful State Every moment whilst thou art kept at a distance from it should seem to thee a Day and every Day a Month
ever known that a Man who had the use of his Reason and Understanding and had forfeited his Life to his Prince by some Treasonable Act for which he was condemned to Die and had his Life proferred him if on such a Day he would come and submit himself to his Sovereign and ask his Pardon and instead of so doing he should rather choose to spend that Day among his sinful and riotous Companions in Drinking and Gaming and so lose the opportunity of saving of his Life Such Acts of Folly as these are committed by any Men would make them unpitied and unlamented under the extremity of Miseries and Sorrows that should befal them thereupon But the generality of Men in these cases are more wise and considerative than thus to ruine and undo themselves O then let it not lie any longer as a reproach upon Christians that the Men of the World are wiser in their Generation than the Children of Light Why shouldst not thou O Christian be as careful and prudent in thy Spiritual Concerns as the Men of the World are in their Temporal Concerns Is not Heaven of as much worth and value as Earth Is not thy Right and Title to an Eternal Inheritance above of as great moment to thee as a Title to an Earthly Inheritance here below is unto them Is not the Love and Favour of God as much to be prized and endeavoured after as the Favour of an Earthly Prince Is not the Salvation and Happiness of thy Soul in Heaven to all Eternity of as great importance as the saving of a short Temporal Life of the Body which with the improvement of the utmost care and diligence that can be used cannot long be kept from falling into corruption and rottenness What then canst thou render as a Reason of thy carelessness and negligence herein Surely thy Folly is as much greater than theirs as Heaven is better than Earth and the enjoyment of God to Eternity is better than the enjoyment of the World for a short moment of time The Blessedness and Happiness therefore propounded to thy consideration being of the greatest concernment that ever was or can be proposed unto any the despising yea the slighting and neglecting of an offer of such rich Grace and Bounty is that which shall be punished with infinitely far greater misery and torment than ever yet was inflicted upon any yea or upon all Mankind in the World put together Were it possible to make up a Misery and Torment of all the Rage and Malice that ever Men or Devils since the Creation invented or executed upon any yea and add to it the sum the quintessence and extremity of all those Pains and Diseases both of Body and Mind that the Justice of the Holy and Righteous God hath justly and righteously inflicted upon any yea upon the whole Race of Mankind from the beginning of the World unto this Day and let all this be laid upon one Man and he strengthened and enabled to live under all those Pains and Torments in the extremity of them for a thousand years Who would not say this Man were a miserable Man indeed Why truly such nay ten thousand times far greater shall be the Eternal never-ending Misery and Torment of that Man who finally persists in his contempt and slighting of Heaven and Eternal Happiness and so do all those whose pains and care is not with diligence and industry laid out in securing to themselves an interest in the Heavenly Inheritance For certainly the utmost extremity of Desires and Endeavours is due unto and ought to be laid out in the pursuit of an extremity of Bliss and Happiness and such is Heaven and the Blessedness there to be enjoyed it being that which will fill and satisfie the Desires and Cravings of the Soul unto the utmost to all Eternity I have no more to say to thee O Christian Reader than this if neither the greatest extremity of misery that can be endured yea the enduring of all Miseries and Torments heaped up together not for Thousands or Millions of years but to an endless duration never to expire will not move thee to look after Heaven nor yet the Happiness and Blessedness yea the Eternity of an inexpressible and unconceivable Happiness and Blessedness that there is and shall be for ever enjoyed by the Saints in Glory and may be also enjoyed by thee if thou art wise and prudent if thou art diligent and careful in improving thy time and opportunities If I say thine own Interest thine own Misery or Happiness will not move nor work upon thee to bestir thy self to make sure of Heaven and Eternal Life I know not what will neither do I know what to say more unto thee However I shall turn my Advice and Counsel to thee into Prayer unto God for thee whoever thou art that shalt read this Discourse that God would graciously be pleased to open thine Eyes and shew thee convincingly and powerfully by a Work of his own Spirit on thy Heart thy great Misery if thou persist in thy neglect of Heaven and thy great Happiness and Blessedness if thou embrace and close with the offers thereof before it be too late Which God of his infinite Mercy grant unto all those that shall read this Discourse for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake who by his Death and Sufferings hath purchased this Heaven and this Happiness and is thereby become the Author of Eternal Salvation to all those that believe in him and obey him Amen FINIS Books lately Printed for Nathanael Ranew at the King 's Arms in St. Paul's Church-Yard PRactical Preparation for Death The Wisdom and Interest of Christians The Folly and Misery of those that are negligent therein The great benefits of a Life spent in a daily Preparation for our latter end with Motives and Directions for the performance thereof Discourses or Sermons on several Scriptures By Ezekiel Hopkins late Lord Bishop of London-Derry In Octavo An Exposition on the Ten Commandments with other Sermons By Ezekiel Hopkins late Lord Bishop of London-Derry In Quarto The Holy Life of Mrs. Elizabeth Walker late Wife of Dr. Walker of Fyfield in Essex giving an Account of her exemplary Piety and Charity with some useful Papers and Letters written by her self upon several occasions The Naked Gospel Discovering 1. What was the Gospel which our Lord and his Apostles Preached 2. What Additions and Alterations latter Ages have made in it 3. What Advantages and Damages have thereupon ensued Of Faith Of the Trinity The Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour And the Resurrection of the Body Published by Arthur Bury D. D. Rector of Exeter College in Oxford The Vertuous Woman Or the Life of the most excellent Lady Mary late Countess of Warwick To which are annexed some of her Ladyships pious and useful Meditations Aurea Legenda Or Apophthegms Sentences and Sayings of many Wise and Learned Men useful for all Persons Collected out of many Authors by Samuel Clerk In Twelves Redemption of Time the Duty and Wisdom of Christians Or a practical Discourse shewing what special Opportunities ought to be redeemed what mis-spendings of time are to be avoided with convincing Reasons quickning Motives and proper Directions for the right improvement of precious Time By John Wade In Octavo The Danger of Delaying Repentance A Sermon Preached to the University at St. Mary's in Oxford By Arthur Bury D. D. Rector of Exeter College in Oxford In Quarto An earnest and compassionate suit for forbearance to the Learned Writers of some Controversies at present By the Bishop of Cork and Rosse In Quarto The End
into the Kingdom of God 2 Tim. 3.12 All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer Persecution They who are not of the world but chosen by God out of the world are sure to meet with the World's Hatred so our Lord tells us John 15.19 John 17.14 A Saint's Peaceable and quiet State is yet to come In this Life they receive all their evil things from God from Men and from Devils and when they arrive at Heaven their afflicted persecuted State is over and instead thereof they shall for ever be partakers of Peace and Joy O all ye Saints and People of God that now can set upon no Work or Service for God but you meet with Opposition yea and if you will go through with it are sure not only to lose the Love of the World and to part with many of your outward Comforts and Enjoyments in so doing but also to meet with many Enemies that will afflict and persecute you in the discharge of your Duty yet be not affrighted at it but persevere therein and for your Encouragement know that while you do so you are secure of the Love and Favour of God to you and the Time is almost come when you shall see an End of all your Persecutors yea and of their Persecutions also How quickly will Death come in to your Relief and put you out of the reach of all their Malice to harm you for ever For in Heaven you shall never meet with any company that shall discourage your Hearts or weaken your Hands but such only as will gladly further you in your holy Work by joyning Hearts and Voices with you in everlasting Joys and Praises And until that Time doth come let Faith and Hope support and bear you up that you may always in Patience possess your Souls And whatever Reproaches you meet with for well doing bind them