into the Kingdom of God 2 Tim. 3.12 All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer Persecution They who are not of the world but chosen by God out of the world are sure to meet with the World's Hatred so our Lord tells us John 15.19 John 17.14 A Saint's Peaceable and quiet State is yet to come In this Life they receive all their evil things from God from Men and from Devils and when they arrive at Heaven their afflicted persecuted State is over and instead thereof they shall for ever be partakers of Peace and Joy O all ye Saints and People of God that now can set upon no Work or Service for God but you meet with Opposition yea and if you will go through with it are sure not only to lose the Love of the World and to part with many of your outward Comforts and Enjoyments in so doing but also to meet with many Enemies that will afflict and persecute you in the discharge of your Duty yet be not affrighted at it but persevere therein and for your Encouragement know that while you do so you are secure of the Love and Favour of God to you and the Time is almost come when you shall see an End of all your Persecutors yea and of their Persecutions also How quickly will Death come in to your Relief and put you out of the reach of all their Malice to harm you for ever For in Heaven you shall never meet with any company that shall discourage your Hearts or weaken your Hands but such only as will gladly further you in your holy Work by joyning Hearts and Voices with you in everlasting Joys and Praises And until that Time doth come let Faith and Hope support and bear you up that you may always in Patience possess your Souls And whatever Reproaches you meet with for well doing bind them as so many Crowns upon your Heads value them with Moses as greater Riches to you than all the Treasures of the world yea as the blessed Apostle says in Jam. 1.2 Let it be all joy unto you when you fall into divers Temptations remembring God can deliver you from them however he will quickly deliver you out of them recompensing Tribulation to them that trouble you but unto you who are troubled Rest and Peace for ever In this Life also the People of God suffer many Losses meet with many Disappointments But in Heaven there are no such things All Treasures laid up on Earth are subject to the Moth to the Rust and to the Thief Inward Corruption or outward Violences do often deprive us of them or if we lose them not so Death to be sure will put an end to our Enjoyment of them But it is not so in Heaven Treasure laid up there is safe and secure there 's no Moth nor Rust to corrupt it nor no Thieves to rob and spoil us of it A Saint's Happiness in Heaven cannot be lost nor shall a Godly Man ever meet with any Disappointments there unless it be by finding a Happiness far greater than ever he imagined All in Heaven is like unto the God of Heaven permanent and abiding It shall not be with a Saint there as it is with him here Now his Condition is subject to Change and Alteration sometimes he is high and sometimes low sometimes rich and sometimes poor sometimes in peace and liberty and sometimes under restraint and imprisonment But the Happiness of Heaven is always one and the same subject to no Changes or Vicissitudes And as for the loss of Friends and Relations a great Affliction unto many in this World it shall not be so with us in Heaven for whoever of them we meet with there they and we shall never be parted Saints in Heaven have not only the best Company but they have that Society with the greatest Advantage being such as shall never be broken but continue everlastingly Here the People of God greatly love and delight in the Society of one another as they are Saints but because they are also Sinners Death will make a separation between them But when once Sin is extirpated out of them as it shall be in Heaven then as they shall be the best Company so they shall be a perpetual Society Here the Fear of losing our Friends and Relations is a great Disquietment to us while we enjoy them but in Heaven all such Fears are abolished Let but Husband and Wife let but Parents and Children let but Friends and Relations make Heaven sure to their own Souls let them but clear up to themselves their Title unto that Happiness that is to be enjoyed in Heaven through the great and blessed Redeemer and then though Death will part them one from another for a Time yet it shall certainly bring them together again in Heaven and though some of them are more Happy than others because by dying before them they get to Heaven sooner than they yet shall they all come thither in their appointed Time and then shall they be free'd from all Fears of ever being parted asunder any more And instead thereof they shall know themselves to be confirmed in the Happy and Everlasting Enjoyment of one another in Glory In this Life also the People of God are often afflicted with many Weaknesses and Distempers of Body in respect whereof their Lives may be called a Dying Life Oh! what wearisome Days what tiresome Nights do they sigh and groan away by Reason hereof Oh! what mournful Complaints are there made by them upon this Account some daily crying out Oh my Head Oh my Stomach others Oh my Side Oh my Bowels seldom are they free two days together from some Distemper or other yea so rack'd and tormented are they with Extremity of Pain that their Lives are little better almost than a continual Burthen to them But now in Heaven all these Complaints shall cease they are only the Effects of Sin and therefore to accompany us only in our sinful State and when Sin shall be expelled out of the Soul as it shall be in Heaven Sickness and Distempers shall never more annoy these Bodies of ours As Job speaks of the Grave there the weary are at rest that is those who now are wearied with labours and pains when they come to lye down in their Graves shall be at Rest And if it be thus in the Grave how much more shall it be so in Heaven and that not by insensibleness and want of feeling as it is with those that are dead but because the Happiness of that State is so great as is not only exclusive of but cannot possibly admit of any such thing as Pain and Sorrow being a State made up of perfect Joy and Delight in an eternal Perpetuity for they obtain joy and gladness and Sorrow and sighing flee away Esai 35.10 Secondly in Heaven the Saints shall enjoy a perfect Freedom from all Temptations In this World Temptations make the Lives of God's People very uncomfortable to
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
THE GLORY and HAPPINESS OF THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN OR A DISCOURSE Concerning the Blessed State of the Righteous after Death By Nathanael Ranew late of London Bookseller London Printed for N. R. and sold by J. Robinson A. and J. Churchill J. Taylor and J. Wyat. 1694. TO THE READER Christian Reader I Dare not suppose thee in an Age of somuch Light and Knowledge to be ignorant of a future State and Condition that doth abide thee and all Men after this Life for this were to conceive of the contrary not only to the sentiments of all Christians but even of Heathens themselves Neither can I think any to be so far blinded and hardned as to believe that this State which shall befall all Men after Death to be the same unto all Persons whether they be good or bad for though the Wise Man tells us in Eccles 9.1 2. That in this Life All things come alike unto all Men and there is one event to the Righteous and to the Wicked to the Clean and to the Vnclean So that in the way of God's common Providential dealings with Men in this World no Man knoweth Love or Hatred by all that is before them Yet when Death and Judgment come a discriminating Sentence shall pass upon all Men According to what they have done in the Body whether it be good or bad And then as the Apostle speaks All those who have not obeyed the Truth but have lived in Sin and Vnrighteousness shall receive Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul of Man that hath thus done Evil But to them who by patient continuance in well-doing have sought for Glory and Honour and Immortality shall be Eternal Life And of this none that live under the Light of the Gospel can be ignorant Now as to the former of these that State of Woe and Misery that is to be the Portion of Sinners in Hell it is not my design in the following Discourse to say any thing Having confined my Thoughts and Meditations therein unto the latter and that is that State of Bliss and Happiness that shall be the Portion of Holy Souls in Heaven All Men now will say they desire and seek after happiness but few there are that attain thereunto not that there is no such Thing or State attainable for Holiness always lays a sure Foundation for Happiness But Man being fallen from God and sunk into the Creature cannot without the help of Divine Grace raise up his Soul his Affections and Desires towards God towards Heaven and Heavenly things but takes up with what is suitable to his Earthly and Fleshly part and so the World and the Enjoyments thereof being adapted to the Inclinations of his present State and Condition here below accordingly with the greatest eagerness he pursues the Riches the Honours the Pleasures and Delights of this World as those things which when attained he vainly fansies will make him truly Happy but when he comes to enjoy them meets with Frustration and Disappointment All Men being forced sooner or later to subscribe unto what the Wisest of Men faith as a great Truth concerning all things under the Sun that they are but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit Wouldst thou not Christian Reader when thou comest to die be eternally deceived in thy Hopes and Expectations of Happiness Let not the World and the Enjoyments thereof take up thy Thoughts and Affections now God hath provided the good things thereof and by his Care and Providence brings them to thee daily for thy use that with this Gracious and Liberal Allowance of his thou mayest serve him with the greater Chearfulness and Delight of Soul in thy Passage through this World But he never intended thou shouldst take up with them as thy Happiness Believe it God hath provided better things for holy Souls in another World he intends himself to be their Portion his Heaven to be their Habitation and Dwelling place Angels Patriarchs Prophets Apostles to be their Associates and Companions where they shall live in the light of God's Countenance see his Face behold his Glory and be filled with his Love to all Eternity O blessed State of infinite Bliss and Happiness beyond what words is able to express Well may holy Souls with wonder and amazement cry out with the Apostle and say Eye hath not seen Ear hath not heard nor can it enter into the heart of Man to conceive what God hath provided for them that Love him And why mayest not thou who now castest thine Eyes upon these lines make one of that great number of holy Souls that shall be thus Eternally Happy and Blessed God hath not Excluded thee out of Heaven and why shouldest thou exclude and shut out thy self God is now displaying before thee the Excellencies and Glory of that Blessed State and wherefore doth he do so but to invite and draw Sinners to come and partake of this Happiness not that God needs us or any thing that we can do for he is as Happy without us as he can possibly be with us But we need him and cannot be happy without him Now therefore since he is pleased to continue the offers of such rich Grace and Mercy let none be found slighters and contemners thereof Disappoint not O Sinners the design of God in seeking to bring Souls to Heaven Frustrate not your own Expectations of Bliss and Happiness Make not your selves Eternally miserable by choosing any sinful course or walking in any allowed way of Wickedness Nor yet provoke God by any sinful delays or any sluggish and lazy desires and endeavours in seeking to obtain this Everlasting Happiness to deal with you as obstinate despisers and contemners thereof and swear in his Wrath that you shall never enter into his Rest If God may be Glorified and Souls receive benefit hereby unto Eternal Life the Author hath the desire of his Soul and an abundant Reward for what he hath done in the ensuing Discourse and that a Blessing from Heaven may make is thus Successful unto all that shall read it is and shall be the Prayer of the Publisher The CONTENTS CHAP. I. AN Introduction A State of Future Glory and Happiness proved What it is that makes the Happiness of Heaven so Excellent and Glorious with a short and brief Description thereof CHAP. II. A more particular Consideration of the Happiness of Heaven Of the Company and Society Believers shall enjoy in Heaven As 1. Communion with all the People of God 2. Communion with Angels 3. Enjoyment of Jesus Christ their Redeemer 4. Sight and Fruition of God What kind of Sight or Vision of God Saints shall have in Heaven Which shall be 1. Immediate and Clear 2. Transforming 3. Joyful 4. Permanent and Perpetual This Sight and Vision of God in Heaven will be a great Happiness because God is 1. An Vniversal Good 2. A Pure and unmixed Good 3. A Suitable Good 4. An All-sufficient Good 5. A Satisfying Good 6. An Everlasting Good
