Men or Angels Who hath given unto God and it shall be recompensed unto him again The Apostle speaks it by way of challenge unto all the Creatures from the highest Angel in Heaven to the meanest Creature on Earth Rom. 11.25 The Notion of a God and Creatures cuts off all Obligation that can be thought of by any Service that Creatures can tender unto him God is infinite in Happiness by and from himself and therefore stands not in need of our Services nor can we merit any thing of him much more not eternal Life because we cannot do any thing that may profit or advantage him Fourthly Works that are meritorious must bear some proportion to the Reward or Recompence that is bestowed upon the doing of them Now in this respect also nothing that the people of God do in this World can be Meritorious of Heaven and Eternal Happiness because there is no comparison between the best of their Services and the Happiness-of Heaven which God bestows upon them after the performance of them I reckon says the Apostle Rom. 8.18 That the Sufferings of this present Life and truly the Sufferings of a Christian as they are his most painful and laborious Works so are they the most deserving Works or part of a Christian's Life and yet says the Apostle I reckon that the Sufferings of this present Life are not worthy to be compared to the Glory that shall be revealed And if the Apostle had put in all the Duties and Services yea and all the Graces of the People of God into the Account his Reckoning had been true for all of them put together are not worthy to be compared to nor Meritorious of the Glory that shall be Revealed Remarkable is that Expression of the Apostle Rom. 6.23 The wages of Sin is Death but the Gift of God is Eternal Life Sin merits and deserves Death but Eternal Life is the Gift of God yea such a Gift as excludes all pretence of Merit for says the Apostle it is the Free Gift of God and not only so but it is the Free Gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. By Voluntary Constitution and Designation of God Eternal Life is the Reward of Holiness Death is the Reward of Sin as it merits and deserves it but Eternal Life is the Reward of Holiness meerly by the bountiful Liberality of God Hence we read in the 21. Verse of the Epistle of Jude that the People of God are said to look for the Mercy of God unto Eternal Life Heaven and Glory shall be dispensed to the Saints at the last day by the Mercy of God It was free Grace and Mercy that implanted Grace in the Hearts of the People of God at the first and it shall be Free Grace that shall put the Crown of Glory upon their heads at the last Without the Mercy of God there is no expectation of the least Degree of Happiness in Heaven Hence therefore we read that the Apostle St Paul 2 Tim. 1.17 18. when under restraints and straits and Onesiphorus finding him out and relieving him to testifie his Gratitude for his Kindness he prays for Onesiphorus that he may find mercy with God at the last day And surely this Prayer of the Apostle was not in vain but will be answered to the Honour and Advantage of Onesiphorus another day That which I quote this Scripture for is those words in the Prayer of the Apostle for Onesiphorus that God would grant he might find Mercy of the Lord in that day Some would have thought this Prayer of the Apostle had been more proper for Onesiphorus if he had been some notorious Malefactor or Persecutor of the People of God as himself once was some common Drunkard or Vnclean Person if then he had Prayed that he might have found Mercy of the Lord at the last day this had been a Prayer suitable both to his Sin and Misery But the Apostle knew very well that even a good man a Diligent Worker a Liberal Benefactor to the Servants of God as Onesiphorus was stands in need of Mercy from God as well as others And that it is the Free-Grace and Mercy of God and not the Duties the Prayers the Alms of any that must save them and therefore says the Apostle The Lord grant unto Onesiphorus that he may find Mercy of the Lord at that day Mercy must save the Holiest man to all Eternity as well as Convert the greatest Sinner There is considerable in Heaven not only the Glory of it in opposition to our Misery but the Mercy of God in bestowing of it in opposition to our unworthiness and without the Mercy of God there is no Expectation of Heaven and evermore where Mercy is there is an Exclusion of all Merit Now from all these Considerations put together it is clear that God's bestowing of Eternal Life and Glory upon the Saints in Heaven is not the rewarding of their Good Works by way of Merit and Desert Secondly Heaven and Eternal Life is called a Reward because it is given to the People of God as a Sequel or Consequence upon or rather after their performance of the Works of Holy Obedience And this is plain and evident because Good Works are the antecedent dispositions and preparations wrought in us for the fitting and qualifying of us to partake of the Reward of Eternal Life and Glory for it is inconsistent with the Holiness and Justice of God to give Heaven unto any that are not Holy Should God take an unholy Creature and Reward him at the last day with Eternal Life this would pollute Heaven it self But God hath provided another place for such a Hell where they shall for ever receive the Reward and Wages of their Works in Eternal Pain and Misery In the destribution of Rewards among Men usually respect is had either to some past Merit or to some present previous Qualifications in those on whom such Rewards are bestowed The former of these cannot be applied unto God because there can be no such thing as Merit or Desert in the Creature that can oblige the Great God to bestow the Heavenly Reward upon any But yet in the latter sence there are always previous qualifications of Grace and Holiness in all those on whom God bestows the Reward of the Heavenly Inheritance H nce therefore the Apostle tells us Heb. 12.14 That without Holiness no man shall see the Lord. Grace and Holiness in a Saint is his preparation or qualification for Heaven and all that are so qualified need not fear but the Reward of Heaven shall be bestowed upon them for Heaven is prepared for such and it shall certainly be given to those for whom it is prepared And indeed Glory in Heaven is the same with Grace here upon Earth and as Grace here is the Reward of Grace that is to whom soever God hath given some Grace upon the improving of that Grace he gives more So Glory hereafter shall be the Reward of a longer and
arose again for their Justification and Glorification that this was he that with the price of his own Blood not only bought their Pardon but purchased that glorious Inheritance for them which now they are instated into the possession of this must needs put a new Life of Joy into their Souls and create a new kind of Happiness in them which they never were acquainted with nor was it possible for them to understand before Christ is the Desire of all Nations the Joy of Angels the Delight of God himself he in whom he is always well pleased All the Glory and Happiness of Heaven is wrapp'd up in him The Treasures of the Divine Wisdom Love and Kindness which were sometimes hid and concealed are now laid open in Heaven to the view of all the Saints O with what ravishing Joy and Delight then must those Souls be eternally filled with that live in the Sight Possession of him as theirs for ever Is not his Love better than Wine Will not the lifting up of the light of his Countenance upon the Soul administer more cause of Joy and Rejoycing than the greatest increase of all worldly enjoyments whatsoever O is not this the Language of holy Souls His Love is Life yea his loving kindness is better than Life O how shouldst thou chide thy self O Believing Soul whose Faith gives thee an Interest in him that thou art so afraid of his Appearance Whence is it that thou art so backward to go unto him Is the Enjoyment of him in Glory who is all Love all Life all Joy all Peace a frightful thing How comes it to pass that thou art so unwilling to die and be for ever with him whom thou callest thy Saviour Hath he laid down his Life and