Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	lord_n	praise_n	praise_v	7,712	5	9.8104	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62392	The faithful souldier's reward, or, A glimpse of the saints happiness discovered in two sermons, occasioned by the death of that truly vertuous and religious gentle woman, Mrs. Katherine Disney : the former preached at Kirkstead, the place of her last abode here upon the earth, on the 18th day of May, 1690, being the Lord's Day, and the latter at Swinderly, near Lincoln, where she was interr'd the Tuesday following / by William Scoffin.	Scoffin, William, 1655?-1732.	1692 (1692)	Wing S933; ESTC R11432	41,514	126

thou art Known and Love as thou art Beloved of Him O Blessed Condition indeed With what raised Affections will the Faithful serve God when once they arrive to this State of Perfection How will they contemplate his incomparable Excellencies And how joyfully then will they sing forth his Praises They 'l never cease to love and admire and therefore never cease to praise their God Their Hearts will be there eternally enflamed and their Mouths eternally opened to glorify him But with the highest Veneration they 'l adore his Goodness and sing aloud of his Mercy Psal 59.16 I will sing of thy Power O Lord saith David yea I will sing aloud of thy Mercy And again saith he in another Place I will sing of the Mercies of the Lord for ever Psal 89.1 'T is certain that the glorify'd Saints in Heaven will have such a Sense of God's Mercy and Love as shall fill their Mouths with Eternal Praises Ezek. 16.6 8. Joh. 3.16 chap. 6.44 Jer. 31.3 O how will they admire and adore that Love that pitied them in their lost Estate when no Eye pitied them That Love that provided a Redeemer for them and in time brought them to close with him That Love that in such an admirable manner conducted them through the World and ordered all things here below to their Spiritual and Eternal Advantage Yea and they 'l always be under the Beams of his Love which will be vigorously reflected in their joyful Praises It will there be the highest Felicity to contemplate his most excellent Perfections their greatest Pleasure to love and please him and their highest Honour to glorify him They 'l there be employed in the noblest Work and excited by the highest Motives I will speak of the glorious Honour of thy Majesty and of thy wondrous Works saith David Psal 145.5 And again They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great Goodness and shall sing of thy Righteousness Ver. 7. Now if the Saints while here on Earth do thus love and praise and adore the Lord how much more when they come into Heaven Their affectionate Praises will there be renewed without any let or intermission because the Divine Favours are there renewed every Moment O Blessed and Glorious Employment indeed Who would not strive to be thus employed All thy Works shall praise thee Psal 145.10 11. O Lord and thy Saints shall bless thee They shall speak of the Glory of thy Kingdom and talk of thy Power Ver. 13. Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endureth throughout all Generations O help us to love and praise thee now that we may be more fitted for Eternal Praises 2. The glorify'd Saints and Angels will be a Believer's everlasting Companions And what a blessed Society will this be and how much will it add to our Happiness 'T is comfortable to meet with the Saints of God now though it be but in a Mourning-Duty but most sure it is their Communion there will be quite another thing For then they 'l be perfectly and eternally freed from all their Infirmities and Weaknesses Heb. 12.23 Now alas their many Infirmities do much hinder the pleasure of their Society but most delightful then will their Company be Here their Affections are flat and low and they are often dull and out of frame but in Heaven it will be otherwise There we shall have the most raised Affections and shall always be in a serious Frame And this will indear us to one another and will make our Communion most pleasing and delightful David esteemed the Saints of God the most excellent Persons upon Earth Psal 16.3 119.63 Psal 15.4 1 Joh. 3.14 and declared that in the Society of them he took the greatest Delight And this indeed is the true Character of a Heaven-born Citizen of Zion He is one that greatly loves and delights in the Company and Society of the Saints The Wicked desire not their Society and shall therefore be eternally separated from it but the Faithful do greatly love and value it and therefore shall eternally enjoy it 3. The Faithful shall then see the Face and enjoy the Presence of their Glorious