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
the Spring but the Resurrection of them again unto a new Life And what is Death unto us but a pulling down of these Clay Houses of our Bodies into the Dust And what is the Resurrection but a raising or rebuilding of the same Houses of our Bodies out of the same Dust again And this shall as certainly be accomplished by God as any of the former have been Moreover God hath given great Encouragement to our Faith to believe the Truth hereof by raising many from the Dead already both in the Old Testament and in the New as the Shunamite's and the Widow of Naim's Sons with Tabitha and Lazarus who had lain four days in the Grave together with many others that at the Death of Christ arose out of their Graves and went into the Holy City and were seen of many Now what God hath already done to some he can and will do unto all at the last Day For as our Lord saith The hour is coming wherein all that are in their Graves shall hear his Voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil unto the Resurrection of Damnation John 5.28 29. And O what great encouragement is here unto Believers both against their own Death and the Death of their Godly Friends and Relations How sweet upon this account may the Thoughts of Death be unto Believers themselves Therefore maist thou O believing Soul chearfully yield unto the stroak of Death for though by it thou art carried unto the Grave that Place of silence where thou shalt moulder away into Dust and Rottenness yet maist thou die in the assured Belief of this great Truth That as certainly as now by Death thou goest down intothe Grave so certainly shalt thou ere long be raisedr up out of it again and then shall thy Soul and Body have a comfortable meeting together again never to be parted any more but be made happy together in an eternal Enjoyment of God in Glory Here is also matter of great Comfort against the Death of our godly Friends and Relations What a blessed Support is this to a Believer when Death comes and takes away any such from him How comfortably may he take his leave of them delivering them up unto Death and the Grave knowing assuredly that they shall rise again unto Glory and Happiness Those that die in Christ and sleep in Jesus them he will certainly raise out of their Graves and bring with him unto Judgment Cease therefore thy immoderate Grief drown not thy self in Tears for those whose Souls are at present triumphing in Glory and whose Bodies shall shortly be raised up unto a participation of the same Glory and Happiness Whenever therefore O believing Soul either thou thy self shalt come to lie upon a Death-Bed taking thy last Farewell of thy godly Friends and Relations in this World or when any such godly Friends and Relations shall upon their Death-Beds take their last Farewell of thee let this great Truth of the Resurrection of the Body teach thee how thou shouldst do it not as one without hope but as it becomes a Christian and that is willingly and chearfully not because thou art thereby rid of a Trouble or Charge or because by their Death thou shalt be a gainer in thy worldly Concerns this shews a very evil sinful frame of Spirit and is no way becoming a Christian but let let thy willingness herein proceed from a more excellent Motive even this comfortable consideration that there is but a little short space of Time between thy Death and theirs as also between all your Deaths and the Time of your Resurrections which will quickly shde away whilst you and they are sleeping quietly in your Graves and then shall both you and they be raised up together thence with great Joy and Rejoicing so saith the Prophet Isa 26.19 Awake and sing ye that dwell in the Dust for then shall there be everlasting Joy upon your Heads But I must not forget that this is not the Subject I am treating upon it being that which comes in here only as a necessary Introduction unto that Happiness which the Bodies of the Saints shall partake of in Heaven unto which I now come to treat more particularly Now in speaking unto this I shall reduce all that I have to say unto these four Heads the Incorruptability the Spirituality the Power or Agility and the Glory and Beauty of the Body First The Bodies of the Saints in Heaven shall be incorruptible Their Souls are always immortal for when they leave their Bodies which by Death drops from them into the Grave yet they die not but returning unto God are adjudged to and initated in an everlasting state of Blessedness But now in Heaven the very Bodies of the Saints shall be as immortal as their Souls In this World the best carry up and down with them weak frail dying Bodies always yielding to Decays exercised with Pains and Aches that insensibly waste and wear them away till at length Death by some incurable Disease lays them from the Second Death yet have they thereby no exemption from the First Death but they as well as others must taste thereof because they as well as others have sinned It is true the Sting of Death shall never reach them that they are delivered from and gain Victory over by Jesus Christ but the stroke of Death must and will reach them Death cannot hurt them that 's certain because it hath no Poison in it but Death will have Dominion over them for a time But though Death play the Tyrant here on Earth sparing none either for their Greatness or their Goodness yet hath it no admittance into Heaven For when the Saints shall be cloathed upon with their House which is from Heaven then shall Death and Mortality be swallowed up of Life and the Life of the Body as well as the Life of the Soul shall then be everlasting The Apostle 1 Corinth 15.42 speaking of the Body tells us it is sown in Corruption but it is raised in Incorruption So in verse 52. in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last Trump the Dead shall be raised incorruptible and this Mortal must put on Immortality And O how comfortable must the Thoughts hereof needs be to the Saints to think that though now they have sickly diseased yea dying Bodies yet there is a time coming when they shall have Bodies free from all manner of Aches and Pains not subjected to Decays nor Death but always lively and vigorous The Resurrection will do more for the Bodies of the Saints than a Colledge of the ablest Physicians ever could do for it will at once perfectly cure them of all their Infirmities and Distempers which all the Physicians here on Earth could never do Alas they could only give some case and relief under some particular Distempers and that but for a little time but they soon returned again or
