BEVLAH or Maried For the Lord delights in thee and thy Land shall haue an Husband for as a young man marieth a Virgine so shall thy sonnes marrie thee And as a bridegrom is glad of the bride so shall thy God rejoice over thee And in the Apocalips Christs flock saith Halleluiah that is by interpretation praise yee God for our God Almightie hath raigned Let vs be glad and rejoice and giue glory to him for the mariage of the Lambe is come and his wife hath made her selfe reddy And to her was granted that she should be arrayed with pure fine linnen and shining for the fine Linnen is the righteousnes of the Saints Thereafter the Angell of God saith vnto Iohn I will shew thee the bride the Lambs wife and he shewed me saith Iohn the great Citie holy Ierusalem which is the number of the Elect descending out of heaven from God having the glory of God This comparison the spirit of God maketh betweene Christ and his Church because that like as the husband and the wife are made one flesh so are the faithfull made one with Christ by participation of his body blood through faith And as the bridegrome doth procreate Children with his bride So doth Christ procreat Children in his Church by his holy spirit and makes her to be plentiful in bringing forth sonnes and daughters to inherit his kingdome But to returne to the pleasure of the Elect in the life to come it is also compared to a solemne banquet by the spirit of God And in this mountaine saith the Prophet Esay shall the Lord of hosts make vnto all people a feast of fat things Even a feast of fined wines and of fat things full of marrow of wines fined and purified And Saint Iohn in his Revelation saith that he saw a pure river of water of life cleare as Christal proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lambe which is Iesus Christ and on either side of the River was the tree of life which bare twelue manner of fruites and gaue fruite every moneth and the leaues of the tree served to heale the Nations with It is also saide in the Apocalips Blessed are they that are called vnto the Lambes supper And our maister Christ saith whosoever drinks of the water that I shall giue him shall never be more a thirst but the water that I shall giue him shall be in him a well of water springing vp into everlasting life Moreover the Lord proposeth to the faithfull all the blessings which are contained in the Lawe and so vnder temporall things comprehends the spirituall promises They shall feede in the waies saith the Prophet and their pastures shall be in al the tops of the hilles they shal not be hungrie nether shal they be thirstie neither shall the heate smite them nor the sunne for hee that hath compassion on them shal leade them euen to the springs of waters shal he driue them Lo saith the Lord every one that thirsts come ye to the waters and ye that haue no silver come buy and eat come I say buy wine and milke without silver Harken diligently vnto me and eat that which is good and let your soule delight in fatnes Likewise the Lord speaking to his afflicted members saith O thou afflicted and tossed with tempest that hath no comfort behold I will lay thy stones with the Charbukle and lay thy foundation with Saphires and I will make thy windowes of Emeraudes and thy gate shining stones and all thy bordours of plesant stones And for the farther comfort of his elect hee proceeds and saith All thy Children shall be taught of the Lord much peace shal be to thy Children In righteousnes shall thou be established and be far from oppression for thou shalt not feare it and from feare for it shall not come neere thee For the montains shal remoue and the hills shal fal downe but my mercy shal not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace fall away saith the Lord that hath compassion on thee This is the heritage of the Lords servants and their righteousnes is of me saith the Lord. And insisting in the consolation of his Church this saith the Lord to it Whereas thou hast bene forsaken and hated so that no man went by thee I will make thee an eternal glory and a joy from generation to generation Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles and suck the brests of kings and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy redeemer the mightie one of Iacob For brasse wil I bring gold and for yron will I bring silver and for wood brasse and for stones yron I will also make thy garment peace and thy exactors righteousnes Violence shal be no more heard off in thy land neither desolation nor destruction within thy borders But thou shalt call salvation thy walles and praise thy gates Thou shalt haue no more the Sunne to shine by day neither shall the brightnes of the Moone shine vnto thee For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light and thy God thy glory thy Sunne shal never go downe neither thy Moone be hid for the Lord shall be thy everlasting light and the daies of thy sorrowes shall be ended Thy