Redeemer Joh. 17.24 Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me for thou lovedst me before the Foundation of the World Phil. 1.23 The Souls of the Faithful shall be with Christ immediately after Death and both Body and Soul shall be with him at the General Resurrection Joh. 14.2 3. In my Father's House are many Mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self that where I am there ye may be also At Death Luk. 16.22 Christ sends his Angels to conduct the Soul to Heaven But at the general Resurrection he will come himself in Person and will fetch us thither in State which will make our Access to Heaven the more glorious He will then come to lead his Flock to their everlasting Fold to present his Bride unto God Eph. 5.27 decked and apparelled with Glory And O what a glorious Sight will it be to see Christ and his Followers with Crowns on their Heads To see their triumphant Entrance into those everlasting Mansions and the Angels welcoming them with Shouts of Joy And then to see Christ on his Throne of Glory and they themselves placed round about him beholding him there with open Face in his greatest Splendour and Dignity What a Soul-enravishing Sight will this be Happy are thy Men 2 Chron. 9.7 and happy are these thy Servants which stand continually before thee and hear thy Wisdom said the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon But O how much more happy will they be who shall stand before Christ and see his Glory Why thus shall his Faithful Servants do Joh. 12.26 If any Man serve me let him follow me and where I am there shall also my Servant be if any Man serve me him will my Father honour It will be an Honour and Happiness indeed to be ever in the Presence of their glorious Redeemer and there to be glorified with him What Comfort and Encouragement doth this afford to the Faithful Souldiers of Christ To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne Rev. 3.21 O how should this animate and encourage us against the Spiritual Enemies of our Souls If we now fight couragiously under Christ's Banner we shall one Day be crowned with Glory and Honour And this assuredly will make amends for all that we can do or suffer for him Moses was well assured of it and therefore esteemed Reproaches for Christ Heb. 11.26 above all the Treasures in Egypt for he had respect

is opposed to it and 't is explain'd ver 25. He is comforted but thou art tormented Heaven is a Place of Comfort and Hell is a Place of Torment No sooner did Lazarus die but he was carried by the Angels into Heaven No sooner did the rich Man die but he was dragged by the Devils into Hell Ver. 23 24. And in Hell he lift up his Eyes being in Torment and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his Bosom Therefore I argue not only from Lazarus his being in Abraham's Bosom but also from the rich Man's being in Hell for God is not more prone to punish than he is to reward If the Wicked be in Torment as soon as they die then the Saints are in their Happiness presently upon their Dissolution Another Place is Luke 16.9 And I say unto you make to your selves Friends of the Mammon of Vnrighteousness that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting Habitations i. e. Do good with your worldly Riches and thereby evidence your Faith to be true and so consequently make God your Friend that when you come to die he may receive you into Heaven 1 Tim. 6.17 19. Luk. 19.8 Act. 10.4 Mat. 25.34 36. When ye fail What is that time failing It cannot be meant of Condemnation in the Judgment for there is no escaping or reversing that Sentence therefore 't is meant of the Hour of Death then are Believers received into everlasting Habitations and their everlasting Habitation is in Heaven Another Argument which proveth this Truth is that with which Christ silenc'd the Sadduces Mat. 22.31 32. Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God saying I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob God is not the God of the Dead but of the Living The Sadduces denied the Immortality of the Soul as well as the Resurrection of the Body and Christ disproveth both by this Argument I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Exod. 3.6 These words were spoken by God unto Moses long after the Decease of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and it is not said I was but I am the God of Abraham c. Now saith Christ God is not the God of the Dead but of the Living therefore Abraham Isaac and Jacob though long ago deceased are yet alive So the Souls of all the Faithful departed out of this World do live to God in Heaven Luke 20.38 Another Scripture