innocence and designs of such a Person as the Son of God was ingaged in such Mediatorial Work and all pursuant to this great Design That Life and Immortallity might be intail'd upon us who our selves could not live till he himself had undergone and conquer'd Death Nor would he bring us to himself but under such advantages and upon such terms as should evidently and greatly minister to universal satisfaction and renown So black was that thick Cloud wherein this Sun of Righteousness did set and pass into his glorious State thus to prepare our way to himself in Heaven as that the sight thereof made his awakened Soul to tremble and to solicite God for help Mark 14.34 Heb. 5.8 9. Yet through this Cloud he wrought his Way to diffuse his Glory through the Heavenly Regions and to make the Hosts and the Inhabitants thereof the amazed Witnesses of his triumphant Grace and Faithfulness And thence to afford those Influences which should prepare us for and suit us to that State. Blessed is Heaven that Christ is in it and blessed are holy Hearts below that Christ in Heaven is theirs and for them Christ there inthron'd and imploy'd for us should loosen all our Hearts from all save what his Heart is upon His Work and Presence in that holy Place hath both its Voice and Force He speaks not now to us in roaring Thunder-claps from the burning Mount nor doth that Blood through which God brought him from the Dead and consecrated the High Priest of our Profession to his most noble Work within the Vail cry like the Blood of Abel for Revenges to fill our Hearts with Enmity or Anguish but it is an alluring grateful Whisper from betwixt the Cherubims of Grace and Glory a Call to Pisgah thence to behold Emanuel's Land that promised and expected State of Holiness and Joy hence therefore let us send our Hearts to Christ as a poor Widow's Mite only to acknowledg our Obligations to him and to testify how much we love our Lord and Head. And O thou Prince of Life and Glory thou Oracle of Truth the sealed Amen of all God's Promises and of our glorious Expectations thou Conqueror of Graves of Hearts and Hell whom to behold is our great Hope and Joy for without Thee the Prince of Life we cannot live and never look to know what it is indeed to live till we be got to Thee Lend us a Beam of Light to view thee by that every Look may melt our Hearts and make them shine and burn That thus our Admirations and Affections may bear some small proportion to their Object and more effectually secure us from losing Hearts below and throwing them away upon unworthy things We lose Affections in mistaken worth and thou get'st little else hereby but Slights and Stabs and all because we know not Thee the Lord of Glory How little is thy Love admir'd by us because we feel it not how little are we affected with thee because we have not seen thee how little do we bemoan our absence from thee because we are so little apprehensive of what thy glorious Presence so liberally produces and dispenses how easily are we courted and prevail'd upon to forget thee because we do so little think upon and are so little affected with thy Wounds below and thy Worth and Joys above Eyes have not seen Hearts cannot love O lift and help and warm and fix and conquer all O let our Hearts be made as fast and pure as Heaven Let preparations be compleat in Hearts as well as in those Mansions of eternal Glory with thy self which thou hast order'd and incourag'd us to expect O let not Grace and Love as large as Heaven be under our Feet any more but upon our Hearts Could ever Heaven be ours or found and valu'd by us as Heaven indeed without thy Sufferings Triumph Grace and Presence And can we think on Heaven indeed and yet forget the Throne of Majesty and Grace that is there and him that sits thereon acting pursuantly to this delightful Hope that we shall see him in his Meridian Glory and be with him for ever 10. Let nothing have or influence your Hearts below but that which suits the Heart of Christ above All must be like the Lord that are to live with him and he that hath this Hope in him must purify himself as Christ is pure 1 Joh. 3.2 3. Whatever Christ died to start below he lives above to propagate to vindicate and compleat He hath as true a Heart for Godliness now as ever and he was call'd the Holy Child after his Exaltation Acts 4.27 Christ's Heart is pure so are his Joys for they are the Joys of Holiness in its utmost luster vigour and extent You must be pure or Christ and you