The FAITH of the SAINTS As to a Future HOUSE and HAPPINESS in the other WORLD Set forth in A SERMON Preached at the FUNERAL of that Worthy Servant of CHRIST Mr. WALTER MARSHAL By S. TOMLYNS M.A. LONDON Printed by John Richardson for Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and three Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers Chappel 1680. To the Honourable the Lady Anne Constantine and to the truly Religious Mrs. Mary Fiennes the Author wisheth increase of Grace and the enjoyment of Glory through Jesus Christ Madam Mistress IT hath pleased the Lord to afflict and exercise you both with Bodily Distempers and every Fit of a Disease every Paroxism of Pain is a blow that contributes to the Felling of the Tree these Van-curriers of Death do undermine the Vigor and strength of Nature and help forward the Ruin of a frail Tabernacle As there are Flowers that blow and wither in the Spring as well as others that flourish and fade in the Summer and Autumn so many of Mankind do fade and die in the Spring of Youth as well as in the Summer of Riper Years and in the Autumn of Old Age. God can make our Night and Deaths Harvest to come whenever he pleaseth our Sun may set when we think it is not yet Noon Deaths Harvest may come when our Spring seems not yet to be past Our Breath is in our Nostrils and may soon pass out the Judge stands at the door and may quickly enter in It concerns us therefore always to be ready for the coming of our Lord that he may not surprize us as a Thief in the Night but may Visit us as a Bridegroom that we have long looked and waited for It is or should be the work of our whole Week-day to prepare for the Everlasting Sabbath As by your Bodily Distempers the great Landlord warns you out of your Earthly Tabernacle so the Text I insist on teaches you whither Saints must Remove and what a House God hath built to entertain the separated Souls of Believers I have therefore thought fit to Tender this small Treatise to you as a Testimony of my Respect and Observance towards you if it may in any degree prove a Light to your Feet a Lamp to your Paths a Staff to your Faith and a Cordial to your Souls it will be very acceptable to him who is Your Obliged and Humble Servant S. T. To my Well-beloved Friends the Inhabitants of Gosport in the County of Southampton the Author wisheth Grace and Peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ Christian Friends IT hath seemed good to the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth to make a Breach upon you by snatching away from you a faithful and laborious Servant of Christ who fed you with his Doctrine and edified you by his Example He wooed for Christ in his Preaching and allured you to Christ by his Walking Though the Seedsman be dead yet the Doctrine he preached is Incorruptible Seed the Word of God that lives and abides for ever And though his service by vocal preaching among you is past yet your Account for your profiting by and growth under his Ministry is to come Look therefore diligently to it that the Word of God dwell richly and root deeply in your souls that it be the sword of the Spirit to slay your lusts a spiritual Mould to fashion your hearts aright and Bread to feed and nourish you up to everlasting Life Walk while you have the light and work the works of him that sent you into the World while it is day build up your selves on your most holy Faith and walk in love towards each other as Christ hath loved you Your souls came into this World on a Trading Voyage to buy Gold tried in the Fire white Rayment and Eye-salve Neglect not your spiritual Traffick the longer the Merchants ship stayes out the richer Lading should it bring home Lade your selves with Treasures that Death shall not spoil you of Adorn your souls with Ornaments that it shall not strip off It will be sad if any of you should go out of the World and carry nothing away with you but the guilt of Sin and the fear of punishment a bitter remembrance of past iniquity and a dreadful expectation of Wrath to come Death is called the way of all the Earth 1 Kings 2.2 and in this way you must shortly tread and by it depart from all Friends and Enjoyments below O look up to and take fast hold of Christ that is the Ladder that reaches up to Heaven and so is the way to the best Country and Inheritance You cannot decline the way that will carry you off from all Earthly Relations Pleasures Possessions O be sure that you enter into and walk â—n in that way that will carry you to an invisible World of Happiness and Glory Time hastens days post away and will you stand idle You are carried a-pace down the River of Time towards the Ocean of Eternity and will you not as spiritual Racers press forward towards the Mark for the price of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus Let not by business divert