shed his Blood to redeem thee and will he now make an eternal Slave of thee What hath his Ascension into Glory changed his Nature and rendered him less lovely or the Happiness of Heaven in the Enjoyment of him less desirable No certainly he is not less lovely in himself because of his Exaltation into Glory but the more Nor is the Happiness of Heaven in the Enjoyment of him less but the more desirable and the more easily to be obtained for as the Apostle says If when we were Enemies we were reconciled by his Death much more being reconciled shall we be saved by his Life And because he lives glorified in Heaven therefore shall Believers live with him there and therefore also should they be the more desirous to be there because he is there Awake therefore O ye drowsie Saints rouze your selves up out of your Security and Slothfulness for a careless indifferent frame of Spirit doth not become those who are Expectants of so great and glorious a Redeemer and of so great a Happiness as is the eternal Enjoyment of him O what a holy Impatience and Vnquietness of Soul should rather be found in Believers after this Blessed Redeemer Is it not he by whom you expect to escape the Wrath and Vengeance of God Was not his Body broken and his Blood poured forth to make an Oblation for your Souls Was it not he whose Death and Sufferings have made full satisfaction to the Justice of God for your Sins Is it not he who to deliver you from the Curse of the Law was himself made a Curse for you Is it not he by whom alone you escape everlasting Burnings and hope to obtain an Inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you Is there any thing either in this World or in the World to come that is comparable to him Look upon him well O Believing Souls both in respect of what he once was and in respect of what he now is and you cannot but say he is made up of Love Henceforth therefore wonder not O blind and ignorant World that the People of God express such passionate longing Desires after the Enjoyment of this Blessed Jesus but rather wonder at your selves that such Blindness and Darkness should be found within you that you should not be able to discern those Excellencies and that Loveliness that is in him Were the Eyes of your Understanding opened had you but a Spirit of discerning bestowed upon you to see into those glorious Excellencies and Perfections that are in the Lord Jesus and the Happiness that is in the Sight and Fruition of him in Heaven you would then say We see now there is the greatest Reason in the World why the Saints and People of God have such vehement Desires after him are so covetous of being in his Presence and beholding of his Glory For what Soul that knows him that hath tasted of his Love and experienced the Manifestations of his Grace and Favour towards it but doth most earnestly wish not only to see him but to live for ever with him O my Soul Whence is it then that thou that canst say thou lovest him in Truth and in Sincerity dost yet make it no more thy daily Care and Study to gain more and farther Knowledge of him and a more dear and intimate Acquaintance with him that so thou maist be brought into a more full and immediate Enjoyment of him And O thou infinitely Blessed Lord Jesus who hast all Loveliness and Amiableness in thee look down graciously upon thy poor Creatures and discover unto them more of those ravishing transcendent Beauties and Excellencies that are in thee and let us every day have more and farther insight into those never to be fully known Perfections of Glory and Loveliness that are in thy self that thereby we may be enabled not only to commend thee a thousand times more feelingly and affectionately unto others but may thereby also win upon yea command the Affections and Desires of all that hear of thee unto thee that nothing short of the Enjoyment of thy self and the Manifestations of thy Love and Favour in Eternal Glory may satisfie and content us or them but that we may continually be crying out in that known Language of thy Church Come Lord Jesus come quickly Fourthly and Lastly The Saints Happiness in Heaven consists in this That there they shall have the Vision and Enjoyment of God himself being always where he is seeing his Face and beholding his Glory Now in speaking to this great Happiness of the Saints the Beatifical Vision of God I shall content my self with those things that are most plain and will be most benificial Now the Sacred Scripture gives us an Account of this Great and Mysterious part of the Saints Happiness in many high and lofty expressions calling it sometimes a seeing of the Face of God Rev. 22.4 They shall see his Face Sometimes it is set forth by our becoming like unto God and seeing him as he is so in 1 John 3.2 Now says the Apostle we are the Sons of God but it doth not no nor can it yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall
them go bowing down greatly yea to sigh and mourn continually What says holy David Psal 38.3 4 5 6 There is no soundness in my Flesh because of thine Anger neither is there any rest in my Bones by reason of my Sin Mine Iniquities are gone over my head as a Burden too heavy for me to bear My Wounds stink and are corrupt because of my Foolishness I am troubled I am bowed down greatly I go mourning all the day long Thus holy Paul complains also in Rom. 7.14 I am carnal and sold under sin Verse 21. I find a Law that when I would do good Evil is present with me And 23 I see another Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bridging me into captivity to the Law of Sin that is in my Members In the sense whereof he cries out as a Man greatly oppressed in the next Words Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death In-dwelling Sin renders the Lives of God's People very bitter and uncomfortable And how can it be otherwise For Sin is the constant Source and Fountain of all their Miseries There is no Distress or Trouble befalls a Godly Man but Sin is the meritorious procuring Cause of it Sometimes Sin disturbs his Peace sometimes it impairs his Grace sometimes it breaks his Bones but it always pollutes and defiles his Soul Oh what sad work doth Sin make continually and the best it can end in is Repentance and godly Sorrow A Christian in this Life is always in a Conflict with Corruptions Sin and Lust are continually warring against the Soul So saith the Apostle Gal. 5.17 The Flesh iusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these two are contrary the one unto the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would Sin draws a godly Man one way and Grace draws him another Sin in him will not yield and Grace in him cannot yield And though through the strength of the Spirit enabling him to exercise Grace he is daily getting ground of his Corruptions yet is it very slowly what he gains is as it were by Inches every step he takes through his Enemies Country he is fain to force his way and he never obtains a Victory over Sin but it is with great strugling and wrestling He is always standing upon his Guard and if he chance to slumber never so little or be negligent in his spiritual watch he is presently furprized by a diligent Enemy that always lies in wait and observes him This now is the constant Life of a Christian always to be maintaining a Warfare with Sin that is continually stirring in him and ever ready to put forth it self one way or other to do him Mischief Sin is continually making the Life of a godly Man uncomfortable and while Sin is in him it will not be otherwise Now Sin will always be in him while he is in this World and therefore he will always have some Troubles some Perplexities to afflict and disquiet him But when Death that Friend of the Saints for so Death is to them and to none but them comes they shall be perfectly free from all that which now afflicts and troubles them because they shall be perfectly free from Sin that is the Cause of it And therefore that I may note it by the way With what rejoycing of Soul should a godly Man upon this account entertain the thoughts of Death How welcome should the approach of this Friend of his be unto him For certainly a Saint hath