vehement affection and take them home to his own House after a tedious pilgrimage in the World wherein they have met with harsh unkind usage How did Jacob tender Benjamin that he would not let him go from him till he was forced to it and saw the necessity of it but his joy is not exprest upon his return because he heard that his beloved Joseph was alive and when he saw the Waggons and Charets that Joseph had sent to fetch him and his family into Egypt Oh then it is inconceivable and inexpressible with what affections our heavenly Father will take home his Children to his everlasting habitations when they are of full age and ready to receive their inheritance Moreover they are the temples of the holy Ghost and with what abundance of love think you will God receive the Saints when they are perfumed all over with sweet odours from Heaven with all the graces of God's Spirit The Spirit here is the source of all Divine gifts for being the prime radical donation of our heavenly Father there is no grace he confers upon us which bears not the image of this first and prime gratuity the Spirit is the pandora through which all other blessings are bestowed upon us Now the Spirit is given to sanctifie those whom Christ hath redeemed and to preserve them to God's heavenly Kingdom whom Christ had purchased and delivered from everlasting destruction God manifested much love to his People on Earth in that his Spirit dwelling in his Saints when it was often grieved by them yet would not leave nor quit his old habitation what abundance of love then will he express to them when he shall find nothing in them that is contrary or displeasing to him Besides the Saints are espoused to the Lord Jesus Christ and that great day wherein they are to be received to glory shall be the full consummation of the Marriage Oh what abundance of love will the Lord Jesus express to his Bride when she shall be brought home to him after a long time of separation one from another With gladness and rejoycing shall they be brought unto the King and enter into the Kings Palace Psal 45.15 Though the Church sigh here below she knows her Beloved will keep his word that having had a part in his sorrows she shall have a share in his heavenly triumphs Oh how shall the countenance of the glorious Son of righteousness chear the hearts of God's People at the last day with abundance of joy when he that is an universal Friend shall supply the place of a gracious Lord of a loving Father and act the part of a loving Brother Tu mihi qui conjux pariter scaterque paterque Tu Dominus tu Vir tu mihi Prater eris Ovid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arrian in Epictet of a Head of a Husband of a Root and be every thing to us Methinks the serious consideration hereof should be a forcible attractive to draw Sinners to Christ and to cause them to receive him into their hearts by faith whatsoever offers the Devil can make them or whatsoever entertainments they may have from the World they are not worth a naming to the magnificent and sumptuous entertainment that the Lord Jesus will give to his Spouse at the last day Oh what a Feast will Christ make for all his Children when he shall bring them all together into the House of his Father and if that word be too strait into the City of the great King and if that be too strait into the World to come where there shall be room enough for them all What comfort may the meditation hereof afford to you that are poor Christians that are now the out-casts of the World know ye though the World exclude you yet Heaven will receive you though the World afford you no house-room but shut you out of doors yet the everlasting Gates shall be opened to you and God shall take you into his own House yea into his own Bosome ye have a Father in Heaven his House is richly furnished and there you shall be sumptuously and royally entertained though the World refuse to feed you with the crumbs that fall from their tables yet you shall eat and drink with Christ at his table in his Kingdom yea he shall be your meat and drink who is the bread of life and the well-spring of Salvation the Lord will think nothing he hath too dear for you but you shall have part with Jesus Christ and share with him in all his enjoyments I have read of Cyrus who never liked any dish of meat but he sent a part of it from his table to his Friends he loved most yea sometimes the very bread and meat he had upon his own trencher with this kind and friendly salutation Cyrus tibi ista quod ipsi fuerint jucundissima King Cyrus sends you this because he likes it best himself and holds it to be most choice and dainty So the Lord will entertain his People with his own glory and felicity whereupon St. Bernard hath this expression Non aurum pollicetur Dominus the Lord doth not promise gold nor silver nor pretious stones but himself he will be their substantial joy and everlasting comfort What tongue or pen is able to set forth that large and kind entertainment that God will give to his Children on that day when they shall see the Lord Jesus like a faithful Shepherd conducting all his Flock to the Fold which was ordained for them before the foundations of the World were laid when they shall see him like a valiant General and triumphant Conqueror riding in the Heavens in the head of his troops and glorious train who shall follow him with Crowns on their heads and Palm branches in their hands Oh the shoutings oh the songs of joy and vollies of praises and Hallelujahs that shall fill the World in that great and glorious day when Jesus Christ shall come in his own glory and in the glory of his Father and of the holy Angels Luke 9.26 CHAP. XV. SECT I. Of the substance of the Saints glory HAving spoken of the circumstances let us now consider more particularly the substance of that glory and blessedness which the glorified Saints shall possess in their souls and bodies and first in their bodies but before I speak of that glory which God will put upon the bodies of the Saints I shall speak of that which goes before it and leads unto it viz. the resurrection of their bodies However God's Children are subject to death as well as others yet they shall be raised again to a state of blessedness and their bodies shall be re-united to their souls For 1. God hath decreed it and it shall certainly come to pass John 6.39 40. Christ saith This is the Father's will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day and this is the will of