CHAP. III. Further Discoveries of the Saints Happiness in Heaven manifested in their being freed 1. From all Afflictons 2. From all Temptations both from Satan and the World 3. In a perfect freedom from all Sin 4. In a Perfection of Grace and Holiness 5. In partaking of fullness of Joy being Pure Spiritual Full and Everlasting 6. In Excellent Glory and Honour that shall then be put upon them CHAP. IV. Of the Resurrection of the Body in order to the Saints Enjoyment of the Happiness of Heaven A more particular Description of the Happiness of the Bodies of the Saints in Heaven which shall there be 1. Incorruptible 2. Spiritual 3. Powerful 4. Beautiful Of the Happiness of the Soul in Heaven as 1. In having its Vnderstanding enlarged 2. In its being perfected in Holiness 3. In having its Affections brought into a perfect Regularity Of the Eternity of the Saints Happiness in Heaven CHAP. V. Of the Efficient Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven namely the Free Grace of God Of the Meritorious Cause of the Saints Happiness namely the Death and Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ Of the Final Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven namely the Glory of God Holiness the Saints great Qualification for Heaven Wicked Men unsuitable to the Work of Heaven and to the Reward of Heaven both which are Holy In Heaven there is both an Eternal Work for Saints to be employed in and an Eternal Reward for Saints to enjoy CHAP. VI. A 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 useful 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 Examing of 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 in the Service of God 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 THE GLORY AND HAPPINESS OF THE SAINTS CHAP. I. The Introduction A State of future Glory and Happiness proved What it is that makes the Happiness of Heaven so excellent and glorious in a short and brief Description thereof THE framing a Discourse of Heaven that Place of inexpressible Bliss and Happiness the Portion of Holy and Righteous Persons to Eternity is a Work fitter for an Angel one of those Heavenly Courtiers who have ever since their Creation and for many Ages and Generations now past been happy partakers of that blissful State than the lisping and stammering of any mortal Tongue Sense here being the best Orator and they fittest to describe Heaven unto others who live in the fruition of it themselves And indeed all Discourses of this nature by poor frail Creatures are rather a darkning and diminution of that Glory and Happiness than an ample Illustration or Discovery what it is And when the People of God shall come to the enjoyment thereof they will soon find themselves wonderfully but happily deceived by the most glorious Descriptions that ever were laid before them What the Prophet saith in Hab. 3. where after he had given us a short description of some of the glorious Excellencies and Perfections of God he tells us in the 4th Verse His Brightness was as the Light that he had Horns coming out of his hands which usually are a signification of Strength and Might but says the Prophet There was the hiding of his Power As if he had said Whatever Strength and Might God had thereby put forth it was so far from manifesting the fulness and greatness thereof that it was rather a Hiding than a Revelation of his Power there being infinitely more Power in him than was ever yet put forth by him The like may truly be said concerning Heaven and its Glory and Excellency Take all the Descriptions that since the Creation of the World have been made of the Glory and Happiness thereof and put them all together and we may say of them all that they rather hide and eclipse the Glory of Heaven than any way come near to a manifestation of the Fulness and Excellency thereof still is there infinitely more hid from us than can possibly thereby be made known to us Heaven is like God himself an infinite Good and Happiness and so cannot be fully known or enjoyed by any who are but of finite Capacities and Understanding And therefore after all that we have heard thereof from Men or received from God himself either by what he hath revealed to us in his Word or secretly elapsed down immediately into our Souls by his Spirit yet what holy Job saith of God we may say of the Heaven of God Oh how little a Portion of it is known And therefore those Words of St. Paul need not be looked upon with admiration when he tells us Phil. 1.23 he desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ that is in Heaven where God and Christ are known and enjoyed for that is it which makes Heaven so desirable yea to be best of all as the same Apostle speaks For why should any think it strange that the blessed Apostle who had been wrapt up into the Third Heaven by extraordinary priviledge as well as in an extraordinary manner and there heard and saw so much of that Glory and Happiness that was there enjoyed as that himself said was unutterable that he should long after a fuller enjoyment of it Christians who profess their Hopes and Happiness is laid up in Heaven should rather wonder at his willingness to abide here any longer in the Flesh And certainly had not Love yea great Love to him who had prepared and purchased so great and inexpressible a Happiness for him wrought very powerfully in him it may seem almost impossible that Heaven and St. Paul should have been kept longer asunder if any thing in him or to be done or suffered by him could have brought him thither sooner than his appointed time Great and glorious things doth the Scripture
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
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
the Grass which flourisheth for a while but is soon withered and gone 1 Pet. 1.24 But the heavenly Glory is permanent and perpetual a Flower that never withers Saints shall receive a Crown that fadeth not away CHAP. IV. Of the Resurrection of the Body in order to the Saints Happiness in Heaven A more particular Description of the Happiness of the Bodies of the Saints in Heaven which shall there be 1. Incorruptible 2. Spiritual 3. Powerful 4. Beautiful Of the Happiness of the Soul in Heaven which consists 1. In having its Vnderstanding enlarged 2. In its being perfected in Holiness 3. In having its Affections brought into a perfect Regularity Of the Eternity of the Saints Happiness in Heaven A Discourse of the Happiness of Heaven is like the breaking of the Bread by our Saviour in his miraculous feeding so many Thousands with a few Loaves and a few small Fishes which multiplied and increased by being broken And so doth the Happiness of Heaven by being search'd into for the more we look into it the more we discover of its Excellency and Perfection In this blessed Search much of Sweetness and Delightfulness hath been found out already but upon farther Enquiry into what the Scripture reveals concerning it we shall find much more than what hath hitherto been discovered Now that which presents it self to us as the Matter of our Discourse in this Chapter is the Consideration of the Subject of this Happiness in Heaven and that is the Bodies and Souls of the Righteous I begin with the First of these and that is to shew That the Bodies of the Righteous shall be the Subject of the Happiness of Heaven Now before the Body can be a partaker of this Biessedness it must first have a Resurrection from the Grave for till that be done it is not capable of enjoying the Glory and Happiness of Heaven Now that there shall be a Resurrection of the Body out of the Dust notwithstanding the seeming difficulties yea impossibilities also unto Sense and carnal Reason is very clear from the Scripture which though it be not against Reason yet is it in many things above Reason as it seems to be in this particular case and therefore though a Christian is not here wholly to lay aside his Reason yet must he chiefly make use of his Faith in this Point yet were it my Employment to treat of this Subject I doubt not but it might be demonstratively proved That the Resurrection of