must part the Constitution of the heavenly State admits of no disorder His holy Soul abhors what seems to shake his Father's Throne He cannot bear it that a filthy Soul should stand before him for God's Name is in him Exod. 23.21 In that he lives he lives to God Rom. 6.10 He dy'd with Holiness upon his Heart and as a Martyr for it as well as to make an atonement for us 1 Pet. 2.22 23. With a pure Heart he went to Heaven and can you think that Purity can wast and rot when fac'd with the most immediate Visions of God and entertain'd with all things most expressive of God's complacency in it Surely God's greatest Favours must bear the clearest Characters and Signatures of his essential Purity and Holiness Hath Holiness lost its Interest in Heaven since Christ went thither Or hath Sin gotten ground by Christ's ascent to Glory O Sinners be no longer doting Fools and stupid Sots Lay by your Venom and cleanse your Hearts and Hands Jam. 4.8 1 Cor. 6.9 to 11. The Heart the Blood the Inheritance the Crown and Triumphs of our Lord are all engag'd to revive Holiness in the World Psal 130.4 Dote not upon deceitful Riches Christ is the Pearl of Price by whom you are to be inrich'd in every thing Let not the Mammon of Unrighteousness usurp the Throne of Christ the over-valued World is a perfect Enemy to Christ to Heaven and Heavenliness Be not perplexed nor over-charg'd with Cares be not intangl'd whilst you are allow'd to be imploy'd Take heed of Delilaes lest you lose your Locks and be bereav'd of your Christian Strength and Hopes Fear not the Frowns prize not the Smiles of Mortal Dust beyond Divine Allowance Christ hates Competitors Christ did it not below he loves it not above Be not buri'd alive in Sloth Rom. 12.11 there is nothing in Heaven but Life and Joy in full conformity to all the Laws and Purposes of that compleat Theocracy Diligence brings in rich Delights 't is Sloth that makes Hell so full and Heaven so empty Be not high-minded neither court nor cherish Self in any dress by Pride and Rage Haman's preferment made him but high enough to reach a Halter Learn
Desires which he kindles the Prayers and Labours which he animates are all for this 2 Thess ii 13 14. How can it be the dreadful doom of all his Enemies to depart from him if it be not our determined priviledg to be with him Mat. xxv 41. 2 Thess i. 9. Luk. xiii 25-27 Did not Christ know that his most glorious Presence would be a great Ingredient into the felicity of his Servants as Jude 24 25. assures us and that our assimilation to him would be compleated and continued by the Visions of his State and Day as his inspired Servant hath informed us 〈…〉 Joh. iii. 2. and that our reckoning 〈…〉 â—nd longing after it are the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ory Fruits of his own sanctifying and sealing Spirit as we are told 2 Cor. v. 5-9 Rom. viii 16-23 we had never been informed of such a discriminating Accent in his final Sentence as he hath told us of Whence was it made the Charge and Business of his commissionated and inspired Officers to teach and enforce this grateful Truth upon us were it not certainly decreed by God and Christ 1 Cor. xv 15. Col. iii. 4. 1 Thess ii 19. iii. 13. Would he enjoin such special Officers so miraculously qualified and owned to inform us of prepare us for and comfort us with so great a Blessing and to represent it to us as the alluring and refreshing aggravation of that State to come that we should be with Christ for ever Did they preach falshood by special Order and with such Attestations to their Message and such assistance in their Enterprize from the God of Truth and from his eminently faithful and true Witnesses 2 Cor. xi 2. Why is this statedly to influence all our practical Christianity if no such Matter be designed for us Joh. xii 26. Tit. ii 12 14. 2 Pet. iii. 14. 2 Cor. v. 9. Our pressing Pleas and Motives that are to animate and enforce our Duties Sufferings and Consolations with all those exercised Graces which are to spirit such Performances Submissions and dutiful Rejoicings by the way do evidently bear themselves upon this Hope 2 Pet. i. 5-11 2 Thess ii 13-17 Heb. x. 32-37 How copiously and strongly might I improve these Scriptural Hints to prove this comfortable Truth had I but a better Head and Heart But to conclude this Demonstration lastly How could the Son of God himself obtain that Glory and Delight which he so reckons on in the success of what he undertook were not his purchased and redeemed Ones to be with him John xvii 22 24. 