you from your principal and most noble work Mary chose the one thing necessary David desired one thing Paul saith this one thing I do Read those three Scriptures Luk. 10.42 Psal 27.4 Phil. 3.13 14. This argues sincerity and fervency iâ—deed when you choose desire and do one thing as Necessary and are Conversant about other matters but as indifferent things Be watchful against the old man that stoops you towards this Earth beware of Satan that wrestles with you to throw your minds and â—earts down to this World Lay not those snowy-creatures in your bosomes that will not only melt away themselves but also chill your Hearts to better and more Noble Objects Be not guilty of such folly to magnifie what you are but Stewards of and to despise what you may be Heirs of Take hold of the Hope set before you and then when others shall be put away as dross you shall be made up as Jewels and shine for ever in the kingdom of your Father This Sermon as it was Preached at your desire so now it is Printed with some enlargement at the Request of some of you the Lord accompany it with the teaching of his Spirit and the efficacy of his Grace that it may conduce to your spiritual Good which is the carnest desine and Prayer of Aug. 23. 1680. Your affectionate Friend and Servant for Jesus sake S. T. The Faith of the SAINTS 2 COR. 5.1 For we know that if our Earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands Eternal in the Heavens THE Words of the Text are a reason of somewhat discoursed and asserted by the Apostle in the foregoing Chapter in the 2 Cor. 4.16 he saith we faint not And in the 2 Cor. 4.18 We look not at the things that are seen but at
the things that are not seen And why did he not faint under present Pressures and Afflictions why did he and other Saints look at an unseen Happiness and Reward To such Questions as these he Answers in the words of the Text For we know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens In the Words we may observe these several Parts I. A Name the Apostle gives to the Body it is our Earthly house of this Tabernacle He calls it an Earthly house and it may well be styled so 1. Because it was taken out of the Earth Genesis 2.7 Genesis 3.23 2. It is maintained and upheld by Food that grows out of the Earth Psal 104.14 15. 3. This House of Clay hath its Foundation on the Earth Job 4.19 on this Earth men walk and tread 4. It may be styled an Earthly house for into dust it must return again Gen. 3.19 The Apostle doth not only call the Body an Earthly house but adds the word Tabernacle to diminish and lessen the sense of the word House as if he should say It is too much to call the body absolutely a house this word is too high and great for such a frail brittle mouldering thing it is a Tabernacle rather than a House and so the Apostle calls it in 2 Cor. 5.4 We that are in this Tabernacle do groan being burdened II. We have an Intimation of the Frailty of this Earthly house that it would soon fall to pieces and crumble into dust the Apostle implies that Ruin was hastening on it and that its dissolution did approach he grants and confesses that it must and would shortly be dissolved The walls of our clay Cottage will moulder down the boards of our Tabernacle must be unpinned this Tenement of the body will decay and fall to the Earth and the Soul that is the Tenant must remove dislodge and take its flight into Eâ—ernity III. We have the gracious and comfortable Provision that God hath made for his People when this earthly house shall be dissolved we have a building of God a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens Here we may observe that though severity be exercised towards our Flesh and Old Man that this Tabernacle must be plucked down and turned into Ruins and Rubbish yet there is grace extended to the New man Though the Soul is turned out of one house yet it is taken into another though it may not sojourn any longer in a Tabernacle here below yet it shall dwell for ever in a Palace above When death hath done its worst the Saints of God shall not be House-less or Harbour-less Though Justice Raze their Earthly house yet Mercy hath Reared and Raised up a better Heavenly Habitation for them out of which they shall never dislodge or remove Heaven and the happiness there to be enjoyed is set out here under the Notion of a house We may observe an esegant Climax in the language of the Holy Ghost and phrase of the Scripture 1. Sometimes Heaven it self and all the blessedness of â—â—â—â—s is styled a House as Joh. 14.2 In my Fathers house are many Mansions And then the Place and Happiness of every particular Saint is but as one Room Mansion or Chamber as in the Palace of an Earthly King there are several Lodgings and Apartments so in the Royal house of the Eternal King there are many Mansions by reason of which it well