his Prophets and revealed himself unto him in a more familiar manner than to any other living Man Because of these glorious and extraordinary appearances of God's presence and of the brightness of his Light which shined so clear in the Soul of Moses because of that Holy familiarity which he had with God that he speaks of it in such a manner in the 12 Chapter of the Book of Numbers for we cannot understand that place in a litteral sence That Moses did really see God himself and that with the Eyes of the Body he beheld his Being which is altogether invisible But we must understand it in this manner that never any man beheld such glorious expressions of the Godhead with the Eyes of the Body That never any Man discoursed so familiarly with God as Moses never any man◠hath ever had so clear and plain a knowledge of his great Glory and Divine Majesty Seventhly God hath often appeared unto Men in Humane shapes and hath given them such visible expressions of his Holy Presence that such as have seen those Images tell us that they have seen God It is in this manner that Jacob speaks when he had wrestled with God in his Body when he was moved not only by an assisting Angel but also by God himself who discovers there his Divine Vertue I have seen saith he God face to face and my soul hath been saved Gen. 32. Manoah the Father of Sampson tells asmuch when he had seen the Humane shape in which God was pleased to appear when he ascended up into Heaven in the flame of his sacrifice For certain we shall dye for we have seen God Judg. 13. In like manner when God appeared to Abraham in the shape of a man this man is called the Lord and Abraham bowed himself before him and worshiped and at one time this Holy Patriarch saw no less than three Humane shapes which appeared to him at once Some think that God appeared but in one of these shapes and that the two others were Angels That which confirms this opinion is that of these three persons there is but one that speaks as God and receives Abraham's Adoration And when he appears no more the two others are stiled Angels in the beginning of the 19 Chapter But others believe with some antient Doctors of the Church that these three Humane shapes were a true Image and living Representation of the most Holy most Glorious and most Wonderful Trinity In this opinion there is nothing contrary to the Analogy of Faith Finally God hath discovered himself by his Son in a particular manner he is named therefore The Image of God the Image of the invisible God and God manifested in flesh God hath not only imprinted in him some tokens of his Godhead and Marks of his Divine Power he caused him not to walk and move as the borrowed Bodies of the old Testament He hath not only ingraven in him the perfect Image of all 〈◊〉 Divine Vertues God is not in him in a shadow or Figure as he was in the Ark and in Solomons Temple but he hath dwelt in him bodily and by his Eternal Godhead as St. Paul informs us That in him dwelleth Bodily that is to say Really and Essentially all the fulness of the Godhead therefore our Saviour tells St. Philip That he that hath seen him hath seen the Father John 14. This being thus let us now consider how we see God now here below and how we shall see him hereafter in Heaven At present we see him with the eyes of the Body in his visible Works And we see his Being also with the Eye of our Understanding but in a weak and a languishing manner we know him with a very obscure and imperfect Knowledge for this cause St. Paul saith very well and truly That we know in part and we prophecy in part We see God also with the Eye of Faith it is with this Eye that we see him as Moses did who is invisible and that we behold our Lord Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of God the Father above all Principalities and Powers worshiped and adored by all the glorified Church in Heaven In Paradise we hope to see with the Eyes of our glorified Body the Images and Marks of the Divinity so Glorious and Magnificent so Beautiful and full of Majesty that in comparison of that whatsoever appeared to the Prophets and Patriarchs in their illustrious Visions was nothing but obscurity and darkness And with the same Eyes of the Body we shall see God in the Person of our glorified Saviour who is the brightness of his Glory and the express Image of his Person so that we may well say with Job in a full assurance of Faith I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my Skin Worms destroy this Body I shall see God in my Flesh whom I shall see for my self and my Eyes shall be hold and not another Job 19. But for the Essence and Being of God and for the Eternal Godhead we shall not nor cannot see it with the Eyes of the Body Let them become never so Glorious Incorruptible and Immortal We shall neither see it with the eye of Faith for then Faith shall be totally abolished and we shall not walk any more by Faith but by sight but we shall see God with the Eye of the Understanding enlightened with a Divine Glory Now as we have taken notice there are two sorts of Contemplations and Knowledges the one perfect proportioned to the object which we behold and look upon the other imperfect suitable to the being beholding and to the abilities of the understanding Our future knowledge of God shall not be of the first but of the latter sort that is to say That we shall never see into the bottom of the Mysteries of God's Divine Majesty and of his Glory We shall never know perfectly this highest Perfection this infinite Being this Incomprehensible and Glorious Godhead for things are in their Actions as they are in their Beings and Abilities Now in the most glorious State of Heaven our Beings and Abilities shall be limited and circumscribed therefore it shall be absolutely impossible for us to comprehend perfectly the Being of God who is infinite in it self and in all its wonderful perfections The Holy Angels themselves the Cherubims and Seraphims these Beings of Light and Glory are not able to pry into these bottomless depths they are not able to approach this infinite Light In a word it is necessary to be God himself to comprehend and understand perfectly the infinite Glory and the highest perfections of the Godhead Although our sight shall not be able to search into the bottom of these depths of the Divinity although we shall never be able to comprehend perfectly the infinite Being of God nevertheless we hope to behold openly this wonderful object and to obtain as much knowledge of it as shall
at break of day when the Sun riseth upon our heads but rather looseth all obscurity and darkness which the presence of the Sun drives away untill it be perfectly enlightened Likewise our understanding shall loose nothing of that light and perfection which it receives now from the breaking of the day of Gods Grace but as the Son of Righteousness riseth upon iâ— more and more in joy and Salvation it shall perfectly loose all Darkness and Ignorance by degrees until it be fully enlightned From hence it seems we may conclude that we shall know all the persons in Heaven whom we have known here below on Earth for if the glorified shall remember the wicked who have Tormented them they must needs remember also Believers who have bestowed upon them their Alms and done them good If it were otherwise the Apostle St. Paul would not tell the Corinthians We are your glory as also you are ours at the day of the Lord Jesus And he would not write thus to the Thessalo What is our hope our joy and our Crown of Glory Is it not you before the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming verily you are our glory and our joy Now if in the estate of Glory St. Paul should not know the Corinthians and Thessalo unto whom he had Preached the Gospel how shall they be his Joy his Glory and his Crown at the coming of the Lord Jesus This reason seems to me as clear as the Sun Nevertheless I cannot affirm that in Heaven we shall know again them whom we have known upon Earth by the features of their countenance for there shall be a wonderful alteration The faces of all the Saints shall be so beautiful so perfect and so full of light and glory that the most knowing shall not be able to judge them to be the same whom we have seen upon Earth Some therefore fancy that we shall know one another by the assistance of the discourse but our voice shall then be changed as well as our countenance and it is doubtful whether we shall discourse of the former things happened on Earth for our chief employment shall be to behold Gods face and to sing forth his praises I had rather therefore affirm that we shall know one another by an infused knowledge by which we shall know all things which are possibly to be known and by the light of that glory with which God shall fill our Souls In short this knowledge shall proceed from no other principle then that of all the knowledges which we shall have in that State of Glory and Perfection I am therefore more than fully perswaded that we shall know in Heaven our Parents and our Friends and generally all the persons whom we have known here below but we shall also perfectly know them whom we never knew in the World and never saw with he eyes of the flesh We shall know the holy and Blessed Virgin Mary the Patriarks the Prophets the Apostles the Evangelists the Confessors the Martyrs and generally without exception all the Saints who shall be Crowned with Glory and joy in Heaven There is no body can question but that in the Celestial Paradice we shall have more knowledge and understanding then ever Adam had in the earthly Now when God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him when he took one of his Ribs and formed therewith a Woman he had seen none of this done nevertheless when his eyes were open he knew her therefore he declared his judgement in this manner This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh And shall not we when God shall rouse us up from the deep sleep of Death with the sound of the last Trumpet know the Spouse of the Son of God which he hath drawn out of his side and fashioned with his own precious Blood St. Peter when he was enlightned by a beam of our Saviours Glory in his transfiguration knew Moses and Elias whom he had never seen before And shall not we know all the Children of God upon Mount Sion when we shall be transfigured our selves and that we shall shine all as the heavenly light whereof that of Mount Tabor was but an imperfect shadow and representation But although we shall know in Heaven all the persons whom we have known on Earth we shall look upon them in another manner and love them with another affection for all that we have of the animal and earthly life shall be totally abolished and as our knowledge shall be clear and certain our love shall be pure and heavenly I am not able to express this better than St. Paul doth in these words Although I have known Christ according to the flesh nevertheless I know him no more according to the flesh Christians consider well these expressions they will be able to remove all difficulty and doubts out of your minds We are all fully perswaded that all the Inhabitants of Heaven shall know very well our Lord Jesus Christ for how can it be otherwise but that we must know this glorious Monarch of Men and of Angels whose sacred countenance shall shine as the Sun and who shall sit upon his Magnificent Throne about which Legions of Seraphims flie and who shall be there adored for ever by all the Church glorified Nevertheless St. Paul saith That although he hath known Jesus Christ according to the flesh That is to say according to the manner of this low and earthly life when he lived here on Earth at present he did not know him in the same manner he did not consider him otherwise but as he is at present invested with an unspeakable Glory and splendor In the same manner although we shall know all them whom we have known on Earth we shall no more know them according to the flesh that is to say according to this animal and sensual life our love shall have nothing of earthly or carnal but it shall be altogether Spiritual and Heavenly I beseech you Christians consider well what St. Math. tells us in 22. Chap. The Saduces who say that there is no Resurrection came to Christ to intangle him with this difficult question Master Moses said if a Man Die having no Children his Brother shall Marry his Wife and raise up seed unto his Brother Now there were with us seven Brethren and the first when he had Married a Wise Deceased and having no Issue left his Wife unto his Brother likewise the second also and the third unto the seventh and last of all the Woman Died also therefore in the Resurrection whose Wife shall she be of the seven for they all had her Our Saviour answers not that this Woman shall belong to none of those Husbands because they shall not know her nor distinguish her from other Women but he replyes to them you err not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God for in the Resurrection they neither Marry nor are given in Marriage but are as the Angels of God in Heaven From hence
of Israel were gathered together to do whatsoever thine Hand and thy Counsel determined before to be done If it happens by mischance that a friend strikes another for example If in a Wood where they are felling of it the head of the Axe should slip out of the handle and kill the dearest friend of the Agent there can be nothing imagin'd to be more casual in regard of the second Causes Exod. 21. But God declares in express terms That he causeth such an one to happen under the hand of his friend that kill'd him against his will To secure the innocent Author of the unexpected Murther God appointed Cities of Refuge for such to fly to Numb 35. As when the hour of our Death is come all the Riches of the world cannot pay our Ransome all the wisdom of the most prudent Councils nor strength of a Kingdom are not able to free us from the power of death On the contrary when it pleaseth God to shelter and preserve our Life all the subtilty and cunning of the Devil all the power and fury of the world cannot take it from us Esau in his rage full of vengeance and displeasure against his Brother resolves to kill him on purpose to accomplish this cruel designe he goes to meet him with four hundred Men But God who holds in his hand the hearts of all the Men of the World God that dissolves the stony Rocks into Fountains of Water and the Stones into Rivers of Oil forced out of this hardened heart Tears of Compassion and Love The same Esau instead of drawing out his sword against his Brother embraced him with expressions of kindness kissed and wept over him Jacob's Sons had wickedly intended to destroy their Brother Joseph they were ready to imbrue their cruel hands in the Blood of this innocent Lamb but by a Secret and a most wonderful Providence God stopt their hellish designe This great and Soveraign Monarch of the whole World who draws Light out of Darkness made use of their most damnable malice and hatred to accomplish his good purpose and to raise his Servant to a considerable d gree of Honor and Glory which was prepared for him These inhumane Souls full of envy and displeasure did conspire together how to hinder the fulfilling of Joseph's Dreams but contrary to their intention they made way and were instrumental to the accomplishment of that which God had revealed to his Prophet Therefore when his Brethren were afraid lest he should revenge himself upon them when he had power in his hand he answered them with an heart full of Charity and Love Am I in the place of God as for you ye thought evil against me but God meant it unto good Gen. 50. David a man after Gods own heart fell into many fearful dangers so that he was reduc'd oft times to the very Gates of Death but God preserv'd his Soul from Death his Eyes from Tears and his Feet from Falling Psal 116. In the Wilderness of Mahon King Saul had surrounded him with his Men on every side so that no help nor succour was to be expected from Man 2 Sam. 23. but by a wonderful Providence God deliver'd him for when he was ready to be caught a Messenger comes to inform Saul Make haste and come for the Philistines are enter'd into thy Land So that neither the inhumane persecutions of this Tyrant nor the abominable plotting of his unnatural Son nor the Tumults and Revolts of his People nor the most furious Tempests of Hell and the World have ever bin able to extinguish his Life before the time appointed when he had spent all the days allotted to him by Gods good providence he fell asleep as a Man that lays himself down to rest quietly after a long and laborious Task Queen Jezabel was enraged against the Prophet Elijah she had sworn by her Gods that he should surely be put to death but by a miracle God kept him out of the bloody hands of this incarnate Devil and by another Miracle he preserved from Famine and Hunger him whom he had before preserved from Jezabels Sword and Fury he sent the Ravens to feed him with Bread and Meat morning and evening and for his sake God increas'd the Widow of Sarepta's Oil and Meal when he was ready to be famish'd in the Wilderness he dispatch'd an Angel to him to carry him Meat and Drink In short all the storms that the Devil raised against him could not destroy his Life so that when God resolv'd to crown his Labors he fetch'd him in a Chariot of Fire and carried him up into Heaven The Syrians were resolved to take the Prophet Elisha because that he discover'd the most secret Counsels and frustrated all their designes therefore they besieg'd the Town of Dotan to seize upon this Man of God When his Servant beheld the dreadful number of Horses and Chariots that surrounded that weak City he cryed out in a fright Alas Master what shall we do and he answered Fear not for they that be with us are more then they that be with them 2 Kings 6. At these words of Elisha the eyes of the poor Man were open'd and he saw an innumerable company of Chariots of Fire and Horses of Fire that God had sent from Heaven to guard his Servant the Prophet The Jews did often plot against our Saviour Christ and attempt to kill him John 10. They came so near to the execution of their bloody designe as to take up stones to cast at him and knock him down as to bring him to the sides of an high Mountain to throw him headlong but he did always escape out of their hands and passed through the midst of them without any harm It was impossible for them to lay hands on him when they had undertaken and resolved it The reason that the Spirit of God gives is because that his hour was not yet come John 7.18 The High Priest and the Saduces did burn with an enraged fury against the Holy Apostles which caused them to lay hands on them and to cast them into the publick Prisons Acts 5. But because the time of their Martyrdom appointed by God was not yet come he sent his Holy Angels to free them from their Chains and to set them at liberty Whâ—â— King 〈◊〉 saw that the Jews thirsted for the blood of Gods Servants the Apostles Acts 11. and that they delighted in their execution he cut off the head of Jaâ—â—s afterwards he took Peter clapt him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of Soldiers with intention to bring him to execution after the Feast of 〈◊〉 but the hour was not yet come in the which this Holy Apostle was to be cruâ—ified for the Glory of him who was crucified for his Salvation therefore the night immediately before his designed execution Peter was sleeping between two Soldiers bound with two Chains and the Keepers before the door on a sudden a great Light shined in the Prison and the