the Body is a great Truth not only by Scripture but by Reason also though when all that is or can be said our chief Light and Knowledge into this great Truth must and doth come from Divine Revelation But this is not my Work at present being only discoursing of it as a necessary Introduction to the Happiness that the Body shall be a partaker of hereafter in Heaven which that it may it must of necessity first be raised from the dead Now the Resurrection of the Body is that which is the Inlet as it were to all its future Happiness and Glory The Bodies of the Saints are as the Apostle speaks sacred Temples wherein the Holy Ghost dwells and therefore God will not suffer them to lie buried always in forgetfulness It is true their Bodies do dissolve into dust in their Graves but it is as true they perish not there God takes notice of them then and even at that time is their Dust precious in his sight and so it will appear at the last Day when by his All-powerful voice he shall call them forth out of their Graves and raise them up thence shining with such excellent Beauty and Glory as shall exceed the Sun in its Brightness and Glory It is a very difficult thing to believe that the Bodies of Men some whereof have lain rotting in the Grave Thousands of Years and others whose Bodies have been eaten up of wild Beasts or burnt and consumed to Ashes by Fire and those Ashes blown up and down the Earth or into the Water by the Wind or that when so many Multitudes of Ages and Generations of Men dying one after another and their Dust mingled one with another should all of them rise again and the same several Parcels of Dust come together again to make up the same Bodies of Men as once they were before O how impossible is it that such a thing as this is says carnal Reason should ever come to pass Were this great and wonderful Work to be effected by the combined strength and power of all the Saints and Angels in Heaven we might despair of its accomplishment but when we consider who is the Undertaker of this great Work even the Great and Almighty God this may well silence all Objections that can be made against it For he hath undertaken it for whom nothing is impossible And as none of us know what God is in himself so none of us know what this great God can do As it is with the sowing of Seed when Men cast it into the ground they sow not as the Apostle saith that Body that shall be and if the Seed sown did spring up by chance it might possibly bear Wheat or some other Grain but says he God giveth it a Body as it pleaseth him and to every Seed his own Body And so shall it be in the Resurrection at the last Day God raiseth up all Mens Bodies out of their Graves but this is not all but that every Man may have his own Body he giveth unto every Body it s own Dust And what reason is there that any should doubt of the Truth hereof For if a Gardener that hath a hundred several Seeds in his hand at once is able to distinguish between Seed and Seed Or if a skilful Chymist is able to extract one Metal out of another yea to take all the four Elements out of one and the same thing shall not the Almighty Omnipotent God be much more able to distinguish and separate one Man's Dust from another and give to every Man his own Dust Why then O why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should thus raise the Dead Consider a little who this God is one that is of infinite Power and able to do whatsoever he pleaseth both in Heaven and in Earth it is he that at first made the World out of nothing and cannot he rally together our lifeless Dust and scattered Bones and make them stand up and live surely he can Is he able to raise up Children unto Abraham out of stones as our Lord tells the Jews and can he not raise up our Bodies out of the same Dust into which they were dissolved Nay doth he not every day do as great Wonders as this is What is every Night but the Burial or Grave of the Light of the Day And what is every Morning but the Resurrection of the Day Again what is the cold Winter but the Death of the Fruits of the Earth And what is
thy being Eternally under the Torments of Hell this is that which makes thee truly miserable And on the other hand it is not thy being in Heaven comparatively that will make thee Happy but it is thy being Eternally there that makes thee truly Happy This this is that which Accents thy Misery or thy Happiness even the Eternity of it Oh Eternity Eternity thou art the bitterest and thou art the sweetest word in all the World to the Damned thou art the bitterest of all words because their Torments are to last to all Eternity And to the Godly thou art the sweetest word in all the World for their Joys and Happiness shall last unto all Eternity There is nothing either in Heaven or in Hell but what speaks Eternity There is nothing in Hell but what is Eternal Hell it self that place of Torment is Eternal The Sufferings and Torments of the Damned in Hell are Eternal The Wrath and Vengeance of God that is the cause of those Torments in Eternal Yea all the Damned themselves together with the Devil and his Angels are all to be sufferers under an Eternity of Torments in Hell O Eternity Eternity how miserable beyond all expression dost thou make the condition of the Damned to be And as there is nothing in Hell but what is Eternal so neither is there any thing in Heaven but what speaks Eternity There is the Great and Blessed God the Father of Eternity the Sum and Heighth of the Saints Happiness in Heaven to be Eternally enjoyed It is there that the Lord Jesus Christ the Saints great and blessed Redeemer is whose Meritorious Death and Sufferings hath Deserved and Obtained for them the Eternal Enjoyment of that Happiness which there they are partakers of Heaven that place of Bliss and Happiness where God manifests and displays all his Glorious Excellencies and Perfections is Eternal The blessed Company and Society of a Saint in Heaven the innumerable Company of Glorified Saints and Angels shall Eternally be their fellow Inhabitants in that Holy place Yea both the Happiness of Heaven and every Saint that shall participate of that Happiness shall both continue in conjunction together Everlastingly Here O my Soul is a Happiness most worthy of all thy thoughts a Happiness so great that it calls for and deserves all thy Time all thy Parts yea all the Labour and Pains thou canst possibly lay out for the obtaining of it O Eternity Eternity how pleasant how delightful a word art thou for Holy Souls to contemplate upon thou art not more full of dread and horror to the wicked in Hell than thou art full of pleasure and delight unto the Saints in Heaven thou art the Sweetness the Consummation the Perfection of a Saint's Happiness God himself who is the All of a Saint's Happiness if he be not enjoyed for ever cannot make a Saint always Happy Unless an Eternity of Enjoyment be added to a Saint's Happiness in Heaven he cannot be fully and compleatly Happy It is true whilst he enjoys the Happiness of Heaven he is in a Happy state but if Eternity be not added to that Enjoyment a time will come when that Happiness shall cease and have an end Take away Eternity from a Saint's Happiness and there not only will but there must come a time when a Saint must be miserable O Eternity Eternity thou art not only a Happiness added to a Saint's Happiness in