deserves the Name that Isaac gave to a Well that he digged Gen. 26.22 we may stile it Rehoboth which signifies as much as Room Breadth and Largeness In this one Palace of the glorious King there is room enough for all his Subjects to dwell with him though the number of them be more than we can Reckon or Imagine 2. Heaven and the happiness of Saints there is called a City Heb. 11.10 he looked for a City that hath foundations So also it is stiled Heb. 13.14 A City is made up of many Houses and when heaven passes under this Notion every Saint is said to have his particular house in it as according to the words of the Text every Believer may say that when his Tabernacle is dissolved he hath a house prepared for him in Heaven 3. Heaven and its glory hath the name of a Country put on it and a Country imports something more than a City Heb. 11.14 16. they sought and desired a heavenly Country 4. The Holy Ghost ascends it higher and uses a word more large and significant than all the other Heaven and its Felicity is called a World Luk 20.35 they that shall be accounted worthy to obtain that World i. e. the Earthly Paradise seems to be but a part of one Country for it was planted in Eden Gen. 2.8 but how large and spacious is the heavenly Paradise which is called a World And the Apostle doth not only call the place and state of Saints departed from this world a House but he insists upon the excellency and somewhat delineates the glory of this house Here are several expressions that deserve our serious Consideration 1. Here is the Author of it and this commends the excellency of this house Heb. 11.10 He looked for a City whose builder and maker was God The Apostle in this Text makes use of two words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God doth appear in this structure not only as a Maker but as a Master-builder as a most excellent Artist as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports the skill of Divine Wisdom doth shine in this Choice and Exquisite piece of Work fitted and framed for the Reception and Entertainment of his Favourites and Children to Eternity The Scripture tells us that God hath garnished the visible Heavens Job 26.13 Yet these are but the Porch and ontside of Gods Palace and if that be so beautiful and glorious what then is the inside 2. The Apostle commends this house for the Duration of it he styles it Eternal and what a great and weighty Epithet is this It is a house that shall never decay or need reparation It is an house not made by mans hands and therefore it is so Permanent and Abiding That structure which mans hands have Reared up mans may hands again pluck down Where the Builders areweak and mortal the Building cannot be strong and eternal As the Workmen must fall to the Earth so their work will moulder to dust but here an Eternal Builder hath made an house of incorruptible Matter 1 Pet. 1.4 and so left on his work an impress of his own Eternity This is not a house that shall Cleave Founder or Sink but endure for ever This City that God hath built is said to have Foundations and such that shall never be shaken or fail It is a perpetual and abiding City Heb. 13.14 Here is a substance induring Heb. 10.34 An inheritance the beauty and glory of which fadeth not away 1 Pet. 1.4
And a Kingdom that cannot be moved Heb. 12.28 The strongest Kingdoms the greatest Cities the most stately Houses in the world have been Subverted Razed and utterly Demolished but this is an Eternal House City and Kingdom 3. This house is commended from the Place and Situation of it it is a house Eternal in the Heavens But you may say Doth this house differ from heaven it self because the Apostle calls it an Eternal house in the Heavens I Answer The house of every particular Saint is a part of heaven and of the blessedness of the invisible World and it is much such a form of speech as if I should say My house is in the City yet it is also a part of it and Oh what an honor is it to possess and inhabit such an house in such a Place Heaven in Scripture is called the Highest and the Holiest place Luke 19.38 Heb. 10.19 Oh what an unspeakable Dignity and Felicity is this for Vile Wretched Abject Creatures to be entertained in the highest and holiest Place David in the 1 Sam. 27.5 speaks as if it were too great an honour for such a Mean servant as he was to dwell in the Royal City with the King Oh how much then are we advanced by being admitted to dwell with an infinite Majesty in his Royal City 4. We may observe the certainty that the Apostle and other Believers had of their Title to Interest and Propriety in this blessed place and glorious state We know saith he that we have a building of God a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens This was not his or their guess or conjecture 't was not a meer probable opinion a loose and uncertain