and like unto them that the Children of Israel did eat in the Promised Land In like manner the Fruits that we relish in the Wilderness of this World are Fruits of the Tree of Life with which we shall be fully satisfied in Heaven for the Grace that God bestows upon us here below by his Divine Spirit is the beginning of the Glory with which he shall Crown us above The same Light that shines upon our Souls on Earth shall shine much more for ever in Heaven But whereas we look upon it at present as it were through a black mist with much imperfection then we shall see it clearly without Vail or Darkness The same Holiness that adorns at present our Souls shall be their Ornament and Glory then it shall appear without spot or blemish That same peace of Conscience that preserves our Hearts and Sences shall Crown us above it shall be without the least disturbance In short the same Jesus that is conceived in our Hearts and that is formed and grows in us by degrees shall then appear in a perfect Stature that shall want no more increase As it is with the Sea it enters into the Rivers before the Rivers can run to the Sea in like manner God comes to us before we go to him and Heaven enters into our Souls before we can enter into Heaven Aged Simâ—on waited patiently for Death but assoon as he had seen the Saviour of the World and embraced him he ran to meet Death he thought upon nothing but his latter end therefore he prayed most earnestly to receive him into his Glorious Rest O Christian Soul how shouldest thou dispose and prepare thy self to dy seeing thou beholdest with the Eyes of Faith this Blessed Redeemer not wrapped up in Swathling Cloaths but Crowned with an infinite Glory and Light He is not in thine Arms but he lodges in thine Heart thou hast not received him to return or part with him again but to be united unto him for ever and to be incorporated into his mystical Body Seeing therefore that Death brings thee nearer to thy Redeemer perfects this Blessed Union and casts thee into the very Fountain of Life instead of being frighted at her and grieved when it comes to thee thou shouldest then rejoyce and be transported above measure with gladness we should meet this Death with a cheerful countenance I mean that we should meet the Lord Jesus this merciful Prince of Life who having vouchsafed unto thee the sight of his Salvation intends to receive thee into his Rest and Eternal and Glorious Peace that Reigns above in Heaven A Prayer and Meditation of a Christian Soul that strengthens it self against the fears of Death by considering our strict and unseparable Union with Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit and the First-Fruits in us of our Blessed Immortality O Mighty and Merciful Lord who art the Son of Righteousness and the Fountain of Living Water drive away from me the dark shadows of death and quench all the Fires that it kindles in my Soul thou art not only dead for me but thou art pleased to live in me that I might one day live for ever with thee Thou hast of thy pure Mercy chosen me for thy Child and hast made me a Member of thy Mystical Body Flesh of thy Flesh Bone of thy Bone and caused me to be partaker of thine Holy Spirit God hath not given thee the Spirit by measure that out of thy fulness we might receive Grace for Grace By the means of this Blessed and Infinite Spirit that rests in my Soul I am united unto thee in a more perfect manner than the Tree is to the root that bears it or the Child to its Mother that nourisheth it in her Womb or the Members of the Humane Body to the Head that gives them Life The Ties that unite me unto thee O Glorious Saviour are more unchangeable than the Heavens and the Earth As nothing can pluck me out of thine Hands there is nothing can separate me from thine Heart Whether I live or dye I am thine my Lord and my God and nothing can alter thine affection for me Death can take me out of the World and carry me out of the embraces of my dearest friends but it can never separate me from thine Holy Spirit the Soul of my Soul and the Light of my Life which cannot be put out by all the envious Blasts and Storms of the Prince of Darkness this Holy Spirit will bring me to behold thy Face to rest in thy bosom and unite me unto thee for ever To whom Lord shall I go thou hast the words of Eternal life and thou art the inexhausible Fountain Thou art my Hope and my Treasure my Glory and mine only Happiness O faithful and unquestionable Witness I should be worse than an Infidel if I did call in question my future Salvation and Glory seeing the Father hath not spared thee for me although thou art his only and beloved Son the brightness of his Glory and the express Image of his Person Seeing that thou O merciful Lord hast willingly suffered the most shameful death of the Cross and spilt thy precious Bloud to wash away all my sins and satisfy for my crimes and seeing that thine Holy Spirit is come into my Heart to make me a partaker of that precious Bloud and Seal me for the day of Redemption O Glorious Spirit of my Saviour that rests upon me when I should be able to speak the Language of Angels I could not sufficiently express the wonderful operations that thou dost produce in my Soul thou kindlest in me such Heavenly Flames as never go out but are always alive as the fire of thine Altar Thou formest in me a white Stone where a new Name is written which no man knows but he that receives it Thou givest me to eat of that hidden Manna of that food of Angels that the World knoweth not Thou witnessest with my Spirit that I am a Child of God an Heir of God and a Joynt Heir with Jesus Christ the King of Kings Thou dost not only Seal unto me the pardon of all my Sins but thou dost also purify my Conscience from all dead Works to serve the living God Thou causest me to cry out Abba Father and imprintest in my Heart the Glorious Image of my Heavenly Father Thou art the Seal of my Adoption the earnest of mine uncorruptible Inheritance prepared for me in Heaven Thou hast given me the infallible assurances of a Glorious and Eternal Life and begun it already in my Soul granting to me its First-Fruits Thou causest me to behold the Sun-shine of thy Grace and makest it to give Light in mine Vnderstanding Thou dost not only vouchsafe unto me the favour of beholding from this Valley of Tears thine Heavenly Canaan but thou causest me to tast of its Fruits I am not yet come to the Fountain of Waters that spring forth to Eternal Life but I feel the Streams and the
between Heaven and Earth between Light and Darkness for it is true that the death of Beasts delivers them from the sense of all evils but it doth not introduce them into any real happiness when it puts an end to their Misery it puts a period to their Being and to all that pleasure and content which they formerly enjoyed for their Souls and Bodies die together without any hopes of living again If we look to the wicked and unbelievers we shall find that death deprives them not only of their Honors Riches and of all their Pleasures and carnal Enjoyments but it puts out their Taper in their blackest Darkness and all their greatest Delights are lost in a vast Sea of bitterness If Death looseth them from that Chain of Misery from which all the Children of Adam are unseparable if it frees then Bodies from the pain of any temporal evils it casts their Souls into Eternal Torments but for the vertuous and believing Christians if Death is so great a friend to them because it delivers them from many Evils and Miseries it is a greater friend because it opens to them the Gate that leads to an endless Glory and Happiness The Son of God had a desire to perswade us this Truth in that remarkable Parable of the 16 of St. Lukes Gospel for at one hand he shews a rich Miser cloathed in Purple and fine Linnen feeding upon Dainties and living in much Splendor and Magnificence and at the other hand he discovers to us a poor Wretch named Lazarus all covered with Soars lying at this rich mans Gate intreating that he might share with the Dogs in the Crums that fell from the rich Man's Table the Dogs had compassion upon him and lick'd his Sores at last the poor Man dyed and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom O wonderful change He that was lately a companion scarce good enough for Dogs now solaces himself in the Angel's Embraces He that was lying at the Gate of a proud and unmerciful Wretch is admitted into the Glorious Palace of Immortality and reposes himself in the bosom of a charitable and rich Abraham where he is sanctified with the Bread of the living God and drinks of the Rivers of his Pleasures The rich Man dyed also but it happened that while his Body was laid in the Earth with State and Honor the Devils dragg'd his Soul into Hell and cast it into a Fire that burns continually and that nothing is able to extinguish Therefore our Saviour represents this damned Soul crying out of Hell fire Father Abraham have pity upon me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my Tongue for I am tormented in these Flames In the next Verses our Saviour shews how all the complaints of the damned are fruitless and their tortures remediless he makes Abraham return an answer to this wretched Son My Son remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou art tormented The Heathens have look'd upon Death as the end of all their Afflictions and Sufferings but they have never tasted of the Powers of the life to come they have never had any assurance of future Glory and Happiness The Spiritual Joys and Celestial Comforts God keeps for them that fear him and worship him in Spirit and in Truth These precious Riches and Divine Excellencies are only discoverable to the faithful especially since the time in which Christ our Saviour hath put Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel Hitherto I have given you a short survey of the calamities that attend upon us in this mortal life I have essayed to present unto you all the Comforts that we may gather from thence to strengthen a believing Soul and enable it to withstand and endure all the encounters with which it is assaulted in this Valley of Tears At present I intend to describe its future Happiness when it is separated from the Body and introduc'd into Heaven I shall as far as I am able discover unto you that Glory and Bliss which our Souls enjoy in expectation of the great Morn of the Resurrection You must not think to see here any perfect Image of our Celestial Paradise or any magnificent draught of the advantages reserved for us there it would be as difficult a taske as to paint the Sun in its splendor or to measure the Waters of the Sea I cannot find words to express my thoughts all my conceptions are far below that perfect Happiness and highest Glory I shall think that I have done enough if I can but represent unto you some few beams of so great a Light If I can but shew some drops of that Ocean of Heavenly pleasures in which we shall swim for all Eternity I shall not deliver any thing from my own fancy nor offer to speak of that which I have never learned from the great Doctor of our Souls I shall not engage my self in vain speculations more fit to please and puff up the curious Wits then to comfort and rejoyce the devout Souls and satisfy such as hunger and thirst after Righteousness one word from the mouth of the Lord is better and far more worth than all the reasonings of Humane Wisdom than all the subtilties of Philosophy than all the arguings and conclusions of the most refined and eloquent Ages In this description I shall not seek mine own Glory nor the applauses of the World but the Glory of my God and the instruction of the Souls which he hath purchased with his Bloud I desire to be understood of the weakest capacities as well as of the strongest I hope that such as know the language of Canaan such as have tasted of the good word of God and of the powers of the Life to come will not mistake me for such as have not been accustomed in the discernment of spiritual things unto whom the language of God's Holy Spirit is insipid and unsufferable if they are not moved nor benefited by this Treatise I dare say 't is none of my fault but theirs Therefore as the wise Men when they travell'd to Bethlem where Jesus Christ was lying in a Manger took the Star of the East for their guide Likewise we that be marching to our true Bethlem where our great God and Saviour is sitting upon the Throne of his Glory we will follow no other guidance but that Divine Light which comes down from Heaven And as it is impossible to number all the Stars that shine in the Heavens therefore we are wont to reduce them to certain Figures and Constellations Thus we will not undertake to shew you every particular of our private Meditations upon this Rich and Divine Subject but we will discourse unto you of the chief Heads leaving the rest to your pious Thoughts and the information of God's Holy Spirit Whosoever thou art that hast embraced Christ dead and crucified by Faith