which clearly proves this Truth is Luke 23.43 The penitent Thief had desired Christ to remember him when he came into his Kingdom And Christ answered him again and said Verily I say unto thee To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Christ sheweth that he would not defer his Hope but his Desire should be accomplished that Day 't is not adjourned to many Days Months or Years but to Day saith Christ q. d. Thou shalt immediately enjoy thy Desire Now what Christ promised to him he promised it to him as a penitent Believer and what belongeth to one Believer belongeth to all in a like Case Therefore if his Soul in the very Day of his Death was translated to Paradise the Souls of other Believers will be so in like manner Rev. 2.7 To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God No doubt but by Paradise is meant Heaven and so the Apostle explaineth it 2 Cor. 12.2 4. Thither the penitent Thief went immediately after his Death and so doth every believing Soul Another Scripture that proves this Truth and the last that I shall name is 2 Cor. 5.8 We are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord. This is so plain a Text for the proof of this Truth that if we had no other Scripture to prove it by even this alone were sufficient For we know saith the Apostle that whilst we are at home in the Body we are absent from the Lord ver 6. But are will rather to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord ver 8. So that as soon as the Souls of the Faithful are separated from the Body they are taken immediately into the Presence of the Lord in whose Presence there is Fulness of Joy Psa 16.11 and at whose Right-hand there are Pleasures for evermore And thus I have sufficiently prov'd that the Souls of the Faithful at Death do immediately pass into Heaven and their Bodies lie asleep in their Graves as in Beds of Rest Now 2. At the general Resurrection when Christ shall come to Judgment the Bodies of the Saints shall be raised in Glory and re-united unto their Souls even these very self same Bodies which now we have 1 Thess 4.16 For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a Shout with the Voice of the Archangel and with the Trump of God and the Dead in Christ shall rise first So Joh. 5.28 29. Marvel not at this saith Christ for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the Graves shall hear his Voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil unto the Resurrection of Damnation This will be a joyful Day to every believing Soul but a Day of Terror and Amazement to the Wicked When the Lord Jesus Christ shall be thus revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming Fire taking Vongeance on then that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting Destruction from the Presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Power When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all them that believe 2 Thess 1.7 10. The Thoughts of this most Blessed Day which Job foresaw by Faith did much refresh his Soul under his heavy Afflictions Job 19.25 26 27. I know saith he that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter Day upon the Earth And though after my Skin Worms destroy this Body yet in my Flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my self and mine Eyes shall behold and not another though my Reins be consumed within me Job was well assured that the self-same Body which had suffered so much in the World and which should not in the Earth and be eaten with Worms should be raised again at the last Day Yet this we must know that tho the same Body shall be raised again yet a very great Change shall pass upon it 1 Cor. 15.42 44. It is sown in Corruption it is raised in Incorruption it is sown in Dishonour it is raised in Glory it is sown in Weakness it is raised in Power It is sown a natural Body it is raised a spiritual Body So Phil. 3.20 21. Our Conversation is in Heaven saith

see whatever Favours are shewed to Christ's poor Members Mat. 10.40 41 42. whatever Acts of Mercy and Charity are exercis'd towards them Christ takes all as done to himself And on the other hand whatsoever is done against the Members of Christ whatsoever Unmercifulness or Acts of Cruelty are exercis'd towards them Christ takes it all as done against himself When ever they are slighted and neglected he looks upon himself as concerned therein I was an hungred Mat. 25 42 will he say and ye gave me no Meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no Drink Ver. 43. I was a Stranger and ye took me not in naked and ye clothed me not sick and in Prison and ye visited me not For in as much as ye