more By vertue of this Union with Christ the Believer is likewise united to the whole divine nature and essence in the Deity though not essentially and he is likewise united to each person in the Trinity the Father and the Holy Ghost as well as to the Son John 17.21 Behold that thus it is done to the man whom God will honour Thanks be to God for this unspeakable Grace This is the sixth Property The Seaventh and last Property This Union is an indissoluble Vnion Seventh property Indissoluble This Union between Christ and the Believer is not capable of any separation They are so one that all the violence of the world or all the powers of darkness can never be able to make them two again Hence the Apostle's Triumph Challenge Rom. 8.35 who shall separate us from the love of Christ If the question did not imply a strong negation ver 38 39. the Apostle himself doth give us a negation in words at length neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us c. A long Catalogue consisting of a large induction of various particulars but in all these 't is observable he only instanceth in the creature nor any other creature he leaveth out God and why because God himself is the Author of this Union 1 Cor. 1.30 of him are ye in Christ Jesus It is of God and that Upon a three-fold Account 1. It is of God's Preordination This Union of Christ and his Saints was the design of God's everlasting Electing Love Ephes 14. He hath chosen us in him before the Foundation of the World As the Vnion so the very purpose of it was founded in * Tanquam in capite though not tanquam in causâ not as the cause of Election but as the cause of the good of Election for it is not said for him but in him Vid. Twiss vindic grattae lib. 1. part 2. Digres Prim. Secund. Tert. Christ He hath chosen us in him 2. It is of God the Fathers efficiency the Father tyeth this Marriage knot between his Son and his Spouse for we are his Workmanship Created in Christ Jesus c. The new Creation it is God's work and it is founded on Christ or in Christ created in Christ Jesus c. 3. It is of Gods support As in the first Creation when God had finished the world he took not his hand off but upholds it still by the word of his power Heb. 1.3 So in this second and new Creation when he hath wrought it he takes not off his hand if he should it would quickly collapse into its first nothing How comes it then to pass it doth not why saith the Apostle 1 Pet. 1.5 you are kept by the power of God through Faith to Salvation Faith keeps the Believer in this Union but the power of God keeps Faith Why now if after all this God should at any time suspend the influence of this power or by any malice or fraud of men or Devils suffer this Union to miscarry he should fail and cross his own project he should desert his own design this cannot be Here is the Foundation then upon which the Apostle erecteth this Triumph God who only can dissolve this Union will not the Creature which only would dissolve this Union cannot so it stands on a surer bottom then Heaven and Earth our life is hid with Christ in God The Believer is in Christ as Christ is in God hence the unseparableness of this Union John 10.28 29. There is no more pulling the Believer out of the bosome of Christ then there is of Christ out of the bosome of his Father And therefore once more upon this account it is that our Lord compareth this blessed Vnion to that substantial Vnion between the Father and the Son that they may be one as we are one namely to express as the reality and inwardness so also the indeficiency of this spiritual Vnion as thou Father art in me and I in thee As i.e. as fixedly as inseparably as immutably This is the transcendent excellency of this Union above all others it is Eternal Indeed it had a beginning but it shall never have an end All other Unions may suffer a dissolution a Whirl-wind may throw the house off from its foundation Job 1.18 19. as we see in the case of Job's Children a Bill of Divorce may dissolve the Union betwixt Man and Wife in case of the violation of the Marriage Bed Math. 5.31 32. An Axe may dissolve the Union between the Head and Members Death dissolves the Union between the Soul and body c. I but nothing can dissolve the Union between Christ and the Believers nothing shall be able to separate us c. My Text gives us a further instance of this the Saints sleep in Jesus The Union ceaseth not no not in the Grave The Saints sleep in Jesus Observe the progress of it it began in their Regeneration then they received their first Implantation into Christ Rom. 6.3 4 5. whence the Apostle makes Regeneration and being in Christ synonimous Rom. 6.3 4. Next they are said to live in Christ and Christ in them Gal. 2.20 Then to shew there is no in and out * In to day and out to morrow in this Union as some fondly dream we read of their abiding in Christ not only by way of precept which might possibly imply duty only as John 15.4 5. but by way of promise also as 1 John 2.27 Ye shall abide in me which certainly doth express assurance and establishment for ever Rom. 4.16 Therefore they are said in the next place to dye in Christ Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord so verse 16. after the Text makes mention of the dead in Christ so that that which dissolves all other Unions dissolves not this death it self when the Union between body and Soul is dissolved the Union between Christ and Believers dissolveth not Yea see one strain higher yet not only in death but even after death The Soul sleeps not Heb. 12.23 this Vnion holds the Saints are said to sleep in Jesus that part of the Saints which is capable of sleep is not capable of separation from Christ while their more noble part is united to Christ in Heaven amongst the Spirits of just men made perfect Christ is United to their Inferiours and more ignoble part in the Grave their very dust they sleep in Jesus Thus I have opened unto you the blessed and admirable Union which is between Christ and his Saints and it 's most excellent and transcendent properties scil as it is 1. Spiritual 2. Real 3. Operative 4. Enriching 5. Intimous 6. Total 7. Indissoluble Opened did I say Alas it is impossible This Union is a mystery a great mystery Ephes 5.32 next to that Union betwixt the
then either as it is an Habit or as it is an Act not verily as an Habit for so it falls within the List of Graces and is a branch of Sanctification Nor as it is an Act For so it is a Work and would confound the two Covenants We assert indeed with the current of Scripture Justification by faith but in the sense of the reformed Churches sc Not by vertue of any intrinsic merit in faith but by vertue of the extrinsic object which faith layeth hold on namely Christ the great Sponsor of the New Covenant fulfilling the Righteousness of the Law for Believers Fourthly lastly And least of all can Remission of sin supply the office of the Fac hoc Take it in the utmost extent and latitude that may be sc as including Commissions Omissions Defects or imperfections even to the least want of Conformity to the Law either in 1. Life or 2. Nature Pardon can no more make a man Righteous Anth. Burgess do justificat The Law is not fulfilled by the passive Righteousness of Christ only and therefore pardon alone cannot justifie then it can make a man Learned Remission not being the qualification which the Eternal Law of God calls for Object To which if it be Objected No more is imputed Righteousness The Righteousness which the Law requireth upon pain of Damnation is a perfect obedience and Conformity to the whole Law of God performed by every Son and Daughter of Adam in his own person To this Objection I offer these particulars following by way of Answer 1. Imputed Righteousness is the same materially with that which the Law requireth It is Obedience to the Law of God exactly and punctually perform'd to the very outmost iota and tittle thereof without the least abatement Christ hath paid the uttermost farthing He is the fulfilling of the Law for Righteousness ut suprà 2. Christ's fulfilling or accomplishing of the Law was performed in and