2 Thess i. 10 12. We find that Christ and his must go together in unto the Marriage Mat. xxv 10. And what is this going in together but the joint entrance and admission of Head and Members into that State of Royal Entertainments within the Vail Would Christ have begg'd of God both the discovery and impartment of his Glory to his Members had not both these been highly valued by him Joh. xvii 22 24. Will not Christ think we count it his Honour to have his own produced in open Court as Signs and Wonders Heb. ii 13. to bring his Sons to Glory vers 10. and to have that Church for which he gave himself and which he loved so dearly presented to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but holy and without blemish Ephes v. 25-27 And to see us fixed in his own Presence as the eternal stately Monuments of his magnificent and victorious Grace Love What was the Plea wherewith he accented his dying Prayer for his that God would charge his special Providence with them but this that I am glorified in them John xvii 10. And will the Head be glorified by being eternally parted from his Members Where lies the Glory of a Teacher but in the Wisdom of his Scholars and could Christ be glorified in making his expert in the Doctrine of Lies and Forgeries What! bring Men to discern and credit rely upon what only was delusive How can we learn this as a Truth in Jesus that we shall live with him for ever when no such thing shall come to pass I have told you that when it comes to pass ye might believe Joh. xiv 29. The Signs which God gave of a false Prophet under the Law were either speaking what was absolutely false or Truth to countenance Irreligion or Idolatry And can either of these be charged on Christ and judged to be his Glory Wherein consists the Glory of a Priest but in the acceptance and success of what he regularly offereth to the determined Ends thereof And can Christ our great High Priest be glorified as a Priest for ever whose Sacerdotal Faithfulness could never bring up those unto himself in Heaven for whom and to which End he did declaredly offer up himself Heb. ix 12 15 24 28. And wherein is Christ glorified as a King if his Loyal Subjects must not abide with him for ever John xv 10 11. Heb. v. 9. 2 Tim. iv 6 8. When he delivereth up the Kingdom to the Father hath he no Subjects to produce fitted unto the Felicities and Employments of his own Glorious Presence And can he be glorified that hath no Subjects to adore him for his governing them so well And how can he be glorified as the Captain of the Hosts of God in the great War with Satan if he must sit in Heaven alone and have no victorious Followers to produce and shew therein as proofs of his heroick skilful faithful Conduct and Atchievements 1 Joh. iii. 8. Rom. viii 18 35-39 And how can Christ be glorified in and by his Saints unless they see what God hath done for him and in what Royal State he sits inhabiting the Praises and perhaps ordering the Affairs and darting forth that Glory which must diffuse it self through all the Regions and Inhabitants of that blessed World above He must be glorified and admired at and will be so when we are brought to see his Face to bear his Image to share in the Visions Services and Fruitions of that State all which shall to the Life express his Interest in God's Heart and ours in his Heart and what a Friend God is to him and he to us So that with Christ we are sure to be III. The Vsefulness of this Passage 1. O what Attractives have we to a Heavenly Mind and Life Christ and a Kingdom with him Who would not breath and strive to reach that blessed State 2 Cor. 5.8 9. O let that Passage in 1 Cor. 15.58 be well considered concocted and digested by you so as to make you every way greatly conformable thereto and let not Head Inheritance and Hearts be parted Did not Paul bear this Truth upon his Heart and court us all to follow him in the heavenliness of his Mind and Life Phil. 3.14 15. So lovely is the Lord of Glory and so eminently doth the great God transmit his Glory even through the Humane Nature of