as so many Crowns upon your Heads value them with Moses as greater Riches to you than all the Treasures of the world yea as the blessed Apostle says in Jam. 1.2 Let it be all joy unto you when you fall into divers Temptations remembring God can deliver you from them however he will quickly deliver you out of them recompensing Tribulation to them that trouble you but unto you who are troubled Rest and Peace for ever In this Life also the People of God suffer many Losses meet with many Disappointments But in Heaven there are no such things All Treasures laid up on Earth are subject to the Moth to the Rust and to the Thief Inward Corruption or outward Violences do often deprive us of them or if we lose them not so Death to be sure will put an end to our Enjoyment of them But it is not so in Heaven Treasure laid up there is safe and secure there 's no Moth nor Rust to corrupt it nor no Thieves to rob and spoil us of it A Saint's Happiness in Heaven cannot be lost nor shall a Godly Man ever meet with any Disappointments there unless it be by finding a Happiness far greater than ever he imagined All in Heaven is like unto the God of Heaven permanent and abiding It shall not be with a Saint there as it is with him here Now his Condition is subject to Change and Alteration sometimes he is high and sometimes low sometimes rich and sometimes poor sometimes in peace and liberty and sometimes under restraint and imprisonment But the Happiness of Heaven is always one and the same subject to no Changes or Vicissitudes And as for the loss of Friends and Relations a great Affliction unto many in this World it shall not be so with us in Heaven for whoever of them we meet with there they and we shall never be parted Saints in Heaven have not only the best Company but they have that Society with the greatest Advantage being such as shall never be broken but continue everlastingly Here the People of God greatly love and delight in the Society of one another as they are Saints but because they are also Sinners Death will make a separation between them But when once Sin is extirpated out of them as it shall be in Heaven then as they shall be the best Company so they shall be a perpetual Society Here the Fear of losing our Friends and Relations is a great Disquietment to us while we enjoy them but in Heaven all such Fears are abolished Let but Husband and Wife let but Parents and Children let but Friends and Relations make Heaven sure to their own Souls let them but clear up to themselves their Title unto that Happiness that is to be enjoyed in Heaven through the great and blessed Redeemer and then though Death will part them one from another for a Time yet it shall certainly bring them together again in Heaven and though some of them are more Happy than others because by dying before them they get to Heaven sooner than they yet shall they all come thither in their appointed Time and then shall they be free'd from all Fears of ever being parted asunder any more And instead thereof they shall know themselves to be confirmed in the Happy and Everlasting Enjoyment of one another in Glory In this Life also the People of God are often afflicted with many Weaknesses and Distempers of Body in respect whereof their Lives may be called a Dying Life Oh! what wearisome Days what tiresome Nights do they sigh and groan away by Reason hereof Oh! what mournful Complaints are there made by them upon this Account some daily crying out Oh my Head Oh my Stomach others Oh my Side Oh my Bowels seldom are they free two days together from some Distemper or other yea so rack'd and tormented are they with Extremity of Pain that their Lives are little better almost than a continual Burthen to them But now in Heaven all these Complaints shall cease they are only the Effects of Sin and therefore to accompany us only in our sinful State and when Sin shall be expelled out of the Soul as it shall be in Heaven Sickness and Distempers shall never more annoy these Bodies of ours As Job speaks of the Grave there the weary are at rest that is those who now are wearied with labours and pains when they come to lye down in their Graves shall be at Rest And if it be thus in the Grave how much more shall it be so in Heaven and that not by insensibleness and want of feeling as it is with those that are dead but because the Happiness of that State is so great as is not only exclusive of but cannot possibly admit of any such thing as Pain and Sorrow being a State made up of perfect Joy and Delight in an eternal Perpetuity for they obtain joy and gladness and Sorrow and sighing flee away Esai 35.10 Secondly in Heaven the Saints shall enjoy a perfect Freedom from all Temptations In this World Temptations make the Lives of God's People very uncomfortable to
Families and particular Persons which peevish Men were wont here to find fault with be all disclosed and made appear to be so just and righteous yea so necessary and seasonable that those very things which here were a Temptation to us to deny God shall in Heaven prove a powerful Engagement for us to praise God And then shall we not so properly be satisfied with what his Providence hath brought about as ravished with the Wisdom and Beauty that we shall behold in it But in a more especial manner shall we be transported with Admiration and Gratitude when the great God shall vouchsafe to discover to each particular glorified Soul in Heaven the reasonableness of all his Dispensations towards them making visible to them not only how necessary and righteous but how merciful and gracious he was in bringing those very Afflictions upon them which they usually accounted severe Dispensations there being no Rod that ever God took into his hand to chastise them withal that ever came sooner fell heavier or abode longer upon them than the Occasion that extorted it from him did require it should And though sometimes their Expectations were disappointed yet was it always a happy Disappointment for them because intended by God to secure their Title unto far better things which now they enjoy than any they could hope for here And who is there that hath tasted the pleasurable and delightful Life that a Holy Soul leads whose Mind is frequently taken up in the Study and Contemplation of those two excellent Theams the Word of God and the Providence of God but must profess as a Great Noble and Learned Person doth both very ingeniously and piously also that though there be something of Difficulty in a studious employment of our Thoughts in the Contemplation of these things yet are they also so pleasing and inviting That to give you his own Words should Heaven says he afford me no greater Blessing than a clear accompt of the abstruse Mysteries of Divinity and Providence I should value the having my Vnderstanding gratified and enriched with Truths of so noble and precious a Nature enough to court Heaven at the rate of renouncing for it all those unmanly Sensualities and trifling Vanities for which inconsiderate Mortals are wont to forfeit that Interest their Saviour so dearly bought them in it But I must not dwell upon this part of the Soul's Happiness in Heaven though a most pleasing and delightful Subject Secondly In Heaven the Souls of Believers shall be perfected in Holiness Here the People of God are truly sanctified but not throughly Sanctified they are in every Part though but in part sanctified still there are the Relicks of Sin the Remains of the Old Man in them while they are here The Truth of Grace they have but not the Perfection of Grace An absolute State of Perfection is rather to be wished for than enjoyed in this Life The utmost that a godly Man can attain to here is not to commit great Sins nor to allow himself in little Sins when thorough daily Infirmity he doth commit them Now the People of God have the first Fruits of the Spirit but yet they have the remainders of the Old Man in them Now the Spirit of God helps them to mortifie Sin and to keep it under but it doth not enable them perfectly to destroy it as it shall be in Heaven Here the Righteous are delivered from the prevalency of their Corruptions for so is God's gracious Promise to his People that Sin shall not have Dominion over them and blessed be God for this But in Heaven they shall be for ever free'd from the presence of Sin There is a continual mortifying of Sin by Believers here on Earth but in Heaven Sin shall be totally abolished It is in a dying languishing Condition now but in Heaven it shall be dead for ever cease to be Perfection of Grace and Holiness is the aim and endeavour of every godly Man but it is not his attainment So the Apostle tells us concerning himself who doubtless had as great a measure of Grace as any have attained to since Phil. 3.12 13. Not as though I had already attained or were already perfect No says he I count not my self to have apprehended but this one thing I do for getting the things that are behind and reaching forth unto those things that are before I press forward towards the Mark for the prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus This is all a godly Man can do here in the use of Means to strive and endeavour after Perfection