by the humane Nature For verily to this purpose Heb. 2.16 Rom. 9.8.14 It is not always necessary the debt be paid by the Principal if it be done by the Surety it is all one as if the Principal had paid it himself Rom. 8.3 Especially if the Creditor gave his consent the Lord Jesus took not upon him the Nature of Angels but the Seed of Abraham Because the Children of Promise undertaken for were partakers of flesh and blood He also took part of the same to the intent the Law might be fulfilled in the same Nature to which it was at first given 3. It was expresly done in their names and on their behalf that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us as if our Lord had said This I suffer and this I do to the use and in the stead of my Covenant Seed that they may have a Righteousness which they may truly call their own 4. All was done not without full consent of all parties for 1. As to the Law-giver it was his own free gratuitous motion I will send my Son God seeing how the case stood with poor lapsed man took up a resolution to save some whatsoever it should cost him Well said he I will send my Son 2. God the Father no sooner made the motion Heb. 10.7.9 but the Son echoeth unto it Lo I come Yea observe how quick he is then said I The word was no sooner out of God's mouth but it laid a Law of sweet Compulsion upon Christ's heart his bowels yern'd within him and then said he Lo I come to do thy Will by the which Will we are Sanctified i. e. either the Will of the Father appointing the Son to his Mediatory Office or the Will of the Son accepting it so readily or by both we are Sanctified freed from the evil of sin and accounted Righteous and holy before God And though as we may so say the Lord Jesus ensnared himself by the words of his mouth yet he never repented to this day nor ever sought to be released from this Suretiship but rejoyceth in it as if he were the gainer Psal 16.7 I will bless the Lord who hath given me Counsel He giveth thanks to his Father for imploying him in this Work Hereunto if it be objected that the Lord Jesus Object when the hour of His Sufferings drew nigh did Repent of his Suretyship and in a deep passion prayed to his Father to be released from his Passion Father Math. 26. if it be possible let this Cup pass from me and that three times over ver 39.42.44 We Answer Answ that in those words of our Lord there is a twofold Voyce sc 1. There is Vox Naturae the Voyce of Nature Let this Cup pass from me 2. There is Vox Officii the voyce of his Mediatory Office Nevertheless Not as I will but as thou wilt The first Voyce let this Cup pass intimates the Velleity of the Inferionr part of his Soul the Sensitive part proceeding from a natural abhorrency of death as he was a Creature The later Voyce Nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt expresseth the full and free Consent of his Will complying with the Will of his Father in that grand everlasting Designe of bringing many Sons unto Glory by Making the Captain of their Salvation perfect Heb. 2.10 through sufferings It was an Argument of the truth of Christ His humane Nature that he naturally dreaded a Dissolution Omne appetit Conservationem sui He owed it to Himself as a Creature to desire the Conservation of his Being and He could not become unnatural to himself Phil. 2.8 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh c. But being a Son he learned submission and became obedient to the death even the death of the Cross that Shameful Cruel Cursed death of the Cross The suffering whereof he owed to that solemn Astipulation which from everlasting passed between his Father and Himself 1 Joh. 5.8 As to Christs humane Nature the Cup was Calix ameritudinis the third Person in the Blessed Trinity the Holy Ghost being Witness And therefore though the Cup was the bitterest Cup that ever was given man to drink as wherein there was not Death only but Wrath and Curse yet seeing there was no other way lest of satisfying the Justice of his Father Nor did Bridegroom go with more chearsulness to be Married to his Bride then our Lord Jesus went to his Cross Luk. 12.50 Ratione officij it was Calix Salxtis and of saving Sinners most willingly He took the Cup and having given Thanks as it were in those words The Cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it He drank it It was Bitter indeed but he found it sweetned with three Ingredients 1. It was but a Cup not a Sea 2. It was his Father that mingled it not the Devil 3. It was a Gift not a Curse as to himself The Cup which my Father giveth me He drank it I say and drank
marg for Acts 13.19 read 3 19 page 145 marg for Matt. 5.27 read 5 17 page 155 marg for Psa 30 3. read 130 3. PART 3. page 2 marg for Luke 21 46 read 21 36 marg for Rev. 3 2 r. 14 4 page 8 line 16 for Mat. 24.21 read 24 51 page 29 marg for Matt. 8 10 read 18 10 page 30 marg for Joh. read 1 Joh. page 31 marg for Gen. 13 24 30. read 32 24 30 page 34 marg for Psal 48 2 read 84 2 page 38. marg for 1 King 4 25 read 4 29 page 46 marg for Maâ— read Matth. page â—â— marg for Mark 12 32 read 13 32 page 60 line 31 for Matr. 25 24 r ad 25 34 page 62 marg for Matt 18 1. read 8 11. page 79 marg for Rom. read Revel page 81 marg for Eph. 5 1. read 4 24 page 110 marg for 2 Thes 1 9. read 2 Cor. 4 4. page 125 marg for 2 Cor. read 1 Cor page 132 line 13. for Cant 6 12 read 7 12 page 135 marg for 1 Cor 9 52. read 9.25 page 150. marg for 1 Pet. 1 18. read 1.8 page 153. line 1â— for Psal 94.10 read 94.19 p. 164. l. 20. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the first Epistle Dedicatory p. â— l. 6. for weak r. mean In the second Epistle Dedicatory are these 3 pages mistaken in the Title vâ—z p. 7 p. 10 p. 11. for The Epistle to the Reader read The Epistle Dedicatory And in the same Epistle page 9. l. 9. for their excess read this excess page 10. line 3. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 MOVNT PISGAH OR WORDS of COMFORT OVER THE Death of our Gratious Relations 1 Thes 4.18 Wherefore Comfort one another with these Words THese words what words are these Scripture words in their general Nature more particularly the Words of Comfort conteyned in this Context from v. 13. I would not have you to be ignorant Brethren c. down to my Text. For therein doth the Apostle by the dictate of the Holy Ghost lay down a model or platforme of Consolatory Arguments as so many soveraign Antidotes against immoderate sorrow for our pretious Relations which are departed And with these words the Apostle would have Christians be able to comfort themselves and one another Comfort one another with these words For the handling of the Text I will do these two things 1. I will shew you what these words are and open the sense and meaning of them as they lye in the order and method of the Context 2. I will improve them for 1. Comfort 2. Counsel For the first of these The words of Comfort laid down by the Apostle in this model 10 Words of Comfort may be reduced unto 10 Heads some of them very comprehensive and all of them like mother of Pearl dissolved exceeding Cordial and Restorative The first word of Comfort is this The first word of Comfort namely That our pretious Relations over whose departure we stand mourning and weeping are but fallen asleep I would not have you ignorant Brethren concerning them which are asleep We may say of departed Saints as our Saviour said concerning the Damsel Math. 9.24 They are not dead but sleep the same phrase he also used to his Disciples concerning Lazarus John 11.11 our Friend Lazarus sleepeth A notion which the Disciples at first understood not because their understandings were not yet inlightened they dreamed of a natural sleep saith the Text of taking Rest in sleep And yet as men in their sleep do somtimes dream true so did they in this dream of theirs speak truer than they were aware of they said Lord if he sleeps he shall do well it is true indeed the Saints of God do but sleep when they lye down in the Grave that which we call death in such is not death indeed It is but the Image of Death the shadow and metaphor of death deaths younger Brother