did it not to one of the least of these my poor Members Ver. 45. ye did it not to me So Act. 9.4 5. Saul Saul why persecutest thou me saith Christ And Saul said Who art thou Lord And the Lord answered him and said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest Why the Lord Jesus was in Heaven quite above Saul's reach How the could Saul persecute him It was in his Members For Saul had been persecuting the poor Members of Christ and was now going to Damascus on the same Design and Christ took all those Acts of Cruelty which were exercised towards his Members as if they had been done to his own Person Thus also saith the Prophet to the People of the Lord Zech. 2.8 He that toucheth you toucheth the Apple of my Eye This speaks Comfort to the Members of Christ who are hated and persecuted for Righteousness sake but sure it speaks Terrour to their Enemies Isa 34.8 For the Day is coming when the Lord will vindicate his own Cause and will call all such to a Reckoning And then they will assuredly find it hard to have kick'd against the Pricks Act. 9.5 3. We may further observe how very acceptable unto the Lord the Works of Mercy and Charity are These are the only Works which are mentioned in the Description of the Last Judgment The Lord takes delight in nothing more than he doth in shewing of Mercy no wonder then Luk. 6.36 that Acts of Mercy are so very acceptable unto him Jam. 1.27 Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their Afflictions and to keep himself unspotted from the World And on the other hand as God is well pleased with Acts of Mercy so he 's greatly provok'd with Vnmercifulness and Acts of Cruelty As he will say to the Righteous and Merciful Come ye Blessed So he will say to the Wicked and Unmerciful Depart ye Cursed He shall have Judgment without Mercy that hath shewed no Mercy Jam. 2.13 4. Observe the different Tempers of the Righteous and Wicked in Judgment The Righteous who have done many good Works will be asham'd to hear any of them mentioned by Christ so sensible are they of their great Imperfections Lord when saw we thee an hungred and fed thee c. will they say But the Wicked who have done little or no good at all will be ready to excuse and justify themselves saying When saw we thee an hungred Matth. 25.44 or a thirst or a stranger or naked or sick or in Prison and did not minister unto thee But their vain Excuses will do them no good For these shall go into everlasting Punishment Ver. 46. but the Righteous unto Life Eternal And now I come to the Second Thing propounded which is to shew you as the Lord shall enable me wherein the Happiness of Believers in the other World will chiefly consist And I humbly conceive it will chiefly consist in these two Particulars following 1. In a perfect freedom from all that is really Evil. 2. In the full enjoyment of all that is truly Good There is no Tongue indeed can possibly express the greatness of the Saints Happiness Yet so much may we conceive thereof by seriously considering these two Particulars as might fill our Souls with breathing Desires after the Enjoyment of it and with admiration of God's wonderful Love in providing such an Happiness for us Quest What then are those Evils that Believers shall be freed from at Death Why Heb. 12.23 1 Cor. 13.10 Eph. 5.27 1. They 'l be freed from all their Sins Infirmities Weaknesses and Imperfections And O what an Happiness will this be to be perfectly freed from Sin You that groan under the burden of Sin can set your Seal to this Truth that a perfect Freedom from all our Corruptions will make us happy indeed Chear up then believing Soul whose Infirmities and Weaknesses are thy greatest Burden for a time of Refreshment will shortly come Yet a little while and thou shalt sin no more nor sorrow any more Thou art now troubled for thy Unbelief thy hardness of Heart and deadness of Spirit and that thy Affections are so flat and low thy Corruptions so strong and thy Failings so many and that thou walk'st on so heavily in the Ways of God and canst not do the good thou wouldst but Death will knock off all these Fetters and set thee free within a while O that I might never sin more against my good and gracious God! Rom. 7.24 says a poor gracious Soul Why I tell thee poor Soul and take it for thy comfort that it is but a little while and thou shalt sin no more nor sorrow any more nor dishonour thy gracious God any more which is now the chief cause of thy greatest Sorrow There is no Comfort ariseth from hence to such as are in Love and in League with Sin but to those whose Sin is their great Grief and Burden it affordeth matter of very great Comfort 