were created in Heaven and in Earth visible and invisible Dan. 4.35 c. who doth according to his will in the Army of Heaven and amongst the Inhabitants of the Earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him what dost thou What difficulties will be able to frustrate his design unto whom the Elements the dumb Creatures the Devils and all things do yield obedience who hath conquered Death in its own Territories who hath an Infinite Wisdom as well as Power to bring to pass his intentions So that what Christ promiseth he is fully able to perform 3. Christ is Truth it self he is not subject to change nor able to deceive us He is not as Xerxes was he crowned his Steers man in the morning and beheaded him in the evening He is not thus unconstant in his Affections and Promises The heaven and the earth shall pass Matth. 5. but one jot of his word shall not pass until all be fulfilled Seeing therefore that he hath promised to bestow this Crown of life upon every faithful soul he will preserve them here by his spirit he will convey and guard them at their separation from the Body by the ministry of his Angels and will at last receive them unto this glorious estate Here are sufficient securities for this Immortal Reward Gods almighty Power his eternal Justice his Infinite Goodness and Love and his unchangeable Truth are all engaged to see the faithful crowned with Glory so that it is as impossible that they should fail of their expectation as it is impossible that God should deny himself St. Pauls Perswasion Jobs Confidence and the Assurance of the holy men were grounded upon this infallible foundation Were we possessed with the same spirit we should not need to seek for any other confirmation of this Truth than the authority of Scripture that often repeats the promise of this Crown unto the faithful But this sensual age will scarce do God that justice to give credit to his Word as if he could have a design to deceive us whose glory is our happiness and perfection as if he were an enemy to our good who gives us whatever we enjoy as if there were danger to expect the Rewards of Honesty and Vertue and to yield obedience when both Duty and Interest do require it Consider the folly of our Modern Witts extraordinary advantages are promised unto men to oblige them to actions full of honour and satisfaction when there should be no such future advantages it is their present concern to entertain this perswasion because it is a friend to Piety and it tends to strengthen their resolutions to appease their discontents and to fill our souls with a glorious expectation As that Athenian that in his greatest poverty did feel the contentments of the wealthiest Citizens Men should labour to comfort themselves in their present miseries with the assurance of a more blessed estate and suffer their hopes to frustrate the design of worldly misfortunes It seems therefore strange that Rational Beings should be so great enemies of their good as to discredit this beneficial perswasion and willingly to deprive themselves of an Antidote able to fortifie their souls against the venom of evil The excellency of that estate the vileness of ours and our natural unworthiness may justly fill us with wonder and admiration But we are not to question this Truth when not onely Scipture but Reason also is able to convince us that it is certain according to the natural course of things that he that is faithful unto Christ must needs attain unto the greatest happiness I understand the word faithful in the largest acception for a vertuous man faithful in the management of the several interests with which God hath intrusted him for one whose life and profession is conformable to Christianity who labours to reduce his Passions to reason his desires to content his wants to sufficiency and that endeavours to strengthen himself with all the natural and revealed perswasions that are intended to assist our Vertue against the inconveniencies that assault us Such a one hath a degree of happiness begun in him and if he continues exercise will bring him to that perfect disposition of the mind and to that noble temper as may brave all the attempts of evil The Stoicks by the strength of nature did attain unto a seeming insensibility witness the resolution of Possidonius in the midst of the tortures of the Gout he could never be forced to confess it to be a pain witness Anaximander pounded in a morter he laughed at the folly and cruelty of the Tyrant How much more power shall man have over himself when his resolution is backt by such strong perswasions as Christianity teaches when such divine helps do assist him as the graces of the holy Ghost an invincible hope and a well-grounded faith that makes him rejoyce in tribulation It is therefore plain that he that practises the Rules of Christianity must needs be happy not onely in regard of himself that he renders thereby capable of happiness but also in regard of those with whom we have a communication that are invited by an amiable correspondency and good offices to the same returns and behaviour and in respect of God who cannot but vouchsafe his blessings and his favour to that Being that is inspired with so noble an ambition and that in obedience to his holy Laws labours to arrive to perfection and holiness But besides this reason which onely proves a natural happiness attainable by a vertuous Christian in this life we may meet with others in that great proportion or relation between the estates of the faithful on earth and of the Saints in heaven Cast your eyes upon both and tell me what hinders a soul washed in the blood of Christ adopted amongst the sons of God united unto him by his divine Spirit what hinders a soul full of heavenly affections a soul that bears the Image of God from an immediate fruition of his presence and favour If therefore that be granted that may be proved by the experience of the faithful as well as by the authority of Scripture that they do really enjoy a present correspondency with their Creator and that they do not in vain flatter themselves with the conceits of an extraordidinary possession of the graces of the divine Spirit because they feel the inward operation of this spirit in their souls Unius Sp. Sancti opus est regeneratio Ambros de Sacr. and see a notable change in their dispositions and affections wrought in them by his power alone that fashions us in the womb if this be granted with the other priviledges of the Elect we shall find no difficulty to believe the happy consequences that do naturally flow from thence that God that favours them with such powerful helps in order to their perfection must needs design them for a greater happiness than their present mortality and weakness are capable of That he