a meer sleep and no more The Holy Ghost who best knoweth what things be hath phrased it so and that not so little as twenty times in Scripture to shew that it was not a sudden expression incautelously dropt from the Pen of any one of the Secretaries of Holy Writ but the true proper and genuine notion of death suggested to them by the infallible dictate of the Spirit of God they do but sleep and if they sleep they shall do well their sleep shall be sweet unto them as sweet as once the Prophets was Jer. 31.26 I shall not follow the Analogy that is between Death and Sleep in the latitude of it sufficient to our purpose it will be to take notice of two main properties of Death which do carry in them a lively resemblance of sleep The first is Isâ— Ligath suâ—â—â— That sleep is nothing else but the binding up of the senses for a little time a locking up of the Doores and shutting of the Windows of the body for a season that so nature may take the sweeter Rest and Repose being freed from all disturbance and distractions Sleep is but a meer Paerenthesis to the Labours and Travels of this present life Secondly Sleep is but a partial privation a privation of the Act only not of the Habit of Reason They that sleep in the Night do awake again in the Morning then there is a regress or return of the habit to its Act again The Soul returneth to the discharge of all her Offices again In the internal faculties to the act of Judging and discourse in the Intellect to recalling things for the present and recording things for future use in the memory It returns to its Empire and command in the will to its judicature in the Conscience Excusing Accusing Condemning Et sic in caeteris So likewise the soul returns again to the execution of all her functions in the external senses to seeing in the eye to hearing in the ear to tasting in the pallate as also to working in the hands to walking in the feet and so in the rest In a word the whole man is Redivivus restored again to its self as it were by a new * Providentia est continuata Creatio Creation that which lay as senseless and useless tantum non dead all the night is raised again more vive and fresh and active in the morning than it lay down at night Such a thing as this for all the world is that which we commonly call Death but with this considerable advantage that in the interim of Death the soul acts more vigorously than before as being released from the weights and intanglements of the body First It is but a longer and closer binding up of the senses Nature's long vacation The Grave is a bed wherein the body is laid to Rest with its Curtains drawn close about it that it may not be disturbed in its repose so the Holy Ghost pleaseth to phrase it Isa 57.2 He shall enter into peace they shall rest in their beds every one walking in their uprightness Death is nothing else but a Writ of ease to the poor weary Servants of Christ a total Cessation from all their labour of nature sin
hath made them sc by vertue of their Union with Jesus Christ Doth Christ call God his Father and his God behold He Heb. 2.11 being not ashamed to call them Brethren lets them know that he is their God and Father God to my Brethren and say to them John 20.17 I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God Once more Hath the Father appointed him a Kingdom so doth he appoint unto them a Kingdom Luk. 22.29 Hath the Father assigned him a Throne so doth Christ assigne unto his Saints a Throne also To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me Rev. 3.21 in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne My Brethren what a Soul-enriching beatifical Union is this There be Unions in nature which convey nothing communicate nothing but empty and insignificant titles which make the person admitted into them not a whit the richer the better not a jot the more noble or happy but this Union as that divine essential Union between the Father and the Son doth invest Christ into all divine properties and prerogatives with the Father so this between Christ and the Believer invests the Believer into the whole Christ and all his riches and all his glory in so much as the Spouse gives in the whole accompt in this vast and invaluable sum Cant. 2.16 My Beloved is mine and I am his he is mine the whole Christ is mine in his natures offices excellencies prerogatives and inheritance In all he is and in all he hath it is all mine for my good and for my glory This is the voice of her Faith and then I am his this is the voice of her love I am his in all I am in all I have in all I can make by my interest in the world and if it were a thousand times more he should have it all and all too little for him who hath loved me and washed one in his own Blood and hath taken me into so rich and glorious an Vnion with his own self To him be glory for ever Amen This is the fourth Property I proceed to a fifth property of the Union Fifth Property an intimous Vnion and it is a near inward intimous Union To hint the intimateness of this Union the Holy Ghost in Scripture carries us through the climax of all Unions under Heaven and compares it with them of what nature and kind soever Whether Artificial Whether Political Whether Natural Wherein although you may find different degrees one exceeding another yet all falling short of this blessed Vnion in respect of closeness and intimacy It tells you that look how the house and foundation are one so are Christ and Believers 1 Pet. 2.4 5 6. yea higher It tells you that look how Husband and Wife are one so is Christ and his Saints Hos 2.19 Eph. 5.30 only with this incomparable difference Husband and Wife make but one flesh 1 Cor 6.16 17. but Christ and the Believer make one Spirit ut supra It tells us yet higher that look how the Head and Members are one so is Christ and his Church 1 Cor. 12.12 how root and branches are one John 15.1.6 so Christ and Believers and closer yer the Scripture tells us that look how Food and the body are one so also is Christ and the Believer one hence we hear of eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood John 6.51 53 54 55 56. and nearer yet if nearer can be It 〈◊〉 that look how the Soul and Body are one how Life and the subject wherein it resides are one so is Christ and the Believer Colos 3.4 when Christ who is our life shall appear c. Behold here Christians is an Union which amounts tantum non to an identity say only with Cyprian it is not such an Union as is between the two natures in Christ Non miscet personas nec unit substantias Cypr. It is indeed an Union of persons but not a personal Union Mystici Theologi A Believer trans-essentiated into God and Bread and Wine transsubstantiated into Christ are much of a Language So they call the Holy Ghost auram zephyri caelestis and pardon of sin Deos superos manesque pacare Card. de Bemb which makes them but one person not such an Union as is between the three glorious Persons in the blessed Trinity who notwithstanding the distinction of their personality are but one nature and essence and you cannot say or think too highly of this Vnion yea whatsoever you can say or think will be short of the intimacy and excellency of this Union Onely we must tell the world that those mystical divines amongst the Papists as they call themselves who talk of the Saints being trans essentiated into God and those Seraphicks amongst us as they would be called but Phanatiques more truly and properly who rant at the same rate Christed with Christ and Godded with God these speak as men so ambitious of being accounted sublime and Angelical in comparison of all other men whom they scorn as illiterate Literatists that they think it a lessening to them to speak in a common and sober Dialect and rather then not speak bigger words then other men they fear not to speak Blasphemy The Lord convince them Notwithstanding I must add this to what I have said that because no Union under Heaven was close enough to express the oneness which is betwixt Christ and the Believer therefore our Lord Jesus himself carries us up to Heaven there to contemplate the essential Union which is