our glorified Redemer as that the Comforts of the Heavenly State will be exceedingly abated were not his glorious Presence there And when he comes from Heaven to judg the World the Hosts and Citizens of that blessed State will joyfully attend his motions 1 Thess 3.13 Mat. 25.31 2. If there be no Love to Christ there would be no Joy in Heaven Those that have stumbl'd at his Holiness will be confounded at his Glory Mark 8.34 to 38. The Crown of Life and Glory is reserv'd for and shall be only given to those that are lovers of his Appearance For who can think that the Glories of the Heavenly State and the Pleasures of beholding Christ therein can be their Portion upon whom the great Sentence of Anathema Maranatha i. e. cursed till the Lord come is past 1 Cor. 16.22 Heaven cannot countenance and reward Contempt of Christ The Son of Righteousness Heaven's Glory and the Temple of that blissful State above must either be the Heart's Delight or Christ and Heaven can be no Portion 3. No Christ no Heaven Heaven must needs be lost where Christ is miss'd of Act. 4.12 No Christ no entrance into Glory for Heaven is called the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 Thess 2.14 Christ must be glorifi'd if ever Heaven be reach'd The Lord from Heaven is Lord of Heaven Matth 28.18 19. And he must be Crowned and own'd as Lord in Hearts and as the only Holy One of God by those to whom he will give the Crown of Life The Key of Heaven is in his Hand and he will let in none but faithful Subjects He cannot bear the presence of the Sons of Belial there nor hath he any Mansions for them they are too contrary to his Holiness to have admission into his Presence To let in rotten Hearts would be to patronize and crown Rebellion And is it meet that the Cross the Crown and Glory of the Son of God should serve the Devil What! shall Christ prostitute his Blood and Scepter unto the first-born of Apostacy and Wickedness or to the Seed thereof 4. Then Christ in Heaven should be address'd unto to lift up Hearts and Persons thither Thus Stephen saw the Lord in Heaven and begg'd his gracious help and that not without success Act 7.55 to 59. It is not every Arm no nor any Arm but Christ's that is fit to deal with such dark heavy Souls as ours so as to lift them up and let them into Heaven Acts 4.12 Jude 24 25. O then desponding Hearts go make your moans to Christ look up to him with your Hearts in your Eyes and cry Fain would I come to thee but cannot Jesus thou Son of David help and thou who rulest all things if thou canst do any thing who art the revealed Arm of God to bring great things to pass O have compassion on me and raise up Heart and Soul and all to thee Mark 9.22 Christ cry'd to God as to one able to save from Death and he was heard Heb. 5.7 Cry you to Jesus Christ for he can save you to the uttermost Heb. 7.25 Lifts at the last and deadliest pinches are the most satisfying and endearing Lifts Remember that a dying Christ once bare a Malefactor from the Cross to Heaven and bravely rescu'd him from great destruction and fixt him in his own Presence This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise O it was a Blessing won by Prayer and that to Christ himself Luk. 23.42 43. 5. Then Heaven should have no Rivals if Christ be there to be with Christ is far better and that abandons all Comparisons Phil. 1.23 Christ knew the purest Mansions where they were Below they could not be for Sin hath chang'd the Glory of all lower things to shame and blackness And little is there in them now save Names and Shadows and till these fly away Christ and our Life with him is still hid in God Cant. 4.6 Col. 3.2 to 4. And should not our Hearts then be gone to Heaven and bound for those most vast and glorious Regions where our Dear Lord will keep his Residence for ever What! Christ on his Throne concerned and preparing for gathering up all his Favorites to himself and we not courted from a Dung-hill all the World without one Christ is but a Trifle No Christ no worth in things what Heart then for them those Joys Relations Gifts Possessions and Accomplishments are but vain and small nothing but dangerous Charms and Pageantries whose Soul and Savour the Lord of Glory is not Phil. 3.7 8. Prize things as they speak Christ for all the World without him is not worth one Heart there is neither Gain nor Glory in it 6. Were Heaven possess'd by Christless Hearts yet would Content be wanting Frowns from the Master of the Feast would spoil the pleasing Relishes of the Banquet One Friend how cam'st thou in hither would make men sit at Table with little Confidence and less Joy Mat. 22.12 7. The Hopes of raised quickned Hearts are safe and may be great Christ in the midst of what we hope for may and should quiet all Heb. 6.19 20. It 's pity such a Passage should be pass'd over without a considerate pause