hope but we know it we are fully perswaded and assured of it and that on good grounds as Saints may know that they are begotten and born of God 1 Joh. 5.19 We know that we are of God So they may know that God will Treat and Portion them as his Children as here We know we have a building of God a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens According to these four Parts of the Words I shall raise and deliver to you these four Doctrines Doctrine 1. The bodies of Saints even as other mens are but an Earthly house of a Tabernacle Doctrine 2. The Earthly house of this Tabernacle must be dissolved Doctrine 3. When the house of this Tabernacle is dissolved yet Saints have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens Doctrine 4. Saints do or may know that when their Earthly Tabernacle shall be dislolved they have a building of God a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens Of each of these I shall speak with as much brevity as I can Doctrine 1. That the Natural Body of Saints is but an earthly house of a Tabernacle 1. It is an Earthly house Prov. 8.26 God is said to make the highest Part of the Dust of the World Rabbi Kimchi by Gods making the highest Part of the Dust of the World understands the Creation of the first Adam and the interpretation is exceeding probable It is a very humbling expression of Proud Man to call him but the higher part of the dust of the World Mans body was but one remove from dust it was but well colour'd warm'd and animated Dust 2. The Natural body is a Tabernacle as it comes from the first Adam it is exceeding weak and frail and but of a short and Temporary use to the Soul and is not yet fitted to be the everlasting abode and habitation of it This word Tabernacle is Metaphorical and the Metaphor is borrowed from Travellers and Soldiers 1. Travellers had their Tents especially in Countries where there were not such conveniences as Inns Gen. 31.25 Travelling Jacob pitches his Tents in a Mountain Saints are in their bodies as Travellers through this Wilderness to the heavenly Canaan they are strangers in this World and as Pilgrims journeying on towards the invisible and future World as Jacob they are passing on towards their Fathers house We have here no abiding City but we seek one to come Heb. 13.14 2. Saints are in their bodies as Soldiers in a Military Tent. Judah and Israel fighting against the Ammonites incamped in their Tents 2 Sam. 11.11 So Saints are in a Warfare the beloved City is also called the Camp of the Saints Rev. 20.9 They are fighting against Sin the World and the Devil Paul saith 1 Cor. 9.26 So fight I not as one that beats the Air. I am not in jest as Fencers but in good earnest as Soldiers I am subduing iniquity mortifying Members on Earth killing of fleshly Lusts Vse 1. Here is matter of Humiliation to us all our bodies are but an Earthly house a weak and frail Tabernacle why should any swell with conceits of their Wealth or be puffed up with Honour or Profperity or glory in their Birth or Breeding They dwell in houses of Clay they are clothed and clogged with vile bodies all their glory and grandeur is but as Tapistry hangings or cloth of gold put on or cast over a base mouldering Mud-wall These bodies that many are so proud of must shortly be breathless colourless Carcasses feeding the Worms and soiling the grass Vse 2. We may draw from hence matter of Caution and Counsel 1. Are our bodies Earthly houses Oh take heed that your hearts be not Earthly too and your Spirits Carnalized also 'T is Comfortable when there is a heavenly Tenant in this Earthly house but how sad is it when body and soul too are counted but Flesh by God Gen. 6.3 My Spirit shall not always strive with man for that he also is flesh How debasing to man is this expression though the Soul in its own Nature be a Spirit yet it is so debaucht and degenerate it is so sunk immersed into and swallowed up in the concerns of the body that by reason of its disposition and inclination it may well be called Flesh Take heed that your Souls be not thus drenched and soaked in bodily Pleasures and sensual delights that you do not invassal and inslave your Spirits to be Stewards and Caterers to your Flesh that Reason be not hired out to the service of a sensual Appetite Unregenerate Persons are called Men of this Earth Ps 10.18 Ps 17.14 and Men of this World their minds fix and dwell on this Earth their Affections cleave and are glued to it They are as Plants flourishing in their Native soil and as Free Denizens and Citizens of this present World Ps 37.35 Oh therefore seek that you may be recovered from this Degeneracy and be rescued from this Bondage by the renewing of the Holy Ghost Tit. 3.5 Joh. 3.6 1 Cor. 15.48 49. As that which is born of the Flesh is Flesh so that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit The heavenly Adam begets a heavenly Seed and Posterity if your Souls do now become Spiritual and