between the Father and the Son Jo. 17. and puts them into the same parallel As thou Father art in me and I in thee that they may be one in us yet still we must be careful to understand the words of Christ in a sober sense lest whil'st our Lord doth honour our Union with himself by comparing it to divine Union in the Trinity we do in the least dishonour that Union by levelling it with ours we must duly remember that this comparative particle as doth not here intend equality but likeness oâ—â—y the truth of the intimacy and not the nature or the degree of it to lift up this mystical Union above all other Unions in nature but we must still keep the divine Union in its own place This is the fifth property The sixth property Sixth property total It is a total Union The whole Christ is United to the whole Christian as the whole humane nature in Christ is joyned to the whole divine nature so the whole person of a Believer is joyned to the whole person of Christ yet not so as to make Christ and the Believer but one person but as in the conjugal Union between Man and Wife making up one mystical body or as in the body natural every Member is joyned to the head and the head to every member so is Christ and the Believer Yea once
towards heaven from whence they came And are these the things which are proper to make up to a man a standing holding selicity No saith the Apostle the things which are not seen are eternal God and Christ and the Holy Ghost and Angels and the Spirits of just men made perfect and Heaven and Glory c. these are the only beatifying objects as being only of a pure spiritual fixed immutable nature the things that are not seen are eternal and upon that account only able to constitute an adequte blessedness for an immense and an immortal soul an intellectual being Corporeal delights like so many sparks may make a crack and vanish Sapientl nihil est magnum cui nota est aeternitotu magnitudo Luth. nothing can seem great and excellent to him that knows the infinite vastness of eternity Ever with the Lord here 's a summum bonum for an heaven-born soul this Moses kept his eye upon and therefore all terrestrial felicities were but as sounding brass and a tinckling cymbal much noise but no harmony he saw him that is invisible an elegant contradiction q. d. he saw him that could not be seen he saw him by an eye of faith whom he could not see by an eye of sence and so did Saint Paul and so did all his fellow Apostles and Saints We look on the things which are not seen i. e. we look on them and them and them alone as our ultimate unmixt and supreme good Men and women who have none but eyes of flesh such as beasts have may chuse their good as beasts do by sight and sence but man that is in honour and understands not is like the beasts that perish Psal 49.12 Man that understands not what a bubble what a shadow Ratio humans tantum in praesenti sta◠haeret nihil aliud audit sentit intelligit vider cogitat Luth. in Isai 54.7 what a dream all sublunary glory is man that understands not what immarcessible Crowns of glory are prepared for them that love God this man shall be like the beasts that perish he shall have the burial of an ass though he hath swayed a Scepter he shall fall like a brute into the ditch and dye there though he hath flourished like a green Bay-tree rottenness shall be upon his root and his blossom shall go up into smoak Be wise now therefore O ye Kings and be instructed O ye people of the earth spend not your strength in vain and your labour for that which satisfieth not strive not to force that out of the Creature which God never put in you may as well extract fire out of the Ocean mollifie rocks into syrup wash the Ethiopian white as squeeze happiness out of mortality Behold vast sums are required to make up a summum bonum scil Goodness Fulness Sutableness and Immutability Find me such a Creature under the Moon Psal 47.4 Lam. 3.24 and do with it what you please but saith the Church Lord thou shalt chuse our inheritance for us yea the Lord is my portion saith my soul It is impossible to churn happiness out of a Chest of gold it will never come you can never make immarsible crowns of fading flowers Or I will tell you when pleasures profits honours will make you blessed when you can sow your fields with Grace and fill your barns with sheaves of Saffron when the Lord Jesus is your wine the Word of God your bread the bosom of Christ your bed of love the honour of Christ your trade the graces of the Spirit your gold then and not till then you may write happiness upon these things These are the pleasures which are for evermore this is the enduring substance these the Crowns that wither not here you may find that which your soul seeketh for here is the mine here is the vein here the spring of happiness Ever with the Lord. Loose not I beseech you eternal glory for a flash of impure joy sell not an eternal inheritance cheaper than ever Esau sold his birth right for one draught of swill out of the swine-trough of sensual pleasures The Devil offers you the glory of the world God offers eternal glory put not a scorn upon Gods offers nor a cheat upon your own souls the Devils offers are not only inconsiderable but fraudulent he offers that which is none of his own to give the world or if it were it would be insinitely too short of the price he will have for it your precious and immortal souls What shall a man give in exchange for his soul And suppose thou shouldst repent of thy bargain the Devil will not repent of his nor will he sell as he buyeth shouldst thou say to him here Devil take the world and give me my soul again I repent he 'd but laugh at thee and say as the Priests said to Judas See thou to that what is that to me thou hadst what thou agreed'st for I have done thee no wrong The sinners feast is soon served in but the Messengers of divine Justice are preparing the reckoning and then are ready to take away And how sad will the catastrophe of that pleasure be when the sting of the shot must survive in Conscience of the sinner to all eternity Glorified Saints are entertained upon freecost no affeighting thoughts need discompose them so as to break any one draught of those pleasures wherewith their cup runs over or to hinder the pleasing swallow of those delicate morsels wherewith their table is full fraught no army of evils or of devils can break in upon them to make them forsake their Nuptial feast sensitive pleasure is contracted to the narrow point of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the sense hath no delight but by the enjoyment of the present object and indeed so is glorified pleasure too but with this difference that Heavens 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is eternity it self They shall ever be with the Lord. Oh what a prodigious forfeiture of reason is this for the momentany satisfaction of a sordid lust to loose eternal cohabitation with God this transcendent beatitude ever with the Lord Yea to plunge ones self into that opposite gulf of misery never with the Lord but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord 2. Thes 1.9 and from the glory of his power The life from God the life with God the life of God can never expire Christians here is your summum bonum chuse it and your souls shall live Use the second It may serve in the next place Vse 2 not only to inform the erroneous judgment 2. It shews how much we are concern'd to secure our interest in this blessed state but also to awaken the sleepy Conscience Is this heaven Is this the summum bonum of immortal souls Then oh how much is every one of us concern'd to secure our interest in this glory What a folly is it for men to take such indefatigable puns to make sure