Heaven but thou art that blessed Band that unitest and tiest all the scattered parcels of a Saint's Happiness together in one bundle for his satisfaction and security for ever O my Soul study this word Eternity well as it is the Crowning addition unto the Saints Happiness It is that which will revive and quicken thee yea it is that which will put a new life into thee in thy greatest Agonies and Sufferings which thou canst undergo here for they are but of short continuance Death at farthest will come and put an end to them all but the Glory and Happiness that remains for thee in Heaven that is Eternal and Everlasting and shall never never never know an end CHAP. V. Of the Efficient Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven namely the Free Grace of God Of the Meritorious Cause of the Saints Happiness namely the Death and Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ Of the Final Cause of the Saints Happiness namely the Glory of God Holiness the Saints great Qualification for Heaven Wicked Men unsuitable to the Work of Heaven and to the Reward of Heaven both which are Holy In Heaven there is both an Eternal Work for Saints to be Employed in and an Eternal Reward for Saints to Enjoy THat which is next to be discoursed of in the handling of this Subject of the Saints Happiness according to my propounded Method is the consideration of that Happiness in the several causes of it Now in speaking unto this head I shall discourse a little upon these three particulars The Efficient Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven The Meritorious Cause of that Happiness And lastly the Final Cause thereof First The Efficient Fundamental Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven and that is the Free Grace of God Now for this the Scripture is very full Ephes 2.4 5 c. But God who is rich in Mercy for the great love wherewith he loved us Even when we were dead in Sins and Trespasses hath quickened us together with Christ by Grace ye are saved And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus That in the Ages to come he might shew the exceeding Riches of his Grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus For by Grace are ye saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the Gift of God So in Rom. 6.23 The Gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. All is from the free Grace of God And though this Happiness of the Saints be the highest that can be bestowed upon any yet is it that which is given freely What says our Lord Luke 12.32 Fear not little Flock it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom This is to act like a God to give most bountifully and yet most freely To give the highest and best Gifts and yet to give them freely and undeservedly Thus God gives himself Heaven Glory and Eternal Life freely All that he doth for his people from their first Conversion on Earth unto their Eternal Glorification in Heaven is all from his own free Grace and Good Will Their Conversion is of Grace James 1.18 Of his own good will begat he us by the Word of Truth Their Justification is of Grace Rom. 3.24 Being justified freely by his Grace Their Sanctification also is of Grace Titus 2.11 12 13. The Grace of God that hath appeared unto all men teacheth us that denying all ungodliness and worldly lust we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present evil World Yea
their Glorification also is of Grace Rom. 9.23 That he might make known the Riches of his Glory on the Vessels of Mercy that he had afore prepared unto Glory The work of Heaven is to Praise and Glorifie God for ever and nothing will draw forth the Praises and Thanksgivings of the Saints there so much as the consideration of the freeness and richness of his Grace and Love When a Soul is brought to Heaven meerly by the free Grace and Love of God and sees that Happiness it there enjoys and shall do to all Eternity is bestowed upon it on no other account but from the free and undeserved Grace and Mercy of God Oh how doth this enlarge and fill such a Soul with Praises unto God and so will do to all Eternity because free Grace and Mercy hath done it Secondly There is the Meritorious Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven and that is the Death and Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ Not their Works not their Prayers their Tears their Fastings their Alms deeds no nor their Sufferings also To make our Good Works the Purchase of Heaven is a great wrong to the Blood of Christ Who ever thinks by their Doing or Suffering to merit Heaven and Salvation they put their Duties and Services in the place of Christ for he and he only hath deserved Heaven and Glory for us It is true Good Works are the Causey or Path-way in which we must walk towards Heaven but they are not the Meritorious procuring Cause of our obtaining Heaven that is only the Blood of Christ Our Duty is to be zealous of Good Works but when we have abounded most in the practice of them we must rely on the Merits and Satisfaction of Jesus Christ for God's acceptation of them and for our Happiness and Glorification after them All that we do of our selves shews us to be sinful Servants and all that we do when assisted by the Grace and Spirit of God makes us still to be but unprofitable Servants because we have done no more than what was our Duty to do All our Duties and Services even the best of them are both Defective and Defiled Defective of the good that God commands and Defiled with the Evil that God forbids now that which is Defective and Defiled cannot be Meritorious that which deserves Eternal Wrath and Vengeance in the doing of it cannot by the doing of it procure everlasting Grace and Favour There are none of our Prayers we send up unto Heaven but stand in need of the Intercession of Christ to make them prevalent with God None of our Tears shed for offending of God by Sin but wants the Blood of Christ to wash them or else they are but puddle-water None of our Sighs but must be perfumed with the Incense of Christ or else they are no better than howling in the Ears of God Conscience can pick a thousand holes in the best Duties that ever any of us tendered unto God and what then doth God see in them who is a thousand times greater than our Consciences and knows all things Heaven and Glory accompany Grace and Holiness not by virtue of any inherent Worth and Excellency in them to deserve so great a Happiness but by virtue of a Promise that God hath made that those that do persevere in Grace and Holiness shall inherit Eternal Life and Glory God was a free Promiser and he might have chose whether he would have made his People a Promise of Heaven and Happiness and if he had not Freely and Graciously done it it was not all their Duties nor all their Sufferings no nor all their Graces that could have deserved or procured that Happiness for them But since God hath so Freely and Graciously been pleased to make a Promise to his People of Heaven and Glory he is now become a Debtor to his own Promise and he will be True and Faithful in keeping of his Word And thus we are to understand those Scriptures that speak of the Justice and Righteousness of God as that in 1 John 1.19 If we confess our sins he is Faithful and Just to forgive us our sins So God is not unrighteous to forget your Labour of Love So 2 Thes 1.6 It