his Letter to the King of Tyre desiring his Assistance Behold I build an House to the Name of the Lord my God to dedicate it to him and to burn before him sweet Incense and for the continual Shewbread and for the burnt-Offerings morning and evening on the Sabbaths and on the new Moons and on the solemn Feasts of the Lord our God And we read at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple that a suddain thick Cloud obscur'd the Air a sign of God's descending and acceptance whose invisible Majesty was veiled under it and whether from that Sacred Darkness or fear at the unexpected Miracle the Priests could not minister because of the Cloud The Sacrifices Musick and all the Temple-Service was interrupted But the Temple built with Hands and all its pompous Service was but an imperfect mutable Shadow of the Holy Temple Above where God exhibits his Sacred Presence not in a dark Vapour but in the richest Beams of Glory and wherein that most pure Spirit is worship'd in Spirit and Truth for ever The Saints are a Royal Priesthood to God in a state of Eminency and separation from the rest of the World They now offer up the Sacrifice of Praise and the sacred Incense of Prayer infinitely more pleasing to God than all the Sacrifice of Beasts and the most precious Gums and Aromatick Spices that with their sweet Smoak perfum'd the Temple But in the Holy of Holies Above where no defiled thing can enter they perform Divine Service in a Divine manner The perfect Rest in Heaven is a Sabbath's Rest wherein our fervent Affections the Springs of Activity are in their powerful Exercise upon God Here our faint Earth clogs our ascending Affections and such is the tender Indulgence of our Heavenly Father that when the Spirit is willing tho the Flesh be weak he pardons and accepts us But there our Bodies become Spiritual qualified for the Exercises of Heaven and all our Powers are in a holy Heat and Rapture admiring and praising the blessed God Here the Saints often retire from the World to worship the Divine Majesty in their Closets and the secrecy of the Duty is an Argument of the Sincerity They with more freedom pour forth their Souls into his Bosom and he insinuates the gracious acceptance of their Requests But the noblest elevation of the Affections is in communion with all the Saints and Angels above The ardent Seraphims were inflamed crying one to another Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole Earth is full of his Glory Here there must be some interval between the solemn Acts of Worship the Circumstances of the present State require it but in the Heavenly Sanctuary 't is their continual work and delight to celebrate the high Praises of God They are before his Throne and serve him day and night in his Temple The Inhabitants of Arabia the Happy burn for their common uses those Aromatick Trees that produce Myrrh and precious Balm of which the Sacred Incense was compounded And 't is no wonder because those Trees grow common in their Country that is open to the most favourable Aspects of the Heavens and the strongest heat of the Sun But to our Countries how little of those rich Perfumes are brought And such is the Comparison between the Praises of the Angels and the glorified Saints and ours here below They are always in the noblest Work excited by the highest Motives They are always under the direct Beams of God's Favour which are vigorously reflected in their Praises All their Felicity is to contemplate his excellent Perfections all their Pleasure to love him all their Glory to obey him Their affectionate Praises are renewed without intermission because the Divine Favours are renewed every moment There is a perpetual circulation of Graces from the blessed Creator and Thanksgivings from the happy Creature All their joyful Affections all their solemn Thoughts and Reflections are terminated in that great and glorious Object The Prophet declares their holy Employment They continually speak of the glorious Honour of his Majesty and of his wondrous Works They speak of the Might of his terrible Acts and they declare his Goodness and sing of his Righteousness The Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great Mercy The Lord is good to all and his tender Mercies are over all his Works All thy Works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints bless thee They speak of the Glory of thy Kingdom and talk of thy Power Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endures through all Generations They never cease to love and admire and therefore never cease to praise him Their Hearts are eternally inflam'd and their Mouths eternally open'd to glorify him But with the highest veneration they adore his Mercy that Perfection that is the special Glory the dearest delight of God that which is the supreme of all the glorious Attributes in our Redemption that will be the principal Argument of their Praises They sing of the Mercies of the Lord for ever that Mercy that chose them from Everlasting that Mercy that in such an admirable manner conducted them through the World that never left them but most wisely order'd all things below in relation to their future Happiness that Mercy that crowns them with Life and Immortality when the reprobate World feel the most terrible Effects of revenging Justice We read of the Jews after their Captivity upon their finishing the Temple that with a transport of Joy they cried Grace Grace when God who is the Author of our Salvation shall have finish'd it with what a sweet consent shall we celebrate his sacred Praises Mercy upon Mercy all is Mercy Happy Exercise Heaven is a State of Joy and Thankfulness Blessed are those that are in thy house they always praise thee 4. The delightfulness of this Place 'T is call'd Paradise by our Saviour He promises the penitent Thief the Companion of his Cross To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Paradise was a Garden planted by immortal Hands to be the Habitation of Adam in his state of original Righteousness when the Favourite of Heaven it was the Beauty and Delight the Flower of the World and with abundance and variety exceedingly satisfied all the desires of Life 't was water'd with four Rivers to make it always pleasant and fruitful But the Celestial Paradise as much excels it in Beauty and Pleasantness as in its sublime situation and the joyful satisfaction of the Soul in communion with God and the blessed Society there infinitely excels all the innocent Delights of the natural Life Heaven is a state of pure full and unfading Joy The Joy of the Blessed is not mixt with things that may corrupt its excellence There is an absolute exemption from all Evils God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain The
