A prospect of heaven, or, A treatise of the happiness of the saints in glory wherein is described the nature and quality, the excellency and certainty of it : together with the circumstances, substance and adjuncts of that glory : the unspeakable misery of those that lose it, and the right way to obtain it : shewing also the disproportion between the saints present sufferings, and their future glory : many weighty questions discussed and divers cases cleered / by William Gearing ...

A PROSPECT OF HEAVEN.

Rom. 8.18.

For I reckon, that the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.

CHAP. I.

THE Apostle having set forth the work and wages, the duty and the reward of the Sons of God; shewing that their work is to suffer with Christ, their re∣ward to reign with Christ in glory; in this Verse he preventeth an Objection, which might arise in the mind of a Believer, that might discourage

him from suffering valiantly and patiently, as a good Souldier of Jesus Christ: for it might be ob∣jected, you tell us of glory; but that glory is dear∣ly bought, that must cost so many grievous trials and afflictions, as we are like to meet with: yet this is satisfied, by setting forth the pettiness of the afflictions of this life, in comparison of future glory. Be your afflictions never so many, be they as great, as grievous as can be imagined and en∣dured, yet the glory which shall be revealed in you, is far greater then all your sufferings.

The words are a peremptory conclusion, in which we may observe,

1. The Person making the conclusion; I Paul.

2. The Things concerning which the conclu∣sion is made; the Afflictions of this life, and fu∣ture Glory.

3. The Thing concluded; that there is no com∣parison between the one and the other. Now for explication of the words.

I reckon.] I Paul, that have had great experi∣ence of the sufferings of this life, (we may read a narrative of his sufferings 2 Cor. 11.23. ad vers. 31.) I also that have had this high privi∣ledg, above all the Apostles, to be rapt up into Paradise, and saw such glory, and heard such un∣speakable words, or things, which are impossible for a man to utter with his tongue: therefore St. Paul's peremptory conclusion is to be credited.* 1.1 [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉] I rec∣kon. This word importeth not a

probable conjecture of the Apostle, as the old Translation Existimo, and the Rhe∣mists would have it; which Erasmus* 1.2 disliketh, because it doth not fully express the sence of it; who interprets the word reputo, I account, or resolve in my mind. But the word properly signifieth, to decree and de∣termine a thing after much reasoning on both sides; therefore many render it statuo, I do or∣dain, decree, or determine: and so it noteth a tried, weighed, and experienced conclusion, pro∣ceeding from an infallible spirit and judgment; and is a Metaphor taken from such, as casting an Account, do find what the Sum amounts unto. He doth not say, I think, or it is my opinion, but it is my reckoning. St. Paul did put afflictions in one seale of the ballance, and glory in the other; and this he determineth, that glory doth by far weigh down all our present sufferings. This is the matter of his account; he instanceth rather in the passive than in the active obedience of the Saints; not because it is more excellent or diffi∣cult (for an ungodly man may be brought to suffer, but cannot truly perform a gracious work) but because it is more grievous and painful.

The Greek word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, passiones, transla∣ted sufferings, includes all manner of evils, which we do or can suffer, as reproaches, cruel mock∣ings, scourgings, revilings, troubles, pains, dis∣eases, hunger, cold, nakedness, perils, loss of li∣berty and life it self.

These afflictions are said in the Greek to be of the time which is now.* 1.3 By this may be understood either generally our life-time, or else the whole time of the Worlds continuance; as if he should say, were all the afflictions that ever have been, are, or shall be inflicted upon us, were they all collected together to fall upon one Chri∣stian, and were they (as an heavy and intollera∣ble burthen) to lie upon him so long as the World shall last, yet could they not consist with the Saints glory that shall be revealed hereafter: Or more particularly, it may be taken for the times of the Apostles of the Primitive Church, at what time there were the sorest and most raging Persecu∣tions, and then they yield us an argument a ma∣jori: if the sufferings of those times were not worthy, then much less the sufferings of any other time.

Are not worthy to be compared.] 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. The Greek word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as Grammarians note, doth signifie those things, which being put in the ballance, are of equal weight and poise one to the other; and from thence it is taken to signifie worth or worthiness;* 1.4 because there is a full correspondence of value, betwixt that which is said to be worthy, and the thing it is wor∣thy of; and according to this usual signification of the word, do we translate here, not worthy of

the glory, &c. his meaning is, (according to the proper signification of the Greek word) they are not of equal weight, they agree neither in quantity nor quality; were the afflictions of this life weighed with the Saints glory hereafter, they would hold no weight with them, there being no proportion, no equipollency between them: it is a Metaphor taken from those that put things very light in one scale, and things very ponderous in the other, which will hold no proportion; were the sufferings of this life weighed with the glory to come, they would be but light in compari∣son.

The vulgar Latin reads the words thus; the sufferings of this present time are not condign to the glory to come; they say,* 1.5 we should not say, they are worthy of the glory, but they are not equal to the glory, &c. now according to their Tran∣slation, what is condign, but equal or comparable in worth? whence they take their meritum con∣digni, or ex condigno, to be that in value or worth which is equivalent to the re∣ward. Therefore Arias Monta∣nus,* 1.6 ad verbum, reads it thus; the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to the glory to come: which, what is it but the same to say, they are not comparable in worth to the glory to come? so that this Translation of ours is

approved even by the Papists themselves. St. Augustine* 1.7 saith, that the holy Martyrs are not to be proud, as if they did any worthy matter for the partici∣pation of that Country, where is eternal and true happiness; and alleadgeth afterward for reason hereof these words, because, as the Apo∣stle saith, the sufferings of this time are unworthy of the glory that shall be re∣vealed. St. Bernard* 1.8 affirming that the merits of men are not such, as that eternal life may be due unto them of right; and asking, what are all merits to so great a glory? for confirmation citeth these very same words, and addeth, no not if one man did endure them all. And Fulgentius* 1.9 having said, that the gift of God's reward doth in∣comparably, and unspeakably exceed all the merits of mans good will and works, brings for proof hereof these words of St. Paul in my Text, That the sufferings of this pre∣sent time, are not worthy to be compared, &c.

With the glory.] Musculus* 1.10 out of Chrysostom observeth, that because the Apostle could not find a word expressing that hap∣piness which the Saints shall enjoy, therefore he expresseth it by glory; which is that which every

man affecteth, and doth abhor shame and con∣fusion, which is contrary to glory: the excel∣lency of the Saints future happiness, is set forth by this word glory. Musculus gives another rea∣son why he mentioneth glory, viz. because the Cross of Christ is most ignominious, full of shame in the world; and therefore that we may despise the shame, and endure the cross with Christ, he mentioneth glory; to run the Race of shame is nothing, if glory be at the Goal.

That shall be revealed.] Shewing, that as yet it is invisible; and whatsoever joy and comfort we meet with here, this is not the joy, the glory that shall be revealed hereafter: glory may be revealed, and we not partakers of it; there∣fore it is said, it shall be revealed 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, in us, or conferred upon us: we shall shine as the Sun; our glory shall be revealed in the sight of the Sun, in the open Air.

CHAP. II.

IN this Verse thus opened, many truths do concur.

1. That there is a State of Glory, provided, kept, and laid up for the Saints.

2. That this glory is yet unknown, not reveal-in us, nor fully apprehended by us.

3. That there will a time come, when the glo∣ry of the Saints shall be displaied and revealed.

4. That the time of Gods children in this world is a time of afflictions and sufferings, that is their portion, Luk. 16.25.

5. They have not some one cross, but many afflictions; it is [afflictions] in the plural num∣ber: Many are the afflictions of the Righteous, Psal. 34.19. We must through manifold tribu∣lations enter into Heaven, Act. 14.22.

6. The afflictions of Gods people are but short and momentary, they are but the afflictions of this present time, Psal. 30.5, 6. For a little season they are in heaviness, 1 Pet. 1.6. The time of their afflictions is but short, but for the time of this life, and then all tears shall be wiped from their eyes.

7. That the ready way to know the transcen∣dency of Heaven's Glory above the afflictions of this present time, is to weigh both in the bal∣lance of right reason.

8. That there is no proportion or comparison between a believers present sufferings, and his future glory.

9. That a right sense of Heaven's Glory will make us to slight all the sufferings of this present time, and to have mean thoughts of them in comparison of the future recompence.

Now when it is said, that the afflictions of this present time, or the afflictions of this life, are unworthy of the glory that shall be re∣vealed; of whose afflictions and sufferings is it spoken, but of the Saints who suffer by the gift and grace of God, are members of Christ, and

Temples of the holy Ghost, even of those suffer∣ings wherein they suffer with Christ; of which St. Ambrose* 1.11 saith (to shew the meaning of the words here in hand) he is altogether glorifi∣ed, who in suffering for him, suffereth with him: and that the Apostle may exhort us to sufferings, he addeth, that all these things which we suffer are too little and unworthy, that for the pains thereof so great reward of good things to come should be returned to us.

CHAP. III.

Sect. 1. A description of Glory.

MY purpose from this Text (God assisting me) shall be to discourse at large of the glory of Heaven; that glory which he hath laid up for his Saints, and with which he will Crown them hereafter; albeit in this world they are de∣based, vilified, and put to shame, yet hereafter they shall be glorified.

Here in the first place, let us consider what glory is: Glory* 1.12 ta•••••• properly, doth note unto us that high esteem which any have of some special worth and excellency in others, or of some notable acts wrought by others. So the glory of God, is that high esteem and account which

men and Angels do in their apprehensions en∣tertain of the excellency, majesty, goodness, pow∣er, perfection, and al-sufficiency of God; espe∣cially that which the Saints and Angels do con∣ceive of him, whose apprehension of Gods ex∣cellency and infinite perfection is mixt with an entire love of God. When we discern a spe∣cial excellency in a person whom we entirely love, this will enlarge our apprehensions in dis∣cerning the excellency of such a person. He that loveth the Lord sincerely, will see more glo∣rious excellencies then another; yet even the enemies of God cannot so shut their eyes, but that many of them, even against their wills, shall have a glorious esteem of the Lords excellency.* 1.13 Pharaoh could not but discern a glorious excel∣lency of power and Justice in the Lord, when he saw his hand so heavy, and his stroakes so multiplyed upon him and his people. The ma∣lignity of their Spirits against the Lord doth ec∣clipse the brightness of the glory of God shining unto them, but yet it cannot altogether darken it. The utter darkness that is in the bottomless pit•• cannot hinder, but that the glory of God's Power, Wisdom, and Justice, shall appear to the Devil himself; and he shall be forced to enter∣tain an high esteem of his excellency and perfe∣ction, although there doth not one glimps of his love and favour shine there. So the glory of the Saints (properly) is that high esteem which

others have of the excellency which God hath put upon them, and of the graces of God shin∣ing in them.

But I take it, it is more often used in Scrip∣ture for such glorious excellencies, as do deserve or cause such an high esteem of those in whom they are. So of St. Stephen it is said, That he saw the glory of God, Act. 7.25. That is, a glo∣rious brightness, and representation of Gods pre∣sence, which could not but cause an high and glorious esteem of so excellent a Majesty in all beholders. There are glorious excellencies which God in this life hath begun in his chil∣dren: in which sence glory is taken for the foun∣dation of that which is properly called glory, for that which produceth glory, or causeth an high esteem in the hearts and minds of others: so that this is glory radically, whereas an high esteem following hereupon is glory formally and properly.

Now then take glory in this sense for any glorious excellencies in any person, we must di∣stinguish a main and mighty difference between the fullness of glorious excellency which is origi∣nally in the Creatour, and that degree of glo∣rious excellency which is derived to the Crea∣ture. His glory is his own; the glory of the Creatures is not their own, but borrowed, it is the glory of God shining in them. Now this glory which the God of all glory hath put upon the Creatures is of divers kinds, as we may learn

from the Apostles words, 1 Cor. 15.40, 41. The glory of the Celestial is one, and the glory of the Terrestial is another. There is one glory of the Sun, and another glory of the Moon, and another of the Stars; for one Star differeth from another in glory. So there is a glory in unreasonable, and a glory in reasonable and intellectual Creatures.

1. In unreasonable: there is a glorious excel∣lency, splendor, and brightness put upon the Sun, Moon, and Stars, as in that former place. The very Flowers of the Field have some glimpse of glory put upon them. Behold the Lillies of the Field, saith our Saviour, I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory, was not clothed like one of them, Matth. 6. There was more glory in the native beauty of a Lilly, than in all the lustre which art and cost was able to weave into King Solomon's rich and royal Robes. So those passages, Job. 39.19, 20. which the Lord uttered with his own mouth for Job's conviction and hu∣miliation, do serve to shew some degrees of glory and excellency, wherewith the Lord had adorn'd and beautified divers of the bruit Creatures; as among others, the Horse; where ye must con∣ceive, that he speaks of a prime one for shape and spirit. Hast thou given the Horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with Thunder? canst thou make him afraid, as a Grashopper? The glory of his nostrils is terrible; he paweth in the vally, and re∣joyceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh ••t fear, and is not affrighted,

neither turneth back from the sword: The quiver ratleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield, &c. Now as the Sun shining upon the Earth, or upon a Wall, or the like, maketh it shine and glister, and communicateth its glory to it, and yet it is the brightness of the Sun we know, and not of the Wall: so these glorious ex∣cellencies, in any degree appearing in the Crea∣tures, is the glory of God, and not of the Crea∣tures.

2. On the other side, there is a glory of rea∣sonable, or intellectual Creatures; and first, of Angels, who are full of glorious excellencies. Se∣condly, of Men, who may have glorious excel∣lencies in them of divers kinds:

• ...Natural,
• ...Civil,
• ...Spiritual.

Natural, viz. an eminency of endowments in body and mind. Civil, extraordinary abilities for managing of publick Affairs in Peace and War▪ and notable atchievements or performances of this kind. Such eminency was in Saul, Nebu∣chadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and these things made them glorious in a degree. But as the Apostle saith in another case, the glory of the Terrestrial is one, the glory of the Cele∣stial is another; so all this is but Terrestrial glo∣ry: it is Spiritual and Celestial glory which here we are to speak of; a special eminency and glo∣rious excellency in spiritual and heavenly things

bestowed upon the Children of God; and these are imperfect in this world, and fully perfected and consummated in the world to come.

Glory (to speak properly of that which is to come) I rather conceive to be the general, comprehending holiness it self, and all other ex∣cellencies of this glorious estate and condition, then a part or member distinguished from it: for that perfection of holiness which the Saints shall then enjoy, shall be exceeding glorious: but thus I speak according to our usual manner of expressing these things. The glory of the Saints in Heaven is that which accomplisheth that which grace hath begun, and setteth a Seale upon the fullness of all our felicities. Glory (as one well observeth) implieth some great eminency and excellency,* 1.14 as the foundation of it, and then a manifestation of that excellency: Though there be excellency, yet if there be not a manifestation thereof, it is not Glory. Christ was inwardly glorious while he was upon earth, in the state of abasement he had true glory as he was God and man, but there was not a manifestation of it till he was received up into glory; therefore the glory of the Saints is called the manifestation of the Sons of God, Rom. 8.19. Glory also im∣plyeth victory over all opposition: here God's children are subject to abasement, to shame, to sufferings in divers kinds: but glory will exempt them from all baseness, and all that may diminish

esteem and excellency, and in the day of their glorification their excellency shall shine and break forth, and all things shall be removed that might hinder their glory: so that glorified souls shall be like that Egyptian Pyramid, which perpendi∣cularly reflected on by the Sun, did cast no sha∣dow. When the Saints shall appear with Christ in glory, they shall appear as so many glorious Conquerours over their enemies, they shall see Sin and Satan their Spiritual enemies subdued, and they shall appear Conquerours over wicked men, who did in this life trample upon them, and they shall see them damned before their faces.

SECT. II.

ADam in Paradise was but a little inferiour to the Angels, and crowned with glory and honour, Psal. 8. He discoursed familiarly with the Angels, and he knew, that his Soul (though included in a body) was little inferiour to those blessed Spirits: but hereafter the Saints shall be made like or equal to the Angels. The Lord will raise his Saints to a higher pitch of glory then Adam was in Paradise, which may thus be illustrated.

1. Adam was made Lord of the inferiour Creatures; in that happy State all was submit∣ted to his will, he was equally absolute in his Person and Dominion, he was Lord of the Uni∣verse:

but the Saints at the last day shall be rai∣sed to such a degree of glory, that they shall have no need nor use of these inferiour Creatures: the Fowls of the Air, the Fishes of the Sea, the Beasts of the Earth were put under the feet of Adam before his fall, but then they shall be be∣low all the necessities of the Saints, who shall be raised far above these things, enjoying all in, and from the fountain of life: God himself living and reigning with his children, will be their ever∣lasting inheritance, he will fill all their desires, perfect all the powers of their Souls, and com∣municate himself so surely and so abundantly to them, that as there is nothing they have cause to fear, so there is nothing they need or can wish for.

2. Adam indeed was crowned with Glory, but yet left in a possibility to stain his Glory. Man in Paradise could not raise himself up to God, nor defend himself against the Devil without the assistance of grace, saith St. August.* 1.15 he was there∣fore soon exiled from Paradise, and constrained to endure a banishment as long as life; and here he undergoes all the miseries of an exterminated person, he is deprived of his goods, and being driven out of Paradise, is fallen from all those honours that equalled his condition to that of Angels, and reduced to a deplorable estate, rendring his condition little different from that of the beasts that perish. Job

was more happy in his misery (saith the same Father) then Adam in his Innocence:* 1.16 he was victorious on the dunghil, this other was defeated on his Throne: He gave no ear to the evil counsel of his wife; this other was cajol'd b•• His: He despised all the assaults of Satan; this other suffered himself to be worsted at the first temptation: He preserved his righteousness in the midst of his so••rows, this other lost his innocence in the midst of his pleasures. The first man (saith he in another place) received in Paradise a liberty void of all servitude; God presented him with fire and water, and gave him leave to chuse: man took fire, and rejected the water: God who is just, let him grasp what he had chosen; so that he was therefore unhappy, because he would be so: Man was left in a possi∣bility to stain his honour, and lose his glory: he did not long abide in that honour. Adam fell (as is probable) the same day he was created:

1. Because Christ saith of the Devil, he was a murtherer from the beginning, John 8.44. His malicious mind being such toward them that stood (himself being fallen) that he could not endure to see them in that estate, no not for an hour. 2. If he had continued one day or one night in his integrity, the blessing of God upon his Marriage would have taken place, and so he would have begotten children without sin, which sith he did not, but begat Children in his own

Image, Gen. 5.3. It's likely he fell the same day wherein he was Created. 3. See the Answer that Eve makes to the Devil, Gen. 3.2. We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the Garden, i. e. Have free liberty to eat, signifying that as yet they had not eaten, and therefore it could be no long time. But the Saints at the last day shall be raised to such a state of glory and honour, as shall never fade, their Crown and Garland shall never wither: fading glory is very imper∣fect, it is like a flash of lightning. Adam was tempted and lost his present Glory, his dignity was soon gone; but the Glory that God will put upon his Saints shall be like the fixed Stars shining in the Kingdom of the Father; they shall be like unto Christ, whose Glory is Eter∣nal: this is the greatest and last benefit they shall receive by Christ, far greater then Adam's in his state of innocence.