is a Righteous thing with God to recomperse Tribulation to them that trouble you but to you who are troubled rest So 2 Tim. 4 6. Henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give unto me at that day In all these places Justice and Righteousness is not to be taken for Commutative Righteousness but for the Righteousness of God's Promise and Fidelity and God is said to be a Righteous God in these places because he will keep his Word and make good his Promises made unto his People And to note it by the way what abundant matter of Joy and rejoycing doth this afford unto those who have true Grace though but in a small degree yet if it be in Truth here is great comfort unto such Souls because Grace doth not as a Natural Cause produce Glory but by the Covenant and Promise of God and so the weakest Grace may plead this as well as the strongest and the lowest Believer may say I have as good and as faithful a Promise for Heaven and Happiness as the strongest He that gives a Cup of cold water to a Prophet in the Name of a Prophet and because he belongs to Christ he shall not lose his Reward no not the Reward of Heaven and Glory But yet still all a Believers merit with respect to the Love and Favour of God here and the Eternal enjoyment of him in Heaven is in Jesus Christ his Death and Sufferings is that which obtains all for him Rom. 5.1 2. Being justified by Faith we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and rejoyce in Hope of the Glory of God So in 1 Pet. 1.4 5. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively Hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for us And the Blessed Apostle St. Paul who doubtless after his Conversion was as Holy a man as ever lived yet all his Glorying and Rejoycing all his Faith and Confidence was only in Christ I desire to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and him Crucified Cor. and in Phil. 3.3 9. I count all things but loss and dung for the excellency of the Knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For whom I suffer the loss of all things and count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having mine own Righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness of God by Faith This was all St. Paul gloried in that upon which he built his Hopes and Expectations of
Heaven and Happiness not upon any good works he had done but upon what Christ had done and suffered for him though he had whereof to Glory as himself saith yet he looked upon all as nothing and desired only to be found in Christ And whatever Conceit or Opinion sinners may have of themselves and of the Merit of their Duties and Services in their Health and Prosperity when Death and Judgment according to their Apprehensions seems to be many years distant from them or whatever men may say in the heat of a Dispute concerning the Merit of their good Works yet certainly they will be of another mind when Death lays hold of them with its cold hands and when an awakened Conscience is hurrying them on to make their appearance before the Tribunal of the great God the Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth There are few if any that are so bold and presumptuous as to boast of their Merits upon a Death-bed No Death and Judgment convince and alter mens minds making them speak quite another Language than what they did formerly It is not then Lord deal with me according to my Deserts but Lord deal with me according to thy Mercy Blot out mine Offences O Lord not according to the Merit of a dying sinner but according to the Merit of a dying Saviour This this is the Language of a sinner upon a Death bed Then a Bellarmine will confute himself and cry out Oh it is safest trusting to the Merit of Jesus Christ Thirdly The final Cause of the Saint's Happiness is the Honour and Glory of God We read Luk. 2.13 14. when our Lord Jesus came into the World on this very Errand that he might obtain eternal Redemption and Salvation for Sinners the Angels those extraordinary Ambassadors of Heaven proclaim the Tydings thereof to the Shepherds saying Glory to God in the Highest on Earth Peace and good Will towards Man Not only is Man commanded to do all things for the Glory of God but God himself doth all he doth with respect to his own Glory As for Man God made him for himself and it is highly rational that as the enjoyment of God is Man's highest Happiness so his Glory should be his chief end and unless this be a chief Ingredient into all our Duties and Services they are neither acceptable to God nor comfortable to us The Scripture commands this as our great Duty that we make the Glory of God our supreme End in all our Actions Matth. 5.16 Let your Light so shine before Men that they may see your Good Works for what end that they may glorifie your Father that is in Heaven So 1 Cor. 10.31 Whether ye eat or drink or whatever ye do do all to the Glory of God Yea in Heaven where the Saints shall be fully and compleatly happy yet shall it be their eternal Exercise to ascribe Blessing Honour Glory and Praise unto him that sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for evermore Rev. 5.13 And not only is Man commanded to do all that he doth to the Glory of God but God himself doth all he doth with respect to his own Glory The Work of Creation the Works of Providence the Work of Redemption they are all transacted here in Time and perfected in Eternity that God thereby may be glorified Our next Enquiry shall be concerning the great Qualification of the Saints for Heaven and that is Holiness Now by Holiness I mean not any one single Grace wrought in the Heart of a Believer but the universal Operation or Conjunction of all the Graces of the Spirit of God wrought in the Soul of a Saint Holiness is a real inward thorough Change wrought in the whole Man by the powerful Operation of the Spirit of God whereby not only the Heart is purged from the Love of all Sin and the Life from the Dominion and Practice thereof but it is that also whereby the whole Man is carried out in Ways of Duty and Obedience in the daily Exercise of Grace till it be brought to eternal Glory in Heaven Now that Holiness is the great Qualification of a Saint for Heaven the Scripture abundantly manifests Psal 15.1 Lord who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle Who shall ascend into thy Holy Hill The next Words tell us He that walketh uprightly and worketh Righteousness and that speaketh the Truth in His Heart Matth. 