shall be like unto Jesus Christ in Splendour and Beauty Their Bodies shall be cloathed with glory and Majesty like unto the Body of Jesus Christ As Christ is Glorious and Beautiful so shall the Saints be Glorious and Beautiful and as Christ is fair and comely so shall the Saints be fair and comely and as Christ is pleasant and altogether Lovely so shall the Saints be pleasant and altogether Lovely and there shall be no spot of Deformity in them nor no Infirmity nor Blemish upon them But they shall shine in Beauty like the brightness of the Firmament and exceed the Stars in Lustre and Purity Here 's another Excellent Priviledge and a lovely Branch of heavenly Happiness wonderful to consider of and Marvellous pleasant will it be to enjoy the same It 's counted a great Honour and a high Priviledge amongst the People of the World to be but a little Adorned with Earthly Beauty or to have but a comely Face Garnished with a little Natural Brightness yea many times it is so highly esteemed and counted such a Rare Priviledge as it makes many Persons proud and high-minded Because of their Earthly Beauty and because of a comely Face but alas this is nothing in comparison of that Glory and Beauty which the Saints shall be Adorned withall when they enjoy this Heavenly Kingdom this is not worthy to be named in comparison of that Purity and Comeliness which shall be the Saints Portion in their Fathers Kingdom they shall have greater Honour than to be Adorned with Earthly Beauty and Natural Comeliness for they shall be Adorned with Heavenly Beauty and cloathed with Celestial Majesty yea they shall be Equal unto the Angels for Splendour and like unto Jesus Christ for Glory Therefore sayes the Apostle Phil. 3.20 21. Our Conversation is in Heaven from whence also we look for our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile Bodies that they may be fashionod like unto his GLORIOUS Body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself Though now they are vile bodies attended with earthly corruption yet then they shall be precious Bodies attended with Heavenly GLORY though now they are defiled Bodies attended with many Infirmities yet then they shall be Lovely Bodies attended with perfect Purity and mightily Adorned with Excellent Beauty Therefore says Christ Mat. 13.43 Then shall the Righteous SHINE forth as the SUN in the Kingdom of their Father Mark here 's glorious Beauty and wonderful Brightness Here 's Eminent Purity and Heavenly Splendour the Righteous shall Shine like the SUN in the Kingdom of their Father even whilst others are weeping and wailing in a Furnace of Fire Oh what unspeakable Glory and Excellent Majesty is here prepared for poor despised contemptible Creatures Oh! how happy and blessed will all those be that shall be counted worthy of this Kingdom and Glory All the Pleasure and Glory on Earth is not worthy to be compared with one Branch of this Heavenly Happiness All the Honour and Beauty under the Sun is not able to Parrallel the least Glimpse of this Heavenly Glory See one notable Text more for this and so I shall leave this Particular and proceed to another 1 Joh. 3.2 Where the Apostle is giving a short discovery of the Honour and Dignity of the Saints both here and hereafter Beloved saith he now we are the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be Mark Though we have so much Honour and Dignity conferred upon us now at present as to be called the Sons of God and though the Lord is pleased to extend his goodness so far towards us now at present as to make us his Children by the Spirit of Adoption yet it doth not yet appear what we shall be and yet this is such a wonderful Priviledge as it makes the Apostle exceedingly Admire at the Consideration thereof Crying out BEHOLD what MANNER of Love is THIS that we should be called the Sons of God! He was mightily filled with Admiration to consider of this wonderful Dignity but yet for all this it doth not yet appear what we shall be for we know that when he shall appear we shall be LIKE him Mark we shall be like unto Jesus Christ Blessed as he is Blessed Beautiful as he is Beautiful Glorious as he is Glorious Every way Adorned with Heavenly Happiness like unto Jesus Christ This is also another Excellent Priviledge or a fourth Branch of that Happiness which the Saints shall be made partakers of in this Glorious Kingdom Fifthly Another is this 5. They shall have wonderful Glorious Company and blessed Society they shall be continually honoured with Heavenly Company and blessed with Glorious Companions The meanest and worst of their Companions shall be Blessed and glorious Angels Though now it may be they are so much despised by the World as that they are not counted worthy to dwell in the Society of wicked Men yet they are so much honoured by the Lord as that they shall one Day be counted worthy to dwell in the Society of Blessed Angels and THEY shall be their meanest Companions This is another Glorious Priviledge excellent Dignity for the People of God in this Heavenly Kingdom they shall never have cause to complain of their Company nor never have cause to be weary of their Society for their meanest Company shall be glorious Angels and their worst Society shall be