St. John saith, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, 1 John 3.2. that is, like him in glory. Now, when I say the Saints shall be like unto Christ, you must consider, that there is a great difference between likeness and equality. Things may be like each other, which may be very un∣equal; Water in a Dish, is like the Water in the River, but very unequal to it: An Infant in the day of his Birth, may be like the Parents, but not equal to them. Adam was made in the like∣ness of his Maker, but when he sought to be his equal, it was his ruine. So great is the difference

between likeness and equality, that the former the Lord gave him freely; but his affecting and seeking the latter, was so displeasing to the Lord, that he deprived him of the former also: so that whereas being like to God, he sought to be equal also; he became neither equal to him, nor like him, but contrary to him. So in this case, the faithful shall be like to Christ, but not his equals; as the Stars are in some degree like the Sun, but not equal in glory and brightness. Now,

1. Christ being God and Man, having two Natures united into one Person, each Nature hath a peculiar glory. The Divine Nature being infinite, incomprehensible, eternal, the glory of Christ is his very Nature; it is infinite, incom∣prehensible, and eternal glory; it is called light inaccessible. The Humane Nature of Christ be∣ing a finite being, the glory thereof is but finite; this glory was given him by his Father; God raised him from the dead, and gave him glory, 1 Pet. 1.21. Our Natures being the same with his Humane Nature, we shall be like him in this glory, our Natures being capable of the same glory.

2. Yet although the glory of Christ's Humane Nature be but (as his Nature) finite, yet this glory doth above all measure exceed all the glory of all the Angels and glorified Saints. All the glory of Saints and Angels compared to Christ's glory, is no more then all the light of the Stars compared to the light of the Sun. The Moon

exceeds the other Stars in light, but the Sun a thousand times exceeds the Moon, and all the Stars; and if the Sun be wanting, it will be night for all the Stars. So one Saint may excel another in glory, and the Angels may excel the Saints, but yet the glory of the Humane Nature of Christ doth a thousand times exceed the glory of Angels and Saints. One reason is, because the Humane Nature of Christ is more nearly united to the Divine, then Angels and Men; the nearer union, the greater participation of glory; and can there be a nearer union then a personal union? such an union is the union between the Humane Nature and the Divine in Christ. If a Body that is capable of the light, should be united into one substance with the Sun, that Body must needs shine more glorious then the distant Stars. The Humane Nature is united to the incomprehen∣sible glorious Nature and Essence, and therefore far more glorious then all other.

Moreover, that which is the measure of things,* 1.17 must needs be the chief of all those things of which it is the measure; that which is the first and chief in every kind, is the measure of the rest. Now the glory of the Humane Nature of Christ being the measure of our glory, must needs excel in glory. The Sun being the measure of all the Starry light, and all the Stars borrowing their light from him, must needs excel the lesser Stars

in light. Our glory is but a borrowed light: it is of his fullness, of his grace and glory, that we receive grace and glory: his human Nature is a vast Cistern full of glory, and our Natures are but the smaller vessels receiving glory flowing from this vast Cistern.

3. Therefore when the Apostle saith, we shall be like to Christ, it is meant, secundum proportio∣nem, non secundum aequalitatem: our glory shall be proportionable to his, we shall not equal him in glory: it is meant, quoad partes, non quoad gra∣dus: we shall have the same glory for substance, though not the same in degrees. Christ shall so far excel the biggest Vessel of glory, as Job in his glorious estate did excel himself when he lay upon the Dunghil full of nasty sores; as Solomon in all his glory did excel himself be∣ing in his Mothers Womb.

4. Saints shall be like Christ in glory; yet not∣withstanding one Saint will exceed another in glory. God will cloath all his Children alike, yet their garments shall be made proportionable for their stature. All the Saints shall be vessels of Mercy, yet one Saint shall be a larger and more capacious vessel then another. Christ in his answer to that curious request of Zebedees Wife, Mat. 20.23. implyeth, that there shall be de∣grees of glory, and granteth, that some shall sit at his right hand, some at his left hand in his Kingdom. They shall all have the same glory and happiness, ratione objecti faelicitatis & gloriae,

non ratione participationis, in respect of the ob∣ject of glory and blessedness, but not in respect of participation. God in Christ is the object of happiness, but in regard of participation of the object, one may and shall see more clearly then another. In my Father's house are many Mansions, saith our Saviour, John 14.2. Patris domus, is put for one and the same object of glory, saith Aquinas: Pluralitas mansionum, the many Man∣sions sheweth, there are divers degrees of glo∣ry. And this is his comparison: there is but one Centre unto which all things tend, but some bodies are nearer to the Centre then other bo∣dies are. So God in Christ is the Centre of all our happiness: Seneca calleth God, Animae Cen∣trum, the Centre of the Soul: but one Saint tend∣eth more near to God then another.

5. Yet notwithstanding, all the Saints shall be full of glory and happiness, as Christ Jesus is. Christ will give to every Saint his measure of glory. Danaeus saith well, that there be two things that the blessed Saints want in Heaven; Carent omni invidia, & carent omni rerum ad beatitudinem necessariarum indigentia. They want envy: one Saint doth not envy another Saint's greater measure of glory, because they shall be all full of glory: and then there is no want of any thing, for whatsoever pertaineth to make a Creature happy, every Saint shall enjoy, and such fullness of happiness shall he have, that nec plus quaerel quam habebit, nec minus habere dole∣it

quam habet: he that hath the least measure of glory shall seek for no more, nor grieve that he hath so little.

CHAP. IV. Of the reasons why God will glorifie his Chil∣dren, in respect of the Lord himself.

SECT. I.

The reasons hereof are as follow.

1. GOD hath Predestinated them unto glory, 2 Thes. 2.13, 14. We are bound alwaies to give thanks to God for you brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to Salvation through Sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth. The Salvation of God's Children is built upon a stronger Foundation then the very Heavens, even upon God's Counsel; his hand hath written their names in the Book of Life in Characters that cannot be blotted out: his grace is the Foun∣tain of their Salvation, and therefore they may expect it from his mercy. God is unchange∣able in his decrees: the design he hath laid touching the saving of his people from all eter∣nity, is not changed in time, nor can all the Powers on Earth hinder the execution of his will. It is impossible that any should be Pre∣destinate,

and not saved, saith Peter Lombard.* 1.18 Jesus Christ hath said, That he knoweth all his Sheep, that he gives unto them Eternal Life, that they shall never perish, that no man shall be able to pluck them out of his hands, John 10.27, 28.

2. God hath called them unto glory. Whom he hath Predestinated them hath he called: whom he hath called, them hath he Justified: and whom he hath Justified, them also hath he Glorified, Rom. 8.30. He speaks of it as of the time past, as if it were already done: partly, because part of it is present, as Peace, Joy, &c. and partly, because it is as sure as though it were in present possession, we are called unto glory and vertue; we are called to the obtaining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ by the Gospel, 2 Thes. 2.14. And S. Paul exhorteth the Thessalonians to walk worthy of God, who had called them to his Kingdom and Glory, 1 Thes. 2.12. God hath called the Saints out of this World; they are no sooner admitted into the School of Christ, but they learn that the Earth is their banishment, and Heaven their Countrey: the end why God calls his people out of the World, is that they might not seek for happiness upon Earth, and that they may make no account of what the wicked do possess, and thereby see that riches and honours are not the portion of the righteous, because

God bestoweth them chiefly upon his enemies: he leaveth the fairest part of the World to those that persecute him, to teach his Children that Heaven is their patrimony and Inheritance.

3. God hath prepared Heaven for them: Christ at the last day will say to the Sheep whom he will place at his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World, Mat. 25.34. When Christ was leaving the World, he com∣forteth the hearts of his disconsolate Disciples thus, In my Fathers house are many Mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to pre∣pare a place for you, John 14.2. The glory must be incomparable which God hath treasured up, and been preparing from eternity. Neither doth God only prepare Heaven for his Saints, but he also prepareth them for Heaven: he makes them meet partakers of the inheritance among the Saints in light, Col. 1.12. For as wicked men are ves∣sels of wrath sitted for Destruction, so the Saints are vessels of glory prepared unto glory, Rom. 9.22, 23. The Saints do not presently pass from a cor∣rupt to a glorious estate, but there is a fitting and an holy preparation cometh between: if a man will wear a Garment, he fits it before he weareth it; so God will have his people cast in∣to a new mould, that he may fit them for Hea∣ven, before he puts them into the possession of it.

4. God hath promised to bestow Heaven up∣on

his people: He will give grace and glory, Psal. 84.11. The Crown of life hath he promised to them that love him, Jam. 1.12. Heaven com∣eth to us by deed, by good assurance: there is no better deed then that which is written by the finger of God, and sealed by the blood of Christ, as a judicious Divine well no∣teth:* 1.19 therefore though we can∣not see the glory of Heaven in the thing, yet we may see it in the Promise, Psal. 50.23. To him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I shew the salvation of God: he hath chosen the poor of the World, rich in Faith, and heirs of the Kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him, Jam. 2.5. Hea∣ven is a Kingdom engaged to the Saints by pro∣mise, and they are to look upon it as a promised Kingdom, and to judge him faithful that hath promised. St. Augustin* 1.20 saith, God is become a debtour, not by receiving any thing from us, but by promi∣sing all things to us what it pleased him: hereupon (saith he) we say not to God, repay that which thou receivedst, but pay that which, thou hast promised: let us hold him therefore a most faithful debtour, because we have him a most merciful promiser: the pro∣mise was made in mercy, the performance there∣of depends upon the fidelity of the promiser. Yea, we have not the bare word of God only,

but also his oath, Heb. 17.18. God willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of Promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it with an Oath, that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Now he is Jehovah, and will give existence to all his promises; and the making good his promises to his Children will tend to the greater manifestation of God's Glory.

SECT. II.

DIvers reasons also may be given why the Lord will glorifie his people, in respect of them∣selves.

1. Glory is the great design of the Saints, there∣fore it shall be unto them. St. Paul sets it down as a distinguishing Character of the Saints from other men, Rom. 2.7. And saith, To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, eternal life, i. e. To them shall be eternal Life: This is the main thing that the Saints aim at: some of them do differ in some Opinions, but in this they all agree, viz. in aiming at everlasting glory, the glory of the God of glory: therefore the Lord will not suffer them to miss of the main end and aim of their Souls. The Spouse cries, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Their affections are set on things above, their con∣versation

is in Heaven, their treasure is in Hea∣ven, and Heaven hath their hearts; they seldom look up to Heaven, but they sigh after it, and are afflicted at their banishment: grief makes the Heaven-born Soul cry, Wo is me, because my habitation is prolonged.

2. Glory is the expectation of the Saints, Phil. 3.20, 21. and they are said, to rejoyce in hope of the glory of God, Rom. 5.2. Saving hope is a sidu∣cial and undoubted expectation of eternal glory and happiness, promised to us in the word, and purchased by Christ for us; or else a patient waiting for the manifestation of the glory of the Sons of God, when Christ shall appear; this is the hope that is meant, Rom. 8.23, 24. there waiting, hope, and expectation are the same, waiting for the adoption, (i. e.) for the inheri∣tance of glory, to which by our adoption we are interested: that look, as the creature is said verse 19. earnesty to expect, they do as it were put forth their heads, to look for the glorious appearing of the Sons of God; so all the Saints do earnestly expect their future promised glory, saith Parisien∣sis,* 1.21 their hopes are altogether taken up with Heaven, they long for this eternal habitation; the moments that stop them here below, seem ages; the diversions, illusions; the pleasures of the world seem torments to them; the happiness of the world a dangerous tempta∣tion. Now the Spirit of God inspires them with

strong desires of Heaven, points out the glory of the Blessed, fills them with hope of the short∣ning of their exile; they live always in their desire after Heaven, comfort themselves with the expectation, and by a certain hope taste the happiness they shall one day be satisfied with in an everlasting enjoyment. Now the hope of a Christian is sure, and being founded on the pro∣mises of God, who cannot lye, never deludes the Believer that listens to them. Jesus Christ hath given to his People such favors, as whereby he strengthens their hope, for what happiness they yet enjoy not; the death he suffered for us, is an assurance of that life he prepares for us: neither can we doubt, saith Augustine,* 1.22 that we shall not reign with him in glory, seeing he was willing to die for us upon the Cross; for what good things may we not expect, when his death is a pledg of his love, and an assurance of the happiness we look for: he that hath this hope, may boast himself happy before hand; for Philo* 1.23 the Jew calls it, the fore-runner of joy, a harbinger pleasure preceeding the eternal one, an ante past of blessedness.

3. God hath already given them the begin∣nings of glory; they are sealed with the holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of their in∣heritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, &c. Ephes. 1.13. Here indeed the Saints

are Sons, but they are not Heirs invested into that blessed estate they have title to; God re∣serves not all their happiness for the world to come, but gives them somewhat here to bear up their spirits, to mitigate and sweeten their trou∣bles in their absence from their Husband; and to render them happy in the midst of their mise∣ries, he sheds the graces of his Spirit into their spirits with so much complacency, that con∣versing with men, they may relish the bliss and happiness of Angels. He gives them the Holy Ghost as a pledg of that glory which one day they shall receive with him: you know an earnest is for security of a contract; so the Holy Ghost doth secure us of that blessed estate we shall have hereafter in Heaven. An earnest likewise is part of the bargain, a part of the whole that is secured; though it be never so little, yet it is a part: so it is in the operations of the Spirit upon us, in that peace and joy that it worketh in the heart, it is a part of that peace and joy the Saints shall for ever enjoy in Heaven. Moreover, an earnest is given rather for the security of the party that receives it, then in regard of him that gives it: so God by giving us this earnest of his Spirit, gives us assurance of salvation, he makes us thereby to read our Names written in the Book of Life; he takes us into that Privy Chamber where the definitive sentence of our eternal hap∣piness is pronounced; he applieth to us the me∣rits of Jesus Christ, and himself interposeth the

caution of his Promises; he blots out those mor∣tal discontents that labour to throw us into de∣spair, advancing our hope by a prelibation of glory; and handles us with so much tenderness, that he that hath this assurance, cannot be made to believe that he can be miserable in the other world, that hath been so happy in this.

The Saints also have glory here in primitiis, they are said to have received the first fruits of the Spirit, Rom. 8.23. to assure them that they shall have a rich harvest, and a good crop. Look as sometimes it falls out with wicked men in their merry sports, God sends some horror of con∣science into them, that like an unwholesome damp, choaketh all their pleasure, which is the first fruits of Hell, a taste of the cup of wrath which the damned drink of in Hell: so when a godly man is in his sad dumps, when he is al∣most buried in the gulf of troubles, then God's Spirit doth, as Jonathan, take a little honey up∣on the top of his rod, and gives it him to eat, which comforteth his fainting spirit; the Spirit of God then droppeth a little comfort upon an afflicted heart, gives him a taste of the rivers of pleasures, and secretly assureth him of the favor of God in Christ, and that one day he shall en∣joy communion with him to all eternity; these are the very first fruits of Heaven.

The godly are already glorified in part, be∣cause that wherein eternal life and glory do con∣sist, they have now in part; they know God in

part; they do here enjoy God and Christ in part; they have now communion with God in Christ; and Christ is said to live in them, and God is said to make his abode in them: that Soul must needs be glorious, wherein God and Christ do make their abode. It is true what a holy Man said, a Believer hath Coelum in se, & Christum in illo Coelo: A Christian hath Heaven within him, and Christ in that Heaven. Where God and Christ is, certainly there is Heaven.

4. Because Christ their Head is glorified, there∣fore must the Members also be glorified; they are united to Christ; he is their Husband, they are his Spouse: now where he is, they must also be, as he himself tells his Disciples, John 14. Now is the time of contract only; the time of the Marriage solemnity shall be at the appearing of Christ. Now we are the Sons of God, but it doth not appear what we shall be, 1 John 3.2. But when he who is our life shall appear, we shall also appear with him in glory, Colos. 3.4. Christ in his own Person is now glorious: Ought not Christ to suf∣fer these things, and enter into his glory, Luke 24.26. This glory is given him by God his Father, 1 Pet. 1.21. John 17.24. Now when it is said, God the Father gave him glory, it cannot be meant of essential glory, because he had that from all eternity; but by glory is meant, the glory of his Mediatorship, and the glory he had after his Resurrection, wherein we shall be made like unto him, sitting at the right hand of God.

Now real glory is given to Christ in regard of his Humane Nature, so it was manifest in time; but in respect of his Deity, he had it with his Father before the world was, John 17.5. As the Sun, when there is a Cloud between us and it, the Sun still keeps its splendor, but when the Cloud is gone, we see it: So Christ in regard of his Deity had this glory always; it was hid∣den from him in regard of the infirmities which he took upon him, as sufferings, death, &c.

Now Christ our Head being glorified, all his Members that suffer with him shall also be glo∣rified together; they are now glorified in capite, and when Christ hath prepared places for all his Members, then he will take them home to his Father's house: Christ is now preparing their glory, and fitting their heavenly Mansions; he is decking their Crowns of Righteousness, he is trimming their Robes. Christ is now in his own Person glorious, but Christ mystical is not glo∣rious, it is in a suffering condition; there are many of his Members that are not yet brought home to God: Christ hath a care of his mystical Body, as of his natural Body; he gave his na∣tural Body to redeem his mystical Body; there∣fore as he is glorious in his natural Body, so he will be glorious in his mystical Body; for St. Paul saith, he shall come to be glorified in his Saints. The Son of God rose gloriously out of his Tomb; and after he had given assurance of it to his A∣postles, he was taken up into Heaven, to reign

there eternally with his Father; the Angels made a part of his Triumph; his Body that was pierced with the nails, rent with stripes, torn with thorns, was set at the right hand of his Father on a Throne; whose Ornament was Justice, and the Foundation Mercy, as one well noteth. His mystical Body shall receive the like glorious en∣tertainment; the Saints shall be admitted into the Society of the Blessed, and reign in Heaven with the Angels: Those Members that have suf∣fered in the quarrel of Jesus Christ, shall be freed from all miseries, and reign in glory everlastingly with their Head, that the blessedness of Jesus Christ may have its accomplishment, and he may be as happy in his Members, as in his Person. Jesus Christ and his Members are united in their sufferings on earth, and by a necessary conse∣quence we may be assured, they shall be so one day in their glory in Heaven: To this end Christ prayed for his Church to his Father, when him∣self was upon earth; The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them: Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, John 17.22, 24. It is observable, that in other things when Jesus Christ speaks to his Father, it is with so much respect, that he seemeth rather a Servant then a Son; but when he asks that his Members may reign with him in glory, it is with so much liberty of speech; that his Request is rather a determination then a Prayer: Volo Pater,

Father, I will that where I am, there my Servants may be.