God than that a guilty Sinner should be reconciled to him As supposing the revival of a Phoenix from its Ashes 't is more easily conceivable that it should take its flight upwards which is the natural Motion of a living Bird than that it should be restor'd to Life in such a miraculous manner In short Heaven is a free Gift to us but dearly bought by our Saviour 't is the Gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He had a double Title to Heaven as the Son of God he was Heir of his Kingdom this Title is incommunicably his own and he acquir'd it by his meritorious Sufferings This he imparts to Believers who enter into Heaven by the new and living Way which he consecrated for them through his Flesh. 2. He ascended into Heaven to prepare a Place for us The Actions of our Saviour may be considered two ways either as terminated in himself or with a relative respect to Believers as the Head of the Church His Resurrection was not meerly Personal but hath an operative Force in raising all the Members of his Mystical Body As David's subduing Goliah was not his own personal Victory simply but was extended in its happy Consequences to all his Nation for in him as their Champion the Army of Israel overcame the Philistims Jesus Christ as Head of the Church hath broken the Dominion of Death and by virtue of his Conquest the Grave shall restore the Saints at the general Resurrection And his Ascension was not a personal Act purely to obtain his own Right but as our Forerunner he is enter'd for us into Heaven As the High Priest in his majestick mysterious Habit with the Names of the Children of Israel upon his Breast enter'd into the Holy of Holies so Jesus Christ enter'd into the Eternal Sanctuary as our Representer to take possession of it for us The Language of Despair is silenc'd for ever Who shall ascend up to Heaven to raise us thither Christ is lifted up to the highest Glory and will draw all his People after him The first Adam was from the Earth Earthly but Christ is the Lord from Heaven and is return'd to Heaven and shall Earth destroy what Heaven cannot restore The Apostle tells us That Believers sit with Christ in Heavenly Places that is as he is the Head of that Sacred Society his Church and his Promise is exprest To him that overcomes will I grant personally to sit with me in my Throne even as I also am set down with my Father in his Throne After victorious Obedience the Saints shall be taken into Soveraign Alliance with Christ and reign for ever In short his excellent Merit is the Foundation of our glorious Hope and his prevailing Intercession introduces us into actual Possession He that purchas'd Heaven disposes of it by his last Will thus he addrest to his Father immediately before his Death Father I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may see my Glory And he has Power to accomplish his own Testament What he hath done already for Believers is an uncontroulable Evidence and invincible Assurance of what he hath promised There is a vaster distance between the Deity and Misery than between Man and the Heavenly Glory For the Sun to go backwards ten Degrees was miraculous and astonishing but to ascend the Horizon is according to natural Order The abasement of the Son of God was stupendious but his advancement to the highest Glory is most becoming his Divine Relation and infinitely due to his exuberant Merits and a firm Foundation of Hope that all his redeemed Saints shall be where he is and be conform'd to him in all supernatural Divine Excellencies of Soul and Body for ever The Application 1. LET us adore the unconceivable Love of God who hath prepar'd such a Place of Joy and Glory for his Children when they leave the World The Father prepar'd it in his Decree from Eternity and by his creating Power from the Foundation of the World and we are assur'd 't is such a Place and State as fully answers the Design of God's Love that is to make a reasonable Creature as happy as 't is capable to be When Man was turn'd Rebel against his Creator when so chang'd from the Divine Resemblance imprest at first upon him into the disgraceful likeness of the Beasts that perish as the Psalmist justly reproaches him then to pardon us and prefer us to restore us to his Favour and Image and the nearest communion with himself in his Palace above is such an astonishing Mercy as is only proper to God who is Love And the Love of our Redeemer is equally admirable when we were expell'd Paradise he makes a reentry for us and intercepts the stroke of the flaming Sword that had destroy'd us We neither know the depth of our Misery from whence we are freed nor the heighth of Glory to which we are rais'd by our Redeemer In what Heart but that of the Son of God could ever such compassion and charity be conceiv'd He took our Flesh to Heaven to prepare it for us and interchangeably left his Spirit on Earth to prepare us for Heaven How just is the solemn and terrible denunciation of the Apostle He that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha And how are we obliged to God for the blessed and glorious Gospel that infinitely excels all humane Books in the matter it contains the everlasting Happiness of Man and the certain way to obtain it and in the manner of conveying those great and Sacred Truths by Divine Revelation And what an Argument of thankfulness is it to consider the distinguishing Grace of God that when the most are so blind in the clear Light of the Gospel as not to discover the lustre of the Pearl of Price and so immers'd in Vanities as to disrelish Heavenly Joys that he is pleased to inlighten the Eyes of our Mind that we may know what is the Hope of his Calling and what the Riches of the Glory of his Inheritance in the Saints The number of Fools that understand not the Price that is put into their Hands in comparison of the truly Wise is greater than of common Stones that lie in the Mire of the Streets to precious Stones of the highest value Diamonds and Rubies How affectionately should we give thanks to the Father who has made us meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light But we have such Allays by the Relicks of Carnality that without the Heavenly Spirit 's inspiring our cold Earth we shall never be ardent and lively in the Praises of our Blessed Benefactor Even David himself was fain to call upon his Soul with repeated fervency and excite every Faculty within him to bless the Lord who had forgiven his Iniquities and redeem'd his Life from destraction and crown'd him with loving Kindness and tender Mercies 2. From hence we may infer the great Guilt of
Unbelievers in the Christian Church and such are all those who implicitly despise and reject Heaven for the present World This will aggravate the Sin and Sentence of the Carnal and Worldly that they despise such glorious Realities for empty Vanities Desperate Gamesters that venture a Kingdom at every Throw What blindness of Mind or rather perversness of Heart is it that Men pursue with their best strength and desires the fading and false World and slight Heaven an inestimable and everlasting Treasure Certainly when Death shall open their Eyes they will have chang'd thoughts of Things 'T is related by a wise Historian That a Citizen pleaded his own Cause of great moment before Philip King of Macedon who slept during the Plea and a little after pass'd an unrighteous Judgment against him the injur'd Person reply'd I appeal from your Sentence A word that seem'd so presumptuous to an Independent Soveraign that with indignation the King asked him To whom he appeal'd He answered From the King sleeping to the King waking Thus Men who are led by Sense are asleep whilst the Cause of infinite Concernment eternal Salvation is faithfully pleaded by the Advocates of their Souls and they determine for the Interest of the Flesh against the Spirit but their waking Thoughts will discover the unrighteousness of their carnal Judgment In the next State how will they with restless Anguish remember their foolish Bargain to exchange an everlasting Treasure for fading Toys We may a little conjecture the Torments of the Damn'd by the Terrors of the Dying then the enlightned guilty Conscience makes them cry out O that we had been wise so to use the World that we might enjoy God! O that we had been so careful to have