as the fire St. Paul intends to teach us this truth when he tells us that this Body is sown an earthly and a sensual Body but it shall rise again an heavenly and a spiritual Body we are not so to understand these words as to think that God will change them into Spirits or into such uncomposed bodies as are the Heavens for they shall yet be made up of flesh and bones and they shall have all the essential parts of an humane Body as we have already taken notice but I conceive that they are named spiritual and heavenly because they shall have no more the gross and earthy qualities and they shall live no more a Sensitive and an animal life In a word they shall need no more meat or drink than the Stars and Celestial Bodies no more than the holy Angels of God I confess that our Lord Jesus Christ ascended up into Heaven in a cloud not because that a Cloud was necessary to uphold and keep up his glorious Body for if in the estate of his infirmity and humiliation this divine Body was able to walk upon the waves of the Sea without sinking by the assistance of his divine Nature how much more since its glorification shall it be able to ascend up on high and to go whither he listeth If the help of any Creature had been necessary to uphold him he might have had Legions of Immortal Angels to carry him up but Christ needed not to be assisted neither by a Body nor a Spirit nor by any other Creature This Cloud therefore that appeared at his Ascention was no token of the infirmity of his humane Nature it did rather manifest the glory and magnificence of his Divine Majesty unto which this precious Body was united personally God hath often revealed himself attended by a Cloud as upon Mount Sina in the Ark of the Covenant at the Dedication of Solomone Temple therefore that Cloud in which God was pleased to discover himself is stiled The Glory of God that is the Sign and visible expression of his Glorious Presence and Divine Majesty Let us therefore gather from hence that the Cloud which attended upon the glorified Body of Jesus Christ was no needful help to carry him up to Heaven but as it were a Chariot of Triumph to cause him to go with more glory and pomp The Bodies of the Saints after the Resuriection shall shine and be full of glory they shall not only have some superficial splendor upon their Countenance or Skin as Moses when he had been with God forty days and forty nights in the Holy Mountain but they shall shine within and without as a true Diamond that casts abroad on all sides its light and flames So that it shall happen to them as it happened to our Saviour upon Mount Tabor for it is said that his Garments became White as the Light In the same manner at the time of our Transfiguration our bodies that are but the Garments of our Immortal Souls shall be as clear as the Light and as bright as the Celestial Globes I speak here nothing but what the Prophet Daniel saith before me Daniel 12. They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the Stars for ever and ever And our Saviour assures us Math. 23. That the Children of God shall shine in the Kingdom of their Father as the Sun These glorified Bodies shall never corrupt nor putrify but they shall be for ever uncorruptible Therefore St. Paul assures us that the Corruptible must put on incorruption so that I may safely affirm that their glory shall be more durable than that of the Sun or of the Moon or of the Stars for although these Celestial Bodies never corrupt out of any inward principle although there can be no alteration happen to them neither from their essential form nor from the properties that come from it nor from any other inherent quality they shall nevertheless corrupt out of an external principle for the Almighty hand of God which made them shall change and alter them as the royal Prophet tells us in 102 Psalm The heavens shall perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shall wax old like a garment as a vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed 1 Pet. 5. Unto this St. Peter doth very well agree The Heavens saith he shall pass away with a great noise Where as the glorified Bodies shall never corrupt neither by any internal principle nor by their essential form nor by the properties and accidents that flow from it nor by any external cause nor by any accident whatsoever that can be imagined for the Almighty hand of God shall make them never to marr them again From hence it follows that they shall Die no more but shall continue Immortal for with incorruption they must put on Immortality therefore when our Saviour speaks of the estate of the glorified Saints Luk. 20. he saith not only that they shall not Die but that they cannot Die any more because they shall be like the Angels being the Children of the Resurrection In this consists the difference between them and those whom God hath raised up already mentioned in the Old and New Testament For they were forced to return to their sensual life to eat and drink and therefore they were again subject to corruption and Death but at the day of the general Resurrection whatsoever is Mortal shall be swallowed up by Life therefore St. Paul applies to this glorious day the accomplishment of this Prophecy Death is swallowed up into Victory and he brings in these who shall be cloathed with this Immortal Glory braving Death and the Grave in this triumphing Language O Death where is thy Victory O Grave I where is thy Sting In short to make us sensible that our Bodies shall put on all the richest and most noble qualities that can be imagined and to express all in a word the Holy Ghost assures us that they shall bear the Image of the Son of God and be made conformable to his glorious Body St Paul declares this Truth in the 15 Chap. of the first of the Corinth The first Man saith he was of the Earth Earthly the second Man was the Lord from Heaven as is the Earthy such are they that are are Earthy and as is the Heavenly such are they also that are Heavenly and as we have born the Image of the Earthy we shall also bear the Image of the Heavenly And in Philip. 3. he saith we wait for the Lord Jesus from Heaven who shall change our vile Body that it may be like to his glorious Body from hence you may gather Christians that at the rebuilding of this little Temple of the Godhead there shall happen no such thing as at the rearing up of the Temple of Jerusalem for when that was Rebuilding at the return from the Babilonish Captivity they that had seen the former
say as we shall never be inclinable to eat or drink the most burning heat and the most furious Flames shall have no power to hurt our Bodies when they shall have cast off all sensual and earthly qualities and instead of them it shall be clothed with Light and Glory therefore at that time there shall be no need of propogating the Species or of multiplying the Persons by Marriage for we shall not be then subject to earthly Passions and the number of the Elect shall be compleat the Congregation of Saints shall be full and the building of the Church shall be perfectly made up therefore our Saviour Jesus Christ assures us That in the Kingdom of Heaven they shall neither take nor give in Marriage but that we shall be like the Angels of God we shall enjoy the light of their understanding the Holiness of their Wills and the Purity of their affections When the Queen of Sheba saw the Glory and State of King Solomon and heard all his excellent Discourses she was extraordinarily surprized and wondred therefore she told this great Prince It was a true report that I heard in mine own Land of thy Acts and of thy Wisdom howbeit I believed not the words until I came and mine eyes had seen it and behold the halfe was not told me thy Wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the same which I heard happy are thy Men happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee and that hear thy Wisdom I am perswaded Believing Souls that something like to this shall happen to us when we shall be come to the Heavenly Jerusalem to behold our Lord Jesus Christ himself of whom Solomon was but a Type and a Figure for he had but a spark of his Glory and but a beam of his Wisdom when we shall see this peaceable King Crowned with an Heavenly Rainbow we shall be ravish'd into admiration and as it were transported out of our selves then we shall speak in this manner to his Divine Majesty O Glorious Monarch all that I have ever heard or imagined of thy Wisdom of thy Glory Riches Beauty and extraordinary Pleasure of thy Paradise is more than true but it is not the thousand part of that which I see this day O blessed are they that dwell in thy House and that praise thee without ceasing happy are they that behold thy Glorious Face and hear thy Divine Wisdom After that the Queen of Sheba had been some time in the Court of King Solomon she returned back to her own home but when we shall be once entred into the Glory and Happiness of Paradise we shall never depart out again we shall behold continually this Glorious King of Kings and we shall hear with Divine transports of Joy the wonderful expressions of his Wisdom we shall not only be with him for ever and ever but we shall always be in him and he in us To take off your mind from all carnal and worldly Thoughts the Glory and Happiness of Paradise is represented unto us by the Light as in the 12 Chapter of the Revelations of the Prophet Daniel They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to Righteousness as the Stars for ever and ever And in the 13 of St. Matth. our Saviour saith expresly That the Righteous shall shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of his Father Finally it is promised as the highest Glory and Happiness that we shall stand before the Throne of God that we shall sit with Jesus Christ upon his Throne and that we shall see his Face St. John in the 22 of the Revel speaks in this manner in the description of the Heavenly Jerusalem he saith that the Throne of God and of the Lamb are in it that his servants shall serve him and see his Face and that his Name shall be upon their Forehead When we look to behold the Sun our Faces become not more radiant nor Glorious nay many times our Eyes thereby dazle and our Skin becomes blacker and more swarthy but when we shall look upon God in his Love and Glory we shall be perfectly enlightened and become brighter and more shining This appears by Moses's person when he came down from the Holy Mountain his Face was full of Beams of Light so that the Children of Israel could not endure to look stedfast upon him If therefore this faithful Servant of God had such a bright countenance by his continuance with God upon an Earthly Mountain during the space of forty days and forty nights and by a sight of some light expressions of his Glory what will be think ye your Light and the brightness of your Countenance when you shall be raised above the Heavens to continue with God and to behold his Face thousands and thousands of Ages and at the end of all that time it shall be but the beginning of that most blessed contemplation which shall never end When we cast our Eyes upon a beautiful Person we become neither more beautiful nor happier nothing but an unprofitable Idea remains in our fancy and many times that also quickly vanisheth away but when we shall look upon God we shall become like him and in this likeness we shall find fullness of Joy of Happiness and Glory This is promised to us by the Royal Prophet in the 16 Psalm In thy Presence O God! is fulness of joy and at thy right Hand there are Pleasures for evermore And in the 17 Psalm As for me I will behold thy face in Righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness And the beloved Disciple of the beloved of the Father whose Writings are full of love confirms this Truth Beloved saith he Now we are the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is You see therefore Christians unto what extraordinary Glory and Happiness you have right to pretend for in Heaven God shall not only make us shine as the Sun and the Stars he shall not only cloath us with the brightness of the glorified Saints and Angels but he promiseth a great deal more to make us like unto himself He shall not only satisfy us with the fatness of his House and cause us to drink of the Rivers of his Pleasures he shall not only fill us with his Treasures enlighten us with his brightness cloath us with his Honors and crown us with his Glory but he himself will become our Meat and our Drink our Treasure our Sun and Glory and if I may so say to satisfy us and accomplish our Happiness God shall as it were dissolve himself into Rivers and Seas of Divine and unspeakable Pleasures but that I may not be misunderstood in such bold and figurative Language it shall suffice me to say with St. Paul That God will be in us all in all that is to say that he
Man Lastly That after the Resurrection God shall be in us all in all which expression declares the highest and most compleat Happiness and Glory Others think the contrary that in Heaven there shall be an inequality of Glory and several degrees of Happiness This their opinion they strengthen chiefly with two passages of Holy Scripture the one is in the 14 of St. John where Christ saith to his Apostles In my Fathers house there are many Mansions The other is in the 1 Cor. 15. where St. Paul discoursing at large of the happiness of the Saints after the Resurrection saith There is one Glory of the Sun another Glory of the Moon and another Glory of the Stars for one Star differeth from another in Glory so is the resurrection of the dead There are some that are not content to believe an inequality of Glory and Happiness but they undertake further to discourse of this matter with as much boldness as if God had admitted them to the knowledge of his Eternal Secrets as if he had discovered to them all the wonders of the Heavenly Jerusalem more plainly than to his beloved disciple Such tell us not only that there shall be divers degrees of Glory and Happiness but they inform who they are that shall obtain such and such Degrees they prescribe in a Dogmatical and Magisterial manner which shall be the Glory of Virgins which shall belong to Confessors which shall be that of Martys In a word some are so much puffed up with an high conceit of themselves and of their own deservings that they make an open profession of being of the number of such as shall obtain the highest degrees of Glory and Happiness But my opinion is that the Truth is to be found between these two extreams I shall not impose any Law upon the Consciences of any Man in this particular whereof the decision is not absolutely necessary to Salvation yet we may say that in Heaven there shall be divers degrees of Glory and Happiness but we dare not describe them nor venture to apply them to any persons or to tell who of us shall possess such and such degrees This were a bold attempt upon Heaven and a taking of the forbidden Fruit by such an impudency we should loose our selves instead of saving others for such as are so audacious as to search into the Divine Majesty shall be swallowed up by his Glory Prov. 25. And although we verily believe degrees of Glory yet we may say without offence to any person that this belief is not to be established upon the fore-mentioned passages from whence we cannot gather any such conclusion for in the 14 of St. John our Saviour saith not that there are divers Degrees or divers Mansions whereof some are Richer and more Glorious than others but only that in his Fathers House there are many Mansions The meaning of this Divine Saviour is as clear as the day he had an intent to raise up the drooping courage of his Holy Apostles and to comfort them in his absence for that purpose he assures them that he is going to lodge in an House where there is not only room for himself but also for them and for all that shall believe in him by their Teaching He expounds his words plainly in the 17 Chapter of the same Gospel where he speaks to God in this manner Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me For the other passage of the 1 of the Corinth I beseech you devout Souls read over the Apostles words and consider with a Religious observation what goeth before and what follows after you shall find that the Apostle intends not to compare the Saints the one with the other but only to discover the difference which is between our Bodies as they are in this corruptible and mortal life and as they shall be when they shall have put on incorruption and immortality Therefore when he had said One is the Glory of the Sun another is the Glory of the Moon another the Glory of the Stars for one Star differeth from another Star in Glory He doth not add likewise so shall be the Glory of one blessed Person differing from another but he saith So shall be the resurrection from the dead The Body is sown in corruption it shall be raised in incorruption it is sown in dishonour it it raised in glory it is sown in weakness it is raised in power it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body From whence is it therefore that we gather these divers degrees of Glory and Happiness I answer First from the divers and different pains and punishments of the damned For as in Hell there shall be several degrees of Torments Likewise it is very probable that in Heaven there shall be divers degrees of Happiness and several degrees of Glory Secondly God to declare his Divine Wisdom which is various in all things bestows at present all his Blessings and Riches with a wonderful variety and with an admirable order Thus you may see in nature that God hath scattered up and down the World divers gifts and excellencies for example the smell and beauty of Roses is different from that of the Lillies the brightness of the Diamonds is not like that of Rubies the light of the Sun differs from that of the Moon and Stars Likewise it is very probable that above all the Heavens there shall be divers degrees of Light and Glory Amongst the Holy Angels there are Titles of Honor and several Dignities therefore they are named Archangels Thrones Dominions Principalities and Powers As therefore amongst the Angels there are divers degrees of Glory it is also likely that the same order shall be observed amongst the Glorified in Heaven Besides as in the Church militant the Graces of God differ very much The Souls of the Faithful are not the same in all respects they have differing qualities and excellencies there are in them divers degrees of Light of Knowledge of Faith of Hope of Charity and Holiness Likewise according to the Analogy of Faith there should be also in the Church glorified divers degrees of Glory and Happiness and the rather because Glory is nothing else but the compleating and perfection of Grace This reason is so much the stronger because in the parable of the Talents Jesus Christ gives to his servants a Glory proportionable to the former Riches of his Grace None can conceive that the words relate to God's Favors bestowed upon his Children on Earth for our Lord speaks of that which he intends to do to them when he shall come down from Heaven to judge the World The words relate to the time when he shall say to such as have well employed the Talents of his Mercy Well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy of the Lord They relate also to the time when he shall cause the
