The saints everlasting rest, or, A treatise of the blessed state of the saints in their enjoyment of God in glory wherein is shewed its excellency and certainty, the misery of those that lose it, the way to attain it, and assurance of it, and how to live in the continual delightful forecasts of it and now published by Richard Baxter ...

* 1.1SECT. IX.

5. THe last Affection to be acted is Joy. This is the end of all the Rest, Love, Desire, Hope and Courage, do all tend to the raising of our Joy. This is so desirable to every man by nature, and is so essentially necessary to the constituting of his happiness, that I hope I need not say much to perswade you to any thing that would make your life delightful. Supposing you therefore already convinced, That the pleasures of the flesh are brutish and perishing, and that your solid and lasting joy must be from Heaven, in stead of perswading, I shall proceed in directing.

Well then, by this time if thou hast managed well the former work, thou art got within the ken of thy Rest; thou believest the Truth of it; thou art convinced of the excellency of it, thou art faln in Love with it, thou longest after it; thou hopest for it, and thou art resolved couragiously to venture for the obtaining it: But is here any work for joy in this? we delight in the good which we do possess: Its present good that is the object of joy; but (thou wilt say) alas, I am yet without it. Well, but yet think a little further with thy self; Though the Real presence do afford the choicest joy, yet the presence of its imperfect Idea or image in my understanding, may afford me a great deal of true delight, Is it nothing to have a deed of gift from God? Are his infallible promises no ground of joy? Is it nothing to live in daily expectation of entring into the Kingdom? Is not my assurance of being glorified one of these dayes a sufficient ground for unexpressible joy?* 1.2 Is it no delight to the Heir of a Kingdom, to think of what he must hereafter possess, though at present he little differ from a servant? Am I not com∣manded to rejoyce in hope of the glory of God? Rom. 5.2, & 12.12.

Here then, Reader, take thy heart once again, as it were, by the hand, Bring it to the top of the highest Mount; if it be possible to some Atlas above the clouds; shew it the Kingdom of Christ and the glory of it; say to it, All this will thy Lord bestow upon thee, who hast believed in him, and been a worshipper of him; It is the Fathers good pleasure to give thee this Kingdom; Seest thou this astonishing Glory above thee? Why all this is thy own inheritance. This Crown is thine, these pleasures are thine, this company, this beauteous place is thine, all things are thine, because thou art Christs, and Christ is thine; when thou wast married to him, thou hadstall this with him.

Thus take thy heart into the Land of Promise; shew it the plea∣sant hills, and fruitful valleys; Shew it the clusters of Grapes which thou hast gathered; and by those convince it that it is a blessed Land, flowing with better then milk and honey; enter the gates of the holy City; walk through the streets of the New Jerusalem, walk about Sion, go round about her, tell the towers thereof; mark well her bulwarks; consider her palaces, that thou mayest tell it to thy soul (Psal. 48.12, 13.) Hath it not the Glory of God, and is not her light like to a stone most precious? See the twelve foundations of her walls, and the names of the twelve Apostles of

the Lamb therein; The building of the walls of it are of Jasper, and the City is of pure gold as cleer as glass; The foundation is garnished with pretious stones, and the twelve gates are twelve pearls; every several gate is of one Pearl, and the street of the City is pure Gold, as it were transparent glass; There is no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it. It hath no need of Sun or Moon to shine in it, for the Glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof, and the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it. These sayings are faithful and true; and the Lord God of the holy Pro∣phets, hath sent his Angels (and his own Son) to shew unto his servants the things that must shortly be done, Rev. 21.11, 12, 13. &c. to the end, & 22.6. What sayest thou now to all this? This is thy Rest, O my soul, and this must be the place of thy Everlasting habitation: Let all the sons of Sion then rejoyce, and the daughters of Jerusalem be glad, for great is the Lord, and greatly is he praised in the City of our God; Beautiful for scituation, the Joy of the whole earth, is Mount Sion, God is known in her palaces for a refuge, Psal. 48.11, 1, 2, 3.

Yet proceed on: Anima quae amat ascendit, &c. The soul (saith Austin) that loves, ascends frequently, and runs familiarly through the streets of the heavenly Jerusalem, visiting the Patriachs and Prophets, saluting the Apostles, admiring the Armies of Mar∣tyrs and Confessors, &c. So do thou lead on thy heart as from street to street, bring it into the Palace of the Great King; lead it, as it were, from chamber to chamber; say to it, Here must I lodge, here must I live, here must I praise, here must I love, and be beloved: I must shortly be one of this Heavenly Quire, I shall then be better skilled in the musick; Among this blessed company must I take my place; My voice must joyn to make up the Melody, my teares will then be wiped away, my groans are turned to another tune, my cottage of clay will be changed to this Palace, and my prison rags to these splendid robes: my sordid nasty stinking flesh shall be put off, and such a Sun-like spiritual body put on, For the former things are done away.* 1.3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O City of God: There it is that trouble and lamentation ceaseth, and the voice of sorrow is not heard: O when I look upon this glorious place: what a dunghil and dungeon, me thinks, is earth. O what a difference betwixt a man feeble, pained, groaning, dying,

rotting in the grave; and one of these triumphant, blessed, shining Saints?* 1.4 Here shall I drink of the river of pleasure, the streams whereof make glad the City of our God. For the Lord will create a New Jerusalem and a New Earth, and the former shall not be remembred, nor come into minde, we shall be glad and rejoyce for ever in that which he creates: for he will create Jerusalem a rejoycing, and her people a joy; And he will rejoyce in Jerusa∣lem and joy in his people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying: there shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his dayes, Isa. 65.17, 18, 19, 20. Must Israel on earth under the bondage of the Law, serve the Lord with joyfulness and gladness of heart, be∣cause of the abundance of all things which they possess? sure then I shall serve him with joyfulness and gladness, who shall have another kinde of service, and of abundance in Glory? Deut. 28.47. Did the Saints take joyfully the spoiling of their goods? Heb. 11.34. and shall not I take joyfully the receiving of my good, and such a full reparation of all my losses? Was it such a remarkable, cele∣brated day, when the Jews rested from their enemies, because it was turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day? Est. 9.22. What a day then will that be to my soul, whose Rest and change will be so much greater? When the wise men saw but the Star of Christ, they rejoyced with exceeding great Joy, Mat. 2.10. But I shall shortly see the Star of Jacob, even himself who is the bright and morning Star, Numb. 24.17. Rev. 22.16. If they returned from the Se∣pulchre with great Joy, when they had but heard that he was risen from the dead, Mat. 28.8. What Joy then will it be to me, when I shall see him risen and reigning in his glory, and my self raised to a blessed communion with him? Then shall we have Beauty for ashes indeed, and the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, Isa. 61.3. When he hath made Sion an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations, Isa. 60.15.

Why do I not then arise from the dust, and lay aside my sad complaints, and cease my doleful mourning note? Why do I not trample down vain delights, and feed upon the foreseen delights of Glory? why is not my life a continual Joy? and the favor of Heaven perpetually upon my spirit? And thus, Reader, I have di∣rected thee in Acting of thy Joy.

Notes

• * 1.1

  §. 9.
• * 1.2

  Gal. 4.1.
• * 1.3

  Psal. 87.3.
• * 1.4

  Psal. 46.4.