people also shal be al righteous they shal possesse the land for ever The graiffe of my planting shall be the work of my hands that I may be glorified Moreover the Lord by the mouth of the Prophet comforts his Elect and threatneth the wicked in these wordes Behold my servants shall eat and ye shall be hungrie Beholde my seruants shall drink and ye shall be thirstie Behold my servants shal rejoice and ye shall be ashamed Behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart and yee shal cry for sorrowe of heart and shall howle for vexation of mind and yee shall leaue your name as a curse vnto my chosen For the Lord God shall slay you and call his servants by another name He that shall blesse in the earth shal blesse himself in the true God he that sweares in the earth shal swear by the true God These are hevenly consolations and promises which are partly begunne in this life but shall not be fullie accomplished while the life to come Wherevpon the faithfull flock of Christ takes occasion to rejoice and is prophesied to burst out in these wordes I will greatly rejoice in the Lord and my soule shall be joyfull in my God For hee hath clothed me with the garments of salvation and covered me with the robe of righteousnes He hath decked me like a bridegrome and as a bride attyreth her selfe with her jewells For as the earth brings forth her budde and as the Garden causes to growe that which is sowne in it So the Lord God will cause righteousnes to growe and praise before the Heathen But forasmuch as the pleasures of the soul
A Treatise OF THE FELICItie of the life to come VNSAVORIE TO THE obstinate alluring to such as are gone astray and to the faithful full of consolation By A.H. HEB. 12.22 But ye are come vnto the mount Sion and to the Citie of the living God the celestiall Ierusalem and to the company of innumerable Angels EDINBVRGH PRINTED BY ROBERT Walde-graue Printer to the Kings Majestie 1594. Cum Priuilegio Regali THE PREFACE TO the faithfull Readers WITH great humilitie and reverence Brethren and not without a warrant of Gods Word ought wee to speake of heavenly things and specially in treating of the life to come there is a singular discretion modestie required both in the teacher and the hearer For the matter is so loftie and transcends so far the vnderstanding of man that as a godly Pastor hath saide It is much more easie to describe and vnderstand the way to heaven and eternall life nor to describe the place and life it selfe Therefore when wee cannot vtter the dignitie of the matter it selfe which is aboue our capacitie we are forced to speake by similitudes and vnder shadowes of natural things which we can conceiue that thereby the things supernatural may be better conceived And this is no wonder seeing the Apostle saith that hee was taken vp into Paradise and heard words which cannot be spoken which are not possible for man to vtter Yea the very spirit of God speaking of the glory of the Elect in the world to come he makes their dwelling place to be made of gold and of precious stones their meat to be of fat things and of twelue manner of fruites and their drink to be of cleare springing waters and of sweet fined Wines And why speakes he after this maner Because we vnderstand this language and by reason of our weaknes and ignorance can mount no higher nor conceiue any farther Now then when I say that in the world to come we shall be delighted with bodily and sensual pleasures and that our senses of seing hearing smelling tasting and of feeling shall be delighted with their owne objects that are proper vnto them I speake so for penuritie of language For how shall that spirituall matter be otherwaies expressed seing there is not an other language for spirituall things nor there is for things naturall but that there is many attributiōs common to them both We see that in the scriptures mention is made of the mouth of God and of the hand of God when notwithstanding the Lord is a spirit and hath neither mouth nor hands as man hath but by the one is signified his word and by the other his power in preserving or punishing Likewise the life is called life aswell of the soule as of the body Death also is a word common both to the soul the body There is no other word for the joy of the soule and the joy of the body but joy and the nurishment of the soul is called Food aswell as the nourishment of the bodie Yet there is no doubt but our bodies shall arise at the last day perfit in all the senses If then we haue the senses of necessitie they must haue their owne objects and consequently that delectation which results of the objects may be pertinently called a bodily or sensuall delectation because it falles vnder the senses of the body Neverthelesse neither shall our bodies and our senses nor yet their objects be naturall mortall or corruptible as they are in this life But they shall be spiritual immortal and incorruptible for as the Apostle saith There is a