3. Meditations of the Blessed Estate of the Regenerate Man after Death.

THis Estate hath Three Degrees.

1. From the Day of Death to the Resurrection.

2. From the Resurrection to the pro∣nouncing of the Sentence.

3. After the Sentence which lasts eternally.

As soon as ever the regenerate Man hath yielded up his Soul unto Christ, the holy Angels take her into their Custody, and immediatelyg carry her into Heaven, and there present herh before Christ, where she is crowned with aiCrown of Righteous¦ness and Glory; not which she hath deser∣ved by her good works, but which God Page  70 hath promised of his free goodness to all those who of love have in this life unfeign∣edly served him, and sought his glory.

Oh, what joy will it be to thy Soul! which was wont to see nothing but misery and sinners, now to behold the face of the God of glory; yea, to see Christ welcoming thee, as soon as thou art presented be∣fore him by the holy Angels, with an Euge, bone serve! well done, and welcome, good and faithful servant, &c. enter into thy Master's joy.* And what joy will this be,* to behold thousand thousands of Cherubims, Seraphims, Angels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers? All the holy Pa∣triarchs, Priests, Prophets, Apostles, Mar∣tyrs, Confessors, and all the Souls of thy Friends, Parents, Husbands, Wives, Chil∣dren, and the rest of God's Saints, who departed before thee in the true Faith of Christ, standing before God's Throne in bliss and glory? If the Queen of Sheba beholding the glory and attendance given to Solomon, as it were ravished therewith, brake out and said;*Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants which stand ever before thee and hear thy wisdom! How shall thy soul be ravished to see her self by grace admitted to stand with this glorious Com∣pany! to behold the Blessed face of Christ, and to hear all the Treasures of his Di∣vine Wisdom! How shalt thou rejoyce to see so many thousand thousands welcom∣ing thee into their Heavenly Society! for as they all rejoyced at thy Conversion,* so Page  71 will they now be much more joyful to be∣hold thy Coronation: and to see thee re∣ceive thy Crown,* which was laid up for thee against thy coming. For there the Crown of martyrdom shall be put on the head of a Martyr, who for Christ's Go∣spel-sake endured Torments; the Crown of Virginity on the head of a Virgin, who subdued concupiscence; the Crown of Piety and Chastity on the head of them, who sincerely professed Christ, and kept their wedlock-bed undefiled; the Crown of good works on the good Alms-giver's head, who liberally relieved the Poor; the Crown of incorruptible glory on the head of those Pastors, who by their preaching and good example, have con∣verted Souls from the corruption of sin, to glorifie God in holiness of life. Who can sufficiently express the rejoycing of this heavenly company,* to see thee thus crowned with glory, arraied with the shining robe of righteousness, and to behold the Palm of Vi∣ctory put into thy hand? Oh, what gratu∣lation will there be, that thou hast escaped all the miseries of the World, the snares of the Devil, the pains of Hell, and ob∣tained with them thy eternal rest and happiness? For there every one joyeth as much in another's happiness, as in his own, because he shall see him as much loved of God as himself. Yea, they have as many distinct joys, as they have co-partners of their joy. And in this joyful and blessed state, the Soul resteth with Page  72 Christ in Heaven,* till the Resurrection; when as the number of her fellow servants and brethren be fulfilled, which the Lord termeth but a little season.

The second degree of Man's Blessed∣ness after Death, is from the Resurrection to the pronouncing of the final Sentence. For at the last day,

1. The Elementary Heavens, Earth, and all things therein, shall beadissolved, and purified with Fire.

2. At theb sound of the last Trumpet, or voice of Christ,* the Archangel, the very same Bodies,*which the Elect had before (though turned to Dust and Earth) shall arise again. And in the same instant,* every Man's Soul shall re-enter into his own Bo∣dy by virtue of thec resurrection of Christ their Head, and bed made alive, and rise out of their Graves, as if they did but awake out of their beds; and howsoever Tyran's be mangled their Bodies in pieces, or con∣sumed them to ashes, yet shall the Elect find it true at that day, that not an hair of their head is perished.