of Grace though he cannot attain it But in Heaven no godly Man shall be defiled with any Sin or defective of any Grace no nor yet wanting in any measure or degree of Grace and Holiness as now he is The Spirits of just Men made perfect are there that is there is a Perfection of Grace and Holiness in Heaven that shall beautifie the Spirits of just Men when they come there In this World the People of God are partly carnal and partly spiritual partly holy and partly sinful But in Heaven they shall he perfectly holy and spiritual free'd from all sinful Mixtures no Dross with their Gold no Corruption mingling it self with their Holiness Their Vnderstandings shall be perfectly holy without the least Cloud or Mist of Ignorance or Error to darken or sully them That Glorious Sun of Righteousness whom they shall always behold in Heaven shall for ever scatter all Clouds and Darkness quite away Their Thoughts shall all be holy no blasphemous unclean or envious Thoughts shall ever arise in their Souls no nor the least Vanity or Impertinency pass through their Minds to Eternity but all shall be holy being brought into a perfect Obedience unto the Lord Jesus Christ Their Memories shall there be holy being strengthned to retain and bring forth out of their Treasuries whatever things may tend to feed and increase their Love and Joy and to elevate their Souls in the high Praises of God Their Wills shall then be perfectly holy for there shall they obtain that which they so often pray'd for on Earth namely that the Will of God may be done by them as the Angels do it in Heaven O what a delightful Harmony will there then be for ever between their Wills and the Will of God! Then shall they always have a perfect compliance in them with that sweet and blessed Law that they shall then be under without the least contrariety or opposition Never more shall they have any motion or inclination in them to that which is evil for ever Thirdly Another thing wherein the Happiness of the Saints in Heaven as to their Souls doth consist is the Regularity of their Affections which shall all be set right for and continually drawn out after God by an unalterable Regularity There the Saints shall in their Hearts and Souls constantly and perpetually cleave unto God having always their Love and Delight in him
thy being Eternally under the Torments of Hell this is that which makes thee truly miserable And on the other hand it is not thy being in Heaven comparatively that will make thee Happy but it is thy being Eternally there that makes thee truly Happy This this is that which Accents thy Misery or thy Happiness even the Eternity of it Oh Eternity Eternity thou art the bitterest and thou art the sweetest word in all the World to the Damned thou art the bitterest of all words because their Torments are to last to all Eternity And to the Godly thou art the sweetest word in all the World for their Joys and Happiness shall last unto all Eternity There is nothing either in Heaven or in Hell but what speaks Eternity There is nothing in Hell but what is Eternal Hell it self that place of Torment is Eternal The Sufferings and Torments of the Damned in Hell are Eternal The Wrath and Vengeance of God that is the cause of those Torments in Eternal Yea all the Damned themselves together with the Devil and his Angels are all to be sufferers under an Eternity of Torments in Hell O Eternity Eternity how miserable beyond all expression dost thou make the condition of the Damned to be And as there is nothing in Hell but what is Eternal so neither is there any thing in Heaven but what speaks Eternity There is the Great and Blessed God the Father of Eternity the Sum and Heighth of the Saints Happiness in Heaven to be Eternally enjoyed It is there that the Lord Jesus Christ the Saints great and blessed Redeemer is whose Meritorious Death and Sufferings hath Deserved and Obtained for them the Eternal Enjoyment of that Happiness which there they are partakers of Heaven that place of Bliss and Happiness where God manifests and displays all his Glorious Excellencies and Perfections is Eternal The blessed Company and Society of a Saint in Heaven the innumerable Company of Glorified Saints and Angels shall Eternally be their fellow Inhabitants in that Holy place Yea both the Happiness of Heaven and every Saint that shall participate of that Happiness shall both continue in conjunction together Everlastingly Here O my Soul is a Happiness most worthy of all thy thoughts a Happiness so great that it calls for and deserves all thy Time all thy Parts yea all the Labour and Pains thou canst possibly lay out for the obtaining of it O Eternity Eternity how pleasant how delightful a word art thou for Holy Souls to contemplate upon thou art not more full of dread and horror to the wicked in Hell than thou art full of pleasure and delight unto the Saints in Heaven thou art the Sweetness the Consummation the Perfection of a Saint's Happiness God himself who is the All of a Saint's Happiness if he be not enjoyed for ever cannot make a Saint always Happy Unless an Eternity of Enjoyment be added to a Saint's Happiness in Heaven he cannot be fully and compleatly Happy It is true whilst he enjoys the Happiness of Heaven he is in a Happy state but if Eternity be not added to that Enjoyment a time will come when that Happiness shall cease and have an end Take away Eternity from a Saint's Happiness and there not only will but there must come a time when a Saint must be miserable O Eternity Eternity thou art not only a Happiness added to a Saint's Happiness in Heaven but thou art that blessed Band that unitest and tiest all the scattered parcels of a Saint's Happiness together in one bundle for his satisfaction and security for ever O my Soul study this word Eternity well as it is the Crowning addition unto the Saints Happiness It is that which will revive and quicken thee yea it is that which will put a new life into thee in thy greatest Agonies and Sufferings which thou canst undergo here for they are but of short continuance Death at farthest will come and put an end to them all but the Glory and Happiness that remains for thee in Heaven that is Eternal and Everlasting and shall never never never know an end CHAP. V. Of the Efficient Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven namely the Free Grace of God Of the Meritorious Cause of the Saints Happiness namely the Death and Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ Of the Final Cause of the Saints Happiness namely the Glory of God Holiness the Saints great Qualification for Heaven Wicked Men unsuitable to the Work of Heaven and to the Reward of Heaven both which are Holy In Heaven there is both an Eternal Work for Saints to be Employed in and an Eternal Reward for Saints to Enjoy THat which is next to be discoursed of in the handling of this Subject of the Saints Happiness according to my propounded Method is the consideration of that Happiness in the several causes of it Now in speaking unto this head I shall discourse a little upon these three particulars The Efficient Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven The Meritorious Cause of that Happiness And lastly the Final Cause thereof First The Efficient Fundamental Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven and that is the Free Grace of God Now for this the Scripture is very full Ephes 2.4 5 c. But God who is rich in Mercy for the great love wherewith he loved us Even when we were dead in Sins and Trespasses hath quickened us together with Christ by Grace ye are saved And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus That in the Ages to come he might shew the exceeding Riches of his Grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus For by Grace are ye saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the Gift of God So in Rom. 6.23 The Gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. All is from the free Grace of God And though this Happiness of the Saints be the highest that can be bestowed upon any yet is it that which is given freely What says our Lord Luke 12.32 Fear not little Flock it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom This is to act like a God to give most bountifully and yet most freely To give the highest and best Gifts and yet to give them freely and undeservedly Thus God gives himself Heaven Glory and Eternal Life freely All that he doth for his people from their first Conversion on Earth unto their Eternal Glorification in Heaven is all from his own free Grace and Good Will Their Conversion is of Grace James 1.18 Of his own good will begat he us by the Word of Truth Their Justification is of Grace Rom. 3.24 Being justified freely by his Grace Their Sanctification also is of Grace Titus 2.11 12 13. The Grace of God that hath appeared unto all men teacheth us that denying all ungodliness and worldly lust we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present evil World Yea