naturall body and there is a spirituall body neither can flesh and blood inherit the kingdome of God That is our naturall bodies as they are now while they be made newe and incorruptible by the spirit of Iesus Christ cannot inherite the kingdome of God Farther the substance and forme of this litle treatise to declare it shortly is this Having laied this ground that the miseries of the righteous are many There is heereupon two questions moued the one is why the Lord doeth so hardly intreat his servants in this life not onely in witholding his temporal benefits from thē but also in sending them great trobles To the which bipartite question it is answered severally that hee measures his giftes according vnto our strength and the pilgrimage which we haue to make that his chief reward is not temporall but everlasting and that he knowes affliction to be good for vs. The other question is why the godly suffers paciētly these wrongs which they might resist The answere is that the reverence which they beare to the Lords commandement and the hope which they haue of the reward promised which is eternal life is the very cause of it And forasmuch as that reward seemes to the naturall man to be farre of and the passage therevnto to be fearefull and difficill It is therefore shewen that neither the reward of the godly is farre off nor yet death by thē to be much feared And to remoue all doubtings of the resurrection It is prooved by diuers similitudes taken from things which we see daily wrought by God in nature to be nothing impossible This done vnto such as beleeue the resurrection of the bodies and the everlasting life is described the felicitie thereof which is collected of the excellencie of the place of the dignitie of the indwellers of the perfection of the pleasures and of the diuturnitie of the time The excellencie of the place is taken from the situation the fabrick and the bewtie thereof from the high stiles that are given vnto it in the Scriptures and from the worthines of the architoure and inhabitants thereof which is also aggreged by the liuely description of a bewtifull terrestriall place and consideration of the bewtie of the firmament the Sunne the Moone and the starres and argumentation from the lesse to the more The dignitie of the indwellers is manifested by their righteousnes and are the three persons of the Trinitie the holy Angels or ministring spirites and all the Saintes or elect people of God which is confirmed by the scriptures Thereafter to expresse the pleasures of the life to come comparisō is made betwixt them and the pleasures of this life whereby the perfection of the one more evidently appeares by the consideration of the other The pleasures of this life are devided in the pleasures of the body and the pleasures of the minde The bodilie pleasures are severally described by giuing an instance of the most plesant objects that can fall vnder the outward senses And the pleasures of the minde which exceeds the sensuall in greatnes are conceived vnder the rare gifts of the body and of the spirite joined with all kinde of honour and worldly promotion This done enumeration is made by an Epilogue of the greatest pleasures which the wit of man can devise and yet are proved to be inferior to the joyes of the life to come But
this is a port or hauening place Nevertheles he is so far distant from the likenes and perfection of the things which hee describes that if it were possible that the Geographor were transported vnawares into any strange Cuntrie hee should neither knowe the cuntrie the cities nor what way to go betwixt them for all his Geographie while it were first shewen declared vnto him Even so although I be as farre distant in describing the joies of the Life to come from the perfection thereof as a thing vnperfite is from that which is perfite or the thing finite and bounded from the thing infinite and without bounds Notwithstandng I wil point out as the Geographor doeth a certaine similitude and likenesse thereof by comparing the same vnto joies earthlie and pleasures which may be devised in this life For if the one appeare notable and great which is but temporal and imperfit of it self the other shal appeare farre greater and shall be easilie conceived to transcend it by many degrees seeing it is called by the spirit of God an eternall and perfit felicitie and therefore lacks nothing that is requisite to perfection The pleasures which man can receiue in this life they are either bodily and sensual whereby the outward senses are delighted or else they are inwarde pleasures of the mind whereby the heart and soule of man is rejoiced But so long as the body and the soule are joyned togither there is such an vnion and concord between thē that that thing which delights the one delights also the other and that which is displeasant to the one is likewise displeasant to the other That which is delectable to the body and outward senses is delectable