Heavenly Spirits And indeed this is a Priviledge which is very acceptable and delightful unto God's People and highly esteemed and much to be desired amongst good men now upon earth I mean godly Society for indeed those that truly fear God do count it a great Priviledge to enjoy the Society of good People and would reckon it a great Happiness to be wholly and altogether freed from evil company that they might alwayes enjoy the Society of godly People Therefore saith David Psal 16.3 My goodness extendeth not only unto thee O Lord but unto thy Saints and excellent ones in whom is all my DELIGHT But now in this Heavenly Kingdom they shall not only have the Society of Saints and enjoy Communion one with another without any mixture of Evil But they shall also enjoy it with God and fellowship with Jesus Christ and have the Society of blessed and glorious Angels Therefore saith the Apostle Heb. 12.22 23. Ye are come unto Mount Sion and unto the City of the living God the Heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable Company of ANGELS to the general Assembly and Church of the First-born and to God the Judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect Here 's Glorious Company and Heavenly Society here 's pleasant Companions and beautiful Partners here 's honourable Equals and lovely Objects and all to attend the People of God to encrease their Happiness in their Father's Kingdom So that this is also another excellent Priviledge or a fifth Branch of that Happiness
the Truth upon the Earth and take the Tribulations of the Gospel chearfully and joyfully yea we shall make our very Enemies admire at us if we have but a right spirit upon this account when they shall see and take notice how we are troubled on every side and how we are Persecuted and Afflicted and trampled under foot and yet we are chearful and full of Courage and not at all daunted nor terrified at it They must needs think there is more than ordinary in our Profession and so by that means God is exceedingly glorified and his Truth admired by his Enemies though possibly they may still obstinately and willingly oppose it yet notwithstanding they shall by this means be left without excuse and the power of the Truth shall witness against them to the praise and glory of God and to the peace and comfort of our own Souls Therefore saith the Apostle 1 Pet. 4.14 If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory resteth upon you On their part he is evil spoken of but on your part he is glorified There is also a notable passage of our Saviour Christ concerning Peter John 21.18 19. Verily verily saith Christ unto Peter when thou wast young thou girdest thy self and walkest whither thou wouldst but when thou shalt be old thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldst not This spake he signifying by what death he should GLORIFIE God So that it seems those that have so much Courage as to suffer chearfully for the Name of Christ and to lay down their lives for the sake of Christ their Death and Sufferings will tend much to the Glory of God and to the Eternal Blisse and Happiness of their own Souls Therefore when our Enemies shall threaten us and command us to speak nor preach no more in the Name of Jesus nor Meet any more to Worship God in his own way Let us with Peter and John ask them Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God judge ye And let us tell them plainly to their faces That we must obey God rather than Men Therefore we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard and we cannot but practise the things which we have learned and received in Command from Jesus Christ There are two notable and very remarkable Examples worthy of our Consideration which I shall briefly urge for our Encouragement in this matter The one is concerning the three Children in Dan. 3.16 17 18. Oh! that there were but such a spirit amongst the People of God now in this day of Sions bleeding Well but let us a little consider how they behaved themselves the King had made a Decree and given forth Command That all People should fall down and Worship the Golden Image which he he had set up and whosoever would not should the same hour be cast into the midst of a Burning fiery Furnace Well but Shadrach Meshach and Abednego they broke his Decree and disobeyed his Command and was not at all afraid of his fury nor terrified at the punishment and when they were called to an account before the King for this their Disobedience to his Decree he proffered them Pardon upon condition of their now complying But if not they must expect to feel the effects of his Rage and Fury in the Fiery Furnace and who is that God that should deliver them out of his hands Well now it is come to this with them they must either Turn or Burn they must either Bow to the Image or be Burnt in the Fire they must either conform with their Bodies to the Kings Command or else expose their Bodies to the Burning Flames Well and how did they behave themselves in this Case See the story and you shall find it at large Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the King O Nebuchadnezzar we are not careful to answer thee in this matter If it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the