5.6 Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see God Heb 12.14 Follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. Heaven is so holy a Place that no unclean thing shall in any wise enter therein Acts 26.18 To open their Eyes and to turn them from Darkness to Light and from the Power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of Sins and an Inheritance among them that are sanctified Sanctification and Holiness is the great Qualification of all those that shall partake of the Happiness of Heaven Not that Holiness is the meritorious Cause of that Happiness no that is nothing but the Blood of Christ Holiness is only that which qualifies and makes a Believer fit to partake of the Happiness of Heaven And this is the meaning of the Apostle Col. 1.12 Giving Thanks to God and the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light There is an absolute necessary connexion between Holiness and Heaven Holiness is Heaven and Heaven is Holiness Holiness is Heaven begun and Heaven is Holiness consummated they are but one and the same thing though greatly differing in degrees Holiness in a Saint here is mixed with Sin and Corruption and so is imperfect in this Life But now in Heaven Holiness shall be without Imperfection there is nothing to oppose or hinder the Holiness of a Saint Holiness is there come to its full Growth and highest Perfection for there is Holiness and nothing but Holiness Now Grace and Holiness in a Saint here being the same with that Glory that is the expected Consummation of a Saint's Happiness hereafter it shews the great necessity that there is that all that desire to be happy hereafter should endeavour to be holy here Now how Holiness qualifies for Heaven and why it is so necessary to the obtaining of Heaven will appear in two Particulars One is because Holiness and Heaven are one and the same thing And the other is because of the great unsuitableness between Heaven and an unholy Soul First There is an agreeableness yea a sameness between Holiness and Heaven The Glory of Heaven lies not in this that a Saint shall there out-shine the brightness of the Sun that there he shall not be exposed to Heat to Cold to Nakedness or Want that there he shall be free from Diseases Sickness and Death it self that he shall not stand in need of Meat Drink and Clothing no nor that he shall always be in the hearing of melodious Songs and Hallilujahs of Saints and Angels These Things indeed are in Heaven
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
Grace and Holiness where thy Employment shall always be in Holy and Spiritual Delights and Exercises unto all Eternity If thou hast no believing Hopes and Expectations of such a Heaven as this is certainly thou hast no Right and Title unto that Inheritance that is incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for Believers Nothing so plainly demonstrates what men are whither they are going and unto whom they belong as the daily course of their Lives and Conversation The Apostle therefore in Galat. 5.19 20. reckoning up the Works of the Flesh which are manifest As Adultery Fornication Vncleanness Drunkenness Murder and such like of the which says he I tell you before as I have also told you in times past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And in 1 Corinth 6.9 10. he speaks the same thing again Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Adulterers nor Idolaters nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God And on the contrary He that doth Righteousness is of God says the Apostle 1 John 2.29 And blessed is he that doth Righteousness at all times says the Psalmist Psal 106.3 For the Grace of God that hath appeared in the Gospel having taught them to deny all ungodliness and Worldly Lust and to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Tit. 2.12 13. Looking for the Blessed Hope and the Glorious appearance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ These are they and only they who according to Scripture Warrant can lay any claim unto Heaven And these may for they that are made free from Sin and are become the Servants of God they have their Eruit unto Holiness and their end shall be Everlasting Life Rom. 6.23 Wouldst thou therefore know O Christian without deluding thy own Soul whether thou art one that hast a Right and Title unto Heaven call thy self to an account what thy Works and Actions are The matter is not so difficult to be resolved it may be as thou imaginest What says the Apostle Gal. 6.7 8. He that soweth unto the Flesh shall of the Flest reap Corruption And he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap Life Everlasting And the same Apostle tells us Rom. 8.13 If we live after the Flesh we shall die but if we through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the Body we shall live What now is thy way and course what is thy general carriage and practice is it earthly and vain is it sensual and wicked according to the course of the World and after the manner of the men of the World If vain and sinful Society be thy delightful Companions if wicked and ungodly ways be thy daily practice thou art not of an Heavenly Extraction nor canst thou upon Scripture grounds have any expectations of the Heavenly Glory for unto such only doth it belong who by their lives and actions declare their opposition of and contrariety unto the ways and courses of the men of this World Shew me thy Faith by thy Works says the Apostle James 2 18. Thou art one that professest to believe a Heaven and a State of blessedness to be enjoyed there and hopest thou art one that shalt be a partaker thereof hereafter shew me now thy Faith herein by thy Works and assure thy self of this That all thy Faith in and all thy Hopes of Heaven and Glory will fill thee with nothing but shame and disappointment hereafter unless they evidence themselves by Works and Actions suitable thereunto for as the Apostle says James 2.26 As the body without the Spirit is dead so all Faith in and Hope of Heaven without Works and Actions corresponding thereunto is dead also and will leave the Soul short of Heaven and Happiness Sixthly Is there such a State of Bliss and Happiness provided for and assured unto Believers in Heaven hereafter let then the consideration hereof Reconcile to them the thoughts of their own Death and moderate their sorrows for the Death of their Godly Friends and Relations First Let the consideration of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven Reconcile to a Believer the thoughts of his own Death It is no strange thing that Heathens who have only the Light of Nature to be their Instructor should not be able to overcome the Fears of Death though indeed some of them have not only expressed great Courage in contempt of but great confidence in and desire after Death though notwithstanding all their boasting we may well imagine that they speak greater things than they lived up unto much more than they died under for it is said of one of the chief of them that Eloquent Orator Cicero that a little before his Death he did ingeniously confess That those Remedies he had prepared against this Enemy Death proved he knew not how too weak and feeble to support and strengthen him in its near approach unto him And indeed it is no wonder that thus it should be with them because they were greatly in the dark as to the reality of a future State of Happiness and much more at a loss how to find the right way to attain the enjoyment thereof Nor is it any strange thing to see a wicked Man under the light of the Gospel to be afraid of Death and to lead a Life accompanied with Fears and Terrours under the thoughts of it no the wonder rather is that such a one can have any case and quietness any freedom from horrours and perplexities of Mind that he is not a Magormissabib continually every moment of his Life encompassed about with fears and terrours And indeed did he rightly understand himself and his dangerous state and condition it would be thus always with him and the greatness of his Fears and Horrours would make him go mourning all his Days But though Heathens and prophane Sinners may and have cause to be afraid of Death yet it becomes not any of the People of God who have a well grounded Hope of Heaven to be affrighted at it there being no way for them to attain unto that State of Blessedness but by Dying I have read concerning the Turks who are not only Strangers but Enemies to the Christian Religion that they say they do not think Heaven to be a place of that Bliss and Happiness as Christians do profess to believe it is because they see so many that call themselves by the Name of Christian so backward and unwilling to go to it O what a disgrace is this unto Christianity and how should it concern Christians to labour with great industry to overcome all inordinate fears of Death that they may wipe off this reproach that is cast upon the most excellent Religion in the World and that which only can enable any to Die comfortably and joyfully upon the Hopes of a future State of Happiness All a Believer's fears of