Hath Christ broke through the Vail and is he got within it to leave our Souls without an Anchor of Hope that may prove sure and stedfast Can Christ enter Heaven for us and then forget his Work Can the Fore-runner quite desert those lively and solicitous Members that breath and strive so much to trace and to tread his Steps after him He that hath lost his Blood below what hath he lost his Heart above surely our Head was never crown'd to shame his Members Hopes and Joys Our expectations of that State may be invigorated greatly by this That Christ our Hope is set upon his Throne therein Christ is our blessed Hope Tit. 2.13 According to our earnest expectation and our hope in him we cannot be asham'd Phil. 1.20 to 23. 3.20 It is by Christ that our Hope is laid up in Heaven Col. 1.5 He makes the Promise sure to all the Seed Rom. 5.10 Christ came from Heaven to be a Ransom and so he was Heb. 9.15 and he is in Heaven to plead his Wounds and by his Intercession to animate and succeed the regular Claims and Expectations of all his Members Rom. 8.34 35. Vp then with Hearts and Hopes and bid defiance unto all Discouragements Christ by his entrance into Heaven and by his possessing it as our raised and exalted Head hath given one Lift and surely then his next lift will effectually bear up all Savoury full and pertinent is that both witty and weighty Passage in Tertullian de Resurrectione Carnis cap. 51. Quemadmodum enim nobis Arrhabonem reliquit ita à nobis Arrhabonem carnis accepit vexit in Caelum pignus totius summae illuc quandoque redigendae securae estote caro sanguis Vsurpâstis caelum regnum Dei in Christo
The earnest of the Spirit left and the earnest of Flesh carri'd up to Heaven a Pledg that all shall once be fetch'd up thither The Kingdom of God and Heaven possest in Christ makes all secure O then let Flesh and Hearts both rest in hope for Christ in Heaven will fetch us all to Heaven for there at God's right Hand stands Christ to plead and vindicate Act. 7.55 and there he sits to hear dispense and rule Heb. 1.3 13 14. And if he fail in both then may the lively Hopes 1 Pet. 1.3 of quickened Hearts Eph. 2.5 expire and die And if so then where is our Anchor sure and stedfast reaching to that within the Vail Was not the Heart of our ascending Lord and Head exceeding mindfull of his Friends and warm toward them Joh. 20.17 and cool'd it by the way Heb. 4.15 No surely all that are truly and firmly Christ's alway lie warm upon his Heart Let him be where he will though in the heights of all his Glory he is yet our High Priest Heb. 4.14 8.1 Our Life Col. 3.4 Our Head Eph. 1.22 23. Our Peace Eph. 2.14 Our Hope 1 Tim. 1.1 Our Lord 1. Cor. 1.2 Our Saviour Tit. 1.4 The Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls 1 Pet. 2.25 and our Advocate 1 John 2.1 And can Christ in Heaven statedly and avouchedly under such near and sure and dear Relations to us suffer our Hopes to fall surely his Exaltation puts no period to his Relation to us nor to those Bowels that are proper to it nor to those Expectations that are built upon it It 's true his Joys are high his Trust is great but it is as true that his Heart is commensurate with and answers both nor will his Kingdom please him without his Bride he will step once more from Heaven to fetch Her to Himself John 14.3 8. O what an Antidote is this Hope against the Snares and Fears of things below 2 Cor. 5.1 the Cross is heavy and Hearts are soon unfixed when Heaven and Christ therein and our determinate abode with him are not our lively Hope and stated Poize The Cross can make no breach while Christ in Heaven thus sets his Heart upon us and we have sent our Hearts intirely after him keep them there Rom. 8.34 35. Heb. 10.34 And Pleasures can do but little hurt whilst this great Hope relishes duly with us All the Delights of Pharaoh's Court could never reach the Heart of Moses When Christ and Heaven had got his Eye and fixt it Heb. 11.25 26. Hearts should be under their restraint in lawful Mirth and at enmity with sinful Mirth during the absence of their Lord Mat. 9.15 Mephibosheth grew careless of himself until his Lord returned in peace 2 Sam. 19.24 No joy but in his Master's presence And shall not Christ in Heaven correct and moderate our Joys in things below Groans to be stript of Earth and Flesh and to be gone to Christ in Heaven should be the deepest Groans And truly Sirs if Christ in Heaven have not your Hearts they will be prone to Surfeits or Distractions You