day of redemption whereby ye are sealed i. e. whose office it is to seal up believers Grieve him not Malitious sins despise the Holy Ghost Heb. 10.29 Wilful sins vex the Spirit Isai 63 10. Obstinate going on in sin resists the Holy Ghost Acts 7.51 Immersing our selves in pleasures and profits of this present world doth quench the Spirit 1 Thess 5.19 But the least sins convinced of grieve the Spirit He is an holy Spirit and therefore sin must needs grieve him sin quâ sin being a pure contrariety to his holy nature Enemies do despise and vex and resist and quench but friends are properly said to grieve and such are the persons to whom the Apostle directs his exhortation friends believers unkindnesses do most properly grieve a friend Oh all you that desire assurance take heed of Vnkindnesses take heed of small sins appearances of sin take heed of neglecting your communion with God in holy duties take heed of bitterness wrath anger be ye kind one towards another Res delicato est Spiritia sanctin tender hearted c. for so it exegetically followeth the Text q. d. by all these the Spirit is grieved It is a tender thing and you may quickly grieve it and if you grieve your Comforter who shall comfort you And if you grieve the holy Spirit who shall sanctifie you And if you grieve the sealing Spirit who shall seal you to the day of redemption Never look for assurance as long as you are not afraid of grieving the Spirit which is the earnest of the inheritance Carnal mens question is May I do this and not be damn'd But a godly mans question is Can I do this and not grieve the Spirit of God Will not Jesus Christ take this unkindly 5. 5. Means Take heed of blotting that evidence Take heed of any thing that may darken your evidences or damp your comforts a small drop of ink or dirt falling upon an Evidence may make it illegible or darken it people make nothing of small sins but small sins do not the least hurt to the soul if it were no more than this small sins will raise up a jealousie between God and the soul great sins will destroy peace little sins will disturb it the least hair casts its shadow and a barly corn laid upon the light of the eye will hinder the sight of the Sun as well as a mountain abstain from all appearance of evil if you desire God should be a God of peace to you 1 Thess 5.22 cum 23. Abstain from all appearance of evil and the God of peace sanctifie you Make much of the least intimations of love and favour from God in prayer hearing or reading meditation 6. Means Make much of the least hint of Divine love at Christs Table or any other of your holy converses with God the least beam or ray of Gods face upon thy soul let it be as life from the dead do as Benhadad's servants 1 Kings 20.33 did to the King of Israel Diligently observe whether any thing will come from him any smile from Christs face any wink of his eye any sweet breath any whisper of peace from his lips such possibly Son be of good cheer thy sins be forgiven thee or the like and hastily catch at it thy Son Lord I am most unworthy to be called so not worthy to be an hired servant but Lord since thou pleasest to deign me so infinite an honour Luke 1.33 Behold the servant of the Lord and be it unto me according to thy word come in thou blessed Lord and take possession of my soul and rule in me according to all the desire of thine heart Object But how shall I know whether such a whisper of peace may be indeed the voice of God or a delusion of Saan Answ For answer briefly 1. Such breathings of God upon the soul do usually carry their own evidence with them if God say I am thy salvation the irradiation carrieth a satisfying light with it the Sun needeth no other luminary to comment upon its own light but its own nor the Spirit of God any other manifestation of its own presence but it self 2. We say though it want no other manifestation it hath other the effects as Christ said of his miracles John 5.36 and impressions of such whispers and breathings upon the soul will witness of them whence they come Springs will rise as high as they fall that which cometh from heaven will carry up the soul to heaven Do therefore such hints and intimations of love and favour endear God to thy soul cause that to say as Psal 103.1 and 116.1 Do they make Evangelical Ordinances publick and private more sweet and delightful to thee To say as Psal 43.4 I will go to God my exceeding joy Do they make thee more active and vigorous for God and for the promoting of the interests of Christs Kingdom in thy place and station Fear not thy God and the God of thy Fathers hath given thee treasure in thy sack That is the answer which in my poor ministry I have used to give to all those who have repaired to me for satisfaction whether their peace and comfort be good Doth your comfort make you more humble more active for God more holy Peace be unto you your comfort is heaven-born comfort and you may christen it Gad for behold a troop cometh Oh be very thankful for the least of such messengers of peace to thy soul and write down such divine testimonies in thy book Habemii dabitur Mat. 25.29 with the year and day of the month that it may never be forgotten be thankful for what thou hast and thou mayst comfortably expect more Be much in duties of mortification 7. Help lye often in sackcloath and ashes before the Lord exercise thy self in frequent acts of Self denial little dost thou know how soon God may put a new song into thy mouth Lord thou hast turned for me my mourning Psal 30.11 thou hast put off my sack-cloth and hast girded me with gladness to the end my glory may sing praise unto thee and not be silent c. Be careful to mortifie corruptions and to crucifie the flesh with the affections and lusts Gal. 5.24 A mortified Christian is the fittest vessel to contain the precious liquor of assurance Mortification first purifieth and then dilates the heart and makes it capacious to divine consolations I keep under my body and bring into subjection 2 Cor. 9. ult 2 Cor. 5.1 was his voice that could say We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God c. He filleth the hungry with good things Set others to pray for thee Yet not every one 8. Help who it may be can pray Assurance is not an errand to send every common Christian to the Throne of Grace about Special Favourites are imployed to Princes for special Favours thou canst not pray
of conscience and the book of Gods remembrance will agree exactly together 2.172 Whispers of conscience to be hearkened unto 2.172 Conversion in conversion how sins past present and to come are pardoned and how not 2.134 Righteousness imputed to the saints the first moment of their conversion 2.160 Converse knowledge of one another in heaven a great motive to converse one with another on earth 3.11 Covenant a comparison between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace 3.81 Creature we should sit loose from it 3.113 Cross the merit of Christ's cross is for justification and the power of his cross for mortification 2.156 Cup the cup that Christ drank was bitter but it was sweetned with three ingredients 1 But a cup not a sea 2.151 2 His Fathers cup not the Devils ibid. 3 A gift not a curse ibid. D Dead how to behold dead friends 2.103 Relations that die only fallen asleep 1.2 Death our Relations not alone in it 1.9 Our wages 1.10 Every person subject to it 2.65 At the hour of death the Saints are fully pardoned 2 134 Not terrible to a child of God 3.140 Death of some persons dreadful to themselves and to standers by 3.160 It is but a sleep 1.2 Resembled to it in two respects 1.3 Not a total privation of the habit 1.4 The godly infinite gainers by it 1.6 Degree different degrees of the Saints glory 3.5 Delusion how are the whispers of God distinguished from the delusions of Satan 3.129 Denyal there will be no denying of sin at the great day 2.167 Desertion Saints under desertion often bely themselves 2.131 Devised the world have counterfeit cordials 3.154 Disappointment a most afflicting evil and admits of three aggravations 3.115 Divine essence we shall not have an intuitive vision of it 3.27 How far we shall have a vision of it 3.30 Do this and live not a commandment only but a covenant 2.144 Draw all men to me how to be understood 2.105 Duties all the Saints duties performed publick or private shall be owned at the last day 2.128 Duty of Christians to imitate Christ universally 2.101 E Earth the place where the wicked will receive their sentence 2.124 It cannot be made