not a better Friend in all the World for next unto Jesus Christ who hath made satisfaction for a Believer's Sins and obtained Life and Salvation for his Soul Death must needs be his best Friend because it frees him from all Sin He that frees us from the Evil of our Sins and from suffering eternal Punishments due to us because of them by satisfying the Justice of God for them must needs be our best and chiefest Friend and next unto him he that frees us from the being of Sin that we may no more offend God thereby and that is Death And indeed none in the World can be kinder to a Saint or do such an Office of Love for him as Death doth for at once it sets him not only out of the reach of all his Enemies but perfectly frees him from that which caused them to be so and that is Sin and herein the Goodness of God is greatly to be observed that Death which is a Punishment for Sin should be turned into the destruction of the very Being of Sin and so it is to every Believer For after Death Sin shall not only cease to act but shall cease to be Two Things commend Death and ought to make it desirable to every Believer One is That it frees him from all Sin and the other is That it brings him to the everlasting enjoyment of God and the latter depends upon the former for till a Believer is perfectly freed from all Sin he can have no entrance into Heaven where God the Fountain of all Bliss and Happiness is seen and enjoyed And certainly where Sin is felt as a heavy Burthen by any Soul and where God is the Delight of that Soul Death must needs have an amiable Aspect and so it will if the Soul act as it ought to do Should God ask one Godly Man after another What is it that you most desire tell me and it shall be given you would they not all with one consent say Lord that we might be freed from Sin Oh that we might be delivered from our Corruptions that we might never offend and displease God Lord thou that knowest our hearts knowest that nothing in all the world is so great a Burthen to us as these sinful Hearts and Natures of ours whereby we are necessitated to offend thee this is the constant Language of their Prayers of their Cries of their Tears day and night that they might be rid of Sin Would it not be the most welcome News in the world to them that the Time were come wherein they should sin no more Certainly were it offered to their choice there is no godly Man in all the World but would rather chuse to be freed from Sin than to be made the Heir yea than to be the Possessor of the whole World What good says a Godly Man would the World do me so long as Sin and a naughty Heart inhabit in me These Lord saith a gracious Soul would do me more hurt in one day than the Enjoyment of the whole World to Eternity can do me good O Lord therefore whatever thou dost with me or whatever thou dost for me deliver me from this Body of Sin and Death that I continually carry about with me Why know all ye holy and gracious Souls whoever you are that thus go up and down mourning and complaining by reason of Sin know for your eternal Comfort that when
you have continued waiting but a few days longes God will grant your Desires for when you come to Heaven whither Death will certainly and suddenly bring you Sin an unholy Heart and Nature shall never more afflict or trouble you for Sin that was here your Burthen to feel shall there be your Delight to be for ever without that impenitent unbelieving Heart those vain yea sinful Thoughts which were wont to lie down and rise up with you which did use to follow you to every Duty and accompany you in every Place and Service and which you could no more leave behind you when you went to Pray to Hear to Read or to Meditate than you could leave your selves behind you shall all be left behind you when you come to die they did and would keep you company while you lived but they shall not go one step with you beyond Death then you take your leave of them bidding an eternal Farewel to all Sin O my Soul when shall that blessed day come that thou shalt thus take thy leave of Sin never to wound thy Conscience never to defile thy Soul nor never to displease thy God thereby any more O what a blessed state will that be when Death shall send a godly Man to Heaven perfectly free from all Sin not only as to the Power of it but also as to the vexing and disquieting Presence of it where he shall spend ars Eternity in serving and praising of God without the least interruption imperfection or weariness of Soul for ever And doth not Death in this appear a Believer's great Friend in that what Prayers and Tears Sighs and Groans together with the assistance of the Spirit of God did gradually that is mortifie and destroy Sin that Death doth for a Believer at one blow perfectly freeing him from the Burthen and Being of Sin for ever Fourthly In Heaven the People of God shall arrive unto a Perfection of Grace and Holiness As all that the Saints have here is but mean compared to what they shall attain to hereafter so all that the Saints do here is but mean compared to what they shall be enabled to do hereafter Grace in a godly Man in this Life is in its minority and therefore the acting of Grace must needs be accordingly The Excellency and Beauty of a Saint lies inward in the hidden Man of the Heart or as the Psalmist speaks he is one that is all glorious within And because Grace in him is inward therefore its Excellency is not so visible and apparent Grace in a godly Man neither doth nor can shine forth in its Glory and Beauty here because Sin in him eclipses the splendor of its appearance The imperfection of Grace is discernable here but the Perfection and Beauty of Grace is neither known nor attainable here The highest degrees of Grace and Holiness that the best of God's People reach unto here comes infinitely short to what they shall attain to in Heaven It is true a little Grace in a Saint now makes him glorious in the eyes of those who have a Spirit of discerning to behold it in respect whereof the Saints are called the excellent ones of the Earth Psal 16.3 Now if the weakness and imperfection of Grace for that which the People of God attain to of Grace here it no more compared with what they shall attain to in Heaven if this weakness and imperfection of Grace be so excellent and glorious O how exceeding glorious will the perfection and beauty of Grace be hereafter How glorious have some of the Saints of God of old appeared when their Excellency hath chiefly appeared in the Oriency and sparkling Beauty but of some one particular Grace as for instance How glorious was Abraham for his Faith Moses for his meekness self-denial Nehemiah for his zeal for God and his Glory David for his Love to God and his Ordinances Job for his Patience S. Paul for his unwearied Industry and Laboriousness in the Work of God and the Service of Souls O how eminently glorious have the particular actings of these particular Graces in these Servants of God made them in all Ages insomuch that the Spirit of God hath thought good to record their Excellencies in the holy Scriptures and their Praise shall be in all the Churches of God to the end of the World Now if the Saints Eminency in some particular Graces have made them so glorious notwithstanding their Imperfections other ways how glorious and excellent will they appear when all that Grace and Holiness that shall accompany them to Heaven and is there necessary unto their Happiness that they may see and enjoy God to eternity shall be fully and compleatly perfected having nothing of the least allay of any spot or imperfection in their Graces or in their Persons to take off from the Beauty and Glory of the one or of the other for ever In Heaven Grace in a Saint is in its excellency and in its visibility there is Grace and nothing but Grace there is Grace and all Grace yea there is all Grace shining forth in its fulness and utmost perfection of Glory to eternity In this Life Grace in the People of God is never perfect in some things they are always defective in other things always wanting they are continually aiming at and going on unto Perfection though while they are here they do not attain unto it In the