any evil apprehensions Our bodies shall be no more marked with wounds and scars nor feel the effects of the enemies cruelty and malice What a glorious advantage is this we shall be armed against the assaults of all casualties we shall be secure from all attempts we shall no more tremble at the sight of a danger neither corruption within nor injuries from without shall be able to alter that perfect and happy constitution of our beings In one word nothing shall ever interrupt or disturb us in the sweet enjoyment of heavenly Bliss For God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes Heb. 4.9 and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying nor shall there be any more pain for the former things shall be passed away as is expresly promised in Revel 21.4 For that reason this glorious Estate is called a Rest because it shall free us from all inconveniences that now do encrease our labours it shall not consist in a shameful cessation from all action bur rather from those troublesome and ungrateful operations unto which our mortal condition do now condemn us Therefore it was typified under the Law by Moses Sabbath in which none were to be employed in servile work but were commanded to consecrate that day in the service of God it was also signified by the structure of the Tabernacle in which some learned Rabbies do take notice that Iron that is the emblem of War affliction and trouble was not used that being the visible Type of this glorious Tabernacle of Heaven where Gods presence shall for ever dwell with his people It intimates that in this Immortal Sanctuary not made with hands In gloria coelesti mira serenitas perfecta securitas aeterna foelicitas Bernard sup cant Serm. 2.12 no Iron shall be mingled with the Gold and Jewels that enrich and adorn Gods Palace no sorrow no sickness no disturbance nor displeasure shall ever come near us but as a Father very well expresseth himself In Heaven there shall be a wonderful tranquility a perfect security and an eternal felicity So I pass to the next advantage of this Heavenly life and that is A perfect Independency and a freedom from the Creature a freedom from all those wants that do oblige us to crave assistance from inferiour beings a freedom from the Elements and their Authority and from all obligations to mean subsistances for this blessed life shall advance us to that perfection that we shall not stand in need of those things that we do now enjoy we shall be enabled with those glorious qualities that shall make us be content in the enjoyment of our selves and when something should be wanting to the accomplishment of our happiness which we shall not possess in our selves as we shall be promoted to the fruition of God we shall there find it in him we shall there meet with all that sweetness and variety of Excellencies of which we see but the shadows in the Creature Psal 36.8 There we shall be abundantly filled with the fatness of his house And we shall drink out of the rivers of his pleasures It is impossible that any thing should be ever wanting to them that shall be admitted to a perfect communion with God the Author and Creator of all things to them who shall live under the daily expressions of his mercy and goodness His Almighty Power inclinable to render them happy shall continually supply and entertain them with immortal enjoyments and furnish them with those things that are not to be expressed by the creature 1 Cor. 12.4 The Greatness of Gods liberality doth make us conceive his Royal favours somewhat proportionable to his Infinite Being Alexander could not give so little a summe to Pericles as 10 Talents God will be no less noble to the Children of his bosome to those that he is obliged to raise to the highest felicity But those things that shall serve to encrease our satisfactions shall not be like those that we now possess they shall not put us to any expence to obtain them nor to any trouble to preserve them they shall not weary and torment us as earthly riches do nor oblige us to abase our selves besides they shall have this other advantage they shall proceed immediately from God It is far more pleasant to drink of the Fountain than to sup of the stream it is a greater satisfaction to behold the Sun than to feel some indirect reflections of the beams O how pleasant and what an Angelical satisfaction will it be to continue for ever in the loving embraces of that gracious God from whom all good is derived What advantage will it be that we shall there relish true pleasures without the least mixture of evil for they shall immediately flow unto us from Gods Essence from an eternal contemplation of his face and an immediate enjoyment of his favour we shall receive from Gods hand what he conveys unto us by other beings and that in a greater abundance and with far more satisfaction for our blessngs are not so natural when they come from the fruitfulness of the Earth and the influences of the Heavens as when they proceed from a divine Bounty without any mediation How sweet therefore will our Heavenly comforts appear unto us when God out of the tenderness of his Love shall freely bestow them when in this Celestial Court every one shall have an equal access to the supream Authority and depend onely upon God both for our subsistance and for those ineffable things that will contribute to our happiness A blessed Society a glorious Abode Holy and pleasant Employs the benefits of an eternal Peace with inestimable Riches shall be appurtenances of this Crown of life but the satisfaction that will flow from thence shall be swallowed up in that Ocean of Joy which Gods immediate presence and glory will create in our souls that will become so many Heavens where the invisible Being will manifest himself in an extraordinary manner Therefore St. John promiseth Rev. 21.3 God will dwell with us and we shall be his people and God himself shall be with us and be our God And elsewhere He that overcometh shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my Son Besides I find this other advantage in an immediate supply of our wants from God That we shall thereby be freed from that slavery that increases at present our discontents It is no small disgrace to the Nobility of our Nature that we should so impatiently pursue after and so covetously embrace the vanities of the world and things meaner than our selves it gives also no little occasion of disturbance to be obliged to labour after the possession of that which can furnish us no real content and that rewards our expectation and desires with disappointment But then as we shall immediately receive from Gods overflowing abundance innumerable satisfactions we shall no longer discredit our selves by mean complacencies and by