either will be tunn'd with Wind or drunk with Vanity or wrack'd with Cares and Fears Hearts pitcht on Christ in Heaven know where to be full and welcom when things below have shew'd their best and done their worst They have a Glory that will pierce the darkest Cloud and reach the greatest Deep 2 Cor. 1.5 Their bitterest Herbs and sharpest Agonies may possibly be their entertainment at their last Passover but these their short-liv'd Sorrows are but to usher in and aggravate their Master's Joys Pleasures possest and kept by Christ for them and to be possest by them in his own immediate Presence must needs be great O Christians remember Heaven and Christ therein and what he is there preparing for you and fear neither Plots nor Strokes nor Rumors 1 Pet. 1.4 to 7. Mat. 5.10 to 12. Let your exalted Head and this your elevating Hope distil such influences upon your exercis'd Hearts as to make you valiant for your Prize exalted in your Aims triumphant in your Hopes and Sufferings and evermore insulting over the Cheats and Dangers that attend you He sells his Head and Hopes for thirty Pieces that is intangl'd with or unhing'd by any thing below this Head and Heritage and these things above Sure Christ in Heaven so evidently intent upon your being brought to live where he is wants neither Heart nor Worth nor Joys to make you know and to acknowledg that he is a Non-such Friend and though rough-handed Esau may be the first-born of your Entertainments here yet Jacob hath him by the Heel and shall supplant him Suffer and reign these are the terms of Life the Royal Law of Hope 2 Tim. 2.12 Ought not we as well as Christ to suffer and so to enter into Glory Luk. 24.26 with Rom. 8.17 Must not he follow Christ that designs to reach what he hath got John. 12.26 Heb. 12.2 What though the Way be foul and rugged What should discourage you in those Paths where every step you take is an advance toward Christ in Heaven Your Faith in Christ and Hope of Heaven are as the Dawnings of this Day to you and every look at Christ in Glory is as a Lift toward Heaven and as a Foretast of it A look at Christ in Glory bore up the Spirit of that Proto-martyr Stephen above the debasements which carnal Fears produce in others and would otherwise have brought him under 9. Why should not Things above make us remember and send our Hearts to Christ above had not Christ bought the Prize of Heaven Eph. 1.11 14. and made our way thereto Heb. 10.19 20. and peirced the Vail Heb. 9.8 and won and worn the Crown through his own Blood Heb. 1.3 our being with our Lord in Glory had been beyond our reach and hope 1 Pet. 1.3 4. An open Heaven for us cost Christ a wounded Heart He was poor to make us rich 2 Cor. 8.9 Our springs of Hopes and Joys came from this cloven Lehi if I may allude to Judg. 15.19 where the Spring that God clave was not in the Jaw-bone but in the place called Lehi because of the miraculous execution that was done by the Jaw-bone of an Ass 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maxilla as Lehi siggnifies and should not Heaven in hopes inthrone our Lord in Heart 2 Cor. 5.14 It was this made the Apostle's Heart so warm and active Wherefore we labour c. Vers 9. Good-Will indeed toward Men when such good things were purchast for them Luk. 2.14 O then Christians if there be either Worth or Love Bowels or Bounty in that Heavenly State so aggravated by our there ever being with the Lord let all your Hearts be evermore for Christ He walk'd in the Valley of the Shadow of Death that you might fear no evil and felt the Pangs and Strokes of Death with all the loads and bitterness thereof consistent with the dignity
wherewith ye your selves are comforted of God 2 Cor. 1 3-5 And what now is it think you to comfort your selves herewith I will tell you as desiring labouring and hoping through your intreated Prayer for me and the supply of the Spirit to me thus to do It is 1. by close and solemn contemplation to represent this State unto your selves according to the Gospel-Scheme or Figure as great sure near and suited every way to make those happy who obtain it as yours by promise and in hope having been purchased and being now possest by Christ for you whose Spirit hath also sealed you thereunto and is your Pledg and Earnest of it and as of far greater consequence and concernment to you than all which you can meet with here can countervail And 2. it is pertinently and prudently to accommodate this your Encouragement and Support to every