also to the spirit and makes the heart to rejoice And that which contents the mind and rejoiceth the heart doth likewise recreat and plesure the body after a marvelous maner To returne then to those pleasures whereby the outwarde senses and body are delighted Is it not extreame pleasant to the eies to beholde the face of a Princes Court and the great assemblies of bewtifull and great personages both of men and women apparelled with all kinde of pretious and costly garments and attyred with riche jewells togither with all the rest of precious glistering planessing which is accustomed to be in the houses of greate Princes at a solemne feast or at their first entrie in a potent and opulent Cittie Or to beholde from the top of an high mountaine in the time of Sommer or of Harvest while the ayre is cleare and purified the noble faire Cities adjacent about the green hilles and dales the faire woods and forests the cornes wines and fruits of the ground the fresh Loches and rivers and the sapheir firmament the bright Sunne and Moone and the glistering starres arrayed in good order Or to beholde a great armie of horsemen and of foote al in their cleare armour well arrayed and marching in battell To see their glauncing harnes and armour both invasiue and defenciue their Plumages standarts and displaied hand seignes togither with their couragious bairded Horses Elephants and Drummodaries Or to behold a faire Navie of shippes of Gallies and of Galliasses all vnder saill on the smooth Sea with their streamers flaggs aires and great artillerie Or to beholde a publick Faire or Mercat place wherein all kinde of bewtiful and pretious wares are exposed and laid forth to be sold To see the faire bords of divers sorts of viue and liuely portrators the faire rapestrie of silkes and cloth of golde all kinde of cullours of fine and well lustered stuffes for apparelling of the body the cleare polist vessell of silver and of gold the fine varnished musical Instruments with many other proper inventions and vtensils devised and wrought by subtill handie crafts for the vse and ease of man These I say and such like sights are very pleasant and delectable to the eies and consequently comfortable and recreatiue to the spirit In like maner it were very delectable to the eares to heare notable and good doctrine out of the mouth of a cunning eloquent teacher To heare rehearsed plesant and notable histories delectable novelties of rare and strange things glad and good tydings and to heare thy selfe well reported off and thy workes rehearsed and praised in thine own presence To heare the merry interloquutors of facetious Dialogues pretty and quicke conceits and rancounters of Comediens in their comedies and stage plaies To hear the singing and natural melodie of the sweet singing birds firdoning their notes after their kinde and on divers waies in the time of sommer or of spring time but most of all earlie in the morning as the day begins to dawne when al is vnder great silence and every thing quiet and at rest then to heare the pleasant harmonie of Musicall Instruments cunninglie handeled as of Cornets or fine Violls Or to heare the sweet and delicat voices of cunning singers intermedled with the melodious sound of Lutes Cisters Clairshoes or of other quiet Instruments of that kinde which I esteeme worthie to be reckoned among the chiefest of earthly pleasures What thing can be more delectable to the taste appetite of man nor to haue a table at all times richly decked with all manner of savoury and delicate meates finely prepared as of fat tender fleshe rare and delicious fishes al kind of fruits hearbs spices of drogs wet and dry and other confections pertaining to the Apotecarie And in like maner to haue redie at mans desire all kinde of delicious and delicate drinks and lickquors as Milk meid hony sweet and sharp wines hypocrise and fined wines with al manner of fresh refreshing drinks which may be either agreable to the mouth or meat for the sustentation of mans body As to the sense of smelling it is delighted with pleasant and sweet odours as of sweete smelling flowers perfumes pretious ointments goomes and with fine odours mixed and prepared by the Apotecars And finally is it not delectable and pleasant to the body of man when in time of cold he is fostered with warmnes and in time of heat is refreshed with temperat coldnesse Likewise when his bodie is annointed and refreshed with balme and with oyle or when he is purged and purified in the bathstoffs or is eased releeved of his naturall infirmities by such volupteous pleasures as are naturall vnto him and falles vnder the sense of feeling Al these aboue rehearsed are sensuall and bodely pleasures which man would esteeme a great happines to injoye alwaies at his pleasure being very delectable first to the body and then to the spirit as vnto that which hath a naturall perfit conjunction with the bodie For if it were separated from the bodie it would not be delighted with no such sensuall pleasures But those pleasures which do chiefly content the mind and inwardly rejoiceth the heart soul of man are much more excellent and doeth farre exceede the pleasures of