Heaven and Happiness not upon any good works he had done but upon what Christ had done and suffered for him though he had whereof to Glory as himself saith yet he looked upon all as nothing and desired only to be found in Christ And whatever Conceit or Opinion sinners may have of themselves and of the Merit of their Duties and Services in their Health and Prosperity when Death and Judgment according to their Apprehensions seems to be many years distant from them or whatever men may say in the heat of a Dispute concerning the Merit of their good Works yet certainly they will be of another mind when Death lays hold of them with its cold hands and when an awakened Conscience is hurrying them on to make their appearance before the Tribunal of the great God the Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth There are few if any that are so bold and presumptuous as to boast of their Merits upon a Death-bed No Death and Judgment convince and alter mens minds making them speak quite another Language than what they did formerly It is not then Lord deal with me according to my Deserts but Lord deal with me according to thy Mercy Blot out mine Offences O Lord not according to the Merit of a dying sinner but according to the Merit of a dying Saviour This this is the Language of a sinner upon a Death bed Then a Bellarmine will confute himself and cry out Oh it is safest trusting to the Merit of Jesus Christ Thirdly The final Cause of the Saint's Happiness is the Honour and Glory of God We read Luk. 2.13 14. when our Lord Jesus came into the World on this very Errand that he might obtain eternal Redemption and Salvation for Sinners the Angels those extraordinary Ambassadors of Heaven proclaim the Tydings thereof to the Shepherds saying Glory to God in the Highest on Earth Peace and good Will towards Man Not only is Man commanded to do all things for the Glory of God but God himself doth all he doth with respect to his own Glory As for Man God made him for himself and it is highly rational that as the enjoyment of God is Man's highest Happiness so his Glory should be his chief end and unless this be a chief Ingredient into all our Duties and Services they are neither acceptable to God nor comfortable to us The Scripture commands this as our great Duty that we make the Glory of God our supreme End in all our Actions Matth. 5.16 Let your Light so shine before Men that they may see your Good Works for what end that they may glorifie your Father that is in Heaven So 1 Cor. 10.31 Whether ye eat or drink or whatever ye do do all to the Glory of God Yea in Heaven where the Saints shall be fully and compleatly happy yet shall it be their eternal Exercise to ascribe Blessing Honour Glory and Praise unto him that sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for evermore Rev. 5.13 And not only is Man commanded to do all that he doth to the Glory of God but God himself doth all he doth with respect to his own Glory The Work of Creation the Works of Providence the Work of Redemption they are all transacted here in Time and perfected in Eternity that God thereby may be glorified Our next Enquiry shall be concerning the great Qualification of the Saints for Heaven and that is Holiness Now by Holiness I mean not any one single Grace wrought in the Heart of a Believer but the universal Operation or Conjunction of all the Graces of the Spirit of God wrought in the Soul of a Saint Holiness is a real inward thorough Change wrought in the whole Man by the powerful Operation of the Spirit of God whereby not only the Heart is purged from the Love of all Sin and the Life from the Dominion and Practice thereof but it is that also whereby the whole Man is carried out in Ways of Duty and Obedience in the daily Exercise of Grace till it be brought to eternal Glory in Heaven Now that Holiness is the great Qualification of a Saint for Heaven the Scripture abundantly manifests Psal 15.1 Lord who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle Who shall ascend into thy Holy Hill The next Words tell us He that walketh uprightly and worketh Righteousness and that speaketh the Truth in His Heart Matth. 5.6 Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see God Heb 12.14 Follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. Heaven is so holy a Place that no unclean thing shall in any wise enter therein Acts 26.18 To open their Eyes and to turn them from Darkness to Light and from the Power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of Sins and an Inheritance among them that are sanctified Sanctification and Holiness is the great Qualification of all those that shall partake of the Happiness of Heaven Not that Holiness is the meritorious Cause of that Happiness no that is nothing but the Blood of Christ Holiness is only that which qualifies and makes a Believer fit to partake of the Happiness of Heaven And this is the meaning of the Apostle Col. 1.12 Giving Thanks to God and the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light There is an absolute necessary connexion between Holiness and Heaven Holiness is Heaven and Heaven is Holiness Holiness is Heaven begun and Heaven is Holiness consummated they are but one and the same thing though greatly differing in degrees Holiness in a Saint here is mixed with Sin and Corruption and so is imperfect in this Life But now in Heaven Holiness shall be without Imperfection there is nothing to oppose or hinder the Holiness of a Saint Holiness is there come to its full Growth and highest Perfection for there is Holiness and nothing but Holiness Now Grace and Holiness in a Saint here being the same with that Glory that is the expected Consummation of a Saint's Happiness hereafter it shews the great necessity that there is that all that desire to be happy hereafter should endeavour to be holy here Now how Holiness qualifies for Heaven and why it is so necessary to the obtaining of Heaven will appear in two Particulars One is because Holiness and Heaven are one and the same thing And the other is because of the great unsuitableness between Heaven and an unholy Soul First There is an agreeableness yea a sameness between Holiness and Heaven The Glory of Heaven lies not in this that a Saint shall there out-shine the brightness of the Sun that there he shall not be exposed to Heat to Cold to Nakedness or Want that there he shall be free from Diseases Sickness and Death it self that he shall not stand in need of Meat Drink and Clothing no nor that he shall always be in the hearing of melodious Songs and Hallilujahs of Saints and Angels These Things indeed are in Heaven
that he was free and might do what he would with his own These now are some of those Scriptures that are made use of for and against this assertion of the Saints having different Degrees of Glory in Heaven Which is the Truth I shall not affirm I am inclinable to believe that there shall be different Degrees of Glory in Heaven But withal let me add tho' it is possible that some may have greater Degrees of Glory than others yet all shall partake of the same Happiness nay all shall have as much of Glory and Happiness as they can contain though one Vessel may hold more than another yet all shall be as full as they can hold nay further which is yet more all the Saints in Glory shall enjoy the Happiness of Heaven in the same perpetuity one as well as another for Eternity shall be the measure of all their Happiness But whether there shall be different Degrees of Glory in Heaven hereafter or not yet may the People of God at present make this double improvement of it First If there shall be different Degrees of Glory in Heaven then the consideration hereof should exite Christians to labour after the highest Degree of Grace that is attainable in this life because this is the way to increase their Glory in Heaven And surely to be ambitiously covetous after the highest place in Heaven is very commendable in any Who would not be desirous to have his Seat in that Heavenly Jerusalem next to Cherubims and Seraphims shall Isay nay if it were possible to possess that very place in Heaven that the Beloved Disciple St. John held here upon Earth when he lay in the Bosom Embraces of our Lord Jesus Christ If our growth and increase in Grace shall certainly be the increase of our Glory and Happiness hereafter who is there then that would be so ill a Husband to himself as not to stir up and put forth the Grace of God that is in him which will prove so greatly advantageous to him in the life to come If to be found in the daily exercise of Grace a Christian is thereby doing that which will adorn and enrich that Crown of Glory that shall hereafter be set upon his own head who then would be so sloathful and negligent as not to promote and heighten what in him lay his own Happiness and Glory Secondly If there shall be no different Degrees of Glory in Heaven but all the Saints shall there be of the same Pitch and Stature Oh then what matter of Joy and Consolation may it be unto thee O weak Believer to consider that though now thy Grace be poor and weak thy Fears and Doubts be many thy Corruptions restless and importunate thy Temptations strong and potent and almost irresistible though thou seest thy self out-done by many in the ways of Holiness whom thou greatly admirest and wouldst with all thy Soul imitate and follow yea overtake and equal in their