3. They shall come forth out of their Graves,* like so many Josephs out of Prison, or Daniels out of the Lion's Den, or Jonahs out of the Whale's Belly.

4. All the Bodies of the Elect being thus made alive, shall arise in thateperfection of Nature, whereunto they should have at∣tained by their natural temperament, if no impediment had hindred; and in that vigour of age, that a perfect Man is at a∣bout Page  73 33 years old, each in theiraproper sex. Whereunto Divines think the Apostle allu∣deth, when he saith,bTill we all come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age (or stature) of the fulness of Christ. Whatso∣ever imperfection was before in the Body, (as blindness, lameness, crookedness) shall then be done away. Jacob shall not halt, nor Isaac be blind, nor Leah bleer-ey'd, nor Mephibosheth be lame; for if David would not have the blind and lame to come into his House, much less will Christ have blind∣ness and lameness to dwell in his heavenly Habitation. Christ made all the blind to see, the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, &c. that came to him to seek his grace on Earth: much more will he heal all their imperfections, whom he will admit to his glory in Heaven.*Among those Tribes, there is not one feeble,*but the lame man shall leap as an Hart, and the dumb man's tongue shall sing: And it is very probable, that seeing God Created our first Parents, not Infants, or old Men, but of a perfect age or stature: the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, or new Creation from Death, shall every where be more perfect than the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, or first frame of Man, from which he fell into the state of the dead. Neither is it like that infancy, being imperfection, and old age corruption, can well stand with the state of a perfect glorified Body.

5. The Bodies of the Elect being thus raised, shall have four most excellent and supernatural qualities: For,

Page  74
• 1. They shall be raised in Power,* whereby they shall for ever be freed from all wants and weaknesses, and enabled to continue without the use of Meat, Drink, Sleep, and other former helps.
• 2. In Incorruption,* whereby they shall never be subject to any manner of Imperfections, Blemish, Sickness, or Death.
• 3. In*Glory,* whereby their Bodies shall shine as bright as the Sun in the Firmament, and which being made transparent, their Souls shall shine through, far more glorious than their Bodies.* Three glimpses of which Glory were seen: First, In†Moses's Face: Secondly, In the*Transfiguration: Thirdly, In Ste∣phen's † Countenance. Three In∣stances and Assurances of the glorifi∣cation of our Bodies at that glorious Day. Then shall David lay aside his Shepherd's Weed,* and put on the Robe of the King's Son Je∣sus, not Jonathan's. Then every true Mordecai, (who mourned un∣der the Sackeloth of this corrupt Flesh) shall be arrayed with the King's Royal Apparel,* and have the Crown Royal set upon his Head, that all the World may see how it shall be done to him whom the King of Kings delighteth to honour. If now the rising of one Sun Page  75 makes the morning so glorious; how glorious shall that Day be when innumerable Millions of Mil∣lions of Bodies of Saints and Angels shall appear more glorious than the brightness of the Sun! the Body of Christ in glory surpassing all.
• 4. In*Agility, whereby our bodies shall be able to ascend and meet the Lord at his glorious coming in the Air, as Eagles flying unto their Blessed Carcass.* To this Agility of the Saints glorious Bodies, the Pro∣phet alludes, saying,†They shall renew their strength: They shall mount up with wings as Eagles: They shall run and not be weary: They shall walk and not faint. And to this state may that saying of Wisdom be referred;*In the time of their Vision, they shall shine, and run to and fro, as sparks amongst the stub∣ble.
• And in respect of these four Qua∣lities,*Paul calleth the raised bo∣dies of the Elect, Spiritual; for they shall be spiritual in qualities, but the same still in substance.