blotted out his grace is the Fountain of their Salvation and therefore they may expect it from his mercy God is unchangeable in his decrees the design he hath laid touching the saving of his people from all eternity is not changed in time nor can all the Powers on Earth hinder the execution of his will It is impossible that any should be Predestinate and not saved saith Peter Lombard Lomb. sent Lib 1. Dissin 40. Jesus Christ hath said That he knoweth all his Sheep that he gives unto them Eternal Life that they shall never perish that no man shall be able to pluck them out of his hands John 10.27 28. 2. God hath called them unto glory Whom he hath Predestinated them hath he called whom he hath called them hath he Justified and whom he hath Justified them also hath he Glorified Rom. 8.30 He speaks of it as of the time past as if it were already done partly because part of it is present as Peace Joy c. and partly because it is as sure as though it were in present possession we are called unto glory and vertue we are called to the obtaining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ by the Gospel 2 Thes 2.14 And S. Paul exhorteth the Thessalonians to walk worthy of God who had called them to his Kingdom and Glory 1 Thes 2.12 God hath called the Saints out of this World they are no sooner admitted into the School of Christ but they learn that the Earth is their banishment and Heaven their Countrey the end why God calls his people out of the World is that they might not seek for happiness upon Earth and that they may make no account of what the wicked do possess and thereby see that riches and honours are not the portion of the righteous because God bestoweth them chiefly upon his enemies he leaveth the fairest part of the World to those that persecute him to teach his Children that Heaven is their patrimony and Inheritance 3. God hath prepared Heaven for them Christ at the last day will say to the Sheep whom he will place at his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World Mat. 25.34 When Christ was leaving the World he comforteth the hearts of his disconsolate Disciples thus In my Fathers house are many Mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you John 14.2 The glory must be incomparable which God hath treasured up and been preparing from eternity Neither doth God only prepare Heaven for his Saints but he also prepareth them for Heaven he makes them meet partakers of the inheritance among the Saints in light Col. 1.12 For as wicked men are vessels of wrath sitted for Destruction so the Saints are vessels of glory prepared unto glory Rom. 9.22 23. The Saints do not presently pass from a corrupt to a glorious estate but there is a fitting and an holy preparation cometh between if a man will wear a Garment he fits it before he weareth it so God will have his people cast into a new mould that he may fit them for Heaven before he puts them into the possession of it 4. God hath promised to bestow Heaven upon his people He will give grace and glory Psal 84.11 The Crown of life hath he promised to them that love him Jam. 1.12 Heaven cometh to us by deed by good assurance there is no better deed then that which is written by the finger of God and sealed by the blood of Christ as a judicious Divine well noteth Dr. Holdsworth Sermoon Jam. 1.12 therefore though we cannot see the glory of Heaven in the thing yet we may see it in the Promise Psal 50.23 To him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God he hath chosen the poor of the World rich in Faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him Jam. 2.5 Heaven is a Kingdom engaged to the Saints by promise and they are to look upon it as a promised Kingdom and to judge him faithful that hath promised St. Augustin Debtor factus est non aliquid a nobis accipiendo sed quod ei placuâ—t promittendo August saith God is become a debtour not by receiving any thing from us but by promising all things to us what it pleased him hereupon saith he we say not to God repay that which thou receivedst but pay that which thou hast promised let us hold him therefore a most faithful debtour because we have him a most merciful promiser the promise was made in mercy the performance thereof depends upon the fidelity of the promiser Yea we have not the bare word of God only but also his oath Heb. 17.18 God willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of Promise the immutability of his counsel confirmed it with an Oath that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us Now he is Jehovah and will give existence to all his promises and the making good his promises to his Children will tend to the greater manifestation of God's Glory SECT II. DIvers reasons also may be given why the Lord will glorifie his people in respect of themselves 1. Glory is the great design of the Saints therefore it shall be unto them St. Paul sets it down as a distinguishing Character of the Saints from other men Rom. 2.7 And saith To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal life i. e. To them shall be eternal Life This is the main thing that the Saints aim at some of them do differ in some Opinions but in this they all agree viz. in aiming at everlasting glory the glory of the God of glory therefore the Lord will not suffer them to miss of the main end and aim of their Souls The Spouse cries Come Lord Jesus come quickly Their affections are set on things above their conversation is in Heaven their treasure is in Heaven and Heaven hath their hearts they seldom look up to Heaven but they sigh after it and are afflicted at their banishment grief makes the Heaven-born Soul cry Wo is me because my habitation is prolonged 2. Glory is the expectation of the Saints Phil. 3.20 21. and they are said to rejoyce in hope of the glory of God Rom. 5.2 Saving hope is a siducial and undoubted expectation of eternal glory and happiness promised to us in the word and purchased by Christ for us or else a patient waiting for the manifestation of the glory of the Sons of God when Christ shall appear this is the hope that is meant Rom. 8.23 24. there waiting hope and expectation are the same waiting for the adoption i. e. for the inheritance of glory to which by our adoption we
the Christian race and have run over Mountains of difficulties and encountered with many tryals and tentations and at last have run them all down and are come in sight of the Promised Land of the Heavenly Canaan how will their hearts then leap for joy crying out Oh here is the Land of promise here is Heaven that blessed place here is the Kingdom we have so often prayed for Lord let thy Kingdom come here is the Crown we have run for then will a Christian say had this race that I have run been much longer and more tedious then it was and should I have met with a thousand dangers and difficulties more then I have done they had been nothing to this glorious Crown Brethren a few moments in Heaven will make you amends enough for all your watchings praying fasting for all your labours of love for all the time you have spent in the service of God be therefore faithful to the death he that endureth to the end shall be saved CHAP. XIV SECT I. HAving spoken of the circumstance of time I shall now consider the other circumstance sc of the place of the Saints happiness This also is very considerable When man was created holy and happy Heylin Geograph Willet Synops Papismi the Spirit of God vouchsafeth to give us an exact description of the very place where God set him shewing in what coast of the World Paradise was scituate sc in Eden which the Learned say was part of Mesopotamia with what goodly and beautiful Plants that Garden was furnished Paradisum vocant Graeci locum irriguum an oenum omni florum varietate distinctum sempiternis arboribus consitum aprissimum ad aetatem feliciter degendam Ossor Lusitam de Nobilit Christiana lib. 1. with what Rivers it was watered Genes 2.8 9. this being a great addition to mans happiness in that condition and St. Paul 2 Cor. 12. calleth the third Heaven Paradise as