Burning Fiery Furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand O King But now Herein consists chiefly the Excellency of their Spirit in the next words therefore mark But if not whether God will deliver us or no Yet be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the Golden Image which thou hast set up Here 's an admirable Spirit for the service of God full of Confidence and Resolution for the Glory of the true and living God As much as if they should say If it be so O King do thy worst we matter it not our God whom we serve is able to deliver us and he will deliver us from thy Rage and Cruelty O King therefore we are not careful to answer thee in the Business And further we testifie unto thee O King that whether he will deliver us or not deliver us whether we Burn or not Burn come Life or come Death yet we would have thee to know O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor we will not worship the Golden Image which thou hast set up Oh therefore now let us endeavour to bear upon our hearts the Example of these three Famous Children or rather Champions of the most High God That we may through their example be provoked and Encouraged to hold fast the Name and Faith of Jesus Christ even in the worst Condition that may befall us that so being Faithfull unto Death we may receive the Crown of Life and sit with Christ in his Throne and Kingdom Another Example that I shall take notice of for our Consideration and Encouragement is concerning Paul in Acts 21.13 which indeed is very Remarkable and worthy of our observation and practise Paul it seems had some Work to do for God at Jerusalem and was much pressed in Spirit to go and bear witness to the Name of Jesus there But it seems before he went he was foretold in a Figure how he should Suffer when he came there and how he should be delivered into the hands of Persecutors for there was a certain Prophet named Agabus came down from Judea and when he was come among the Disciples he took Pauls Girdle and bound his own hands and Feet with it and Prophesied in the Spirit that so the Jews at Jerusalem should bind the Man that owed that Girdle and should deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles And when the Disciples heard that they began to perswade him and earnestly entreat him not to go to Jerusalem and laid before him the Consideration of his Sufferings thinking to prevent him of his Journey Well but what doth Paul do in this Case Doth he neglect the Work of the Lord to avoid his Sufferings Doth he forbear to go because of Danger No it s almost Death to him to think of forbearing and leaving the Work of the Lord undone at
Reward shall be SURE and NEVER be removed Their Joy shall ALWAYES continue and NEVER be taken away But as they are glorious and beautiful at first so they shall be glorious and beautiful for EVER and as they are rich and honourable at first so they shall be rich and honourable for EVER and as they are blessed and happy at first so they shall be blessed and happy for EVER ALWAYES rejoycing in fulness of Glory and praising the Lord to ALL ETERNITY Therefore sayes the Psalmist Psal 16.11 In thy presence is fulness of joy and at thy right hand are pleasures for EVERMORE So also the Prophet Esay in Chap. 61.7 For their shame they shall have double and for confusion they shall rejoyce in their portion they shall inherit the Land for EVER and EVERLASTING Joy shall be unto them Mark Not only Pleasures but Pleasures for EVERMORE not only Joy but EVERLASTING Joy They shall not only have double Glory for all their Shame and a joyful Portion for all their Confusion but it shall be of an EVERLASTING nature and shall continue for EVER There 's nothing shall be able to diminish their Joy nor nothing shall be able to put an end to their Glory for the portion of Righteousness shall be Peace and the effect thereof ASSURANCE for EVER Therefore sayes Christ Mat. 25.46 The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life ETERNAL Again Whosoever shall leave or lose any thing for the sake of Christ shall be sure to receive a hundred fold and shall inherit EVERLASTING Life Mat. 19.29 They shall not only have a living portion and a plentiful reward for all their losses and crosses in this life but their portion shall be an EVERLASTING Portion and their Reward shall continue for ever and ever Therefore sayes the Apostle Gal. 6.8 He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap Life EVERLASTING Here 's an Excellent Priviledge and a wonderful Portion here 's a blessed Reward and a happy Inheritance who is able to express the Heavenly happiness of glorified Saints in this eternal and unmoveable Kingdom They shall not only be filled with joy and crowned with glory but they shall so continue for ever and ever and enjoy the same to all ETERNITY So that all these things seriously considered do exceedingly discover the wonderful Happiness which the Saints shall be made partakers of in this heavenly Kingdom of glory Consider all these branches briefly in order together and then judge whether you have not great cause to admire the goodness of God towards his now Despised Saints and People Although indeed all that I have spoken concerning it is but a glimpse as