obtain'd an Interest in Heaven as we have been to gain the Earth Then the stinging Remorse begins that shall never end 3. Let us make it our fixed Aim our zealous constant Endeavour to secure our Title to this heavenly Inheritance Let Eternity be our Counseller and guide our Choice Let us not build our Felicity on the Sand but on the Rock that cannot be shaken Such is the excellent Goodness of God reveal'd in the Gospel that every Person that sincerely and regularly seeks Heaven shall obtain it and no Person shall be depriv'd of it but for his wilful neglect Now our Blessed Saviour who open'd the Eternal Kingdom has declar'd to us upon what terms it may be obtain'd in his conference with Nicodemus Verily verily I say unto thee Except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Natural Birth and Accomplishments tho never so high and noble are of no advantage there The degeneracy of Man from his Primitive Holiness makes him both unworthy and uncapable of having a right or possession of Heaven without a Divine Change a Spiritual Regeneration The supernatural Inheritance is annext to the being born of God that is the receiving a Principle of Life and Actions suitable to the Life of God in universal Holiness and Righteousness 'T is not a ground of Title to Heaven that we have a natural alliance to God as the Father of Spirits in the first Creation but we must be his Off-spring by a new and more excellent Creation according to our Saviour's words That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit We must be renewed in the Spirit of our Minds spiritualiz'd in our Affections before we can obtain an interest in his Love which was forfeited by our Rebellion and consequently in his Kingdom Adoption into God's Family and the Line of Heaven is always in conjunction with the renovation of the Divine Nature and Image in us The Holy Spirit witnesses with our Spirits that we are the Children of God but his witnessing is always consequent to his working in us those Graces that constitute us to be the Children of God an humble Fear to offend him a Care to please him a Zeal for his Glory delight in Communion with him resignation to his Will and Wisdom trust on his Fatherly Love and a desire to be in his Blessed Presence By the discovery of these filial Affections our Divine Relation is made sure The Apostle infers If Sons then Heirs Holiness is the infallible Evidence of Election for the Vessels of Mercy are prepar'd by Holiness for Glory the Seal of Adoption whereby God's Children are distinguish'd from the World and the Earnest of their Inheritance for Heaven is a blissful State of Purity and the Graces with the Comforts of the Spirit are the beginnings of it here 'T is further to be observ'd that our right in the Heavenly Inheritance depends upon our union with Christ. He instates his Members in the same Relation with himself to God Thus he declares to his Disciples I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God Christ's Relation hath precedency in Point of Dignity and Causality and he derives a Right to us in his Father's House We are Coheirs with Christ. Now 't is universally and necessarily true what the Apostle saith Whoever is in Christ is a new Creature For our vital Union with him is by the Sanctifying Spirit on Christ's part and by Faith and Love on our part Briefly Without Holiness no Man shall see God The Exclusion is absolute and universal of all unsanctified Persons 'T is impossible God should admit them into Heaven for the Rights of Justice are inviolable we must come to Christ's Tribunal before we come to his Throne We must come to God the Judg of all before we are admitted into the number of Just Men made perfect According to our Works the Reward will be and Men are uncapable of enjoying Heaven without Holiness The Wisdom of God appears in that the various sorts of Creatures live in the Elements from which they were produc'd and have Natures suitable to the Places of their Residence The Beasts that were form'd from the Earth walk and rest there the Birds and Fishes that were produc'd out of the Waters the one sort flies in the Air that is rarefied Water the other swim in Water that is the thickest Air and that Wisdom more evidently appears in suiting the everlasting States of Men to their moral Dispositions Thus we must be born from above if we would joyfully live above The Apostle tells us That Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven The natural Body must be spiritualiz'd and invested with Celestial Qualities before it can enter into that Glorious Place and the Reason is more strong that earthly sensual Souls can never enter into Heaven there being an absolute Contrariety and Opposition between the habitual constitution of such and that place and state they must be Holy and Heavenly to be prepar'd for the Divine Presence and to converse with the purified Assembly Above 'till they are wrought for that blessed End cleansed and purified and endued with Holy Qualities till they are made meet they cannot possess the
A blessed Doctrine In my Father's House are many Mansions capable to receive all his Disciples 2. Gives them an infallible assurance of it 1. From his inviolate Love and Truth If it were not so I would have told you 2. That his going away was not to reign alone in the Kingdom of Glory but to prepare a place for them The Point that I shall discourse of from these words is this There is a blessed Place Above prepared for all the faithful Disciples of Christ wherein they shall be glorified with him for ever In the managing this Argument I will endeavour 1. To represent the Excellencies of this Place specified by his Father's House and the state of Felicity that is inseparable from all that dwell in it 2. Consider the infallible Assurance we have of obtaining it 1. The Excellencies of this Place may be argued from the Maker of it and its Attributes specified in Scripture First God is said to be the artificial Builder of this City to signify a correspondent Excellency in the Work to the Divine Maker All the Works of God have a Divine Impression of his Power and Providence but in some are more conspicuous Characters of his Perfections For the wise Author of all Things hath ordered their several degrees of Excellence both in the Matter and various Art of adorning them suitable to the End for which they were design'd Now the supreme Heaven was made to be the Temple of the Divine Majesty wherein he would diffuse the richest Beams of his Goodness and Glory to his chosen Servants for ever and accordingly is a most noble Work of his Omnipotent Hand and there are two Remarks to be made in its Creation from whence we may infer its peculiar Excellency 1. 