if this Garden of Eden had been a shadow of Heaven the place of the Blessed When the Lord chose Israel out of all the Nations of the World and planted them in Canaan a figure of Heaven you may see what an exact Geographical description is given of it in the Book of Josua Chap. 15 16 17. and elsewhere the fertility and pleasantness of the Country is frequently commended How incomparable then is the pleasantness of the heavenly Paradise and the beauty of the Celestial Canaan I. It is called in Scripture the house of God and the habitation of the Saints Melchizedeck called God the Possessor of Heaven and Earth Gen. 14. The whole created World is his possession but the Heaven is his glorious Palace as a Prince that hath a whole Kingdom under him keepeth his Court in the principal place of his Dominions 1. As a Man's House is or should be scituated in the best and most convenient part of his possessions so of all things created Heaven is the goodliest and most glorious part The Earth is beautiful especially in the prime of the Spring and Summer when the face of it is renewed but yet when it is in its greatest glory it is but a dunghil in comparison of the Heavens That glory of the Heavens which we see on the outside and afar off is incomparably beyond the beauty of the things below but that which we cannot see doth far surmount that which we do see I mean that most glorious habitation of the Angels and Saints though that which we behold hath incomparably more beauty and glory in it then our weak sight can discern at such a distance and therefore the Heavens for their surpassing beauty and glory are called the House of God 2. As a Man is commonly to be seen at his own house more then at another place besides so doth the Lord in Heaven more especially shew forth his glory The Lord hath been but seldom manifested on the Earth as when he gave so many visible signs of his glorious presence upon Mount Sinai and then when Moses was admitted to see his back parts and when he spake from Heaven at the Baptism of our blessed Saviour This is my beloved Son c. but in Heaven his presence is more notably manifested continually our Saviour sheweth that in Heaven the holy Angels do always behold the face of God Matth. 18.10 his glorious presence is always manifested there 3. In a Man's dwelling house usually his Children and Servants are abiding and although Kings and Princes have more Servants and Officers then an house can hold yet their principal Attendants are commonly with them in the Court so Heaven is the place appointed for the Lord's Servants though all of them are not yet there not for want of room but because the Lord hath appointed them other work to do elsewhere for a time yet thither shall they be gathered and in the mean time there are his principal Attendants there are the glorious Angels who are called the Angels of Heaven Matth. 24.36 there also are the blessed Saints of God departed 4. As a Man's house wherein he dwelleth is furnished for the most part so that his riches appear in some sort in his house so Heaven is the place which is most royally furnished the Earth is but a Country Farm-house in comparison of it Heaven is richly adorned and furnished with perfect Holiness all the Vessels of that House are of pure Gold there is neither dross in them nor any uncleanness cleaving to them all the Saints and Angels there are free from all impurity no unclean thing hath entrance into this house of God Holiness becometh thine house O Lord for ever Psal 93.5 it is full of all holiness and happiness It is said Rev. 21.25 that the Gates of Heaven shall not be shut at all Heaven Gates shall always stand open yet no unclean thing shall enter in The Streets of that City are of pure Gold the walls built of precious Stones there are twelve Gates of twelve Pearls A good Expositor observeth that all those precious Stones there mentioned have a contrary virtue against uncleanness to shew unto us that Heaven will not admit of any impure and defiled thing God will not suffer the dirty feet of impure Sinners to tread upon his pure Pavement of Gold When God drave sinful Adam out of Paradise he caused a Cherubim to stand before the Gates of Paradise with a flaming sword in his hand to keep him out of Paradise if he should attempt to come in again Sin is like the sword of the flaming Cherubim to keep out all wicked men from entring into Heaven Heaven is also a place of holy Exercises Here our best services are stained with sin and tainted with corruption but there all the services of the Saints do bear a lively impression of the fountain of holiness upon them there they must warble forth the Song of the Seraphims Holy holy holy Lord God Almighty Isai 6.3 It is said of the Saints of
and women of all sorts that lived before the flood after the flood before the law after the law before Christs coming in the flesh after his incarnation until this day and from this day that shall live to the end of the world of all Nations under heaven then who can tell the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part the four hundredth part of this Israel of God the remnant and gleanings of those that have lived in so many thousand years will arise to an unspeakable multitude After the sealing of the hundred and forty four thousand of the twelve Tribes St. John saith I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all Nations and Kinred and People and Tongues stood before the Throne and before the Lamb cloathed with white Robes and Palms in their hands How should this rejoyce every faithful Soul resting in hope of this sweetest and most blessed Society Though in the mean time thou seest many frown upon thee and sleight thee to thy face yea even shun thy company yet labour thou for an assured part in thy Father's House and then rejoyce in assured hope there to find many dwelling places and in those places many Dwellers many sweet Companions Though a man were constrained to live like an Eremite or Anchoret all his time from the company of men on Earth yet the assured hope of this Society to be enjoyed for ever in our Father's House were sufficient to refresh him Ascend my Soul mount up on Eagles wings And get above these Sublunary things Make haste and flie unto that lofty Hill Where God abides with Saints and Angels still Oh how should every Christian so love the Lord as to long after his House and Kingdom and a more near and full enjoying of his presence Laban noted in Jacob an earnest longing after his Father's house Genes 31.30 saith he to him Thou wouldest needs be gone because thou sore longedst after thy Father's house Jacob had such a love to his Father Isaac though very old and blind that he sore longed to be gone from Laban to his Father's house how much more should we labour for such love to our heavenly Father who is infinite in all excellency and glory as should make us weary of being here and exceedingly to long after our heavenly Father's House It was a good change for Jacob to go from Laban an unkind Father-in-law unto Isaac a loving and tender-hearted Father but what a blessed change is it for the Children of God to go from the World a cruel Step-mother yea a dangerous Enemy unto God their heavenly and most gracious Father to go from among Swearers