unprofitable servant to be cast into utter darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth It may also be worthy of our observation that the felicities of Heaven are represented to us by a Feast where all partake of the same Meats but some are seated in a more Honourable Room than others This as I conceive may be gathered from our Saviours words Many shall come from the East and from the West and shall sit at Table in the Kingdom of Heaven with Abraham Isaac and Jacob. It may also be gathered from that other passage where Lazarus is carried by the Holy Angels into Abraham's bosom Lastly I ground my opinion upon the 12 Chapter of Daniel where this blessed Prophet when he had spoken in general terms of the future Happiness of the faithful who shall rise to Eternal life he comes down to particularize some unto whom God hath bestowed more light upon Earth and whose Ministry he hath made use of to bring many Souls to Salvation amongst these he seems to put many degrees of Glory They that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that bring many to righteousness as the Stars from ever and ever From this passage one may apparently conclude that as the light of the Firmament differs much from that of tha bright Stars and as amongst the Stars there is a diversity and variety of Light in the same manner there shall be divers and differing degrees of Glory amongst the glorified in Heaven Now in answer to that reason that Jesus Christ hath purchased for us the Glory and Happiness of Heaven and that therefore this Glory and Happiness should be equal I confess this reason is weighty I intend not to refute it altogether but I shall propose several things to the consideration of the Pious and Devout Souls that shall peruse this Treatise First that although the bloud of Jesus Christ hath purchased for us Heaven and that we are not able to deserve it by our most regenerate Actions nor by our most grievous sufferings and Martyrdom because that when we have performed all that is Commanded our Saviour requires us to say We be unprofitable servants because we have done but what we were bound to do Luk 17. And because his Holy Apostle assures us that When all things are reckon'd up the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us Rom. 8. Nevertheless God is so Good Merciful and Bountiful that he bears with our imperfections that he rewards as a Father with a free Reward all the good Works of his fervants especially the works of Charity Therefore Jesus Christ tells his Apostles and generally all the faithful Whosoever shall give unto you to drink a cup of water because you are Christs verily I say unto you he shall not loose his reward And because 't is the custome of the Eastern People to warm their drink therefore to give a cup of cold water may be reckoned the smallest assistance Our Saviour saith Whosoever shall give unto one of these little ones to drink a cup of â—old water only in the name of a Disciple verily I say unto you he shall not loose his reward Matth. 10. If such as bestow a cup of cold water for God's sake are rewarded in Heaven what may not those bountiful Souls expect there who now spend their Estates in charitable Deeds He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully 1 Cor. 9. These be the words of St. Paul which in my judgement declare plainly an inequality amongst the Glories and Happinesses which we are to reap in Heaven Besides we have heard a Prophet tell us that all such as by the light of their Doctrines and the Holiness of their Lives lead many Souls to their Salvation shall shine for ever in Heaven as so many bright Stars It stands with reason that if our Saviour will in his infinite Mercy reward such a small kindness as the gift of a draught of Water to one of his Children they shall excell in Glory who pour forth for his sake in his quarrel every drop of their Bloud and by their deaths confirm his Holy Gospel This is a faithful saying If we dye with Jesus Christ we shall also live with him if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him But that which seems to me yet stronger which makes for this purpose is That all the spiritual Graces which are bestowed upon us in this life proceed from the Holy Ghost purchased for us by the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and by his precious Bloud Now these Graces are differing and various if therefore there are divers degrees in Grace why should not there be also divers degrees in Glory seeing that both have been purchased for us with the same price by the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ The other Argument drawn from the happiness and perfection of the Glorified is rational but not invincible for several Diamonds may be perfect in their kind so that the clearest Eye cannot take notice of any imperfection nevertheless they may differ in weight and price All the Stars have their perfection and light Nevertheless one Star differs from another Star in Glory All the Angels of Heaven are perfectly Happy and Holy and yet there is a great inequality amongst them in Glory and Dignity Likewise although all the Blessed shall attain to a perfect Holiness in my judgement that cannot hinder the diversity of degrees of Glory and Happiness I acknowledge also that the other objection drawn out of these words The Just shall shine as the Sun in the kingdom of their Father is not to be despised but it concludes nothing to the purpose for if you should cut out excellently well some Orbs of Chrystal of differing sizes some greater some less and should put them all in the Sun they would be all full of Light in every part every one of them would represent the beautiful Image of that Sun that looks upon them so that it may very well be said of all of them that they shine as the Sun Nevertheless according to their bigness and size they receive more Light and the Sun seems greater in the one than in the other To the other objection that all the Glorified in Heaven are named Kings I answer That this is not to be understood in a litteral Sence no more then when it is said that they had on their Heads Crowns of Gold That I may continue in the same comparison I may say that as all Kings have a Soveraign Majesty which acknowledges none above it but God from whom it proceeds Nevertheless some have a greater Power and Riches than others Likewise all the glorified Saints shall enjoy a Soveraign and perfect Happiness and receive it immediately from God This cannot hinder them from differing from one another in Glory I answer next to the other
like to vanity his days are as a shadow that passeth away Psal 144. and say as David I am gone as the shadow when it declineth Psal 109. If thou hearest the roaring of the Winds that God taketh out of his Storehouses Lift up thy Soul unto God thy Creator and say with Job Job 7. Remember that my life is but a wind mine eye shall no more see good Job 30. that is the imaginary Good of this miserable World And elsewhere Thou liftest me up to the wind thou causest me to ride upon it and dissolvest my substance If thou takest any delight in the sight of Birds that fly in the Air Let this excellent thought enter into thy mind My days are passed away as the Eagle that hasteth to the prey Job 9. If thou lookest up to the Glory and Beauty of the Heavens and seest the ravishing light of the Stars consider that thy God who hath form'd thee after his Image is so good and noble that he will not suffer thee to dwell for ever or perish amongst this slimy and miserable Earth but to dwell with him for ever in the Heavens and that at the end of thy Race he will raise and carry thee into the Palace of his Glory where thou shalt shine as the Sun in its greatest splendor If thou dost meditate upon the changeableness of the seasons remember that the spring of thy infancy the hot Summer of thy Youth the Autumn of thy Maturity and the sad countenanc'd Winter of thy cold and decrepid age shall succeed one another in the same order Let him who travels by Land think upon Job's complaint My days have been swifter than a Post they flee away they see no good Job 9. Let him call to mind the Apostles excellent saying This one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before I press forwards towards the mark for the prize of the high Calling of God in Christ Jesus Phil. Let him who sails upon the Sea fancy the whole World as a great Sea tost up and down with several furious Waves our Life as a dangerous Voyage and our Days as Ships that pass away in a moment and let him consider that the last breath of Death will drive us into the Haven of Eternal Felicity to the enjoyment of immortal Glory Job 9. Doth God bless us with Children let us understand that we are minded by them of our Mortality for they come to take our room and to succeed to our Estate Doth God take them away to his Rest and those of whom we are most fond Let this advertise us That God intends thereby to cut off all the lower Roots that tye us to this Earth to unloose our hearts and affections that we may offer them up to him alone Instead of spending our selves in Tears and indulging our foolish humour in needless displeasures Let us comfort our selves with this consideration That by this means a part of our selves is enter'd into Heaven and that tother part will follow apace Let us say with David We shall go to them but they shall not return to us 2 Sam. 11. Let the Rich Man when he reckons his Money remember that God hath reckon'd and appointed his days and let this Order sound continually in his Ear Give an account of thy Stewardship Luke 16. Let the Magistrate when ever he delivers his Vote or pronouce a Sentence be arm'd with this consideration That he who sits in the Judgement Seat here below shall stand at the Bar and be judged himself above That one day he shall appear as a poor prisoner at the Tribunal of his great God That the Books will be open'd and that the universal Judge of the World will peruse every particular of his accusation That he must tender an account not only of his words and actions but also of his most secret thoughts and that without any examination at the Rack God will discover the very bottom of his heart Let the Gentleman whenever he receives his Rents and his Revenues call to mind the Tribute that he must needs pay to death Let the Prince and the Lord when he handles his Royal Parents and his antient Charters or when he examines the Homage and Duties to be paid to his House and Family take notice that he must go in person to Heaven Gates and pay his Homage to the Divinity Let the King who sits in his Seat of Justice or Chair of State think upon the Throne of the King of Kings before which he must appear as well as the most wretched Caitiff and the meanest of his subjects and that he must give account before a just God who is no respecter of Persons Let the Minister be never employed about the Duties of his Function but let him Long and wish for that happy day in the which the Lamb shall instruct and feed him in person and lead him to the Fountains of living water Let the Christian Soldier engrave upon his Sword this Sentence of Job Is there not as it were a warfare appointed to all Mortals on Earth Job 7. And instead of thirsting after humane blood let him prepare to encounter with Deathit self Let the Husbandman when ever he sows his Seed or when he reaps the Corn of his Fields be mindful of the season that comes on apace in which his Body must â—ot in the Earth that it might grow up to Eternity Let him think upon what St. Paul saith O fool that which thou sowest is not quickened except it dye 1 Cor. 15. and let him meditate upon Davids comfortable perswasions They who sow in Tears shall reap with Songs of Triumph Psal 126. Let an Handy craftsman that works in his shop imprint in his mind this excellent Sentence Our days are like the days of an hireling and when he hath ended his Task and that he is departing to his Rest let him comfort himself with this assurance That assoon as he shall have ended that work that God hath given him to do he shall rest from all his labors Job 7. When ever the Physitian visits his Patient or when the Chyrurgeon tends upon his wounded Bodies let them consider that they have no Secret nor Art able to protect them from Death or to cure the wounds that it strikes in our corruptible Nature Let the most cunning Lawyers the most advised Counsellors and the most eloquent Orators remember that all their Rhetorick and subtilty will never obtain for them their Suit against Death nor procure a moment of respite and delays And let the most Learned Philosophers learn That the soundest Philosophy is the meditation of Death In short What ever be our Imployment Condition or Age let us lift up our minds and hands unto God to speak to him in the Language of the Prophet David Lord let me know my end and the number of my days that I may know how long I am to live Or of Moses So teach
King answered We will then endeavour to conquer the rest of Italy and when we shall have Italy in our possession replyed Cyneas what shall we do afterwards we will go against Sicily saith the King the discreet Cyneas continued to demand and when we have all Sicily what shall we do Pyrrhus answered him we wil pass into Africa and take Carthage and after that we may recover Macedonia and command all Greece without controul But Sir replyed Cyneas when we shall have got all into our possession what shall we do then The King answer'd him with a smiling countenance My friend we will then repose our selves and take our fill of Delights and Pleasures then Cyneas began to tell the King What hinders us now Sir from taking our Rest and Delights for we have all that in our hands that we are going to seek so far with so much Bloodshed and Danger We may apply this to our selves we have most of us intricate and hidden designes which cannot be accomplish'd in the age of one Man We are afraid to dye as if Death had already caught us by the throat and yet we have so many desires to fulfil as if we were all immortal we build and adorn our sumptuous Dwellings as if we were never to leave the World And we are always gathering so much as if we had the charge of providing for a Royal Army Let us therefore in this case imitate this wise Minister of State Let us ask our selves for what purpose are these vast designes what end do we propose to our selves of all our labors and care what do we aim at when we run so many dangers and endure so many inconveniencies our Souls will answer us without doubt that it is with an intention at last to rest our selves in peace to live at ease and enjoy the fruits of our labors Let us enjoy that happiness and that satisfaction at present Let us not stay to rest our selves until the time when Death shall stretch us in our Graves Let us be satisfied with the goods that God hath already bestowed upon us and let us use them with thanksgiving Miserable wretches that we are why do we labor and torment our selves for so many things seeing that there is but one thing necessary and that is Piety the fear of the Lord and the expectation of his eternal Felicities Let us therefore make election of this good part and it shall never be taken from us Luk 20. 24. If we desire to imprint in our minds the contempt of the World and of its Vanities we must often meditate with serious attention upon the excellency of our Nature sanctified by Grace upon the worthiness of our spiritual calling and upon the Riches and Glory of that eternal Happiness which God hath prepared for us in Heaven It is impossible to look upon these things as we ought but we must conclude with the Apostle that the World with all its Pleasures and Treasures is not worthy of us The Woman that appeared to St. John in a vision was cloathed with the Sun having the Moon under her feet and a Crown of twelve Stars upon her Head This is a lively Image of Christs Church in general and of every faithful Soul in particular for when we are cloathed and adorned with Jesus Christ the Son of Righteousness we ought to trample upon all the pomp and magnificence of the World and laugh at the revolutions of the Ages at the Vanities and unconstancy of the Earth we must seek our greatest Glory and our most ravishing Delights in the Doctrine of the twelve Apostles who are as so many Stars shining in the firmament of the Church Let the World alter its face as often as the deceitful Laban we ought to be as the Rayes of the Sun always like our selves for our Glory is not as that of the World and of the Princes of this age that is reduc'd to nothing it is not setled upon a vain and failing foundation but upon the living and true God who is the same yesterday and to day and who shall be the same for all Eternity Heb. 14. Some glory in their Chariots others in their Horses but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God Heb. 13. Psal 29. 