And howsoever sin and corruption make a Man in this state of Mortality lower than Angels; yet surely when God shall thus crown him with glory and honour, I cannot see how Man shall be any thing inferiour to Angels: For, are they Spirits? so is Man also in respect of his Soul;Page  76 yea more than this; they shall have also a spiritual body,*fashioned like unto the glo∣rious body of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom Man's Nature is exalted by a personal Vni∣on, into the Glory of the Godhead,* and in∣dividual Society of the Blessed Trinity; an Honour which he never vouchsafed An∣gels. And in this respect Man hath a Prerogative above them▪ Nay,* they are but Spirits appointed to be Ministers un∣to the Elect:* and as many of them, who at the first disdained this Office, and would not keep their* first standing, were for their pride† hurried into Hell. This lesseneth not the Dignity of Angels, but extols the greatness of God's love to Mankind.

But as for all the Elect, who at that se∣cond and sudden coming of Christ, shall be found quick and living, thea fire that shall burn up the corruption of the world, and the works therein, shall in abmoment, in the twinkling of an Eye, overtake them, as itc finds them, either grinding, in the Mill of Provision, or walking in the Fields of pleasure, or lying in the bed of ease; and so (burning up their dross and cor∣ruption) of Mortal make them Immortal Bodies: and this change shall be unto them instead of Death.

Then shall the Soul with joyfulness greet her Body,* saying, O well met again my dear Sister. How sweet is thy Voice! How comely is thy countenance having lain hid so long in the Clefts of the Rocks, and in Page  77 the secret places of the grave! thou art in∣deed an habitation fit, not only for me to dwell in, but such as the H. Ghost thinks meet to reside in, as his Temple for ever. The Winter of our affliction is now past; the storm of our misery is blown over and gone. The Bodies of our Elect Bre∣thren appear more glorious than the Lily-flowers on the Earth: the time of singing Hallelujahs is come, and the voice of the Trumpet is heard in the Land. Thou hast been my Yoke-fellow in the Lord's la∣bours, and companion in persecutions and wrongs for Christ and his Gospel sake; now shall we enter together into our Master's Joy. As thou hast born with me the Cross, so shalt thou now wear with me the Crown. As thou hast with me sowed plenteously in tears, so shalt thou reap with me abun∣dantly in joy. O blessed, ay blessed be that God! who (when yonder Reprobates spent their whole time in Pride, fleshly Lusts, eating, drinking, and prophane Vanities) gave us grace to join together in watch∣ing, fasting, praying, reading the Scriptures, keeping his Sabbaths, hearing Sermons, receiving the holy Communion, relieving the Poor, exercising (in all humility) the works of Piety to God, and walking conscionably in the Duties of our calling towards Men. Thou shalt anon hear no mention of thy sins, for they are remitted and covered, but every good work,* which thou hast done for the Lord's sake, shall be rehearsed, and rewarded.

Page  78 Chear up thy heart, for thy Judge is flesh of thy flesh,* and bone of thy bone. Lift up thy head, behold these glorious Angels, like so many Gabriels flying to∣wards us,* to tell us, That the day of our Re∣demption is come, and to convey us in the Clouds, to meet our Redeemer in the Air. Lo,* they are at hand: Arise therefore, my Dove, my Love, my fair One, and come away. And so like Roes or young Harts, they run with Angels towards Christ over the trembling Mountains of Bether.

6. Both quick and dead being thus re∣vived and glo••fied, shall forthwith (by the ministry of God's holy Angels) be gathered from all the quarters and parts of the world,* and caught up together in the Clouds, to meet the Lord in the Air, and so shall come with him, as a part of his glorious Train, to judge the Reprobates and evil Angels.* The twelve Apostles shall sit upon twelve thrones (next Christ) to judge the twelve Tribes,* (who refused to hear the Gospel preached by their Ministry) and all the Saints (in• honour and order) shall stand next unto them, as Judges also, to judge the evil Angels and earthly-minded Men. And as every of them received grace in this life, to be more zealous of his glory, and more faithful in his service than others:* so shall their glory and reward be greater than others in that Day.