CHAP. V. Of the quality of the Saints glory.

NOw that I may set forth the nature of the Saints glory, you are to know, that there is no specisical, or essential, difference between our gracious and glorious estate, as there is no specifical or essential difference be∣tween the Corn of the First-fruits, and that of the whole Harvest, only some accidental differen∣ces: as there is no specifical difference between a Child, and a grown Man; they have both the same essential parts and principles, there is only an alteration of degrees, not of parts, & gradus non variat speciem: Now our present estate is our Infancy, our future estate is our Man-hood; for the present the Children of God have glory given them; godly Men are for the present glo∣rious: the Scripture calls them nothing else but blessed; yea, even then they are blessed, when the world looks upon them as most miserable; when shame, reproach and trouble is cast upon them, then doth the Spirit of glory rest upon them; they having grace bestowed upon them, have glory. Glory is nothing else but the splen∣dour, the brightness of grace; Vita gratiae nihil

est aliud quam aetas infantilis gloriae: he that is gracious, is glorious. We shall have the same in∣dividual Bodies and Souls after the Resurrection as we have in this life, only some alteration in respect of some new qualities; as in our first Re∣surrection from the death of Sin to the life of Righteousness, there is no transmutation of the essence, but an alteration of the qualities, or a super-introduction of new qualities, by which we are said to be new Creatures, 2 Cor. 5.17. not in quantity but in quality; so in Heaven we shall become new Creatures in respect of what we are now, and those very qualities which do principally concur to the constitution of our happiness in Heaven, are in some measure com∣municated to us in our first regeneration; now we have drops, then rivers of delights, Psal. 36.8. both the same in nature.

This will be the more evident, if we examine wherein our happiness hereafter doth consist, and compa ing it with our present estate. Our spi∣ritual and supernatural blessedness consisteth in the fruition of such an object as is perfectly, all-sufficiently, and principally good, which is only God; therefore it standeth in our perfect union to, and communion with God; the faculties of the soul being by the Almighty power of God dilated, extended and enlarged so far, as to be as it were capable of the fulness of God, and by the perfect operations of the understanding, will and affections, united to God in all their acti∣ons:

and when these natural, weak and vile Bo∣dies of ours, by the same hand of Omnipotency are transfigured and transformed into spiritual, powerful and glorious Bodies, and so united to the Soul, then are we come to the perfection of our blessedness; the properties of which bles∣sedness are, First, That it is everlasting. Secondly, That we shall discern it so to be. And thirdly, That as it fulfilleth the largest desires of our hearts, so we shall be extraordinarily affected with it, and perpetually affected to it, and in∣cessantly desirous of it; our glory consisteth not in having what our weak Souls can now wish for, but what they can desire when they are glo∣riously corroborated and enlarged.

So that now you see there is no specifical or essential difference, but only a gradual or cir∣cumstantial difference between the state of grace here, and the state of glory hereafter; for Regnum coeleste est Dei contem∣platio, glorificatio,* 1.24 & celebratio cum Angelis communis, saith one of the Fathers; who commonly describeth the state of the blessed to be nothing else; but the full and perfect accomplishment of such spiritual blessings as are already begun in us, and in part already communicated to us, when God shall (by a most perfect and immediate irradiation of the understanding, and sanctification of the will and affections to know, love and delight in God, and transformat••on of the Body into the likeness

of Christ's) effect the everlasting glorification of the whole man.

Quest. But will not this diminish and lessen the excellency of our future estate, and make it far less eminent then the Scripture describes it to be, 2 Cor. 4.17. and consequently less desirable, and the hope and assurance of it less able to solace us against our present sufferings?

Sol. I answer, no; for besides the admirable alteration there shall be in our Bodies, in respect of their present base condition, there shall be a far greater alteration in our Souls, though it be not specifical and essential, as may appear in com∣paring the First-fruits with the whole Harvest. What is an handful to the whole Crop? what is a drop of Water to the whole Ocean? what is the light of the Moon and Stars, and Candle-light, to that of the Sun? and yet there is no essential difference between these, no more then between a mountain and a mole-hill, both having the same common nature. God can raise quali∣ties as well as substances to a most eminent and glorious perfection; if we in the state of reno∣vation, find such comforts as are many times un∣speakable and glorious, even in this our day of small things, that they make us to glory in tri∣bulation, and to triumph over the greatest evils in this life, how absolute and transcendently ra∣vishing shall our contentment be, when we shall be above the reach of all evils, and be filled with all perfection?

Hence we may learn how to conceive of the blessedness of our future estate, viz. not to think of it after a carnal manner, as if it did consist in eating and drinking, sleeping, marrying, pos∣sessing of Silver and Gold, and Houses richly fur∣nished and adorned, or in a Turkish Paradise, in sensual delights, and following our sports and recreations; but rather in exercises of Holiness and Righteousness, in a glorious and heavenly communion with the holy Trinity, Saints and Angels, as Rom. 14.17. in living a Celestial and Angelical kind of life, as Luke 20.35. such as is described Isa. 6.2, 3. Psal. 103.20. Matth. 18.20. Luke 15.7. Luke 2.13, 14. A sincere Christian condition, and heavenly conversation, is an ob∣scure delineation and representation of the hap∣py condition of the glorified; and the Saints do even live as it were an Heaven upon Earth; they begin to live eternally and blessedly, as soon as they begin to be in Christ: and if Glory deserveth such great admiration and estimation, Grace, which is a spark and principle of it, can be no mean thing; therefore let those that are sanctified in Christ, so far magnifie themselves against the insolencies of ungodly men.

CHAP. VI. Sheweth, that the perfect Glory and Happiness of the Saints is invisible for the present.

SECT. I.

IN the next place I shall shew you, that the full dignity, glory, and happiness of the Saints is not apparent: Now we are the Sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but when he shall appear we shall be like him, &c. 1 John 3.2. Our Salvation is hid in this life, Our life of glory is hid with Christ in God. Col. 3.3. All the flourishing beauty of the Wine, is all the dead time of the Winter hidden in the root of the Vine; Christ our Head, our Brother, our Ausband, our Saviour, is keeper of the Crown of glory; it is hid in Christ for the present, there∣fore it doth not appear: and it is hid with Christ in God; in God objective, because of our happi∣ness principally consisteth in the vision of God, or causaliter, because all our glory is derived from God; or else in God, that is apud Deum, in the power of God to bestow it at his pleasure; there is glory and happiness hidden in Christ for us. Upon the meditation hereof the Psalmist cries out, Psal. 31.19. O how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee?

how great? it is particula admi∣rativa. Bruno* 1.25 interprets it thus. How great is thy goodness? it is so wonderful, that the tongue of an Angel cannot express how great it is; but this goodness is laid up, it is in the Hebrew 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 which thou hast hidden, which thou hast in secret preserved; so that it is not as yet apparent what goodness it is. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive what things God hath pre∣pared for them that love him, 1 Cor. 2.9. This St. Paul spake, who in that divine rapture into the Third Heaven saw a flash of the Transcendent glory of the Saints. The glorious beauty of Heaven and Earth is the object of the eye, yet no eye ever saw such glory: our ears hear more then our eyes can see; we hear of glorious things done in all parts of the World, and yet no ear ever heard of such glory: our hearts can con∣ceive more then our eyes can see, or ears can hear, or we can fancy greater things then can be presented to the eye; yet we cannot conceive the glory of the Sons of God. Our glory doth not appear; we have treasures of happiness, but they are hidden in the field: our Transcendent happiness is like a curious piece of Arras roled up, not put down, and exposed to the view of men; we are glorious Stars, but yet we do not appear above the Horizon, the Earth doth in∣terpose it self between us and the set Sun,

and hides his light from us; so these earthy bo∣dies of ours do interpose themselves between us and our glory, that it cannot be seen. The happy and glorious estate of the Children of God doth not now appear;

1. Not to the Wicked: the glory and beau∣ty of the Saints in this life is internal and spi∣ritual; The Kings Daughter is all glorious within, Psal. 45.13. They are full of riches of glory and strength, but it is in the inner man, Eph. 3.16. And so it is not obvious to carnal eyes, which if it were, it would turn the most sensual Epicures into mortified Saints: but the wicked want a spiritual eye to discern spiritual glory; Gods people are worth Millions of men, but they are Gods hidden ones, Psal. 83.3. The world know∣eth them not, because they know not God, 1 John 3.1. And as Moses his face when it shone, had a vail over it; so the glory of grace hath a vail over it, that not a glimpse of it appeareth to the wicked, much less doth the life of end∣less glory appear to them. These things do hide the glorious condition of the godly from the wicked:

1. Their outward troubles, their outward mean and base condition obscureth their glory, so that wicked men think godliness to be a con∣temptible thing: What hid the Majesty of Christ from the eye of the Jews? why was he a man rejected and despised among men? it was the baseness of his outward condition that hid the

glory of the only begotten Son of God: he came in the form of a Servant among the Jews, who expected his coming in Princely pomp; it was also the many troubles he endured for our sins, because he was Crowned with a Crown of Thornes, and had not a Crown of Glory upon his Head, therefore his glory did not appear: the carnal and blind Jews thought the promi∣sed Messiah when he came, would not be thus miserable, and so generally hated as Christ was: thus when the wicked see godly men almost overwhelmed with troubles, and even buried in the Gulf of outward calamities, and look up∣on them as of all men the most miserable and despicable, they presently think there is no glory in an holy life. The miseries of the Saints are publique, their advantages walk in the dark; men see what they suffer, but doubt of what they hope for; and in the judgment of Infidels their Religion passeth for an imposture, because the good things it promiseth are invisible, but the evils it threatens are sensible and present. We are saith Au∣gust.* 1.26 like those great Trees, which during the sharpness of the Winter, are naked of all their leaves; their life is enclosed in their roots, their vigour is retired into their Sap, and all their Soul and vegetation they have, is hid from the eyes of the beholders; but their death is con∣spicuous, every branch publisheth; it and all the mis∣chiefs the Winter hath brought upon them, are so

many arguments to make us doubt of their life. Thus it is with God's Children; they are dead, and they are alive, but their Life is in a Cloud, their Death manifest; the persecutions they suffer, the temptations they encounter, the conflicts they un∣dergo, perswade wicked and unbelieving persons, that their Life is but a languishing and doleful Death; but their vigour is over-shadowed, their glory is hid with Christ in God: and as the Spring must needs return to convince the ignorant, that a Tree that hath lost its leaves in the Winter, is not dead, so must the general Resurrection happen to assure the unbelieving World, that the Life of a Christian persecuted by the World is hid with Christ in God.

2. Because there is no outward excellency in grace, therefore their glory cannot appear to wicked men; nothing pleaseth a carnal eye but external excellency, and grace hath little of that. St. James* 1.27 tells us, That gay clothes and a gold Ring is in more esteem then Faith; but Christ goes contrary to the World.

Cyrus, in his speech to his Soldiers, told them that were Footmen, if they would follow him, he would make them Horsemen: he told them that were Horsemen, if they would follow him, he would set them over Chariots: if they were Rulers of Villages, he would give them Cities: if of Cities, he would make them Rulers of Provinces.

Christ Preached otherwise, He that will be my Disciple,

let him deny himself, and take up his Cross: let him deny his honours, and become base for my sake: let him deny his riches, and become poor for my sake: let him deny his life, and become miserable: what happiness, what glory is there, will a wicked man say? I can see no excellen∣cy in Piety, if this be the portion of God's Children. Grace indeed is like the Ark, which within was over-laid with pure Gold, and a pot of Manna was in it, but the out-side was cover∣ed with Badgers-skins, and Sheep-skins: so grace is inwardly overlaid with pure Gold, cloathed with glory, and within it there is a pot of Man∣na, even joy unspeakable; Yet because the outside of grace is covered with Badgers skins, and wicked men do judge according to the out∣ward appearance, therefore the inward excel∣lency and glory thereof doth not appear to them.

3. Because wicked men think that holy men, because they are miserable in this life, belong not to God, and that their miseries here are but the fore-runners of eternal sor∣rows. It is a good saying of Mer∣cer,* 1.28 This is the guise of the World, that it thinks those to be cursed of God, whom he seems to cross with outward troubles; and to think that they are the only blessed men, whom he seems to bless with out∣ward things. Wicked men think that the love

and hatred of God appeareth in outward things, and that because all things go well here, and every thing succeeds according to the desires of their hearts, they verily presume, that God by these outward dispensations intends no less then their eternal happiness: and because they see that very often trouble upon trouble falls upon the godly, they think they are Hypocrites, and so God will deal with them to all Eternity. Alas! the World is blind, the God of this World hath blinded their eyes, that the future glory of God's Children doth not appear to them: they little think that where the godly man's misery endeth, there the happines•• of the wicked endeth; and where the wicked m•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 misery beginneth, there the hap•••••• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 th•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••••ginneth: It is Peter Martyr's 〈…〉〈…〉 ••icked are called the inhabitant•• 〈…〉〈…〉 therefore are com∣pared to 〈…〉〈…〉 ••odly are called So journers and 〈…〉〈…〉 ••••nderers in a strange land, and 〈…〉〈…〉 ••••••ared to the Pla∣nets: the Pl•• 〈…〉〈…〉 West to East in a contrary mo•••• 〈…〉〈…〉 ••••rs do set where the Planets ri••e 〈…〉〈…〉 ••icked and the god∣ly that move i•• 〈…〉〈…〉 the one riseth where the o•••• 〈…〉〈…〉 ••••th the glory and happiness 〈…〉〈…〉 then the glory of th•• 〈…〉〈…〉 ••appiness doth appear.

SECT. II.

.2 THE glory of the Saints doth not yet ap∣pear to themselves, it is not yet manifest what they shall be, the fullness and perfection of their glory and happiness cannot be comprehend∣ed by them; they must enter into their Master's Joy, before they can fully see what glory be∣longeth to them: God must make them perfectly glorious, before their glory will appear. Josua might have spies from Canaan, that might bring with them a bunch of Grapes, but yet they could not shew him the abundance of Vineyards, the Rivers of honey and milk, till he came into Ca∣naan to possess it: so God's Spirit may bring joy and comfort from Heaven, and make the Sons of God to taste of Heaven, as Josua did of the delicacies of Canaan in the Wilderness: or the Spirit of God may open a cranny that the Sons of God may peep through, and behold a glimpse of their future glory; but their eyes can never be so fully opened while they are in the flesh, as to behold the greatness of their glory, and the perfection of their happi∣ness.* 1.29 Our glory is like a can∣dle held in our hands, covered with our fingers, through which, but a little of the light can be seen. Indeed in some sort our glory is revealed in the Gospel, in that we know that it shall be; but the fullness of it is sealed

up to the day of Redemption, then shall it ap∣pear what the Saints are: Therefore in Jude ver. 6. the day of Judgment is called the Great Day, (especially) because it shall be a day of great Light; now it is Light that makes the day, and the more light the more day; now in this day of Judgment there shall be abundance of light, a full discovery of things and persons, then shall the happiness of the Saints be more fully ma∣nifest, and things shall really then appear as they are; the greatest discoveries here are imperfect to that which they shall be on that day; then God shall make it appear to all the World who are, and who are not the Sons of God; then shall all hidden things be made manifest, Luk. 12. 2. That is the time for the declaration of the righteous judgment of the Lord, Rom. 2.5.

SECT. III.

THE excellent glory of the Saints is hidden from them, for these reasons:

Reas. 1. Because God would try his Children, whether they would trust him or no. Whether they would believe his promises of happiness, and cast themselves upon God for the accom∣plishment of his promises of eternal happi∣ness. Where were faith if God should make their future glory to appear to them otherwise then by promise that they shall be glorious? Should God take his Children, and carry them

up upon a Mount, as he did Moses, and there shew them their future glory; or take them up into the Third Heaven, as he did Paul, and there let them enjoy the beatifical vision; how should faith be the substance of things hoped for, how should faith then be the evidence of things not seen? what are the things the Saints hope for? is it not life everlasting? is it not unspeakable glory? is it not their compleat happiness? and are not these the things that are not seen? if these things were in view already, if these things did appear to them as the Sun, how could faith be the substance of things hoped for? how could it be the evidence of things not seen? no, God will not here suffer their glory to appear, but will have them live the life of faith in his promises of glory and eternal happiness, before he will open Heaven to them, and give them an actual possession of the heavenly Mansions, and set the glorious Crown of Righteousness upon their heads.

Reas. 2. Because God would try whether we would be content to suffer for him, and to do any thing for him; whether we would be willing to deny our selves, to become the objects of scorn and contempt; whether we would walk in his ways, though they are somewhat ruggid, and hedged in with sharp thornes; whe∣ther we (as Moses) would chuse rather to suffer afflictions with the people of God, then to en∣joy the pleasures of sin for a season; whether

we would prize the reproaches of Christ above riches, more then the Treasures of Egypt, and be content with his promise of future glory. If the future glory and unspeakable happiness of God's Children should for the present be made manifest; if God should open the windows of Heaven as he did to Stephen, when he was to be stoped and let us see the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, having Crowns of glory in his hands, and Robes of ho∣nour, and Palms of Victory in his hands, to be∣stow upon such as would endure reproach for his Name-sake, and suffer any thing whatsoever God calls them to, there is no question but the sight of this glory would make us all ready to be sto∣ned with Stephen, to be sawn asunder with Isaias, to be imprisoned with Joseph, to suffer with the people of God with Moses; then we should esteem every reproachful contempt for Christ's sake more precious then the fairest Jewels: but God doth not suffer our future glory to appear, be∣cause he will try if men will suffer for him, and do his will, and trust themselves for glory hereafter: they that will sing the Song of Moses and of the Lamb, in the next life, must swim through the Sea of glass mingled with fire in this life, Rev. 15.2. Every one that looks for glory in the next life, must make account of the Cross, more or less in this life; the way to Heaven is strewed with Crosses, and we must think it rather an honour then a labour to follow Christ our

Master, as Alexander's Souldiers followed him through Mountains of Snow.