Worldlings Drunkards Prophane Persons Scorners of Religion Persecutors to go from Snares and Temptations to go from Sin and the danger of Sin to go from the lower Region which is as it were under the feet of Satan who is as it were over our heads being the Prince of the power of the Air I say to go from all these and to go into the arms of the Lord our most gracious Father should not a Child of God long after this exceedingly It sheweth want of love in a Child and an ungracious disposition when he secretly longeth for his Father's Lands or Goods because he cannot enjoy them unless his Father die whose life should be much dearer to a Child then all his Goods or Lands but it argueth the truth of our love to our heavenly Father when we have an earnest longing after that glorious Inheritance of his because we shall live with him in the everlasting Habitations And to this end let us labour to get our Souls fully assured that the Lord is our Father in Jesus Christ and that we are his Children that so we may long after our Father's House If we saw our Father's House we would cry to be over the Water and to be carried in Christ's arms out of this borrowed Prison The Earth is the Lord's lower House while we are lodged here we have no assurance to lie ever in one Chamber but must be content sometimes to remove from one corner of our Lord 's nether House to another resting in hope that when we come up to the Lord 's upper House we shall remove no more because then we shall be at home We now see and hear at home and abroad nothing but matter of grief and discouragement which indeed maketh our life bitter but let this comfort all faithful Christians that Christ is coming to fetch them to his Father's House his Father will make them welcome and give them house-room and though they change dwelling places yet they shall not change their Master nor their services His Servants shall serve him Revel 22.3 SECT IV. MOreover you are to understand that Heaven is the Throne and Kingdom of God Thus saith the Lord Heaven is my Throne Isai 66.7 Here is the height of a Christians glory and exaltation to be taken up into the Throne of God according to that speech of our Saviour Rev. 3.21 To him that overcometh will I give to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and sate down with my Father in his Throne Christ at the last day will say to the Sheep on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World You that have followed me in the regeneration to you I have appointed a Kingdom Luke 22.29 Fear not little Flock it is your Father's will to give you a Kingdom Rev. 2.10 Be faithful to the death and I will give thee thâ— Crown of life In one place it is called a Crown of righteousness in another a Crown of glory in a third a Crown of incorruption and elsewhere a Crown of life Now Crowns you know are given either as Ensigns of Majesty or Rewards of Virtue 1. As Ensigns of Majesty therefore we see they are worn on the heads of Emperors and Princes when at times of highest solemnity they will shew their greatest magnificence 2. As Rewards of Virtue therefore by ancient stories it appeareth that almost all Nations such as excelled in Valour or in Learning they were Crowned with one thing or another some with Roses some with Laurel or Bayes some with Olives some with Gold that so they might cherish the profession and exercise of Arts and Virtues to these the Scripture alluding it promiseth Crowns and a Kingdom as the goodliest rewards we can either desire or receive to such as through faith and patience overcome either the affections of their sinful Nature or the afflictions of this wretched World Hence I infer how abject soever the condition of the Saints be upon Earth it shall be most glorious in Heaven glory shall follow their sufferings as the day followeth the night there is no glory upon Earth you know greater then the glory of Kings it is true Popes of late days have striven to out-climb them so the Bramble in Jotham's
Parable would have out-climbed the Cedar they would perswade the World that they were created as the Sun to rule the Day that is over the Clergy and that Kings are but as the Moon to rule over the Night that is say they over the Laity But Popes are no Creatures of God's making Kings are the anointed of the Lord God himself hath given testimony sufficient of their magnificence in that it hath pleased him to change Names with them and taken their Name to himself he is called a King and gives them his own Name in exchange for therefore he hath said they are Gods I urge it the rather because of the inference that followeth for the greater Kings are the greater Christians are for Christians are said to be Kings Rev. 1.6 He hath made us all Kings and Priests unto God And to the meanest and most abject Christian a Crown shall be given infinitely far more excellent and glorious then the Crowns of all earthly Kings 1. In respect of the Soveraignty that belongs to it Crowns are Ensigns of Soveraignty as I hinted before and Soveraignty is a thing much accounted of to be but as the Centurion was would put a spirit of ambition into us that we might have those under us to whom when we say Go they should go when Come they should come when Do this they should do it If we could have not only Persons but Provinces under our subjection and could make our selves Commanders and Rulers over Countries and Kingdoms so that People should serve us and Nations should bow before us this would kindle a great fire of ambition in us it would make one that had the aspiring mind of Absalom to snatch the Crown from his Father's head If we could climb higher yet and get to be not only Soveraigns over divers Provinces as Ahasuerus was but also be Monarchs of the whole World as it is said Alexander was so that the Princes of all Nations should pay Tribute to our Coffers Si jus violandum regni causa violandum Caesar ex Euripide and the People of all Countries bow their knees before our foot-stool this if any thing would enflame our ambition and if at all for a Kingdom one would violate the bonds of Nature or Justice as one long ago was wont to say for such a Kingdom as this he would be provoked to the doing of it Alas Beloved all this is nothing in comparison of the Soveraignty belonging to the heavenly Crown and Kingdom the poorest Saint in Heaven shall be more glorious in Soveraignty then ever Ahasuerus or Alexander were or then ever Adam was when he was Lord of the whole World for look what was said of our Saviour Heb. 2.8 All things shall be subdued all things shall be brought in subjection to him and when it is said all things shall be subdued there 's nothing left out that shall not be subdued the same may be said of every faithful Member of Christ they shall every one have a share in this Rule and Dominion even all things shall be brought under their subjection the very Angels shall then be made subject to them where Christ sits they shall sit whom Christ judgeth they shall judg and as Christ reigneth they shall reign also 2. In respect of the safety that belongs to it there is no Crown so setled upon the head of any earthly Prince as that he can promise to himself perpetual safety under it either safety from sickness and diseases or safety from Adversaries