The place whither they shall be gathered unto Christ, and where Christ shall sit in judgment, shall be in the*Air over the Page  79Valley of Jehoshaphat, by Mount Olivet, near unto Jerusalem, Eastward from the Tem∣ple as it is probable for four reasons.

1. Because the holy Scripture see•s to intimate so much in plain words,a I wi• gather all Nations into the valley of Jehosha∣•phat, and plead with them there.b Cause thy mighty one to come down, O Lord, let the hea∣then be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge a• the heathen round about. Jehoshaphat signi∣fieth, the Lord will judge. And this Valley was so called, from the greatcvictory which the Lord gaved Jehoshaphat, and his people over the Ammonites, Moabites, and inhabitants of Mount Seir. Which victory was a type of the final victory, which Christ, •he supream Judge shall give his Elect over •ll their enemies in that place, at the last •ay, as all the Jews interpret it. See Zech. •. 4, 5. Psalm 51. 1, 2, &c. all agreeing ••at the place shall be thereabouts.

2. Because that as Christ was therea∣••uts crucified, and put to open shame; ••over that place his glorious Throne •hould be erected in the Air, when he ••all appear in Judgment, to manifest his Majesty and Glory. For it is meet that ••st should in that place judge the •orld with righteous Judgment, where • himself was unjustly judged and con∣•mned.

3. Because that seeing the Angels shall • sent to gather together the elect from the •••r winds, from one end of heaven to the Page  80 other; it is most probable, that the place whither they shall be gathered to, shall be near Jerusalem, and the Vally of Jehosha∣phat; whichaCosmographers describe to be in the midst of the supersicies of the Earth; if the termini à quibus be the four parts of the world, the terminus ad quem must be about the Center.

4. Because the Angels told the Di∣sciples, that as they sawbChrist ascend from Mount Olivet, which is over the Vally of Jehoshaphat, so he shall in like manner come down from Heaven. This is the opinion ofcAquinas and all the Schoolmen, except Lombard and Alex∣ander Hales.

5. Lastly, When Christ is set in his glo∣riousdThrone, and all theemany Thousands of his Saints, and Angels, shining more bright than so many Suns in glory, sitting about him; and the Body of Christ in glory and brightness surpassing them all: the Re∣probates bei•g separate and remaining beneath upon the earth (for the right-hand signifies a blessed, the left-hand a cursed estate) Christ will first pronounce the sen∣tence of absolution, and bliss upon the E∣lect: First, because he will thereby in∣crease the grief of the Reprobate that shall hear it. Secondly, to shew himself more pro•e tofmercy than to Judgment. And thus from his Throne of Majesty in the Air, he shall (in the sight and hearing of all the World) p•onounce unto his Elect, Come ye blessed of my Father, and inherit the Page  81 Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world, &c.*

Come ye] Here is our blessed Vnion with Christ, and by him with the whole Trinity

Blessed] Here is our absolution from all sins, and our plenary Endowments with all Grace and Happiness.

Of my Father] Here is the Author, from whom by Christ proceeds our Felicity.

Inherit] Here is our Adoption▪

The Kingdom] Behold our Birth-right and Poss•ssion.

Prepared] See God's Fatherly Care for his chosen.

From the foundation of the World] O the free, Eternal, unchangeable Election of God!

How much are those Souls bound to love God, who of his meer good Will and Pleasure, chose and loved them,* before they had done either good or evil?