Work of Regeneration they are truly sanctified and made holy but it is in Heaven only that they are perfectly sanctified The Lord Jesus Christ now loves his Church and he hath abundantly manifested that he doth so in giving himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word as the Apostle speaks But he never presents it to himself a Glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle till he brings it to Heaven By a work of Sanctification he is now daily cleansing and purifying of it but the full Perfection and Beauty of Holiness is not put upon it till the Marriage between him and his Church be consummated in Glory Here in this Life there is much Imperfection in the Righteousness and Holiness of the Saints many Faults and Infirmities they have that others may censure and condemn and themselves ought to bewail and mourn for but in Heaven they shall be Faultless so saith the Apostle Jude 24. Whilst the Church is Militant upon Earth though she is black and hath her spots yet is she comely but when she comes to be Triumphant in Heaven then will she be as a beautiful Bride adorned with fulness and perfection of Grace and Holiness fitted and prepared for her Lord and Husband's Company Rev. 22.2 where every Saint shall behold and love the Blessed and Holy God and their dear Lord Jesus with a Love equal to Angels and Cherubims satiating and delighting their Souls in him with a Joy far exceeding the highest Joys that any of the People of God ever were
what it is to have this God to be our God and truly no more are we able to tell what it is to have the Heaven of God to be ours and as God himself so the Heaven in which God dwells both which shall be the Reward of the Saints hereafter by reason of their infinite Greatness and Glory are better known to us by what they are not than by what they are and we may best conceive of that Recompence of Reward that the Saints shall partake of in Heaven when we are told there is nothing there that may affright or afflict us nothing that may grieve molest or trouble us but an everlasting Enjoyment of the highest and sweetest Delight and Satistaction that the now but much more then vast and capacious Soul of Man can receive desire or in agine Art thou now O Soul oppressed with the grievous and intolerable burthen of thy Sins those daily though also unavoidable Infirmities by which thou dishonour est God grievest his Spirit woundest thy own Conscience under which thou criest out as a Man distracted O wretched Man that I am where and by whom shall I find Deliverance Why assure thy self the Old Man shall never more molest thee in Heaven there is no Entrance for this Body of Sin and Death into Life All the motions and stirrings of Sin shall forever cease in that eternal Rest Art thou now overwhelmed with Grief and Sorrow and doth the smart of one Affliction no sooner wear off but the bitterness of another comes in the room of it and is there thus daily a Succession of them one after another for the Trial and Exercise of thy Patience So that thou may'st say thou art continually a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief as thy Lord and Master was before thee Why in Heaven God shall wipe away all Tears from thy Eyes and Sorrow and Sighing shall for ever fly away Art thou now continually harassed with Temptations Will not the Evil One let thee rest Day nor Night but is perpetually haunting thee with horrid and blasphemous Thoughts as black as Hell it self can invent In Heaven thou shalt not only be out of the reach of his fiery Darts but shalt have an everliving Fountain within thy Soul that shall be eternally springing up in such spiritual Contemplations and heavenly Raptures beyond whatever thou wert acquainted with in thy State of Mortality even when thou wert in the most spiritual and heavenly Frame Art thou here under Clouds and Desertions And doest thou walk up and down mournfully and disconsolately for want of the Light of God's Countenance and the manifestations of his Love and Favour towards thee Doth God seem to hide his Face from thee in Anger and Displeasure so that thou roarest and criest out by reason of the Disquietness of thy Soul Why in Heaven all those Clouds shall vanish away and thou shalt have such clear and full Discoveries of God's Love and Favour and the Light of his Countenance shall beat so fully and everlastingly upon thee that it is impossible thou shouldst be under the least Fears or Doubtings thereof for ever For thou shalt then no more see him through a Glass darkly but Face to Face without any interruption or obscurity to all Eternity This now is something of that great and glorious Reward that shall be bestowed upon the Saints in Heaven but the fulness and perfection of it cannot be known but by Enjoyment CHAP. VI. An Essay towards the Resolution of some Questions as 1. Whether the Saints shall know one another in Heaven 2. Whether there are different Degrees of Glory in Heaven 3. How the Saints are said to be equal with and like unto the Angels in Heaven 4 In what respects Heaven is called a Reward or Recompence Some Vseful and Necessary Inferences from the Consideration of that Happiness the Saints shall enjoy in Heaven deduced in order unto Practice as 1. Hopes of Heaven should make the World contemptible unto Believers 2. None that expect Heaven hereafter should be offended at any thing they meet with in their way thither 3 Expectations of Heaven should make Christians live as those that are Heirs of so great a Happiness 4. Frequent Thoughts and Meditations of Heaven should possess the Minds of those that Hope to partake of the Happiness of Heaven 5. The greatness of the Happiness of Heaven should put Christians upon examining themselves what Right and Title they have thereunto 6. Hopes and Expectations of Heaven hereafter should reconcile to Believers the Thoughts of their own Death and moderate their Sorrows for the Death of their Godly Friends and Relations 7. Hopes of Heaven should put Christians upon unwearied Diligence that is attended with such a Reward 8. The consideration of so great a Happiness as Heaven is should cause in all Believers a Holy longing of Soul after the Enjoyment of it The Conclusion THat which remains to be Discoursed of before we come to the Conclusion of this delightful Subject is to endeavour to give some light into though not full Solution of some Questions the Answering whereof will tend much to the further illustration of the greatness of the Saints happiness in Heaven And here First Some may be inquisitive whether the Saints shall know one another in Heaven or not To this I Answer it is highly probable that the Saints shall know one another in Heaven Were Adam Enoch Noah Abraham Isaac Jacob David Hezekiah Josiah Esay Jeremiah Daniel Paul Peter John with all the rest of the Apostles Saints and Martyrs of God in all Ages of whom we have either read in Scripture or heard of in History who have been Eminent in Grace and Holiness some for their Humility some for their Meekness some for Faith some for Patience some for Self-denial some for Zeal some for Contempt of the World and the like were all these Blessed Saints of God living together at one time and in one place here on Earth as they now are in Heaven would not every Godly man be greatly desirous if it were possible to see them and to live with them especially if there were none but such among them that they might be particularly and distinctly acquainted with them and would not this Knowledge tend much to their Delight and Satisfaction surely it would And is it Irrational to suppose that when all the Saints that have lived from the beginning of the World unto the end of it shall all meet together in Heaven that they might be desirous of a particular Knowledge of one another then Or was it so Delightful and therefore so desirable a thing to be acquainted with the Saints of God particularly when they lived here on Earth when they were men of like Passions and Infirmities as we now are And will it not be a much more desirable thing to have a particular acquaintance with them in Heaven when all their Sins and Imperfections shall be done away and they have nothing in them