CHAP. III. Further Discoveries of the Saints Happiness in Heaven manifested in their being freed 1. From all Afflictons 2. From all Temptations both from Satan and the World 3. In a perfect freedom from all Sin 4. In a Perfection of Grace and Holiness 5. In partaking of fullness of Joy being Pure Spiritual Full and Everlasting 6. In Excellent Glory and Honour that shall then be put upon them CHAP. IV. Of the Resurrection of the Body in order to the Saints Enjoyment of the Happiness of Heaven A more particular Description of the Happiness of the Bodies of the Saints in Heaven which shall there be 1. Incorruptible 2. Spiritual 3. Powerful 4. Beautiful Of the Happiness of the Soul in Heaven as 1. In having its Vnderstanding enlarged 2. In its being perfected in Holiness 3. In having its Affections brought into a perfect Regularity Of the Eternity of the Saints Happiness in Heaven CHAP. V. Of the Efficient Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven namely the Free Grace of God Of the Meritorious Cause of the Saints Happiness namely the Death and Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ Of the Final Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven namely the Glory of God Holiness the Saints great Qualification for Heaven Wicked Men unsuitable to the Work of Heaven and to the Reward of Heaven both which are Holy In Heaven there is both an Eternal Work for Saints to be employed in and an Eternal Reward for Saints to enjoy CHAP. VI. A Resolution of some Questions as 1. Whether the Saints shall know one another in Heaven 2. Whether there are different degrees of Glory in Heaven 3. How the Saints are said to be equal with and like unto the Angels in Heaven 4. In what respects Heaven is called a Reward or Recompence Some useful and necessary Inferences from the consideration of that Happiness the Saints shall enjoy in Heaven deduced in order unto Practice as 1. Hopes of Heaven should make the World contemptible unto Believers 2. None that expect Heaven hereafter should be offended at any thing they meet with in their way thither 3. Expectations of Heaven should make Christians live as those that are Heirs of so great a Happiness 4 Frequent Thoughts and Meditations of Heaven should possess the Minds of those that hope to partake of the Happiness of Heaven 5. The Greatness of the Happiness of Heaven should put Christians upon Examing of themselves what Right and Title they have thereunto 6. Hopes and Expectations of Heaven hereafter should Reconcile to Believers the Thoughts of their own Death and moderate their Sorrows for the Death of their Godly Friends and Relations 7. Hopes of Heaven should put Christians upon unwearied diligence in the Service of God that is attended with such a Reward 8. The Consideration of so great a Happiness as Heaven is should cause in all Believers a Holy longing of Soul after the Enjoyment of it The Conclusion THE GLORY AND HAPPINESS OF THE SAINTS CHAP. I. The Introduction A State of future Glory and Happiness proved What it is that makes the Happiness of Heaven so excellent and glorious in a short and brief Description thereof THE framing a Discourse of Heaven that Place of inexpressible Bliss and Happiness the Portion of Holy and Righteous Persons to Eternity is a Work fitter for an Angel one of those Heavenly Courtiers who have ever since their Creation and for many Ages and Generations now past been happy partakers of that blissful State than the lisping and stammering of any mortal Tongue Sense here being the best Orator and they fittest to describe Heaven unto others who live in the fruition of it themselves And indeed all Discourses of this nature by poor frail Creatures are rather a darkning and diminution of that Glory and Happiness than an ample Illustration or Discovery what it is And when the People of God shall come to the enjoyment thereof they will soon find themselves wonderfully but happily deceived by the most glorious Descriptions that ever were laid before them What the Prophet saith in Hab. 3. where after he had given us a short description of some of the glorious Excellencies and Perfections of God he tells us in the 4th Verse His Brightness was as the Light that he had Horns coming out of his hands which usually are a signification of Strength and Might but says the Prophet There was the hiding of his Power As if he had said Whatever Strength and Might God had thereby put forth it was so far from manifesting the fulness and greatness thereof that it was rather a Hiding than a Revelation of his Power there being infinitely more Power in him than was ever yet put forth by him The like may truly be said concerning Heaven and its Glory and Excellency Take all the Descriptions that since the Creation of the World have been made of the Glory and Happiness thereof and put them all together and we may say of them all that they rather hide and eclipse the Glory of Heaven than any way come near to a manifestation of the Fulness and Excellency thereof still is there infinitely more hid from us than can possibly thereby be made known to us Heaven is like God himself an infinite Good and Happiness and so cannot be fully known or enjoyed by any who are but of finite Capacities and Understanding And therefore after all that we have heard thereof from Men or received from God himself either by what he hath revealed to us in his Word or secretly elapsed down immediately into our Souls by his Spirit yet what holy Job saith of God we may say of the Heaven of God Oh how little a Portion of it is known And therefore those Words of St. Paul need not be looked upon with admiration when he tells us Phil. 1.23 he desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ that is in Heaven where God and Christ are known and enjoyed for that is it which makes Heaven so desirable yea to be best of all as the same Apostle speaks For why should any think it strange that the blessed Apostle who had been wrapt up into the Third Heaven by extraordinary priviledge as well as in an extraordinary manner and there heard and saw so much of that Glory and Happiness that was there enjoyed as that himself said was unutterable that he should long after a fuller enjoyment of it Christians who profess their Hopes and Happiness is laid up in Heaven should rather wonder at his willingness to abide here any longer in the Flesh And certainly had not Love yea great Love to him who had prepared and purchased so great and inexpressible a Happiness for him wrought very powerfully in him it may seem almost impossible that Heaven and St. Paul should have been kept longer asunder if any thing in him or to be done or suffered by him could have brought him thither sooner than his appointed time Great and glorious things doth the Scripture
speak concerning Heaven the Palace or City rather of the great God but how great the Glory and Happiness of the Blessed shall there be none are able now to express The blessed Apostle therefore in 2 Cor. 12.3 4. when he sets himself purposely to relate his Journey into the other World all that he tells us of it is only this That there he heard those Words that were unspeakable and saw those Things that were not lawful or not possible to be uttered And other-where he tells us Eye hath not seen Ear hath not heard neither is it possible for the heart of Man to conceive what God hath prepared for them that love him The Eye hath seen great and glorious Things and the Ear hath heard much greater but the Heart of Man is able to imagine much more than either of them But whatever the Eye hath seen or the Ear hath heard or the Heart can imagine yet neither of them can reach to apprehend or conceive the great things that God hath prepared for them that love him Hence therefore it is that the same Apostle 2 Cor. 4.17 calls Heaven a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory The Happiness that a Believer attains to even on this side Glory when he hath received an Earnest or Beginning of Heaven in some glorious work of Sanctification upon his Soul Oh how doth the Joy of the Knowledge and Assurance thereof pass all understanding as the same Apostle speaks Phil. 4.7 Who is able to utter the sweetness of that Peace of Conscience and the spiritual Joy and Rejoycing of a Soul on whom the Love of God is shed abroad by the Hory Ghost Such a ravishing overcoming Joy and Delight flows in upon the Soul as it cannot express no nor sometimes is it able to bear up under it And if there be so much sweetness in a Taste of Heaven what is there then in a full enjoyment of Heaven The Beloved Apostle St. John tells us in 1 John 3.2 It doth not yet appear what we shall be no nor indeed can it appear now for in our present state we are not able to bear it Should but a little of the Glory of Heaven be revealed to us now Oh how would it amaze and confound us That weight of Glory would be so great that it would overwhelm us We read in Exod. 34.34 That when Moses had been conversing with God in the Mount and came down to the People again that his Face did so shine that the Children of Israel could not behold him until he put a Vail upon his Face And did a a small Ray of the Glory of God reflected upon Moses's Face shine so gloriously that the Israe lites could not look upon him Oh what a dazling confounding Brightness and Glory would Heaven it self break forth upon us with if the Vail between us and it were removed out of the way surely Flesh and Blood could not be able to bear it When the same Moses therefore in Exod 33.18 besought God to shew him his Face or his Glory which is all one what Answer doth God return him Not a positive Denial of his Request for he doth not say I will not shew it thee No but he tells him Thou canst not see my face and live It is that thou canst not bear it is an Object too glorious for thee to behold As if God had said Moses thou hast had some discoveries of my self unto thee and they have begotten farther desires in thee after more and greater manifestations thereof What thou askest at my hands is not a thing too great for me to bestow but it is too great for thee to receive a happiness it is too great to be enjoyed in this Life and therefore though I do not nor will not for ever deny thy Request yet I must defer it till it may be a Happiness unto thee and that is till thou come to Heaven where thou shalt for ever see my face and enjoy my Presence in as large and ample a manner as thou canst possibly desire but now thou canst not bear it for no man can see my face and live And as no man can take in the Happiness of Heaven here so no man can understand the greatness of it So true are the Words of the Apostle The things that God hath prepared for them that love him are so many and so great that they cannot enter into the heart of man to conceive The Psalmist therefore upon this Consideration cries out with Admiration Psal 31.19 Oh how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee great it was but how great he could not express And thus truly must we do when we have said all we can concerning Heaven we must sit down and admire the Greatness and Excellency of it but the Fulness Riches and Glory of it we shall never understand till we come for ever to enjoy it But though we cannot fully understand the Happiness of Heaven yet for the raising of the Hearts and exciting and quickning the Affections and Desires of Christians towards it and that their pursuits after the obtaining of it may be more diligent and servent I shall endeavour to represent something of the Glory and Excellency of that Blessed State that is to be enjoyed there according to what God hath been pleased to discover to us thereof in his holy Word though still when all that hath or can be said it is the Enjoyment of Heaven only that can make known to us what the Happiness of Heaven shall be But before I proceed unto a particular and distinct Explication of the Happiness of Heaven it will be necessary by some convincing Arguments to prove the Reality and Certainty of that Glory and Happiness that shall be enjoyed by the Godly there Now this I shall demonstrate by these following Arguments First From the infallible Promises of the Truth-speaking God Now so many are the Promises scattered up and down in sacred Writ concerning the Certainty Futurity and Eternity of the Saints Happiness that I cannot number them and surely Believers who have by those Promises an everlasting Inheritance of Glory and Happiness conveyed to and setled upon them as their Portion cannot be supposed to be Strangers unto them upon the supposition whereof I shall instance only in a few Fear not little Flock says our Lord for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you a Kingdom Luke 12.33 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Matt. 5.8 My sheep hear my voice and I give unto them eternal life John 10.28 This is his Promise that he hath given unto us even eternal life 1 John 2.25 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for us says the Apostle 1 Pet. 1.3 4.