sure 3.112 Election and purchase both perfected by the sanctification of the Spirit 2.123 Holiness not the cause of election but the end of it 3.43 Elect the future estate of the elect and reprobate set forth by eternity 3.89 Endeavour after assurance an evidence heaven 3.119 Enjoyments worldly enjoyments not what we fancy them 3.70 Eternity a description of it 3.84 97 Souls not eternal a parte ante and why 3.86 The future estate both of the elect and reprobate set forth by eternity 3.88 Eternity of God is an assurance of heaven being eternal 3.92 Evidences of heaven 3.119 A good evidence to be sollicitous about evidences 3.123 Exaltation Christ his exaltation and abasement compared together 3.21 Examination we should examine our selves and suffer others to examine us 3.162 Excuse no excuse for sin at the great day 2.167 172 Eye Gods essence cannot be seen by the bodily eye though glorified but by the eye of the understanding 3.23 F Faith the great saving office of it is to unite the soul to Jesus Christ 1.43 It is an hand to apply the righteousness of the first covenant as fulfilled by our Surety 2.146 Many do believe and yet do not believe that they do believe 3.71 Fear there is never a fear in a Christian but there is a fear not in the Scripture as an Antidote 3.147 Fidelity the faithfulness of the Saints will be owned at the last day 2.128 Fruition whatever the Saints see they enjoy in heaven 3.58 It consists of a tenfold Ingredient 1 Propriety 3.58 2 Possession 3.61 3 Intimacy 3.63 4 Fulness 3.65 5 Suitableness 3.67 6 Fixedness 3.70 7 Reflection 3.71 8 Freshness 3.73 9 Present 3.75 10 Complacency ibid. G Glory different degrees of the Saints glory 3.5 The glory of God will swallow up all private and personal considerations 3.14 God he can do what he will 2.100 His essence cannot be seen by the glorified corporeal eye but by the eye of the understanding 3.26 Godly Christ his being Judge great comfort to them 2.75 Good the good of the Saints will be mentioned not their evil at the great day 2.130 None of the good that ever the wicked did shall be mentioned to their honour 2.170 Gospel and Law reconciled in the mystery of justification 2.153 Tryal by the Gospel will be the most severe of any 2.166 Grace in the Saints is under a covenant 1.39 A comparison between the covenant of grace and the covenant of works 3.81 Graves the wicked raked out of them in their ugliness 2.102 They are beds wherein the bodies of the Saints are laid to rest 1.4 Guilty to be not guilty and to be righteous are two different capacities 2.139 H Happiness looking more after holiness than happiness is an evidence of heaven 3.120 Heaven it belongs to the Saints 1 By inheritance 3.60 2 By purchase ibid. In heaven none have the less for what others do enjoy but every one an whole God 3.65 It is a place of unmixed joy 3.69 It may be made sure 3.111 To look after an interest in heaven is an argument of wisdom 3.115 Evidences of it 3.119 Heavenly mindedness the evidence of 〈◊〉 heavenly blessedness 2.112 Hell separation from Christ the worst part of it 2.105 It is a place of unmixed sorrow 3.69 Holy Ghost why so called 2.122 Holiness by the Spirit of holiness Rom. 1.4 what meant 1.12 It doth best capacitate the soul for the Vision of God 3.39 41 In the Saints it is the divine nature not the divine being 3.42 God loveth it more than the creature how it is true and how in Arminius his sense not true 3.42 It is not the cause but the end of election 3.43 What holiness that must be that can capacitate us to see Gods face 3.44 Looking more after holiness than happiness an evidence of heaven 3.120 Humane nature of Christ the highest beatifical object in heaven next to the divine Essence 3.18 The glorifying of Christ's humane nature is the reward of his passion 3.19 Hypocrite no hypocrite in heaven 3.8 I Image that the Image of God suffered a miscarriage was not of improvidence but of ordination 3.80 Imitation it is the duty of Christians to imitate Christ universally 2.101 Immutability the immutability of God giveth assurance of the eternity of heaven 3.91 Imputation of righteousness is the positive part of justisication 2.133 Imputed righteousness is the same materially that the Law requireth 2.149 Indictment the sinners indictment and plea 2.147 Innocence is no security against oppression and cruelty 1.51 Intercessor there is no Intercessor at the great assize 2.171 Interest to look after an interest in heaven an argument of wisdom 3.115 Justice of God an assurance of the eternity of heaven 3.95 Judge Christ must be the Judge of great terror to
Eph. 3.10 Lectures read in the Assemblies of the Saints for some insight into the mystery of Christ in the Gospel Oh how ready and able will they be to pay their debts with an abundant interest out of the immense volumes of knowledge which they have treasured up The Communications of their love their holiness their zeal their heavenliness c. what united flames will they make when they be joyned in communion and converse with the graces and perfections of the Saints Object If it be objected Is there not enough in God to fill the Saints to the vastest capacity What need then of Star-light when the Sun shines Yea may not the Saints conversing with Angels and one another be thought to be a diversion from the supreme object of light and love Sol. To this I answer No and the reason is because all the perfections and excellencies which are in the Creature are as so many beams and emanations leading the eye of the beholder to the Sun it self the body and fountain from which they do spring August saith we shall see God in his Saints and their glorious actings as well and as manifestly as now we see mens bodies in the vital actions of their bodies De Civit. Dei l. 22. c. 29. or as learned and holy mens Commentaries and Expositions are to the holy Scripture which do neither detract from nor add to that immense volume of truth but serve only to illustrate it and to render it more intelligible to the dark and imperfect understanding of the Creature Surely such an infinite full Text as God is will stand in need of some marginal notes as it were To see God in his Saints and the Saints in God this will be no diminution of the bentifical Vision All the excellencieâ— in the Creature are but drops from God the Fountain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The glorious Angels and Saints are alwayes sunning themselves in the presence of â—od and will keep company together to all Eternity A fourth Object The glorified body of the Son of God to help the Reader as Christ is said in the dayes of his flesh to be the Exegesis or Interpreter of the Father unto us John 1.18 So may the Angels be to the Saints in Heaven and such is all the glory of Heaven yea so is the humane nature of Christ himself now in glory the great Expositor of the Divine Essence a Mirrour or Glass wherein we come to see God more clearly and fully Which brings me to A fourth Object of the beatifical Vision and that is Christ himself or the glorified humane nature of the Lord Jesus Christ in his humane nature exalted to the right hand of his Father the highest seat in glory far above all principality and power Eph. 1.21 and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but in that which is to come This is the highest beatifical object in Heaven next to the divine Essence the sight of Christ as man it was the great design which the Lord Jesus had in redeeming them with his blood â—â—â—n 17.24 Father I will that they whom thou host given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me And sâ—rely this will be a glorious sight indeed behold of the glory of Christ in his transfiguration it is said That his face did shine as the Sun and his rayment was white as the light If the glory of his transfiguration was so excellent what will the glory be of his exaltation If the glory of his foot-stoul was so excellent how will the glory of his throne excel in glory If he appeared so bright upon an carthly Mountain how transplendent will he appear upon Mount Sion the Mountain of God that heavenly