THE GLORY and HAPPINESS OF THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN OR A DISCOURSE Concerning the Blessed State of the Righteous after Death By Nathanael Ranew late of London Bookseller London Printed for N. R. and sold by J. Robinson A. and J. Churchill J. Taylor and J. Wyat. 1694. TO THE READER Christian Reader I Dare not suppose thee in an Age of somuch Light and Knowledge to be ignorant of a future State and Condition that doth abide thee and all Men after this Life for this were to conceive of the contrary not only to the sentiments of all Christians but even of Heathens themselves Neither can I think any to be so far blinded and hardned as to believe that this State which shall befall all Men after Death to be the same unto all Persons whether they be good or bad for though the Wise Man tells us in Eccles 9.1 2. That in this Life All things come alike unto all Men and there is one event to the Righteous and to the Wicked to the Clean and to the Vnclean So that in the way of God's common Providential dealings with Men in this World no Man knoweth Love or Hatred by all that is before them Yet when Death and Judgment come a discriminating Sentence shall pass upon all Men According to what they have done in the Body whether it be good or bad And then as the Apostle speaks All those who have not obeyed the Truth but have lived in Sin and Vnrighteousness shall receive Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul of Man that hath thus done Evil But to them who by patient continuance in well-doing have sought for Glory and Honour and Immortality shall be Eternal Life And of this none that live under the Light of the Gospel can be ignorant Now as to the former of these that State of Woe and Misery that is to be the Portion of Sinners in Hell it is not my design in the following Discourse to say any thing Having confined my Thoughts and Meditations therein unto the latter and that is that State of Bliss and Happiness that shall be the Portion of Holy Souls in Heaven All Men now will say they desire and seek after happiness but few there are that attain thereunto not that there is no such Thing or State attainable for Holiness always lays a sure Foundation for Happiness But Man being fallen from God and sunk into the Creature cannot without the help of Divine Grace raise up his Soul his Affections and Desires towards God towards Heaven and Heavenly things but takes up with what is suitable to his Earthly and Fleshly part and so the World and the Enjoyments thereof being adapted to the Inclinations of his present State and Condition here below accordingly with the greatest eagerness he pursues the Riches the Honours the Pleasures and Delights of this World as those things which when attained he vainly fansies will make him truly Happy but when he comes to enjoy them meets with Frustration and Disappointment All Men being forced sooner or later to subscribe unto what the Wisest of Men faith as a great Truth concerning all things under the Sun that they are but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit Wouldst thou not Christian Reader when thou comest to die be eternally deceived in thy Hopes and Expectations of Happiness Let not the World and the Enjoyments thereof take up thy Thoughts and Affections now God hath provided the good things thereof and by his Care and Providence brings them to thee daily for thy use that with this Gracious and Liberal Allowance of his thou mayest serve him with the greater Chearfulness and Delight of Soul in thy Passage through this World But he never intended thou shouldst take up with them as thy Happiness Believe it God hath provided better things for holy Souls in another World he intends himself to be their Portion his Heaven to be their Habitation and Dwelling place Angels Patriarchs Prophets Apostles to be their Associates and Companions where they shall live in the light of God's Countenance see his Face behold his Glory and be filled with his Love to all Eternity O blessed State of infinite Bliss and Happiness beyond what words is able to express Well may holy Souls with wonder and amazement cry out with the Apostle and say Eye hath not seen Ear hath not heard nor can it enter into the heart of Man to conceive what God hath provided for them that Love him And why mayest not thou who now castest thine Eyes upon these lines make one of that great number of holy Souls that shall be thus Eternally Happy and Blessed God hath not Excluded thee out of Heaven and why shouldest thou exclude and shut out thy self God is now displaying before thee the Excellencies and Glory of that Blessed State and wherefore doth he do so but to invite and draw Sinners to come and partake of this Happiness not that God needs us or any thing that we can do for he is as Happy without us as he can possibly be with us But we need him and cannot be happy without him Now therefore since he is pleased to continue the offers of such rich Grace and Mercy let none be found slighters and contemners thereof Disappoint not O Sinners the design of God in seeking to bring Souls to Heaven Frustrate not your own Expectations of Bliss and Happiness Make not your selves Eternally miserable by choosing any sinful course or walking in any allowed way of Wickedness Nor yet provoke God by any sinful delays or any sluggish and lazy desires and endeavours in seeking to obtain this Everlasting Happiness to deal with you as obstinate despisers and contemners thereof and swear in his Wrath that you shall never enter into his Rest If God may be Glorified and Souls receive benefit hereby unto Eternal Life the Author hath the desire of his Soul and an abundant Reward for what he hath done in the ensuing Discourse and that a Blessing from Heaven may make is thus Successful unto all that shall read it is and shall be the Prayer of the Publisher The CONTENTS CHAP. I. AN Introduction A State of Future Glory and Happiness proved What it is that makes the Happiness of Heaven so Excellent and Glorious with a short and brief Description thereof 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 unmixed Good 3. A Suitable Good 4. An All-sufficient Good 5. A Satisfying Good 6. An Everlasting Good
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life that is in the midst of the Paradise of God Rev. 2.7 To him that overcometh will I give to sit with me on my Throne even a I have overcome and am set down with my Father on his Throne Rev. 3.21 Believers are the greatest Heirs in all the World for as the Apostle speaks They have the Promise of the Life that now is and of that which is to come And says the same Apostle All things are yours whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or Life or Death or things present or things to come all is yours and you are Christ's and Christ is Gods 1 Cor. 3.22 Secondly The Certainty of a future state of Glory and Happiness may be demonstrated from the great Undertaking of the Lord Jesus Christ And indeed this was a Work fit for none but him to undertake for none else were able to accomplish it Whatever worth or excellency there is either in all the Men on Earth or in all the Saints and Angels in Heaven should they have proffered to have done and suftered all that their Natures are capable of to have purchased the Love and Favoun of God to have been enjoyed though but by one Soul and that but for one moment of time in Heaven it would have been rejected and despised by God But now the Death and Sufferings of Jesus Christ were of equal worth and value with Heaven and the Enjoyment of God to eternity for his Blood was the Blood of God and therefore the shedding of it deserved the Presence Love and Favour of God to be bestowed upon Believers as their Portion for ever This Jesus Christ hath done for this he hath both suffered and died and because he hath made a Purchase of these things with his Blood Believers shall therefore enjoy them for Christ will not lose his Purchase nor shall Believers therefore lose their Happiness The bringing many Sons unto Glory was the End which Christ designed in the laying down of his Life