Reas 3. Because a future manifestation of their glorious happiness, will make more for the glory of Christ, then if it did now appear, 2 Thes. 1.10. When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and to be admired in all them that do believe, at the day of Judgment. That day of horror, that day of shame, is the day of the manifestation of the glory of Christ, and of the glory of the Saints of God; then Christ will be wonderfully glorified in the glorification of his Saints; and then Christ shall be admired in all them that do believe. The An∣gels, all the Saints, the Wicked, and the Devils themselves, will be filled with admiration, and be astonished at the infinite love of Christ, in be∣stowing such glory upon all Believers. Wicked men will be astonished at it, and admire Christ in their glory, when they shall see those poor con∣temned men among them to be so glorified above their expectation; what will wicked men say? what! is yonder man in Heaven? I did scorn him, I did despise him upon the Earth: What will another say? Is that man in Heaven? I saw him burnt at a Stake; I saw this man imprisoned, that man banished; this man worried, that man cast out of all that he had; and now, behold their glory! behold their happiness! They will see and wonder at it, to see what glory and ho∣nour Christ hath cloathed them with; then will they cry out, we never thought to see such poor

despised wretches (whom we accounted the off∣scouring of the world) to be in such glory: so likewise, how will the Saints themselves admire Christ? how will they stand wondering at them∣selves, that they should be so glorious, so hap∣py? how will they admire the love of Christ, that should freely bestow such unspeakable love upon them? then will the Saints say to Christ, Lord, what am I, that thou shouldest thus ho∣nour me? what glory dost thou cast upon such a worm as I am? Lord, I have suffered but lit∣tle for thee, I have done nothing for thee, that thou shouldest thus glorifie me.

Reas. 4. Therefore their glory doth not yet appear, because the Sons of God, while they are in these earthly houses, are not fit for such glory; mortality is no fit subject to have immortal glory to be put upon it; these mortal Bodies of ours, are not fit to be invested with the Robes of in∣corruptible honour: yea, these Bodies of ours, wherein sin liveth, are not fit to enjoy commu∣nion with God, who is of purer eyes then to be∣hold any unclean thing; no, there must be a dis∣solution of these earthly tabernacles; mortality must be swallowed up of life; this corruptible, must put on incorruption; this mortal, must put on immortality; then, and not before, shall the surpassing glory of the Saints appear: as Christ saith, we must not put new wine into old bottles, nor patch an old garment with a piece of new cloth; thus Christ will not put the soul-ravishing

joys of Heaven into these old bottles; nor will he patch up these fading perishing Bodies with the glory of Angels.

Reas. 5. That he might quicken their desires after their glory; that our hearts may pant after those Water-brooks, those Rivers of Pleasure; that we may cry out with Monica, the Mother of St. Augustine, in her ravishing contemplation of Hea∣ven, volemus in Coelum, volemus in Coelum; let us fly, let us fly into Heaven: or as Austin him∣se••f, fontem vitae, sitio, esurio; I thirst, I greedily long after the fountain of life.

CHAP. VII.

Sect. 1.

ALbeit the unspeakable glory of Believers be for the present hidden, yet in due time it shall be revealed. Colos. 3.4. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory. Before Christ shall appear in the brightness of his glory, we shall not; but when the time of his appearing in glory shall come, then shall all the Saints manifestly appear with him.

Quest. Here it may be demanded, What is the glory that shall be revealed?

Resp. 1. The glory of God himself; God will manifest and display his glory before them; we shall see God as fully and clearly as we are capa∣ble, by God's immediate communication of him∣self

to us without any external means, 1 Cor. 15.24. God will be all, and in all; that is, God the Father, Son, Holy Ghost, will then reign immediately over his Church by himself, with∣out any outward means; and will fill his Church with his own light, life, love and glory. It is a disputed case, whether we shall see God with our bodily eyes? it is answered, that the Es∣sence of God being purely spiritual, cannot be seen with bodily eyes; and God is styled by the Apostle, absolutely invisible. Again, the An∣gels behold the glory of God, and the Souls of the Saints now in Heaven see him, but have not eyes; therefore the sight of God is rather an act of the mind, then of the Body; intellectual knowledg, not corporeal light: But though we shall not with our eyes see the Divine Essence, yet the Divine Essence will abundantly manifest it self in the Humane Nature of Christ now glo∣rified to our eyes; they shall see him, God in him, his Attributes in him: in this life the Ordi∣nances are a Glass to give us the sight of God; in Heaven the Humane Nature of Christ is a Glass to give our bodily eyes the sight of God.

2. The glory of Christ shall be revealed; his glory as Head of the Church, as Saviour of the Body to which he is united; his glory as Judge of the World shall be revealed; it is said of him, that he shall appear in glory, Colos. 3.4. and that he shall come in his own glory, and in the glory of his Father, and in the glory of his holy Angels,

Luke 9.26. and his appearing to judge the World, is called a glorious appearing, Tit. 2.13. His first appearing was mean, the second shall be glorious.

SECT. II.

THe Reasons that the appearing of Christ shall be glorious, are these:

1. Because God hath appointed Christ to judge the World; therefore Christ will in the latter day appear gloriously: whom God appointed to be the Saviour of the World, him hath God appointed to judge the World, John 5.22. Christ is God's Delegate to judge the World; God will have his Judge to appear in glory. Earthly Kings will have their itinerary Judges to appear in pomp, and to judge Malefactors; they appear both in terror and honour; how do all the Gentry give their attendance? how are they attended with Spear-men, and the Trumpets sounding before them, and are invested with Robes of honour? Thus God will have his Judge of all the World to appear in glory upon his Tribunal, and therefore chargeth all the An∣gels of Heaven to attend his glorious Majesty; chargeth the Arch-angels to sound the Trump to awaken the sleepy Prisoners in the Grave, the dark Prison of Death: think ye what a glorious appearance it will be. If Peter was amazed at

Christ upon Mount Tabor, when he saw but a glimpse of his glory at the Transfiguration; what appearance will that be, when Christ shall come in the brightness of his glory, and all the Angels and Saints with him cloathed in brightness of glory?

2. Because Christ will be glorious before those that did dishonour him: Christ did appear to men in the form of a Servant, then he was a de∣spised, a rejected Christ; then was he crowned with a Crown of Thorns, and had no better Sceptre then a Reed; then was he a reviled, a buffeted Christ; the malicious Jews did most contumeliously spit on his face, and every Sinner would contradict, oppose and persecute him; then was he a crucified Christ, a Man of sorrows and of shame; every one looked upon him as a despised Man, none would own him for the Son of God: yea, the Jews did accuse him for Blas∣phemy, for telling them that he was the Son of God; therefore Christ will appear in glory one day, to the horror and terror of these men that did thus blasphemously abuse him that was King of Kings, that did reject him that came to save them, that so Christ might be glorified be∣fore them, and upon them, in taking venge∣ance on their Souls and Bodies; then those that did mock at him, put a Crown of Thorns on his head, a Reed in his hand, shall see he was Heir of a better Crown then the Crowns of the great∣est Kings and Emperors; then they that did con∣tumeliously

spit upon, and buffet him in scorn, shall see they did this to one whom the Angels reverence: he will make Kings to throw down their Crowns and Scepters to his feet; then those that scorned and despised him, shall see that ve∣rily he is the Son of God.

3. Because glory is terrible: the more glorious Christ appears at the last day, the more terror will be upon the wicked; therefore the glorious appearing of Christ to judge the World, is called the terror of the Lord, 2 Cor. 6.11. If the sight of one Angel in glory be terrible, what will the sight of Christ be, who will appear ten thou∣sand times more glorious then all the Angels be? if godly men, that had good consciences, were so horribly affrighted at the appearance of an Angel in lesser glory, how will wicked men, that have accusing consciences, be afraid at the beholding Christ's glorious appearance? if holy men were so amazed at good tidings, because brought to them by a glorious Messenger, how will wicked men be amazed to hear the sentence of condemnation pronounced against them by the Lord of glory? To see God in Christ, is the unspeakable happiness of the Saints in Heaven; and to behold Christ as a Judge sitting upon the Tribunal, will be one of the greatest torment∣ing punishments of damned men and Devils. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance, &c. 2 Thes. 1.7, 8. He shall be revealed

from Heaven, with his holy Angels; there is the glorious Majesty of Christ: and in flaming fire, taking vengeance, &c. there is the amazing ter∣rour of his glorious appearing. Our Saviour saith, Matth. 24.29, 30. Immediately after the tribula∣tion of those days, shall the Sun be darkened, and the Moon shall not give her light; and the Stars shall fall from Heaven, and the powers of Heaven shall be shaken; and then shall appear the Sign of the Son of Man in Heaven; and then shall all the Kinreds of the Earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with power and great glory: And he shall send his An∣gels with a great sound of a Trumpet, and they shall gather together his Elect from the four Winds, and from one end of the Heavens to the other.

Consider here the Signs foregoing his coming, verse 29. the Sun, Moon, and Stars shall lose their light in a strange and wonderful manner, as it were hiding their faces at the coming of the Sun of Righteousness. The Stars shall fall from Hea∣ven, the Powers of Heaven shall be shaken.] The higher and more glorious parts of the Creation shall suffer a wonderful alteration at his coming. Then shall appear the Sign of the Son of Man.] Which Musculus and Arelius take to be the Sign of the Cross, which should be gloriously dis∣played in the eyes of the World, both for ter∣ror to all the Enemies of his Cross, and for the joy of all that believe in Christ crucified. But others take it for Christ himself, shewing him∣self

in the same Humane Nature wherein he suf∣fered, now gloriously appearing for the con∣fusion of his Enemies, and full redemption of his Servants. Then shall all the wicked of all Na∣tions mourn, their guilty consciences being sur∣prized with unspeakable horror at the sight of their Judge, whom they shall see coming, as in a Chariot of Clouds, armed with power, and shining in glory, sending forth his Angels by sound of Trumpet, to summons all the Elect that sleep in the dust in any part of the World, to come and give their attendance upon Christ their glorious Redeemer.

In Matth. 16.27. you have the coming of Christ expressed, and his acts to be performed at his coming. His coming is magnified by the glorious Majesty of his Father, wherein he shall appear, and those blessed Attendants which should follow him: For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his Angels, &c.

Quest. But it may be doubted, why Christ should be said to come in the glory of his Father, sith it shall be his own glory wherein he shall appear?

Resp. It may be said to be the glory of his Fa∣ther in three respects.

1. To shew his unity in Essence with the Fa∣ther; in that he cometh in the glory of his Fa∣ther, he shall come in his own glory; according to that of our Saviour, I and the Father are one.

2. By comparing the Humiliation of his Per¦son here in the flesh, with the glory of the

Divine Nature shining perfectly in the Father, even at that time when it was Ecclipsed and veil∣ed in him by the human Nature: so that in this speech he compareth the meaness of a Servant wherein he now appeared, with the glory of his Father wherein then he should appear.

3. It was the glory of the Father, because the Father hath committed all Judgment to him; and after this his glorious coming he is to deli∣ver up the Kingdom to God the Father; and therefore in the mean time he is said to come in the glory of the Father.

4. To which perhaps may be added a fourth: That the glory of the Father shineth in the Son, who is the Image of God, and the brightness of his Father's glory. All the glory of the Sun, Moon, and Stars meeting together, are nothing comparable to this glory of the Father, wherein Christ shall shew himself at his coming. The glory of all Earthly Kingdoms viewed at one Landskip (as the Devil shewed them our Savi∣our) were nothing to that fullness of glory where∣in our Blessed Saviour shall reveale himself. The glory of his abasement was wonderful, when the Star lighted the way to his lodging, an An∣gel brought word from Heaven of his Concep∣tion, and then of his Nativity; when the De∣vil left him, and the Victory to him, and Angels came to Minister unto him, when Devils roared, and left their Possessions at his call; when Winds and Waves were silent at a Word of his mouth;

when Loaves and dead Fishes, multiplyed upon his blessings upon the Table, or between the Teeth of the Eaters; when all sorts of diseases gave place, and Death it self yeilded up her dead at his command. And yet beloved, that difference shall be between the glory of Christ at his coming, and this of his abasement, which is between the glory of the Father, and the de∣spised meanness of a Servant. Moreover the glory of Christ shall be magnified by the blessed attendants that shall follow him; and they are his Angels: at that day they shall be employed as his special Instruments in gathering the Wheat in∣to his Barn, and binding up the Tares to be burnt with fire unquenchable: O faithful Soul! how joyfully shouldest thou expect this blessed meet∣ing! O how happy will that day be, when the holy Angels of Christ shall come to meet thee rising from the Dead, and with abundance of joy shall embrace and welcome thee to thine everlasting home! While thou art solitary, for∣saken, and despised in the World, comfort thy self in expectation of this blessed society, with whom thou shalt remain for ever, with whom thou shalt joyn in sweetest Hallelujahs and words of Praise, to him that sitteth upon the Throne for evermore. Ear hath not heard the sweetness of those Songs, wherein the Saints shall joyn with those blessed Angels.

SECT. III.

THe glory of the Saints themselves shall be revealed, they shall appear with Christ in glory.

1. Their appearance in glory with Christ in Judgment, will make the coming of Christ more glorious and terrible. When Earthly Kings will shew the glory of their Kingdom, they will always have a pompous train to follow them: thus Christ the greatest of Kings, delighting to manifest his glory, will come attended with glo∣rious Troops of Angels and Saints.

2. Because it will make much for the glorify∣ing of the Saints, and that two ways.

1. Because they shall come as Judges, and shall sit upon Thrones Judging the Wicked; how will wicked men quake, when they shall appear before those godly men, whom they hated and derided: now the Saints shall Judge the World, 1 Cor. 6.2.

1. Assistendo, they shall be as Assistants of Christ, they shall assist as so many Justices with Christ, who is the Lord-chief-Justice of Hea∣ven and Earth.

2. Approbando: They shall approve and ap∣plaud his judgment: they shall sit on Thrones of Everlasting glory, and shall (as Gods Assessours) give their voices and consents unto his just Judgment against the Wicked.

3. Testificative: They shall bring in evidence against the Wicked, so that all their mouthes shall be stopped. The godly shall then be heard to speak, and shall say to Christ, Lord, this is the man that hated me, scoft at me, persecuted and oppressed me.

2. It will make much for the Saints glory, that they shall appear glorious in the open sight of the whole world. The Saints shall see the Dam∣nation of the Wicked, and the Wicked shall see the glorious Salvation of the Saints, and their happiness; their appearing with Christ in glory will make much for their glory, Quia unum∣quod{que} ex comparatione contrarii magis cognosci∣tur, Because every thing is more known by com∣paring it with that which is contrary to it. The misery of War sheweth us the happiness of Peace. The blackness of darkness commend∣eth the comfort of Light: So the misery of Hell will make Heaven the more glorious: Angels shall then admire at the glory of the Saints: He that confesseth me before men, him will I confess before the Angels: that is, glorifie him before them, Luk. 12.8. saith our Saviour. Moreover, the godly themselves shall mutually admire one anothers Glory, and admire Christ in one another: Peter shall admire Christ in the glory conferred on Paul, and Paul shall admire Christ in the glory conferred on Peter, they shall mutually rejoyce in each others glory; as here on Earth they do mourn and grieve for one ano∣ther

in afflictions, in Heaven they shall rejoyce in one another's glory, Mat. 8.11. Many shall come from the East and West, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven. Sitting at Table sheweth mutual delight in one anothers society.

Christ will have his Saints to behold the Damnation of the Wicked, that so they might admire the free grace of God, and glorifie his Name, that he should deliver them from so great Damnation: Luk. 13.28. And God will have the Wicked to behold the glory of the Saints, that so the Wicked may in vain miserably torment themselves with envy at the surpassing glory and happiness of the Saints, and that they may also curse and torment themselves with inward grief, that they should be such fools as to lose such glo∣ry, as the Saints do enjoy; then will they cry out, Oh we might have had those Crowns as well as they, but now we must have the vials of Wrath powred upon our heads, instead of having Crowns of glory set upon them: we must now keep company with Devils and Infernal Fiends in Hell, when we might have enjoyed commu∣nion with God and his Angels in Heaven.

CHAP. VIII.

1. IS there unspeakable glory to be revealed in the Saints hereafter; then be not troubled at your present state, whatever it is; O ye righ∣teous, let not your present mean, obscure, base condition in the World trouble your hearts, but lift up your heads because of the glory which shall be revealed; be not troubled at the shame of the Cross, be not terrified with the rage and cruelty of ungodly men at any time, fear none of these things, because it is your Fathers will to give you a Kingdom of glory. Bid afflictions wel∣come for glories-sake, bid reproaches wel∣come for glories-sake; let this comfort thy Soul in all abasements and pressures, yet I shall be glo∣rified: the World is pleased to reveal their ma∣lice in me, but my God will reveal glory in me: the World reveals their hatred against me, but my God will reveal his love in me; how de∣spicable soever I am at this present, yet I shall appear in glory.

You know the glory of Christ was hidden for thirty three years; though he was the Lord of glory, yet how despicable and contemptible was he? all men scorn'd him, rejected him, mocked him, persecuted him; but now he is in glory, and will one day appear in glory to the World: put case thou shalt pass as many years in reproa∣ches, and afflictions, yet thou shalt appear in glory

together with Christ, and thou dost at present but drink of the same Cup the Lord of glory drank of before thee. Ye that are afflicted for Righteousness sake, what cause have ye to count it all joy, for if any have more abundantly revela∣tions of glory in them, undoubtedly they have who have abounded in sufferings for Christ.

This should work in us a blessed contempt of all the torments and cruelties that Hell or Earth can invent, or execute; a few hours in Heaven will make amends for all the tortures of this life, were every torture an Hell to us: Oh the perfection, beauty, glory, and transcendent excellency of those joys which shall be revealed in that day.

2. The consideration of the revelation of this glory may fortifie our Spirits against all fears and dangers; though the thing feared be not present, yet fears are many times present with us; there is enough in this consideration to raise our hearts above fears; the hope of this revela∣tion heightens a Christians courage, gives him the Almighty for his second, and makes him Triumph over all his fears, and overcome all difficulties: this hath so fortified many Saints and Martyrs that they have even laught at Tyrants and De∣vils, the greatest cruelty being not able to ra∣vish from them what they loved: the hope of eternal glory will strengthen the heart against the worst of fears and dangers which the worst of times and men can threaten: were this hope well kept up, it would carry a believer through

a whole Sea of trouble; and the rougher the Sea proved, the nearer would the Soul be carried to the Haven.

3. This likewise may strengthen the hearts of God's Children against the present snares, which Sin, Satan, or the World, can lay before them; since there shall be a Revelation of glory in us, what Soul is there that is prevented and enga∣ged with the love of God, that may not see good ground to disdain all the offers that a sinful world can make him to ensnare his Soul; as Abraham did not only reject the offers of the King of Sodom, but did it with disdain, Gen. 14.23. The most high God was Abraham's portion, therefore he would not be beholden to a wicked King for any thing, no not so much as a shoe∣latchet; he would not be so injurious to the pos∣sessour of Heaven and Earth: so when a child of God is tempted to that which is evil, with present honours, profits, and preferments in the world, this will make him with a holy disdain to refuse these proffers that the World, and the God of the World make unto him, because of the glory that shall be revealed in him: the pro∣mises of the World are very false, and those ima∣ginary contentments it allures us with, gives us nothing but real torments in the end.

CHAP. IX. Sheweth that the Creatures themselves do earnestly and continually expect the manifestation of the Glorious state of the Godly.

SECT. I.

