you have continued waiting but a few days longes God will grant your Desires for when you come to Heaven whither Death will certainly and suddenly bring you Sin an unholy Heart and Nature shall never more afflict or trouble you for Sin that was here your Burthen to feel shall there be your Delight to be for ever without that impenitent unbelieving Heart those vain yea sinful Thoughts which were wont to lie down and rise up with you which did use to follow you to every Duty and accompany you in every Place and Service and which you could no more leave behind you when you went to Pray to Hear to Read or to Meditate than you could leave your selves behind you shall all be left behind you when you come to die they did and would keep you company while you lived but they shall not go one step with you beyond Death then you take your leave of them bidding an eternal Farewel to all Sin O my Soul when shall that blessed day come that thou shalt thus take thy leave of Sin never to wound thy Conscience never to defile thy Soul nor never to displease thy God thereby any more O what a blessed state will that be when Death shall send a godly Man to Heaven perfectly free from all Sin not only as to the Power of it but also as to the vexing and disquieting Presence of it where he shall spend ars Eternity in serving and praising of God without the least interruption imperfection or weariness of Soul for ever And doth not Death in this appear a Believer's great Friend in that what Prayers and Tears Sighs and Groans together with the assistance of the Spirit of God did gradually that is mortifie and destroy Sin that Death doth for a Believer at one blow perfectly freeing him from the Burthen and Being of Sin for ever Fourthly In Heaven the People of God shall arrive unto a Perfection of Grace and Holiness As all that the Saints have here is but mean compared to what they shall attain to hereafter so all that the Saints do here is but mean compared to what they shall be enabled to do hereafter Grace in a godly Man in this Life is in its minority and therefore the acting of Grace must needs be accordingly The Excellency and Beauty of a Saint lies inward in the hidden Man of the Heart or as the Psalmist speaks he is one that is all glorious within And because Grace in him is inward therefore its Excellency is not so visible and apparent Grace in a godly Man neither doth nor can shine forth in its Glory and Beauty here because Sin in him eclipses the splendor of its appearance The imperfection of Grace is discernable here but the Perfection and Beauty of Grace is neither known nor attainable here The highest degrees of Grace and Holiness that the best of God's People reach unto here comes infinitely short to what they shall attain to in Heaven It is true a little Grace in a Saint now makes him glorious in the eyes of those who have a Spirit of discerning to behold it in respect whereof the Saints are called the excellent ones of the Earth Psal 16.3 Now if the weakness and imperfection of Grace for that which the People of God attain to of Grace here it no more compared with what they shall attain to in Heaven if this weakness and imperfection of Grace be so excellent and glorious O how exceeding glorious will the perfection and beauty of Grace be hereafter How glorious have some of the Saints of God of old appeared when their Excellency hath chiefly appeared in the Oriency and sparkling Beauty but of some one particular Grace as for instance How glorious was Abraham for his Faith Moses for his meekness self-denial Nehemiah for his zeal for God and his Glory David for his Love to God and his Ordinances Job for his Patience S. Paul for his unwearied Industry and Laboriousness in the Work of God and the Service of Souls O how eminently glorious have the particular actings of these particular Graces in these Servants of God made them in all Ages insomuch that the Spirit of God hath thought good to record their Excellencies in the holy Scriptures and their Praise shall be in all the Churches of God to the end of the World Now if the Saints Eminency in some particular Graces have made them so glorious notwithstanding their Imperfections other ways how glorious and excellent will they appear when all that Grace and Holiness that shall accompany them to Heaven and is there necessary unto their Happiness that they may see and enjoy God to eternity shall be fully and compleatly perfected having nothing of the least allay of any spot or imperfection in their Graces or in their Persons to take off from the Beauty and Glory of the one or of the other for ever In Heaven Grace in a Saint is in its excellency and in its visibility there is Grace and nothing but Grace there is Grace and all Grace yea there is all Grace shining forth in its fulness and utmost perfection of Glory to eternity In this Life Grace in the People of God is never perfect in some things they are always defective in other things always wanting they are continually aiming at and going on unto Perfection though while they are here they do not attain unto it In the Work of Regeneration they are truly sanctified and made holy but it is in Heaven only that they are perfectly sanctified The Lord Jesus Christ now loves his Church and he hath abundantly manifested that he doth so in giving himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word as the Apostle speaks But he never presents it to himself a Glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle till he brings it to Heaven By a work of Sanctification he is now daily cleansing and purifying of it but the full Perfection and Beauty of Holiness is not put upon it till the Marriage between him and his Church be consummated in Glory Here in this Life there is much Imperfection in the Righteousness and Holiness of the Saints many Faults and Infirmities they have that others may censure and condemn and themselves ought to bewail and mourn for but in Heaven they shall be Faultless so saith the Apostle Jude 24. Whilst the Church is Militant upon Earth though she is black and hath her spots yet is she comely but when she comes to be Triumphant in Heaven then will she be as a beautiful Bride adorned with fulness and perfection of Grace and Holiness fitted and prepared for her Lord and Husband's Company Rev. 22.2 where every Saint shall behold and love the Blessed and Holy God and their dear Lord Jesus with a Love equal to Angels and Cherubims satiating and delighting their Souls in him with a Joy far exceeding the highest Joys that any of the People of God ever were
arose again for their Justification and Glorification that this was he that with the price of his own Blood not only bought their Pardon but purchased that glorious Inheritance for them which now they are instated into the possession of this must needs put a new Life of Joy into their Souls and create a new kind of Happiness in them which they never were acquainted with nor was it possible for them to understand before Christ is the Desire of all Nations the Joy of Angels the Delight of God himself he in whom he is always well pleased All the Glory and Happiness of Heaven is wrapp'd up in him The Treasures of the Divine Wisdom Love and Kindness which were sometimes hid and concealed are now laid open in Heaven to the view of all the Saints O with what ravishing Joy and Delight then must those Souls be eternally filled with that live in the Sight Possession of him as theirs for ever Is not his Love better than Wine Will not the lifting up of the light of his Countenance upon the Soul administer more cause of Joy and Rejoycing than the greatest increase of all worldly enjoyments whatsoever O is not this the Language of holy Souls His Love is Life yea his loving kindness is better than Life O how shouldst thou chide thy self O Believing Soul whose Faith gives thee an Interest in him that thou art so afraid of his Appearance Whence is it that thou art so backward to go unto him Is the Enjoyment of him in Glory who is all Love all Life all Joy all Peace a frightful thing How comes it to pass that thou art so unwilling to die and be for ever with him whom thou callest thy Saviour Hath he laid down his Life and shed his Blood to redeem thee and will he now make an eternal Slave of thee What hath his Ascension into Glory changed his Nature and rendered him less lovely or the Happiness of Heaven in the Enjoyment of him less desirable No certainly he is not less lovely in himself because of his Exaltation into Glory but the more Nor is the Happiness of Heaven in the Enjoyment of him less but the more desirable and the more easily to be obtained for as the Apostle says If when we were Enemies we were reconciled by his Death much more being reconciled shall we be saved by his Life And because he lives glorified in Heaven therefore shall Believers live with him there and therefore also should they be the more desirous to be there because he is there Awake therefore O ye drowsie Saints rouze your selves up out of your Security and Slothfulness for a careless indifferent frame of Spirit doth not become those who are Expectants of so great and glorious a Redeemer and of so great a Happiness as is the eternal Enjoyment of him O what a holy Impatience and Vnquietness of Soul should rather be found in Believers after this Blessed Redeemer Is it not he by whom you expect to escape the Wrath and Vengeance of God Was not his Body broken and his Blood poured forth to make an Oblation for your Souls Was it not he whose Death and Sufferings have made full satisfaction to the Justice of God for your Sins Is it not he who to deliver you from the Curse of the Law was himself made a Curse for you Is it not he by whom alone you escape everlasting Burnings and hope to obtain an Inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you Is there any thing either in this World or in the World to come that is comparable to him Look upon him well O Believing Souls both in respect of what he once was and in respect of what he now is and you cannot but say he is made up of Love Henceforth therefore wonder not O blind and ignorant World that the People of God express such passionate longing Desires after the Enjoyment of this Blessed Jesus but rather wonder at your selves that such Blindness and Darkness should be found within you that you should not be able to discern those Excellencies and that Loveliness that is in him Were the Eyes of your Understanding opened had you but a Spirit of discerning bestowed upon you to see into those glorious Excellencies and Perfections that are in the Lord Jesus and the Happiness that is in the Sight and Fruition of him in Heaven you would then say We see now there is the greatest Reason in the World why the Saints and People of God have such vehement Desires after him are so covetous of being in his Presence