and therefore he willingly submitted unto the Way by which he was to accomplish it and that was by his suffering Death and from hence therefore the People of God are said to obtain an inheritance among them that are sanctified by Faith in him Thirdly Another Ground or Reason we have to believe a state of Glory and Happiness hereafter may be taken from the Spirit 's introductory or preparatory working in the Hearts of Believers here in this Life By this now I mean the Beginning of Grace wrought in the Soul for Grace and Glory are one and the same thing Grace is Glory and Glory is Grace all the Difference between them is only in the degree Grace is Glory begun and Glory is Grace perfected And when the Spirit of God works Grace in any Soul he then gives the first Fruits the Earnest or Fore-taste of Glory Grace therefore is sometimes called Glory in Scripture so we read 2 Cor. 3.18 We all with open face beholding as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from Glory unto Glory that is from one degree and measure of Grace unto another And Grace there is called Glory because when Grace is advanced unto its highest degree of perfection it is Glory Now where ever any receive the first fruits of Heaven in Grace and Holiness they shall receive the full Harvest of Glory it self Grace therefore is called the Spirit 's forming or fitting of the Soul for Glory Hence the Apostie speaking of himself and others as groaning and longing to be cloathed with their House which is frown Heaven that Mortality might be swallowed up of Life In 2 Cor. 5.3 4. he adds in the 5th verse He that hath wrought us for the self same thing is God who hath also given us the Earnest of the Spirit which in Ephes 1.14 is called the Earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased Possession Where ever Grace is in truth it is always in Growth and it shall be in perfection So saith the Apostle Phil. 1.6 He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the Day of Jesus Christ Where the Spirit gives unto any the Nature and Disposition of the Children of God he thereby gives them an undoubted Right and Title unto Heaven and Glory yea such a Right and Title as shall never be lost or broken off So saith the Apostle Rom. 8.16 17. For the Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirits that we are the Children of God and if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joint-Heirs with Jesus Christ and if we suffer with him we shall also be glorified together Fourthly and lastly Imight argue the Certainty of a future state of Glory and Happiness from the constant believing Hopes and Expectations yea and Sufferings also of the Saints and People of God in all Ages If Believers had hope only in this Life they were then as the Apostle speaks of all men most miserable But it is not so for their Hopes and Happiness lies in those things that are to be enjoyed beyond Time even in Eternity And hence it is that they have such strong Consolation as bears up their Souls above all the Sufferings that they meet with in this present Life because they have sled for Refuge to lay hold on the Hope that is set before them which Hope they have as an Anchor of the Soul that is sure and stedfast because it entreth into that within the Vail Heb. 6.18 19. It is the Nature of the New Creature where-ever it is to cause the Soul to look upwards and hence it is that the People of God are said to be begotten again unto a lively hope of an Inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for them 1 Pet. 1.3 4. From this now springs great Joy and Consolation and therefore upon this account it is that Believers are said to rejoyce in hopes of the Glory of God Rom. 35.2 Should I now attempt to lay down a Description of Heaven that Place of perfect Bliss and Happiness I should prevent my self in what I intend to speak more fully and largely to afterwards Only in the General to excite and quicken our Desires and Affections after it take this following short Sum of it Heaven is a Place where there is a total and everlasting exclusion of all that is evil and imperfect and where there is a full perfection and perpetual enjoyment of all that is Good and that in the largest latitude and extent of it In Heaven there is nothing to afflict or torment but every thing that is satisfactory and delightful There is nothing of Sin there and therefore nothing of Sorrow Saint in Heaven enjoy the best Company There is the Great and Glorious God seen and known in all his glorious Excellencies and Perfections There is the Blessed Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of Life
of that holy Plaee no thing or person that is defiled or polluted shall ever enter there and certainly this must needs be sweet and delightful Were it a thing that we might suppose possible as indeed it is not that here we could have Communion with the People of God and with them only yet the best of them have now so many Weaknesses and Imperfections as would render the purest Society of them sometimes uncomfortable for here being in their imperfect state they must be born withal in many things for they are still Men subject to like Passions and Infirmtiies with others Moses a Man eminent for Meekness so that there was none like him on Earth yet sometimes spake unadvisedly with his lips Job a patient Man even to a Proverb yet had sometimes his Fits of Impatience and Discontent Jonah a Prophet of the Lord yet very froward and peevish and justifies his Passion and Anger not only before Men but even unto the Face of God himself saying I do well to be angry even unto the death Yea most if not all the Saints and People of God mentioned in Scripture though eminent for Grace and Holiness yet have they had some Sins some Infirmities or other recorded of them that it might be known they were Men yea sinful Men also as well as Saints and if we expect Communion with any while we are here that are not Sinners as well as Saints we must then go out of the world as the Apostle speaks for all the People of God here have Flesh in them as well as Spirit Sin and Corruption in them as well as Grace and Holiness And yet notwithstanding all their Frailties and Infirmities they are still the best Company and Fellowship and Society with them most desirable And if while they have their Spots their Stains upon them their Company is so excellent and desirable what shall they be when they shall be free from all their Imperfections when they shall have no Ignorance no Blindness no Pride no Impatience no Spots no Blemishes nor any thing whereby they may be polluted or defiled but shall be adorned and beautified with all Grace and Holiness in the Fulness and Perfection of it Surely then their Company must needs be far more desirable yea even a kind of a little Heaven it self Secondly The Happiness of Believers in Heaven consists in their Communion with Angels the highest the noblest and most excellent of God's Creatures The Welfare of Man is that in which the Angels delight When Man was at first created those Morning-Stars sang together and those Sons of God as holy Job speaks shouted for joy Job 38.7 When Jesus Christ the Saviour of Mankind came into the World for this very end and purpose that he might be a Redeemer unto Man it is said that a multitude of the Heavenly Host joyned together in praising of God saying Glory to God on high on Earth Peace and Good Will towards Man Luke 2.13 And when any Sinners are turned unto God there is joy says our Lord among those Blessed Spirits Luke 15.10 This Heavenly Host of God now as the Apostle speaks rejoyce to be ministring Spirits unto the Saints Heb. 1.14 They are therefore called Ministring Spirits sent forth by God to minister for them who shall be Heirs of Salvation Many Offices of Love and Kindness they do for the People of God now when they are in danger which they cannot observe nor take notice of for though their Help and Assistance be always real as to the effect and operation thereof yet is it always invisible as to their knowledge and observation it being impossible for them to understand how often and after what manner they are employed by God