Mountain If such were his lustre in his state of humiliation before passion what beams of Majesty will shine from his face in his state of glorification when he is to receive the reward of his passion Behold there appeared then with him only Moses and Elias what will his glory be when all the Patriarchs and Prophets all the Apostles and Martyrs the whole Society of the Saints with the whole host of the mighty Angels that begirt his Throne with their hallelujahs and joyful acclamations Mark 9.6 That vision of Christ on earth did fill Peter and the Disciples with wonder and astonishment even to an extasie so that the Text tells us He knew not what he said Oh with what joy and ravishment shall the sight of Christ in glory fill the glorified Saints when their faculties shall be so raised that they shall understand what they see and profess what they unstand Surely Peter and all his fellow Saints will then say and know what they say Lord it is good for us to be here What a beautiful beatifying Object this will be Considerations evidencing the glory of Christs humane nature 1 Considerat The reward of his Passion we may guess for more we cannot by these three Considerations The first Consideration is this The glory of the humane nature of Jesus Christ in Heaven is the reward of his Passion here on earth In respect of the divine nature and as Jesus Christ was the second Person in Trinity the glory which the Lord Jesus now possesseth at his Fathers right hand was the glory which he had with the Father from before the foundation of the world John 17.24 but as to the assumption of the humane nature it was glory given him by the Father Christ had a twofold right to the Kingnom of glory sc natural and constitutive natural as he was the only begotten Son of God and so of the same nature and essence with the Father from all eternity and so whatever power and glory was essentially the Fathers was essentially the Sons also But then besides that Heb. 1.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tuit Jesus Christ had also a constitutive right or a right by donation as he was appointed and made heir of all things now this constitutive glory as I say was the fruit and reward of his sufferings Phil. 2.7 8 9 Because he humbled himself and became obedient to death even the death of the Cross Therefore hath God highly exalted him and given him a name above all names c. Because and Therefore the exaltation of his humane nature was the merit and compensation of his humiliation and abasement Now then if we would make an estimate of the glory of Christ now at his Fathers right hand we cannot find out a more proper medium than to make a serious and if it were possible a thorow search and enquiry into his abasement and humiliation And certainly if there had been nothing else in it but his incarnation or the assumption of our flesh it had been an infinite abasement to the Son of God so deep an abasement as it had been blasphemy for men or Angels to
have sought for or so much as to have thought of Such a wish in the standing Angels Oh that God would give his own essential eternaly begotten Son to take the humane nature upon him and therein to recover lost man would have been a presumption without doubt which no less than the first ambition of the Apostate Angels probably conceived only in thought might have justly merited their ejection also out of Heaven Oh for the second Person in the glorious Trinity to take upon him the nature of man and that too when it was at the worst when it was fallen and stript of all its original beauty and excellency was more than for all the Angels of light to have been degraded if I may so say into so many Chimney-sweepers or Kennel-rakers or to have been condemn'd to have been made hewers of wood and drawers of wtaer for the service of the reprobate world had it been to have stood for ever This this is the great stupendious mystery which may fill the understanding of men and Angels with wonder and delight to all eternity * Tim. 3.16 God manifested in the flesh the Son of God incarnate Justly then may it swallow up our thoughts with horror and astonishment to descend step by step to the bottom of the Lord Christ his mediatory humiliation and abasement 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ex omni Scipsum ad nihilum redegit exhausit Tertul. lib. 5. adversus Maâ—cion v. 8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he debased or vilified himself to find him emptying of himself as it were to the last drop of his glory meekly submitting himself to all the affronts and insolencies of a reprobate world all the temptations and harassing of infernal Spirits and at length to death it self even the death of the cross that shameful cruel cursed death of the cross that death which was proper only to accursed slaves and therein drinking up the bitterest cup that ever was put into the hand of a sinner the cup of his Fathers wrath the venom whereof filled his soul with unconceivable anguish and made him cry out to the astonishment of Heaven and Earth My God my God why bast thou forsaken me In a word if you would come to the bottom of our Lords abasement you must dig to the very bottom of hell it self if there be a bottom there for though Christ did not suffer poenas inferni he did suffer poenas infirnales hellish pains though not the pains of hell Why now then if you would make any discovery of that glory wherewith the humane nature of our blessed Lord is invested at the right hand of God you must skrew up your thoughts to a glory every way adequate and commensurate to his inanition and abasement for less than that not only the love but the justice of his Father could not proportion to him It were good sometimes in our thoughts to compare the abasement of Christ and his exaltation together to set them as it were in columes one over against another He was born in a Stable but now he reigns in his Royal Palace then he had a Manger for his Cradle but now he sets in a Chair of state then Oxen and Asses were his Companions now thousands of Saints and ten thousand thousands of Angels minister round about his Throne then in contempt they called him the Carpenters Son now he obtains by inheritance a more excellent name than the Angels for to which of the Angels said he at any time Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee Then he was led away into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil now it is proclaimed before him let all the Angels of God worship him then he had not a place to lay his head on now he is exalted to be the heir of all things in his state of humiliation he endured the contradiction of sinners in his state of exaltation he is adored and admired of Saints and Angels then he had no form or comeliness when we saw him there was no beauty that we should desire him now the beauty of his countenance shall send forth such glorious beams that shall dazle the eyes of all the celestial Inhabitants round about him once he was the shame of the world now the glory of heaven the delight of his Father the joy of all the Saints and Angels once he was the obiect of the Reprobates scorn and the Devils malice now they shall be the objects of his most righteous vengeance he shall speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure Crucifiges will then be turn'd into Hallelujahs he that was called the Deceiver shall now be adored as the Amen of the Father the faithful and true witness a man of sorrows then but now the mirror of glory Prince of peace then accounted a servant of servants now he shall be called the Lord of Lords King of Kings then they put upon him a mock-robe a fools-coat but now he shall be cloathed with a royal garment down to the foot girt about the paps with a golden girdle the feeble reed shall now be turned into a massie Scepter of gold his Cross of wood into a Throne of glory and the Crown of Thorns into a Crown of Stars In the day of his abasement he was the foot-ball of his enemies kickt up and down the world by every prophane fool but now in the day of his exaltation his enemies shall be made