and beholding of his Glory For what Soul that knows him that hath tasted of his Love and experienced the Manifestations of his Grace and Favour towards it but doth most earnestly wish not only to see him but to live for ever with him O my Soul Whence is it then that thou that canst say thou lovest him in Truth and in Sincerity dost yet make it no more thy daily Care and Study to gain more and farther Knowledge of him and a more dear and intimate Acquaintance with him that so thou maist be brought into a more full and immediate Enjoyment of him And O thou infinitely Blessed Lord Jesus who hast all Loveliness and Amiableness in thee look down graciously upon thy poor Creatures and discover unto them more of those ravishing transcendent Beauties and Excellencies that are in thee and let us every day have more and farther insight into those never to be fully known Perfections of Glory and Loveliness that are in thy self that thereby we may be enabled not only to commend thee a thousand times more feelingly and affectionately unto others but may thereby also win upon yea command the Affections and Desires of all that hear of thee unto thee that nothing short of the Enjoyment of thy self and the Manifestations of thy Love and Favour in Eternal Glory may satisfie and content us or them but that we may continually be crying out in that known Language of thy Church Come Lord Jesus come quickly Fourthly and Lastly The Saints Happiness in Heaven consists in this That there they shall have the Vision and Enjoyment of God himself being always where he is seeing his Face and beholding his Glory Now in speaking to this great Happiness of the Saints the Beatifical Vision of God I shall content my self with those things that are most plain and will be most benificial Now the Sacred Scripture gives us an Account of this Great and Mysterious part of the Saints Happiness in many high and lofty expressions calling it sometimes a seeing of the Face of God Rev. 22.4 They shall see his Face Sometimes it is set forth by our becoming like unto God and seeing him as he is so in 1 John 3.2 Now says the Apostle we are the Sons of God but it doth not no nor can it yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall
most beautiful Persons or Objects in the World yet is there no transforming Power coming from them to work any alteration in the Complexion of the Beholder rendering him the more beautiful by the sight of those Persons or Objects He may carry away an Idea of the Beauty and Comliness of those Persons or Objects that he hath beheld in his Mind which may delight his Fancy in the thoughts of them but there is no Alteration made in him but the same Deformities and Blemishes remain still notwithstanding But it is otherwise in Heaven the Sight of the Glorious and Holy God makes the Saints that behold him to become like unto him in Holiness and Glory for so are the Words of the Beloved Apostle who lay in the Bosom of Christ 1 John 3.2 We shall be like unto him that is unto God and the Ground or Reason of it follows in the next Words for we shall see him as he is It is true the People of God are like unto him while they are in this World but their Likeness to God here and their Likeness to him in Heaven greatly differ The Likeness that the People of God have unto God in this Life is both an imperfect Likeness and a growing Likeness neither of which are the People of God capable of in Heaven First The Likeness they have to God here is an imperfect Likeness In some things they are like unto God and in other things they are not Wherein they are like unto God they are comely but wherein they are like unto the World they are deformed and therefore uncomely It was the Complaint of the Church whom Christ called his Love and his Fair One that she was comely but yet she was black also Cant. 1.5 I am black but comely She was comely with Grace and there was her Likeness unto Christ and that made her so lovely But yet she was black with Sin and there was her Imperfection and Deformity And hence it is that we read Cant. 6.10 That the Church is said to look forth as the Morning fair as the Moon now the Moon though she be one of the great Luminaries of Heaven yet hath she her Spots and the Morning-Light is but small and imperfect unto a Noon-Day-Brightness and therefore it increaseth more and more unto the perfect Day Thus it is with the best of God's People here Grace gives them a Likeness unto God but with the Moon they have their Spots Sin and Corruption still remaining in them while they are in this World But now the Saints Likeness to God in Heaven by the Vision they have of him there it is such a Likeness as excludes all Sin and all Imperfection They are so like unto God that they are nothing but what he is not as to his Being and Essence for that is incommunicable but in Grace and Holiness and so according to their Capacities they partake of the Divine Nature it self And Oh what a blessed State will this be when we shall have nothing in us but what we partake of from God and wherein we shall be in every thing like unto him Secondly That Likeness the People of God have unto God here is a growing Likeness That Grace and Holiness Believers have in this Life wherein consists their Likeness unto God it is always growing and increasing in them Hence the Apostle tells us That the state of Christians here is like unto new-born Babes who are always desirous of the