'T is the beginning of the Creation Amongst intellectual Beings the Angels are the First-Born of God's Power and in Natural and Divine Prerogatives excel Men. From hence it is that the Excellency of any praise-worthy Quality in Men is set forth by a resemblance of the Angels Excellent Wisdom in David My Lord the King is like an Angel of God Excellent Eloquence by St. Paul is stiled the Tongues of Angels Heroick Vertue and excellent Holiness in the Christian Church The House of David shall be as the Angel of the Lord for that which is highest in any kind of Perfection is the Rule and Measure of the degrees of that Perfection And thus in forming the material World the supreme Heaven hath the precedence in order and dignity before all the other Parts of it Indeed Moses only recites particularly the Creation of the visible World and by what gradations this great Fabrick with all its Furniture was compleated And the History of that is instructive of the Creation of invisible Things which is expresly specified in the Gospel But as Paradise was first made and then Man created to be the Inhabitant of it so we may infer that the highest Heaven the Seat of the Angels was made before they were created Now the Angels we are inform'd by Divine Revelation were present when the Foundations of the Earth were laid and God stretched his Line upon it Then the Morning Stars sang together and all the Sons of God shouted for joy They saw the rising World the variety and beauty of its Frame the admirable Order that distinguishes and unites its Parts that all Things were divinely done and transported with wonder and joy celebrated the praises of the Creator 2. The Supreme Heaven is the effect of God's immediat Creation The Earth with all its Ornaments was form'd of preexistent Matter the Chaos a confused Mass was the Embrio of the sublunary World but the Supreme Heaven is his more immediate and exquisit Workmanship and receiv'd its Being and Perfection at once You may illustrate this by the Account is given by Moses of the Creation of Man God made Man of the Dust of the Ground His Body derives its Birth from the low Element and the Wisdom of the Creator is wonderful in the artificial structure of it 'T is added God breathed into his Nostrils the Breath of Life and Man became a living Soul The Earth enters into the composition of his Body but his Soul was inspired by the Breath of God that is by his Divine Power immediately created and in nobility of Nature and its spiritual Endowments incomparably excels the Body And the third Heaven though not a spiritual Substance yet in the purity of its Nature far transcends whatever was form'd of gross Matter This being premis'd I will now consider what the Scripture reveals to us of that place that is eminently the House of God 1. The Amplitude of it Our Saviour tells us The Way is narrow and the Gate strait that leads to it to excite our diligence but there are many Mansions in the Celestial Pallace to encourage our Hopes 'T is therefore call'd a City a Kingdom If we look up to the shining Sky wherein are the Sun that by the computation of late Astronomers some thousands of times exceeds the Earth in its magnitude and innumerable Stars and some of that greatness that they eighty times exceed this Globe of Earth tho to the ignorant and therefore incredulous they are judged to be as they appear upon the account of that unmeasurable distance between the Firmament and us but glistering points of Light our Minds will be tir'd and lost in taking measures of that that seemeth boundless and this vast Expansion with all the glorious Luminaries is but the Portal of the House of God Therefore Solomon setting forth the boundless Greatness of God saith Behold the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him that is neither the Airy nor Ethereal Heaven nor the Supreme Heaven that encompasses and exceeds it 'T is a spacious Pallace becoming the Divine Maker's Greatness the Image of his Immensity and the State of Felicity there is answerable The blessed God in whom there is an eternal Union of all Perfections perfections is all in all to his People The Sun in its brightness may be as truly included in a Spark as the Divine Excellencies be measur'd by created Contemplation There is an infinite variety in the Supreme Good that makes it always rare and new in the fruition The universal Love and universal Fulness of the Deity exceedingly satisfies all the Desires and perpetuates the Delights of the Saints He stiles himself in the gracious Covenant with his People I am God Alsufficient walk before me and be perfect He is sufficient in all things that are requisite to the compleat Felicity of the most comprehensive Spirits and is sufficient to make all that innumerable Company of Angels and Saints as happy as one Person God is Light and the Emanations of his Goodness are sensibly represented by it Heaven is call'd the Inheritance of the Saints in Light As the Sun his Almoner diffuses its Light and Heat so generally that every one indifferently enjoys it
Inheritance of the Saints in Light How vain and impossible are the hopes of unrenewed Sinners The Presence and Conversation of the Saints is now an offence to them damps their carnal Jollity and wild Mirth for it upbraids their neglect of Serious Religion How fearful will the sight of God be to them If the unpurg'd Eye cannot bear the Light of a Candle how will it sustain the glorious Light of the Sun The Lord's Day in its Sacred employment is their burden how can they expect to enjoy an everlasting Sabbath Above How can there be a lively Hope of Heaven that implies perfection of Holiness when they neither seriously desire nor endeavour to be Holy They may have a Cobweb Hope that will be swept away but Hope that is as an Anchor to secure the Soul hath always a purifying influence on the Heart and Life Whoever hath this Hope of being like to Christ in Glory purifies himself even as he is pure In short as the Jews had a carnal conceit of the Messias and transform'd him into a temporal Prince coming with Pomp and Splendor to free their Nation from Bondage and exalt it to the highest Dominion in the World and this Conceit so strongly possest them that when the Son of God who was Holy Harmless and Undefiled and separate from Sinners appear'd in an humble state to reform and save Mankind they rejected him Thus the unregenerate have a carnal conceit of Heaven They can only fancy it as a place of visible Glory and a Sanctuary and Refuge from the Torments of Hell and in that Notion desire it but as the Place wherein that Holy God is enjoyed and glorified by the Saints they cannot desire nor delight in it 4. From hence we should be induc'd to regulate our Minds Affections and Conversation becoming our present State and future Hopes Our Father's House our Everlasting Home is Above and here we are Strangers in Condition and should be so in Disposition to present Things This should lessen our Esteem our Desires and Delights and moderate our Endeavours with respect to the present World 'T is the wise and earnest counsel of St. Peter Dearly beloved Brethren I beseech you as Pilgrims and Strangers abstain from fleshly Lusts that war against the Soul Sensual Lusts darken the Mind that it doth not rightly value Things nor make judicious Comparisons between superficial fleeting Things of Time and the sure and solid good Things of Eternity The lower Appetites are not capable nor careful to obtain a Spiritual and Future Happiness but intensely applied to what is present and sensible But the serious Thoughts of our present Tenure how frail how uncertain and of the next State how unchangeable and fixt would be effectual to frame our Hearts that we may manage the World with indifferent Affections To rejoice in it as if we rejoiced not to buy as if we possessed not to use it so as not to abuse it How doth the Faith of the Saints under the Law upbraid our Infidelity They had not so clear a revelation of the Heavenly State yet they confest they were Pilgrims and Strangers on Earth and desir'd a better Country And David not only when he was as a Patridg chas'd upon the Mountains but when seated on the Royal Throne acknowledges We are Strangers as all our Fathers were and his Affections were accordingly weaned from the World Was ever Passenger so foolish