his footstool yea Thrones and principalities being made subject unto him Surely the very prints of his hands and feet and the holes that were bored in his sides shall be so many signal marks and trophies of victory and Thomas 〈◊〉 set now above all doubting may sing in triumph My Lord and my God And lastly the Lord Jesus himself instead of his desertion the lowest step of all his abasement shall solace himself for ever in the vision and fruition of his Father and of the blessed Spirit and instead of my God my God why hast thou forsaken me shall be that triumph I and my Father are one thou Father in me and I in thee These be some crevices through which we may have a glimpse of the glory of our Lords once crucified body the full discovery of it you will never be able to make until you come eye to eye to see and enjoy it in the Kingdom of Heaven witness a second Consideration A second consideration evidencing what a glorious beatifying object the glorified humanity of our Lord Jesus will be in Heaven is 2. Consider The personal and hypostatical union which the humane nature hath with the divine nature of the Son of God Col. 2.9 the sulness of the Godhead dwelleth in Christ bodily i. e. in his body the fulness of the divine essence dwells in the humane nature and is as it were transparent through his flesh and this makes it to be the most beatifying vision next to the vision of God
Not sufficient to capacitate the Saints for glory 2.139 Accusation the Saints shall not be accused by Christ 2.131 Adam most probably saved 3.78 Affections the Saints shall be like God in their affections 3.80 They may be moderately exercised 3.144 Air the place where Christ will stay to meet his Saints and why 1. Because of the capacity of the place 2.125 2. Because of the conspicuity of the judgment 2.126 Angels instruments of the Saints ascension divers wayes 2.106 They separate the sheep from the goats ministerially 2.114 They shall present the elect before Christ in the air 2.127 They shall drag the wicked to the Tribunal to receive their sentence 2.164 The reprobate Angels shall be judged for their first Apostacy and for all their malice against the Saints ever since 2.164 How Saints shall hereafter converse with them 3.15 How they converse among themselves 3.16 How they will be interpreters of God to the Saints in Heaven 3.18 Communion with them in heaven will be a great encrease of our happiness 3.16 They will communicate excellent notions to the Saints in heaven 3.17 Antinomians notion about Christ his being in us 1.29 Apology the sinner shall not make any Apology for himself at the great Assize 2.172 Apostles how they shall judge the twelve tribes 1.49 Appeal there will be no appeal from the great Tribunal 2.169 An appeal from Moses to Christ 2.169 Arrians in denying the deity of Christ discover a double ignorance 1.25 Ascension of the Saints one consequent of Christ his Resurrection It will be effected 1. By the power of Christ 2.104 2. By the ministry of the Angels 2.106 3. By the spirituality of the Saints own bodies 2.107 It is a continued resurrection 2.104 How the Saints ascension holds due proportion with their Lord 2.108 The Saints shall meet together before their ascension 2.112 Assessor the Saints shall be assessors with Christ at the judgment 2.164 Assurance some Saints have it but not all 2.136 Motives to it 3.111 It hath been obtained 3.112 A work never unseasonable and most seasonable in times of danger 3.114 It will make Christians fruitful 3.117 To endeavour after it an evidence of heaven 3.119 It brings divers priviledges 3.114 Whether every one that hath a right to heaven hath an assurance of it Neg. 3.121 What are the mediums to attain assurance 3.123 A twofold Office of the Spirit in attaining assurance 3.123 It is much hindred by our unkindness to Christ 3.128 Atheists and divers other sorts of sinners will be convinced at the day of judgment 2.165 Attributes of God a foundation of the Saints eternity 3.87 B Believers how said to be in Christ and Christ how said to be in believers 1.22 They are Kings Prophets Priests 1.31 They are the sons of God 1.31 They are united to the whole divine nature in the Diety and to each Person of the Trinity 1.35 Blessedness the blessedness of the Saints in heaven is everlasting 3.84 The reasons of it 1. Christs merit 3.85 2. The Saints immortal souls 3.86 3. The Saints graces eternal Ib. 4. The attributes of God 3.87 1. His wisdom ibid. 2. His veracity and truth 3.88 3. His immutability 3.91 4. His mercy 3.92 5. His omnipotency ibid. 6. His eternity ibid. 7. His love 3.96 8. His justice 3 92 Blood the blood of Christ is the fountain of merit but the spirit of Christ the fountain of efficacy 1.122 Body the body shall be incorruptible 2.89 It shall be glorious 2.90 1. By vertue of a Principle within 2.90 2. By vertue of an external irradiation ibid. It will depend wholly on the soul at the resurrection 2.95 It is a vile body 2.97 The bodies of the saints shall be like unto God 3.82 Book the book of Gods remembrance and the book of conscience will agree exactly together 2 267 C Children of believers when they dye are not to be looked upon as a lost generation 1.8 Christ accounts not himself full without his members 1.17 His resurrection why called his youth 1.16 He rose as a publick head on which account 1. The saints are said to be risen already 1.14 2. They are assured they shall arise 1.15 He arose by his own strength 1.12 He is risen as our first fruits 1.19 How he is said to be in a believer and a believer said to be in Christ 1.22 How he is the hope of salvation 1.43 His own words more authentick than tradition or revelation 2.63 Whether he shall sit on a visible throne 2.70 He will appear in the same humane nature he assumed of the Virgin and why 2.71 He will appear personally for three reasons 2.70 His first and second coming compared 2.71 His being Judge great terror to the wicked 2.73 Great comfort to the godly 2.75 Two reasons of the certainty of his coming 1. Reason saith he may come 2.78 2. Faith saith he must come ibid. Witness 1. His purchase ibid. 2. His promise 2.79 3. Sacrament of the Supper ibid. 4. His Resurrection ibid. The manner of his coming it will be by a threefold summons 1 A shout 2.80 2 A voice of Archangel 2.81 3 The Trump of God ibid. His coming to give the Law and his coming to judgment compared 2.82 Separation from him the worst part of hell 2.105 His blood the fountain of merit but his spirit the fountain of efficacy 1.122 The benefit of his subjecting of himself to the Law redoundeth not unto himself but to the saints 2.145 He solemnly espoused the saints to himself 2.162 He had a twofold right to the Kingdom of glory 1 Natural 3.19 2 Constitutive ib. A superlative love to him an evidence of heaven 3.120 Christians must reject no doctrine warranted by the word 2.67 Church it is Christs outward not inward fulness 1.17 Comfort for them that are unjustly excluded 2.117 Closet closet duties shall be remembred at the last day 2.128 Cohabitation with Christ containeth four priviledges 1 Presence 3.2 2 Vision ibid. 3 Fruition 3.50 4 Confomity 3.77 Commendation Saints shall be praised and commended at the last day for their graces though wrought in them c. 2.132 Comfort we should administer comfort to mourning friends 3.150 All comfort is in God 3.153 Ministers must see that the comforts they administer be Gods comforts 3.154 Much pride in refusing comfort 3.157 It is as great an indignity to God to slight his comforts as to scorn his counsels 3.156 No comfort belongs to wicked men when they die 3.158 We should labour for comfort in our own death and leave matter of comfort to our surviving friends 3.160 Words of prayer to be joyned with words of comfort 3.165 Compassion compassions of God are great and therefore so are his consolations 3.148 Confidence many confident of heaven that have least right to it 3.117 Conformity of the saints to Christ in the resurrection hath its beginning in regeneration 2.101 Study soul-conformity to Christ 2.102 It is the fountain of complacency 3.42 Conscience the book