are pleasures for evermore 5. This life shall be a life of Holiness and Righteousness a life of Piety and Justice and of sobriety a life of integrity for then we shall be arrived to the supreme degree of perfection as well as of happines we shall come to that perfect stature of regeneration which is in Christ Jesus our Lord The works of the Devil shall then be utterly destroyed and that great disorder which his Apostacy hath caused shall then be reformed In Heaven no impure thing shall enter Rev. 21. Heb. 12.14 For without holiness none shall see God The glorified shall never be able to offend their God for the inward motions of the soul being rightly disposed according to his Will and our affections perfectly reformed the outward actions of the body must needs be conformable When there should be another Serpent to tempt us and another Eve to assist him they could never prevail upon us because we shall be no more in a possibility of sinning for our understandings shall be no more capable of mistakes nor our wills corrupted with importune desires nor our actions forced from us against our election And besides this blessed disposition from whence shall proceed a constant practice of the Commandments of God he will also by his continual influence to strengthen our resolutions and determine our wills that they shall abhor whatever might displease him the sight of his holiness shall convey the same disposition into our minds as St. John tells us and his infinite power shall be engaged 〈◊〉 â—â—eserve them whom his love hath espoused and for whom he hath been at so vast an expence to raise them to that estate Therefore God we shall for ever adore with all the powers of the soul and body his service we shall attend with delight our brethren we shall love without dissimulation How pleasant will this life be when there shall be a continual Emulation between God and his creatures and between themselves who shall exceed in love and affection when all the glorified in Heaven shall interchange daily expressions of kindness when there shall be a perfect agreement a living correspondency a sweet fellowship a delightful conversation without envy or malice without care or tediousness This is sufficient to render us most happy when all other things should be wanting for happiness consists rather in a perfect disposition of the mind than in a plentiful enjoyment of outward advantages But besides our bodies shall be adorned with heavenly qualities the present shall see a most happy change with the visible substance Conveniens est us sicut damnati habent extremas tenebras ita beati habeant extremam lucem Basil lib. Hexa Caro sine moln pondera sine deformitate ita ut sit animae ornamentum non tormentum Aug. Serm. 139. de tempor c. 3. and other qualities shall be added with which we are not at present acquainted It is therefore needless to question whether we shall know one another seeing we shall scarce know our selves the change will be so great It is certain that we shall move without trouble we shall ascend without help our strength shall be encreased our deformities removed our infirmities deposed our appearance shall be full of majesty and glory as Daniel informs us 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 In which words you may further observe a difference in the glories of Heaven sutable to their inclinations and employments on earth for the one shall shine as the Firmament the other as the Stars a sensible distinction shall be both in the nature and the greatness of their Rewards for according to the several dispositions of men and their several capacities God will accordingly bestow upon them his riches and his glory Therefore a Father adviseth us to enlarge our perfections and the faculties of the soul by a continual exercise in humane sciences that they may be then more capable to receive and contain the mysteries of Gods Wisdom and better able to bring forth glorious actions for this eternal Sabbath is an estate where all our abilities shall be in the highest perfection where we shall act and move without the least inconveniency Occasions we may have to exercise our Vertues not such as will cause us to suffer but such as without that strength of nature we should find a default in our happiness It is therefore our wisdom now to accustom our selves to that which shall be our employment for ever and upon which shall depend our satisfaction and glory which shall be revealed in us as St. Rom. 18.18 Paul informs us In our souls by a perfect enjoyment of supernatural excellencies in our bodies that shall be free from all weakness and beautified with glorious qualities Therefore this estate is called a Crown of Life for as the Crown is of a round and a perfect figure it is most proper to express the infiniteness and perfection of those heavenly delights that shall accompany that life besides the Crown is the sacred emblem of joy and honour this expression therefore presents us with the notion of the most pleasant and the most honourable estate together for there is nothing more acceptable than life nor more glorious than a Crown and that we may better understand wherefore Christ promiseth Heaven under this notion we must take notice that chiefly four sorts of persons were dignified with a Crown amongst the Ancients Kings to express their Authority and supream Command A new married couple at the nuptial Feasts therefore by the Greeks they were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Priest in the solemn Sacrifices to render the offering more acceptable and the devotion more glorious or rather to shew what qualification was anciently required in one that presented to the Divinity the Homages of the people Another sort were crowned they who had given open testimony of their valour and cunning either in private Disputes and Plays allowed by authority or in a publick War in the maintenance of the general interest To these several sorts of Crowns were given which were in value and esteem according to the nature of the vertuous action Now the faithful in Heaven shall be Kings enjoying a supream command over the infernal Spirits and damned Souls They shall be Priests Rev. 2.26 sending up unto God the perfume of their praises They shall be married unto Christ in love and affection In these several respects this Crown may become them But our Saviour in this promise hath more especially an eye to the Crowns that were the rewards of a generous Perseverance that had obtained the Victory for he mentions the difficulties that were to be overcome A death to be endured and adds this encouragement I will give thee O faithful soul a Crown of Life It was the ancient custom to crown the Temples