25. Consider that God hath lifted up our countenance and turned our face to look up to Heaven that he might thereby teach us to lift up thither also our Hearts and carry thither our Affections and Desires He hath created our Souls and given them a spiritual Being that they may take their flight above all earthly substance He hath adorned them with immortality that they might contemn all things that are not immortal as themselves all decaying and perishing enjoyments In short seeing God hath prepared for us his Heaven his Paradise his Glory his Treasures and the Rivers of Eternal Delights how can we yet stop our desires and be content with this dust of the Earth where Serpents crawl 26. When Alexander was preparing to leave Maceâ—onia and go to the Conquests of the Persian Monarchy he gave away all his Goods to his faithful friends and servants Perdicas one of his Favorites demanded of him what he had reserved for himself The King answered that he had reserved HOPE Thus ought we to fit our selves to depart out of the World by leaving our Parents Friends and Estates that we now enjoy and if our Flesh enquires of us what we kept for our selves let us confidently answer That we have kept our HOPE I may assure you Christian Souls that this your answer shall be more rational and better grounded than that of Alexander to his Favorite for this Prince did leave his Patrimony and Kingdom without any need but whether we will or no we must leave the World Alexander did quit his certain Goods for a doubtful Hope but we abandon perishing enjoyments for an Hope more secure and setled than Heaven and Earth Alexanders expectation was but of a temporal Kingdom and of a short and vanishing Glory but our expectation is of an uncorruptible Crown and eternal Triumphs Death hath seized upon Alexander in the flower of his Age put a period to all his Victories and consum'd all his Trophies but we are in hopes of conquering Death it self and this hope will not deceive us Rom. 5. This therefore being our assurance it is no wonder if St. Paul tels us That Hope is as a sure and unmoveable Anchor of the Soul piercing into the Vail that is into Heaven it self where Jesus Christ is entered as our fore-runner 27. God hath hid in the Earth Gold Silver and Jewels to teach us to trample upon all the Riches and Pomp of the World but he hath rais'd up to the highest Heavens our spiritual Treasure and our immortal Crowns that we might lift up thither our Hearts and our most earnest Affections he desires that we should imitate the Prophet David who did always comfort himself with the expectation of the
command was not frighted to behold the Sun go down although he was in the midst of an open field Gen. 28. but he laid himself down in peace and slept sweetly having no other Bed but the Earth no other Pillow but a Stone no other covering than the Heavens nor other Curtains than the dark shadows of the night Likewise a Soul sanctified by the Spirit of God that walks in all the Commands of his Heavenly Father shall never be astonished for wheresoever his Sun goes down wheresoever Death Arrests him he will look upon himself as in another Bethel he will sleep quietly in the Lord Jesus in the most cruel death he will feel unspeakable and glorious joys and a Peace of God which passeth all understanding Acts 23. We may take notice of this blessed disposition in the Apostle St. Paul who had behaved himself with a good conscience towards God and towards Man 1 Cor. 15. He had labor'd more in his Ministry than all the other Apostles therefore he stands in no fear of deaths approaches but rather we may see him full of expectation and desires to pass through Death into Glory and Eternal Felicity This disposition is no less remarkble in Stephen the first Martyr of Christ Acts 6. in the midst of his most grievous torments he had a countenance shining as that of an Angel which was a certain testimony of his inward peace of Conscience and of the extraordinary joy of his Soul for as the Wise man informs us A merry Heart maketh a chearful Countenance Prov. 15. From the same wisdom proceeds this other Oracle that foretels unto every one what shall happen unto him The wicked is driven away in his wickedness but the righteous hath hope in his death Prov. 14. Eccl. 1. Unto this is agreeable the excellent saying of Jesus the Son of Syrach It shall be well at the last with him who fears God he shall sind favor at the day of his death This life is but a moment that flies away apace and yet it determines our Eternal Estate it raiseth us to the highest Glory of Heaven or else it casts us headlong into the deepest Abysse of Eternal Misery for what Man soweth that shall he reap he that soweth in the flesh shall reap of the flesh corruption but he that soweth in the Spirit shall reap of the Spirit Eternal Life If you are afraid of a cruel and unhappy death keep your selves from an evil and a prophane life for commonly as Man's life is so is his death The most part of those who live in foul Lusts and Prophaness dye in hardness of heart or in grievous despair God's patience wearied out changes it self into a just resentment and fury Commonly God leaves at the hour of death such as have left him in the course of their lives he is inexorable to the cryes and sighs of such as have shut their Ears and Hearts to his Holy Word and his Fatherly Instructions he laughs at the horrid fears and most sensible torments of those that trample upon his sacred Commands according to his own words Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded but ye have set at naught all my counsel and would none of my reproof I also will laugh at your calamity I will mock when your fear cometh King Ahab was desirous to hear a pleasing Prophecy of happy things of the victory over the Syrian Army nevertheless he did continue in his Impieties and Tyranny therefore the Prophet Micah was not afraid of his displeasure but tells him boldly of the approaching Judgments of God which did hang over his guilty Head likewise some sinners desire to be flatter'd and soothed up in their extravagancies they expect notwithstanding their crimes declarations of Joy and Prosperity but we should be false Prophets possessed with a lying Spirit if we did not foretel to such people that a most lamentable and miserable death hastens apace upon them we should have a cruel charity for them if we did not labor to save them by fear as out of a fire if we did not shew them Hell with its jaws open ready to swallow them up and the Eternal Torments wherewith God will punish all impenitent and hardened sinners Knowing what God's vengeance is we must perswade Men to embrace Faith and Righteousness and if we did fail in this our duty their Blood should be required at our hands To what purpose have the Heathen Philosophers discoursed so Learnedly of the shortness of our life To what purpose have many of their Princes entertain'd things on purpose to mind them of their mortal condition Such kind of thoughts did fly in their fancy but they reapt but little benefit from them because they did not oblige them to an Holy and Reformed Life and by consequence they did not prepare them to a blessed Death It was also to no purpose that Balaam desired so passionately to dye the death of the Righteous and that his last end might be like a just man's Numb 23. for because he lived the life of a sinner and continued in his Abominations and Idolatry Numb 31. therefore he died as they and was comprehended in their punishment as he was a partner in their crimes it was but just and reasonable that he should share in their calamities and be a partaker of their torments To abandon Vice and Sin is to take from Death its Venom and all its fiery Darts It is to pluck from this furious Beast its Teeth and Claws it is to break the Cords and Chains by which the Devil drags us into Eternal damnation It is to destroy the Monsters that fright us and stifle the Furies that pursue us In short it tends to change Hell and its grievous Torments into an Heaven and its Glory There was never yet any person that lived an Holy and Religious Life but he died happily in the favour of his God Now that the Lord knocks open unto him the door of your hearts and at the hour of Death he will open unto you the Gates of Heaven present and give unto him whiles you are alive your Bodies and Souls and doubtless he will accept them and confirm the Gift with his own Seal here below he will enrich you with his Graces and crown you at last with his Glory Blessed are they that dye in the Lord but to dye in the Lord we must live to the Lord that we may be able to say with St. Paul Whether we live we live to the Lord whether we dye we dye to the Lord whether we live or dye we are the Lords To perswade us to this Religious Duty we must consider in the first place the Command that he gives us of loving him fearing him of repenting of our sins and of walking in his Holy ways unto this he exhorts us in the Holy Writings of the Old Testament as in the 6 of Deuteronomy Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
up to the Throne of his Glory but according to his promise he hath not left us destitute but hath sent us the Comsorter to dwell with us for ever namely the Spirit of Truth whom the world seeth not nor cannot know John 14. Christs Corporal presence was enjoyed but by a small number of People but this Divine Spirit is like a large River that swells and runs over every where John 7. This Holy Spirit is not only with us but also within us He is poured out into our Hearts He Seals us for the day of Redemption He is the earnest of our Inheritance until the full consummation of the Glory reserved for us in Heaven Therefore when this merciful Saviour saw his Apostles afflicted in an extraordinary manner for his Leaving of the World he speaks to them in this Language Because I have said these things unto you Sorrow hath filled your Hearts Nevertheless I tell you the truth it is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you But if I depart I will send him unto you John 16. When St. Paul took his last farewel of the Elders and People of the Church of Ephesus they wept bitterly being grieved to the Heart because he had said That none of them should see his face any more But to comfort them he assures them that in Heaven they had a Father and a Protector and such a Shepherd as would never forsake them I commend you said he To God and to the word of his Grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified Act. 20. Remember therefore O Man of God seriously to consider all these things If the Lord who hath called thee to the Sacred Function of the Ministry continues thee in the world labor with courage and diligence in thine Holy employment Be not tired in the service of this good Master and merciful Saviour fight the good fight of the Faith endure patiently all manner of Labors as a good Soldier of Jesus Christ be as earnest and as careful for the Lord's Sheep as Jacob was for those of Laban Here what he professed of himself In the day the drought consumed me and the frost by night and my sleep departed from mine eyes Gen. 20. Jacob endured patiently these grievous pains and labor and the time of his service seem'd to him to be but of a few days because of the love that he did bear unto Rachel Likewise thou wilt joyfully endure the troubles of thine Office digest with patience all the inconveniencies if thou dost sincerely love the Lord Jesus and his Heavenly Spouse If thou dost esteem the salvation of Souls for whom Jesus Christ hath suffered death if thou hast well understood the Excellency of thine Heavenly Reward and the Glory prepared for thee when thou shalt have finished the time of thy painful and difficult service and of thy mortal Race for they who bring many to Righteousness shall shine as the Stars for ever and ever Dan. 12. Jacob had to do with a deceitful and unfaithful man But God is not as Man that he should Lye or as the Son of Man that he should Repent Gen. 23. Be thou faithful until Death and he will give thee the Crown of Life Revel 2. If it is the Lord's pleasure to lessen thy task so that instead of employing thee in his Vineyard he intends to take thee up into his Kingdom to drink there of his new Wine if at the time that thou thinkest of sowing with Tears thou art transported to the place where thou mayest reap with Songs of Triumph If in lieu of the opposition which thou must suffer from sinners God will grant to thee his Eternal Consolations and receive thee into the harmonious Societies of the Church Triumphant adore his Goodness and his infinite Mercy cast thy self into his hands and resolve chearfully to will what is pleasing to him if during thine abode in this Valley of Tears God hath given thee a livelyhood and if thou hast found in him thy joy thy satisfaction and thy greatest comfort Death will be thy greatest advantage thou shalt find in thy Saviour thy Rest thy Glory and Eternal Delights Phil. 1. Meditate often upon the words of the Holy Apostle St. Peter The Elders which are among you I exhort who am also an Elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the Glory that shall be revealed feed the Flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for filthy Lucre but of a ready mind neither as being Lords over God's Heritage but being ensamples to the Flock and when the chief Shepheard shall appear ye shall receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away 1 Pet. 5. You also who are afraid to leave behind you a desolate afflicted and comfortless Widow Come and learn this Lesson to relye upon the goodness and tender compassions of the Father of Mercies who never fails to comfort the forlorne in all their afflictions and who is always near to them that call upon him in their distresses 2 Cor. 1. Psal 145. He bears so much favor to the Widows that he calls himself The Judge of the Widows Psal 68. that is the Protector of their integrity and right and severe revenger of the wrongs that they suffer Therefore God tells us in express words That he maintains the Widow and establisheth her Borders Prov. 15. Seeing Job was so merciful as to cause the Widows Heart to sing Job 28. How much more may we expect from God's goodness he will doubtless fill her with his Heavenly joys and the ravishing comforts of his Holy Spirit I mean not the foolish Widows that seek for nothing but pleasure worldly diversion and carnal pastimes who live in the delights of the Age and who are dead whilst they live But I mean the wise Widows who being left alone by their Husbands death have their confidence and trust in God continuing in Prayer day and night Our great God and merciful Lord hath not only said in general that he is the Judge the Protector and Comforter of the Widow But he hath vouchsafed unto some his most signal Favors and extraordinary Blessings In the Reign of Abab while a cruel Famine overspread the Land God sent the Prophet Elijah to a poor Widow of Sarephtah who was preparing her self and her Son to dye as soon as they had eaten a little remnant of Meal and Oil that was left but the Holy Prophet comforted her in this manner Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel the barrel of Meal shall not waste neither shall the cruse of Oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth Rain upon the Earth 1 King 5. Many Widows have been comforted in such a miraculous manner for God hath so ordered it that their provisions have not failed although it may