pace to Heaven but thou canst not yet know for thy Comfort that at the last Day the same Sentence of Absolution that is pronounced upon others shall acquit and Absolve thee also The same Heaven that shall be opened unto others for their Eternal Blessedness shall be opened to receive thee into that Blessed State with them Yea the same Crown of Glory that is set upon their heads shall for ever Crown thy head also So that there shall be no difference between thee and all the Holy Patriarchs Prophets and Saints of God in all Ages of the World but thou shalt shine in Glory as a Star of the same Magnitude and with the same Brightness for ever Thirdly Some upon the reading of those words of our Saviour Luke 20.36 Where he tells us that at the Resurrection of the Saints which he there calls the Children of God and the Children of the Resurrection shall be equal unto the Angels may be desirous to know how or in what respects shall the Godly then be like unto or equal with the Angels To this I Answer they shall be like the Angels in these following particulars First Saints in Heaven shall enjoy the same Glory and Happiness which Angels do The Great and Blessed God who is the Delight and Happiness of Angels shall be the Delight and Happiness of the Saints also in one and the same place shall they both partake of one and the same Blessedness and that is in Heaven and in the same Work and Employment shall they both spend an Eternity together namely in Blessing and Praising in Magnitying and Adoring the infinitely Great and Blessed God See for this Revel 7.9 11 12. where the Saints are said to stand before the Throne of God crying with a loud voice Salvation unto God and to the Lamb. And the Angels also standing round about the Throne of God crying Amen Blessing Honour Glory and Power be unto God for ever and ever Amen Secondly The Saints in Heaven shall be like unto the Angels in their Fitness to serve God and in their Readiness Chearfulness and Vnweariedness in so doing This is one of the great requests our Lord hath taught us to offer up unto Heaven in our Prayers That the Will of God may be done by us on Earth as it is done in Heaven that is as the Angels do it in Heaven who do it Readily Chearfully Universally and Constantly And thus shall the Saints serve God and do his Will when they come to Heaven Here the People of God often complain that their Spirits are held down by the Flesh so that though they have a willing mind yet how to perform that which is good as they would they find not the Spirit indeed in them is willing but the Flesh is weak Oh how do they therefore mourn under the impediments of Nature with which they are loaded and oppressed And if at any time they do attain to a more than ordinary height and frame of Spirit that their Souls are a little lifted up in the ways of God yet is it with great difficulty that they arrive thereunto and with much more difficulty that they preserve and keep themselves in it But in Heaven the Saints shall be freed from all Infirmities of the Flesh and shall Glorifie God as the Angels do with Readiness and Activity with Constancy and Unweariedness and with all perfections of Soul and Body that may render their Services acceptable to God and delightful to themselves Thirdly The Saints in Heaven shall be like unto the Argels in their way of living What that is our Lord himself tells us Luke 20.36 Where speaking of the State of the People of God after the Resurrection he says They neither Marry nor are given in Marriage neither can they die any more By which expressions our Saviour gives us to understand what kind of Life the Saints shall live in Heaven a life like unto that of the Angels who have no manner of Converse with live not on the use of or in dependance
Men or Angels Who hath given unto God and it shall be recompensed unto him again The Apostle speaks it by way of challenge unto all the Creatures from the highest Angel in Heaven to the meanest Creature on Earth Rom. 11.25 The Notion of a God and Creatures cuts off all Obligation that can be thought of by any Service that Creatures can tender unto him God is infinite in Happiness by and from himself and therefore stands not in need of our Services nor can we merit any thing of him much more not eternal Life because we cannot do any thing that may profit or advantage him Fourthly Works that are meritorious must bear some proportion to the Reward or Recompence that is bestowed upon the doing of them Now in this respect also nothing that the people of God do in this World can be Meritorious of Heaven and Eternal Happiness because there is no comparison between the best of their Services and the Happiness-of Heaven which God bestows upon them after the performance of them I reckon says the Apostle Rom. 8.18 That the Sufferings of this present Life and truly the Sufferings of a Christian as they are his most painful and laborious Works so are they the most deserving Works or part of a Christian's Life and yet says the Apostle I reckon that the Sufferings of this present Life are not worthy to be compared to the Glory that shall be revealed And if the Apostle had put in all the Duties and Services yea and all the Graces of the People of God into the Account his Reckoning had been true for all of them put together are not worthy to be compared to nor Meritorious of the Glory that shall be Revealed Remarkable is that Expression of the Apostle Rom. 6.23 The wages of Sin is Death but the Gift of God is Eternal Life Sin merits and deserves Death but Eternal Life is the Gift of God yea such a Gift as excludes all pretence of Merit for says the Apostle it is the Free Gift of God and not only so but it is the Free Gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. By Voluntary Constitution and Designation of God Eternal Life is the Reward of Holiness Death is the Reward of Sin as it merits and deserves it but Eternal Life is the Reward of Holiness meerly by the bountiful Liberality of God Hence we read in the 21. Verse of the Epistle of Jude that the People of God are said to look for the Mercy of God unto Eternal Life Heaven and Glory shall be dispensed to the Saints at the last day by the Mercy of God It was free Grace and Mercy that implanted Grace in the Hearts of the People of God at the first and it shall be Free Grace that shall put the Crown of Glory upon their heads at the last Without the Mercy of God there is no expectation of the least Degree of Happiness in Heaven Hence therefore we read that the Apostle St Paul 2 Tim. 1.17 18. when under restraints and straits and Onesiphorus finding him out and relieving him to testifie his Gratitude for his Kindness he prays for Onesiphorus that he may find mercy with God at the last day And surely this Prayer of the Apostle was not in vain but will be answered to the Honour and Advantage of Onesiphorus another day That which I quote this Scripture for is those words in the Prayer of the Apostle for Onesiphorus that God would grant he might find Mercy of the Lord in that day Some would have thought this Prayer of the Apostle had been more proper for Onesiphorus if he had been some notorious Malefactor or Persecutor of the People of God as himself once was some common Drunkard or Vnclean Person if then he had Prayed that he might have found Mercy of the Lord at the last day this had been a Prayer suitable both to his Sin and Misery But the Apostle knew very well that even a good man a Diligent Worker a Liberal Benefactor to the Servants of God as Onesiphorus was stands in need of Mercy from God as well as others And that it is the Free-Grace and Mercy of God and not the Duties the Prayers the Alms of any that must save them and therefore says the Apostle The Lord grant unto Onesiphorus that he may find Mercy of the Lord at that day Mercy must save the Holiest man to all Eternity as well as Convert the greatest Sinner There is considerable in Heaven not only the Glory of it in opposition to our Misery but the Mercy of God in bestowing of it in opposition to our unworthiness and without the Mercy of God there is no Expectation of Heaven and evermore where Mercy is there is an Exclusion of all Merit Now from all these Considerations put together it is clear that God's bestowing of Eternal Life and Glory upon the Saints in Heaven is not the rewarding of their Good Works by way of Merit and Desert Secondly Heaven and Eternal Life is called a Reward because it is given to the People of God as a Sequel or Consequence upon or rather after their performance of the Works of Holy Obedience And this is plain and evident because Good Works are the antecedent dispositions and preparations wrought in us for the fitting and qualifying of us to partake of the Reward of Eternal Life and Glory for it is inconsistent with the Holiness and Justice of God to give Heaven unto any that are not Holy Should God take an unholy Creature and Reward him at the last day with Eternal Life this would pollute Heaven it self But God hath provided another place for such a Hell where they shall for ever receive the Reward and Wages of their Works in Eternal Pain and Misery In the destribution of Rewards among Men usually respect is had either to some past Merit or to some present previous Qualifications in those on whom such Rewards are bestowed The former of these cannot be applied unto God because there can be no such thing as Merit or Desert in the Creature that can oblige the Great God to bestow the Heavenly Reward upon any But yet in the latter sence there are always previous qualifications of Grace and Holiness in all those on whom God bestows the Reward of the Heavenly Inheritance H nce therefore the Apostle tells us Heb. 12.14 That without Holiness no man shall see the Lord. Grace and Holiness in a Saint is his preparation or qualification for Heaven and all that are so qualified need not fear but the Reward of Heaven shall be bestowed upon them for Heaven is prepared for such and it shall certainly be given to those for whom it is prepared And indeed Glory in Heaven is the same with Grace here upon Earth and as Grace here is the Reward of Grace that is to whom soever God hath given some Grace upon the improving of that Grace he gives more So Glory hereafter shall be the Reward of a longer and