that being to pass over a narrow Strait of the Sea of a days sayling makes Provisions for a Voyage of a Year or that will be at great cost to paint an Inn and adorn it with rich Furniture where he is to lodge but a Night 'T is incomparably more reproachful folly to spend the best of our Time and Strength and Spirits for the gaining the present World as if we were to continue here for ever How many are sensual and secure in their earthly Enjoyments 'till as the rich Voluptuary that was cloth'd in Purple and far'd deliciously every day they unexpectedly die and irrecoverably drop into Hell Just like a Traveller that lays himself under the shadow of some Trees in his way Home and sleeps till the Night with its Darkness and Dangers surprizes him and he is destroyed by Robbers or wild Beasts How plain and necessary a Lesson is the vanity and shortness of the present Life but how few effectually learn it The Psalmist addresses himself to God for Instruction So teach us to number our Days that we may apply our Hearts unto Wisdom Let Men fancy what they please of their Tenure here they are but Strangers and have no continuing City here and the consequent Duty is most clearly and strongly urged by the Apostle Let them seek one to come 5. Let our Conversation be in Heaven whilst we are upon the Earth Every Thing in Nature hath a tendency to its Original and Perfection Rivers that come from the Sea are in a living Motion returning thither If you stop their Course and confine them though in Receptacles of Marble they corrupt and die The Divine Nature in the Saints hath a strong tendency to Heaven from whence it came and raiseth the Soul by solemn Thoughts and ardent Desires to that Blessed Place A Philosopher that was ask'd of what Country he was replied He was a Citizen of the World The Scripture corrects the Language and teaches us that we are Citizens of Heaven we are passing to the Jerusalem Above the Land of Promise the true Land of the Living and all our Aims and Endeavours should have a final respect thither Our Hearts should be where our Treasure is How joyful how advantagious is a Heavenly Conversation The serious and believing Contemplation of Heaven is a temperate Extasy and brings the Soul into the Divine Presence anticipates the Joy of it by a sweet foretast by a supernatural elevation of Mind by frequent lively Thoughts of our Glorious Inheritance we gradually enter into it the prospect of that causes in the Saints a Holy Contempt of the World as not worthy our Ambition and Diligence it causes such a self-denial from the inviting temptatations of Sense that Men whose Portion is in this Life are forc'd to admire their restraint from those Objects that ravish Carnal Hearts A Heavenly Christian will improve sensible Things for spiritual Ends as Feathers that have a natural Weight inclining to the Center yet planted in the Wings of a Bird by a living Motion carry it aloft in the free Air. Our rising in the Morning is an Emblem of the Resurrection from the Grave to behold the bright Day of Eternity All the Refreshments and Comforts of the present Life should be an advantage to raise our Minds to God who is the Supreme Good whose Fulness eminently contains all Good and infinitely exceeds all our Expectations Heavenly Love will dry up the Vanity of our Thoughts and Affections and rescue the Mind from the prostitution to sensible Things and most pleasantly exercise
the Glory of Heaven and the Ruins of their Celestial Country would be repair'd by our Salvation And the glorified Saints are all Companions in the same Joy and the same Blessedness For never was there such a transforming of one Lover into another here as there is of the Saints in Heaven They are all animated by the same Divine Spirit their Thoughts and Inclinations are the same and have the highest satisfaction in the felicity of one another Behold how good and how pleasant is it for Brethren to dwell for ever in Unity Briefly we find that sensible Joy is in its elevation in the times of the Harvest and Vintage and after Victory when the Blessings of God the precious Fruits of the Earth the Hopes of our Labours and the Support and Comfort of the present Life are received an universal Joy fills the Country Now Light is sown for the Righteous and Joy for the upright in Heart 'T is sown in Tears but reapt with Exultation We gather the Fruits of Blessedness from Thorns Poverty and Mourning Hunger and Thirst and Persecution and this gives the more lively tincture to our Joy The Joy of Victory is transporting and that always in proportion to the Danger and Power of the Enemies subdu'd and the rich Spoils taken from them Now when our Spiritual Enemies so numerous so powerful and irreconcileable to our Souls Sin Satan Death are utterly broken how triumphant a Joy follows The Historian relating that most glorious Triumph at Rome when Pyrrhus their proud and potent Enemy was expell'd from Italy observes That of all the Show no part was more joyful than to see the Elephants that had been so terrible and carried Towers on their Backs to be subdued and led in Triumph Thus how joyful is it to see the Prince of Darkness with all his infernal Legions not without the tormenting sense of their Captivity bruised under our Feet to see the humane Nature of Christ rais'd to the highest honour to which that rebellious Spirit did proudly aspire O how delightful a Spectacle All the Saints will cast their Crowns before the Throne and sing the Praises of their victorious Deliverer 5. The Glory of this Place is discovered in the Scripture The Father of Christ is the God of Glory and the Father of Glory and Heaven is his lofty and glorious Throne becoming his Excellent Majesty and Universal Dominion The Lord hath prepared his Throne in the Heavens and his Kingdom ruleth over all Glory in its first Notion signifies the brightness and lustre of Light and from thence metaphorically imports Excellency in any Kind Thus the Divine Perfections are exprest God is Glorious in Holiness glorious in Power and the Joy of Believers is call'd unspeakable and glorious Heaven is set forth as glorious in a transcendent manner 't is call'd the Excellent Glory from whence a Voice came to the Apostles in that Holy Mount declaring Christ to be the Son of God So 't is call'd The richly glorious Inheritance the Inheritance of the Saints in Light When the Sun rises in its brightness a Deluge of Gold overflows the World and adorns the Universe but this is but a Shadow of the inherent Glory of the highest Heaven 'T was prepar'd by God for the House of his Kingdom and the Glory of his Majesty We reade of the vast preparations made by two great Kings for the building the Temple at Hierusalem such sums of Gold and Silver that would empty all the Treasuries of the Princes of the World that were it not recorded in Sacred Scripture it would exceed belief The number of the Workmen were seventy thousand employ'd seven Years without intermission the Materials were very rich and splendid Gold and Cedar and precious Stones and the excellency of the Architecture was such that no humane Art can equal for it was model'd by the Divine Mind and the delineation of its Parts was sent to David by an Angel But what are the Preparations of Earthly Kings to the Preparation of God And what is the Glory of the Temple made with Hands to that admirable Fabrick that receiv'd its Being and Perfection immediately from God We reade of the New Hierusalem the Type of Heaven that the Foundations were precious Stones the