and every Month as a Year yea as an Age until that blessed time doth come But O how little of this Holy Longing of Soul after Christ and Heaven is there to be found among Christians now Most of those that call themselves by that Name resting upon Hopes and Probabilities of their interest in that State of Blessedness never seeking to attain unto the Riches of the full Assurance of Hope accompanied with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory But sure I am such a frame of Spirit hath not always been enough to satisfie some Christians in their pursuits after Heaven Oh with what Ravishments of Joy and Delight have I both heard and read some Holy Souls expressing their longing Desires after Christ and Heaven There was a certain Noble Person whom I well knew from under whose own hand writing I Copied out this following Relation concerning her self Being employed in Holy Meditation which was both her daily Practice as also her daily Delight and Solace and Contemplating of the Joys of Heaven and how to secure her Interest in that State of Blessedness she did with great Desire of Soul as her own words are strive to take the Kingdom above with a Holy Violence and to Storm Heaven by importunate Prayer and God was pleased as she adds Blessing his Name to carry her up as it were unto Mount Nebo and from thence to give her a Prospect of the Heavenly Canaan by the sight whereof as one in an Ecstasy of Joy she cried out Lord I would not live here always for I am now convinced it is better for me to die than to live It is therefore O Lord the great Desire of my Soul that as Elias was so I might instantly be taken up into Heaven without returning any more to bid them farewel of my own House or ever seeing the Faces of any Mortal Relations more here on Earth Prayer and Meditation had as her Expression is Associated her Spirit to such Company that I rather thought says she I had a Body too much with me than found a want of it After which shedding plentiful Tears of Joy and the offering up of many Sighs and Groans accompanied with earnest Desires and Longings after Heaven with fervent Prayers to be a partaker of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light she returned from her Devotions Blessing and Praising of God who had so refreshed and comforted her Soul with Divine and Heavenly Consolations There was also a very Eminently Godly Person some of whose Relations are yet living who lying upon his Death-bed there came one to Visit him who told him he hoped it would please God to restore him to his Health again says the good Man to him Do you think to please me with such a Discourse as this know O Friend you are much mistaken in me if you apprehend the thoughts of Life and Health are pleasing to me Alas the World hath quite lost its Excellency in my Judgment it is but a poor contemptible thing in all its Glory compared with the Glory of the invisible World which I now live in the sight of it would be a far more Pleasant and Delightful thing to me if you could tell me for certain that I am no Man for this World long and that before to morrow I should be in Eternity for I do so long to be with Christ that I could be content to be cut in pieces and put to the most exquisite Torments might I but die and be with Christ Death through Grace is nothing to me it hath lost its terribleness and therefore may do its worst I fear it not I can as easily Die as shut my Eyes or turn my head and Sleep yea I long to Die that I may be with Christ come therefore O Lord Jesus come quickly why O why are thy Chariot Wheels so long a coming O says another How cold is thy kindness O Death in being so slow and backward to come and loose a poor tired Prisoner from his Bonds I live a dwindling Life with much Pain and much Love-Sickness for my sweet Lord Jesus O what would I give to have a Bed made for my wearied Soul in my Dear Lord's Bosom I cannot express what pains and delightsome Torments there are in his Love O Fairest among the Children of Men yea thou who art Fairer than all the Children of Men why stayest thou so long The Fire of Love burneth so hot in my heart towards Jesus Christ that neither Hell nor Earth can cast water enough to quench or extinguish it O Time Time how dost thou torment the Souls of those that would be swallowed up in Christ's Love because thou movest so slowly O how am I pained with the Love of Christ he hath left an Arrow in my Heart which hath wounded me that I am swallowed up with desires after him so that I am to be pitied for want of real possession of him my greatest pain is the want of Christ not of his Joys and Comforts but of a nearer Vnion and Communion with him O Heavens move fast O Time run run and hasten the Marriage Day for Love is tormented with delay Hope and Love woven through one another make Christ's absence a Spiritual Torment It is a pain to my Soul to wait for him but Hope that maketh not ashamed but ends in Enjoyment swalloweth up the pain O Lord when wilt thou fold the Heavens together like an old Cloak and Shovel Time and Days out of the way and make ready in haste the Bride for her Husband What do we here but sin and suffer O when shall the Night be gone and the Shadows fly away and the Morning of that long long Day without Clouds or Night dawn The Spirit and the Bride say come O when shall the Lamb's Wife be ready and the Bridegroom say I come also Even so come Lord Jesus come quickly I do not mention these things as if I thought these Holy Pantings and Longings of Soul after God and Heaven were the stated frame which is commonly attained by all Christians much less do I not think that none are truly Godly but such as attain to this frame of Spirit for I believe there are a great Number of Holy Souls that daily go to Heaven without them But yet is it a State that hath been attained by some and may be attained still by others And truly such a Heaven upon Earth as is hereby enjoyed by such Holy Souls should be motive sufficient to excite and provoke Christians to a diligent pursuit hereof the Effect whereof is Joy unspeakable and Glorious To conclude this whole Discourse I have been long in treating concerning the Glorious State of the Saints Happiness in Heaven and much larger than at first I intended but the excellency and deliciousness of the matter herein contained hath drawn out my Meditations to so great a length and the truth of it is in contemplating upon so delightful a Subject it is very hard and difficult when the