contentment of the mind might appear more imaginarie nor substantiall where they fall not vnder the outward senses and where the body is not made participant thereof For the soul is but a spirit and is delighted with spirituall things neither can it be rejoiced or yet troubled with things sensuall or corporall being free from the bands of the fleshe Therefore to the effect thou may the better conceiue haue a more sensible feeling of the joyes of the life to come I wil assure thee that not only the soules and spirits of the Elect shal rejoice and be delighted with spiritual plesures but also the bodies shall bee delighted with bodily and sensual pleasures which falles vnder the senses In respect the bodie shal rise againe from death the soule or spirit shall enter againe therein and reallie and with effect both the soule the senses shall be delighted albeit not with such naturall corruptible things least any man should dreame such an vnperfite delectation as that where with our mortall bodies are delighted in this life but with heavenly and incorruptible things like as our bodies shall then be incorruptible and immortall And let no man think that at the day of the resurrection any of vs shall resume a fantastical body of an other forme shape nor that which we haue nowe but a very corporal and substantial body which may be seene and felt having all the senses in greater quicknes and perfection nor it hath them in this life but free alwaies from such fragilitie and naturall infirmities wherevnto the mortall body is subject For looke in what maner and with what body our Saviour Iesus Christ rose againe from death which after his resurrection but before his ascention full glorification was seene and knowne by his Disciples conversed with them and was griped by his Disciple Thomas In like maner and with the like bodies shall hee raise vs vp againe at the latter day And when we shall be glorified our bodies shall not be hinderfull vnto the actions of the spirit nor a fasheous prison vnto it as the body is in this life but it shal be a pleasant tabernacle and a necessarie organe vnto the spirite reddy to yeeld and obey it in all the offices and functions therof In such sort that where the spirit shall desire to be the body shall be transported with it as swift as the thought without any resistance So that in all our actions we shal be like vnto the Angells and celestiall bodies Our eyes then I say shall be delighted with beholding of things bewtifull our eares with hearing of heavenly sounds and harmony our taist with such celestiall and Angellike foode as shall be agreable therevnto our nostrells with smelling of pleasant and delectable odours and our sense of feeling with feeling of all kind of volupteous and perfite pleasure my reason is this because we shal haue a perfit sight of the face of God and the full fruition of his divine Majestie which is the consummation perfection of al pleasures For he that seeth the face of God seeth eminently and after a most excellent maner the bewtie and perfection of all his Creatures because from him they receiue all their bewtie and perfection Therefore by necessarie consequence in injoying the majestie of God the Creator we shal also injoy through him in him all the pleasures which can be taken of any Creature which the Lorde hath made either living or without life What thing vpon earth is comparable to the majestie and throne of God which Iohn saw by Revelation He that sate vpon the throne saith he was to looke vpon like vnto a Iasper stone a Sardine and there was a Rainbowe round about the throne in sight like to an Emerande and out of the throne proceeded lightenings and thunderings and voices and there were seene Lamps of fyre burning before the throane which are the seaven spirits of God The rest of the description thereof for brevitie I omit and remits the Reader to the place it self where it is described And did not the whole people of Israell see with their corporall eies and heare with their eares thunderings and lightenings and a thick cloud vpon mount Sinay and the sounde of a trumpet exceeding loude so that they were all afraide And did they not see mount Sinay al on a smoke the smoke thereof ascending as the smoke of a fornace because the Lord came downe vpon it in fyre and the mount trembling exceedinglie Likewise Moses Aaron Nadab and Abihu and seventie of the Elders of Israell saw a part of the Majestie of God onely in so farre as their infirmitie and weaknes was able to beare And vnder his feet they sawe as it were a worke of a Saphire stone and as the very heaven when it is cleare And did not the skinne of the face of Moses shine bright after that God had talked with him In such sort that the