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life that is in the midst of the Paradise of God Rev. 2.7 To him that overcometh will I give to sit with me on my Throne even a I have overcome and am set down with my Father on his Throne Rev. 3.21 Believers are the greatest Heirs in all the World for as the Apostle speaks They have the Promise of the Life that now is and of that which is to come And says the same Apostle All things are yours whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or Life or Death or things present or things to come all is yours and you are Christ's and Christ is Gods 1 Cor. 3.22 Secondly The Certainty of a future state of Glory and Happiness may be demonstrated from the great Undertaking of the Lord Jesus Christ And indeed this was a Work fit for none but him to undertake for none else were able to accomplish it Whatever worth or excellency there is either in all the Men on Earth or in all the Saints and Angels in Heaven should they have proffered to have done and suftered all that their Natures are capable of to have purchased the Love and Favoun of God to have been enjoyed though but by one Soul and that but for one moment of time in Heaven it would have been rejected and despised by God But now the Death and Sufferings of Jesus Christ were of equal worth and value with Heaven and the Enjoyment of God to eternity for his Blood was the Blood of God and therefore the shedding of it deserved the Presence Love and Favour of God to be bestowed upon Believers as their Portion for ever This Jesus Christ hath done for this he hath both suffered and died and because he hath made a Purchase of these things with his Blood Believers shall therefore enjoy them for Christ will not lose his Purchase nor shall Believers therefore lose their Happiness The bringing many Sons unto Glory was the End which Christ designed in the laying down of his Life and therefore he willingly submitted unto the Way by which he was to accomplish it and that was by his suffering Death and from hence therefore the People of God are said to obtain an inheritance among them that are sanctified by Faith in him Thirdly Another Ground or Reason we have to believe a state of Glory and Happiness hereafter may be taken from the Spirit 's introductory or preparatory working in the Hearts of Believers here in this Life By this now I mean the Beginning of Grace wrought in the Soul for Grace and Glory are one and the same thing Grace is Glory and Glory is Grace all the Difference between them is only in the degree Grace is Glory begun and Glory is Grace perfected And when the Spirit of God works Grace in any Soul he then gives the first Fruits the Earnest or Fore-taste of Glory Grace therefore is sometimes called Glory in Scripture so we read 2 Cor. 3.18 We all with open face beholding as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from Glory unto Glory that is from one degree and measure of Grace unto another And Grace there is called Glory because when Grace is advanced unto its highest degree of perfection it is Glory Now where ever any receive the first fruits of Heaven in Grace and Holiness they shall receive the full Harvest of Glory it self Grace therefore is called the Spirit 's forming or fitting of the Soul for Glory Hence the Apostie speaking of himself and others as groaning and longing to be cloathed with their House which is frown Heaven that Mortality might be swallowed up of Life In 2 Cor. 5.3 4. he adds in the 5th verse He that hath wrought us for the self same thing is God who hath also given us the Earnest of the Spirit which in Ephes 1.14 is called the Earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased Possession Where ever Grace is in truth it is always in Growth and it shall be in perfection So saith the Apostle Phil. 1.6 He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the Day of Jesus Christ Where the Spirit gives unto any the Nature and Disposition of the Children of God he thereby gives them an undoubted Right and Title unto Heaven and Glory yea such a Right and Title as shall never be lost or broken off So saith the Apostle Rom. 8.16 17. For the Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirits that we are the Children of God and if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joint-Heirs with Jesus Christ and if we suffer with him we shall also be glorified together Fourthly and lastly Imight argue the Certainty of a future state of Glory and Happiness from the constant believing Hopes and Expectations yea and Sufferings also of the Saints and People of God in all Ages If Believers had hope only in this Life they were then as the Apostle speaks of all men most miserable But it is not so for their Hopes and Happiness lies in those things that are to be enjoyed beyond Time even in Eternity And hence it is that they have such strong Consolation as bears up their Souls above all the Sufferings that they meet with in this present Life because they have sled for Refuge to lay hold on the Hope that is set before them which Hope they have as an Anchor of the Soul that is sure and stedfast because it entreth into that within the Vail Heb. 6.18 19. It is the Nature of the New Creature where-ever it is to cause the Soul to look upwards and hence it is that the People of God are said to be begotten again unto a lively hope of an Inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for them 1 Pet. 1.3 4. From this now springs great Joy and Consolation and therefore upon this account it is that Believers are said to rejoyce in hopes of the Glory of God Rom. 35.2 Should I now attempt to lay down a Description of Heaven that Place of perfect Bliss and Happiness I should prevent my self in what I intend to speak more fully and largely to afterwards Only in the General to excite and quicken our Desires and Affections after it take this following short Sum of it Heaven is a Place where there is a total and everlasting exclusion of all that is evil and imperfect and where there is a full perfection and perpetual enjoyment of all that is Good and that in the largest latitude and extent of it In Heaven there is nothing to afflict or torment but every thing that is satisfactory and delightful There is nothing of Sin there and therefore nothing of Sorrow Saint in Heaven enjoy the best Company There is the Great and Glorious God seen and known in all his glorious Excellencies and Perfections There is the Blessed Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of Life
and Glory exalted in our Nature at the Right Hand of God through whose meritorious Undertakings we come to be presented unto God and to stand in his Presence with Confidence and Joy as having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing There are the glorious Angels the Cherubims and Seraphims with all the glorified Saints and Servants of God that have lived in all Ages of the World as Patriarchs Prophets and Apostles who are always standing round about the Throne of God crying Alleiuja Praise Honour and Glory unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb for evermore In Heaven there is not only a perfect freedom from all Sin but from all Inclinations yea from all Temptations thereunto Grace and Holiness are there in their Fulness in their Perfection and Glory There it is that this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal shall put on Immortality There it is that these vile Bodies of ours shall be made like unto the glorious Body of Jesus Christ There it is that these Souls of ours shall be enlarged in their utmost Capacities and Desires and yet filled and satisfied to the utmost also There it is that there is fulness of Joy excellency of Glory with an Eternity of Enjoyment of both This now is the Building of God that House not made with hands eternal in the Heavens 2 Cor. 5.1 This is that Kingdom that is to be inherited by the People of God prepared for them from the foundation of the World Matth. 25.46 This is that City that hath Foundations whose Builder and Maker is God Heb. 11.10 The Streets whereof are paved with Gold and the Gates whereof are Pearl Rev. 21.21 In which there is no Temple for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it Where there is no more Night no more Candle nor any need of the Sun or of the Moon to shine in it for the Lord God giveth them Light and they shall reign for ever and ever Rev. 22.5 This now is Heaven and much more than all this for when we have spent all our Days and Time in Hearing in Reading in Discoursing in Meditating upon Heaven and upon nothing else yet after we have done all we can said all we can thought all we can yet can we never set forth the Thousandth Part of that Happiness that is to be enjoyed in Heaven for it is that which is beyond expression beyond imagination but blessed be God it is not beyond enjoyment for the having and possessing of these things in their Fulness in their Perfection and in their Perpetuity is that which as it makes the Happiness of Heaven so excellent and glorious so doth it make it also so desirable to be enjoyed CHAP. II. A more particular Consideration of the Happiness of Heaven Of the Company and Society Believers shall enjoy in Heaven as 1. Communion with all the People of God 2. Communion with Angels 3. Enjoyment of Jesus Christ their Redeemer 4. Sight and Fruition of God What kind of Sight or Vision of God Saints shall have in Heaven Which shall be 1. Immediate and clear 2. Transforming 3. Joyful 4. Permanent and perpetual This Sight and Vision of God in Heaven will be a great Happiness because God is 1. An Vniversal Good 2. A Pure and Vnmixed Good 3. A Suitable Good 4 An All sufficient Good 5. A Satisfying Good 6. An Everlasting Good HAving in the Conclusion of the Former Chapter laid down a brief Description of Heaven and the Happiness thereof I now come to a more particular distinct handling of the several Branches of it Now here the First Thing that I shall instance in as a Part of that Happiness is the Company and Society that the Saints shall eternally enjoy in Heaven Which is comprehended in these Four Particulars Fellowship with all the Saints Communion with Angels The Sight of Jesus Christ as our Blessed and Glorious Redeemer And the eternal Vision and Enjoyment of God himself First The Happiness of Believers in Heaven consists in their Fellowship and Society with the Saints and People of God that have lived in all Ages of the World The Communion of Saints and the great Delight the People of God have taken therein is that we often read of in Scripture Holy David speaks of it with great pleasure Psal 42.4 I went says he to the House of God with the voice of Joy and Praise But why so it was says he with a Multitude that kept Holy-Day Such Society were the Delight of his Soul Psal 16.3 But to the Saints the excellent ones of the Earth in whom is all my Delight O how rejoycingly doth his Soul speak when such Company came unto him I was glad when they said unto me Come let us go up unto the House of the Lord Psal 122.1 It is true David's greatest Delight was in God and in the enjoyment of him and therefore says he I will go unto God my exceeding Joy and Chear Psal 42.4 But next unto God the People of God and Communion with them were those he most esteemed And therefore though his going to the House of God was chiefly to meet with God whom his Soul did most pant and breath after yet was it no small matter of Joy to him that he went to the House of God in such Company And if the People of God now be accounted by a Godly man to be such delightful Company here on Earth whilst Sin as well as Grace is in them in conjunction O how delightful will their Company be in Heaven when they shall be free from all Sin and Corruption having nothing but Grace in them in Perfection Here on Earth the Communion of Saints is sweet and desirable though mixed with Communion with the World so that while we have Fellowship with them we are to have Fellowship with Sinners at the same time and indeed there is no Society so pure and holy but there are and will be a Number of unholy ones among them To be full of Holiness our selves and to have none but holy ones in our company is a desirable thing on Earth but enjoyed only in Heaven Here the Chaff and the Wheat must grow together All that are now called by the Name of the Lord are not all holy but Saints and Sinners dwell together in the same House sit together at the same Table lie together in the same Bed yea eat both of the same Spiritual Meat and drink the same Spiritual Drink enjoy the same Ordinances partake of the same Sacrament even the Body and Blood of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ So that the People of God though they have Communion one with another yet have they Fellowship with Sinners also And this will always be the state of the People of God while they are here But now in Heaven Believers shall have Communion with the Saints and Servants of God and with none but them for all Sinners shall be eternally excluded out
regard they are free from any Mixtures The Joys of the Wicked are always mixed with Fear and Sorrow and so are oftentimes the Joys of the Saints also And herein God manifests great Wisdom and Goodness to his People thus to temper their Joys Even as it is with Men of weak Constitutions who must have their Wine mingled with Water for fear of distempering their Bodies And so must the Godly in this Life such is their Weakness have their Joys mingled with Fears and Sorrows lest they should grow proud or wanton Sometimes their Joys are mixed with Fear Hence it is Psalm 2.11 that we are commanded to serve the Lord with fear and to rejoice with trembling And thus we read of the two Women Matth. 