you may then conclude that such an one is strengthened by God's Divine Spirit who upholds him and accomplisheth his Heavenly Vertue in his Servants infirmity This is the most wonderful and excellent of all Deliverances I confess some approve this discourse very well and admit these Consolations in their ordinary diseases but assoon as any extraordinary and violent griefs seize upon them they are apt to murmure against God and to complain that their punishment is too grievous Some proceed further to curse as Job the day of their birth and being hurried into despair are ready to cry out with Cain My punishment is greater than I am able to bear Unhappy Man Wilt thou imitate the barbarous Heathens who curse the Sun when it burns them and let fly their Arrows against Heaven when it Thunders wretched Man What will it avail thee to affront thy Creator what advantage wilt thou reap from the Blasphemies which thou dost belch forth against the Son of Righteousness miserable Worm of the Earth less than Dust and nothing wilt thou undertake to contend against God to pluck him from his Throne and to break the invincible Arm of his strength Dost thou imagine to stop the hand of his Vengeance by offending and sinning against him Wilt thou quench the fury of his wrath by spitting in his Face Believest thou that he will stretch forth his hand to deliver thee and to increase thy Blessings whilst thy mouth is open to blaspheme him who is thy Soveraign Lord. Listen well I beseech thee friend to my advice and I will draw thee out of the Abysse where thou art unhappily fallen and with God's help I will cause thee to understand that thou complainest wrongfully against him who doth all things advisedly and with Justice and Reason First run over the whole course of thy life and consider how many wicked deeds thou hast committed some by indiscretion others wilfully how many words have gone out of thy mouth how many thoughts have been entertained in thy mind against the Commands of Almighty God Consider seriously the number and grievousness of thy sins and miscarriages and thou shalt find that God's punishments are far less than thy deservings and that for one sensible word and bitter pain that thou feelest thou hast deserved many thousands so that thou shalt have cause to confess with the Prophet Daniel O Lord Righteousness belongeth unto thee but unto us confusion of Faces Dan. 9. And thou wilt say with David Innumerable evils have compassed me about mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up they are more than the hairs of my Head therefore my heart faileth me there is no whole part in my Flesh because of thine indignation nor rest in my bones because of my sin Ps 40. 2. Consider how many there are in the world more righteous than thou who suffer more grievous and longer evils than thou hast hitherto endured and yet have not had so much comfort and assistance If thou comparest thy condition with theirs thou shalt find that God spares and favors thee very much 3. Cast thine Eyes upon the death and passion of our Lord and Saviour who being righteous and innocent hath suffered for us wicked and abominable sinners Thine affliction is painful I confess but that which this merciful Redeemer hath suffered for thee was far more unsufferable Let his Exclamations his Tears and drops of Bloud which came out of his veins be witnesses and that earnest Prayer which he repeated three times upon his bended knees Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me that I may not drink it Let that doleful voice upon the Cross be also witness My God my God why hast thou sorsaken me 4. Weigh in just and equal Scales of the Sanctuary all the sufferings of this life with the torments of Hell which thou hast justly deserved and compare them together thou wilt quickly conclude that all thy pains are nothing if compared with the grievous tortures of that lake of Fire and Brimstone where there are weeping and gnashing of Teeth If thou art so sensible of these vanishing pains consider well how much thou art obliged to the goodness of God who hath freely pardoned all thine offences and redeemed thee from that eternal and unspeakable Misery of the t'other life 5. Thou must imitate those men who having their Sight dimmed with the extraordinary splendor of bright Colours or of a Body of Light turn off their Eies to look upon less offensive objects instead of handling always thy Wounds and Sores instead of thinking of the afflictions that lye heavy upon thee meditate upon the goodness and favors of God vouchsafed to thee since thy Conception until now I give thee leave to put in one side of the Scales all thy crosses losses diseases pains and grief upon condition that in the t'other Balance thou wilt put all the Mercies Favors Blessings and Deliverances which thou hast received from God's liberal Hand It is true thou groanest under thy Misery and complainest of thy condition thou verily believest that there is none so miserable as thou art so that willingly thou wouldest say with the Prophet Jeremiah Doth not this move ye O ye that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger But when there should be nothing else but this alone that God hath called thee to the knowledge of his Holy Will enriched thee with the Graces of his Divine Spirit and sown in thy Heart the seeds of Eternal Life and the blessed hopes of seeing his Face in Glory thou oughtest to look upon thy self as one of the happiest Creatures under Heaven 6. Finally thou must meditate with a Religious attention upon the joys of Heaven and the Eternal Blessedness of Paradise for I reckon with the Apostle that the sufferings of this present life art not worthy to be eompared with the Glory which shall be revealed in us Lam. 1. When we cast our Eyes upon the Earth alone we judge it to be very spacious and large our sight is lost in the contemplation of so many Provinces Cities and Kingdoms but when we compare it with Heaven we find it to be but a point Likewise when we look upon and reckon up the hours days weeks months and years of our sufferings the time appears very tedious and long but when we compare all these parcels of time with Eternity they seem to us but a moment when we should have been overwhelmed with evils and miseries from the first instant of our entrance into the World until the last of our going out Yet we have reason enough to say with St. Paul Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things
Rivers that run in my Soul I am not yet come to thine Holy Paradise but thou hast caused Paradise to be in me Thou hast given unto me an unspeakable and glorious Joy and hast bestowed upon me that Peace of God that passeth all understanding O living and quickening Spirit unknown to the World thou strengthenest me in such a manner that death will never be able to fright me Thou hast united me to thy self by an unseparable Vnion O Prince of Life and hast put in me a Seed of Immortality an infallible Principle of Glory and a source of unspeakable Happiness Thou art in me to dwell with me for ever therefore thou shalt fill up the measure of thy most signal Favors My Faith by thy Divine assistance hath spied out the Kingdom prepared for us from the beginning of the World and shortly I shall see with mine Eies the unexpressable Beauties of that Celestial Countrey that flows with the Milk of the purest and sincerest Joys and with the Honey of the sweetest and most ravishing Comforts Thou hast sent a fore-taste of the Fruits of the Tree of Life but I shall come into thine Heavenly Paradise I shall ever have my fill of these delicious Fruits Now thou hast caused some drops of the dew of Heaven to fall upon mine Heart but then thou wilt make me drink of the Rivers of thy Divine Pleasures At present in my painful passage through this Valley of Tears in the midst of my Groans and Tears I may gather some Herbs but when I shall come to my Heavenly Countrey I shall reap my Hands full with Songs of Joy Here upon Earth I see God as in a Glass obscurely but in Heaven I shall behold him face to face and I shall be satisfied with his likeness My Lord and my God who by the infinite Merits of thy sufferings hast purchased for us this Spirit of Life and who hast given to my Soul such an Authentick Seal of my Salvation and such a precious earnest of thine Eternal Bliss I feel in me the motions and endeavours of of this New Man that Essays to leave this Body of Darkness and Death to enter into the Light of the Living Lord Jesus seeing thou hast made me partaker of the Spirit of thy Grace enlightned my Soul with thy Divine Knowledge and caused me to know the way of Life Seeing that thou hast given me to taste of the Heavenly Gift of the Powers of the life to come Seeing that thou hast vouchsafed to me the First-Fruits of thy Glory and that I already feel Heaven in my Soul Seeing that I behold thee with the Eyes of my Faith that I embrace thee with all my affections and that thou dwellest in my Heart perfect in me the work of thy Grace and bring me at last to thine Eternal Glory Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation Amen CHAP. 20. The eighth Consolation is to consider that Death frees and delivers us from all the Evils that are in the World and that we daily suffer THere are certain Pictures with two Faces the one represents most ugly Features and the other beautiful and pleasant things This is the true Emblem of Death for it may be painted with a fearful Face a lean Body and iron Hands that ravish from us our Goods and our Honors and that divide our Persons dragging our bodies into a loathsome Sepulchre If we look upon Death in this manner we can do nothing less but tremble and fear We may also look upon it as a powerful Deliverer that unlooseth all our Fetters breaks our Chains to pieces lifts up our Souls to the highest Glory and Happiness If we consider thus there is nothing more lovely than death and nothing more to be desired I have hitherto endeavoured to shew how a Believer shall strengthen and comfort himself against the fears of Death but now I shall say something more with Heavens assistance I shall labor to prove not only that Death is to be expected without apprehension but to be received with an Holy Joy That it is not at all dreadful but rather it is to be earnestly desired I shall no longer give to speak right any Consolations against the fears of Death for I hope to make it plain that Death it self is to be looked upon as the greatest Consolation and Comforter That I may attain unto mine end I shall shew as in a Picture a short view of all the dreadful miseries of which Death delivers us and then I shall endeavour to paint out in the brightest Colours or rather I shall chaulk out unto you the Blessedness and Glories into which it ushers us Man's Life and Misery are Twin-Sisters that are born at the same time and owned Adam for their First Father they dye together at the same instant in true Believers We all know that Man begins his Life weeping and crying and ends it with sighs and Groans We come into the World all covered with Bloud and we go out wet all over with a cold Sweat If the Child cries not assoon as it is born we judge that it is dead and when the sick Body ceaseth to groan and sigh we say that he is past hopes so that as our crying is a token of Life likewise is and the end of thy sighs an infallible signe of thy Death Wretched Man how miserable is thy condition thy best friends rejoyce at thy crying and they weep and lament when thou ceasest to sigh and groan All the rest of thy time between thy Cradle and thy Grave is no happier it is but a continued Chain of Misery a mixture of pains a succession of evils and a Sea of bitterness As one Wave falls upon the back of another one evil is no sooner gone but another meets and threatens us one depth calleth another and all manner of Flouds and Storms pass over our Heads Job 5. As the Sparks rife out of the Fire to fly up and down Man is born for Misery and Pain and as the wisest of Kings speaks His days are nothing but pain and his employment but trouble in the night his Heart resteth not Eccles 3 There are scarce any dwellings but Messengers of ill news do sometimes come to them as they did to that of Job Job 1. By God's unchangeable order and appointment the days succeed the nights and divide the year into two equal parts for if the nights are longer in one season so much the shorter are they in another but the nights of our afflictions are so long that they seem to last several Ages whereas the days of our prosperity are so short that they are gone in a moment so that we may justly say with the Prophet Moses The best of our days are but labour and sorrow so soon doth our life pass away and we are gone Psal 90. It is as easy a taske to number the Stars of the Firmament and to reckon up the grains of
burning is quite cold or lukewarm I have not a sufficient trust upon thy promises and upon thy fatherly care my Hope is not setled It doth not sill my Soul with Heavenly Joys and Comforts Thine eyes O Lord that sees all the secret Clossets of the Heart and that pierce into the depths are too Holy and Pure to pass over the sight of evil and to approve of the ill-favour'd Features of Satan yet imprinted in my Soul they don't only discover my sins and iniquities and all my evil Deeds but they also behold all the spots and imperfections of my best performances and of my most Glorious Acts. My Lord and my God I am not only grieved to see so much sin in the World in the Church and in my Self but I am also grieved and vexed that I have not grief enough That my Soul is not sufficiently vexed as that of Righteous Lot That the Zeal of thine House doth not eat me up as it did the Man after thine own Heart That mine Eyes are not become a Well-Spring of Tears as those of the Prophet That the cares of the Churches do not besiege me as they did thine Holy Apostle And that I do not sigh and cry as the servants whom thou didst mark with the Letter Thau O wonderful Lord Seeing that thou dost give me leave wherefore is it that I do not embrace thee with a lively Faith and a serious Repentance VVherefore do not I wrestle with thee by Prayers and Supplications and Tears and that I continue not in these Devotions until I have obtained thy most precious Blessings until thou hast changed my Being and my Life until thou hast renewed my Spirit and my Heart to love thee fear thee and worship thee answerable to thine infinite Merits and Glory O Lord I perceive thou hast not altogether forsaken me I perceive the day of my deliverance breaking in upon me I see Death coming to carry me out of this painful Dwelling out of this life of bitterness and sorrow I have this comfort that it shall put to death my most cruel and unreconcileable Enemies and introduce me into the freedom of thy Children It will cut off all the remains of that corruption in which I was first conceived and usher me into that Eternal Light that shines for ever in Heaven Therefore instead of frighting me the sight of Death rejoyceth and comforts my Heart for this cause I shall not fly from it and turn my back but I shall go and meet it I will endeavour to hasten its coming by my Prayers and continual VVishes I will embrace it when thou shall be pleased to send it O Almighty God of an infinite Goodness when wilt thou reach unto me thy Hand from Heaven to draw me out of this Egypt that I may no longer see the cruelties and abominations committed in it VVhen wilt thou deliver me out of this Babylon where Vice and Vertue are intermixed and where the Creature receives the Honor only due to the Creator VVhen wilt thou have Compassion of my poor Soul that drags yet some of its Chains And when shall I hear that sweet and comforting voice Loose him and let him go to his God who calls him and to his Saviour who holds out unto him his Arms wide open VVhen wilt thou send unto me thy good Angels to lead me up to thine Holy Mountain to thine Heavenly Jerusalem where no impure thing shall ever enter or that committeth Abomination or a Lye VVhen shall I see my self in that blessed Paradise where there shall be no Serpent to seduce us nor Lusts to war against us nor evil company to corrupt and spoil us VVhen shall I behold the new Heavens and the new Earth where Justice Righteousness and true Holiness are sitting upon the Throne How long Lord shall I hear thine Holy Name blasphemed and the Bloud of thy Covenant trampled under foot How long yet shall I listen to the impieties and abuses of the Children of this age VVhen wilt thou lift me up to the Dwelling of thy Glory where I shall be no longer assaulted with temptations from the VVorld with enticements from the Flesh and with the fiery Darts of the Devil where I shall be no more vexed with evil desires false Fears and vain hopes where I shall never offend my God nor grieve his Holy Spirit that hath sealed me to the day of my Redemption O Holy of Holies when shall thy Church be so sanctified and cleansed that no spot or wrinkle nor any such thing shall appear in it When shall I see it decked with fine Linnen cloathed with the Sun and crowned with the Stars When shall my Heart be as a golden Viol from whence sweet Perfumes may ascend VVhen shall I behold thy Face continually VVhen shall I love thee without interruption and serve thee without any Lett or Hinderance VVhen wilt thou put into my Hands a Celestial Harp and into my Mouth the Songs of the Blessed and when shall I worship thee in the company of all the Holy Spirits without intermission and for ever VVhen shall I sing forth thy Praises in Heaven O Lord when shall I appear with the Holiness of thy Saints in the white Robes of thy Martyrs and be as fiery as the Seraphims that fly about thy Glorious Throne O my God! Let this Holy Zeal which thou hast kindled in my Soul be like a Fiery Chariot and an Holy Flame to carry me up to the Heaven of thy Glory where I am to shine in thy presence for ever Amen CHAP. 22. The Tenth Consolation is the Glory and Happiness of our Souls at their Egress out of the Body IF there were neither Punishment nor Torment after this life to be feared the Wicked and Unbelievers that prosper in the World might justly esteem themselves the happiest of all men And if there were neither Glory nor Rewards to be expected after death the Righteous and the Faithful who drink here below Cups full of bitterness and sorrow would be the most miserable of all Creatures The condition of the Beasts would appear more happy than theirs for they enjoy in quiet and peace all the pleasures that the animal Nature is able to relish They are not tormented by so many diseases that vex our Bodies neither do they know the cares and displeasures that consume and fret our minds They grieve not for the time past nor trouble themselves with any apprehensions of the time to come They never feel the grievous disputes of Lusts They know not most of those Passions that torment and domineer over our Souls All their pains and sufferings end with their breath so that when they are dead they endure nothing If we make our Eyes the Judges of these things we may say The accident that happens to Men and Beasts is the same accident as is the death of the one so is the death of the other But if we search and examine further we shall find more difference than