that kills the gourd of this Natural Life Rom. 8.10 The body is dead by reason of sin the Plague of Spiritual Leprofie infects this house and provokes God to pull it down The heavenly Husbandman is displeased with that Soil that will still nourish and feed Satans Tares The Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth is resolved and bent against the old Frame of Nature he will pull it down and destroy it and that in his own and best People God hath ingaged in and is pursuing of a most gracious and excellent design and hath drawn an exact draught and idea of the New Creation viz. Rev. 3.14 Jesus Christ to which all the Saints must be conformed This Natural Frame was destroyed and utterly abolished in his own Son by Death and God will not uphold that in the Members which he hath taken down and abolished in the Head The Spiritual and Glorious Body of Christ is the great Pattern and Example according to which all the Bodies of the Saints must be Framed and Fashioned Vse 1. Information From hence we may learn Gods Hatred of and Severity against Sin God threatned the first Adam that if he did offend and transgress he should surely die and he will not repeal his Sentence or reverse his Decree The Righteous Judge is fixed in his determinations and inexorable as to the Doom he hath passed on the Natural bodies of sinners As Numb 14.29 30 31. God sware against the old Men that came out of Egypt that they should die in the Wilderness but the New and Young generation they should enter into and possess Canaan So God hath resolved that the Old Man shall Perish 1 Cor. 15.50 that Flesh and Blood shall not inherit the Kingdom of God it is the New Man that shall enter into the heavenly Canaan and be heir of the Eternal inheritance Vse 2. If this House and Tabernacle must be dissolved reckon upon it and expect it The Master will shortly take away your Stewardship your great Landlord will warn you out of this Earthly house The Lord of Hosts will call you to March out of this into another World live in expectation of that fatal word Return you sons of Men to your earth and dust Ps 90.3 Isa 38.12 13. Hezekiah says that he had as a weaver cut off his Life and that he reckoned that God would shortly make an end of him Consider you are upon the brink of the Pit and on the borders of Eternity Is it not past high-water with some of you doth not your strength and vigour Ebb do not your Lamps burn dim doth not Death make its near Approaches to you and begin to seize on the Posts and Out-works of your Senses is it not entred already at your Eyes and Ears as Posts did run to tell the King of Babylon that his City was taken at one end so Jer. 51.31 may I not say that this City of the Body is already taken at one End hath not Death already invaded and possessed the Cinque Ports of your Senses and shall your thoughts settle and your affections Centre on that place from whence you are removing will you not provide a better habitation being warned out of this house of Clay will you not seek out a New World to plant and settle in are there not numerous Colonies of healed and sanctified Souls already seated in it and will you not desire a Lot and Place among them you have no abiding City here and will you be wholly destitute by neglecting to seek one to come are you setting in the Horizon of Time and will you not make sure that you shall Rise and Shine for ever in the Horizon of Eternity Send out Faith as a Spy into the Heavenly Canaan Labour to enter into Rest Lay hold of the Hope set before you Improve Time before the spiritual Market is done before the Ladder that joins Earth and Heaven be drawn up and the door of the Bride-Chamber be shut for Ever Doctrine 3. When Saints depart out of their Earthly House they have a Building of God a House not made with hands Eternal in the Heavens Two things I shall here insist upon First What this house is Secondly What grounds there are to conclude that departing Saints have and shall enjoy this House First Quest What is to be understood by this house I Answer these two things I. The glorious Place * Of this place I did speak before but I shall now speak something of the state as it is comprehended in the word House and blessed State of the Souls of Saints separated from their Bodies II. This house comprehends the Recovery and Happiness of their Bodies 1. By this house we are to understand the glorious Place and State of the Soul it shall mount up to the highest Heavens and dwell there with God and Christ 1 Thes 4.17 We shall be for ever with the Lord. The glory of God is as a Covert and House over the Spirits of Just men Rev. 22.3 it is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he shall dwell with them but Rev. 7.15 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall dwell or tabernacle over them Oh what a happy change is this to go out of a vile Tabernacle of flesh into a Place where the excellent glory of an infinite Majesty will be as a Tabernacle or Tent over us The immediate Presence of God will be as a Tent and House to guard us and keep off all Evils and as a living Fountain to derive all good to us Rev. 7.15 17. 