breast for their Nourishment and Growth 1 Pet. 2.2 As New-born Babes that desire the sincere Milk of the Word that we may grow thereby No Saint or Servant of God ever attained to that degree of Grace and Holiness here but still there was something lacking in his Faith something defective in his Love something wanting in his Patience something that might be added to his Heavenly-mindedness to his Meekness to his Humility and to all his other Graces Hence therefore it is that the People of God are so often commanded to add to their spiritual stature to encrease with the Encreases of God to grow in Grace and in the saving knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And to explain this Truth no farther that of the Apostle is full to this purpose 2 Cor. 3.18 We all with open Face beholding as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from Glory unto Glory That is from one degree and measure of Grace and Holiness unto another Believers are now like unto God but this Likeness is Imperfect and therefore while they are here they are still growing into a greater Conformity unto him But now in Heaven Grace in the Saints is in its Perfection Heaven is a Place where the Spirits of just Men are made perfect Holiness is the Advancement the Elevation of the Soul a higher pitch of Glory and Excellency it is not capable of for Holiness is the Glory of God himself and therefore though God is said to be Infinite in regard of his Wisdom Almighty in regard of his Power yet is he only said to be Glorious in regard of his Holiness So we read Exod. 15.11 Who is a God like unto thee glorious in Holiness Now in Heaven the Saints Holiness shall be in the highest degree in the greatest eminency and perfection and because herein they shall be like unto God they also shall be glorious in Holiness for they shall then have as much of Grace and Holiness as they can desire or as God would have them to have for when that which is perfect is come that which is imperfect shall be done away And O what a blessed state will that be when the Saints shall have nothing in them that is weak and imperfect nor nothing that is wanting or defective but shall be for ever like unto God himself perfect in Grace and Holiness Thirdly The Saints Sight and Vision of God in Heaven will be happy and joyful A Believer is the only happy Person in all the World his Life is a Life of continual Joy either he doth or he may always rejoyce He hath always the Presence of God with him he hath always the Love of God towards him he hath always the Hopes shall I say nay he hath the Assurance of Heaven and Glory in the Promise continually set before him And who may rejoyce if he may not He hath the Great the Almighty God for his Shield and Protection here and to be his exceeding great reward hereafter And shall not such a one rejoyce Is not here cause of Joy O how happy is the Person that is in such a case as this Such are commanded to rejoyce evermore 1 Thes 5.17 Nay in the most afflicted state and condition such have cause of Rejoycing I am says the Apostle exceeding joyful in all our Tribulations And says our Blessed Lord Matth. 5.11 12. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and speak all manner of evil against you falsly
and a part of the Happiness thereof as every thing that the heart of Man can desire or imagine that is truly excellent doth make up the Happiness of that blessed State But that which chiefly constitutes Heaven is Holiness there is a holy God there is a holy Place there is holy Company and Society yea every thing that is holy and nothing but what is holy There it is that holy Souls shall be for ever united to a holy God by a continual fervour of holy Love there it is that they shall always holily depend upon God by holy and heavenly Acts of Faith and Hope There it is that they shall eternally obey God with a holy Joy and Delight and all this with the same holy Love Faith Hope and Joy which they did put forth towards God here upon Earth only in Heaven these Graces shall be advanced and exalted above all those Imperfections and Frailties that in this Life did attend them This now is the Glory of Heaven and indeed what greater Glory can there be than this Holiness being the Glory of God himself Thus Moses stiles God in his triumphant Song Exod. 15.11 Where he tells us though he be a God that is fearful in Praises and infinite in Power yet that wherein he is most glorious is his Holiness Who is a God like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods Who is like unto thee glorious in Holiness fearful in Praises doing Wonders And what is the Glory of the Saints in Heaven but only a Reflexion of the Glory of God cast upon them Now as God is in an especial manner glorious in his Holiness so are they glorious in their Holiness And what then will become of all the hopes of wicked and profane Sinners whose Hearts are full of Hatred and Malice not only against those that are holy but against Holiness it self witness their impious and profane scoffing at Holiness their persecuting all those that make a stricter Profession of it than themselves What a strange kind of Heaven do these Men hope for and how miserably do they deceive themselves for if Grace and Glory if Holiness and Heaven be one and the same thing as they are then certainly all the hopes of such wretched Sinners are built upon a rotten Foundation For how can they that hate and persecute