for their Benefit The Angels are the continual Guardians and Attendants of the People of God while they are in this world hence therefore our Lord bids those he spake to in Matt. 18.10 Take heed that they offended not any of those little ones that believed in him for says he in heaven their Angels do always behold the Face of my Father which is in heaven And that the Angels do protect and defend the People of God here is very clear in Psal 34.7 The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them And that 's a great Scripture and adds much to the confirmation of the Happiness of the People of God both in respect of their Fellowship with the Saints and their Communion with the Angels in Heaven in Heb. 12.22 23. Ye are come unto Mount Sion the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable Company of Angels and to the Spirits of just men made perfect While we carry about with us these earthly Tabernacles of our Bodies we are scarce capable of Communications with such spiritual heavenly Creatures but at Death the Saints shall know their old Friends and Fellow-Servants and then those Heavenly and Triumphant Chariots shall carry up their departed Souls with Shoutings and Acclamations of Joy into the Presence of God where they shall make Relations of the strange and wonderful Providences of God towards them while they were here and joyn together in the high Praises of God for evermore In this world the sight of one Angel though a Messenger of Peace and one that brings good Tidings along with him yet doth cause Fear and Amazement But in Heaven the Saints shall behold all the Angels of God and that not only without Dread and Horrour but with Joy and Delight as being their Fellow-Creatures with whom they shall eternally maintain a blessed Communion and Correspondency And oh what happy and delightful Company will those Glorious Creatures be in whom there is nothing but what is Amiable and Lovely yea nothing but what is Admirable and Wonderful And though this Communion with Angels be a part of that Happiness which the Saints shall enjoy in Heaven and a Truth of great Certainty yet the Way and Manner of the Saints converse with them there is very dark and obscure and that to which we are now altogether strangers Let therefore the Certainty thereof suppress our Curiosity and satisfie our Minds until we come thither when we shall have a full Revelation and Enjoyment thereof together being made not only like unto but equal with the Angels Thirdly The Happiness of the Saints in Heaven lies in this that there they shall have a Sight and Enjoyment of Jesus Christ as their Blessed and Glorious Redeemet Now this is a Happiness so great that a Saint cannot but account himself recompensed with infinite Gain and Advantage though he lost his Life in the attaining of it Christ says the Apostle Col. 3.11 is all in all It was doubtless a blessed and glorious sight to behold the Lord Jesus Christ when he was here upon Earth when in the days of his Flesh he humbled himself and took upon him the form of a Servant for certainly he was the comiiest Person
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
Death arise from his Ignorance of what Death is in it self and of what it will be unto him and this makes him walk so uncomfortably under the thoughts of it And yet the worst that Death is and the worst it can do unto him is only to make a Separation between those two old loving Acquaintance his Soul and Body whereby the viler part the Body consumes and rots in the Grave being fed upon by Worms till it turns to Dust and Ashes for some little time after which it shall arise again a glorious refined purified Body from all its dross and corruption and made like unto the Glorious Body of Jesus Christ to be again united unto that Soul which during the time of its silent sleeping in the dust was rejoicing with Saints and Angels yea with God and Christ in a state of infinite and unconceivable Happiness unto which the Body after its re union with the Soul shall ascend with it to partake of the same Blessedness in Heaven to all Eternity Surely such a Soul instead of being timorous and fearful should rather say with the Apostle I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is best of all Phil. 1.21 Secondly The Consideration of so great a Happiness provided in Heaven for Believers should moderate their Sorrows for the Death of their Godly Friends and Relations It is true when such are taken away by Death the loss is great unto those that survive them and therefore the God of Bowels and Mercy allows us to mourn when by his Providence he makes such breaches among us Abraham mourned for Sarah his Wife Joseph wept for his Father Jacob the Israelites made great lamentations for the loss of Moses and both Mary and her Sister Martha mourned for their Brother Lazarus and our Lord doth not reprove them but sympathizeth with them in their loss and testifies it by his weeping also But though we are allowed to mourn at the Death of our Godly Friends and Relations yet are we to set bounds to our mourning for we are not to sorrow as those that have no Hope nor are we so to grieve and afflict our selves as to refuse to be comforted Friends use to rejoice in the advancement of one another in the World though it be in the enjoyment of that which is but Temporary and therein they shew their Love to one another And will not should not you much more rejoice when your Friends and Acquaintance are by Death preferred to the enjoyment of a Happiness that is Spiritual and Eternal Shall a Natural and contracted Relation either by Blood Cohabitation or Friendship engage to greater Love and Affection than a Spiritual and Supernatural Relation by Grace and Adoption shall do Believers are all nearly and intimately related to one another they are all Members of one and the same Body they have all one and the same Father they have all one and the same Redeemer they have all one and the same Sanctifier and Comforter they have all one Faith one Hope and shall all one day enjoy one and the same Heaven though they go thither in different ways and at different times Grieve not mourn not then O Believer that thy Friends and Relations are gone to Heaven a little before thee Time was it may be when you and they did take sweet Counsel together and walked to the House and Ordinances of God in company and very sweet and delightful was your Society one with another but now Death hath made a Separation between you so that the sweetness of that Friendship is at an end and they are not as to your enjoyment of them and this makes you passionately cry out Oh my loss my loss my Friends and Relations are dead and gone and what shall I now do But where O Believing Soul is thy love to thy dead Friends and Relations Is it at an end and all buried in the Grave with them Be patient for a while and Death will quickly open thee a passage into that place of Bliss where they now are and in the mean time shew thy Love to them by thy rejoicing in their present real though unseen Blessedness and if you cannot do this your Love to your self is great but your Love to your Friends is but little None of our Relations that die in the Lord are lost they are only gone to Heaven a little before others whither the rest of all the Faithful shall ere long be called also And while any Believers are left here behind in the World they have a God to live upon that will never leave them nor forsake them the enjoyment of whose presence and the manifestations of whose Love and Favour will abundantly more than recompense for the absence and loss of all our Friends We read in 1 Sam. 1.8 that Hannah was greatly afflicted because of her barrenness insomuch that she refused to eat what course doth Elkanah her Husband take to comfort her O why says he art thou troubled and why doest thou not eat Am not I better to thee than ten Sons Truly it may be much more said unto any Believer from whom God hath taken any dear and pious Relations why are you cast down why do you grieve and mourn is not God better than many yea than all your Friends and Relations put together and he lives still though your Friends