Gates were intire Pearls the Streets pure Gold as it were transparent Glass The Expressions are in condescendance to our Capacities and but a faint resemblance of the Glory of Hierusalem above In the Vision of the Prophet Esay the Seraphims cried to one another Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts the whole Earth is full of thy Glory 'T is a Theatre of innumerable Wonders divinely deck'd and the wise discerning Observer admires and praises God's Power and Providence so clearly manifested in it For the Excellency of the Work is answerable to the Art of the Maker and the Glory of the Maker results from the Excellence of the Work But what the Apostle saith in comparing the Legal and Evangelical Dispensation That if that which was done away was glorious much more that which remains is glorious and in that degree of eminence as to obscure the other may justly be applied to the Glory of God appearing in the Earth and the third Heaven for if the Earth the lowest stage of the World the Habitation of Brute Creatures and to be continued only for a time hath so much Glory in it what an excellent Glory is in the Supreme Heavens the native Habitation of the Angels and that is to continue for ever The Earth since Man's Rebellion doth not remain in its Primitive State but hath lost much of its Beauty and Usefulness At first it was intirely suitable to the rich Goodness of the Creator now terrible mixtures of his Justice appear in all the parts of it Barrenness in the Earth Thorns and Thistles the Fruits of the Curse for Sin Malignant Influences and Storms in the Air Tempests in the Sea Inundations of Water and how many Diseases are fatally natural to our Bodies But the highest Heaven remains in its original Beauty and pure Integrity The Earth is now the Habitation of his Enemies where they oppress his faithful Servants by their bold Injuries but Heaven is the Habitation of his Saints In short 't is a Place becoming the Majesty and Magnificence of God and his Love to his chosen Friends 'T is said of the Patriarchs whose Desires and Hopes were not centred in that Earthly Canaan tho flowing with Milk and Hony but they desir'd a better Country that is a Heavenly wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he hath prepared for them a City To be stiled our God is a Title of the richest value and implies that all the Perfections of the Deity are to make us happy It had been a reflection upon his Greatness and Goodness if he had only given to the Patriarchs a Portion in this World But Heaven is a Place and State of Felicity becoming his Infinite Majesty
his special Love and eternal Duration 'T is an Observation of Tertullian That God who made other Things by command by the omnipotent Umpire of his Will appli'd himself with Counsel to form the Body of Adam which was the original Model of all Perfections that a humane Body is capable of for the beauty of Aspect without and the artificial order of the Parts within and the reason was Love drew the Lineaments Thus Love the Queen of the Divine Attributes employ'd infinite Wisdom and almighty Power to build this Celestial City for the reception of his chosen Favourites The King of Glory dwells there in a special manner The Heaven even the Heavens are the Lord's but the Earth hath he given to the Children of Men. By Right and Dominion the Earth is the Lord's and the Fulness thereof and the possession of it is from his Bounty to Men but Heaven is reserv'd for himself the Place of his glorious Residence As a Prince that hath many Houses gives some for to be inhabited by his Servants but the Imperial Palace is kept for his own Dwelling God manifests himself there in the most refulgent manner All the Perfections of the Glorious Deity are reveal'd to the Saints in their purity and radiancy The Divine Presence is the Supreme Glory of Heaven The Lord Jesus Christ is there crown'd with the Majesty of the Divine Empire This Glory is the Reward of his meritorious Obedience and Sufferings He was made a Subject and a Servant and endur'd the most ignominious cruel Death to satisfy God's injur'd Justice What hath not the Son done for the Glory of his Father He lost his Life rather than his Obedience And what will not the Father do for the Honour of his Son What Recompence is correspondent to such astonishing Humiliation Our Saviour in his last solemn Prayer with his Disciples addresses himself to God I have glorified thee on Earth I have finish'd the Work thou gavest me to do And now O Father glorify me with thy Self with the Glory I had with thee before the World was The Father was so highly honour'd by Christ that to satisfy his infinite Love towards him he hath dignified him with a Name and State that transcends all created Glory He is the Lord of Angels the Head of the Church and sits at the right Hand of Majesty on high In Heaven he appears in his triumphant Glory of which in the Transfiguration there was a transient glimpse when his Face did shine as the Sun but allayed and moderated that his Disciples might sustain his Presence There the Angels the Princes of the Celestical Court in all their bright Orders encompass the Throne of God and pay their humblest Homage to him The Saints appear there in their Robes of Glory for they are transform'd into the glorious likeness of the Son of God Their Souls radiant with pure unspotted Holiness shine through their Bodies as Sun-beams transmitted through Chrystal They all reign in Soveraign State for ever It becomes the Divine Majesty that all God's Subjects should be Kings and the highest Principality on Earth is but servitude compar'd with the Royalty enjoy'd by the Saints above For how often are the mightiest Monarchs on Earth in perfect bondage to their lawless Passions and the Soul in dull captivity to the sensual Appetites How often are the strongest Empires dissolv'd and ruin'd But the Saints in Heaven by obeying God reign triumphantly no Passions no Fears no Desires resist their Will nothing is able to trouble the sincere Delight the perfect Tranquillity of their State They in their several degrees of Glory shine like the Stars for ever and ever To sum up all What is promised to the Church is fulfill'd in Heaven The Sun shall be no more thy Light by Day nor the Moon by Night but the Lord shall be thy everlasting Light and thy God thy Glory Thus I have endeavour'd to represent that luminous Palace and the bright Inhabitants but how short is the description of the glorious Realities all humane Words are too weak and narrow to express it as it is The Glory and Joy of that blessed State are unspeakable as the Apostle a Spectator thereof certifies And 't is observable that our Saviour himself expresses the greatest Things by low familiar Terms and Resemblances as he tells his Faithful Disciples they shall eat and drink at his Table in his Kingdom In his Promises of Rewards it was not his intention meerly to make a show of his Power but to declare his Love Like a God he doth not magnify the Favours he will bestow but leaves it to their Spirits to conceive what becomes Almighty Goodness to bestow on his Servants In the plainest manner of promising the Reward there is a clear Character of the excellent Greatness of the Giver and his Gifts I will now consider the infallible Assurance we have of this blessed Place and State This is built on our Saviour's Love to them and his Truth and his going to prepare that Blessedness for them He saith to his Disciples Otherwise I would have told you implying that his Affection