Israelites were affraide to come neere him Howe then shall wee shine that shall behold him face to face and injoye his presence for ever Surely in beholding the bewtie of his glorious face we shall be made bewtifull And in injoying the presence of his Majestie we shall also injoy all these joyes and pleasures presently expressed and besides them many other greater which as the Apostle saith It is not possible to the wit and toung of man to vtter and declare We shall be filled with al vertue and perfection we shall be healthie wee shall be strong wee shall be joyfull and glad wee shall haue perfit contentment we shal be assured and in perfit securitie we shall be wise we shall be patient we shall be constant we shall be charitable wee shall be holy we shall be glorious All our actions desires studies and imaginations shal be good and we shall not haue so much as an intention or inclination vnto evill To be short as it is promised in the Apocalips we shal inherit all things the Lord shal be our God and we shal be his sons And as the Prophet Daniel saith we shal shine as the brightnes of the firmament and they that turne many to righteousnes shal shine as the starres for ever and ever Wee shall receiue a crowne of righteousnes as sainct Paul saith which the Lord the righteous Iudge shall giue at that day to all them that loues his appearing Wee shall sing these praises and newe songes which Iohn heard by Revelation Holy holy holy Lord God Almightie which was and which is and which is to come Thou art worthie O Lord to receiue glory and honour and power For thou hast created all things and for thy wills sake they are and haue bene created Item worthie is the Lamb that was killed to receiue power and riches and wisdome and strength and honour and glory praise Praise and honour and glory and power be vnto
are nowe For otherwise it is to be presupposed that the lord would not destroy the more perfite and creat others more vnperfit in their place and roome Finally that dwelling shalbe exceeding large and spatious for there shal be no separation betwixt the heaven and the earth betwixt the dwelling place of the Lord and the dwelling place of Men but conforme to his promise hee shall dwell with vs and wee with him as Citizens of a Citie And thus much concerning the Description of the dwelling place A Declaration of the Company which we shall inioye in the World to come AS to the Companie which we shall haue in that heavenly habitation it is first to be marked that wee shall be quite of all evil company For all wicked men shall be perpetually banished from that faire cuntrie Know ye not saith the Apostle Paul that the vnrighteous shall not inherite the kingdome of God Be not deceived Neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor adulterers nor wanton persons nor buggerers nor theeues nor the covetous nor drunkards nor raillers nor extortioners shall inherite the kingdome of God which is to be vnderstood except they be washen sanctified and justified in the name of Iesus Christ and by the spirit of God like as the Corinthians were to whome Paul wrote this Epistle which did repent and amend their liues The same is affirmed by Saint Iohn in his Revelation saying the fearfull and vnbeleving and the abhominable murtherers and whoremongers and sorcerers and Idolaters and all liers shal haue their part in the lake that burnes with fire and brimstone which is the second death And again speaking of that holie Citie he saith There shal enter into it no vncleane thing neither whatsoever worketh abhomination or lies The companie then which we shall injoy shall be all holy and righteous Thy people shall be all righteous saith the Lord speaking to his Church they shal possesse the land for ever Lord who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle saith the Psalmist who shal rest in thine holy mountaine He that walks vprightlie and works righteousnes and speakes the trueth in his heart In such sort that wee shall continuallie converse with the Saints that is to say with men and women which served God in spirit and trueth in this life and that not onelie of the people of our owne cuntrie or of the Iewes and Israelites which are called Gods people But also of all cuntries and nations of the earth and that of all estates degrees Assemble your selues and come saith the Lord drawe neere togither ye abject of the Gentiles Look vnto me and yee shall be saved All the ends of the earth shal be saued For I am God and there is none other I haue sworne by my selfe the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousnes and shall not returne That every knee shall bowe vnto me and every toung shal sweare by me And againe the Lord saith to his Son Christ Iesus It is a small thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise vp the tribes of Iacob and to restore the desolations of Israell I will also giue thee for a light of the Gentiles that thou maist be my