Exigence so as to make you calm and easy in your selves and sensibly and evidently pleased herewith whatever this your Hope may cost you here You must consider and apply it and regularly enforce it upon your exercised Souls and live upon it as your Food and Treasure and rest herein when little else but Toil and Sorrow here becomes your daily Entertainment But I have more largely handled this in my printed Sermon on Psal 42.11 in Dr. Anneslie's Morning Exercise and thither I refer you though ill printed 2. Comfort one another with these words Mal. 3.16 't is needful useful and delightful thus to do for God hath set this State thus characterised before us as our Directory to shew us what we are to be and do 1 John 3.2 3. as our Encouragement hereunto 1 Cor. 15.58 and as the Reward hereof Heb. 10 35-37 We are to give our Sentiments and Notions of this State and to represent it in its greatness each to other We are to confer about its certainty and so to shew and settle the reasons of our belief hereof to discourse the nearness of it lest otherwise the Midnight-Cry surprize us to talk about the Means and Evidence of our being entitled thereunto and of its suitableness to all our holy Principles and Instincts and to the Capacities and true Welfare of our Souls and of those great and glorious Purposes which it may subserve and to converse about the Snares which may be broken and of the Mischiefs which may be prevented by our lively Thoughts Belief and Hopes and Relishes of this blissful State and by our warm Discourse about it And we are to quicken one another to comparative Thoughts about it that is to consider it in its Transcendencies above all that rivals or opposes it Sometimes our Mouths or Palats have loste their tast and relish and then Discourse hereon must cure us and the great Excellencies of our Lord and of our abode with him for ever must be displayed afresh Sometimes our Hearts are out of hope and then Christ as our Advocate and Head in Heaven preparing all Things for our solemn meeting with him and as the Patron of this Hope may be the proper and fit Theme for Christian Conference about Sometimes our Minds and Thoughts are vagrant and like loose Garments rather hinder us than help us and then some warm discourse about this State may reduce our distracted Spirits to some advantageous composures Somtimes our Hearts are cold and careless and then some applicatory Conference about this heavenly State and Priviledg may make them burn again within us Sometimes the frame of Spirit and course of Life which is most congenial with this Lord and State is much neglected and we are degenerating into unchristian Principles Dispositions and Practices and then to speak of Christ in all those Glories where he and we must dwell together may recover us from our Decays and Lapses Sometimes our Devotions have not their proper Life and Spirit in them as Prayer Praise Thanks Sabbath-Solemnities and Sacramental Commemorations and Transactions c. and then right Words warmly delivered and enforced may make our Altars flame afresh And sometimes we are in the House of Mourning some sick some weak some dead and some twice dead all more or less lamenting the mournful State of Things Souls Persons c. and then for ever with the Lord closely discoursed may afford very great relief For Christ and all his Saints with him in Glory allays the bitterness of all such Cups makes all Conditions easy clears up the Brow and warms the Heart and adds new Life and Vigour to all our Winter and Summer-Graces Rom. 5.2 3. Jam. 1. 2-12 and fully reconciles us to all those Scenes of Sorrows and to Death it self through which we are to come to Christ Converse then more about this thing for no Salt like this to season Conversation with Col. 4.5 and nothing fitter to refresh the drooping Soul. And therefore Ye Beloved building up your selves and one another on your most holy Faith praying in the Holy Ghost keep your selves in the Love of God looking for the Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto Eternal Life Jude 20 21. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our Father who hath loved us and given us everlasting Consolation and good Hope through Grace comfort your Hearts and establish you in every good Word and Work 2 Thess 2.16 17. And to him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding Joy To the only wise God our Saviour be Glory and Majesty Dominion and Power both now and ever Amen Jude 24 25. FINIS