28.8 who though assured by Angels that Christ was risen yet 't is said they departed from the Sepulchre with fear and great joy And so is it with a godly Man though by an Eye of Faith he beholds the Death and Sufferings of Christ and looking into his Grave is assured that he is risen from thence for his Justification and Salvation yet cannot but have his heart filled with a fearful trembling kind of Joy And as a Saint's Joy here is mixed with Fear so is it also sometimes mixed with Sorrow for when a Believer by Faith looks upon Christ crucified and considers that a person so infinitely great and glorious should die such a painful shameful cursed Death for so vile a Sinner and so great an Enemy unto God as he was the consideration of this so great and incomprehensible a Love manifested towards him in reconciling God and him together in delivering him from Wrath and Hell and in obtaining Eternal Life for him in Heaven Though this Love of Christ in doing all this for him cannot but affect him with great Joy yet the Consideration of his Sins that pierced and wounded yea crucified the Lord of Life and Glory cannot but break his Heart with godly Sorrow But now in Heaven the Joy of a Saint will be free from all mixtures both of Sorrow and Fear there shall be no Sorrow for present Troubles nor any Fears of future Dangers all their Sorrows will then be turned into Joy The sight of their Eyes will then affect their Hearts that is the sight and knowledge of the great God the Supreme and Insinite Good whom the Saints shall always have with them in Heaven is that which will fill and ravish their Souls with unspeakable Joy Secondly the Joys of a Saint in Heaven are spiritual Joys Now spiritual things are things both of the greatest Reality and of the greatest Excellency Spiritual things are things of the greatest Reality all other things comparatively are not they are such things as have no Being no Subsistence therefore says the Wise Man Why wilt thou set thine Eyes upon that which is not speaking of the admired things of the World We do but abusively call Men that abound with worldly Enjoyments rich substantial Men for Substance is no where but with God he only is the true substantial Good the things of this World are no more than a shadow If a Man were hungry would painted Bread satisfie him if a Man were starving with Cold would painted Fire warm him No why truly all the things of this World will appear no better to a Man when he comes to die there 's no Comfort nor Satisfaction to be fetch'd from them The Reality and Substantialness of Good is only laid up in God and in the Enjoyment of him who is the Saint's Happiness both on Earth and in Heaven There is a Vanity as in all the Troubles of the World so also in all the Comforts of the World There is a Vanity in the Troubles that the Saints endure they are but skin-deep a varnish of Trouble so says the Apostle 2 Cor. 6.10 as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing yet possessing all things And as it is with the Troubles of the World so is it with the Comforts of the World all that sense looks at it is meerly out-side and appearing all the Enjoyments of the World are but a shadow an appearance of that which is Good God and Heaven are Realities but whatever else is Good is but appearingly so The things of the World are not when they are they are not in Reality when they are in Appearance It is a very great mistake to think nothing to be real but what we can touch and handle with our hands or what we can see with our Eyes such as Gold Silver Houses Lands these are not really substantially good things they make a fair show outwardly they have a Gaudery and Excellency as to Sense but nothing of real Excellency as to the Soul Nothing is real but what is spiritual though the Body be more seen than the Soul yet the Soul is a more real Good because it is a spiritual Good and comes nearest to God who is a Spirit and who only is so says the Prophet speaking concerning God Isai 43.11 who only art and there is none besides thee God Christ Grace and Heaven these are spiritually and substantially good and therefore it is said of Christ I cause them that love me to inherit Substance Prov. 8.21 And the Apostle tells the believing Hebrews Heb. 10.34 Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your Goods knowing that in Heaven you have a better and an enduring Substance The Joys and Delights of Heaven they are real because they are spiritual But this is not all for the Saints Joys in Heaven because they are spiritual they are therefore excellent yea the most excellent There is nothing that is earthy in Heaven but all of a spiritual and refined Nature and therefore the more real and the more excellent and by how much the more spiritual by so much the more real and the more excellent also All Joy and Delight placed upon any thing below God is carnal and earthly that which hath dregs in it and comes not up to the Excellency of the Soul it may refresh the Senses and delight the outward Man but it reacheth not the Soul and Conscience it must be something that is spiritual for its Nature and refined for its Excellency that must suit with and be the Delight of a Soul that is spiritual and such is Heaven and the Joys and Delights that are there superlatively excellent and spiritual flowing into the noblest and most excellent part of Man his Soul and Spirit from God who is a Spirit Thirdly The Joys of Heaven are full Joys The Psalmist calls them Fulnesses of Joy and Rivers of Pleasures for the abundance of them Psal 116.11 And the Apostle speaking of Believers tells us 1 Pet. 1.8 That though now they see him not yet believing they rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of Glory If now the Joy of Faith in the Promises of God from some small experience of his Love and Favour to the Soul be above
thy being Eternally under the Torments of Hell this is that which makes thee truly miserable And on the other hand it is not thy being in Heaven comparatively that will make thee Happy but it is thy being Eternally there that makes thee truly Happy This this is that which Accents thy Misery or thy Happiness even the Eternity of it Oh Eternity Eternity thou art the bitterest and thou art the sweetest word in all the World to the Damned thou art the bitterest of all words because their Torments are to last to all Eternity And to the Godly thou art the sweetest word in all the World for their Joys and Happiness shall last unto all Eternity There is nothing either in Heaven or in Hell but what speaks Eternity There is nothing in Hell but what is Eternal Hell it self that place of Torment is Eternal The Sufferings and Torments of the Damned in Hell are Eternal The Wrath and Vengeance of God that is the cause of those Torments in Eternal Yea all the Damned themselves together with the Devil and his Angels are all to be sufferers under an Eternity of Torments in Hell O Eternity Eternity how miserable beyond all expression dost thou make the condition of the Damned to be And as there is nothing in Hell but what is Eternal so neither is there any thing in Heaven but what speaks Eternity There is the Great and Blessed God the Father of Eternity the Sum and Heighth of the Saints Happiness in Heaven to be Eternally enjoyed It is there that the Lord Jesus Christ the Saints great and blessed Redeemer is whose Meritorious Death and Sufferings hath Deserved and Obtained for them the Eternal Enjoyment of that Happiness which there they are partakers of Heaven that place of Bliss and Happiness where God manifests and displays all his Glorious Excellencies and Perfections is Eternal The blessed Company and Society of a Saint in Heaven the innumerable Company of Glorified Saints and Angels shall Eternally be their fellow Inhabitants in that Holy place Yea both the Happiness of Heaven and every Saint that shall participate of that Happiness shall both continue in conjunction together Everlastingly Here O my Soul is a Happiness most worthy of all thy thoughts a Happiness so great that it calls for and deserves all thy Time all thy Parts yea all the Labour and Pains thou canst possibly lay out for the obtaining of it O Eternity Eternity how pleasant how delightful a word art thou for Holy Souls to contemplate upon thou art not more full of dread and horror to the wicked in Hell than thou art full of pleasure and delight unto the Saints in Heaven thou art the Sweetness the Consummation the Perfection of a Saint's Happiness God himself who is the All of a Saint's Happiness if he be not enjoyed for ever cannot make a Saint always Happy Unless an Eternity of Enjoyment be added to a Saint's Happiness in Heaven he cannot be fully and compleatly Happy It is true whilst he enjoys the Happiness of Heaven he is in a Happy state but if Eternity be not added to that Enjoyment a time will come when that Happiness shall cease and have an end Take away Eternity from a Saint's Happiness and there not only will but there must come a time when a Saint must be miserable O Eternity Eternity thou art not only a Happiness added to a Saint's Happiness in Heaven but thou art that blessed Band that unitest and tiest all the scattered parcels of a Saint's Happiness together in one bundle for his satisfaction and security for ever O my Soul study this word Eternity well as it is the Crowning addition unto the Saints Happiness It is that which will revive and quicken thee yea it is that which will put a new life into thee in thy greatest Agonies and Sufferings which thou canst undergo here for they are but of short continuance Death at farthest will come and put an end to them all but the Glory and Happiness that remains for thee in Heaven that is Eternal and Everlasting and shall never never never know an end CHAP. V. Of the Efficient Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven namely the Free Grace of God Of the Meritorious Cause of the Saints Happiness namely the Death and Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ Of the Final Cause of the Saints Happiness namely the Glory of God Holiness the Saints great Qualification for Heaven Wicked Men unsuitable to the Work of Heaven and to the Reward of Heaven both which are Holy In Heaven there is both an Eternal Work for Saints to be Employed in and an Eternal Reward for Saints to Enjoy THat which is next to be discoursed of in the handling of this Subject of the Saints Happiness according to my propounded Method is the consideration of that Happiness in the several causes of it Now in speaking unto this head I shall discourse a little upon these three particulars The Efficient Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven The Meritorious Cause of that Happiness And lastly the Final Cause thereof First The Efficient Fundamental Cause of the Saints Happiness in Heaven and that is the Free Grace of God Now for this the Scripture is very full Ephes 2.4 5 c. But God who is rich in Mercy for the great love wherewith he loved us Even when we were dead in Sins and Trespasses hath quickened us together with Christ by Grace ye are saved And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus That in the Ages to come he might shew the exceeding Riches of his Grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus For by Grace are ye saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the Gift of God So in Rom. 6.23 The Gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. All is from the free Grace of God And though this Happiness of the Saints be the highest that can be bestowed upon any yet is it that which is given freely What says our Lord Luke 12.32 Fear not little Flock it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom This is to act like a God to give most bountifully and yet most freely To give the highest and best Gifts and yet to give them freely and undeservedly Thus God gives himself Heaven Glory and Eternal Life freely All that he doth for his people from their first Conversion on Earth unto their Eternal Glorification in Heaven is all from his own free Grace and Good Will Their Conversion is of Grace James 1.18 Of his own good will begat he us by the Word of Truth Their Justification is of Grace Rom. 3.24 Being justified freely by his Grace Their Sanctification also is of Grace Titus 2.11 12 13. The Grace of God that hath appeared unto all men teacheth us that denying all ungodliness and worldly lust we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present evil World Yea
Heaven and Happiness not upon any good works he had done but upon what Christ had done and suffered for him though he had whereof to Glory as himself saith yet he looked upon all as nothing and desired only to be found in Christ And whatever Conceit or Opinion sinners may have of themselves and of the Merit of their Duties and Services in their Health and Prosperity when Death and Judgment according to their Apprehensions seems to be many years distant from them or whatever men may say in the heat of a Dispute concerning the Merit of their good Works yet certainly they will be of another mind when Death lays hold of them with its cold hands and when an awakened Conscience is hurrying them on to make their appearance before the Tribunal of the great God the Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth There are few if any that are so bold and presumptuous as to boast of their Merits upon a Death-bed No Death and Judgment convince and alter mens minds making them speak quite another Language than what they did formerly It is not then Lord deal with me according to my Deserts but Lord deal with me according to thy Mercy Blot out mine Offences O Lord not according to the Merit of a dying sinner but according to the Merit of a dying Saviour This this is the Language of a sinner upon a Death bed Then a Bellarmine will confute himself and cry out Oh it is safest trusting to the Merit of Jesus Christ Thirdly The final Cause of the Saint's Happiness is the Honour and Glory of God We read Luk. 2.13 14. when our Lord Jesus came into the World on this very Errand that he might obtain eternal Redemption and Salvation for Sinners the Angels those extraordinary Ambassadors of Heaven proclaim the Tydings thereof to the Shepherds saying Glory to God in the Highest on Earth Peace and good Will towards Man Not only is Man commanded to do all things for the Glory of God but God himself doth all he doth with respect to his own Glory As for Man God made him for himself and it is highly rational that as the enjoyment of God is Man's highest Happiness so his Glory should be his chief end and unless this be a chief Ingredient into all our Duties and Services they are neither acceptable to God nor comfortable to us The Scripture commands this as our great Duty that we make the Glory of God our supreme End in all our Actions Matth. 5.16 Let your Light so shine before Men that they may see your Good Works for what end that they may glorifie your Father that is in Heaven So 1 Cor. 10.31 Whether ye eat or drink or whatever ye do do all to the Glory of God Yea in Heaven where the Saints shall be fully and compleatly happy yet shall it be their eternal Exercise to ascribe Blessing Honour Glory and Praise unto him that sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for evermore Rev. 5.13 And not only is Man commanded to do all that he doth to the Glory of God but God himself doth all he doth with respect to his own Glory The Work of Creation the Works of Providence the Work of Redemption they are all transacted here in Time and perfected in Eternity that God thereby may be glorified Our next Enquiry shall be concerning the great Qualification of the Saints for Heaven and that is Holiness Now by Holiness I mean not any one single Grace wrought in the Heart of a Believer but the universal Operation or Conjunction of all the Graces of the Spirit of God wrought in the Soul of a Saint Holiness is a real inward thorough Change wrought in the whole Man by the powerful Operation of the Spirit of God whereby not only the Heart is purged from the Love of all Sin and the Life from the Dominion and Practice thereof but it is that also whereby the whole Man is carried out in Ways of Duty and Obedience in the daily Exercise of Grace till it be brought to eternal Glory in Heaven Now that Holiness is the great Qualification of a Saint for Heaven the Scripture abundantly manifests Psal 15.1 Lord who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle Who shall ascend into thy Holy Hill The next Words tell us He that walketh uprightly and worketh Righteousness and that speaketh the Truth in His Heart Matth. 5.6 Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see God Heb 12.14 Follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. Heaven is so holy a Place that no unclean thing shall in any wise enter therein Acts 26.18 To open their Eyes and to turn them from Darkness to Light and from the Power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of Sins and an Inheritance among them that are sanctified Sanctification and Holiness is the great Qualification of all those that shall partake of the Happiness of Heaven Not that Holiness is the meritorious Cause of that Happiness no that is nothing but the Blood of Christ Holiness is only that which qualifies and makes a Believer fit to partake of the Happiness of Heaven And this is the meaning of the Apostle Col. 1.12 Giving Thanks to God and the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light There is an absolute necessary connexion between Holiness and Heaven Holiness is Heaven and Heaven is Holiness Holiness is Heaven begun and Heaven is Holiness consummated they are but one and the same thing though greatly differing in degrees Holiness in a Saint here is mixed with Sin and Corruption and so is imperfect in this Life But now in Heaven Holiness shall be without Imperfection there is nothing to oppose or hinder the Holiness of a Saint Holiness is there come to its full Growth and highest Perfection for there is Holiness and nothing but Holiness Now Grace and Holiness in a Saint here being the same with that Glory that is the expected Consummation of a Saint's Happiness hereafter it shews the great necessity that there is that all that desire to be happy hereafter should endeavour to be holy here Now how Holiness qualifies for Heaven and why it is so necessary to the obtaining of Heaven will appear in two Particulars One is because Holiness and Heaven are one and the same thing And the other is because of the great unsuitableness between Heaven and an unholy Soul First There is an agreeableness yea a sameness between Holiness and Heaven The Glory of Heaven lies not in this that a Saint shall there out-shine the brightness of the Sun that there he shall not be exposed to Heat to Cold to Nakedness or Want that there he shall be free from Diseases Sickness and Death it self that he shall not stand in need of Meat Drink and Clothing no nor that he shall always be in the hearing of melodious Songs and Hallilujahs of Saints and Angels These Things indeed are in Heaven