salvation to the end of the world Likewise the Apostle Iohn saith that the glory and honour of the Gentiles that is to say of all Nations aswell as of the Iewes shall be brought vnto the holie Citie And this shall not onely be of the faithful of one age or of them which are living nowe but of all ages which hath bene from the beginning of the worlde and shal be vnto the consumation thereof and latter comming of Iesus Christ. Wee shall then frequent the societie and fellowship of al the godly Martyrs which constantly hath suffered for the name of Christ Iesus in this life And likewise of the Disciples and Apostles of Christ Iesus which hath sounded his Gospel thorow the whol world Of the holy Priests and true Prophets of the Lord of the godly Kings and Rulers of the Earth which as the Lords lieftenants did ministrate justice and judgment in their liues We shall haue for our familiar brethren and companions our first progenitor Adam Noe Lot Abraham Isaac Iacob and the twelue Patriarks the sonnes of Iacob Likewise wee shall see by familiar and contract friendship brotherhood which never shall be dissolved with Moses Aaron Iosua and the just judges of Israell with Samuell Elias and Elisha Esay Ieremie Ezechiell and Daniell with David Ezechias and Iosias with Iohn the Baptist Peter Paul Iohn whome our Saviour loved with whome wee shal dwell as brethren and Citizens of a Cittie Moreover not onely shall wee be in company with faithful men and women but also with the whole armie of the holy Angels of the Lord whome hee hath appointed to preserue and defend vs in this life The whole ordour of them shall rejoyce greitumlie of our comming and salvation and shall be continually conversant with vs in perpetual societie and friendship There shal we enter in fellowshippe with the Cherubims Seraphins Thrones Dominions Principalities Powers Arch-angels Angels and with the whole number of the celestiall Legions Which receiveth those styles to declare their glory power distinct ofices These shal delight to magnifie extol the Majestie of the lord togither with vs insatiantlie with vnspeakable joy gladnes But the chief company wherein we shuld most rejoice is That we shall haue the ful fruition of almightie God the Father of his Sonne Christ Iesus our Saviour and of the holy Ghost which is the spirit of God There we shal see them face to face in their full majestie and glory which none can behold nor apprehend in this life but by faith only The almighty God shall behold and blesse vs from his high and holy throne as his owne sonnes and heires whome hee hath adopted The Lambe Christ Iesus shall imbrace kisse vs as his brethren sisters he shall congratulate our comming and present vs faultlesse vnto his Father And the Comforter the spirit of trueth which nowe doth secreetly assist vs governe vs and work in our hearts by measure shal then be visiblie and personally ever present among vs and really and with effect shall possesse both our soules and bodies and replenish vs with ful measure Thus much shall suffice to haue spoken of the Company which wee shall injoye and with whom we shal liue in the world to come A Rehearsall of the Pleasures which we shall inioy in the world to come LET vs nowe come to the pleasures whereof we shal be made participant in the life to come Like as the Geographor by symmetrie and proportion describes all the Cuntries of the earth into the bounds of a litle globe and is accostomed to write throughout the partes thereof This is a cuntrie this is a famous Citie this is a river these are mountains this is an arme of the sea
the fleshe in dignitie and worthines Were it not a great contentment to the mind to haue thy body als bewtiful and of seemlie proportion as thy heart would wishe And that thou were equall in strength speed and agilitie with any other man Likewise that thou were of such skil and dexteritie at al games and exercitions of the body aswell these that are naturall vnto man as in these which needes art and instruction as summing balling handeling of thine armour and others such like that none were able to out-match thee and therewithal to haue thy bewtie ever flourishing never to fade and thy body never to decay but ever to remaine in perfite vigour and strength Moreover wouldest thou not think it a great felicitie to be so pregnant quick of spirit that nothing could seeme hard or difficil vnto thee But that thou hadst the knowledge of all artes and sciences of all tongues and languages and with thy knowledge to haue a facund and ornate tongue to vtter the conceptions of thy mind Farther is it not very delectable to the heart of man to haue obtained a great victory and to haue defait the enemies of his natiue cuntrie brought the same to libertie and freedome by his owne deedes and vertue as the stronge Sampson did in subduing the Philistims David in slaying of Goliah Iudith in killing of Olophernes or as the valiant Roman Cockles did with great praise