and Sincerity make it impossible that he should deceive them with an empty Promise of future Happiness 1. His Love secures them He would never have chosen them to be the Companions of his Cross never have expos'd them as Sheep among Wolves to suffer for his sake and to leave them for ever and reign alone in Heaven Love is a benevolent affection rising in the Breast and expressing it self in real Benefits according to the Power of the Lover and the Wants or the Capacity of the Person beloved and the more intense the Affection is the more evident and noble effects of Kindness will proceed from it All the most liberal Expressions without real performance are but a vain pageant of Friendship Now the Love of our Saviour to his Disciples was not only sincere but in such a degree of eminence that they might safely rely upon his Promises His pure Love was the motive of selecting them from the World and dignifying them with the endearing title of his Friends His Conversation with them was infinitely sweet a Miracle of Benignity and that glorious performance of his Love for them and all Believers in leaving Heaven for their sakes is the strongest assurance that he will bring them to his Father's House above 'T is represented as the peculiar Glory of Theodosius that he seated Majesty and Love in the same Throne for Love unites and conforms Persons and makes them as it were Peers and it seems too low a submission for a Soveraign to descend from his Throne to a kind of equality with a Subject or too high an exaltation to assume a private Person into such a degree of affection as to make him as himself yet such was the condescension of that great and amiable Emperor But how distant is the greatest Monarch in the World from the Eternal Son of
God the Prince of the Kings of the Earth Love brought him down from his Throne in Heaven where he was ador'd by the Angels and united him to our nature in our lowly state in order to the raising us to his Kingdom and uniting us to himself in Glory Love unvaluable and incomparable If Solomon upon God's descending in a Cloud to take possession of the Temple was surpriz'd with heavenly astonishment But will God indeed dwell on Earth with infinite more cause have we considering the incarnation of the Son of God to say Will God indeed dwell on Earth For what was the appearance of a Vapour that might be easily dispell'd to the coming of Jesus Christ into the World in whom the Fulness of the Godhead dwelt substantially What is so worthy of reverence and admiration New Things suspend the actings of the mind glorious Things overwhelm the Faculty and never was there so rare and excelling an Object This so signal and amazing Effect of our Saviour's Love gives assurance to Christians that he will take them to an everlasting Communion with himself in Glory As 't is more for a Prince to live with a private Person in a Cottage with complacency than to receive that Person into his Court and invest him with Honour The Love of our Saviour never abated to his Disciples when he was in view of Death with its troops of Terrors 't is said Having lov'd his own he lov'd them to the end And after his Resurrection to a Heavenly Life he exprest the same dear affection Go to my Brethren a stile as high as Love can rise 'T is further considerable what was touch'd on before that the Disciples of Christ besides the common Calamities of Mankind wherein they are involv'd are for his Truth and Cause expos'd to Indignities and Injuries of all kinds and degrees which the malice of Satan and his Instruments the perverted World can fasten upon them The complaint of the Church of old is often renew'd For thy sake we are killed all the day long we are accounted as Sheep for the Slaughter And can the Love of Christ so tender so compassionate that the Love of a Mother to a sucking Infant is not an adequate representation of it can such Love let the Saints be separated from him for ever Then according to the Apostle's expression If in this Life only we have hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable 2. His Truth gives an infallible assurance that we shall be receiv'd with him in Glory He declares his own Titles I am the Way the Truth and the Life If Truth it self be true and deserves our intire trust we may rest upon his Promises who values his Word more than the World The Pillars of Heaven shall fall and the Foundations of the Earth be overthrown before one tittle of his Words shall be without a full accomplishment If any Man serves me let him follow me and where I am there shall my Servant be 'T is his most gracious Promise to encourage Obedience and he assures his Disciples If I go away and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self that where I am there ye may be also To shew the validity of Christ's Promise let us consider the unchangeable Perfections of God's Nature are the Foundation of his unchangeable Councils and from thence the unchangeableness of his Promises is justly inferr'd The Decrees of God are engraven with the point of a Diamond and are unretractible The Counsel of the Lord shall stand for such is the perfection of his Knowledg that he can never be surpriz'd by any sudden unforeseen Event that should induce a change of his Will and such is his Omnipotence that he gives an infallible accomplishment to his Decrees and his Word endures for ever The immutability of his Nature gives firmness to his Counsels and the fidelity of his Nature to his Promises In him there is no variableness nor shadow of change and he is God that cannot ly He reveals himself by his Name Jehova to his People to signify that he is the same in performing as in promising Now Jesus Christ his Son is equal to the Father in all essential Perfections He stiles himself the Amen the true and faithful Witness If he deceive his Servants with a false expectation of a joyful glorious State hereafter it would be a blemish to his unspotted Holiness an eternal reflection upon his inviolate Truth 'T is therefore a faithful Saying and worthy of all acceptation That where Christ is in Glory there shall his Servants be with him otherwise he would have told them 2. We are to consider the other firm ground of assurance in our Saviour's next words I go to prepare a place for you This specially respects his Ascension into Heaven but it supposes his Death He purchas'd Heaven by his Death He prepares it by his Ascension His Blood shed on the Cross and pleaded in Heaven gives to Believers a right to it here and actual possession hereafter 1. His obedient Sufferings are the price of this glorious Inheritance In our Guilty State Heaven is as inaccessible to us as Paradise was to Adam after his expulsion when guarded by a Cherubim with a flaming Sword For neither the Divine Wisdom nor the Law of God would permit that an unpardon'd Sinner should be receiv'd into his Kingdom The Justice of God doth not infringe his rich Goodness but that he may bestow upon an innocent Creature the most excellent Blessings the Testimonies of his Bounty If Adam had persever'd in his Duty God might have translated him to Heaven and that happy change had been a free Favour for his Obedince had not been comparable to the Glory that shall be revealed in the Saints But Justice sets up a Legal Barr against the Guilty they are excluded from the Heavenly Glory The Creature must be intirely innocent or graciously pardon'd to be capable of enjoying that Supreme Happiness When the guilt of Sin is abolish'd it hath no malignant Power either to subject us to Evil or deprive us of Good Now our Saviour by Satisfying the Injur'd Justice of God hath wash'd away our Sins in his Blood and hath infinitely pleas'd God that we obtain by him not only redemption from Hell but the possession of Heaven This was the Design of God's Love in giving his only begotten Son that whoever believes should not perish but have everlasting Life Accordingly the Apostle saith That being justified by his Grace through Jesus Christ we should be made Heirs of Eternal Life And by the gracious unalterable tenour of the Gospel these great Benefits are inseparable it being equally impossible that an unpardon'd Sinner should enter into Heaven or that a pardon'd Sinner should be excluded The Connexion is indissolvable Whom he justifies them he glorifies Nay 't is more easily credible that a pardon'd Sinner should be admitted into the glorious Presence of