it were of that Glory and Happiness which they shall enjoy when they shall come to receive the fulness of it in their Fathers Kingdom But yet in a Glass behold their Happiness First They shall dwell in a heavenly glorious unmoveable Kingdom Secondly They shall be altogether holy and pure without sin and iniquity Thirdly They shall be wholly freed from all manner of sorrow and trouble of what nature soever Fourthly They shall dwell in the presence of God and of the Lamb and see them face to face and behold their Glory Fifthly They shall have glorious bodies full of splendor and beauty like unto Jesus Christ Sixthly They shall have altogether glorious company and blessed society their meanest companions shall be heavenly Angels Seventhly They shall have fulness of unspeakable joy and be exceedingly crowned with unspeakable happiness Lastly And all this shall be eternal even for ever and ever Oh tast and see that the Lord is gracious blessed are all they that put their trust in him Thus having given you a discovery in some measure of that Glory and Happiness which the Saints shall enjoy in their Fathers Kingdom I shall now come to make a little Use or Application of this comfortable Doctrine and so conclude this Heavenly subject Well then is it so That God is pleased to provide and prepare a Kingdom for his People Then in the next place by way of Discovery this will serve to discover two things to us concerning the People of God First It discovers the excellency of Gods People for if it be so That the Lord hath prepared such an excellent Kingdom for his People and accounts them worthy to enjoy such an excellent Reward Oh! then it must needs be true that the People of God are an excellent People and that they are wonderful high in Gods esteem And if it be so that the People of God shall be crowned with Glory and cloathed with Majesty in a heavenly Kingdom Oh! then it must needs be true that the People of God are a glorious People and wonderful precious in Gods account And if it be true that the People of God shall be counted worthy to dwell in his presence and behold his Glory then it appears that the People of God are an honourable People and wonderful famous in the sight of God Though it may be they are much despised and trampled under foot by the men of this World yet be it known unto all That there 's none in the world so excellent as they And though they are much reproached and branded with shame by the men of the world yet of a truth there is none in the world so glorious as they And though they are counted the filth and the off-scouring of the world by ungodly people yet there is none in the world so honourable as they For pray consider The poorest and meanest of Gods People are Princes of Heaven and they that are most despised are now Heirs of a glorious Kingdom and joint heirs with Jesus Christ It 's counted a great honour and dignity amongst men to be an earthly Prince or an Heir to an earthly Kingdom and he that is Heir to an earthly Crown is counted an excellent Person and worthy of honour and great respect But the meanest of Gods People are far more excellent than he for they are all the Sons and Daughters of the living God and Heirs with Christ to a heavenly Crown and Kingdom And they are so lovely and honourable in the sight of God as that he accounts them his Jewels and esteems them his peculiar Treasure and tenders them as he tenders the Apple of his own Eye This is such an honour and dignity as all the Kings on earth are not able to reach unto nor all the Princes great men under the Sun are not able to claim an interest in such an Excellent Priviledge I mean not by vertue of their earthly power and greatness except they are such as belong to the number of Saints and so invested with glory from Heaven Therefore the meanest Saint in the world is far more excellent and honourable than the greatest Monarch on Earth Therefore sayes David Psal 16.3 My goodness extendeth not unto
a dead member and wants that spiritual life that feeds and maintains the power of Godliness in the Soul for if he be acquainted with the Spiritual Birth and if his Soul be alive for God he cannot be without love to his Brethren Therefore sayes the Apostle in another place Beloved let us love one another for love is of God and every one that loveth his Brother is Born of God and is acquainted with the Lord. Therefore let this Doctrine of the Kingdom perswade us to continue and abound in this fruit of the Spirit and seeing we profess our selves to be all Partners in one Kingdom let us be all Partners together in Love and Affection Thus much for the first word of Exhortation But again Secondly 2. If it be so that the Lord hath provided and prepared a Kingdom for his People and will one day Crown them with Eternal Glory Oh! then let us be exhorted to bless and praise the Lord for his goodness towards us and to magnifie his Glorious Name for this his unspeakable Love Oh! the exceeding Riches of his Grace in this very particular doth mightily engage us to celebrate his praise to the utmost of our power both in word and action Oh! how are we bound to set forth his Glory and to magnifie his Mercy and to speak well of his Goodness for this his tender respect to his