and commendation of all men It is also no litle contentment to the spirit to haue found out a singular and subtile devise which may bring both great pleasure and great commoditie with it not onely to the inventor thereof himselfe but also to the whole estate of a common wealth Wee reade that Pythagoras for finding out by his own ingyne study of a proposition of Geometrie which indeed is esteemed to be very excellent and of great vse in the Mathematicks and is the 47. Proposition of the first book of the Elements of Euclide for very joy he came forth of his cabinet running and crying with a loude voice as though he had bene transported I haue found it I haue found it and thereafter made a solemne sacrifice and oblation of an hundreth Oxen. See we not also howe great rejoycing it is to the heart of him that hath done a notable and noble act pronounced a wise sentence or made a cunning ornat harangue to the great admiration and praise of the hearers and beholders And were it not a pleasant thing to be promoved by a greate Monarche from the estate of a poore miserable cotter to the estate of a welthie potent Lord and to be received in great familiaritie credite with the same monarche To be short I think the greatest joyes which man can wish or imagine are these To haue all thinges that the heart doth require and to lack nothing To haue knowledge of all things and to be ignorant of nothing To be ever glad and never sorrowfull To be ever careles and without feare and never careful nor in dread To be ever in pleasure and neuer in paine To be alwaies wel content and never miscontent nor displeased To be ever in securitie and never in danger To be ever in peace and at rest and never troubled nor disquieted To be ever at libertie and never in thraldome To be ever in health and in good disposition and never sick nor diseased To be ever in a constant and stable estate and never subject to change nor alteration To be free from all naturall infirmities of the body and all passions and perturbations of the mind but in special from the thraldome of sinne and to haue an absolute power over all our affections concupiscenses To be delighted with every thing and never to see nor heare that thing which is grievous or displeasant To hate or envy no man nor yet to bee hated or envied of any But to loue and like all and to be loved and liked of all men To be honoured and esteemed of all men but in speciall to be in the favor of God and to be reciprocklie beloved of them whome wee loue most intirelie and to be sure and certaine never to die but to liue for ever What then of al these joies and pleasures were they ever injoied by any man or is it possible that any man can injoy them in this life No certainlie they cannot be fully injoyed so long as wee dwell here vpon earth and remaines in this tabernacle of fleshe and blood But these are heavenly joyes pertaining to the life to come which all the faithfull shall vndoubtedlie injoye yea and greater nor these also For the wit ingine of man is able to comprehend and vnderstand these joies before rehearsed But the perfit joy and felicitie of the life to come passeth all vnderstanding But nowe let vs see what warrant we haue of the word of God against these things and howe the spirit of God doth certifie vs hereof We are first certified by the spirit of God that in the life to come wee shall be exeemed from all griefe and sorrow so that our joy and pleasure shall not be mixed with sorrowes as the pleasures of this life are For the Evangelist Iohn saith God shall wipe away al teares from their eyes and there shall bee no more death neither sorrow neither crying neither shal there be any more pain for the first things are passed The former trobles are forgotten saith the Lord by the mouth of the Prophet and shall surely hide themselues from mine eies for Lo I will create newe heavens and a newe earth and the former shall not be remembred nor come into minde But be yee glad and rejoice for ever in the things which I shall create For behold I wil create Ierusalem as a rejoicing and her people as a joy and I will rejoice in Ierusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying There shal be no more there a Child of yeares nor an old man that hath not filled his daies for hee that shall be an hundreth yeares old shal die as a young man Farther the spirit of God to expresse the joye of the life to come compares it to a day of mariage into the which Iesus Christ is the bridegrome and his Church that is to say the number of his elect is called the bride The Gentiles saith the Prophet speaking of Christs Church shall see thy righteousnes and al kings thy glory and thou shal be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royall diademe in the hand of thy God It shal be no more said vnto thee Forsaken neither shall it be said any more to thy land desolate But thou shalt be called HEPHZEBAH that is to say My delight in her and thy Land