and Enemies either domestical or forreign but that he is in danger of both Kings are as much in danger of sickness as other men for Chairs of State are not Castles of health nor can their Crowns keep their heads from aking they are as much in danger of Enemies as other men nay they more then others every railing Shimei hath a tongue to bark at them every traiterous Sheba will be blowing trumpets of rebellion against them but the Crown of glory shall sit sure upon the heads of the faithful even with as much safety as majesty no sickness shall be able to blast it no Enemy to endanger it St. Paul saith that all our Enemies shall be put under our feet 1 Cor. 15.27 And the Prophet saith All tears shall be wiped from our faces Isai 25.8 3. In respect of the peace and tranquility of it the Princes of the Earth though they have a great many more honours yet they have a great many more burthens then other men their Crowns are thicker stuck with cares then with gems That made one of the Emperours say when the Imperial Robe was brought him to put on Oh nobilem magis quam faelicem pannum Oh here 's a Robe saith he fuller of bravery then felicity 'T is otherwise with the Crown of glory this Crown is as free from troubles as from dangers they that are crowned with it are crowned with peace as well as with honour it shall not disquiet them with cares but give them rest from their labours rest and peace shall ever wait upon them whom God shall vouchsafe so to dignifie as to let their Temples be empall'd with this glorious Crown 4. In respect of perpetuity therefore the Apostle calls it a Crown of Life James 1.12 because they that are crowned with it shall never taste more of death Herein again it differs from all earthly Crowns and excells as much as it differs earthly Kingdoms and Crowns are subject to alteration to dissipation Job tells us that God sometimes looseth the collars of Kings Job 12.13 It was told Saul when he had been a while King over Israel that God had rent his Kingdom from him and given it to his Neighbour 1 Sam. 15.28 But howsoever though the Crown be not translated yet he that wears the Crown must be translated Death will translate the greatest Princes to another place though while they live their Crowns be not translated to other Persons but sit fast upon their own heads but 't is otherwise with this Crown of life there shall be no alteration nor removal at all either from it to us or from us to it when once we shall have it confer'd upon us Were the Kingdoms of the Earth never so full of glory and happiness yet what they want of perpetuity they want of perfect felicity there can be no perfection of blessedness but where there is perpetuity of continuance so there shall be here St. Paul calls it an immarcessible Crown St. Peter calls it an immortal inheritance that shall never fade away 1 Pet. 1.4 It is said of the Bread of life John 6. that he that eats of it shall hunger no more and of the Water of life John 4. he that drinketh thereof shall thirst no more so I may say of this Crown of life whosoever is crowned with it he shall die no more How should the consideration hereof make us to labour for this glorious Crown what a shame is it to see
go to receive his reward With this consideration Hilarion speaks to his trembling Soul upon his Death-bed Hieron in vit Hilar Egredere Anima cur times egredi go forth my Soul go forth depart out of this prison of pain into a place of pleasure hast thou served Christ these seventy years and dost thou fear to take thy wages now thou hast done thy work Let this therefore be matter of shame to us that we have done so little work considering the greatness of the reward as a holy dying Martyr said I am exceedingly grieved that being now to receive so great a reward I have done so little work Truly O Lord thou art great above all gods and great is thy reward for thou art not great August in Soliloq and thy reward little thou art the rewarder and the reward of eternal happiness it self saith St. Augustine SECT VII Sheweth that Heaven is the place where God shall give his People a kind welcome and loving entertainment HEaven is also the place where God will most affectionately receive all his Children to himself with much love and tenderness of affection at the last day they shall be received into the arms of his embraces Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory Psal 73.24 that is thou shalt receive me with a most vehement and ardent affection When the prodigal Son was but coming towards his Father when he was yet afar off his Father ran toward him and fell upon his neck and kissed him now this is but a shadow of that full and glorious reception of the Saints to himself when God shall make them all glorious and receive them without spot or wrinkle if this Prodigal returning from his Harlots and coming in his rags was thus acceptable and welcome to his Father Oh what abundance of love will God then express to his Saints at the last day when they shall be all cloathed in long white robes and be received into the perfection of glory Mark what is said to the faithful Servant Well done thou good and faithful Servant thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee Ruler over many things enter thou into the joy of thy Lord Matth. 25.23 Then will the Lord Jesus most affectionately say to all his Servants Enter my dear Friends and receive your consolation enter Servants and receive your wages enter my Children and take possession of your patrimony and inheritance enter my Brethren and receive your portion and all ye that have fought the good fight and kept the faith and offered violence to the Kingdom of Heaven enter ye and take your Crowns He doth not say Come toward it and look upon it with a greedy desire and earnest longing after your happiness but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 come into the joy of thy Lord take part and possession of it with abundance of delight and satisfaction The soul of man in this World is capable of more pleasure then the eye or ear yea then all the senses can bring in to her our soul can drink up all the pleasures at one draught it can presently swallow them up but the joys of Heaven do exceed the desires of our souls therefore saith Christ Enter thou into thy Master's joy he doth not say let the joy of thy Master enter into thee it is to shew that the joy of our glorious condition doth infinitely surpass the largest capacity of our souls though they be stretched to the uttermost So at the last day Christ will say to the Sheep on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World Matth. 25.34 The first word is Venite Come it is the voice of the Bridegroom that saith Come Come to me my Spouse that where the Husband is there the Bride the Lamb's Wife may be that where the Head is there the Members may be where the Father is there the Children may be where the Master is there the Servants may be where the Prince and Captain of our Salvation is there his Fellow-Souldiers may be When Christ was going out of the World he chears up the hearts of his Disciples with these consolatory words Let not your hearts be troubled in my Father's House are many Mansions I go to prepare a place for you and if I go I will come again and receive you to my self that where I am there you may be also John 14.1 2. See how much affection Christ expresseth in these words if Christ said when he was upon Earth Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you take my yoke upon you and you shall find rest to your souls Matth. 