2. Believers shall likewise be freed from all their Temptations and Enemies 2 Cor 7.5 Now they are troubled on every side and molested with many Temptations but Death within a while will set them free For if the time will come when God's People here on Earth shall obtain Freedom from their Enemies in a very great measure how much more when they come to Heaven See Isa 11.9 and chap. 65.17 25. Rev. 20.1 2 3. Chear up then Believing Soul who art here surrounded with many Temptations for there is no Tempter in Heaven either to entice thee to Sin or to trouble and molest thee there are no Snares there to entangle thee no Enemy there that shall in any-wise hurt thee No no thou 'lt have none but Friends in Heaven and the best of Friends There Triumph over Sin is won The Devil and Death defac'd The Kingdom of the Just begun And there in Glory plac'd There Tyrants nothing have to do Nor Rack nor Rope is known Tormentors all and Satan too Are fully overthrown As one thus expresseth it in Metre 3. Believers shall be perfectly freed from all their Sicknesses Pains and Sorrows Rev. 7.16 17. They shall hunger no

it shall be well with him for they shall eat the Fruit of their doing But wo unto the Wicked it shall be ill with him for the Reward of his Hands shall be given him 'T is not said of the Righteous that they shall have what they have earned but they shall eat the Fruit of their doings i. e. They have done well and they shall fare well But now as to the Wicked they shall have their due desert the Reward of his Hands shall be given him Death is the just Wages of Sin Rom. 6.23 but Eternal Life is God's Free Gift through Jesus Christ our Lord. And now I come to apply the Doctrine and what hath been spoken from it Vse I. And the First Vse may be for our Information in these two or three Particulars As 1. We may see how vastly different the State of Believers and Unbelievers will be when they come to die God deals with them now in a different manner but then the Difference will be most apparent See Isa 65.13 14. Behold saith the Lord my Servants shall eat but ye shall be hungry behold my Servants shall drink but ye shall be thirsty behold my Servants shall rejoice but ye shall be ashamed Behold my Servants shall sing for Joy of Heart but ye shall cry for Sorrow of Heart and shall howl for Vexation of Spirit Now if God deals thus differently with the Righteous and the Wicked even here in this World as he oftentimes doth how much more in the World to come 'T is true the Wicked are often exempted from those Sufferings which the Righteous do meet with in the World and hereupon for want of a right Sense of Things do conclude that themselves are the happier Persons But Death will make them of another Mind and shew them the Folly of their Self-flattering Conceits For then shall Believers immediately go to God and Unbelievers shall go to the Devil the one pass into Eternal Glory and the other into Misery and everlasting Punishment They have now while they are here very different Natures and hereafter they shall have as different Rewards The Righteous Man hath his worst things here Luk. 16.25 and his best he shall have hereafter Isa 3.10 11. And the Wicked on the contrary hath his best Things here and his worst he shall have hereafter The Conclusion will assuredly be dreadful to these but exceeding comfortable to the Righteous for everlasting Misery will be the Portion of the one and everlasting Happiness the Portion of the other Eternity is affixed to both Mat. 25.46 These shall go away into everlasting Punishment but the Righteous into Life Eternal The Happiness of the Saints will endure for ever and so will the Miseries of the Damned yea when thousands and thousands of Years are at an end they will both be as fresh as at the very first Moment O how great is that Happiness which the Damned will lose and how great are those Miseries which the Saints will escape How great are the Torments which the Damned shall endure and how great are the Joys of which the Saints shall partake Perhaps now Sirs you see little difference between the State to Believers and of Unbelievers but the Time will certainly yea and shortly come when you shall see Things in another manner Now it may be ye account the proud happy and think there 's little profit in serving the Lord but then shall ye discern between the Righteous and the Wicked between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not Mal. 3.14 18. 