Refreshing Are we pain'd with Diseases he can more easily change the Tone of Nature in a sickly Body and make it healthy than one can change the stop in an Organ that presently alters the sound but his Love dispenses bitter Things to us that are necessary for our Spiritual and Everlasting Good His End is to prepare us for Heaven that is prepared for us The Apostle declares He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God that is made us fit for the Heavenly Glory The Divine disposal of Things here to the Saints has a certain Order to their Eternal State He purgeth out our vicious guilty Affections to the World by sharp Physick that our Hopes of Heaven may be more pure and vigorous more actuated by serious Thoughts and intense Desires that we may feel the sense of the Psalmist's Expression O when shall we come and appear before God! In short Art thou in the Vale of Tears languishing in Sorrow and dying every Day by Faith ascend to the Mountains of Spices the Blessed Place Above and thou wilt find the Comforts of God to revive and delight thy Soul 7. Let this reconcile Death to us The Pale Horse is sent to bring us to our Father's House The Apostle expresses the true Christian Temper In this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed with our House that is from Heaven And we are willing rather to be absent from the Body and present with the Lord. Every Saint in the present World is both a Prison and a Captive his Soul is detain'd from the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God by confinement to his Body Therefore methinks he should not merely be content to die out of the Necessity of Nature when he can live no longer but desire the happy removal and say with the Psalmist I rejoic'd when they said to me Let us go into the House of the Lord. 'T is true Nature will recoile and the extinguishing the present Life with all its sensible pleasant Operations is uneasy to us but as when the Candles are put out the Sun rises in its brightness so when the Natural Life ceases the Spiritual Life springs forth in its Oriency and Glory When the Earthly Tabernacle is dissolv'd the naked separate Soul shall be received into a Building not made with Hands Eternal in the Heavens Our joyful Affections in leaving the World and ascending to Heaven should be in some manner suitable to our reception there What a joyful Welcome will entertain us from God himself Our Saviour comforted his Disciples with a Heavenly Valediction I go to my Father and your Father to my God and your God The Gracious Relation sweetens the Glorious He that joyfully receives the rebellious but penitent Son to Grace will joyfully receive his obedient Sons to Glory He that now receives their Prayers with the Affection of a Father will receive their Persons with the dearest Expressions of Love His Fatherly Providence watch'd over them in the Way and will triumphantly bring them Home Here many Blessed Testimonies of God's Love are given to the Saints that produce such a spiritual sweetness in their Hearts that they esteem his loving Kindness as better than Life more worth than all the World but the full revealing of his Love is only in Heaven And as a Child knows by Experience the Love of his Father but the Degrees and Strength of his Affection he does not understand till arrived at mature Age and sees the Inheritance his Father enstates upon him Thus in Heaven only the Saints shall know the excellent and perfect Love of God to them when they are possess'd of that Glorious Kingdom his most free and rich Gift which transcends all their present Thoughts And our blessed Redeemer that by so many Titles has an Interest in us that is not contented in his own Personal Glory without our partaking of it that by his Resurrection open'd the Grave and by his Ascension open'd Heaven for us how dearly will he receive us He esteems Believers to be his Joy and Crown and with an extasy of Affection will present them to his Father Behold I and the Children that God has given me The Angels and Saints Above overflow with Joy when the Soul as a pure Spark freed from its Ashes ascends to the Element of Spirits how joyfully is it entertain'd by that Glorious Assembly The Angels that rejoice at the Conversion of a Sinner will much more at the Glorification of a Saint and the Saints have a new accession to their Joy upon the reception of any of their Brethren to that State of Felicity The Saints of all Ages may be resembled to a Fleet of Merchant-men that are bound for the same Port some arrive sooner others later according to the time of their setting out but those who arrive first how do they welcome their Friends that come safely afterwards An imperfect resemblance how dearly and joyfully the Saints that are gone before us welcome those who arrive in Heaven every day knowing the dangerous Seas they have past through where so many have been cast away and lost for ever All Heaven is in Musick celebrating the Praises of God and expressing their joyful sense when a Victorious Saint is come to receive his Reward How does this Consideration upbraid us that we are so unwilling to be dissolv'd and to be with our best Friends in the best Place that our Tears and Sorrows for leaving the Earthly Tabernacle and the low Comforts of this Life should continue till we come to the Gate of Heaven How can we be content with the Imperfections of the present State Here we are as distant from compleat Happiness as the highest Heaven is from the Earth Where is our Faith in the Promises of God Where is our Love to our Redeemer and our Souls The lothness of a Sincere Christian to die and be with Christ is a deflection from his Christianity Lastly This should refresh our Sorrows for the loss of our dearest Friends that die in the Lord. Here is a mournful parting when they are laid in the cold dark and silent Mansions of the Earth when those whom we lov'd as our own Souls are finally separated from us and we shall see their Faces no more And as one that is directed by the Light of a Torch in the Night when 't is taken away is more sensible of the Darkness than if he had not been inlightned by it So when those dear Friends are taken away whose Conversation was the Light and Joy of our Lives we are more darkned with Sorrow than if we had never injoy'd them But if we duly consider Things there is more reason of Joy than Sorrow at the departure of the Saints Our Saviour tells his Disciples that were mourning for his signifying that he must go away If ye loved me ye would rejoyce because I say I must go to my Father to reign with him in Soveraign Glory Sincere Love will make us more to