11.28 29. then much more will he retain the same sweetness of affection when he cometh to sit down in his Judgment-seat Christ is as it were a Servant among his People Luke 22.27 I am among you as he that serveth He condescendeth to serve his People he went to Heaven in Person to prepare a place for them and he will come again in Person to receive them thither True it is he will do it with a glorious Train of Angels yet he will come himself and take them home to his Father's House that where he is they may be also and then will he receive them with much affection Come my Love my Dove my Spouse my Undefiled where hast thou been so long all this while out of my presence come ye into my bosome which is now wide open ready to receive you If Jacob's and Joseph's meeting were so unexpressibly comfortable when they had thought never to have seen the faces of each other after so long a distance Oh what shall the joy of that last day be and how shall those noble souls rejoyce yea leap for joy to whom these soul-ravishing words are spoken Come ye blessed of my Father all the Musick in Heaven and Earth will not so ravish them as this voice will do Now though they were the out-casts of the World Heaven gates shall be set wide open for their reception the King of glory will bid them come and welcome the Spirit and the Bride say come c. Come ye blessed of my Father the World hath cursed you but God hath blessed you yea and you shall be blessed Come ye and inherit a Kingdom I have heretofore told you of a Kingdom promised you a Kingdom you have often prayed for Lord let thy Kingdom come come now my dear Friends I am come to put you into the possession of that Kingdom I will make you all Kings and you shall reign with me for ever Great reason there is for us to think that God will take home all his People to himself with abundance of affection at the last day they are the Sons and Daughters of the Lord God Almighty and will not our heavenly Father receive all his Sons and Daughters to glory with a most
attend the Sepulchre yet notwithstanding our Saviour who had wrought many miracles upon others hath wrought a greater upon himself the sealed stone iâ— removed the watchmen are deceived and a dâ—ad carâ—cass revived 2. The Antients makâ— Isaac a type of Christ's passion and resurrection as namely Abraham's taking Bâ—â—a in Geâ—es 22. Isidor dâ—â—ccâ—es offic lib. 1. cap. 29. binding and laying his Son upon the Altar was a type of Christ's death and passion and as Isaac carried wood for himself so did Christ Jesus carry the wooden Cross Now will ye see a rising without death or sleep behold Isaac as near the stroke as the hand of his Father arising from the funeral pile he had taken the knife in his hand stretched out his hand to slay his Son and then between the sacrificing knife and Isaac's throat God sheweth favour to Abraham bidding him to stay his hand and a Ram was brought by the power and providence of God to rescue and redeem Isaac from death here was a sacrifice offered yet not slain and though not slain yet accepted Heb. 11.8 Thus Abraham received his Son Isaac from the dead in a figure verse 19. being a type of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead who by the power of his Divinity raised his Humanity from death to life 3. But perhaps it will more gratefully affright you to see a man taught to be buried alive and more yet to out-live his funeral behold then Joseph a most excellent type of Christ Joseph is basely betray'd and sold by his Brethren into Egypt is falsly accused by his Mistress and cast into prison and after three years imprisonment is delivered so Jesus is betray'd to the Jews by Judas his own Apostle Friend and Follower and falsely accused before Pilate by the Jews and is put to death but on the third day Christ is raised up from the dead and as Joseph after his deliverance out of prison is advanced in the Kingdom of Egypt so Christ after his resurrection is glorified in the Kingdom of Heaven Behold then Joseph from the Tomb-stone of his Prison rising into a triumph as eminent as innocency which before had conquered his passion and now his affliction behold in Joseph the mystical Body of our Saviour a Body admirably mortal and incorruptible a Body that suffered rather the Grave then Death 4. Sampson was also a type of Christ as in many things so in these two especially of his his death and resurrection for after he had slept at Gaza when the Gazites compassed him in and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the City that they might kill him in the morning he arose at midnight and carried away the gates of the City upon his back carrying them up to the top of an Hill that is before Hebron carrying away the doors of the gates of the City and the two posts bar and all upon his shoulders So maugre the watch that the Jews set to keep Christ's Sepulchre Vide Ferum in Matth. p. 292. Christ arose with the mystical Gates of Hell and Death upon his back no marvel Hell-gates cannot prevail against his Church together with the Posts and Pillars thereof and as Sampson by pulling down the House upon the heads of the Philistines was avenged of his Enemies so Christ by opening the sealed Sepulchre hath subdued Death yea conquered him in his own Den and Cabin 5. But what more proper type can there be then Christ makes of himself and that is Jonas Matth. 12.40 which is thus fitted and parallell'd Jonah's casting into the Sea was a sign of Christ's Death his being taken by the Fish and received into his Belly a sign of his Burial and his casting on shore again a sign of his Resurrection Three days he lay in his new night of astonishment as if he had found an Egypt in the belly of the Whale and did acknowledge the watry Purgatory at last the grave of the Prophet casts up the living he had surely died had he not been buried here 's a resurrection of this rare Anchorite though not a reviving for he and his Tomb were both alive But the Tomb of our Saviour was as desperate as his Death yet was it not possible that he should be holden of it Acts 2.24 for he arose on the third day from the Grave the Humane Soul of Christ did not of it self return and quicken his Body but his Divinity which rested raised his Humanity that suffered that is by the vertue and omnipotent power of his God-head whereby he is able to do all things he reduced and brought back his reasonable Soul and re-united it to his organical Body and this Body that arose was altogether glorious being void of all infirmities and weakness whatsoever being now no more subject to hunger thirst cold weariness or the like True it is he called for meat after his resurrection Luke 24.41 42. and did eat it truly but not that he needed any meat or nourishment his Body being then immortal Edebat Christus non ut necessitati satisfaceret sed ut veritatem humanae naturae ostenderet Pet. Mart. and impassible but he doth it to prove himself to be really risen again for as when he had restored others to life