2. From what hath been said we may see God's wonderful Love to Believers in preparing for them such a glorious Inheritance and so freely conferring it on them What a Miracle of Mercy and Loving-Kindness is this 1 Joh. 3.1 2. and even that which might fill us with Admiration that the infinitely Blessed and Glorious God should take notice of such Wretches as we O wonderful Love indeed that such Rebels and Traitors as we have been should have admittance into his glorious Presence and be made Companions of the Holy Angels That such Clods of Earth such despicable Worms should be lifted up to the highest Heaven Mat. 13.43 that we might shine as Stars there yea as the Sun in the Kingdom of our Father And that this blessed State should be so freely provided and we taken into it on such gracious Terms Admirable Love indeed The Terms are Faith and not Merit which the Gracious God doth stand upon That 's the Tenor of the New Covenant Believe and live not do and live Good Works are an Evidence of the Truth of our Faith and of our Interest in that Blessedness but they do not any way merit or deserve it either in whole or in part No but it 's freely given to those that believe John 3.36 He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting Life He hath it as sure as if he was in actual Possession of it The Gracious God will exclude none but such as exclude themselves by their Unbelief Yea so merciful is he unto poor lost Sinners that he sends his Ambassadors up and down the World to offer Salvation unto them 2 Cor. 5.20 and to pray and beseech them in the Name of Christ to accept thereof on the most equitable Terms Nothing doth the Lord require but this that Sinners lay down their Rebellious Arms and be reconciled unto him that they accept of Christ for their Lord and Soveraign and be true to his Cause and Interest for the future O wonderful condescending Love How should we admire it That the infinite Majesty of Heaven and Earth should beseech vile Rebels to be reconciled to him Job 4.9 Ps 18.13 15. Mat. 10.28 when as he is able to dash them in pieces and even throw them into Hell with one Blast of his Mouth Should we cry Day and Night unto God to be reconcil'd unto us there would be nothing of wonder in it but that the offended God should beseech Offenders to lay by their Enmity and be at Peace with him sure this is matter of Wonder and Astonishment And yet how alas is his great Love abused and his rich Offers slighted and disregarded by the most As if the offered Salvation was meerly fictitious or the Heavenly Happiness were not worth the accepting O base Ingratitude and astonishing Madness to slight and neglect so great Salvation 3. From what hath been said we may see the great Folly of Men in refusing such an Happiness Prov. 1.22 33. What is it but Happiness that all Men seek after And for this they run they labour and toil and yet the most alas like the Dog in the Fable while they catch at the Shadow do lose the Substance How eager are Men in pursuit of that which they imagine will make them happy And what Cost and Pains will the most be at for the obtaining a little of the World's Felicity Whenas all worldly

banish you therefore that Presence which you never loved I deny you that Vision which you did always shun Joh. 3.19 20. and the Impressions of my Likeness which you did ever hate I eternally abandon you to the grossest Darkness seeing Darkness was so grateful to you Depart from Me Luk. 13.27 28. and from the Happiness you slighted into endless and easeless Miseries and Torments O! what will impenitent Sinners have to say when the Righteous Judge shall plead the Case with them and shall pass the irrevocable Sentence upon them All Mouths assuredly will then be stopped and their Conscience will tell them that the Sentence is just Think of this therefore Heb. 3.15 18. and consider it seriously while a Door of Hope is yet open unto you And if the Heavenly Happiness will not invite you 2 Cor. 5.11 let the Terrours of Hell affright you from your Sins For it 's certain if you slight the Glory that 's offered you will bring upon your selves Everlasting Confusion Flee therefore unto Christ as your only Refuge Josh 20. with Heb. 6.18 that he may deliver you from avenging Justice and from the wrathful Displeasure of a provoked God Psal 2.12 And O! let him not still have fresh cause to complain Joh. 5.40 Ye will not come to me that ye might have Life 2. It should also excite Believers to greater Diligence in the Service of God 2 Pet. 1.5 11. For so an entrance shall be ministred unto us into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ If the Hopes and Fore thoughts of the Happiness above will not excite and quicken us to our Duty what will Let us then be convinced that there is such an Happiness and when we believe let us look for it and long for it and live