an account for that great estrangedness that is in it unto God and a Heavenly Life and for time to come leave off thy pursuits of Vanity and bend thy Soul with all seriousness to the Study of what thy Eternal State and Condition shall be busily employ thy Thoughts about the Happiness of a Life to come inure thy self to a Life of Divine and Heavenly Contemplation and let not the thoughts of Heaven be seldom slight and cursory but accustom thy self to them let them be fixed and abiding in thee dwell in thy Thoughts upon such Contemplations let thy Soul recreate it self with these Heavenly Delights And whenver thou findest thy Heart begin to flag and draw back or thy Thoughts to take liberty to flie out and ramble towards other things speedily call them back and keep them close to this pleasurable Employment let them not wander from their work indulge not thy self in Sloathfulness be quick and smart upon thy Soul for the least neglect that may be and for thy encouragement herein know that when once thou hast conquered the Difficulties and overcome the Obstructions that would hinder thee from experiencing so sweet and comfortable a Life and got the Mastery over thy Thoughts and Affections by an accustomed Obedience and Conformity unto the Practice of this Heavenly Duty thou wilt then find abundance of Sweetness and Delight therein and thy experience will confirm this to be a Truth of great Verity that the Life of Christianity is a Life of Joy that therein is to be found such abundant strong Consolations as will lift up thy Soul even into the very Suburbs of Heaven it self so that thou wilt seem to be as it were in a new World through the sense and feeling of those Joys which the Apostle tells us are unspeakable and full of Glory Now although the bare proposing of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven unto the Thoughts and Meditations of a Christian should be Argument strong enough to put him upon the practice of a Duty that is accompanied with so much Pleasure and Delight for certainly a more sweet delightful and desirable Life a Christian cannot live for this way of living is to bring down Heaven unto us before we are taken up thither it is to begin to live that life on Earth that we shall for ever live in Heaven and how then can there be any need of Arguments to press Christians to live such a life as this is Yet because sad experience tells us how hardly the best Christians are drawn to a daily practice of this Heavenly Duty I shall lay down some Arguments to excite and quicken them hereunto as First A Soul that lives in the believing views and contemplations of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven makes use of one of the strongest Cordials to support it self under Troubles and Afflictions that can be This will sustain a Christian's Spirit under Sufferings make them more easie to be born this keeps the Soul from murmuring and repining under the Hand of God makes it patient under all its Tribulations yea these believing views of Heaven and Glory will uphold and strengthen a Christian's Resolutions for God and holy Obedience and keep him from forsaking Christ and Religion for fear of Trouble and Persecution Alas will such a Soul say what if the Way be rough and unpleasant unto the Flesh yea what if it should be thorough Mud and Blood yet Heaven is at the end and that will make more than a thousand-fold amends for all the Sufferings that I can endure in the Way O sweet Pains and Torments O blessed Woes and Distresses O rich Poverty and Reproaches O happy Restraint and Imprisonment but much more happy Death however it comes that is accompanied with the joyful foretastes of a future Happiness in Heaven as no Bolts nor Bars no Restraints or Distresses can shut out or exclude the Joys and Consolations of Heaven from coming into the Soul Our Flesh that is these frail Bodies of ours may be confined within Walls of Stone or Bars of Iron but the Faith the Hope the Thoughts and Meditations of a Christian cannot still the Soul hath liberty in its flight towards Heaven from whence it fetches strong Consolations for its Support and Joy notwithstanding all the Severities that lie upon the outward Man Christ Faith and the Joys and Delights of Heaven are all spiritual and therefore it is not in the Power of any Prisons nor what the most malicious Persecutors can do to hinder a Soul that is a Spirit from sweet Intercourse and Commerce with them in John 20.19 when the Persecutions of the Jews were so hot against the Disciples that they were forced to meet privately and to shut the doors upon themselves for fear of the Jews yet even then Jesus came and stood in the midst of them and said Peace be unto you And when those two blessed Servants of God Paul and Silas were kept close Prisoners to speak in the Language of our Times after their Bodies had been abused by Scourging being locked up in the Inner Prison and their Feet made fast in the Stocks yet notwithstanding when they were suffering thus as to their Bodies they had a Heaven in their Souls and their Work and Employment was the same with what the Saints are taken up in Heaven even to sing Praises unto God and so they did for so we read Acts 16.24 25. At Midnight they pray'd and sang Praises unto God They had more Joy in undergoing their Sufferings than their Enemies had in inflicting them Yea so great were the Consolations of Heaven in their Souls that their Enemies were more desirous to free them from their Sufferings than they were desirous to come out of them for when they sent their Officers to fetch them out of Prison they refused to go out and made their very Persecutors themselves to beg and entreat them to come out Oh what wonderful strong Joys and Consolations had ravished their Souls that made them so unwilling to come out of Prison not to be punished but to be set at liberty How come those Worthies of whom we read in Heb. 11. to endure such sore Trials as are there recorded of them being exposed to the Violence of the Flames having Trials of cruel Mockings and Scourgings being stoned sawn asunder destitute afflicted and tormented And yet notwithstanding all would not accept of Deliverance Whence was it that they came to suffer so courageously Why the Reason is given us in Verse 35. it was That they might obtain a better Resurrection They saw not only to an end of their Sufferings but they looked also unto the Glory that was to be revealed and this made them so bold and courageous It is no wonder that Afflictions and Sufferings should be painful and grievous unto that Man who cannot see to the end of them And whatever Death is unto others it must needs be the King of Terrors unto him who cannot behold Immortality and