ever known that a Man who had the use of his Reason and Understanding and had forfeited his Life to his Prince by some Treasonable Act for which he was condemned to Die and had his Life proferred him if on such a Day he would come and submit himself to his Sovereign and ask his Pardon and instead of so doing he should rather choose to spend that Day among his sinful and riotous Companions in Drinking and Gaming and so lose the opportunity of saving of his Life Such Acts of Folly as these are committed by any Men would make them unpitied and unlamented under the extremity of Miseries and Sorrows that should befal them thereupon But the generality of Men in these cases are more wise and considerative than thus to ruine and undo themselves O then let it not lie any longer as a reproach upon Christians that the Men of the World are wiser in their Generation than the Children of Light Why shouldst not thou O Christian be as careful and prudent in thy Spiritual Concerns as the Men of the World are in their Temporal Concerns Is not Heaven of as much worth and value as Earth Is not thy Right and Title to an Eternal Inheritance above of as great moment to thee as a Title to an Earthly Inheritance here below is unto them Is not the Love and Favour of God as much to be prized and endeavoured after as the Favour of an Earthly Prince Is not the Salvation and Happiness of thy Soul in Heaven to all Eternity of as great importance as the saving of a short Temporal Life of the Body which with the improvement of the utmost care and diligence that can be used cannot long be kept from falling into corruption and rottenness What then canst thou render as a Reason of thy carelessness and negligence herein Surely thy Folly is as much greater than theirs as Heaven is better than Earth and the enjoyment of God to Eternity is better than the enjoyment of the World for a short moment of time The Blessedness and Happiness therefore propounded to thy consideration being of the greatest concernment that ever was or can be proposed unto any the despising yea the slighting and neglecting of an offer of such rich Grace and Bounty is that which shall be punished with infinitely far greater misery and torment than ever yet was inflicted upon any yea or upon all Mankind in the World put together Were it possible to make up a Misery and Torment of all the Rage and Malice that ever Men or Devils since the Creation invented or executed upon any yea and add to it the sum the quintessence and extremity of all those Pains and Diseases both of Body and Mind that the Justice of the Holy and Righteous God hath justly and righteously inflicted upon any yea upon the whole Race of Mankind from the beginning of the World unto this Day and let all this be laid upon one Man and he strengthened and enabled to live under all those Pains and Torments in the extremity of them for a thousand years Who would not say this Man were a miserable Man indeed Why truly such nay ten thousand times far greater shall be the Eternal never-ending Misery and Torment of that Man who finally persists in his contempt and slighting of Heaven and Eternal Happiness and so do all those whose pains and care is not with diligence and industry laid out in securing to themselves an interest in the Heavenly Inheritance For certainly the utmost extremity of Desires and Endeavours is due unto and ought to be laid out in the pursuit of an extremity of Bliss and Happiness and such is Heaven and the Blessedness there to be enjoyed it being that which will fill and satisfie the Desires and Cravings of the Soul unto the utmost to all Eternity I have no more to say to thee O Christian Reader than this if neither the greatest extremity of misery that can be endured yea the enduring of all Miseries and Torments heaped up together not for Thousands or Millions of years but to an endless duration never to expire will not move thee to look after Heaven nor yet the Happiness and Blessedness yea the Eternity of an inexpressible and unconceivable Happiness and Blessedness that there is and shall be for ever enjoyed by the Saints in Glory and may be also enjoyed by thee if thou art wise and prudent if thou art diligent and careful in improving thy time and opportunities If I say thine own Interest thine own Misery or Happiness will not move nor work upon thee to bestir thy self to make sure of Heaven and Eternal Life I know not what will neither do I know what to say more unto thee However I shall turn my Advice and Counsel to thee into Prayer unto God for thee whoever thou art that shalt read this Discourse that God would graciously be pleased to open thine Eyes and shew thee convincingly and powerfully by a Work of his own Spirit on thy Heart thy great Misery if thou persist in thy neglect of Heaven and thy great Happiness and Blessedness if thou embrace and close with the offers thereof before it be too late Which God of his infinite Mercy grant unto all those that shall read this Discourse for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake who by his Death and Sufferings hath purchased this Heaven and this Happiness and is thereby become the Author of Eternal Salvation to all those that believe in him and obey him Amen FINIS Books lately Printed for Nathanael Ranew at the King 's Arms in St. Paul's Church-Yard PRactical Preparation for Death The Wisdom and Interest of Christians The Folly and Misery of those that are negligent therein The great benefits of a Life spent in a daily Preparation for our latter end with Motives and Directions for the performance thereof Discourses or Sermons on several Scriptures By Ezekiel Hopkins late Lord Bishop of London-Derry In Octavo An Exposition on the Ten Commandments with other Sermons By Ezekiel Hopkins late Lord Bishop of London-Derry In Quarto The Holy Life of Mrs. Elizabeth Walker late Wife of Dr. Walker of Fyfield in Essex giving an Account of her exemplary Piety and Charity with some useful Papers and Letters written by her self upon several occasions The Naked Gospel Discovering 1. What was the Gospel which our Lord and his Apostles Preached 2. What Additions and Alterations latter Ages have made in it 3. What Advantages and Damages have thereupon ensued Of Faith Of the Trinity The Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour And the Resurrection of the Body Published by Arthur Bury D. D. Rector of Exeter College in Oxford The Vertuous Woman Or the Life of the most excellent Lady Mary late Countess of Warwick To which are annexed some of her Ladyships pious and useful Meditations Aurea Legenda Or Apophthegms Sentences and Sayings of many Wise and Learned Men useful for all Persons Collected out of many Authors by Samuel Clerk In Twelves Redemption of Time the Duty and Wisdom of Christians Or a practical Discourse shewing what special Opportunities ought to be redeemed what mis-spendings of time are to be avoided with convincing Reasons quickning Motives and proper Directions for the right improvement of precious Time By John Wade In Octavo The Danger of Delaying Repentance A Sermon Preached to the University at St. Mary's in Oxford By Arthur Bury D. D. Rector of Exeter College in Oxford In Quarto An earnest and compassionate suit for forbearance to the Learned Writers of some Controversies at present By the Bishop of Cork and Rosse In Quarto The End