that he was free and might do what he would with his own These now are some of those Scriptures that are made use of for and against this assertion of the Saints having different Degrees of Glory in Heaven Which is the Truth I shall not affirm I am inclinable to believe that there shall be different Degrees of Glory in Heaven But withal let me add tho' it is possible that some may have greater Degrees of Glory than others yet all shall partake of the same Happiness nay all shall have as much of Glory and Happiness as they can contain though one Vessel may hold more than another yet all shall be as full as they can hold nay further which is yet more all the Saints in Glory shall enjoy the Happiness of Heaven in the same perpetuity one as well as another for Eternity shall be the measure of all their Happiness But whether there shall be different Degrees of Glory in Heaven hereafter or not yet may the People of God at present make this double improvement of it First If there shall be different Degrees of Glory in Heaven then the consideration hereof should exite Christians to labour after the highest Degree of Grace that is attainable in this life because this is the way to increase their Glory in Heaven And surely to be ambitiously covetous after the highest place in Heaven is very commendable in any Who would not be desirous to have his Seat in that Heavenly Jerusalem next to Cherubims and Seraphims shall Isay nay if it were possible to possess that very place in Heaven that the Beloved Disciple St. John held here upon Earth when he lay in the Bosom Embraces of our Lord Jesus Christ If our growth and increase in Grace shall certainly be the increase of our Glory and Happiness hereafter who is there then that would be so ill a Husband to himself as not to stir up and put forth the Grace of God that is in him which will prove so greatly advantageous to him in the life to come If to be found in the daily exercise of Grace a Christian is thereby doing that which will adorn and enrich that Crown of Glory that shall hereafter be set upon his own head who then would be so sloathful and negligent as not to promote and heighten what in him lay his own Happiness and Glory Secondly If there shall be no different Degrees of Glory in Heaven but all the Saints shall there be of the same Pitch and Stature Oh then what matter of Joy and Consolation may it be unto thee O weak Believer to consider that though now thy Grace be poor and weak thy Fears and Doubts be many thy Corruptions restless and importunate thy Temptations strong and potent and almost irresistible though thou seest thy self out-done by many in the ways of Holiness whom thou greatly admirest and wouldst with all thy Soul imitate and follow yea overtake and equal in their pace to Heaven but thou canst not yet know for thy Comfort that at the last Day the same Sentence of Absolution that is pronounced upon others shall acquit and Absolve thee also The same Heaven that shall be opened unto others for their Eternal Blessedness shall be opened to receive thee into that Blessed State with them Yea the same Crown of Glory that is set upon their heads shall for ever Crown thy head also So that there shall be no difference between thee and all the Holy Patriarchs Prophets and Saints of God in all Ages of the World but thou shalt shine in Glory as a Star of the same Magnitude and with the same Brightness for ever Thirdly Some upon the reading of those words of our Saviour Luke 20.36 Where he tells us that at the Resurrection of the Saints which he there calls the Children of God and the Children of the Resurrection shall be equal unto the Angels may be desirous to know how or in what respects shall the Godly then be like unto or equal with the Angels To this I Answer they shall be like the Angels in these following particulars First Saints in Heaven shall enjoy the same Glory and Happiness which Angels do The Great and Blessed God who is the Delight and Happiness of Angels shall be the Delight and Happiness of the Saints also in one and the same place shall they both partake of one and the same Blessedness and that is in Heaven and in the same Work and Employment shall they both spend an Eternity together namely in Blessing and Praising in Magnitying and Adoring the infinitely Great and Blessed God See for this Revel 7.9 11 12. where the Saints are said to stand before the Throne of God crying with a loud voice Salvation unto God and to the Lamb. And the Angels also standing round about the Throne of God crying Amen Blessing Honour Glory and Power be unto God for ever and ever Amen Secondly The Saints in Heaven shall be like unto the Angels in their Fitness to serve God and in their Readiness Chearfulness and Vnweariedness in so doing This is one of the great requests our Lord hath taught us to offer up unto Heaven in our Prayers That the Will of God may be done by us on Earth as it is done in Heaven that is as the Angels do it in Heaven who do it Readily Chearfully Universally and Constantly And thus shall the Saints serve God and do his Will when they come to Heaven Here the People of God often complain that their Spirits are held down by the Flesh so that though they have a willing mind yet how to perform that which is good as they would they find not the Spirit indeed in them is willing but the Flesh is weak Oh how do they therefore mourn under the impediments of Nature with which they are loaded and oppressed And if at any time they do attain to a more than ordinary height and frame of Spirit that their Souls are a little lifted up in the ways of God yet is it with great difficulty that they arrive thereunto and with much more difficulty that they preserve and keep themselves in it But in Heaven the Saints shall be freed from all Infirmities of the Flesh and shall Glorifie God as the Angels do with Readiness and Activity with Constancy and Unweariedness and with all perfections of Soul and Body that may render their Services acceptable to God and delightful to themselves Thirdly The Saints in Heaven shall be like unto the Argels in their way of living What that is our Lord himself tells us Luke 20.36 Where speaking of the State of the People of God after the Resurrection he says They neither Marry nor are given in Marriage neither can they die any more By which expressions our Saviour gives us to understand what kind of Life the Saints shall live in Heaven a life like unto that of the Angels who have no manner of Converse with live not on the use of or in dependance
continued perseverance and improvement of Grace here For Grace and Glory are one and the same thing and differ only in degree the Scripture therefore gives it the same Name changed 2 Corinth 3.18 from Glory unto Glory that is from one degree of Grace unto another And as there is the same nature in a spark as there is in the Body of the fire in a drop of water as in the Ocean so there is the same Nature in Holiness that is in Happiness Now indeed is the Infancy of Grace and then is the Mature Age. Now the Twy-light then the Noon-tide Glory of it But still Grace and Glory differ only in degree And therefore it is suitable to the Wisdom Justice and Holiness of God to reward Good and Holy Works with Glory because they are the Dispositions and Preparations for it Now before I put a period to my Discourse concerning this sweet and delightful Subject of the Saints Happiness in Heaven I shall from what hath been said draw some useful and necessary inferences in order unto Practice and so conclude And First If there be such a State of Happiness to be enjoyed hereafter How are they then to be blamed that let out their Hearts and Affections inordinately towards any Worldly Enjoyments O how many low base Spirited persons are there to be found who seek no greater nor higher good than to enjoy the Comforts and Delights that the World affords them could they but attain so many hundreds or thousands could they compass such an Earthly Possession or Enjoyment O this would be enough to make them Happy the things of the World is all the Portion they crave for themselves But surely such Noble Affections as God hath endowed Man withal should not be so lavishly laid out upon such vile and contemptible things as all Worldly Enjoyments are An Earthly Conversation is very unsuitable to a Spiritual and Heavenly Hope and Expectation Hast thou O Christian laid up thy Treasure above what then do thy Heart and Affections so much here below Is thy Life hid with Christ in God whence then is it that thy Converse is so much with Creature Enjoyments as if thy Life and Happiness lay in them and not in God If thou lookest for a State of Bliss only in Heaven what is the reason then that thy Conversation is no more there dost thou believe and count upon it as thy Blessedness that thou shalt one day with the pure in Heart for ever see and enjoy God in Heaven how comes it to pass then that thy Desires and Inclinations go out so eagerly after the Perishing Enjoyments of this World now For shame O Christian let thy Hopes of Heaven moderate thy Affections towards the World You that look for so much from God in another World may very well be content if he cuts you short here giving you but a little of this Nothing is more unbecoming a Heavenly Hope than an Earthly Heart It was an Observation that I once heard from a Holy Man of God now in Heaven whereof I have since read other where that though there are many Spots and Blemishes charged upon the Saints and Servants of God in Scripture as instances of humane frailty yet there is not one Godly man to be found in all the Book of God the Story of whose Life is blotted with the sin of Covetousness If this be a Truth as some affirm may it not well be matter of great astonishment unto us in these days of the Gospel wherein Knowledge doth so much abound that this should be called the Professors Sin so that prophane men have nothing to lay more commonly unto the charge of those that are strict in the ways of God than this That they are a company of Covetous persons and that none are more eager in their pursuits after the World than those that make the greatest shews and pretences for Heaven for shame O Christian wipe off this Reproach from Religion let not wicked men by beholding thy scandalous practices herein blacken the Names of those that are really Godly with such reproachful Aspersions as if to be Covetous were a necessary consequent unto the Profession of Religion Make it appear that thy hopes of Heaven can inable thee to live above the World yea to contemn and despise all its Enjoyments Surely thou mayest well be content with a little here who expectest so much hereafter If the Hopes and Expectations of what is laid up for a Believer in Heaven doth not take off his Heart and Affections from inordinate pursuits of the things of this World nothing will Secondly Hath God provided a Heaven for Believers hereafter Surely then they have no cause to be offended at any thing they meet withal in their way to it Hath the faithful God for whom it is impossible to lye promised to bestow Heaven and eternal Happiness upon a Believer though not for yet in the way of Duty and holy Obedience this should certainly take him off from being scandalized at the Cross No Christian but should walk chearfully in that way in which he is sure he shall find Heaven at the end though he meet with Afflictions and Troubles in his passage to it The Cross should never cause a Believer to stumble in much less to turn out of that way that leads to Heaven No Man should think much to do or suffer any thing to partake of so great a Happiness as the Enjoyment of Heaven speaks That Man knows little what Heaven means that can think or speak hardly of any way of God that leads to it It is a great Discouragement unto many when they are looking Heaven-ward that they meet with so many Troubles and Afflictions in the Way especially if they be great and of long continuance but knowest thou not O Christian that thou oughtest not to be troubled at any Afflictions that befal thee in thy Way to Heaven knowing that thereunto thou art appointed as the Apostle speaks I Thes 3.3 And though thou canst not conclude that Heaven belongs to thee because thou art afflicted for in an evil Way thou may'st justly expect to meet with Sufferings Yet this thou may'st assure thy self of that if thou leave the Ways of God and holy Obedience because of Sufferings thou art for the present turned out of the Way that leads to Heaven and if God hath any Love for thy Soul and intends to bestow Heaven and Happiness upon thee he will reduce thee back though by some Affliction and probably by some smart and severe one too But why O Christian should Afflictions and Sufferings discourage thee Will not Heaven make amends for all thou endurest here What says the blessed Apostle St. Paul who doubtless under-went as many Sufferings as any we read of in Scripture And yet says he Rom. 8.18 I reckon and his reckoning was according to Truth that the Sufferings of this present Life are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed
an account for that great estrangedness that is in it unto God and a Heavenly Life and for time to come leave off thy pursuits of Vanity and bend thy Soul with all seriousness to the Study of what thy Eternal State and Condition shall be busily employ thy Thoughts about the Happiness of a Life to come inure thy self to a Life of Divine and Heavenly Contemplation and let not the thoughts of Heaven be seldom slight and cursory but accustom thy self to them let them be fixed and abiding in thee dwell in thy Thoughts upon such Contemplations let thy Soul recreate it self with these Heavenly Delights And whenver thou findest thy Heart begin to flag and draw back or thy Thoughts to take liberty to flie out and ramble towards other things speedily call them back and keep them close to this pleasurable Employment let them not wander from their work indulge not thy self in Sloathfulness be quick and smart upon thy Soul for the least neglect that may be and for thy encouragement herein know that when once thou hast conquered the Difficulties and overcome the Obstructions that would hinder thee from experiencing so sweet and comfortable a Life and got the Mastery over thy Thoughts and Affections by an accustomed Obedience and Conformity unto the Practice of this Heavenly Duty thou wilt then find abundance of Sweetness and Delight therein and thy experience will confirm this to be a Truth of great Verity that the Life of Christianity is a Life of Joy that therein is to be found such abundant strong Consolations as will lift up thy Soul even into the very Suburbs of Heaven it self so that thou wilt seem to be as it were in a new World through the sense and feeling of those Joys which the Apostle tells us are unspeakable and full of Glory Now although the bare proposing of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven unto the Thoughts and Meditations of a Christian should be Argument strong enough to put him upon the practice of a Duty that is accompanied with so much Pleasure and Delight for certainly a more sweet delightful and desirable Life a Christian cannot live for this way of living is to bring down Heaven unto us before we are taken up thither it is to begin to live that life on Earth that we shall for ever live in Heaven and how then can there be any need of Arguments to press Christians to live such a life as this is Yet because sad experience tells us how hardly the best Christians are drawn to a daily practice of this Heavenly Duty I shall lay down some Arguments to excite and quicken them hereunto as First A Soul that lives in the believing views and contemplations of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven makes use of one of the strongest Cordials to support it self under Troubles and Afflictions that can be This will sustain a Christian's Spirit under Sufferings make them more easie to be born this keeps the Soul from murmuring and repining under the Hand of God makes it patient under all its Tribulations yea these believing views of Heaven and Glory will uphold and strengthen a Christian's Resolutions for God and holy Obedience and keep him from forsaking Christ and Religion for fear of Trouble and Persecution Alas will such a Soul say what if the Way be rough and unpleasant unto the Flesh yea what if it should be thorough Mud and Blood yet Heaven is at the end and that will make more than a thousand-fold amends for all the Sufferings that I can endure in the Way O sweet Pains and Torments O blessed Woes and Distresses O rich Poverty and Reproaches O happy Restraint and Imprisonment but much more happy Death however it comes that is accompanied with the joyful foretastes of a future Happiness in Heaven as no Bolts nor Bars no Restraints or Distresses can shut out or exclude the Joys and Consolations of Heaven from coming into the Soul Our Flesh that is these frail Bodies of ours may be confined within Walls of Stone or Bars of Iron but the Faith the Hope the Thoughts and Meditations of a Christian cannot still the Soul hath liberty in its flight towards Heaven from whence it fetches strong Consolations for its Support and Joy notwithstanding all the Severities that lie upon the outward Man Christ Faith and the Joys and Delights of Heaven are all spiritual and therefore it is not in the Power of any Prisons nor what the most malicious Persecutors can do to hinder a Soul that is a Spirit from sweet Intercourse and Commerce with them in John 20.19 when the Persecutions of the Jews were so hot against the Disciples that they were forced to meet privately and to shut the doors upon themselves for fear of the Jews yet even then Jesus came and stood in the midst of them and said Peace be unto you And when those two blessed Servants of God Paul and Silas were kept close Prisoners to speak in the Language of our Times after their Bodies had been abused by Scourging being locked up in the Inner Prison and their Feet made fast in the Stocks yet notwithstanding when they were suffering thus as to their Bodies they had a Heaven in their Souls and their Work and Employment was the same with what the Saints are taken up in Heaven even to sing Praises unto God and so they did for so we read Acts 16.24 25. At Midnight they pray'd and sang Praises unto God They had more Joy in undergoing their Sufferings than their Enemies had in inflicting them Yea so great were the Consolations of Heaven in their Souls that their Enemies were more desirous to free them from their Sufferings than they were desirous to come out of them for when they sent their Officers to fetch them out of Prison they refused to go out and made their very Persecutors themselves to beg and entreat them to come out Oh what wonderful strong Joys and Consolations had ravished their Souls that made them so unwilling to come out of Prison not to be punished but to be set at liberty How come those Worthies of whom we read in Heb. 11. to endure such sore Trials as are there recorded of them being exposed to the Violence of the Flames having Trials of cruel Mockings and Scourgings being stoned sawn asunder destitute afflicted and tormented And yet notwithstanding all would not accept of Deliverance Whence was it that they came to suffer so courageously Why the Reason is given us in Verse 35. it was That they might obtain a better Resurrection They saw not only to an end of their Sufferings but they looked also unto the Glory that was to be revealed and this made them so bold and courageous It is no wonder that Afflictions and Sufferings should be painful and grievous unto that Man who cannot see to the end of them And whatever Death is unto others it must needs be the King of Terrors unto him who cannot behold Immortality and
Eternal Life beyond it He that cannot look upon Heaven as belonging unto him at the end of his Sufferings as well as behold the Sufferings that himself endures loses that Joy and Consolation that should be his support under Sufferings Where there is no Expectation of the peaceable Fruit of Righteousness by them who are exercised with Afflictions there Afflictions cannot be joyous but grievous This is the peculiar Excellency and Advantage of the Grace of Faith and therein it is like unto God himself who is the Author of it that it can at one and the same time behold the End and the Means together and if a Christian did always act in this way and manner under Afflictions and were the Eye of his Faith so brightned that he could as clearly see his Right and Title unto Heaven as he doth feel his present Sufferings what a Life of Peace and Joy might he live notwithstanding all those Afflictions that lie upon him Doubtless when our Lord Jesus suffered on the Cross there were many standing by and gazing at his Sufferings who when they saw him dying there and after that laid in the Grave did shake their Heads at him looking upon him as one that was lost and gone never more to be heard of condemning him as a foolish and indiscreet Person to throw away his Life in that Way and Manner as he did because they were ignorant what he was doing and what was to follow upon his Sufferings But surely they who now behold him dying buried rising ascended glorified and interceding at God's Right Hand as Believers do they see great Cause to admire as the infinite Wisdom of God in contriving so the infinite Grace and Love of Jesus Christ in this Way and Manner of accomplishing the Redemption and Salvation of Sinners Were but Heaven and the fitting Christians for that glorious Inheritance apprehended by them as the end that God designs in all his dealings with them none of them would seem grievous and afflictive to them He that hath learn'd this way to Heaven that is he whose Soul hath gained Acquaintance with the Glory and Happiness that is above by frequent and daily Contemplations thereon hath a rich Cordial to revive and chear his Spirits in every Affliction There are none of us know what Trials we may yet meet withal before we are called hence and if God should exempt us from Publick and Private Calamities and Distresses while we live yet all of us know there is a time a coming when we must be sick and die and then we shall find that nothing but what we can draw down from Heaven into our Hearts will be Consolation strong enough to support our then departing Souls If therefore O Christian thou wouldst either live peaceably or die comfortably inure thy self daily unto a Life of Divine and Heavenly Contemplation Secondly Consider A Heart taken up much with Heaven will make a Christian lively and fervent in Duty It is the Heavenly Christian that is the lively and zealous Christian Where there is a strangeness in any Soul unto Heaven there will be a dulness and heaviness in Duty Frequent thoughtfulness of Heaven unto which Duties have a tendency make a Christian lively and vigorous in the performance of them And the stronger the Consolations are that flow into a Christian from his daily Contemplations of Heaven and Glory the more lively and vigorous will that Christian evermore be in the performance of Duty A full and clear Apprehension of Heaven and of our Right and Title thereunto how doth it lift up the Soul in Duty and make it run with the greatest activity and cheerfulness that can be in the Ways of God It is strange to see what the Hopes of Gain and Advantage in the World will carry Men unto how will they compass Sea and Land break their Rest in the Night hazard their Health in the Day rise early go to Bed late And shall the empty perishing things of this World animate and put Life and Vigour into these Mens Designs so that they shall stick at no difficulties or dangers for the attaining of them And shall not the fore-thoughts of Heaven and the Contemplations of the Glory and Happiness that is there to be eternally enjoyed put Life and Vigour Zeal and Activity into the Soul of a Christian in all his Duties Surely it will and that in so great a measure as shall enable him to mount up with Wings like Eagles to run and not be weary and to walk and not faint in the Ways of God the Joys and Consolations of Heaven and of the God of Heaven being his continual Strength and Support The Reason of all that sloathfulness and deadness that is to be found in Christians in the performance of their Duties is because they are such Strangers unto Heaven have so little knowledge of it dwell so little in their Thoughts and Contemplations upon that Glory and Happiness that there is to be enjoyed How fervent will that Man be in Prayer how attentive in Hearing how zealous in opposing Sin how watchful against Temptation how careful to lay hold of all opportunities of doing Good who considers that all this is done in order unto Heaven and Happiness Take a Christian one whose Life is spent much in Heaven one that hath as the Apostle saith of himself and others his Conversation in Heaven how easily may he be differenced from other Men he that hath a Spirit of discerning will quickly observe something of that which his Soul is taken with in Heaven to appear in his Duties and Conversation that will distinguish him from the careless and negligent Christian yea take the same Man when he hath been conversing with Heaven and solacing his Soul with Divine and Heavenly Contemplations and how doth he excel not others only but himself also O what a difference is there between what he is then and what he is in his common and ordinary Conversation for doubtless it may be averred of such a Soul's return from its contemplating views of that blissful State that there are such Heavenly Impressions made upon it as cause it to ascend in frequent Thoughts and Ejaculations towards Heaven in the midst of its Earthly Employments and to intermingle that which is Heavenly with its Earthly Speeches and Discourses among others Whereas a Christian that is careless and negligent of himself gives way to Earthliness and Vanity abates and lessens the exercising of his Soul in the Contemplations of Heaven and Heavenly Things he soon becomes as weak as vain and sometimes as prophane also as another Man who is altogether estranged unto this Life of Heavenly Contemplation The way therefore for Christians to shake off their deadness and dulness in Duty and to be rid of their sloathfulness and heaviness in the Ways of God is to betake themselves to Heaven where Christ who is their Life and Strength is and from whence alone all their quickning and enlivening influences do
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
of either for he cannot be so Holy as the Rule requires neither can he be so Holy as the Pattern which his Lord hath set him this is only attainable in Heaven where the People of God shall be as Holy as God will desire and as they can desire But though a Christian cannot be perfectly Holy yet he may be truly Holy and so he must be in some measure and proportion before he can be admitted into Heaven that place of perfect Purity and Holiness for unto such only is Heaven promised and by such only shall it be enjoyed who are Holy Holiness it is the Saints beaten Road unto Heaven it is the good old way through which the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles and Holy Men of God in all Ages of the World have travelled in unto Glory No Grace no Glory no Holiness here no Happiness hereafter As many as are Sanctified so many are Justified and as many as are Justified shall be also Glorified and no more Therefore says the Apostle Heb. 12.14 Follow after Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Holiness it is the Comeliness and Ornament yea the Beauty and Glory of a Christian it is God's Beauty and Comeliness stampt upon the Soul for a Christian is Beautiful and Comely through God's Comeliness put upon him as the Prophet speaks Ezek. 16.14 Thou wert Comely through my Comeliness that I put upon thee And though the Great God hath many various Titles and Attributes by which he hath been pleased to make discoveries of himself unto his People yet that wherein he chiefly Glories is his Holiness hence therefore it is that though the Power of God be called his Arm and the Wisdom of God his Eye and the Love of God his Heart yet is it the Holiness of God only that is his Face his Beauty his Glory And as the Face of a Man is the Beauty of a Man so is Holiness the Beauty of God himself upon this account therefore we read more than once of the Beauty of Holiness and of God's being Glorious in Holiness Expressions which serve greatly to Illustrate to us the Excellency of Holiness and may very well enamour the Creature to be in Love with it for that which is the Glory of the infinitely wise God namely his Holiness cannot but be the highest Excellency and Glory of Man As Sin is the greatest Reproach and Disgrace the greatest Degradation and Debasement of the Glory and Excellency of Man so Holiness is the highest Advancement and Exaltation the highest Dignity and Promotion the Humane Nature is capable of for it is participation of the Supream Excellency of the Divine Nature it self and that indeed in which as we ought to be like God so is it that in which we can only be said truly and properly to imitate him and therefore we never meet with any Command in Scripture requiring us to