2. This house takes in the Body and its happy State Saints do groan earnestly and desire to be clothed upon with their house from heaven and by a house from heaven the Apostle means the Recovery and Resurrection of the Body when the Lord from heaven 1 Cor. 15.47 shall beget it from the dead When by the arm of the second Adam stretched out from heaven it shall be plucked out of the Jaws of Death The Soul shall not live still as a naked ejected Spirit as dis-seized of its habitation but it shall be housed in the body and seated in its former and ancient dwelling Though Soul and Body be divorced yet they shall be joined together again these two Friends though long parted shall have a joyful meeting The grave is a Womb that must Travail and bring forth the bodies of the Saints their seed-time shall be followed with a harvest Death shall vomit up its Morsels this Whale shall spue out God's Jonah's and then it shall itself be swallowed up for ever The body that lies in the lowest grave shall sit in the highest heavens that which dwells for a time in darkness shall dwell in glorious Light for Eternity that which fed Worms shall feast with Angels on the delicious Fruits of the heavenly Paradise and though this was to be accomplished at the distance of some hundreds if not thousands of Years yet the Eagle-Eye of Faith seeth it as
present Paul in his own and the Person of other Believers could boast and glory in the Promise as if he were in Possession as if the body were fallen and sprung up again as if it were Razed and Raised as if it were already taken out of the dark Prison of the grave and seated in the glorious Palace above We have saith he a building of God a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens The body when it shall be raised and built up out of its Ruines by the Power of Christ from heaven is then fitted to be an Eternal house for the Soul in heaven When Souls shall be possessed of this house they shall not be found naked 2 Cor. 5.2 3. Second Quest What Grounds and Reasons there are to conclude that departing Saints shall have such a house Answ 1. This house was prepared in the Purpose and Decree of God from all Eternity he then designed a habitation a place of Rest and Happiness for his Elect. The Idea of this great house was drawn the Modul and Scheme of this glorious building was laid out in the Mind of the infinite Architect from Everlasting As he chose a peculiar People before the Foundation of the World so he purposed to build a place to entertain them in and to express his love towards them for ever Christ sayes the Kingdom was prepared from or before the Foundation of the World Matth. 25.34 as some understand that phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. God built this house and City in the beginning of Time He set his hand to the work and executed his own Purpose and Decree Heb. 11.10 This is a City whose builder and maker is God Mans hands did contribute nothing to it it is wholly the product of Divine Goodness and Power and this City God is said to prepare for his People Heb. 11.16 God needed not such a house or City for he inhabited Eternity yea his own Eternity was a sufficient habitation for him Isa 57.15 3. The Lord Jesus by his Death Resurrection Ascension and Intercession hath made an entrance into the holiest place and prepared a place in Heaven for his People Heb. 10.19 with Joh. 14.2 I go to prepare a place for you Though the Kingdom was prepared in the purpose of the Father before the World yet this pleasure of the Lord was to prosper and to be accomplished in and by the hand of the Son as Mediator Isa 53.10 The Pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand It was his sacrifice that did Rent the Vail that was before the Earthly and did procure an entrance for Saints into the Heavenly Sanctuary This Vail stood up and could not be removed by all the sacrifices of the Law but when the Vail of Christs flesh was Rent Heb. 10.19 20. then the way was laid open to the true Holy of Holies and through the Rent and Torn vail of Christs flesh we have a passage into the heavenly Sanctuary As the Red Sea was divided that the Israelites might have a passage through it to the earthly Canaan so by the division and separation of Christs Soul and Body Believers have a passage unto the heavenly Canaan It is necessary also that Christ do carry in his Blood and sprinkle the Mercy-seat and the heavenly Sanctuary with