a little Holiness in a Saint on Earth where it is mingled with much Sin and Corruption take delight in Heaven where there are greater measures and degrees of Grace and Holiness than all the Saints that ever lived here upon Earth did or could attain to in this World yea where there is nothing else but Grace and Holiness In vain O Sinner dost thou wish or hope for a Heaven where there is nothing but Ease and Pleasure a Place where thou may'st be above all thy Cares and Fears where thou may'st enjoy a constant Freedom from all thy Pains and Distresses that now afflict and torment thee such a Heaven as this is impossible God never made any such nor canst thou in reason expect it but contrarywise know thou must to thy Terror and Amazement that the great God hath joyned sin and the curse so close together that Heaven it self would be no Sanctuary to secure thee either from the stinging Horrors of an Evil and now too late awakened and accusing Conscience nor from the ghasty and tormenting Fears of Wrath and Hell if sin and guilt should enter with thee into that Holy Place Secondly Holiness is a necessary Qualification for Heaven because without it there is no suitableness between us and Heaven All true Pleasure and Delight is caused from the suitableness that there is between the Object and the Power or Faculty in man that receives it It is therefore a pleasant thing for the Eyes to behold the Light and so is it also for the Ears to hear melodious sounds because these Objects are suited unto those Sences which otherwise would not be delightful to them as we see in those that are Blind and Deaf the one takes no Pleasure in the Light nor the other in Musick And so it is with us in reference unto Heaven there is nothing there would be Pleasant and Delightful to us did not God before hand prepare and suit our Souls by his Grace unto that Glory that shall there be revealed to us Hence we find the Apostle Col. 1.12 Giving thanks unto God who by a work of Sanctification had made them meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light To illustrate this a little further there is a two fold unsuitableness between every wicked man and Heaven he is unsuitable to the work of Heaven and he is unsuitable to the Reward of Heaven both which are Holy First Every wicked man is unsuitable to the work of Heaven What shall be the work of Holy Souls in Heaven but to admire and adore to Bless and Praise and with Pleasure and Delight to Love and Serve God for ever This is that joyful work wherein Saints and Angles shall spend an Eternity in And canst thou O Prophane Sinner who hast all thy life time accustomed thy self to wallow in sin and uncleanness impose such a cheat upon thy Soul as to think thou shalt be able to croud into the number of that Holy and Blessed Company in Heaven and there joyn with them in those Holy and Blessed Works that will be the Delight of those Holy ones to all Eternity If Sanctification and Holiness be the only Qualification that manifests any do belong to that Holy Place What shall we then say unto all wicked and prophane sinners who not only take no Delight in the practice of Holiness but unto whom the thoughts of it are grievous and burthensome who are so far from keeping up in their minds constant Meditations of Holy things accompanied with strong and lively affections towards them that they know no Task or Burthen so heavy upon them nor so affictive to them nor that they undertake so unwillingly as the Duties of Holiness and Obedience Oh what a trouble to them is it sometimes to be drawn though but to the external performance of Holy Duties witness their so seldom engaging in them with their so slight and careless management of them If I should now enquire what is the reason of all this why truly that which lies at the bottom of all is an unholy Heart an unsanctified Nature and what would such as these do in Heaven would not that Holy place be a Hell rather than a Heaven to them a place of Torment rather than a place of Happiness it being that place where Saints and Angels spend an Eternity in the most Holy fixed Contemplations and most ardent Love of God And surely they that cannot bear the weak and imperfect Holiness of the People of God here without railing at it as a piece of unnecessary and peevish preciseness will never be able to bear that perfect spotless Holiness that is in Heaven In
come Frequently therefore O Christian have recourse unto Heaven dwell much there in thy Thoughts and Contemplations this will inflame thy Soul with Love to God this will make thee pray with Zeal and Fervour hear with earnestness and attention and perform all the Duties God requires of thee with activity and liveliness Thirdly A Heart set upon Heaven will make a Christian live the most joyful and comfortable Life in the World A Heavenly Mind will be a joyful Mind A Saint on Earth hath the same ground of Joy that a Saint in Heaven hath he derives his Joy and Peace from the Apprehensions he hath of God's being his God and Father in Jesus Christ and from the sence and enjoyment of his Love and Favour manifested to his Soul And so doth a Saint in Heaven only he hath a clearer knowledge and discovery as also a larger and fuller enjoyment thereof at present than a Saint on Earth hath but what he wants in Enjoyment he hath in the Promise and the Promises to a Saint on Earth are as certain and as true as the performance of them to a