as Jairus's Daughter Lazarus and others to prove that they were truly restored to life he caused meat to be set before them so to manifest and declare the truth of his own resurrection he calleth for meat and eateth it before them and that it might appear there was no falshood nor forgery in the business he brought not his meat with him but he takes such things as he found them furnished with and which they had provided and although he eateth he doth it not for his own sake by reason of the necessity of nature or the infirmity of the flesh but for the sake of his Disciples for the strengthening of their faith and not for the nourishing and cherishing his own flesh Though the necessity of eating and drinking in glorified bodies be taken away saith Augustine yet it was free and in his power to eat if he would Peter Martyr tells us he did sometimes after his resurrection ad testandam veritatem humani Corporis to testifie the truth of his humane Body as namely his affording himself to be seen and felt of Thomas and others and his eating and drinking with his Disciples And some again ad suam gloriam demonstrandam to shew forth his glory of which sort was his conveying himself from them they knew not how and his coming in among them clausis januis the doors being shut If you demand what became of the meat that Christ did thus eat I answer it was a most easie matter for him that made all things of nothing to cause a little meat and drink to consume and vanish to nothing Stell Enarrat in Luc. 24. Stella out of Chrysostome saith that Christ laid aside all accidental properties in
him in his glory Now as it was said of the eye in respect of things seen so it is said of the ear in respect of things heard Neither is the ear silled with hearing Eccles 1.8 it is spoken in respect of things heard here below all the things in the World which are most delightful to it cannot fill it they may tire the ear but cannot satisfie it but in Heaven the ear shall be filled but never cloyed with hearing it shall hear whatsoever is pleasing to it and nothing that is distasteful How should this consideration make us to think the time long till we be out of Egypt and freed from those chains which link us to such shameful services and so unworthy of a Soul ransomed with the blood of the Son of God Alas when will the time come that we shall hear the Canticles of glory when shall we go to the Daughters of Zion to our Country crying out with a loud voice that the spiritual Pharaoh is swallowed up under the Abysses and that all those Troops of Enemies which now pursue us have suffered a dismal shipwrack not under the Waves of the red Sea but under the Lake of Fire and Brimstone and everlasting malediction Oh then let us not suffer the noise and tumult of this World to strike our ears with so many unprofitable extravagant and dangerous discourses but rather let us seal up our ears against wicked words filthy speeches profane and rotten communications idle and foolish jestings and inure them to such as are suitable to those they shall hear in Heaven SECT X. AS for the sense of feeling we may not deny it to be in Heaven for that includes not any corruption and if congruous to sense it is a perfection not a defect of nature and that glorified Bodies be palpable and may be felt that speech of our Saviour after his resurrection makes it clear Handle me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me to have Luke 24.39 The sense of touching will receive its delights both from the heavenly Air and the soft touch of heavenly Bodies as also from the most inward sense of the best temperament for man being perfectly sound hath a pleasant sense and feeling of the good constitution of the Body As for the smell and taste some think as they are inferiour senses so they are subservient to this mortal state and that there shall be no use of them in a state of glory the taste is for the trying of meats and drinks and it shall be one great part of the Saints happiness not to hunger and thirst any more but to be far above these things being like to the Angels of God to be so replenished with the love and influences of the presence of God as to live immediately upon him in him and by him and not to lead such a weak and frail life as now they do that lean upon the staff of bread and must be underpropped by the creatures But if there be any use of these senses in Heaven it shall be after another manner then now it is the sense of smelling shall then be refreshed with most sweet and pleasant savours not of such vaporous things as we have here but of such as be proportionable to the glory of Heaven In like manner the taste shall be satisfied with incredible sweetness and delights Ludovic Granat Medit. not for the sustentation of life but for the accomplishment of all glory as one noteth And albeit touching the sense of taste some difficulty may arise yet though there be no delicious taste by eating or drinking delicious dainties such as the sensual Epicures of these times make their God notwithstanding it is not absurd to think â—r Rich Sheldon of Man's last end that glorified Bodies by God's appointment shall have some delicious and pleasant moisture resting upon the palate or place of taste that so by such a means that sensible part may have her full content And Lessius saith Lessius de summo bono if the Damned in Hell are most sharply punished in these senses as the rich Glutton that in Hell torments was tormented in his tongue why should not the Saints who have suffered so many things so grievous to the senses in this life receive delight and refreshing in them Concerning all which Laurence Justinian writes thus The flesh of man made spiritual Laurent Justinian lib. de Dicipl Monach cap. â—3 shall abound with delights of divers sorts in all the senses the eye shall be delighted in the lovely sight of the Redeemer when it shall see the King of glory decked with his own comeliness the melodious songs of the Citizens that are above shall not a little delight their ears likewise the fragrant pleasantness of the Celestial odours shall embrew the smelling with a wonderful liquefaction and an unspeakable sweetness of all delectable things shall as it were cram the palate of the mouth and the touch shall abound with delights suitable to it it is requisite that all the members of the Body should extol their Creator in their own way that as they took their beginning from him so also they may bring down the end of their blessedness toward him that God may be all in all And Anselm when he had said that the Damned shall have the greatest pains in all their senses and members addeth in like manner but in a contrary consideration in that life that is to come a certain unspeakable delight shall inebriate good men and abundantly satisfie them with its invaluable sweetness The eyes the ears the nostrils the mouth the throat the hands the liver the lungs the bones the marrow the bowels and every particular member of the Body shall be replenished with such a wonderful sense of delight and sweetness that truly we shall drink large draughts of it in the torrents of delight and instead of the dew of Manna wherewith the Israelites were refreshed we shall be satiated in an Ocean of Nectar and Ambrosia that is without bounds limits measure or bottom O happiness not so much to be spoken of as to be wished and desired and to be purchased if it were possible with a thousand lives had we so many to give for the same SECT XI Vse 1. THe first Use that I shall make of this is to commend unto you that of the Apostle 1 Thes 4.3 4 5. That ye should abstain from fornication that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and in honour as men that seek for glory honour and immortality not in the lust of concupiscence even as the Gentiles which know not God as those who have hope only in this life who have no entrance into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Flee fornication every sin that a man doth is without the body but he that commiteth fornication sinneth against his own body 1 Cor. 6.18 Other sins are