of God angry and displeased for their impieties But this we may observe that although God will raise up all the Men of the World without exception from their Graves there shall be a notable difference between them for he will raise the wicked up and draw them out of their Graves as a Judge drags an Offender out of his Dungeon to sentence him to Death but he will raise again believers as their Redeemer that their Bodies as well as their Souls might enjoy the blessed fruits of their Redemption purchased for us therefore this Divine Saviour stiles them Children of the Resurrection for none but they shall inherit his blessings and partake of his Eternal Glory 6. Some inquire further in what manner shall this Resurrection be I answer That our Lord and Saviour shall come down from Heaven cloathed with light and glory and attended upon by the Angels of his Power and millions of his Saints He shall be preceded by the cry of an Arch-Angel and the Trumpet of God for the Trumpet shall sound and as at the sounding of the Silver Trumpet that did Proclaim the Jews Jubile all the Prisons were opened and the Prisoners set at liberty in the same manner at the sound of the last Trumpet all the Prisons of Death shall be broke open and the Bodies that were imprisoned shall go out to speak in the Language of the Holy Ghost The Sea shall give up the dead and Death and Hell shall restore the dead that are in them And as Lazarus rose up as soon as Jesus Christ had called to him in his Tomb Lazarus come out likewise when the Voice of this great God and Saviour shall sound in our Tombs at that moment we shall rise again and appear before him for the hour cometh that such as are in the Graves shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and they that shall hear shall live 7. The next question is in what stature of Body shall we rise some are perswaded that we shall rise in the same stature that we dy this they gather from St. Iohn's description of the last Judgment I saw the living and the dead the great and small standing before God Others think that all the elect shall rise again in perfect stature and shall be all like to our Saviour Christ which they endeavor to prove by St. Paul's words We shall meet in a perfect Man to the measure of the perfect stature of Christ When it concerns things that relate to our Salvation it is respective ignorance to refuse to pry into those things which God hath concealed or not thought fitting to reveal therefore as the holy Writ is silent concerning this we cannot speak of it with too much sobriety I dare not affirm that we shall all rise again in the same stature I confess that this opinion That all the Saints shall have a stature like to our Saviour Christ and that they shall bear his Image and likeness in that respect in their Bodies contains nothing contrary to piety but I dare say that this cannot be proved by the words of St. Paul for the sequel of his discourse shews most evidently that he intends not the stature of the Body but that of the Soul which consists in knowledge and holiness That opinion which appears to be most likely and most conformable to the Analogy of Faith is that the Elect shall all rise again in a perfect stature for the beauty and perfection of the stature contributes much to the Glory and Majesty of the Body without which man cannot be said to be most perfectly happy besides this perfection is answerable to that Command and Dominion which God shall give to the Saints over the Creatures after the Resurrection if those that die in their childhood did rise again in the same stature if those that depart in their old and decrepid Age did come out of their Graves with their feeble and crasie Bodies How could either of them be fit for that Glory and Perfection where nothing shall be amiss or wanting As the promised Land was the Type of the Celestial Canaan it is not without good cause that the Scripture takes notice that there was no Body of those that went over Jordain into the Holy Land that was old and decrepid unless it were Joshua and Caleb none of the rest was threescore years old I may also apply to the Jerusalem above that which the Prophet saith of the Jerusalem here below the Type and Figure of the Celestial From thenceforth there shall not be any Child of a few days old nor no ancient person who fulfilleth not his dayes Finally As God created Adam and Eve in a perfect stature to settle them in the Terrestial Paradise it is my opinion that he will also raise up all the faithful in a perfect stature to introduce them into the Celestial Paradise In this life the Body of a Child is many years before it can to attain to the stature of a perfect man but at the great day of the Resurrection God will grant it to him in a moment That which is spoken of in the 20 of the Revelations doth in no wise oppose this Doctrine for when the holy Ghost saith that the dead small and great shall stand before God That relates not to the stature or bigness of Body but to the state and condition of the persons that is to say the Kings and Princes shall appear to Judgment as well as the vilest and most contemptible Subjects and the most wretched slaves therefore these former words are designed to express nothing more than what St. Paul saith That we must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Chirst that we might receive in our Bodies according as we have done whether it be good or evil 8. Some are ready to ask what manner of Bodies shall the Reprobates have after the Resurrection I have no mind to speak any thing of my self otherwise I should answer That in consideration of the fury of Hell Fire the smoak of the bottomless pit and the violence of the excessive Torments which they shall suffer they shall appear most deformed ugly il-favoured and dreadful to look upon I should say that there shall appear in their guilty looks and frighted countenances the Devils Image and that of the Hellish Furies but it will be sufficient to reply That the Bodies of the wicked shall be Immortal and that their Immortality shall be most miserable that it had been far better for them to have never been or to have been as the Beasts that Die without any hopes of living again for they shall Live to Die eternally and they shall Die but never consume away It shall not be possible to add any thing to their most violent Tortures for they shall be infinite nor to the continuance of their sufferings for they shall be eternal Therefore as we have already taken notice they shall seek Death that is they shall desire to be reduced to nothing
must take notice of two or three distinctions which if we understand well we shall find no more difficulty in this question First God may be considered in three several respects as he is in Himself and in his proper Being It is in this respect that our Souls do earnestly long for h m and desire to draw near to him and be united unto him as to their Soveraign Good and the bottomless Fountain of Glory and Happiness Secondly as he doth reveal and discover himself on Earth by certain Images and Tokens of his favourable Presence Thirdly as he shall manifest himself in Heaven by the Glorious Images and Divine marks of his Glorious Presence Secondly we must distinguish the several kinds of sight for there is the sight of the Body which looks only upon the objects whereof the Images and Species are within the reach and capacity of our Eye-sight as are Colour and Light There is the sight of the understanding which sees and beholds the things that are at a distance from our sences as the spiritual and invisible substances and the Essential forms of the Body There is also the sight of Faith which riseth yet something higher than our understanding as it is during our abode here below when it is enlightened with God's Divine Grace it sees and beholds things which the eye of the Body never saw and the sensual understandings of Men can never comprehend as the Mysteries of Christian Religion and the powers of the World to come Lastly we must distinguish the knowledge of the Understanding for sometimes it is obscure and confused at other times it is plain and distinct Moreover that knowledge which is most certain and the plainest is of two sorts the one hath bounds and limits suitable to its subject that is to say suitable to the ability and reach of the Understanding the other is absolute and of the same nature as its object that is to say as the thing it self which the understanding looks upon and beholds God as he is in himself and in his own Essence and Being hath never been seen by the Eye of the Body and shall never be neither in this life nor in the life to come for God is a Spirit and of an invisible Nature 1 Timothy 6. In this respect St. Paul affirms That God dwels in a Light which no man can approach unto that no man hath ever seen him nor can see him John 3. But this good God who of himself is invisible delights to shew him self to his Creatures in several ways First God shews himself unto all Men in the works of the Creation of the great World for as St. Paul saith in the 1 of the Romans The invisible things of God from the creation of the World are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his Eternal Power and Godhead Especially he hath been pleased to give in the Light a production of Nature and the first of all visible Creatures a lively Image of himself for as there is nothing more ample purer and more beautiful than the Light Likewise there is no visible Creature that represents so well this great God who is a Being most pure most beautiful and perfect the Father of Lights and the true Sun of our Souls Secondly God discovers himself in all the workings of his wonderful Providence and chiefly in his extraordinary and miraculous Operations for when men perceive productions which exceed all the ordinary strength of Nature they are forced to acknowledge that they come immediately from an infinite Power As Pharaoh's Magicians for when they saw that by their Magick Art they were not able to counterfeit Moses's Miracle they confessed That it was the finger of God Thirdly God discovers himself in his Holy and Divine Word which is to us as a beautiful and perfect Looking-Glass where we may see his Image and the brightness of his Glory This was St. Pauls judgement when he saith That all we that behold as in a Glass the glory of the Lord with open face are changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3.18 Fourthly God revealed himself to the Church of Israel in the Ark the Signe and ordinary Token of his Gracious Presence He did speak unto this People from the midst of the two Golden Cherubims and did publish his Divine Oracles there he was pleased to discover himself in divers representations chiefly in the Cloud and Fire which came down from Heaven Therefore the Signe bearing the name of the thing signified is sometimes stiled The Lord as in that passage where David saith My Soul is athirst for God for the mighty and living God O when shall I go and appear in the presence of God Psal 42. Fifthly God manifested himself to the Patriarchs and Prophets in Dreams and Visions by Divine Raptures and Prophetical Elevations In this manner he appeared to the Patriarch Jacob in Bethel for when it is said that God was at the end of the mystical Ladder which reach'd up to Heaven without doubt he gave some Sign and Testimony there of his Presence And when the Prophet Isaiah mentions his Glorious Throne he makes no difficulty to say I saw the Lord sitting upon a Throne high and lifted up and his Train filled the Temple above it stood the Seraphims each one had six wings with two he covered his Face and with two he covered his Feet and with two he did fly and one cried to another and said Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole Earth is full of his Glory and the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried and the House was filled with smoak Isai 6. And the Prophet Micah when he speaks of his Vision he saith I have seen the Lord sitting upon his Throne and all the Hosts of Heaven standing at his right hand and at his left 1 King 12. And the Prophet Daniel describing one of his visions speaks in this manner I beheld till the Thrones were cast down and the antient of days did sit whose Garment was white as Snow and the hair of his Head like the pure Wooll his Throne was like the fiery flame and his wheels as hurning fire a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him thousand thousands ministred unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him Sixthly God shewed himself unto Moses in a particular manner not only when he appeared unto him in Horeb and spoke to him out of the flaming Bush but especially when God appeared unto him in the Holy Mountain and for the space of forty days and forty nights discoursed with him familiarly as with a friend for at that time he exposed before him such Glorious and Magnificent Tokens of his Divine Presence that it was almost the same thing as if he had seen God himself God gave him more Light and Knowledge of his Glory than to any other of
Argument taken out of the Parable of the Father of the Family who at the evening of the day rewarded equally all his Laborers that had been employed in his Vineyard giving to every one of them a penny that Parables are as Pictures in which besides the thing intended to be drawn there are many particulars which serve but as flourishes to adorn the piece If we should consider every passage of this Parable we might gather from hence that amongst such as shall be saved there shall be there some murmuring against God who shall envy their companions which is a gross absurdity to conceive the designe of our Saviour is not to speak of the equality of the glorified Saints but his intent is to shew that those whom God calls first should not despise the others because God who doth with his own what he pleaseth is able to make them equal and to bestow upon them the same advantages Lastly as every one whom the good man of the House sent into his Vineyard at several times of the day received for their Salary a penny in the same manner whomsoever God calls into his Church effectually at any time nay at the hour of death they shall receive from his infinite Bounty eternal Life but from hence we cannot conclude any thing contrary to this Truth that in Heaven there shall be divers degrees of Glory The greatest difficulty in my judgement is in this Allegation That we shall see God face to face and that he will be all in all 1 Cor. 13. 