For I was hungry, &c.] O the goodness of Christ, who takes notice of all the good works of his Children to reward them! How great is his love to poor Christians, who takes every work of mercy done to them for his sake, as if it had been done to himself: Come ye to me, in whom ye have believed, before ye saw me,* and whom ye have loved and sought for with so much devotion, and through so many tribulations: Come now, from labour to rest, from disgrace to glory, from the jaws of Death, to the joys of eternal Life;Page  82 For my sake ye have been railed upon,*re∣viled and cursed. But now it shall appear to all those cursed Esau's, that you are the •rue Jacobs, that shall receive your hea∣venly Father's blessing; and blessed shall you be. Your fathers, mothers, and nearest kin∣dred forsook and cast you off,* for my truth's sake,* which you maintained; but now my Father will be unto you a Father,* and you shall be his Sons and Daughters for ever.* You were cast out of your lands and li∣vings, and forsook all for my sake and the go∣spels; but that it may appear that you have no•lost your gain, but gained by your loss, instead of an earthly inheritance and posses∣sion, you shall poss•ss with me the i•heri∣tance of my heavenly kingdom; where you shall be for love, sons; for birth-right, heirs; for dignity, kings; for holiness, priests; and you may be bold to enter into the possession thereof now, because my Father prepared and kept it for you ever since the first foundation of the World was laid.

Immediately after this sentence of Ab∣solution and Benediction, every one recei∣veth his crown, which Christ the righteous Judge pu•s upon their Heads,* as the reward which he hath promised of his Grace and Mercy,* unto the Faith and good Works of all them that loved that his appear∣ing.* Then every one taking his crown from his head, shall lay it down (as it were) at the feet of Christ; and prostrating them∣selves, shall with one heart and voice, in an heavenly sort and consort say, Praise Page  83 and Honour, and Glory, and Power, and Thanks be unto thee, O blessed Lamb, who sittest upon the Throne, wert killed, and hast redeemed us to God by thy Blood, out of every Kindred, and Tongue, and People, and Nati∣on, and hast made us unto our God, Kings and Priests, to reign with thee in thy Kingdom for evermore. Amen.

Then shall they sit in their Thrones and Orders,* as Judges of the Reprobates,* and evil Angels, by approving a•d giving testi∣mony to the righteous Sentence and Judg∣ment of Christ the Supreme Judge.

After the pronouncing of the Reprobates Sentence and Condemnation, Christ will perform two solemn Actions.

1. The presenting of all the Elect unto his Father: Behold,* O righteous Father, these are they whom thou gavest me, I have kept them, and none of them is lost. I gave them thy word, and they believed it, and the world hated them, because they were not of the world, even as I was not of the world. And now, Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; and that I may be in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one: that the world may know that thou hast sent me; and that thou hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

2. Christ shall deliver up the Kingdom to God,* even the Father; that is, shall cease to execute his office of Mediatorship, whereby as he is King, Priest, Prophet, and Page  84supreme Head of the Church, he suppres∣sed his Enemies, and ruled his faithful People by his Spirit, Word, and Sacra∣•••ts. So that his Kingdom of Grace over his Church in this World ceasing, he shall 〈◊〉 immediately as he is God equal with •he Father and the H. Ghost, in his King∣dom of Glory for evermore. Not that the dignity of his Manhood shall be any thing diminished, but that the glory of his God∣head shall be more manifested; so that as he is God, he shall from thenceforth in all fulness, without all external means, rule all in all.

From this Tribunal-seat Christ shall a∣rise, and with all his glorious company of Elect Angels and Saints, he shall go up tri∣umphantly in order and aray unto the Hea∣ven of Heavens, with such an heavenly noise and musick, that now may that song of Da∣vid be truly verified,* God is gone up with a triumph, the Lord with the sound of the trum∣pets. Sing praises to God, sing praises, sing praises unto our King, sing praises: for God is King of all the earth, he is greatly to be ex¦alted. And that Marriage-song of John, Let us be glad and rejoyce, and give honour to him:* for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made her self ready. Alle∣lujah; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

The Third and last degree of the blessed state of a Regenerate Man after Death, begins after the pronouncing of the Sentence, and lasteth eternally with∣out all end.