Saint in Heaven for God is never worse but usually better than his Word to his People here but to be sure they always find it so when they come to Heaven Now they that are Rich in Promises as all the People of God are and can act Faith upon them may very well live a Life of Peace and Joy for whatever they have not in possession they have in reversion And when a Believer's Faith and Hope is entertained above with the delightful Views and Contemplations of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven which he shall ere long be in the possession of what should make him walk uncomfortably and sadly here below In Heaven all is Peace and Joy and most of Peace and Joy here below resides with those that live most in Heaven while they are here on Earth an instance of this we have in the Holy Apostle none ever lived a more Heavenly Life on this side Heaven than Blessed St. Paul did and none also ever lived a more Peaceable and Joyful Life than he did How full of Joy doth he express himself upon all Occasions I Joy and Rejoice with you all says he Philip. 2.17 I am filled with comfort I am exceeding Joyful in all our Tribulations 2 Cor. 7.4 So in Rom. 5.1 2. Being justified by Faith we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and Rejoice in Hope of the Glory of God And not only so but we Glory in Tribulation And Verse 11. We also Joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have received the Atonement So in 2 Tim. 4.8 I have fought a good Fight I have finished my Course I have kept the Faith henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give unto me at that Day Now he that could say all this must needs be full of Joy and Comfort and being thus filled with Joy and Peace in believing though he knew that Bonds and Imprisonments did abide him in every place yet could he say that none of these things moved him neither counted he his Life dear unto him so he might finish his Course with Joy as himself speaks Acts 20.23 24. And this Joy of the Lord being his strength how earnestly and passionately doth he expostulate and chide with those Friends of his that would have disswaded him from Suffering Acts 21.13 What mean ye to weep and break mine Heart I am ready not only to be bound but to die for the Name of the Lord Jesus at Jerusalem From whence now came all this Courage and Boldness from whence did he receive and draw all this Joy and Consolation why it came from thence where his Hope his Heart his Life and Conversation was and that is from Heaven for so himself tells us Philip. 3.20 Our Conversation is in Heaven from whence we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ O this Hope of Eternal Life laid up for the Saints in Heaven as the Scripture calls it This laying hold of the blessed Hope set before us as it is called Heb. 6.18 19. This this was that which the Aposile had as an Anchor to his Soul sure and stedfast being that which entereth into that within the Vail that is into Heaven This made him not only to be content in every State and Condition but to rejoice in the worst that did befal him witness that strange Triumphant Speech of his 2 Cor. 12.3 I take pleasure says he in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in disiresses Now this peaceable joyful Life that this Blessed Apostle lived was not a Priviledge granted only unto him by way of special Grace and Favour because he was so eminent an Apostle and Servant of God but it is a Priviledge that is extended more commonly also unto other Believers it being that of which the Kingdom consists as the Apostle himself tells us Rom. 14.17 The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Ghost And therefore as a Duty incumbent upon Christians he urgeth the practice of it in several Scriptures So we read Philip. 3.1 Finally my Brethren rejoice in the Lord and in 1 Thess 5.10 Rejoice evermore Phil. 4.4 Rejoice always in the Lord and again I say rejoice Now the way for Christians to attain unto a Life of Peace and Joy is to be much conversant above to live a Heavenly Life to exercise his Thoughts and Contemplations daily upon Heaven and that State of Bliss and Happiness that is to be eternally enjoyed there Heaven is a place full of Peace and Joy yea a place where there is nothing else and the more of Heaven comes down into any Soul in this Life or the more any Soul ascends up into Heaven in Divine Contemplations the more comfortable and joyful Life doth that Soul lead while it is here upon Earth Fifthly Is there such a State of Bliss and Happiness to be enjoyed by the People of God hereafter let every one then examine themselves what Right and Title they have thereunto whether they are such as are qualified for the enjoyment of that blessed State First Examine thy self whether ever thou didst experience a work of Sanctification and Holiness wrought upon thy Soul if not whatever thy pretences for Heaven may be they are false and groundless and will end in Horror and Vexation of Soul The Command of God is that we should be Holy in all manner of Conversation that we should be Holy as God is Holy and the great Pattern and Exemplar of our Holiness is the Lord Jesus Christ who as the Apostle tells us was Holy Harmless Vndefiled separated from Sin and from all pollution and defilement both from Sin and Sinners Here now is both a Christian's Rule and a Christian's Example Now though a Christian cannot reach the exactness and perfection