1 Cor. 15. Nevertheless we may say that as all the damned in Hell shall loose all sight of God yet that cannot hinder the divers degrees of Pain and Torment Likewise all the glorified in Heaven shall see God but this sight which all shall enjoy cannot remove the inequality of their Glory and Happiness As when all men look upon the same Sun but several receive the benefit of its beams in a differing manner thus we shall all behold the same God but the Gracious Aspect of his Countenance shall be cast upon us variously and produce in us divers and various effects We may also make use of another comparison As when we cast many empty Vessels into the same Sea they are all filled up so that it may be said of them that the Sea is in them all some nevertheless may be more capacious and receive more Water than others Likewise all the Saints shall enter into the same wonderful Ocean of the Godhead they shall be all filled up to the brim with his Glorious presence so that God shall be all in all Nevertheless they shall receive differing measures of these Waters issuing forth to Eternal life In a word as God shall cast headlong all the Reprobates into the same Lake of Fire and Brimstone and yet there shall be divers degrees amongst them of punishments so God shall cause all the Elect to drink out of the same River of Pleasure but there shall be a difference amongst their degrees of Glory Moreover this passage may be thus understood God shall be all in all that is to say he shall be to us all Riches Glory Light Meat Drink Pleasures c. In my judgement we cannot conclude from hence that he is to make all equal If any have other thoughts or is of another judgement I shall not offer to condemn him nor to undertake to refute him for I conceive that seeing Almighty God hath hid the Glories and Happiness of Heaven and covered them over with a thick Cloud on purpose to limit our too curious inquiry we cannot mention them with too much modesty and respect only I must take notice of something more for the comfort of the good and devout Souls whose thoughts and mind are in Heaven That when we affirm that there shall be differing degrees of Glory in Paradise we must not conceive that this shall bring any diminution to the perfect Happiness of the Glorified for if I may once again make use of the comparison of the Sun-beams and of the Waters of the Sea I cannot find any more proper for this purpose As all Eyes that look upon the clear Sun without Cloud or Mist receive its Rayes in a differing manner yet they have all enough to see to guide themselves and to rejoyce in this beautiful Light that enlightens them if some receive a greater measure of that Light this hinders not the rest from enjoying also a sufficiency so shall it be with all the glorified Souls when they shall behold God the Father of Lights the true Sun that shall shine for ever and ever If any of them shall have more or less of his Light that shall in no wise impede the perfection of anothers Happiness for every one of them shall enjoy as much as they shall be able to receive or shall be necessary to compleat their Joy and perfect their Happiness And as when we cast into the Sea many empty Vessels some greater some less the greater contains more Water and the lesser not so much yet they do all receive enough to be filled up to the brim if the least of these Vessels had the knowledge to speak they would not complain of the greater for containing more then they because they have all as much as they can either desire or expect Likewise when the Saints shall be cast into that bottomless Sea of Glory and Happiness they shall be filled all up to the brim so that they shall not be able to desire any more they shall be all according to their differing capacities perfectly and entirely happy Consider therefore Christian Soul that if thou enjoyest so much satisfaction and delight as thou art capable of although others may have something more thou art no less happy for their overplus there is none but God alone that according to the infiniteness of his Being possesseth an unmeasurable and infinite Glory and Happiness This bottomless source of Glory and Bliss shall for ever and ever run over all the glorified in Heaven and satisfy their Souls with unspeakable Delights You may ask Christians in what part of the great World shall God cause us to enjoy so many rare pleasures and Heavenly contentments Where shall he produce so many Treasures and Riches Where will he discover so much Glory and Splendor In what part doth he intend to shew so many Divine marks of his Gracious Presence I answer that this place is above the Elemental World above all the Heavens that appear before our Eyes and that roul about us If we will understand this we must remember that the Holy Scripture makes mention of three Heavens The first is the large extent of the Air distinguished by the Learned into three Regions In this sence it is to be taken when it speaks of the Birds of the Air. The second Heaven comprehends the Heavenly Spheres the Globes that are between the Moon and the Firmament where are all the fixed Stars and if beyond
be reduc'd to nothing its qualities shall be changed and it may be its form shall be altered but its substance and matter shall continue always the same for First As God hath created the World for his own Glory he cannot be disappointed of the intent of his Creation And because this world hath not glorified him as it ought he will put it into a condition proper to glorify him according to that purpose for which he drew it out of nothing Secondly Seeing that this World was created to serve Man as a Looking-Glass to behold the Eternal Power of God and that this beautiful Looking-Glass hath been spotted and sullied by sin It is yet possible to cleanse it and make it brighter that it might represent its Creator better and shew forth a more perfect Image of his Divine Majesty Thirdly Seeing that God doth nothing in vain there is no likelyhood that he should destroy the World totally and reduce the primitive Matter to nothing from whence it is drawn to create new Matter because he is able of this old Matter to make a new Earth and new Heaven as pure and undefiled as if the Matter had been newly created Fourthly Sin hath spoiled and disfigured the Works of the Creation but it hath not touched neither the first Matter nor its Being so that God can take away this defilement and remove the deformity without touching the Matter which of it self is innocent and harmless In Man the little World and the compendium of the great I find a beautiful and perfect Image of that which God shall do with the whole World God intends not to destroy the substance of our Souls but only to purge them from all vicious qualities and beautify them with Righteousness and true Holiness so that they shall be as the Angels of Heaven Likewise he intends not to destroy the substance of our Bodies but he will free them from corruption from death and cloath them with Glory and Immortality so that this vile Body shall be rendred conformable to the glorious Body of the Son of God and shall shine as the Sun Likewise God will not altogether destroy the World and abolish its substance but he will rectify all its imperfections and add to it a greater Glory If it be lawful for me to discover here all my thoughts I must say that I put a great difference between Heaven and Earth for the Earth is altogether corrupt and spoiled with sin it is the Earth especially that groans under the burden of so many iniquities which reign in it but if Heaven is guilty of any crime it is because it hath given Light to such as have been Rebels against the Divine Majesty and assisted the cursed Earth by its Gracious and continual influences Because of this great difference it is my opinion that the Earth shall be destroyed by Fire and that all its beautiful Buildings and proud Palaces shall be turned into Ashes but the change which shall happen in Heaven shall only be to make it more beautiful and brighter that Children of God might have there a more Glorious Palace This seems to have been typified in the ceremonial Law for as we have already observed speaking of that which shall happen to the Soul and Body that when an Earthen Vessel was defiled it was to be broken to pieces but such Vessels as were of a more precious Metal as of Brass of Silver or of Gold were to be purified with Fire Likewise the Earth with all its works shall pass through the Flames so that it shall loose its present shape and qualities But Heaven that is as Brass or rather as fine Silver shall only he purified by the Fire of the last Judgement If you remove the cause you take away also the effect if you remove away sin you also remove its punishment Now it is because of Man's sin that the World hath and shall see so great a change Therefore as God by his infinite Mercy hath forgiven Man's sin it is also to be expected from the same Mercy that he will not totally destroy the World but that he will rather free it from corruption unto which our sins had enthral'd it Unless God deals in this manner our Joy and Comfort cannot be accomplished and God will not appear perfectly satisfied While a Subject continues in rebellion and in the displeasure of his Prince not only his person is pursued and punished but all that belongs to him bears the marks of the wrath and indignation of the Prince whom he hath offended his dwelling House is commonly pulled down his Woods are cut and mangled and his Inheritance is destroyed but when his Peace is concluded and his pardon granted his houses are built up again al signs of the King's displeasure are taken away and every thing appears with a more pleasant countenance likewise because of our Rebellion and our Treason against God he hath punished the World for our sakes and hath made it sensible of his wrath But now that our peace is made or rather God having made peace by the blood of his Son we may justly expect that he will remove all signs of his displeasure and revenge I remember upon this subject what David saith to God when he saw the Angels destroying Jerusalem I have sinned and I have done wickedly but these Sheep what have they done 2 Sam. 24. In the same manner every Believer may say unto God Lo I have sinned O Lord I and my Brethren have done wickedly but these inaminate Creatures what have they done our sins have defiled the Earth and all things that may be objected against Heaven it is to have yielded Light and assistance to us Rebels Seeing therefore that thou hast blotted out our Sins and pardoned our Rebellions spare these harmless Creatures which are punished only for our sakes At present we can find no difficulty to understand the forementioned passages of holy Scripture and such as tend to the same purpose For when David and St. Paul assure us That the Heavens shall perish that they shall be changed as a garment I answer that they shall perish in respect of their qualities and not of their substance and that the change shall not be as when one Garment is cast off and another is taken but as when the spots and blemishes of an old Garment are taken away and it becomes fresher When your cloathing is grown old and worn out if it were in your power to make it become new again and as fresh as ever it was you should never dream of seeking for new Stuffe That which is impossible to Men is possible with God Luke 6. And when our Saviour in St. Mathew's Gospel saith That the Heavens and the Earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away I might say that these words are to be understood comparatively that is to say that the Heavens and the Earth shall pass away rather then that the words of God should fail of
end Therefore the World shall for ever and ever bear the signs of it The Ornaments which it shall receive in this joyful day shall never be taken away and the Celestial fires of gladness shall never go out Although it is my opinion that the World shall never be totally Destroyed but that it shall become more beautiful and glorious than before I shall not undertake to give you a description of its several parts nor to tell you how it shall be employed for example I shall not determine whether we are to understand our Saviours words in the Gospel literally That the Sun shall become Dark that the Moon shall not give its Light and that the Stars shall fall from Heaven or whether these Heavenly Bodies shall still continue whether they shall be decked with a new Light and Glory and to what purpose they shall serve for then we shall be enlightned with a greater Light then that of all the Heavenly Bodies I shall only propose two Things First That as in the humane Body there are some Members which at present are useful but then they shall only be for Ornament and Beauty Likewise in the great World there are many needful things which shall then be of no use nevertheless they shall be preserved for the Beauty and Perfection of the World Secondly That as Man the little World shall then be more Beautiful and Perfect then when God first Created him likewise this great World shall receive more Beauty more Ornaments and Perfection then when God drew it out of its first Chaos As much difference as there is between the second Adam and the first between the Heavenly Paradice and the Earthly so much there shall be between the first and second World So that we shall have good cause to say of this great Palace which is to be destroyed and reared up again by the Almighty hand of God as the Holy Prophets said of Solomons Temple which we have already applied to our glorified Bodies The glory of this second House shall be greater than the glory of the first Some inquire whether we shall know one another in this State of Eternal Glory and happiness I mean whether the Subject shall know his Prince and King whether the Sheep shall know their Shepheard and the Shepheard his Sheep whether the Father shall know his Son the Son the Father the Husband his Wife and the Wife her Husband and so forth Although this question is of the number of such as are more curious then needful to be known nevertheless a reply seems to bring with it some kind of comfort and satisfaction I should judge that this Treatise should not be perfect if I did not say something to this matter but what I shall say shall be with the same moderation and reservedness as I have expressed in answering to the former questions for although what I shall speak seems to me very plain and without any difficulty others may have different thoughts without any prejudice to their Salvation However I may establish for an infallible Truth That the Glory of Heaven as well as Grace shall bring Nature to perfection but shall not destroy it it shall add to it other excellencies but shall not take away those that it hath already It shall not abolish any of the Faculties but it shall beautifie and enrich them with new Ornaments Therefore by consequence it shall not take away our Memory which is one of the rarest gifts and abilities of the reasonable Soul I confess that it is said That the former things shall be remembred no more and that they shall come no more into our mind But this is to be understood of the evils and calamities of this present life And we are not to understand the words so that to speak plainly we shall totally forget all the former evils and miseries and that we shall not remember to have undergone them St. John saith the contrary when he represents the Angel opening the fifth Seal that he saw under the Golden Altar which was before the Throne of God the Souls of them who had been Martyred for the Word of God and for the Testimony of the Truth crying out with a loud voice How long O Lord Holy and True dost thou not judge and revenge our Blood upon the Inhabitants of the Earth It is true these words may be understood in a figurative sense as when God said unto Cain The voice of thy Brothers Bloodcries from the Earth unto me and as St. Paul saith That the Blood of Jesus Christ speaks better things than the Blood of Abel However from hence we may conclude that the remembrance of all the Miseries and Evils which we have endured in this Life is not repugnant to our future estate of glory This remembrance is so far from prejudicing our felicity that on the contrary it shall increase and inlarge it so that it shall cause it to appear sweeter and more pleasant When the Prophet saith That the former things shall be remembered no more that they shall never come to mind he understands that the former evils shall never be felt and that we shall be for ever sheltered from all Misery and Misfortunes I cannot express this by a nobler and more proper example then that of Joseph when he went out of Prison to take into his hands the Government of Egypt and that he had strengthened himself by a rich Alliance in Marriage he named his eldest Son Manasseth which signifies forgetfulness or forgetful for he said God hath made me forget all my labor and my Fathers House Although this holy Manhd not forgotten altogether all those things for he knew afterwards his Brethren and told them of the mischief which they had intended against him and which God had turned to good But he spoke in this manner because God had changed his Misery and imprisonment into glory and honour In this sense we are to understand these words The former things shall be remembred no more because instead of the Evils and Miseries which we endure here below we shall enter into an Eternal Glory and Happiness The Prophet expounds himself sufficiently in the next words for when he had said The former things shall not be remembred nor come into mind he adds immediately after be you glad and rejoyce in that which I Create The Holy Ghost confirms us in this interpretation in another place by these words All Tears shall be wiped off from our eyes there shall be no more sorrow nor crying nor pain but eternal Joy and Gladness shall be upon our heads Seeing God intends not to destroy those gifts and abilities which he hath bestowed upon us in this Life much less shall he abolish our knowledge which is one of the brightest Beams of his Glory This knowledge shall be so far from diminishing or decaying that it shall then increase more and more until it comes to the highest perfection and glory As the Air looseth nothing of its twilight