and Relations be dead And truly this is that God expects at a Believer's hands that when he hath taken from him the comfort of near and dear Friends and Relations he should bear up himself cheerfully with this Consideration That having God to be his God doth infinitely more than countervail for the loss of all Stay up thy self therefore O desponding Christian yea solace thy Soul under all thy losses with this Consideration that God is thy God And say therefore with Holy David The Lord lives and blessed be my rock and let the God of my Salvation be exalted Seventhly Is there such a place of Bliss and Happiness provided for and assured unto Believers let the consideration hereof put them upon unwearied Diligence and Constancy in the Work and Service of God that is attended with so great a Reward The Scripture abounds with Exhortations and Commands to press this Duty upon Christians Josh 22.5 Take diligent heed to do all the Commandments of the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul And in Phil. 3.11 12 13 14. the Apostle gives us his own Example and Practice I have not already attained says he nor am I already perfect but I follow after if I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended of Christ Jesus Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting the things that are behind I reach forth unto those things that are before pressing towards the mark for the prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus if by any means I may attain unto the Resurrection of the
Dead that is unto that State of Blessedness that the Saints shall arrive unto at the Resurrection from the Dead And the same Apostle in 1 Cor. 15.58 having discoursed concerning the Resurrection of Christ and thereupon proved the Resurrection of the Dead and the great Happiness of the Saints thereupon he concludes his Discourse with this Exhortation Wherefore my beloved Brethren be ye stedfast unmovable always abounding in the Work of the Lord for asmuch as you know your labour is not in vain in the Lord Whatever any do or suffer for God they shall be no loosers by it in the end Heaven will abundantly recompense a Christian for all the Labour and Pains yea for all the cost and charge he can be at in his way thither When our Lord had wrought a great Miracle in feeding so many thousand with a few Barley Loaves and two small Fishes he bids his Disciples Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost Joh. 8.12 There is nothing that a Believer doth for God now that shall be lost his Tears are all bottled his Sighs are all numbred his Prayers are all filed in Heaven and a day of reckoning will come when all shall be brought forth and recompensed not with a thousand fold as in this Life with Persecution but with eternal Gains that shall never have an end It is not only an unsuitable thing but highly disingenious for any to be niggardly and pinching in the Service of God to give him as little as they can of Duty and Obedience who expect so Magnificent and Glorious a State of Happiness from him hereafter What a shameful thing is it and how unbecoming a Christian to think any measure of Duty enough for God who looks for a promised as well as a purchased Reward from him that shall be without measure Why shouldst thou set bounds to thy Work when God hath set none to thy Wages how unreasonable a thing is it that any measure of Duty though never so short and scanty should be thought enough by thee when the Happiness thou hopest for and God hath promised is without all measure Surely a Christian should be always abounding in the Work of the Lord who will always make him Happy Alas how little how inconsiderable is our always of Working to Gods always of Rewarding Suppose we were always abounding in the Work and Service of God in which God knows we are greatly wanting yet all our Obedience extended unto the utmost can reach no longer than to the end of a short Life but Gods Reward and our Happiness thereby runs parallel with an endless Eternity Why then should a little time spent in the serving and honouring of God here seem too much and too long when an Eternity spent in the enjoyment of God will never be too much Were there nothing of a Reward to be expected hereafter yet a Godly Man would love and serve God for the New Nature not only enclines him to it but makes him delight in the doing of it It is true the great God the Supreme Soveraign Lord of all his Creatures might have made a Law if he had pleased to bind Man to Obedience without the encouragement of a promised Reward but he hath not thought good to deal with Man in so strict a way and manner but in a way of condescending Grace and Mercy and so out of his immense Bounty and Goodness hath been pleased to sweeten and facilitate Man's Obedience with a promise of no meaner importance than the enjoyment of the Eternal Inheritance with himself in Glory O how much should this affect our Hearts and how strongly should it oblige us to abound in the Work and Service of such a Lord and Master Were it possible for the Saints in Heaven to communicate the Experiences and Enjoyments which they now are partaking of in Glory What a Confirmation and Encouragement would this be thought to spirit and quicken us in the ways of Duty and Obedience Why the Word of God that holds forth the promised Reward is as true shall I say nay much more true than such a Communication can be for in that our Senses may be deceived and we imposed upon but by the Word of God we cannot for that is Truth it self and cannot lye Wherefore the Word of God holding forth the promised Reward of Heaven should be the greatest encouragement in the World to put Christians upon the utmost diligence imaginable in the Work and Service of God And the Truth of it is as we can never begin too soon so we can never hold out too long in the ways of Duty and Obedience None ever repented when they came to Die that they had spent too much of their time in the Service of God Who ever read or heard of any that did thus repent very many upon a Death-bed have bitterly lamented that they have done no more for God that they have idled and wasted away so much of their precious time upon impertinent Vanities and Trifles and that what they have done for God hath been so poor so mean so defective and so defiled These things have been a great grief and trouble unto many yea the best of God's Servants who have been most eminent for Grace whose usefulness in their Generation others have admired have yet themselves complained of their barrenness and unprofitableness and mourned for their deficiency and falling short of what they should have done Thus that eminently laborious Servant of Jesus Christ Bishop Vsher crys out against himself upon his Death bed begging Pardon for his Sins of omission and yet his constant Labours and Diligence both in Preaching and Writing was greatly and justly applauded by all And if any one should think this a strange assertion that the People of God should at a dying hour be thus sensible of their great deficiencies I humbly conceive this may be rendred as a Reason thereof because the Saints and Servants of God at such a time standing upon the brink of Eternity and being ready to lanch forth into that vast Ocean have then enlarged and widened apprehensions both of the infinite Majesty and Holiness of God and of the unspeakable greatness of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven and this makes not only their Persons but the best of their Services appear inconsiderable in their own Eyes but causes in them an Holy blushing and shame that all their time they have done so little for that God who hath laid up so much for them that they have glorified him so little here on Earth unto whom they are now a going to enjoy a state of Eternal Glory and Happiness in Heaven Eighthly and Lastly Is there such a place of Bliss and Happiness provided for and assured unto Believers hereafter as Heaven is Let the consideration hereof cause in them a Holy longing of Soul after the enjoyment of it If there be enough in any Object or in any Place to draw forth the Love and Desires the Pantings and Breathings