in the hopeful expectation of it Looking for that Blessed Hope and the Glorious Appearing of the Great God 1 Pet. 1.13 Tit. 2.13 14. Now this Hope should put us upon serious Diligence and earnest Pursuit after such a Blessedness Phil. 3.20 Let us therefore endeavour to live Heavenly Lives as we hope to partake of the Heavenly Blessedness There is nothing should influence our Hearts below but that which doth suit Christ's Heart above 1 Joh. 3.2 All must be like the Lord that are to live with him And if we do hope to be like him hereafter then sure we should strive to resemble him here Ver. 3. Yea And every Man saith the Apostle that hath this Hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure i. e. as Christ is pure Yea certain it is if we do not desire further degrees of Holiness we cannot be said to desire Heaven for Heaven is the persection of Holiness A lively Hope therefore of our Conformity to Christ in Glory and Blessedness hereafter will assuredly put us upon a vigorous pursuit of Conformity to him in Holiness here O! were but our Hopes more strong and lively they would give us a Taste of the Blessedness above and this Taste would set us upon earnest longing after the Enjoyment of it Rom. 5.2 Chap. 8.19 23. 2 Cor. 5.2 For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our House which is from Heaven So ver 8. We are willing rather to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him ver 9. Let us labour then Heb. 11.1 by a lively Faith to realize the Happiness of Heaven to our Souls as also to get a well-grounded Hope of our Interest in this Happiness That so our most frequent and serious Thoughts and delightful Meditations may be of it For 't is impossible a Man can hope for any Thing but he will be thinking of it And the more we think of the Happiness Above the more we shall long for it And where there are longing Desires and Breathings after the Enjoyment of such an Happiness Heb. 4.1 there will also be a heedful and cautelous Fear lest we should miscarry or fall short of it and this accompanied with a diligent Care and most earnest Endeavour to make sure 1 Cor. 9. 24 27. Well then Phil. 3. 10 14. Ver. 17 20 Mat. 11.12 Rom. 8.25 Heb. 10.32 36. Let us make it appear that our Faith is true and our Hopes lively by a more Holy Activity Vigour and Diligence in the Ways and Service of God 1 Tim. 6.12 And let us wait with Patience for the expected Happiness against all Oppositions and Discouragements For in due season we shall reap if we faint not Gal. 6.9 I shall conclude this Use with the Apostle's Exhortation 1 Cor. 15.58 Therefore my Beloved Brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the Work of the Lord forasmuch as you know that your Labour is not in vain in the Lord. Now Vse III. For Consolation The Last Vse may be for Consolation to Believers against Wants Troubles and Death it self And 1. It administers Comfort to Believers against all their Wants and Necessities It may be now you are very poor Prov. 8.18 21.1 Pet. 1.4 but there 's durable Riches provided for you even a full incorruptible and glorious Inheritance Let the Fore-Thoughts of this support and comfort you under all your Straits and Necessities Luk. 16.25 for your best Days are yet to come Consider It is but a very little while that we shall have need of these outward Enjoyments And while we do need them Psal 34.9 10. Psal 8.11 we have good ground to hope for such a measure thereof as is convenient for us Whosoever he be that doth seek God's Kingdom and Righteousness above all other Things Mat. 6.31 33. and that waits upon God in a diligent use of those Means that he hath appointed shall certainly enjoy so much of these Things as the All-wise God sees requisite for him Rom. 8.32 And what can we desire more How soon alas should we ruine our selves Deut. 32.15 if God should leave us to be our own Carvers or should give us whatsoever we desire in the World Psal 37.3 9. Ver. 16. Rom. 8.28 But it 's well for us that we are under the care of so Wise and Gracious a Father who will give us nothing but what 's really good for us nor deny us any thing here in the World but that which he sees would be hurtful to us We are often desirous of several Things which are good in themselves and good for some Persons and which we apprehend may be good for us also and yet God doth in Mercy deny us such Things as knowing them not for our good And shall we not trust his infinite Wisdom before our own shallow and dark Understandings Pro. 3.5 6. Yes surely We need not therefore to trouble our selves with distracting Thoughts and with carking Cares Phil. 4.6 who have such a wise Father