of either for he cannot be so Holy as the Rule requires neither can he be so Holy as the Pattern which his Lord hath set him this is only attainable in Heaven where the People of God shall be as Holy as God will desire and as they can desire But though a Christian cannot be perfectly Holy yet he may be truly Holy and so he must be in some measure and proportion before he can be admitted into Heaven that place of perfect Purity and Holiness for unto such only is Heaven promised and by such only shall it be enjoyed who are Holy Holiness it is the Saints beaten Road unto Heaven it is the good old way through which the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles and Holy Men of God in all Ages of the World have travelled in unto Glory No Grace no Glory no Holiness here no Happiness hereafter As many as are Sanctified so many are Justified and as many as are Justified shall be also Glorified and no more Therefore says the Apostle Heb. 12.14 Follow after Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Holiness it is the Comeliness and Ornament yea the Beauty and Glory of a Christian it is God's Beauty and Comeliness stampt upon the Soul for a Christian is Beautiful and Comely through God's Comeliness put upon him as the Prophet speaks Ezek. 16.14 Thou wert Comely through my Comeliness that I put upon thee And though the Great God hath many various Titles and Attributes by which he hath been pleased to make discoveries of himself unto his People yet that wherein he chiefly Glories is his Holiness hence therefore it is that though the Power of God be called his Arm and the Wisdom of God his Eye and the Love of God his Heart yet is it the Holiness of God only that is his Face his Beauty his Glory And as the Face of a Man is the Beauty of a Man so is Holiness the Beauty of God himself upon this account therefore we read more than once of the Beauty of Holiness and of God's being Glorious in Holiness Expressions which serve greatly to Illustrate to us the Excellency of Holiness and may very well enamour the Creature to be in Love with it for that which is the Glory of the infinitely wise God namely his Holiness cannot but be the highest Excellency and Glory of Man As Sin is the greatest Reproach and Disgrace the greatest Degradation and Debasement of the Glory and Excellency of Man so Holiness is the highest Advancement and Exaltation the highest Dignity and Promotion the Humane Nature is capable of for it is participation of the Supream Excellency of the Divine Nature it self and that indeed in which as we ought to be like God so is it that in which we can only be said truly and properly to imitate him and therefore we never meet with any Command in Scripture requiring us to be as Great as Wise or as Powerful as God is but to be Holy as God is Holy to be Perfect as our Heavenly Father is Perfect and to Purifie our selves as God is Pure these we do yea all the Commands Threatnings and Promises both of the Law and of the Gospel have a tendency unto this to engage us unto Purity of Heart and unto Holiness of Life Wouldst thou therefore know O Christian whether thy Right and Title unto Heaven be true examine thy self what Influence and Operation the Word of God the Ordinances of God the Providences of God have had upon thy Heart and Life to Sanctifie and make thee Holy in both and know for certain if they have had such an effect upon thee this is as sure an Evidence of Heaven as any thou canst have and that which cannot deceive thee for it is an earnest thereof given into thy Soul before hand it is Heaven begun in thee on Earth for Holiness and Happiness Grace and Glory are but one and the same thing differing only in their Measures and Degrees and wherever there is a work of Grace begun in any Soul God will carry it on unto perfection in Heaven But now on the contrary if thou art one that wallowest in the Pollution and Defilement of Sin know O Sinner while thou continuest in thy uncleanness and filthiness thou hast no Right and Title unto Heaven neither as continuing such shalt thou ever have admission into it for into that Holy place no unclean thing shall ever enter Again Secondly Wouldst thou know whether thou canst justly lay any claim unto Heaven Examine what thy Thoughts and Apprehensions of Heaven are When thou hast read or heard a Discourse concerning Heaven and the Glory and Happiness that there is to be enjoyed What kind of thoughts hast thou then of that State and Place seemeth it unto thee to be a place only of freedom from Pain and Sickness from Trouble and Sorrow a place of Ease and Rest where thou shalt enjoy thy fill of what is Pleasurable and Delightful to thee and all this in an infinite duration that shall never know an end Now though in Heaven there is the enjoyment of all these things for there is no Sickness nor Diseases no Pains nor Sorrows but a perfect freedom from all that is Evil and an eternal Enjoyment of what is Pleasant and Delightful yet these things are the least and meanest part of the Happiness of Heaven It is true were there nothing more nothing greater nor better to be enjoyed than what these things amount unto an Eternity of Health without Sickness of Pleasure without Pain of Delights without Sorrow were a very great Happiness But when all these things are compared with the infinitely Great and Blessed God with the Enjoyment of his Love and Presence the seeing of his Face perfection of Grace and Holiness freedom from Sin a Heart Mind Will and Affections in all the Desires and Inclinations of them bent towards God and all of them not only Delighted in but abundantly Satisfied and filled with the Communications of the Divine Goodness They are then but a small and inconsiderable part of Heaven's Happiness and not worthy to be compared with what a Gracious Soul both desires and shall enjoy for its Happiness Wherefore O Christian if thou wouldest know whether thou canst upon good grounds put in thy Claim unto Heaven call thy self to an account what thy Thoughts and Apprehensions of Heaven are if thou art doubtful in thy mind whether there be such a place and State of Happiness or no or at best the highest Notions and Apprehensions thou hast of that Glorious place and State is that there thou shalt live at thy ease enjoy nothing but Carnal and Sensual Objects and Delights But findest no Spiritual Joy and Delight in thy Soul in the believing Thoughts and Apprehensions of thy Enjoyment of God and Christ and the Hopes and Expectations that thy Soul shall there not only be free from all Sin and Pollution but be made a partaker of the fulness and perfection of all
and every Month as a Year yea as an Age until that blessed time doth come But O how little of this Holy Longing of Soul after Christ and Heaven is there to be found among Christians now Most of those that call themselves by that Name resting upon Hopes and Probabilities of their interest in that State of Blessedness never seeking to attain unto the Riches of the full Assurance of Hope accompanied with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory But sure I am such a frame of Spirit hath not always been enough to satisfie some Christians in their pursuits after Heaven Oh with what Ravishments of Joy and Delight have I both heard and read some Holy Souls expressing their longing Desires after Christ and Heaven There was a certain Noble Person whom I well knew from under whose own hand writing I Copied out this following Relation concerning her self Being employed in Holy Meditation which was both her daily Practice as also her daily Delight and Solace and Contemplating of the Joys of Heaven and how to secure her Interest in that State of Blessedness she did with great Desire of Soul as her own words are strive to take the Kingdom above with a Holy Violence and to Storm Heaven by importunate Prayer and God was pleased as she adds Blessing his Name to carry her up as it were unto Mount Nebo and from thence to give her a Prospect of the Heavenly Canaan by the sight whereof as one in an Ecstasy of Joy she cried out Lord I would not live here always for I am now convinced it is better for me to die than to live It is therefore O Lord the great Desire of my Soul that as Elias was so I might instantly be taken up into Heaven without returning any more to bid them farewel of my own House or ever seeing the Faces of any Mortal Relations more here on Earth Prayer and Meditation had as her Expression is Associated her Spirit to such Company that I rather thought says she I had a Body too much with me than found a want of it After which shedding plentiful Tears of Joy and the offering up of many Sighs and Groans accompanied with earnest Desires and Longings after Heaven with fervent Prayers to be a partaker of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light she returned from her Devotions Blessing and Praising of God who had so refreshed and comforted her Soul with Divine and Heavenly Consolations There was also a very Eminently Godly Person some of whose Relations are yet living who lying upon his Death-bed there came one to Visit him who told him he hoped it would please God to restore him to his Health again says the good Man to him Do you think to please me with such a Discourse as this know O Friend you are much mistaken in me if you apprehend the thoughts of Life and Health are pleasing to me Alas the World hath quite lost its Excellency in my Judgment it is but a poor contemptible thing in all its Glory compared with the Glory of the invisible World which I now live in the sight of it would be a far more Pleasant and Delightful thing to me if you could tell me for certain that I am no Man for this World long and that before to morrow I should be in Eternity for I do so long to be with Christ that I could be content to be cut in pieces and put to the most exquisite Torments might I but die and be with Christ Death through Grace is nothing to me it hath lost its terribleness and therefore may do its worst I fear it not I can as easily Die as shut my Eyes or turn my head and Sleep yea I long to Die that I may be with Christ come therefore O Lord Jesus come quickly why O why are thy Chariot Wheels so long a coming O says another How cold is thy kindness O Death in being so slow and backward to come and loose a poor tired Prisoner from his Bonds I live a dwindling Life with much Pain and much Love-Sickness for my sweet Lord Jesus O what would I give to have a Bed made for my wearied Soul in my Dear Lord's Bosom I cannot express what pains and