it that without contradiction from Justice it may become a habitation for those that once as sinners were Enemies to and Rebels against God And Christs blood doth now speak yea cry in heaven for the fulfilling of his Testament that the heirs of Promise may partake of the heavenly inheritance Heb. 12.24 John 17.24 Father I will that those that thou hast given me be with me that they may see my glory And the Cry of Christs Blood cannot be gain-sayed or denied Yea Christ as a Fore runner hath entred into and taken possession of heaven for Believers in which respect while their Persons are here upon Earth they are said to sit in heavenly Places in Christ Eph. 2.5 6. The Israelites in Egypt had possession of the earthly Canaan but by the dead bodies of the Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob but Believers have Possession of Heaven in a living Fore-runner and well may the Anchor of their hope enter thither whither the Forerunner is for them entred Heb. 6.19 20. Christ as our high Priest is entred within the Vail with the Names of spiritual Israel on his breast and heart and he that hath already taken their Names will in due time take their Persons Souls and Bodies too within the Vail Lastly Christians may be said to have such a building and eternal house in heaven because they are now begotten to the lively hope of it 1 Pet. 1.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath begotten us to a lively hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ to an inheritance incorruptible undefiled that fades not away reserved in heaven for us The hope of this inheritance is not so easie and common a thing as most imagine this lively hope cannot spring up or be found in a Natural Man those only that are begotten of God have ground to hope for his inheritance those only that are Regenerate and Adopted have a Right to it and a Fitness for it And Christians are first begotten to a hope or to a Reversion and then they come to Possession as a Child is first begotten to a hope of his Father's Estate and afterwards enters upon the enjoyment of it This hope that is raised by Regeneration and is built on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ cannot be frustrated or disappointed Vse 1. This may Inform us of the wonderful Mercy of God mixed with his Severity That the Soul is cast out of its Earthly house this is Severity that it is received into a heavenly house this is Mercy Death is the Executioner of Justice yet it is Christ's Harvest-man also It Cuts off the lives of Men as Offenders yet it Reaps Saints as good Corn it gathers them as Sheaves into the Barn as Wheat into the Garner A Lease of Ejectment is sealed and served on the Soul by Death as Gods Officer the Spirit doth forfeit the house of the Body as a Traytor yet it is taken into Heaven as an Heir Oh how wonderful is this that a man should forfeit and inherit at the same time that the Body should be cast down to the lowest grave and the Soul be raised up to the highest Heaven that the one part of Man should dwell with such vile Kindred as Worms and Corruption and the other part of him should converse with such Noble Relations as God Christ Angels and Saints are Oh that God should Tear a man in Pieces and yet presently glorifie one piece of him with himself that God should pull off the garment of the Body and yet presently cloth the Soul with Celestial Glory Judas is said to go to his own place Acts 1.25 and God
is now possessed and enjoyed by Christ and he that receives Christ and hath propriety in him hath also Title to it Will you suffer Satan to wrangle you out of such Clear and wrest from you such Comfortable and Reviving Texts of Scripture will you not Echo your Assent of Faith to this good Word of God and take hold of the Hope that is set before you We have more food and abundant supports for Faith in this new Testament dispensation and therefore Faith is now said to be come Gal. 3.23 25. and Hope in a more excellent way is said to be set before us Heb. 6.18 And is it not a dishonour to this glorious new Testament dispensation for Christians to walk in darkness and to live in continual Doubts and Fears about their Everlasting Condition The Testament of the Son of God is Ratified and Established by his Death God hath promised and sworn to bless the Heirs of Promise and why should you not apply the Comfort of both to your selves and say as the Psalmist the Lord hath been mindful of us and he will bless us Psal 115.12 God hath spoken in his Holiness take him at his Word and you shall find that he will not deny his Promise or go back from it Let not Satan darken your minds or unbelief perplex your souls with needless Objections it is by Grace that you must be saved Matth. 