People yea all his Attributes shines and shews themselves beautifully in the accomplishment of this our great and wonderful Priviledge and loudly calls for a thankful Return at our hands Oh! how are we engaged to the Lord for his Goodness and how are we bound to praise him for his rich Grace To consider that we even such poor Creatures as we even when we were in a lost perishing state lay polluted in our Blood in an undone Condition that then the Lord should vouchsafe to cast his Eye upon us and pitty us and manifest his Love and Goodness so far unto our Souls as to find out a way for our Recovery and to bring about our Redemption by the death of his own Son and to put us into a capacity of Salvation that we might be honoured with the Dignity of Adoption and enabled to call him Father through faith in his only Begotten That so we might be partakers of a Heavenly Glorious and Unmoveable Kingdom Oh! what unspeakable Love and excellent Kindness is this Oh! what rich Grace and infinite Mercy is here extended to our Souls How do we stand engaged to the Lord for his infinite Goodness Pray let 's consider how it is in natural Cases If in case that we were poor and miserable and wanted relief and comfort for our outward Man and could not tell where nor which way to find any succour And now if a rich Man that hath fulness about him should take our Condition into consideration and meerly out of Love and Pitty towards us should hand forth Relief and Comfort to us and plentifully supply all our Wants and put us into a happy Condition and after all this make us Heirs of a Rich Inheritance Oh! how should we be engaged to esteem such a Courtesie as this And how should we be engaged to prize such a wonderful Kindness Oh! how would this bind us to acknowledge his Love and draw forth our hearts with thankfulness towards him Or else if we did not almost every one would be ready to condemn us for our Ingratitude And besides we should even give our Friend just occasion to cast us out of his favour and take our Inheritance from us Well but now the Lord hath done abundance more for us than all this and he hath extended his Love towards us in a wonderful manner even beyond comparison yea he hath done that for us that all the men in the World and all the Angels in Heaven could never have done by their greatest power and he hath provided and prepared such a Rich and Glorious Portion for us as all the World is not comparable thereunto Oh! then consider how are we bound to prize and esteem this infinite Kindness of God and thankfully to acknowledge his unspeakable Love And how are we bound to bless the Lord for his Goodness and to shew forth the Praises of him who hath thus called us out of Darkness into his marvellous Light Therefore seeing the Lord hath been so much enlarged in his Love and Goodness towards us Oh! let us endeavour to be enlarged in our thankfulness towards him lest we give him occasion to withdraw his Love from us for our gross Ingratitude and deprive us of our Portion for our ill improvement of his great Love Therefore you shall find that the Apostle himself makes this use of this very particular 1 Pet. 1.3 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant Mercy hath Begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead to an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled which fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for us Mark The consideration of Gods Goodness manifested in our hope of Glory and the consideration of our reserved Inheritance is that which doth here occasion him to bless and praise the Lord and exceedingly draws forth his spirit with thankfulness towards him and causeth him to acknowledge and admire his abundant Mercy towards us who hath Begotten us to a lively hope of such a Heavenly Inheritance Therefore saith the Apostle Paul Col. 1.12 13. We do not cease to give thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light who hath delivered us from the power of Darkness and hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son Oh! therefore let the consideration of our Heavenly Portion dwell upon our hearts and exceedingly draw forth our souls with thankfulness towards our Heavenly Father and let us mightily endeavour to set forth the Praise and Glory of him who hath provided and prepared such an Excellent Kingdom for his People Thus much for the second word of Exhortation I shall now come to the Third and last word of Exhortation and so conclude 3. Seeing the Lord hath provided and prepared such a Glorious and Heavenly Kingdom for his People Oh! then let all those that professe an Interest in this Kingdom walk worthy of God who hath called us to such a Glorious Inheritance Let the consideration thereof mightily engage us to a Holy and a Heavenly Conversation Oh! let us be sure to walk suitably and answerably to such an Honourable and Heavenly Profession as becomes those that are Heirs of a Kingdom and as becomes those that have an Interest in such an unspeakable Portion Oh! let 's consider what a Glorious Profession we bear and what a Heavenly work we are called unto and let us be sure to walk so as that we may honour our Profession with a suitable Conversation and answer the end of our