MOreover, that there shall a time come when God shall make manifest and illu∣strious the glory of his Children, is evident from that instinct that God hath put into the Creatures to wait for that time; for St. Paul tells us in the nineteeth verse of this eighth Chapter to the Ro∣mans, That the earnest expectaction of the Creature waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of God. St. Peter in his Epist. 2.3.16. tells us, that there are some things in Paul's Epistles which are hard to be understood; in the number of those My∣steries, this Text of St. Paul is one. And Musculus* 1.30 conceiveth that St. Peter principally aims at this nine∣teenth verse, and the three following verses. I am sure it is a most mysterious Mystery; The fer∣vent expectation of the Creature waiteth: 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the expectation expecteth.] So it is word for word: It is an Hebraism; the He∣brews when they would express the greatness, or earnestness of a thing, do it by doubling the word, as thus, in seeing, I see; in hearing, I

hear; in flying, I fly: so here the Apostle, to express the vehement expectation of the Crea∣ture, doubleth the word; the expectation ex∣pecteth; the Creatures expect, they expect. The Apostle useth an elegant word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, which word signifies the gesture of such who earnestly expect something with the head stretched out; or put forth the head, looking every way to be∣hold the thing expected, as Sisera's Mother put her head forth the window, looking when Sisera would come: so the Creature doth as it were put forth the head, looking when the Sons of God shall appear in glory; crying as it were, Why are they so long ere they come and ap∣pear?

Quest. What is here meant by the Creature?

Resp. Some understand by the Creature, the Heavens and the Earth, with all their ornaments, the continens and the contentum: but Beza* 1.31 understandeth thereby, the World, or Universe, consist∣ing of the visible Heavens and Earth, which is said here to expect, not the Creatures in it: And the truth of this will appear, by shewing that it cannot be meant of Angels, of the Church, of the new Creature, Men, &c.

I. By Creature, we cannot understand the An∣gels, that they do earnestly ex∣pect this manifestation, as Origen* 1.32 thinketh;

1. Because the Apostle speaks of such a Crea∣ture

as is made subject to vanity for the sin of Man, so the Angels are not; there is no shadow of privative vanity in any of the glorious Angels, they are perfectly holy, perfectly, immutably happy.

2. Again, he speaks of the Creature which is subject to a bondage of corruption; the Angels are not subject to any such bondage: every word in these verses makes against this Opinion. Ori∣gen thinketh, that because the Angels are now ministring Spirits to the Sons of God, and be∣cause Angels are set over Kingdoms and Provin∣ces, and to manage Wars for and against King∣doms, hence they are subject to some vanity: I answer, though the Angels do minister to the Saints, yet this is not vanity, neither is it against their wills thus to minister; for seeing it is the will of God they should attend on his People, they do it with all readiness of mind; their greatest delight is to please God. Their Presi∣dency over Kingdoms and Wars, is to restrain and direct them according to God's command, without any vanity or corruption in them; it is part of mans vanity and misery to be employed in Wars, it is a bondage of corruption to him; but not to Angels, who are both Spectators and Actors without corruption.

3. It cannot be denied, but that the Angels do earnestly desire the glory of the Sons of God, but they do not groan together with us, and are not in pain together with us: therefore it must

be meant of other Creatures, not of Angels.

SECT. II.

II. IT cannot be understood of the new Crea∣ture in Man, the Image of God renewed by the Spirit of Christ in righteousness and holi∣ness, as some would have it; for although grace begun tendeth to a glorious perfection, and it desireth its own perfection, yet,

1. It cannot be said to be subjected to vanity, to corruption.

2. The Apostle opposeth the first Fruits of the Spirit, which is the new Creature, or Grace in us, to this Creature which waiteth, expecteth, and groaneth; when he saith, not only they, [that is the Creature] but we also who have the first Fruits of the Spirit.

3. Because in Scripture, the word [Creature] is never singly added to Grace; but ever with an addition, the new Creature.

III. It cannot be meant of the Church; for so the Socinians understand by Creatures, the Church of God; and by them who have the first Fruits of the Spirit, the Apostles; and make this sence, for the godly, or Church of the godly, waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of God; and not only the godly, but we also [the Apo∣stles] who have the first Fruits of the Spirit. How absurd this sence is, these Arguments will evince us.

1. Because the Creature is opposed to the Sons of God; if by Creature be meant the God∣ly, then this should be the sence, the Godly do wait for the manifestation of the Godly; the Sons of God wait for the manifestation of the Sons of God.

2. This sence utterly subverts the scope of the Apostle, who proveth that the Sons of God shall be manifested, from the Creatures expectation; therefore some other Creature must be under∣stood.

3. The Apostle tells us afterward, the godly do groan, wait, and hope for this manifestation; for, saith he, not only they, but we also.

Object. They object by [we] in this place, is meant the Apostles.

Sol. It cannot be so; because whatsoever is here said, pertaineth to all the Sons of God.

1. Because all the Godly, as well as the Apo∣stles, have the first Fruits of the Spirit, verse 23.

2. Because all the Godly, as well as the Apo∣stles, are saved by hope, verse 24.

3. Because all the Godly, as well as the Apo∣stles, with patience wait for it, verse 25.

4. Because all the Godly, as well as the Apo∣stles, have the Spirit to help their infirmities, verse 26. It cannot therefore be meant of the Apostles in opposition to the Godly, but it is to be understood promiscuously of Apostles, and all the Godly.

SECT. III.

IV. BY Creature cannot be understood. Man∣kind, as Augustine and Cajetan think, who (from Mark 16. Go, preach the Gospel to every Crea∣ture) say, by Creature, must necessarily there be understood Mankind, preach the Gospel to eve∣ry Man; and think that in this place also man is meant, and so make the sence thus; for the earnest expectation of every Man waiteth, &c. Now for answer to this:

1. It must be granted, that in this word [Crea∣ture] Man is included; but it is not to be meant only of Man, yea, not to be meant of Man, but of all the Creatures made for Man's use.

2. Because if by Creature Man be understood, then either it is meant of godly Men, or of wic∣ked Men, or of Man in general.

1. It cannot be understood that by Creature godly Men are meant, for the Reasons above mentioned; the Creatures and they are opposed; not only they, but we also.

2. It cannot be meant of wicked Men, for they shall not be partakers of this glory; they desire not the day of this manifestation, they wish in their hearts it may never come; they are in pain because of the thoughts of such a day; they groan for fear of the day of the manifestation of the Sons of God; if they might have their wish, they would live for ever here in this World,

wallowing in sin and sensual delights, and take Heavens glory who will for them.

3. The Greek words 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉; una su∣spirat, una parturit; groaneth together, and is in travel together] must be meant of other Creatures besides Man; with whom do they groan and travel together, but with us Men, with us Sons of God?

SECT. IV.

HEnce it is clear, that by Creature we must understand the World or Universe.

Quest. But here a Question will arise, Whether it be meant only of the Heavens and the Earth, or together with them all Creatures within the visible Heavens and Earth? whether the continens, and not the contentum, or both Mundus continens & contentus?

Resp. It is hard to determine; some eminent Divines do conceive, that only Mundus conti∣nens, the visible Heavens and Earth do expect and groan for this manifestation, and not the Mundus contentus, the Creatures within them, thus Beza;* 1.33 and so he interprets the word, Mundus conditus, the World which is made expecteth the manifestation of the Sons of God; but why 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 should thus be restrained, he gives no rea∣son. Others conceive that all the Creatures with them do expect, the Sun, Moon, the Stars, the

Elements, the Beasts of the Field, the Fowls of the Air, Trees and Plants of the Earth, all Crea∣tures which God at first made for the use and service of Man, and for the perfect ornament of the World; for these Reasons.

Reas. 1. Because all creatures which God made for man, and the perfection of the World, are for mans sin subjected to vanity and corruption under the same curse; therefore all do expect and groan to be delivered from this bondage of corruption; because it is said, that the creature which is under bondage doth groan; all crea∣tures are in bondage, therefore they do groan.

2. Because it is said, verse 22. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, omnis creatura: What these words signifie, Cameron* 1.34 is positive; Pro∣fecto nihil aliud quam totum Ʋniver∣sum significat; truly it signifieth nothing else but the whole Universe. Why the Heavens and the Earth, without the ornaments and creatures in them, should be called the whole Creation, to me it is irrational.

SECT. V.

Quest. 2. WE are in the next place to en∣quire, What is meant by the ma∣nifestation of the Sons of God?

Resp. Erasmus gives this sence, that the Sons of God may be made publick; Beza and Calvin think it rather relateth to their glory, that the

glory of the Sons of God may be made manifest; that it may appear how desirable and blessed the state and condition of the godly is, when they shall have put off corruption, and put on in∣corruptible glory.

Quest. 3. How the Creature is here said to wait and expect, some question; because the words [ex∣pectation and hope, &c.] are here attributed to the Creature, there are some that think it cannot be meant inanimate creatures void of sense, and of animate creatures who are void of reason.

Resp. 1. In answer to this, you are to know, it is usual in Scripture to attribute sense and rea∣son both to senseless and sensitive creatures, by a figure called Prosopopeia, feigning them to be Persons: as when God calls to the Heavens and Earth, Hear, O Heavens, and hearken, O Earth: Be astonished, O ye Heavens; All such phrases are but figurative speeches: so here, when it is said, the Creature groaneth, hopeth, expecteth, la∣boureth, they are but figurative speeches; the Holy Ghost feigning the whole Creation as a Person expecting and groaning for this glory: he makes whole Nature to speak and groan, when affording words unto her sorrow, he makes her wish our change, and her deliverance.

2. The Creature may be said earnestly to ex∣pect this glorious manifestation in two respects.

1. In respect of that natural instinct which is in every creature, forcibly inclining them to their first created perfection, of which for the

sin of man they are deprived, which makes the creature restless till it doth attain to it: This na∣tural tendency to a better state, is that which the Apostle calls hope, and expectation, groan∣ing, &c. A learned man expresseth it by this si∣militude; As the Needle in the Mariner's Com∣pass, hath a natural inclination to the North Pole, from which if it be removed, it shakes, trembles, and is in continual motion, never rest∣ing, till it cometh and be setled toward the North again: So it is with the Creature, Sin hath put the whole Creation out of order, it cannot do that good for which God at first made the creatures; therefore they hope, wait, groan, are in pain and t••avel, till they be set in order again, and attain to their primitive and more glorious state and condition.

2. They may be said to wait for this glorious Manifestation, because the whole Creation con∣tinueth in that State and order, wherein now it is by reason of Sin, though subject to such infinite variations, alterations, corruptio••s and decays: when the Apostle saith, The Creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, he thereby insi∣nuateth, that they are corrupted by Sin; and when he addeth, that the Creature it self shall al∣so be delivered from the bondage of corruption, he makes it evident, that Jesus Christ will satis∣fie their desires, and that he will restore to them what we by reason of our Sins have unjustly be∣reft them of; for the corruption which they com∣plain

of, is not that which they have received from nature, but that which they have attracted from our Sin. Mus∣culus* 1.35 on this place saith, If we would but seriously consider and observe, under what vanity and corruption the whole Creation laboureth, we would admire that ever the World should continue.

Now the reason why they do so earnestly ex∣pect, is because they would be fully serviceable to their Creatour, they would be in such a state, as may render them perfectly conducible to the glory of their Creatour: it is their unhappiness and misery that Sin hath rendred them so much unserviceable to him; it is against their will saith the Apostle; it is against their very natural in∣stinct and inclination that they must be slaves and drudges to sinful Rebells: Moreover, the Crea∣tures by a natural instinct do naturally tend to their own highest and ultimate perfection: Sin spoiled them of it, and keeps them from this perfection, but this natural inclination is still in the Creature; perfection and duration is the de∣sire of all Creatures: But this perfection shall not, and cannot be enjoyed by the Creature, till there be a manifestation of the Sons of God: hence 'tis said, they earnestly expect that mani∣festation: the Saints expect Christ's manifestati∣on in glory, for till he appear, they shall not ap∣pear in glory: The Creatures expect their ap∣pearance, for till the Sons of God appear, they

shall not be delivered from their vanity and corruption.

SECT. VI.

NOW if the Creature who shall not have any answerable measure of glory (but be only brought into glorious liberty, not into glory it self, as Calvin* 1.36 noteth) doth thus wait for this glorious manifestation, how much more should we whom it mainly concerneth, and for whose sakes that day was created and ordained, and who shall enjoy a fullness of glory in comparison of them, how should we wait all the days of our appointed time, till our change shall come? This expectation of the Creature should teach the godly (whose duty it is to expect) to long for, to hasten to the manifestation of this glory: Solomon sends the Sluggard to the Pismire, and bids him learn of him diligence and industry; the same may be said to the godly man; Go to the Creature thou dull and sloathful man, and learn of the Creature to look for, and to be more and more in expectation of the manifesta∣tion of thine own glory.

The Creatures expect when you shall be ma∣nifested in glory: is it not a shame then to those who are Sons and Heirs of glory, not to expect their own glory? the Creatures lift up their eyes to Heaven, crying, How long Lord! is it not a

shame then to the Sons of God, that they should cast their eyes down to the Earth, on the glory of it which passeth away like a Flower of the Field? The creatures put forth their heads, and cry, why are the wheels of the Chariot so long in coming? is it not a shame then for the Sons of God to hang their heads down? is it not a shame to us, that senceless creatures should be earnest, and we slack in our expectation? shall senceless creatures outstrip those who are endued with reason and grace? shall their hope outstrip our hope? If you believe there shall be such a manifestation, and that you in particular shall be manifested to be the Sons of God, shew me your faith by your earnest expectation; you have but poor desires of Christ's coming, and your own glory, whose expectation is so cold and faint: if the creatures were to be partakers of that very glory that you shall be, how much more earnest would they be in expecting the manifestation of it? the very cause why we do not more earnestly expect our glorious manifestation, is our earthly∣mindedness; we mind Earth so much, therefore do we expect Heaven so little.

CHAP. X. Sheweth there is no comparison, or equality, between a Believer's present sufferings, and his future glory.

SECT. I.

THe next Proposition I shall lay down from this Text, is, that there is no comparison, proportion, or equality, between the present sufferings of the Saints, and their glory that shall be revealed; their present afflictions are not wor∣thy to be laid in the ballance with glory; com∣parisons between them are odious: we should not speak of our afflictions on that day we speak of glory. That there is no comparison, or pro∣portion between them, will appear, if we con∣sider the ensuing particulars.

I. If you look at the things themselves which you suffer for the present, and what you shall en∣joy hereafter, there is no more comparison be∣tween them, then there is between a Mole-hill and the Sun; a drop, and the sea of Water; a little pibble, and a rock of Diamonds.

1. You suffer perhaps the loss of goods; you shall enjoy God who is all goodness; what com∣parison is there betwixt the Creature and the Creator? all the Nations of the World are but as a drop of a Bucket before him; what then are thy goods, thy riches to God himself?

2. Suppose you suffer the loss of Houses and Lands, you shall possess a great Kingdom; fear not, little flock, it is your Father's pleasure to give you a Kingdom: what comparison is there be∣tween thy earthly possessions and that heavenly Kingdom? the whole Earth in comparison of the Heavens is but a point; what are thy Houses and Lands to that heavenly Kingdom?

3. Do you suffer mockings, revilings, evil speakings, reproaches before men, and from men? Christ will confess you before his Father, and before his holy Angels: what are mens re∣vilings and defamations, to the confession of Christ before an innumerable company of glo∣rious Angels?

4. Perhaps you suffer imprisonment, you may lie in nasty dungeons, your feet may be in the stocks, your hands manacled, what are these things to the glorious liberty of the Sons of God which they shall enjoy, when you shall walk at large in Heaven, and follow the Lamb where∣soever he goeth? here ye are mens Prisoners, there ye shall be the Lord's Free-men; here ye are fettered Captives, there you shall be crown∣ed Kings.

5. You may suffer present banishment from your Country, from your Wives, Children, Parents, Kinred, Friends; in Heaven you shall enjoy communion and fellowship with God, with Christ, with an innumerable Company of Angels, with the general Assembly of the

First-born, and live among all glorious Saints.

6. For the present you may suffer much sor∣row, tears may be your meat and drink conti∣nually; but what is your present sorrow to the joy of the Lord, to the comforts of Heaven, one drop of which falling down from Heaven on the Soul of a Believer, makes him for the present to rejoyce with glorious and unspeak∣able joy? what are your dropping tears to the rivers of pleasure which are at God's right hand.

7. At present you may be put to shame and confusion; men may set crowns of paper upon your heads, having Devils painted on them, as they did upon John Huss; or you may have crowns of straw put upon your heads in derision, as some other Martyrs; or crowns of thorns, as Christ had; but what is this to the Crown of Glory, the Crown of Righteousness, the Crown of Immortality, which Christ the righteous Judg will set upon your heads?

8. Put case you suffer death for Christ, of which cup many millions of Heavens Worthies have drunk; put case it be a shameful torment∣ing death, a burning, a sawing asunder, ye are stoned, or buried alive, or starved to death, or torn in pieces by Lions, whatsoever the death be, 'tis the worst of evils you can suffer for Christ; yet what comparison is there between this death, and that life which you shall live in Heaven? Had you as many lives as hairs on your heads, (as a Martyr wished he had) had you millions

of lives to lose for Christ, yet the loss of all these are not worthy to be compared to the life which suffering Christians shall live in Heaven; put all together, and you shall see there is no compa∣rison between your present sufferings, and your future enjoyments of good: See what Christ saith Mark 10.29, 30. There is no man that hath left House, or Brethren, or Sisters, or Father, or Mother, or Wife, or Children, or Lands, for my sake and the Gospels, but he shall receive an hun∣dred-fold now in this time, &c. There is no com∣parison between your present losses and present gains, your present sufferings and present reward; your present reward is an hundred-fold more then all you can lose; the grace of God is pre∣sent, the savour of God is present; the right to Heaven which Believers have for the present, is far above all their present sufferings: Now if the reward which suffering Christians have in this life be an hundred-fold better then their sufferings, then doubtless their glory in Heaven shall be a thousand-fold more transcendent.

SECT. II.

II. THere is no proportion or comparison, if you respect the properties of our present sufferings, and our future glory.

1. There is no comparison between earthly and heavenly things; your present sufferings are earthly; the goods of which you are spoiled

are earthly; your liberty, your houses, your lives, your joys, your ease, are earthly things, but your glory is heavenly; every part, every degree of your future glory is heavenly.

2. There is no proportion between that which is transient, passing away, and cannot endure, and that which is permanent, enduring; your present sufferings are transient, they pass away, they endure not. Athanasius said of persecution, Nubecula est, quae cito transiret. There is nothing more transient and swift then time; your suffer∣ings pass away together with time, they cannot endure always; all you which are the subject of them shall not endure always; now your glory is permanent, it shall abide and endure when time shall be no more.