be as Great as Wise or as Powerful as God is but to be Holy as God is Holy to be Perfect as our Heavenly Father is Perfect and to Purifie our selves as God is Pure these we do yea all the Commands Threatnings and Promises both of the Law and of the Gospel have a tendency unto this to engage us unto Purity of Heart and unto Holiness of Life Wouldst thou therefore know O Christian whether thy Right and Title unto Heaven be true examine thy self what Influence and Operation the Word of God the Ordinances of God the Providences of God have had upon thy Heart and Life to Sanctifie and make thee Holy in both and know for certain if they have had such an effect upon thee this is as sure an Evidence of Heaven as any thou canst have and that which cannot deceive thee for it is an earnest thereof given into thy Soul before hand it is Heaven begun in thee on Earth for Holiness and Happiness Grace and Glory are but one and the same thing differing only in their Measures and Degrees and wherever there is a work of Grace begun in any Soul God will carry it on unto perfection in Heaven But now on the contrary if thou art one that wallowest in the Pollution and Defilement of Sin know O Sinner while thou continuest in thy uncleanness and filthiness thou hast no Right and Title unto Heaven neither as continuing such shalt thou ever have admission into it for into that Holy place no unclean thing shall ever enter Again Secondly Wouldst thou know whether thou canst justly lay any claim unto Heaven Examine what thy Thoughts and Apprehensions of Heaven are When thou hast read or heard a Discourse concerning Heaven and the Glory and Happiness that there is to be enjoyed What kind of thoughts hast thou then of that State and Place seemeth it unto thee to be a place only of freedom from Pain and Sickness from Trouble and Sorrow a place of Ease and Rest where thou shalt enjoy thy fill of what is Pleasurable and Delightful to thee and all this in an infinite duration that shall never know an end Now though in Heaven there is the enjoyment of all these things for there is no Sickness nor Diseases no Pains nor Sorrows but a perfect freedom from all that is Evil and an eternal Enjoyment of what is Pleasant and Delightful yet these things are the least and meanest part of the Happiness of Heaven It is true were there nothing more nothing greater nor better to be enjoyed than what these things amount unto an Eternity of Health without Sickness of Pleasure without Pain of Delights without Sorrow were a very great Happiness But when all these things are compared with the infinitely Great and Blessed God with the Enjoyment of his Love and Presence the seeing of his Face perfection of Grace and Holiness freedom from Sin a Heart Mind Will and Affections in all the Desires and Inclinations of them bent towards God and all of them not only Delighted in but abundantly Satisfied and filled with the Communications of the Divine Goodness They are then but a small and inconsiderable part of Heaven's Happiness and not worthy to be compared with what a Gracious Soul both desires and shall enjoy for its Happiness Wherefore O Christian if thou wouldest know whether thou canst upon good grounds put in thy Claim unto Heaven call thy self to an account what thy Thoughts and Apprehensions of Heaven are if thou art doubtful in thy mind whether there be such a place and State of Happiness or no or at best the highest Notions and Apprehensions thou hast of that Glorious place and State is that there thou shalt live at thy ease enjoy nothing but Carnal and Sensual Objects and Delights But findest no Spiritual Joy and Delight in thy Soul in the believing Thoughts and Apprehensions of thy Enjoyment of God and Christ and the Hopes and Expectations that thy Soul shall there not only be free from all Sin and Pollution but be made a partaker of the fulness and perfection of all
Grace and Holiness where thy Employment shall always be in Holy and Spiritual Delights and Exercises unto all Eternity If thou hast no believing Hopes and Expectations of such a Heaven as this is certainly thou hast no Right and Title unto that Inheritance that is incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for Believers Nothing so plainly demonstrates what men are whither they are going and unto whom they belong as the daily course of their Lives and Conversation The Apostle therefore in Galat. 5.19 20. reckoning up the Works of the Flesh which are manifest As Adultery Fornication Vncleanness Drunkenness Murder and such like of the which says he I tell you before as I have also told you in times past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And in 1 Corinth 6.9 10. he speaks the same thing again Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Adulterers nor Idolaters nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God And on the contrary He that doth Righteousness is of God says the Apostle 1 John 2.29 And blessed is he that doth Righteousness at all times says the Psalmist Psal 106.3 For the Grace of God that hath appeared in the Gospel having taught them to deny all ungodliness and Worldly Lust and to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Tit. 2.12 13. Looking for the Blessed Hope and the Glorious appearance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ These are they and only they who according to Scripture Warrant can lay any claim unto Heaven And these may for they that are made free from Sin and are become the Servants of God they have their Eruit unto Holiness and their end shall be Everlasting Life Rom. 6.23 Wouldst thou therefore know O Christian without deluding thy own Soul whether thou art one that hast a Right and Title unto Heaven call thy self to an account what thy Works and Actions are The matter is not so difficult to be resolved it may be as thou imaginest What says the Apostle Gal. 6.7 8. He that soweth unto the Flesh shall of the Flest reap Corruption And he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap Life Everlasting And the same Apostle tells us Rom. 8.13 If we live after the Flesh we shall die but if we through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the Body we shall live What now is thy way and course what is thy general carriage and practice is it earthly and vain is it sensual and wicked according to the course of the World and after the manner of the men of the World If vain and sinful Society be thy delightful Companions if wicked and ungodly ways be thy daily practice thou art not of an Heavenly Extraction nor canst thou upon Scripture grounds have any expectations of the Heavenly Glory for unto such only doth it belong who by their lives and actions declare their opposition of and contrariety unto the ways and courses of the men of this World Shew me thy Faith by thy Works says the Apostle James 2 18. Thou art one that professest to believe a Heaven and a State of blessedness to be enjoyed there and hopest thou art one that shalt be a partaker thereof hereafter shew me now thy Faith herein by thy Works and assure thy self of this That all thy Faith in and all thy Hopes of Heaven and Glory will fill thee with nothing but shame and disappointment hereafter unless they evidence themselves by Works and Actions suitable thereunto for as the Apostle says James 2.26 As the body without the Spirit is dead so all Faith in and Hope of Heaven without Works and Actions corresponding thereunto is dead also and will leave the Soul short of Heaven and Happiness Sixthly Is there such a State of Bliss and Happiness provided for and assured unto Believers in Heaven hereafter let then the consideration hereof Reconcile to them the thoughts of their own Death and moderate their sorrows for the Death of their Godly Friends and Relations First Let the consideration of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven Reconcile to a Believer the thoughts of his own Death It is no strange thing that Heathens who have only the Light of Nature to be their Instructor should not be able to overcome the Fears of Death though indeed some of them have not only expressed great Courage in contempt of but great confidence in and desire after Death though notwithstanding all their boasting we may well imagine that they speak greater things than they lived up unto much more than they died under for it is said of one of the chief of them that Eloquent Orator Cicero that a little before his Death he did ingeniously confess That those Remedies he had prepared against this Enemy Death proved he knew not how too weak and feeble to support and strengthen him in its near approach unto him And indeed it is no wonder that thus it should be with them because they were greatly in the dark as to the reality of a future State of Happiness and much more at a loss how to find the right way to attain the enjoyment thereof Nor is it any strange thing to see a wicked Man under the light of the Gospel to be afraid of Death and to lead a Life accompanied with Fears and Terrours under the thoughts of it no the wonder rather is that such a one can have any case and quietness any freedom from horrours and perplexities of Mind that he is not a Magormissabib continually every moment of his Life encompassed about with fears and terrours And indeed did he rightly understand himself and his dangerous state and condition it would be thus always with him and the greatness of his Fears and Horrours would make him go mourning all his Days But though Heathens and prophane Sinners may and have cause to be afraid of Death yet it becomes not any of the People of God who have a well grounded Hope of Heaven to be affrighted at it there being no way for them to attain unto that State of Blessedness but by Dying I have read concerning the Turks who are not only Strangers but Enemies to the Christian Religion that they say they do not think Heaven to be a place of that Bliss and Happiness as Christians do profess to believe it is because they see so many that call themselves by the Name of Christian so backward and unwilling to go to it O what a disgrace is this unto Christianity and how should it concern Christians to labour with great industry to overcome all inordinate fears of Death that they may wipe off this reproach that is cast upon the most excellent Religion in the World and that which only can enable any to Die comfortably and joyfully upon the Hopes of a future State of Happiness All a Believer's fears of
Dead that is unto that State of Blessedness that the Saints shall arrive unto at the Resurrection from the Dead And the same Apostle in 1 Cor. 15.58 having discoursed concerning the Resurrection of Christ and thereupon proved the Resurrection of the Dead and the great Happiness of the Saints thereupon he concludes his Discourse with this Exhortation Wherefore my beloved Brethren be ye stedfast unmovable always abounding in the Work of the Lord for asmuch as you know your labour is not in vain in the Lord Whatever any do or suffer for God they shall be no loosers by it in the end Heaven will abundantly recompense a Christian for all the Labour and Pains yea for all the cost and charge he can be at in his way thither When our Lord had wrought a great Miracle in feeding so many thousand with a few Barley Loaves and two small Fishes he bids his Disciples Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost Joh. 8.12 There is nothing that a Believer doth for God now that shall be lost his Tears are all bottled his Sighs are all numbred his Prayers are all filed in Heaven and a day of reckoning will come when all shall be brought forth and recompensed not with a thousand fold as in this Life with Persecution but with eternal Gains that shall never have an end It is not only an unsuitable thing but highly disingenious for any to be niggardly and pinching in the Service of God to give him as little as they can of Duty and Obedience who expect so Magnificent and Glorious a State of Happiness from him hereafter What a shameful thing is it and how unbecoming a Christian to think any measure of Duty enough for God who looks for a promised as well as a purchased Reward from him that shall be without measure Why shouldst thou set bounds to thy Work when God hath set none to thy Wages how unreasonable a thing is it that any measure of Duty though never so short and scanty should be thought enough by thee when the Happiness thou hopest for and God hath promised is without all measure Surely a Christian should be always abounding in the Work of the Lord who will always make him Happy Alas how little how inconsiderable is our always of Working to Gods always of Rewarding Suppose we were always abounding in the Work and Service of God in which God knows we are greatly wanting yet all our Obedience extended unto the utmost can reach no longer than to the end of a short Life but Gods Reward and our Happiness thereby runs parallel with an endless Eternity Why then should a little time spent in the serving and honouring of God here seem too much and too long when an Eternity spent in the enjoyment of God will never be too much Were there nothing of a Reward to be expected hereafter yet a Godly Man would love and serve God for the New Nature not only enclines him to it but makes him delight in the doing of it It is true the great God the Supreme Soveraign Lord of all his Creatures might have made a Law if he had pleased to bind Man to Obedience without the encouragement of a promised Reward but he hath not thought good to deal with Man in so strict a way and manner but in a way of condescending Grace and Mercy and so out of his immense Bounty and Goodness hath been pleased to sweeten and facilitate Man's Obedience with a promise of no meaner importance than the enjoyment of the Eternal Inheritance with himself in Glory O how much should this affect our Hearts and how strongly should it oblige us to abound in the Work and Service of such a Lord and Master Were it possible for the Saints in Heaven to communicate the Experiences and Enjoyments which they now are partaking of in Glory What a Confirmation and Encouragement would this be thought to spirit and quicken us in the ways of Duty and Obedience Why the Word of God that holds forth the promised Reward is as true shall I say nay much more true than such a Communication can be for in that our Senses may be deceived and we imposed upon but by the Word of God we cannot for that is Truth it self and cannot lye Wherefore the Word of God holding forth the promised Reward of Heaven should be the greatest encouragement in the World to put Christians upon the utmost diligence imaginable in the Work and Service of God And the Truth of it is as we can never begin too soon so we can never hold out too long in the ways of Duty and Obedience None ever repented when they came to Die that they had spent too much of their time in the Service of God Who ever read or heard of any that did thus repent very many upon a Death-bed have bitterly lamented that they have done no more for God that they have idled and wasted away so much of their precious time upon impertinent Vanities and Trifles and that what they have done for God hath been so poor so mean so defective and so defiled These things have been a great grief and trouble unto many yea the best of God's Servants who have been most eminent for Grace whose usefulness in their Generation others have admired have yet themselves complained of their barrenness and unprofitableness and mourned for their deficiency and falling short of what they should have done Thus that eminently laborious Servant of Jesus Christ Bishop Vsher crys out against himself upon his Death bed begging Pardon for his Sins of omission and yet his constant Labours and Diligence both in Preaching and Writing was greatly and justly applauded by all And if any one should think this a strange assertion that the People of God should at a dying hour be thus sensible of their great deficiencies I humbly conceive this may be rendred as a Reason thereof because the Saints and Servants of God at such a time standing upon the brink of Eternity and being ready to lanch forth into that vast Ocean have then enlarged and widened apprehensions both of the infinite Majesty and Holiness of God and of the unspeakable greatness of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven and this makes not only their Persons but the best of their Services appear inconsiderable in their own Eyes but causes in them an Holy blushing and shame that all their time they have done so little for that God who hath laid up so much for them that they have glorified him so little here on Earth unto whom they are now a going to enjoy a state of Eternal Glory and Happiness in Heaven Eighthly and Lastly Is there such a place of Bliss and Happiness provided for and assured unto Believers hereafter as Heaven is Let the consideration hereof cause in them a Holy longing of Soul after the enjoyment of it If there be enough in any Object or in any Place to draw forth the Love and Desires the Pantings and Breathings