linnen of the Saints upon the stinking lowsie rags of the old Adam Zech. 3. Jehoshua was a Type of such whom God will glorifie he was cloathed with filthy garments when he stood before the Angel he was to put off those filthy garments and then God caused a Mitre to be put upon his head and change of raiment for his clothing so God will have you to put off your filthy conversations before he will set a crown of pure gold upon your heads and put on you the white linnen of his Saints Go to now Brethren ye that hope to be glorified with Christ consider with your selves whether the old man be put off whether your earthly members be mortified or do you walk still in the vanity of your minds do you still keep your former conversations are your lusts your Centurions still do you obey them then let me tell you you have no part in Christ you are not the Sons of God your hopes of Heaven are but presumptions you are never like to see God in glory See what you must expect Coloss 3.16 For which things sake cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience Tremble at it ye that hope for glory and yet go on in your sins your sins will bring the wrath of God upon your souls and not the glory of God you are the children of disobedience and not the children of God if you will maintain your hopes of glory and title to Heaven shew it forth by purifying your selves as Christ is pure Suppose a leper in times of legal pollutions should have pronounced himself clean while the leprousie was upon him yet he should not be admitted into the Camp unless the Priest did pronounce him clean so may you say that you are clean and that you shall be glorified yet you shall never possess glory unless Christ the High-Priest pronounce you clean CHAP. XXXIV Setteth forth the danger of those that are in a state of Damnation THis in the next place may serve to awaken all slumbring spirits and to startle all those that sleep securely in sin that are far from God and nigh to destruction and yet are well pleased with their condition and are insensible of the danger they are in if the Lord would now open their eyes as he did the eyes of the Host of the King of Syria they would see they were in the midst of Samaria in the midst of Enemies in the way to destruction that their judgment lingers not their damnation slumbers not on the one side they are hastening toward destruction and on the other side destruction is hastning toward them Oh how woful is the condition of such men who can dwell with the devouring fire who can endure everlasting burnings Secure Sinners ye are almost in the mouth of Death and in the gate of Hell and the longer you continue in the way you are in the farther you are from God and the nearer to ruine you are very near to hell and condemnation upon the very brink and border of the land of darkness it is said of the watered ground that bringeth forth nothing but briars and thorns that is rejected that it is nigh to cursing whose end is to be burnt Hebr. 6.8 Salvation is far from the wicked and destruction is near them Psal 119.150 If a man had a dwelling near the gate of hell within the hearing of the hideous cry and noise of those lost souls and damned spirits could he sleep quietly could he take any content in meat or drink or any thing else they that are far from God are near to the pit of destruction and this is their misery that they know it not Is it not a madness for a man to be at his sports and pastimes when his house is on fire and all that he hath is burning to ashes and is it not a far greater madness for you O sinners to sport your selves with sin while the flames of Hell fire are ready to seize upon you Oh have pity and compassion on your own souls you would pity a Beast if you should see him ready to break his neck down a rock and will you have no pity on your own souls that are now ready to be swallowed up in the gulf of hell Consider I pray you that to enjoy the Word of Christ and to hear it powerfully Preached and yet not to be effectually converted by it it brings not a man one step nearer Heaven and puts him not an inch farther from hell than he was before It is said Jude vers 5. that the Lord having saved the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt afterward destroyed them that believed not there was a land of Canaan a land of promise and of rest offered to them and the Lord had made way for them to enter in and possess it he had saved them out of the land of Egypt and brought them near the borders of Canaan but this did no whit avail those among them that were unbelieving and disobedient they were destroyed their Carcasses fell in the wilderness they perished in their sins this I take to be a Type of the condition of secure unbelieving impenitent persons under the Gospel there is salvation wrought Jesus Christ came into the world to save a way is open to the Heavenly Canaan to that eternal rest prepared for the people of God the fiery pillar the light of the Gospel is in sight shewing the way to the Kingdom of Heaven but when men and women do carelesly neglect it this their condition is worse than if there had never been any possibility of salvation Better it had been they had died in Egypt than at the borders of Canaan better never in any degree to be saved than to be once saved and afterward to be destroyed utter destruction after some beginnings of salvation is worse than no kind of salvation at all therefore in the 12 verse of that same Epistle of Jude it is said they are trees whose fruit withereth without fruit twice dead plucked up by the roots I entreat you seriously to consider the woful estate of a soul twice dead twice lost twice condemned once condemned by the Law and then again condemned by the Gospel Oh tremble and beware of this double condemnation If the river of brimstone enkindled by the Law be so dreadful Isa 33.14 Oh how dreadful then shall those flames of wrath be if they shall be fed and increased with the oyl of the Gospel for the neglect and contempt of salvation wrought by Christ Oh how do multitudes of men that are now under the sound of the Gospel and have the means of salvation afforded them put away the word of life from them and judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life such will one day when it is too late see their folly and wish they had never had a Christ nor a Gospel nor a Heaven nor an immortal soul to lose The Turkish History reporteth of Bajazet the