3. There is no proportion or comparison be∣tween a moment and eternity; a moment, a mi∣nute, and for ever and ever: your present suffer∣ings are but for a moment, a short space of time, your glory is eternal, for ever and for ever; your pain and torment is but for a moment, your ease and rest is for ever and ever; your suffering im∣prisonment is but for a moment, your glorious liberty is eternal; you suffer death but for a mo∣ment, your life is eternal; what comparison is there between the twinkling of an eye and eter∣nity? You say you have suffered long, as Asaph, you are plagued every morning; you have been in bitterness all your days, ever since you began to look after Heaven, you have been afflicted

from your youth up to your age, even to the day of your death: Grant all this to be true, yet thy whole life is but a moment compared to eter∣nity, the sufferings of a thousand years is but a moment to eternity; yea, millions of years are but a moment compared to eternity; nor will they pass for so much, if we did but consider what eternity is.

4. There is no comparison between light things and heavy; between a feather and a rock, be∣tween chaff and a mountain of lead; your pre∣sent afflictions are light, your future glory is pon∣derous and weighty, 2 Cor. 4.17. observe what a most elegant opposition the Apostle makes, he opposeth glory to afflictions; he opposeth eter∣nal to momentany; he opposeth weight to light: and he addeth a most transcendent expression, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉: we translate it, A far more exceeding weight of glory. Some, by adding some other words, do give this sense, Our afflictions are out of measure moment any, our glory is out of measure eternal; our afflictions are out of mea∣sure light, our glory is out of measure weighty. Whatsoever your afflictions are, and how grie∣vous soever they are in themselves, and how long soever, yet they are but light being compared with the glory of Heaven, and with the weight of it: If you look only on your sufferings, and judge of them according to your sense, so they are not light; but judge of them as opposed to future glory, and so they are out of measure no∣thing.

5. Afflictions do not seize on us at all times; Christians have their lucida intervalla, their mo∣ments of ease, as well as their moments of trou∣ble, their present times of rejoycing, as well as their present times and Now's of sorrowing; they, even they have their times to sing and dance, as their times to weep and mourn: Paul had his raptures as well as his pressures: David had his time to play on the Harp, as times to hang it up, and there is no Christian that is afflicted at all times, they have their sad Eclipses but now and then: but now their glory shall be at all and every moment during eternity; they shall have perpetual glory without one moment of shame, perpetual joy without one moment of sorrow; God will wipe away all tears from their eyes, they shall continually sing for superabundant joy of Soul and Body, their eyes shall ever see God, they shall not see sorrow any more, they shall be as the Angels of God, who never felt sor∣row since their Creation; they shall be as very strangers to sorrow, as the Damned shall be to joy: this present time shall be no more, then the afflictions of this present time shall be no more. That was an arrogant and false self-deceiving speech of Babilon: Lo, I sit as a Queen, and shall see no more sorrow. The godly, when taken up into glory, shall say it truly; now we sit as Kings, and shall not see any sorrow, no not for a moment whilst eternity lasteth: Eternity is nothing else but a perpetual moment of un∣speakable

and glorious joy and happiness.

6. There is no proportion, because afflictions are justly due: are ye hated of all men? ye de∣serve it, and more, ye deserve to be hated of God, of his Angels for ever: Are ye cast by men into Prison, into Dungeons? ye deserve it and more, even to be cast into Hell fire: are ye ba∣nished from your Countrey, friends, and acquain∣tance? you deserve that and more, ye deserve to be banished from Heaven, from your God, from your Saviour to Eternity. Are ye spoiled of your goods? ye deserve it, and more, even to be spoiled of eternal mercies, of eternal Salva∣tion. Are your bodies condemned to be burnt, or to be cast to Lyons and wild Beasts to tear them to pieces? you deserve this and more, even to have both body and Soul condemned to Hell fire, to be cast to Devils to be devoured: ye that sin daily, deserve to suffer daily; ye that have sin in you, you do deserve that all plagues, miseries, curses, deaths, should make a prey on your Souls and bodies; but glory is altogether undue, the meer and free gift of God in Christ: your Title to it is of meer grace, so shall be your Possession of it, meer grace: you were Elected to glory, Redeemed to glory, Called to glory, engrafted into Christ by faith, and so become heirs of glory, before you suffered any thing for Christ. True it is! God hath made our suffer∣ings a condition of the Promise of glory; it is of his own meer pleasure to ordain our suffer∣ings

to be the condition of glory: I may say of this condition, as Naaman's servant said to him, murmuring at the Prophet, bidding him go wash in Jordan and be clean; My Lord! if the Prophet had bid thee do a greater thing, wouldest thou not have done it; how much more, seeing he saith, wash and be clean? so had God required of us harder conditions, Go suffer Hell torments for Milli∣ons of years, and afterward you shall be glorifi∣ed; should not we do it? but now when he requireth and commandeth us to suffer afflictions but for this present time, but for a moment, but for a short life in the World, shall not we cou∣ragiously and cheerfully suffer with Christ for this present time?

7. There is no comparison between afflictions and future glory, if we consider the subject of both; the subject of afflictions is either our bo∣dies or our estates, liberties, only outward things; not the Soul: Caesar himself hath no power over that, said the Martyr to his Persecutors: So saith our Saviour, Fear not them that can kill the Body; they can (when God permits) kill thy Body, im∣prison thy Body, spoil thee of thy goods, ex∣pose thy Body to hunger, cold, nakedness, and such like outward evils, but as for thy Soul, the wrath, the malice of men cannot reach it: But now the subject of glory is both Soul and Body; unspeakable glory shall be revealed in your Souls and in your Bodies; God kills the Souls and Bodies of the Wicked, and he will save the

Souls and Bodies of his People; God will fill the Souls of Believers with knowledg, pureness, and joy, and their Bodies with immortality and in∣corruptibility, and Sun-like splendour; so that they suffer but in part, but shall be glorified in the whole; they suffer but in these vile Bodies, which are by nature mortal, and because of sin subject to misery, but both Soul and Body must partake in glory.

8. There is no comparison between them, if we regard the measure and degrees of our suffer∣ings, and the degrees and measure of future glo∣ry: no Christian suffereth in the highest degree, God is pleased to mitigate their sufferings, and to restrain the rage of their Enemies, that they cannot, they shall not act according to their wills; he that suffereth most may suffer more; but fu∣ture glory shall be in the highest degree, to the utmost, as far as our natures are capable. The measure of our sufferings is not full, pressed down, and running over, but the measure of glory shall be full, pressed down, and running over; there∣fore the Apostle in the same fore-cited place, 2 Cor. 4.17. saith, that our glory shall be far more exceeding weighty: Observe the grada∣tion.

1. It shall be weighty, when as afflictions in the highest degree are but light.

2. Glory shall be exceeding weighty, beyond the weight of our afflictions.

3. As if this were too little, he addeth [shall be more exceeding weighty.

4. As if this were too little, he addeth the word [far] shall be far more exceeding weighty. The Apostle useth these words, because he could not express the ultimate degrees of that glory which shall be revealed in suffering Christians; the future happiness of Believers passeth all ut∣terance and understanding.

9. There is no comparison, if we consider how that we suffer but some one, or some few evils, but in Heaven we shall receive all kinds of goods, all kinds and degrees; God gives out sufferings by parcels, but glory in the gross, or lump; some he permits to be tortured, others to be mocked, others to be imprisoned,* 1.37 others to be stoned; some to be sawn in sunder, others to wander hither and thi∣ther, to be destitute of necessaries; some suffer one kind of evil, others another, one doth not suffer all; but now their future glory is made up of all that goodness which God in his wisdom knows conducible to make them eternally bles∣sed: Oh how great is that goodness which thou hast laid up for them that love thee! cries David, Psal. 31.19. He gives them drops of sorrow, seas of joy and comfort; he gives them sparks of tor∣ment, and gives them a Sun full of glory: what goodness is in Heaven, is for their happiness. God placed in Paradise trees of all sorts for A∣dam's delight: Heaven is God's own Paradise, there is nothing wanting there for delight and blessedness: In a word, God himself will be

their glory, he will be all in all to them; his own joy, his own glory, his own comfort and good∣ness shall be theirs, they shall then need nothing.

10. Consider this one thing, and you will see there is no comparison between them; the affli∣ctions of this present time are common to wicked and godly; they suffer the same evils from men, but for different causes; the wicked suffer as evil doers, the godly suffer for doing well. The com∣munity of afflictions St. Paul brings as an argu∣ment to perswade Christians to bear the burthen patiently; 1 Cor. 10.13. There is no temptation hath taken you, but such as is common to man. Look over your afflictions under which you groan, and you shall see other men under the same burthen with you: But now this future glory is a Believers peculiar portion; wicked men may drink of the cup of their sufferings, but shall not have one drop of their joys; they may endure cruel mockings, but shall never share with them in honour; that glory is peculiar to the Saints, reserved only for Believers, makes it the more in∣valuable: Put case the light of the Sun were but for some men, and all the rest lived and walked in darkness, we should judge the state of such men incomparably comfortable above others; the glory of Heaven is peculiar to Be∣lievers, the darkness of affliction is common to Unbelievers with them, in this respect there is no comparison.

CHAP. XI.

Ʋse. THis may inform us, what cause Christi∣ans have to rejoyce, according to the Apostle's exhortation, when they suffer, and fall into affliction after affliction; James 1.2. My Brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations: Do not only count it joy, but count it all joy; joy in nothing more then in this, joy only in this, when ye fall into temptations] that is, afflictions. A strange exhortation to a carnal heart! what! is it all joy to be mocked, reviled, per∣secuted, hated, imprisoned, tortured, to have our Bodies bound at stakes? should it not rather be said, Count this a cause of weeping, sighing, wringing of hands? No, saith the Apostle, count it all joy, when trouble cometh upon trouble, wave upon wave, storm upon storm; when the winds blow, and the rain falls, and the waves beat upon you, then count it all joy; call upon your souls to rejoyce, call upon your hearts to Magnifie God, clap your hands, leap for joy.

2. It informs us that they are the happy ones of the Earth, who are the greatest sufferers for Righteousness sake: thus St. James Chap. 1.2. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, or tri∣bulation. James 5.11. Behold, we count them happy which endure, saith the same Apostle. What a paradox is this to a man that mindeth earthly things! Call you him blessed that is imprisoned,

in fetters, in a dungeon, reviled, mocked, tor∣tured, persecuted, hated of all? count you him an happy man that is spoiled of his goods, desti∣tute of friends, who is ready to perish through famine? count you a man in misery an happy man? Yes, saith the Apostle, he is a blessed man: we count him happy whom all men hate, who suffer hunger, cold, nakedness, imprisonment, death, banishment for the name of Christ; we count him happy who endures most misery with and for Christ; we count him, and him only a miserable man, that can laugh and sing away care and sorrow, who sits like a Queen and sees no sorrow, who fares deliciously every day, who can eat, drink, and play, and so pass his time of life away, he is a miserable man: For 'tis not what a man is for the present, which makes him happy or miserable, but what a man shall be to eternity; he that is miserable for the present, but shall be happy to eternity, we count him happy; and he that is happy for the present time, but shall be miserable to eternity, we count him a cursed man. Lazarus in the depth of his misery was an happy man, because he is glorious to all eternity; the rich Glutton was a miserable wretch in the height of his jollity, because he is miserable to eternity.

Hence I conclude, that the glory that shall be revealed in us, will make us perfectly blessed; but our present sufferings cannot make us mise∣rable, for the Saints are happy in the thickest of

them, Math. 5.11, 12. Then doth the Spirit of God and of glory rest upon them, 1 Pet. 4.14. Our present miseries at the uttermost can but rob us of a temporal life, which will (come they or come they not) fail us at length; but glory be∣stows upon us, and crowns us with an everlasting blissful life. He that hath an interest in Christ, may cry out with that great Apostle, What shall separate us from the love of Christ? and may say, I am perswaded, that neither Death with its terrours, nor life with its charmes, neither Angels with their beauties, nor Devils with their defor∣mities, things present with their allurements, things future with their promises or threatnings, nor Hell with its torments, can ever separate me from the love of God in Christ: and indeed how should they, saith St. Augustine; because death (though never so hideous) leads us to him; life is found in his possession; Angels and Devils are the Ministers of his justice or his mercy; things present are false, things to come uncertain: Hell with God would be our happiness, and Hea∣ven without him would be our torment: or we may say again with the same Father: that no∣thing can separate a Christian from Jesus Christ, and make him miserable: Not death, because there is no Christian can be brought into so dismal an estate as to be deprived of his love: not the Angels, because being united to Christ, we are stronger then all Spirits combined together against us: not the vexations of life, because they

are sweet, when undergone for his honour, and serve only to give us a nearer conjunction to his person: Not things to come, because nothing can be bestowed, nor promised which can counter∣vail him: Not Heaven, because it is the recom∣pence of them that serve him: Not Hell, because it is made for none but those that forsake him: by all which we see, that a man firmly united to Christ, cannot by these outward things be re∣moved from him.

Oh the solidity, perspicuity, and self-suffici∣ency of that Paradise and place of delights, of that Celestial company, and Crowned society! who is able to express the comfort and content∣ment of that estate and condition, where we shall have all blessedness Internal, External, and Eter∣nal? what can be done or suffered to answer so great a reward? the diseased will endure the cutting and searing of their Members for the en∣joyment of a short tedious life: Heathens have suffered great things for a little vain glory: if they prize the shadow so much, at what rate should we value the substance? what are a few drops of blood for the Kingdom of Heaven? how may this comfort us under afflictions, con∣sidering that the afflictions of this life are but small showers, at the most but some short storms, which are followed with an Eternal calm, Isa. 54.8.

CHAP. XII.

Sect. I.

I shall now in the next place (by Divine assistance) adventure to speak something of the excellency of Heavens glory, though some there be that think silence and astonishment to be the best commendations we can give it: I confess our understandings are too shallow to comprehend the greatness of it: When the great Voice saith, Come up hither, come and see, then we shall be best resolved concerning it. If the Queen of Sheba confessed that the one half was not told her of the Wisdom, Prosperity, and Glo∣ry of Solomon (which she had heard reported in her own Countrey) when she came in person to his Court; how much more shall the Saints con∣fess when they come to Heaven, that the Thou∣sandth part was not told them of all the honour, glory, and blessedness, which they shall find in that heavenly Jerusalem. Here then let us con∣sider

• The Circumstances of this glory.
• The Substance of this glory.
• The Adjuncts of this glory.

The Circumstances are two; Time and Place: as for the Time it shall be,

1. In the day of the Creatures Restoration: we read, Act. 3.21. That the Heavens must con∣lain Christ until the time of the restitution of all things: And St. Paul tells us, That the Creature

it self also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the Sons of God, Rom. 8.21. Here divers questions are to be propounded.

Quest. 1. What Creatures are to be delivered into this glorious liberty?

Resp. 1. Under this word [Creature] we are not to comprise the Elect Angels, because never subject to vanity; nor the reprobate Angels and Men, because they are destroyed with an ever∣lasting destruction from the presence of God.

2. Neither are we to comprise the godly Elect men under this Word [Creature] in this place; for although it be most true, that all the godly shall be perfectly delivered from all manner of bondage into perfect liberty; yet, St. Paul op∣poseth the Creatures to the Elect, in those words [Not only they, but we also.] And the glorious li∣berty of the Sons of God, is the State into which the Creatures are to be delivered, according to their capacity, the future glory of the Sons of God being the exemplar of the Creatures glo∣ry; the Elect are to be delivered primarily, the Creatures secondarily; the Elect are not meant.

3. By Creature, we are not to understand those Creatures which are bred of dung and cor∣ruption, the excrements of Nature: neither are we to understand those Creatures which are the effects of God's Curse upon the Creature, as a penalty of man's Transgression, as Thornes, Thi∣stles,

Briars, and such like, these shall be turned into nothing: but,

4. By Creatures we are to understand the Heavens and the Earth, and Elements, and all the Works of God, which he made at first very good in themselves, wherein his glory did much appear, and were for the great delight, content, and necessary use of man, as living Creatures; the Fowles which are the Host and ornament of Heaven; the Beasts, and all Plants, which are the Host and ornament of the Earth: These rea∣sons may be given for this opinion.

Reas. 1. Because the Apostle ver. 19. speaks indefinitely [the Creature.] Likewise in ver. 20.21. But ver. 22. as if he would put all out of doubt, he saith, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the whole Creation, or omnis Creatura, as it is in the margin of your Bibles: this is a known rule of interpreting Scrip∣ture, when there are many words of one and the same thing, the latter are the Interpretation of the former.

2. Because all the Creatures which in the day of Creation were very good, are all equally subject to bondage, to vanity and corruption, and all the Creatures do desire their own per∣fection and preservation as well as some Creatures; there is no reason why some should be frustrated of these their natural desires, and others should not.

3. Because they who hold that only the Hea∣vens and the Earth shall be renewed, and not

other Creatures, cannot without reason conceive, that the Heavens, Earth, and Elements can be without their ornaments; if so, then the Earth would be under greater bondage of vanity then now it is, it should then be void of all form and beauty: now the reasons which they give for their opinion is, because these, and not other parts of the World, are only capable of immor∣tality: But to this I answer, that no Creature is in its own nature capable of Immortality; the Heavens and the Earth are not: Immortality is the meer gift of God, and depends not on any thing in Nature; therefore if the Heavens, Earth, Elements, shall be restored to an Immortal State, as the Schoolmen think, God who gives them Immo tallity, may allow the same benefit to the other parts of the World for his own glory, as unto them; all being capable of the gift of Im∣mortality, if God bestow it.

SECT. II.

Quest. 2. SEcondly, we are to enquire what is meant by the Creatures deliverance from the bondage of corruption?

Resp. Touching this I find two contrary Opi∣nions, both grounded on Scripture, and both have learned and godly men for their Patrons.

1. Some conceive that the deliverance of the Creation from this bondage is by a total abolition and destruction of the whole Creati∣on:

the Creature being made for man quatenus viator, non comprehensor;* 1.38 when the Creature ceaseth to be (say they) then it ceaseth to be sub∣ject to vanity: and for this their opinion they alledge Job 14.12. where it is said, Man lieth down, and riseth not, till the Heavens be no more. Isai. 51.6. The Hea∣vens shall vanish away like smoak, and the Earth shall wax old like a garment, but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abo∣lished. Matth. 24.35. Heaven and Earth shall pass away. 2 Pet. 3.10. The day of the Lord will come as a Thief in the night, in the which the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat; the Earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Which they expound of the substance and qualities of the present Heavens and Earth, and all the works in them, saying, that all shall be burnt to ashes; so Piscator.* 1.39 From these and the like places they affirm, that the substances of Heaven and Earth shall be reduced to ashes, to nothing, because ••••••s said, they shall perish, they shall pass away ••hey shall be burnt up, which importeth annihilation.