our Salvation Is it not there that we shall be for ever out of the reach of Satan's Temptations with which a Believer is so assaulted and harassed here as renders his Life not only uncomfortable but even burthensome to himself Is it not there that our frail Bodies which now are subject to Pains and Diseases because defiled with Sin shall be for ever loosed from all Weaknesses and Infirmities being made like unto the Glorious Body of Jesus Christ perfectly freed from Mortality and Corruption and from all Sin and Defilement Is it not there that all the People of God shall be of one Heart and of one Mind that being taken away both from within and from without which was the cause of all their Divisions and Contentions here on Earth and instead thereof there shall be a sweet union of Hearts and Affections all of them abundantly delighting and satisfying themselves in one God as the Object of their Happiness without the least jarring or discord among them to all Eternity While the People of God are in this Vail of Tears they labour under much Blindness and Ignorance about the Mysteries of Salvation as revealed in the Gospel but in Heaven these Mysteries shall all be fully and perfectly made known to us In this Life we take in our Knowledge of God of Heaven and of the Gospel by which we are savingly enlightned in either by little and little as a Man that desires to know what is contained in a Book before it is exposed to publick view reads it Sheet by Sheet from the Press and so understands a little and a little of it by Degrees And truly so do Christians concerning the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God now they hear a Sermon and by that they gain a little light and in some short time they hear another Sermon and by that they encrease their light a little more and thus their Stock of Divine Knowledge encreaseth a little and a little at time by the help of means and opportunities that they enjoy But now in Heaven all is done without travail or trouble for though it is true Glorified Saints there cease not from working yet is it as true that they cease from labour Here our Passions are strong and prevalent by reason whereof our minds are blinded and we easily mistake Error for Truth and Truth for Error but hereafter all these Clouds shall be blown away and we shall see things nakedly and truly as they are in themselves Here the weakness and smallness of many mens Natural Parts keeps them in the dark and renders them incapable of apprehending some Truths of God which others of greater abilities can search into with pleasure and delight But then as the Apostle speaking concerning the day of Judgment tells us They that are alive then shall not prevent those that are asleep So in Heaven they that are strong shall not prevent those that are weak but the Scholar shall there know as much as his Master and the People understand as much as their Minister In this World Contentions and Quarrellings among Holy and Learned Men leave the Weak and Ignorant at great uncertainties what to Judge concerning many Gospel Truths But in Heaven there shall be a perfect Reconciliation and Agreement among them all yea while we are here it often falls out that in our most diligent searching after Truth we meet with many hindrances and disturbances sometimes the necessary Affairs of this World cause us to lay aside our Enquiries at other times many Distempers that attend our infirm Bodies divert and hinder us in our most serious Inquisitions But in Heaven our Bodies will be above all these things we shall there no more be liable to nor annoy'd with any Weaknesses and Infirmities In that Glorious place we shall not need to provide either Raiment for the back or Food for the belly O what a Happiness have Believers by dying who are thereby at once eased of all the aches of their Bodies and of all the conflicts of their Souls how comfortably may they look Death in the Face who is the only Physician that cures them of all their Distempers at once O when that blessed hour comes how joyfully may they lift up their heads for as soon as they are passed through that dark and gloomy Valley they shall be brought into a place of unconceivable Bliss and Happiness where they shall behold him whom their Souls so much loved and longed to see even their Blessed Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ not at a distance or afar off as they were wont to do by an Eye of Faith through the Glass of an Ordinance or Promise but with a Glorified Eye draw near to him and look upon his blessed Person the Glorious sight of whom they shall never more lose to all Eternity When a Believer shall not as here he hath now and then some little glimpses of his Face and some small tastes of his Love in a little Sacramental Bread and Wine but he shall lay his Mouth to the Fountain head and from his Bosom drink full and large draughts of those Rivers of the Waters of Life that proceed out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb for evermore He shall then no more have any descriptions of Heaven by fear say as he was wont to have it described to him here by the sorry Rhetorick of a Mortal Man either by Preaching or Writing of that which he himself had little Love to and less Knowledge and Acquaintance with but shall himself walk up and down and view the Streets of that Glorious City And O with what Wonder and Astonishment will a Believer bless himself there when he reflects back upon those poor and low thoughts that himself and the best of Preachers also had thereof when on Earth he did Meditate and they did Preach or Write upon that Subject One moment's sight of that Glory will give the Soul a thousand times better Information and Satisfaction what Heaven is than all the Discourses that it ever heard or all the Books it ever read here on Earth were ever able to do And canst thou O Believer hear all this concerning Heaven and thy Faith tell thee that all this is true and add also that Heaven is ten thousand times more and better than what all the Men in the World can imagine concerning it and yet not feel some springings up of Holy Joy and Delight in thee followed with earnest longings of Soul after the Enjoyment of it O whence doth this dulness and backwardness proceed this is not a temper of Soul suitable unto the Hopes of so great a Happiness as Heaven will be Why dost thou not O Believing Soul cry out with Holy Longings and Desires How long O Lord most Holy and True shall it be before thou bringest me into the Possession of this most Blissful State Every moment whilst thou art kept at a distance from it should seem to thee a Day and every Day a Month
ever known that a Man who had the use of his Reason and Understanding and had forfeited his Life to his Prince by some Treasonable Act for which he was condemned to Die and had his Life proferred him if on such a Day he would come and submit himself to his Sovereign and ask his Pardon and instead of so doing he should rather choose to spend that Day among his sinful and riotous Companions in Drinking and Gaming and so lose the opportunity of saving of his Life Such Acts of Folly as these are committed by any Men would make them unpitied and unlamented under the extremity of Miseries and Sorrows that should befal them thereupon But the generality of Men in these cases are more wise and considerative than thus to ruine and undo themselves O then let it not lie any longer as a reproach upon Christians that the Men of the World are wiser in their Generation than the Children of Light Why shouldst not thou O Christian be as careful and prudent in thy Spiritual Concerns as the Men of the World are in their Temporal Concerns Is not Heaven of as much worth and value as Earth Is not thy Right and Title to an Eternal Inheritance above of as great moment to thee as a Title to an Earthly Inheritance here below is unto them Is not the Love and Favour of God as much to be prized and endeavoured after as the Favour of an Earthly Prince Is not the Salvation and Happiness of thy Soul in Heaven to all Eternity of as great importance as the saving of a short Temporal Life of the Body which with the improvement of the utmost care and diligence that can be used cannot long be kept from falling into corruption and rottenness What then canst thou render as a Reason of thy carelessness and negligence herein Surely thy Folly is as much greater than theirs as Heaven is better than Earth and the enjoyment of God to Eternity is better than the enjoyment of the World for a short moment of time The Blessedness and Happiness therefore propounded to thy consideration being of the greatest concernment that ever was or can be proposed unto any the despising yea the slighting and neglecting of an offer of such rich Grace and Bounty is that which shall be punished with infinitely far greater misery and torment than ever yet was inflicted upon any yea or upon all Mankind in the World put together Were it possible to make up a Misery and Torment of all the Rage and Malice that ever Men or Devils since the Creation invented or executed upon any yea and add to it the sum the quintessence and extremity of all those Pains and Diseases both of Body and Mind that the Justice of the Holy and Righteous God hath justly and righteously inflicted upon any yea upon the whole Race of Mankind from the beginning of the World unto this Day and let all this be laid upon one Man and he strengthened and enabled to live under all those Pains and Torments in the extremity of them for a thousand years Who would not say this Man were a miserable Man indeed Why truly such nay ten thousand times far greater shall be the Eternal never-ending Misery and Torment of that Man who finally persists in his contempt and slighting of Heaven and Eternal Happiness and so do all those whose pains and care is not with diligence and industry laid out in securing to themselves an interest in the Heavenly Inheritance For certainly the utmost extremity of Desires and Endeavours is due unto and ought to be laid out in the pursuit of an extremity of Bliss and Happiness and such is Heaven and the Blessedness there to be enjoyed it being that which will fill and satisfie the Desires and Cravings of the Soul unto the utmost to all Eternity I have no more to say to thee O Christian Reader than this if neither the greatest extremity of misery that can be endured yea the enduring of all Miseries and Torments heaped up together not for Thousands or Millions of years but to an endless duration never to expire will not move thee to look after Heaven nor yet the Happiness and Blessedness yea the Eternity of an inexpressible and unconceivable Happiness and Blessedness that there is and shall be for ever enjoyed by the Saints in Glory and may be also enjoyed by thee if thou art wise and prudent if thou art diligent and careful in improving thy time and opportunities If I say thine own Interest thine own Misery or Happiness will not move nor work upon thee to bestir thy self to make sure of Heaven and Eternal Life I know not what will neither do I know what to say more unto thee However I shall turn my Advice and Counsel to thee into Prayer unto God for thee whoever thou art that shalt read this Discourse that God would graciously be pleased to open thine Eyes and shew thee convincingly and powerfully by a Work of his own Spirit on thy Heart thy great Misery if thou persist in thy neglect of Heaven and thy great Happiness and Blessedness if thou embrace and close with the offers thereof before it be too late Which God of his infinite Mercy grant unto all those that shall read this Discourse for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake who by his Death and Sufferings hath purchased this Heaven and this Happiness and is thereby become the Author of Eternal Salvation to all those that believe in him and obey him Amen FINIS Books lately Printed for Nathanael Ranew at the King 's Arms in St. Paul's Church-Yard PRactical Preparation for Death The Wisdom and Interest of Christians The Folly and Misery of those that are negligent therein The great benefits of a Life spent in a daily Preparation for our latter end with Motives and Directions for the performance thereof Discourses or Sermons on several Scriptures By Ezekiel Hopkins late Lord Bishop of London-Derry In Octavo An Exposition on the Ten Commandments with other Sermons By Ezekiel Hopkins late Lord Bishop of London-Derry In Quarto The Holy Life of Mrs. Elizabeth Walker late Wife of Dr. Walker of Fyfield in Essex giving an Account of her exemplary Piety and Charity with some useful Papers and Letters written by her self upon several occasions The Naked Gospel Discovering 1. What was the Gospel which our Lord and his Apostles Preached 2. What Additions and Alterations latter Ages have made in it 3. What Advantages and Damages have thereupon ensued Of Faith Of the Trinity The Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour And the Resurrection of the Body Published by Arthur Bury D. D. Rector of Exeter College in Oxford The Vertuous Woman Or the Life of the most excellent Lady Mary late Countess of Warwick To which are annexed some of her Ladyships pious and useful Meditations Aurea Legenda Or Apophthegms Sentences and Sayings of many Wise and Learned Men useful for all Persons Collected out of many Authors by Samuel Clerk In Twelves Redemption of Time the Duty and Wisdom of Christians Or a practical Discourse shewing what special Opportunities ought to be redeemed what mis-spendings of time are to be avoided with convincing Reasons quickning Motives and proper Directions for the right improvement of precious Time By John Wade In Octavo The Danger of Delaying Repentance A Sermon Preached to the University at St. Mary's in Oxford By Arthur Bury D. D. Rector of Exeter College in Oxford In Quarto An earnest and compassionate suit for forbearance to the Learned Writers of some Controversies at present By the Bishop of Cork and Rosse In Quarto The End