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
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
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
expression what will be the Joy of the Beatifical Vision of God in Heaven If now the believing Soul doth so greatly rejoyce in hearing from its Lord and Saviour in preaching and reading of his Word wherein there are such secret Messages of Love sent down from Heaven unto it O what will be the Joy of such a Soul in seeing him and dwelling with him for ever It shall never be said unto the Saints in Heaven what our Lord said unto his Disciples Hitherto you have asked nothing ask and you shall receive that your Joy may be full No the Joys of the Blessed in Heaven are always perfect and full For how can it be otherwise when there is nothing in Heaven but what is Matter of Joy to the Saints They are there in their Father's House come to the Inheritance and Possession of Children in an everlasting glorious Kingdom where they continually behold the Face of God and of the Lamb. The Joys of Heaven far exceed not only all earthly Joys such as the Joy of Marriage the Joy of Harvest but the Joy of Ordinances the Joy of Faith yea the Joy of the Holy Ghost All these Joys are swallowed up in Heaven and are almost as no Joys compared with the Joys thereof for in that holy Place there is nothing to disturb or to diminish the Joys of the Saints for ever O why then do not the People of God more fetch their Joys and Delights from Heaven while they are here This if any thing should comfort their Hearts and support their Spirits under all the Troubles they meet with here for though this World he a Valley of Tears yet in Heaven there will be Fulness of Joy and Rivers of Pleasures of which they may drink as deep and take in as much as their Hearts can hold though enlarged to their utmost capacity Fourthly The Joys of Heaven are permanent and everlasting and this makes it full Consolation indeed When our Lord told his Disciples he was to leave them and to return to Heaven unto his Father their Hearts were filled with Sorrow thereupon what course now doth our Lord take to comfort them Why he tells them John 16.20 Their Sorrow should be turned into Joy But when was this to be Why it was when he should come again and receive them to himself Not that they were to be without comfort until then no for he tells them when he departed he would send the Comforter to them who was to continue with them while they continued in the World But the Fulness and Perfection of their Joy they were to wait for till they come to Heaven and then when he shall come for that end and purpose to receive them to himself their Hearts should rejoyce and their Joy no Man should take from them for at God's right hand there are Pleasures for evermore A Believer hath always cause of Rejoycing in God but by reason of many sharp Trials that God sees good to lay upon his People there are some sad interruptions of his Joy for a time The Joy that the People of God partake of in this Life is like the Joy of the Husbandman in time of Harvest which though it be great for the present yet is it soon over and if he expect to partake of any more of the same nature he must first be at the pains and trouble of a Seeds-time So after the People of God have had their Joys here they again sow in Tears before they receive another crop of Comfort It is in Heaven only that our Joy will be everlasting there is fulness of Joy without any mixture of Sorrow a continual Feast a Joy that is ever in fulness and perfection even as the Fruits are in time of Harvest A Believer shall never sow in Tears there but have a perpetual Joy without weariness because there shall continually arise infinite variety of fresh Delights in God which shall fill the Soul with a continual Festival of Joy for ever Sixthly In Heaven the Saints shall partake of excellent Glory and Honour Heaven is the Palace of the great King of Glory the Presence-Chamber where he unvails himself and manifests his Glory both to Saints and Angels and this indeed is the most glorious Sight in Heaven and that which makes Heaven to be the most glorious Place We read in Acts 6.15 That when Stephen stood before the Councel his Face did shine with an Angelical Brightness This was a glorious Sight to see the Face of a Man to shine as the Face of an Angel But this is nothing compared with that Glory with which the Saints shall shine when they shall stand before the great God of Heaven seeing him face to face The Scripture describing to us this part of the Saints Happiness in Heaven abounds with variety of Expressions that discover the Greatness and Excellency thereof Thus the Saints Glory there is set forth by the Glory of Kings at their Coronation and taking possession of their Kingdoms which is the greatest and highest of all worldly Glory Every Saint in Heaven is a Crowned King having taken possession of a glorious Kingdom prepared for them before the foundations of the world when also they receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away Sometimes it is described by the Glory of the Sun Thus our Lord tells us Matth. 13.43 The Righteous shall shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father Sometimes it is compared to the Glory of the Angels who as they excel in strength so do they also excel in Glory all the Princes of the Earth Hence we read the Saints in Heaven shall not only he like unto but equal with the Angels Luke 22.36 Sometimes also this Glory of the Saints is set forth by the Glory of Christ himself who is the Lord of Glory which is the highest pitch of Glory that can be Thus we read that when Christ shall come at the last Day to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in them that believe the Saints also shall then appear with him in Glory Col. 3.4 Shining gloriously by reason of his Glory that he will put upon them for then shall they be made like unto him for ever seeing him as he is so says the Apostle 1 John 3.12 Sometimes the Glory of Heaven is called a weight of Glory so we read 2 Cor. 4.17 An exceeding excessive eternal weight of Glory High Expressions setting forth the Glory of Heaven and almost to an Hyperbole but that Christ and Heaven can never be Hyperbolically expressed Sometimes again this glorious State of Believers is called Eternal Glory 2 Tim 2.10 That they may attain that Salvation that is in Christ with eternal Glory So 1 Pet. 5.10 The God of all Grace who hath called you to his eternal Glory Worldly Honour and Glory is transitory inconstant and vanishing The Fashion of the World passeth away 1 Cor. 7.31 And the Glory of Man says St. Peter is as the Flower of
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
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