delightsome Torments there are in his Love O Fairest among the Children of Men yea thou who art Fairer than all the Children of Men why stayest thou so long The Fire of Love burneth so hot in my heart towards Jesus Christ that neither Hell nor Earth can cast water enough to quench or extinguish it O Time Time how dost thou torment the Souls of those that would be swallowed up in Christ's Love because thou movest so slowly O how am I pained with the Love of Christ he hath left an Arrow in my Heart which hath wounded me that I am swallowed up with desires after him so that I am to be pitied for want of real possession of him my greatest pain is the want of Christ not of his Joys and Comforts but of a nearer Vnion and Communion with him O Heavens move fast O Time run run and hasten the Marriage Day for Love is tormented with delay Hope and Love woven through one another make Christ's absence a Spiritual Torment It is a pain to my Soul to wait for him but Hope that maketh not ashamed but ends in Enjoyment swalloweth up the pain O Lord when wilt thou fold the Heavens together like an old Cloak and Shovel Time and Days out of the way and make ready in haste the Bride for her Husband What do we here but sin and suffer O when shall the Night be gone and the Shadows fly away and the Morning of that long long Day without Clouds or Night dawn The Spirit and the Bride say come O when shall the Lamb's Wife be ready and the Bridegroom say I come also Even so come Lord Jesus come quickly I do not mention these things as if I thought these Holy Pantings and Longings of Soul after God and Heaven were the stated frame which is commonly attained by all Christians much less do I not think that none are truly Godly but such as attain to this frame of Spirit for I believe there are a great Number of Holy Souls that daily go to Heaven without them But yet is it a State that hath been attained by some and may be attained still by others And truly such a Heaven upon Earth as is hereby enjoyed by such Holy Souls should be motive sufficient to excite and provoke Christians to a diligent pursuit hereof the Effect whereof is Joy unspeakable and Glorious To conclude this whole Discourse I have been long in treating concerning the Glorious State of the Saints Happiness in Heaven and much larger than at first I intended but the excellency and deliciousness of the matter herein contained hath drawn out my Meditations to so great a length and the truth of it is in contemplating upon so delightful a Subject it is very hard and difficult when the
Heart and Affections are ingaged with pleasure and delight suddenly to recal them off again But I need not attempt to make any Apology for the length of my Discourse concerning this Subject for certainly to those unto whom an Eternity of enjoyment of this State of Blessedness will never seem too long the spending of some few hours nay of many Days or Months either in writing upon or in reading of what can be written thereon cannot seem tedious or irksome To pass by therefore any thing of that Nature I shall conclude all with a few Words I have Christian Reader in discoursing upon this Subject followed those who by Maps describe to us Places and Countries not only that they themselves never saw but which are also unknown unto others because not inhabited Now these Countries and Places though they may be pleasurable and delightful Habitations and the Accommodations and Commodities with which they abound exceed what we enjoy in some other Places yet being unknown there cannot be any exact Descriptions given of them Truly this is the State of the Heavenly Country in a great measure to which Believers are now travelling and unto which they expect to be brought when Death hath done its last work upon them It is true it is not an un-inhabited Place but yet it is a Place a Region or Country of Spirits whose Natures and Beings as also whose way of living we are unacquainted withal the Language they speak is Foreign and strange to us and such as we cannot understand in this State of Mortality And though there are many Holy Souls that leaving their impure and vile Bodies return to corruption and rottenness for a time in the Grave do daily ascend unto this Heavenly Country yet are there none among the innumerable multitudes of those Heavenly Inhabitants that ever returned to take up their dwelling here on Earth again to give us an exact account of that most glorious and blissful place It is true the Blessed Apostle St. Paul was herein privileged above all Men that ever lived being taken up into Heaven by extraordinary favour for a time and vouchsafed some little more knowledge of that Heavenly Place than what we poor Mortals know by what he there heard and saw which when he returned to Earth again himself tells us the Happiness thereof was so great that Words could not express it for says he I heard unspeakable Words even such as are not possible for a Man to utter And if one that had been in Heaven could not express what the Happiness of Heaven is how then can any one do it that always lived here upon Earth If St. Paul that was by Divine Grace and Favour admitted among those Heavenly Inhabitants could not describe to us what Heaven is well may we be at a loss in giving a description thereof who were never there When we attempt to say all we can concerning Heaven alas it is but like the lisping and stammering of a Child that is not arrived to its perfect Speech and therefore all that we can say of it is but in a broken and imperfect way and manner While we are in this World we shall always be Children in understanding what Heaven means and therefore whatever we speak concerning the Happiness thereof must be proportionable thereunto As no Man hath seen God himself so no Man hath seen the Heaven of God the Habitation of his Holiness and Glory Our Lord tells us so expresly concerning both John 1.18 No Man hath seen God at any time And in Joh. 3.13 No Man hath ascended up into Heaven Our knowledge of both is chiefly by Divine Revelation It is true much of God is and may be known by the Works of Creation and Providence but the true saving knowledge of God is only made known to us by Divine Revelation And in the same way and manner comes in our knowledge of Heaven also that is by what the Scripture makes known to us thereof Now according to what those divinely inspired Oracles discover to us what Heaven is hath the preceding Discourse concerning that Blessed State and Place both its Foundation and Building What influence it will have upon the Hearts and Lives of those that shall be the Readers thereof I know not but assure thy self whoever thou art into whose hands it shall fall that all these Words have not been heaped up together to entertain thee with a relation of some strange and fabulous story nor are the many particular instances of Happiness which are so largely treated of in the foregoing Discourse things which may have a probability of credit among sober and serious Persons but they are things of the greatest certainty and of the most undoubted reality that possible can be whether they be believed or not It is true Heaven and the Glory and Happiness there to be enjoyed which are the subject matter of this Discourse are things that are invisible and out of sight but they are so only to an Eye of Sense for to an Eye of Faith they are the greatest realities in all the World The heavenly Glory indeed is that which is Spiritual but it is not therefore that which is not Real but because it is Spiritual therefore is it the more Real yea and being Spiritual and so the more Real therefore also should it be received and entertained by Christians not only with the greatest seriousness and earnestness but also with the strongest Faith and firmest affiance that possible can be I must therefore take the boldness to tell thee whoever thou art that shalt read these lines that the concernment that lies before thee in the present case is not slight small nor inconsiderable but a matter of the greatest weight and moment that can possibly be proposed to thy consideration It is true as thou art a Man and as thou art a Christian also there are many particular Works and Actions which thou art called to the performance of but yet the making sure of Heaven and a Blessed Immortality is and ought to be the chief of thy Works and Employments and that to which all thy other actings should have a tendency and in the attaining of which they should all issue and terminate If a Man have many things to do in the World common Prudence will put him upon doing of that first which is of greatest moment and concernment to him especially if he hath but a little time to do it in and the neglect thereof will be his utter ruine Whoever heard of a Man in his Wits that preferred the enjoyment of a little pleasure and pastime before the ensuring of an Estate of a thousand pound a year to him and his which might and could be done in that short space of time and in no other Who ever preferred the curing of a slight cut in his Finger before the healing of some dangerous Wound received in his Head or Heart which if not taken in time would prove his Death Or was it