6.33 The Kingdom of Glory is Gods free gift to men and the Righteousness that qualifies for it is wrought in them by his Spirit A new Heart is freely Promised as well as Eternal Life both are the gifts of God through Jesus Christ Ezekiel 36.26 27. Rom. 6. last Receive therefore and trust on Jesus Christ for them both As the Christian Sabbath is the first day of the week and so our Resting-day is before our working-dayes so truly we must enter into a spiritual Rest by Faith in Christ our Consciences must be sprinkled purged and pacified by his bloody before we can serve the living God Heb. 4.3 Heb. 9.14 Christ died for sinners came into the World to save sinners and those that see themselves to be such must look to and trust on Christ for Healing and Sanctification for Grace and Glory or else all Mankind must be excluded Here is no fear of presumption or deceiving our selves provided that we desire and rely on Christ for his whole Salvation for deliverance from the Power as well as the Guilt of Sin Apply your selves therefore to Jesus Christ receive him and you shall in and with him receive an abundance of Grace and of the gift of Righteousness Rom. 5.17 and so Reign in Life for evermore If you believe in Christ Job 1.12 Rom. 5.16 17. God is your God and Father and if you are Sons you are Heirs the Kingdom of glory the heavenly Inheritance is yours Match with Christ get into him who is the true God and Eternal Life 1 John 5.20 and he will provide you a place and make you welcome in his Fathers house for ever If you have the Son you have life None that belong to him can be shut out of the Banqueting-house and glorious Bed-chamber 2. You that are true Christians be exhorted to rejoyce in your Habitation say to your Souls that your Lines are fallen to you in pleasant places and you have a goodly heritage have you not a Rest and House above the reach and rage of Satan and his instruments When they have done their utmost they can but consume you on earth Psal 119.87 they cannot quench your spiritual life or rase your heavenly house If you are thrust out of this World you have a better Country to enjoy if you are dispossessed of your houses you have a more lasting habitation to enter into When cruel Enemies stoned Stephen they could not hinder him from placing his Jewel in a safe hand from committing of his Soul to Jesus Christ Acts 7.59 Why are your Souls Clouded why do your Spirits droop why do your hands wax Feeble Let this Truth Chear and Incourage you that so great an inheritance is bequeathed to you so glorious a house is prepared for you in heaven 3. Do you know that you have an Eternal House built for you in heaven Oh then let this Truth raise your Minds and elevate your Hearts to Heaven Oh let your Conversation be in Heaven Phil. 3.20 Christ hath said where the Treasure is there the heart will be also Matth. 6.21 If this eternal house be prized as your Treasure will it not be a Loadstone to draw up your hearts to heaven Why do you weary and wound your selves among the Briars and Thorns of this wretched Wilderness when your Minds might Converse in the delightful heavenly Paradise Why do you grovel on the ground embrace the Dunghil and feed on Dust when you might soar up to the Throne and Feast with Christ at his Table satisfying your selves with the fatness of his house and drinking of the Rivers of his Pleasures Oh set your Affections on and seek the things that are above Col. 3.1 2. Let your Loins stand girt suffer not your Minds to get loose fall down and draggle on this low and dirty World Christ by his Ascension into Heaven hath fixed a new Centre towards which the Minds and Hearts of all Believers should move and in which they should stay and Rest Joh. 17.24 Joh. 14.2 3. Christ hath prayed that all his People may be with him and he hath prepared a glorious place to entertain them in and yet shall our Minds stay and our hearts dwell here below shall we despise that now that we must Feast on to Eternity shall we be strangers to our everlasting home and forget our heavenly Country Oh Christians why do your Minds so often and so much leave the Guest-Chamber and the upper Rooms of Immanuels house why do you so often come down and delight so much to dwell in the low Rooms and ground Chambers of this World can you not meet with sufficient delights and full satisfaction above Is the Air on the Mountain of Myrrh and the Hill of Frankincense too pure and fine for your gross and carnal hearts O seek to Christ to cure your spiritual disease and to recover your Appetite to spiritual enjoyments Oh beg him to take off your weights of Unbelief and Carnal Affections and give you wings to mount upwards that as Children you may live on the Fatness and Dainties of your Fathers house and as Citizens of Zion you may delight your Souls on the delicious Fruits of the Tree of Life and in the pure River of Living water that Flows from the Throne of God and the Lamb. FINIS