Divers Arguments are brought for the confir∣mation hereof, chiefly from the uselessness of the Creature in that estate; when Man shall have no more need of the Creatures, why should they be any more? what use will there be of the Sun

or Stars to enlighten him? The Scripture saith, in Heaven there shall be no night, and those that are there need no Candle, neither light of the Sun; for the Lord giveth them light, &c. Revel. 22.5. There shall be no need (say they) of Earth or Water for the refreshment and use of Man, of no Beasts or Fowls to feed on, of none of the Creatures to serve him; when Man shall have a spiritual Body, and be raised to an incorruptible state, he will be far above the use of these things; therefore (say they) why should these things be, that will be of no use at all? Moreover, the opi∣nion of these men is, that after God hath by fire destroyed this present World, then will he either out of nothing, or out of the ashes, create new Heavens and new Earth; according to that pro∣mise in 2 Pet. 3.13. which is expressed in Isa. 66.22.

2. There are sundry others that hold, that these present Heavens and Earth shall not be destroyed in respect of their substance and being, but only in respect of their present state, qualities, and uses; and these ha••e founded their opinion upon Scripture, as that of Psalm 102.26. where the Psalmist speaking of the Heavens, saith, They shall perish, but thou shalt endure, &c. as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. He saith, they shall perish, but here he interprets how they shall perish, viz. by mutation, or altera∣tion, not by destruction; alteration of qualities, not of substances: and the Hebrew word in Piel,* 1.40 signifies to innovate, alter and re∣store.

2. So St. Paul expoundeth how this present World shall pass away, 1 Cor. 7.31. the fashion, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the external figure, the state of this pre∣sent World shall pass away; not the substance, but the outward shape of the World shall be done away.

3. So that of 2 Pet. 3.6. where he compareth the last destruction of the World by Fire, to the destruction of the World by Water in Noah's days; the Flood did not destroy the substance of the World, but the (then) present state of it, the substance remained after the Flood; so the substance shall remain after God hath burnt it with Fire: if the World should be wholly de∣stroyed by Fire, then the Apostle's comparison were in vain. Though the Apostle useth the word [perished] he is to be understood of the quali∣ties, not of the substance; as when Silver and Gold is cast into the fire, the dross only perish∣eth, but the substance remaineth; so when God shall cast the Heavens and the Earth into the fire, only the dross of the Heaven and Earth shall perish by fire, not the substance: and therefore the Apostle useth a word in the Greek, which signifies dissolving,* 1.41 and melting, as of Mettals: Now we know when the Mettals are melted, they are not consumed, but only refined and cleansed from their drossiness. Learned Mr. Mede* 1.42 on, this place con∣ceiveth, that this fire shall not reach to the

starry Heavens, but he understandeth only the Air, (which is in Scripture called the Heavens) that shall together with the Earth be burnt; and he gives a very probable Reason from the com∣parison of the destruction of the World by Wa∣ter, and of this last destruction by Fire; the Flood did not by many thousand miles reach the starry Heavens, only the lower Region of the Air perished in the Water; for we plainly read, that the Waters did swell but fifteen cubits above the tops of the Mountains.

4. St. Paul in that place (Rom. 8.) tells us, that this present Creature (viz. the World) ex∣pecteth, hopeth, groaneth to be delivered from its bondage of corruption and vanity: If God shall destroy these Heavens and Earth to nothing, then it is not these Creatures which shall be de∣livered into the glorious liberty, but another which is not created, which was never subject to vanity, which did therefore never groan, never did expect and hope for deliverance, because yet not created; and these present Heavens and Earth should only expect their destruction, not their perfection.

Object. But then it may be demanded, Why doth the Apostle call it new Heavens, and a new Earth? St. Peter saith, We according to his promise look for new Heavens, and a new Earth, &c. 2 Pet. 3.13.

Resp. 1. They are said to be new in respect of the outward form and state.

2. New in respect of qualities and properties;

there shall be a change of qualities, not an anni∣hilation of substance.

3. New in respect of use to which they then shall serve; new, not in respect of substance, but in respect of their new refining: Silver, Gold, or any Mettal cast into a melting Furnace, may be called new in respect of its purifying, not in re∣spect of substance; as the godly after their rege∣neration are called new Creatures, not in respect of their substance, but of their qualities; sin is taken away,* 1.43 and grace is infu∣sed: So the learned Professors of Leyden reconcile these opi∣nions; This whole visible World shall so be burnt up by the last fire, as that it shall be wholly purged from all vanity which sin hath brought upon it, as Met∣tals of divers kinds, when melted in the furnace, are purged each from their dross: And of the World, and the parts of it thus purified by fire, God will make up a new Heaven, and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. And in this their determination, I for my own part will acquiess, without lording ove•• the faith of any man in these particulars. But p•••• case these Heavens and Earth be burnt to ashes by the last fire, and out of them God raiseth a new Earth and Heaven, yet it may be said to be the same for substance with this present, as well as our Bodies which must be turned into dust (which yet shall be raised again out of the dust) are the

same bodies for substance which they were be∣fore, only a change of qualities. Now as to the manner how God will deliver the Creature from the bondage of corruption, we may safely doubt and be ignorant, and the godly may be of divers opinions about it without any viola∣tion of the Law of Love.

SECT. III.

Quest. 3. BƲT what is that glory whereof the Creatures shall be partakers, or into which they shall be delivered?

Resp. 1. This we may with confidence assert, that the whole Creation shall be reduced to a most happy state, beyond what they were in the day of their Creation: they were seen very good, very pleasing, beautiful, useful, all filled with so much goodness, as that man could have drawn much contentment from them; but now shall be made better, more beautiful, more excellent.

2. They shall have as much goodness restored to them, as shall fully fit and accommodate them for the state of glorious liberty, and for glorious persons: what that goodness shall be 'tis safest to say we know not: it will then appear when God shall effect their deliverance.

3. The glory with which God will cloathe the whole Creation shall be to the capacity of each Creatures nature.

4. No Creature shall partake of that glory

which is proper to the Children of God, nei∣ther are they capable of that glory whereof the godly are.

Quest. 4. To what use shall the Creatures deckt with glory serve? This question is the stone of stumbling at which many Divines stumble, and so fall into a flat denial of his glorious Renova∣tion of the Creatures.

Resp. They shall not be for such uses as now they are: this present World of Creatures are principally for these two ends.

1. For the sustentation of these our bodies, and the preservation of this Animal life we now live: they are for Food, for Rayment, for Physick, for bodily delights.

2. Their other use and end is, that the minds of men may take their rise from the Creatures excellencies, to mount up into an holy contem∣plation of God: the visible Creatures teach man some knowledge of the invisible God, Rom. 1.20. Their excellencies do make known to us the infinite Wisdom, Power, and goodness of God; but the Creatures, when thus delivered into a State of glory shall not be for these ends; for,

1. Then our lives shall not be Animal, and our bodies shall not be subject to hunger, thirst, cold, heat, and such like natural infirmities, our bo∣dies shall be spiritualized, and shall no more need these things to preserve them then the Angels: as in the Resurrection we shall neither marry, nor be given in marriage; so neither shall we eat,

drink, or feel the pinching cold, or faint with scorching heat; therefore the Creature shall not serve for this use.

2. Again, the Creatures shall no more teach man the knowledge of God, because then we shall see him face to face, without looking through the glass of the Creatures; God will then immediately communicate himself to us, that we shall know him as we are known.

Object. But even in the state of glory we can∣not see God with our bodily eyes; therefore lest our bodily eyes should be destitute of an apt delightsome object, the glory which God will put on the Creature will be the delight of glo∣rified eyes, then we shall be ravished with the infinite Wisdom and Power of God in investing the whole Creation with such glory.

Sol. Though this is probably true, that the glorified Saints shall delight in beholding the glory of the Creatures, and shall admire God in their glory, yet if there should be no Renova∣tion of the Creature, there would be most ad∣mirable objects for the glorified Saints to behold, as namely,

1. Christ's glorified Body, the brightness whereof will obscure the brightness of Sun, Moon, and Stars, as the brightness of the Sun puts out the light of the Fire; and in this respect it is said, there shall be no need neither of the Sun, nor of the Moon to shine in heaven, Rev. 21.23.

2. As Christ's body, so likewise the glorious

bodies of all the Elect shall be the delight of their eyes, which shall shine more bright then the Sun: What delight then can the Creatures cloth∣ed with glory bring? and in beholding the bo∣dies of the Saints in glory, we may behold the infinite Wisdom, Power, Love, Grace of God, in making handfuls of Dust and Earth such glori∣ous Creatures, as our bodies then shall be. Yet we may rationally assert,

1. That God will ordain the Creature to some use; it is not to be imagined that the Creatures shall continue after the day of Judgment, and yet not serve to some use: if you ask to what use, Lombard* 1.44 makes this answer, Ego nescio, I know not: the same answer, Peter Martyr* 1.45 gives to the same question: though it be contra∣ry to nature and common reason, that the Crea∣ture after its Renovation shall be idle, yet if you ask how they shall be employed, facile nos fate∣amur ignorare, we may easily be brought to con∣fess our ignorance.

2. Doubtless God will adapt and fit the Crea∣ture to the use of the glorified state of his Chil∣dren (as was hinted before) which they shall then fully and perfectly know when they shall be actual possessors of the new Heavens and new Earth.

3. Learned Bain gives this answer,

1. It may be God will have the whole Crea∣tion to stand as a Monument of his former Pow∣er,

Wisdom, and Goodness to his people in the day of their Pilgrimage on Earth.

2. Or God will have them stand for the ho∣nour of his Majesty, meerly for greater State; as we see it is a State belonging to Earthly Prin∣ces to have sumptuous Houses here and there, which yet they do not once visit in all their Reigns.

3. God will have them stand as appurtenan∣ces to the glory of his own Children; the Crea∣tures shall be kept as additions to their honour, saith Calvin. Chrysostome* 1.46 speaking of this, useth this comparison: it is no wonder that the Creature shall be decked with glory; for as Kings in that day wherein they do solemnly Crown their Sons with some Crown of Principality, they will not only take care that their Sons appear in great Pomp and State, but also the Pallace and all the Courteours shall and must appear in the bravest attire: so God set∣ting the Crown of Immortallity and Blessedness, on the heads of all his Children, and placing them on their prepared Thrones, will have the Heavens and Earth, and all his Creatures appear in glory in that day. These things being con∣sidered, how should this cause the Saints to be willing to leave the World, and to die chear∣fully, since in due time they shall find the World in a more glorious estate then they left it, but the wicked shall be thrust naked out of all.

CHAP. XIII.

II. THis glory of the Saints shall be when all the drossie part of the Earth, and all the works that are therein shall be burnt up; when all the heaps and mines of Gold and Silver shall be consumed to the last dram; when all Cities, Towns and stately Edifices shall be destroyed; when all the outward pomp and glory of the World shall be burnt to ashes; when the high Mountains shall melt under the feet of the Lord, and the Valleys shall be cleft as wax before the sire, and as the Waters that are powred down a steep place, Mich. 1.4. Then shall all the dwel∣lers on earth be disseized, and turned out of their Possessions, then must Kings for ever part with their Thrones, Crowns and Scepters, and the greatest Rulers on Earth lay down their Autho∣rity at the feet of Christ: then shall the high and lofty ones be brought low; and many great Cap∣tains shall call to the hills and mountains to fall upon them, and hide them from the face of him that sitteth upon the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, Rev. 6.10. Then shall all Trades and Occupations in the World cease every where, and all desire and study of purchasing and gain∣ing shall be at an end: then shall the Sea at that time shew the greatest rage and fury, and the Waves thereof be so high and furious, that it shall seem as if they would utterly overwhelm

the whole Earth: now at such a dreadful time as this, when they that had their portion in the things of this life must be stript of all, and leave all for ever, then shall God's Children take full and everlasting Possession of the House of their heavenly Father, in which are many Mansions; and this highly advanceth the felicity of the Saints, because it cometh so seasonably to them. Give a man an house well furnished, when his own is plundred and burnt, and the whole neigh∣bourhood is undone, and all the Countrey round about is laid waste, and made desolate, how pleasant is it! and when the whole World shall be in a flame, and all things in it are con∣suming to ashes, then to be put into the possession of the World to come; when our earthly ha∣bitations are burnt, then to have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens, what an inconceiveable happiness is it! A word in season, saith Solomon, Oh how good is it! Heaven is sweet at any time, but Heaven at such a time as this, Oh how good, how unspeakably good is it! St Paul 2. Tim. 4.7. saith, I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, finished my Course, henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge shall give unto me at that day: on that day when the veriest Earth-worm that now creepeth upon the ground shall be convinc∣ed that there is nothing in the World worth the having: the•• to be put into the heavenly Man∣sions

in the day of the Worlds funerals, and to enjoy an enduring substance in the day of the Worlds conflagration, no tongue of Men or An∣gels is able sufficiently to set forth the height of this blessedness.

III. It shall be at such a time, when the Devil and all his Instruments, the Enemies of God and his People, shall be cast into outer Darkness, and swallowed up of everlasting Destruction, when their day shall wholly end, their glory be finished, and their prosperity be utterly extin∣guished and overthrown, when they shall be for ever seperated from God the fountain of all blessedness; of which Separation, Chrysostome thus speaketh; That if a thousand fires of Hell were joyned together in one, they should never be so great a pain to the Soul, as it is for the Soul to be separated (in this wise) for ever from Almighty God. We read Isa. 14.9, 10. That the Kings and Potentates of the Earth seem to be brought into rejoycing at the fall of Lucifer, viz. the King of Babilon, when he was brought low: it was matter of triumph to the Children of Israel, that the Lord saved them from the hand of Pharaoh, and the Aegyptians that pursued them to the red Sea; and that Israel saw the Aegypti∣ans dead on the Sea shore, the Waters covering the Chariots, the Horsemen, and all the Host of Pharaoh that came into the Sea after them, that there remained not so much as one of them; the Children of Israel walking upon dry Land

in the midst of the Sea, the Waters being a wall to them on the right hand, and on the left: Exod. 14.28, 29. Was it not a great priviledg for Noah to sit secure in the Ark above the Wa∣ters, that covered the tops of the highest Moun∣tains, at the same time when the whole World of the Ungodly were drowned, and buried in the Flood? what then may we conceive the happi∣ness of the Saints will be, when they shall be ad∣vanced to the heigth of heavenly glory, when their Enemies shall be overwhelmed with the depths of shame and misery? what encourage∣ment may this be to us to raise our hearts Hea∣ven-ward, and to have our affections set on things above, while the hearts of Worldlings are root∣ed in the Earth, that at the same time when their end shall be destruction, we may be put into the possession of eternal glory? should not we be as unwilling now to have fellowship with them in their unfruitful works of darkness, as we are desirous to be in Heaven when they shall be cast into Hell fire?

IV. It shall be at a time when all the labours, sorrows, and sufferings of the Saints shall be at an end: Write, saith a Voice from Heaven to St. John, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from henceforth, yea saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their Works do follow them, Rev. 14.13. They shall then be eased from the toilesome and troublesome travels of this Life, being translated from this worlds va∣nity

into Heavens felicity, where shall be neither labour in action, nor pain in passion, where they shall be neither annoyed with pinching cold, nor parching heat: and as sleep is a resting and re∣freshing to our weak frail and weary bodies, so our bodies being laid down in the bed of our Graves, they shall rest and be free from all sick∣ness and sorrow, weakness, weariness, and all work, and whatsoever else are fruits and effects, yea punishments of sin, and attendants of this life: yea the Saints, after they have wearied themselves in striving against sin, in subduing corruption, af∣ter they have spent themselves in the work of the Lord, and after the Enemies to piety have tyred out themselves with malice, scoffs, reproach∣es slaunders, persecutions; they shall rest from all their labours and sufferings in perfect peace and blessedness, and the fruit, comfort, and re∣ward of their works shall follow them, and abide with them for ever: They shall then arrive at a safe harbour, after a dangerous passage through Shelves, Storms, Rocks, and Pirates, which then shall be so much the more welcome to them: Read St. Pauls Catalogue, 2 Cor. 11.23. And think how sweet Heaven will be to one that hath had such a hard passage thither: Through labours more abundant, stripes above measure, many pri∣sons, chains, fetters, whippings, scourgings, ship∣wracks, deaths, journeyings, perills of Waters, Rob∣beries by his own Countrey-men, by the Heathen.

True it is, he gives in a large bill of his charges, as it were; but when he cometh to speak of his wages, he makes nothing of his labours and suf∣ferings in comparison of the reward, 2 Cor. 4.17. For these light and momentany afflictions do work out for us an exceeding eternal weight of glory. The highest Mountain in the World is very light in comparison of the whole Earth; even so are the greatest afflictions of the greatest sufferers in comparison of the glory of Heaven. It is said of Isachar, Gen. 49.15. That he saw that rest was good, and that the Land was pleasant, there∣fore he put his shoulders to labour, and became servant to Tribute: So I may say, the rest and glory of the Saints is good, but the Land that brings forth this rest, will be best and most plea∣sant to them after all their labours and sufferings are fully ended; then to receive this glorious rest, will be most sweet unto them, and most seasonable.

Were Heaven nothing else but an Haven of rest we know how welcome the one is to a Sea sick weather-beaten Traveller: and by that we may conceive how welcome the other will be to a Soul that hath been long tossed in the Waves of this troublesom World, sick of its own sinful imaginations, and tyred out with outward temptations: the happiest Soul that ever hath sailed over this Euripus, in the best Ship, in the most healthful body that ever was, never had

so calm a passage (saith a good Divine) but that it hath had cause enough often to wish it self on shoar.* 1.47 Is there any Palace or Tower here so high or strong, that can keep diseases from the body, or cares, sorrows, fears, or Satan's assaults from the Soul? were there but such an Island (as some have dreamed of) here on earth, that might free mens bodies or minds from disquiet but for the time of this life, how would people strive to dwell there? Cer∣tainly, in this heavenly Countrey there shall be perfect tranquillity to all the Inhabitants thereof. Oh how will it ravish the hearts of the Saints when they have finished their course, and are come to the end of their race; oh how sweet will Heaven, and how glorious will the Crown of Immortality be to them in the end? If Sea∣men when they have been many moneths upon the Sea, where they have encountred with many dreadful storms and boystrous tempests, and have been often in danger of drowning and ship∣wracks, when they shall at last descry but a Creek of Land, do leap for joy, and cry out, Oh Land, land, we are nigh to such a Coast where we would be; then much more those that have run the Christian race, and have run over Mountains of difficulties, and encountered with many tryals and tentations, and at last have run them all down, and are come in sight of the Promised Land, of the Heavenly Canaan, how

will their hearts then leap for joy? crying out, Oh, here is the Land of promise; here is Heaven that blessed place; here is the Kingdom we have so often prayed for, Lord, let thy Kingdom come; here is the Crown we have run for: then will a Christian say, had this race that I have run been much longer, and more tedious then it was, and should I have met with a thousand dangers and difficulties more then I have done, they had been nothing to this glorious Crown. Brethren, a few moments in Heaven will make you amends enough for all your watchings, praying, fasting, for all your labours of love, for all the time you have spent in the service of God; be therefore faithful to the death; he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

CHAP. XIV.

SECT. I.

HAving spoken of the circumstance of time, I shall now consider the other circumstance, sc. of the place of the Saints happiness: This also is very considerable. When man was created holy and happy,* 1.48 the Spirit of God vouchsafeth to give us an exact description of the very place where God set him, shewing in what coast of the World Paradise was scituate,

sc. in Eden (which the Learned say, was part of Mesopotamia) with what goodly and beautiful Plants that Garden was furnished,* 1.49 with what Rivers it was watered, Genes. 2.8, 9. this being a great addition to mans happiness in that condition: and St. Paul, 2 Cor. 12. calleth the third Heaven Paradise; as if this Garden of Eden had been a sha∣dow of Heaven, the place of the Blessed. When the Lord chose Israel out of all the Nations of the World, and planted them in Canaan, (a figure of Heaven) you may see what an exact Geographical description is given of it in the Book of Josua, Chap. 15, 16, 17. and else∣where the fertility and pleasantness of the Coun∣try is frequently commended: How incompara∣ble then is the pleasantness of the heavenly Pa∣radise, and the beauty of the Celestial Canaan?

I. It is called in Scripture the house of God, and the habitation of the Saints. Melchizedeck called God the Possessor of Heaven and Earth, Gen. 14. The whole created World is his possession, but the Heaven is his glorious Palace; as a Prince that hath a whole Kingdom under him, keepeth his Court in the principal place of his Domini∣ons.

1. As a Man's House is, or should be scituated in the best and most convenient part of his pos∣sessions; so of all things created, Heaven is the

goodliest and most glorious part. The Earth is beautiful, especially in the prime of the Spring and Summer, when the face of it is renewed; but yet when it is in its greatest glory, it is but a dunghil in comparison of the Heavens. That glory of the Heavens which we see on the out∣side, and afar off, is incomparably beyond the beauty of the things below; but that which we cannot see, doth far surmount that which we do see; I mean that most glorious habitation of the Angels and Saints; though that which we behold hath incomparably more beauty and glory in it, then our weak sight can discern at such a distance: and therefore the Heavens, for their surpassing beauty and glory, are called the House of God.

2. As a Man is commonly to be seen at his own house, more then at another place besides; so doth the Lord in Heaven more especially shew forth his glory. The Lord hath been but seldom manifested on the Earth, as when he gave so many visible signs of his glorious presence upon Mount Sinai; and then when Moses was admitted to see his back parts; and when he spake from Heaven at the Baptism of our blessed Saviour, This is my beloved Son, &c. but in Heaven his presence is more notably manifested continually; our Savi∣our sheweth, that in Heaven the holy Angels do always behold the face of God, Matth. 18.10. his glorious presence is always manifested there.

3. In a Man's dwelling house, usually his Chil∣dren and Servants are abiding; and although

Kings and Princes have more Servants and Offi∣cers then an house can hold, yet their princi∣pal Attendants are commonly with them in the Court: so Heaven is the place appointed for the Lord's Servants, though all of them are not yet there; not for want of room, but because the Lord hath appointed them other work to do elsewhere for a time; yet thither shall they be gathered, and in the mean time there are his principal Attendants, there are the glorious Angels, who are called the Angels of Heaven, Matth. 24.36. there also are the blessed Saints of God departed.

4. As a Man's house wherein he dwelleth is furnished for the most part, so that his riches appear (in some sort) in his house; so Heaven is the place which is most royally furnished; the Earth is but a Country Farm-house in compa∣rison of it: Heaven is richly adorned and fur∣nished with perfect Holiness; all the Vessels of that House are of pure Gold; there is neither dross in them, nor any uncleanness cleaving to them; all the Saints and Angels there are free from all impurity; no unclean thing hath en∣trance into this house of God: Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord for ever, Psal. 93.5. it is full of all holiness and happiness. It is said Rev. 21.25. that the Gates of Heaven shall not be shut at all. Heaven Gates shall always stand open, yet no unclean thing shall enter in. The Streets of that City are of pure Gold, the walls built of precious Stones,

there are twelve Gates of twelve Pearls. A good Expositor observeth, that all those precious Stones there mentioned, have a contrary virtue against uncleanness, to shew unto us, that Hea∣ven will not admit of any impure and defiled thing; God will not suffer the dirty feet of im∣pure Sinners to tread upon his pure Pavement of Gold. When God drave sinful Adam out of Paradise, he caused a Cherubim to stand before the Gates of Paradise, with a flaming sword in his hand, to keep him out of Paradise if he should attempt to come in again. Sin is like the sword of the flaming Cherubim, to keep out all wicked men from entring into Heaven.

Heaven is also a place of holy Exercises. Here our best services are stained with sin, and tainted with corruption; but there all the services of the Saints do bear a lively impression of the fountain of holiness upon them; there they must warble forth the Song of the Seraphims, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Isai. 6.3. It is said of the Saints of God in glory, that they shall be Priests of God and Christ, Rev. 20.6. As they are all made spiritual Kings and Priests to God on Earth, Rev. 1.6. so they shall be Priests to God in Hea∣ven, and reign with him for ever and ever. They shall be Priests to God two ways in Heaven. First, As soon as they leave this life, in the interim, before the second coming of Christ, they shall perform the offices of Priests in Soul only, offer∣ing to God the sacrifice of praise and thanks∣giving,

that themselves are already delivered out of the miseries of this World, and praying for their Brethren upon the Earth, that they may shortly be delivered: For so St. John tells us, that he saw under the Altar the Souls of those that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held, crying out with a loud voice, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost not thou avenge our blood upon them that dwell on the Earth? Rom. 6.9, 10. And secondly, at Christ's second com∣ing, both they that are deceased already, and they that shall then be found alive, shall joyntly and joyfully sing, Hallelujah, salvation, and glory, and honour, and power unto the Lord our God, for true and righteous are his judgments, Rev. 19.1, 2. and v. 6. St. John saith, he heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth; let us be glad and re∣joyce, and give honour to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made her self ready. The high praises of God shall then be in the mouthes of all his Saints; being now made perfect in holiness, and freed from all frail∣ties, they shall never mourn, but ever sing and laud their Redeemer without defatigation or satiety.

But to pass by this, it is needful in few words to shew, how the Heavens cannot properly be said to be the house of God, as those buildings wherein men dwell, are called their houses, least

any should be so ignorant as to entertain any vain thoughts not beseeming the infinite Majesty of God.

1. Heaven cannot contain and hold the infinite being of the Divine Nature, as the house holdeth him that dwelleth in it: Behold, the Heavens and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee.

2. God hath no need of Heaven, either for rest or safety, as a man hath of his house; he is not subject to weariness, no work is toilsome to him; he slumbereth not, sleepeth not, he is above all dangers; one word of his mouth is enough to crush all Enemies to powder; he needeth not this House as a Castle of defence unto him.

3. He is not more essentially present there then in any other place, nor more absent from any other place then from it, but every where alike essentially present, though there he giveth forth more glorious demonstrations of his presence then in any other place.

SECT. II.

SEeing Heaven is God's house, then there should our hearts be, even at home with our Father; how can we sing the Lord's Song in a strange Land? how can we please our selves so well in this house of our pilgrimage, when we are from home, thus far absent from our Father's house? why are our minds so knit unto the earth, that nothing ••ut leath will part it and us,

as if not Heaven, but this lower sinful part of the World were the Lord's dwelling place? with what face can we call him, our Father which is in Heaven, and in the mean time our strongest and most hearty affections are deeply buried in the Earth? St. Paul was of another temper, I de∣sire to be dissolved (saith he) and to be with Christ, which is best of all. — Best of all] so the blessed Apostle found and felt it; he spake out of a true discerning spirit, he spake as he found; he desired Heaven for love of Christ, and not so much for love of his own ease and happiness (though he could not but long for that also) but principally for love of Christ; therefore he long∣ed to leave the Earth, and go to Heaven, be∣cause that was the house of Christ, the house where God the Father sheweth his glorious pre∣sence; the house where Christ sitteth at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Oh that I were there, saith that holy Apostle, let me go through poverty, through persecution, fire, sword, stripes, imprisonment, and a thousand deaths and dan∣gers, so that I can but get unto my Saviour; it is best of all to be with him — what shall I say? better then to be with sinful men; better then to be with a multitude of unruly corruptions cleaving to me: shall I say, better then to be in the midst of heaps of Gold, or all manner of earthly abundance? I will not for the honour of my Saviour once bring him in comparison with these dunghils and heaps of dross; but it is best

of all to be with him. It is better to be with him, then simply to be in Heaven it self; it were better to be with him out of Heaven, then to be in Heaven without him, if that were possible: yea, if being with Christ were not salvation it self, I would say, that to be with Christ were better then salvation, it is best of all.

Now then, when Heaven is thus glorious, when our dearest Saviour, the King of glory, is entered within those everlasting doors, when it is the very house of God, how should we long after it, that we might be with the Lord? what shame should it cast upon our faces, who have the First-fruits of the Spirit? Is our Gaol now be∣come more pleasing to us then our Father's house? do we grow more and more earthly minded? Oh that we had more of Heaven in us to raise and draw our hearts thither, and less Earth to sink us downward: let us pray and labour for more supernatural and heavenly affections; then we shall find our hearts rising and lifted up∣wards.

Moreover, if Heaven be the house of God, and the place of his special presence, this should move us all to labour to be such as may be fit for the presence of God. Do we not all desire to be in Heaven? alas, many of us do little consider what Heaven is, or what it is to be in Heaven. It is true, that none (even those that are most heavenly minded) can consider of it according to its excellent glory; yet some there are, who

though they cannot conceive it for the height of its excellency, yet they conceive the nature of it, though not the measure; they conceive of what kind, of what temper that glory and happiness is which they shall receive, by that earnest of the Spirit which they have received; as a man knoweth in what coyn he shall be paid, by that money which he hath received in earnest already. But many others know not what Hea∣ven meaneth; how many are there that cannot now endure the presence of God, and yet would fain be in Heaven? that hate this house of God, and yet long to be in that heavenly house of God? Assure thy self, that unless thou couldest delight in God's presence here, thou canst have no de∣light in his presence there: The happiness of that house is heavenly and spiritual; there is nothing to please the covetous heart, nothing to fill the wanton eye, nothing to satisfie the Drunkard's and Glutton's appetite; no wanton dancing, no idle sports, nothing but holiness, and holy exer∣cises, and that glory which is the ornament of holiness, and ariseth from it: There is not a word, nor a thought, but what becometh the presence of God, such as abide his pure eyes. Now then, do thou (O Christian) bend thy heart and soul toward this house and presence of God, so shalt thou be a pillar in the house of God, and shalt go out of it no more, but shalt possess fulness of joy in his presence for evermore.

SECT. III.

NOw in this House of God are many Mansions: In my Father's House are many Mansions, saith our Saviour, John 14.2. Heaven is sufficient to receive many Inhabitants; I mean not, that it is like some great Houses that have no Inhabitants, but that it is appointed of God to be a dwelling place for many — Many, I say, not in comparison of those multitudes which shall be shut out of doors, but many in an absolute consideration taken by themselves; yet these many shall be very few, in comparison of the droves of men that throng together in the broad way of destru∣ction. Of the largeness of this House of God, Solomon speaketh, when he compareth it with that Temple which he had built, 1 Kings 8.27. Will God indeed dwell upon the Earth? behold, the Heaven, and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this House which I have built? What do I speak of the Lord's dwelling in this little House which I have built? then he puts in a special note of attention and admiration, Be∣hold, even those large and spacious Heavens which himself hath builded, and spread out like a glorious curtain over the whole Earth, and all things between the Earth and it, cannot contain him; how much less this House which I have made? As if he had said, the Heavens are incompa••••bly greater then this House which I have built, but

he is infinitely greater then the Heavens: Yea, our eyes may teach us, that it is of wonderful greatness, although we cannot see how large it is; if we consider that the Earth is of a won∣derful compass, and yet that it is but as a spot, or little Ball hanging in the midst of the Hea∣vens, and encompassed round with those goodly Spheres and Orbs. Yea, even a Child may learn thus much from the light of Reason, with a little help, that seeing the Sun is big enough to give light to half the Earth at once, and yet seemeth so little to our eye, it must needs be at a won∣derful distance from us, perhaps many thousand miles: Now then, of what wonderful bigness is the Heaven it self, being so far above the Earth, and yet compassing all those huge spaces round about the Earth, that are between the Earth and Heaven. Neither may we think, but that this Heaven of Heavens (the House of God) is yet far above the Chamber of the Sun, out of which the Psalmist saith, he cometh at his rising. Con∣sider then, Christian Reader, what did ever any man find in the Earth, that should make him so willing to sell Heaven for it? if a man could have it all, it were not comparable to the lowest Man∣sion in Heaven, if any be lower then other. All is vanity (saith the Preacher) speaking of all things under the Sun, especially when they be compared with those large, spacious, and glo∣rious Mansions above the Sun. Who then can sufficiently detest that folly, which preferreth

the least part of the earth, which the Lord tread∣eth under foot as his foot-stool, above the glo∣rious Heaven, the large extent whereof sur∣roundeth and encompasseth the whole World?

How should this comfort Christians, that though they be pent up and straitned here, yet in Hea∣ven they shall have room enough, there shall be Rehoboth, there the Lord will make room for us. Here is comfort against those engrossing oppres∣sors, which joyn house to house, and leave no room for the poor; if thou labour to be rich in faith, thou shalt find that they cannot shoulder thee out from an happy and large possession in that heavenly Kingdom: Mayst thou not take comfort in a smoaky Cottage, assuring thy self of thy part in a most glorious Pallace? what if thou hast but little of the Earth, or none at all, is it not abundantly sufficient that thou shalt enjoy so much of Heaven as thy Soul can desire? yea, that there shall be no enclosures there, but all that glorious Inheritance shall lie common to all the Heirs of promise. Look not with a longing eye upon a fairer or more convenient House then thine own, upon wider Fields and greater Pos∣sessions then any that thou art owner of upon Earth; but over-look all these, and say, to the praise of God's grace, with an heart rejoycing in the Lord, yet I have more then all the World is worth.

Moreover, none of the Faithful need to fear that he should be shut out for want of room in

this heavenly Palace; here is many Mansions; here is a place appointed for every true Believer; the poorest Christian shall not miss of an happy habitation in this House of our Father. Lazarus though he lie full of sores and rags without doors there on Earth, yet there he shall have a sweet repose in Abraham's bosome.

Let this comfort a Believer against all solitari∣ness, and want of company in this life; in the House of thy heavenly Father are many Mansi∣ons, and these shall not stand empty for want of Inhabitants: Oh what Troops of glorious An∣gels and Saints shall live together in those hea∣venly Mansions! how shall they flock together from the East, and from the West, and from the North, and from the South, there sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom! It is a strange weakness to be discontented for want of company; but a greater, and worthy of all reproof, to go out of the narrow way, be∣cause it is so solitary, and to turn into the com∣mon road, because of company. Oh the folly and infidelity of our hearts! can we not with patience stay for so much good Company as we shall find and for ever enjoy in our Father's House?

For although the number that shall be saved, shall be but a very small number in comparison of the numberless multitude that are already lost, and do hasten to destruction; although when the Church was greatest upon Earth, as in the

Apostles times, the number of the wicked did much exceed it; yet take those many thousands of holy Angels which keep their first estate, and joyn to these multitudes of holy men and women of all sorts, that lived before the flood, after the flood, before the law, after the law, before Christs coming in the flesh, after his incarnation, until this day, and from this day that shall live to the end of the world, of all Nations under heaven; then who can tell the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part (the four hundredth part) of this Israel of God? the remnant and gleanings of those that have lived in so many thousand years will arise to an unspeakable multitude. After the sealing of the hundred and forty four thousand of the twelve Tribes, St. John saith, I beheld, and lo a great multitude, which no man could number, of all Nations, and Kinred, and People, and Tongues, stood before the Throne, and before the Lamb, cloathed with white Robes, and Palms in their hands.

How should this rejoyce every faithful Soul, resting in hope of this sweetest and most blessed Society. Though in the mean time thou seest many frown upon thee, and sleight thee to thy face, yea, even shun thy company, yet labour thou for an assured part in thy Father's House, and then rejoyce in assured hope there to find many dwelling places, and in those places many Dwellers, many sweet Companions. Though a man were constrained to live like an Eremite,

or Anchoret, all his time from the company of men on Earth, yet the assured hope of this So∣ciety to be enjoyed for ever in our Father's House, were sufficient to refresh him.

Ascend my Soul, mount up on Eagles wings, And get above these Sublunary things: Make haste, and flie unto that lofty Hill, Where God abides with Saints and Angels still.

Oh how should every Christian so love the Lord, as to long after his House and Kingdom, and a more near and full enjoying of his presence. Laban noted in Jacob an earnest longing after his Father's house, Genes. 31.30. saith he to him, Thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy Father's house. Jacob had such a love to his Father Isaac, though very old and blind, that he sore longed to be gone from La∣ban to his Father's house; how much more should we labour for such love to our heavenly Father, who is infinite in all excellency and glory, as should make us weary of being here, and ex∣ceedingly to long after our heavenly Father's House? It was a good change for Jacob to go from Laban, an unkind Father-in-law, unto Isaac a loving and tender-hearted Father; but what a blessed change is it for the Children of God, to go from the World, a cruel Step-mother, yea, a dangerous Enemy, unto God their heavenly and most gracious Father! to go from among

Swearers, Worldlings, Drunkards, Prophane Persons, Scorners of Religion, Persecutors, to go from Snares and Temptations, to go from Sin, and the danger of Sin, to go from the lower Region, which is (as it were) under the feet of Satan, who is (as it were) over our heads, being the Prince of the power of the Air; I say, to go from all these, and to go into the arms of the Lord our most gracious Father, should not a Child of God long after this exceedingly? It sheweth want of love in a Child, and an un∣gracious disposition, when he secretly longeth for his Father's Lands or Goods, because he can∣not enjoy them unless his Father die, whose life should be much dearer to a Child then all his Goods or Lands; but it argueth the truth of our love to our heavenly Father, when we have an earnest longing after that glorious Inheritance of his, because we shall live with him in the everlasting Habitations. And to this end let us labour to get our Souls fully assured that the Lord is our Father in Jesus Christ, and that we are his Children, that so we may long after our Father's House. If we saw our Father's House, we would cry to be over the Water, and to be carried in Christ's arms out of this borrowed Pri∣son. The Earth is the Lord's lower House; while we are lodged here, we have no assurance to lie ever in one Chamber, but must be content some∣times to remove from one corner of our Lord's nether House to another, resting in hope, that

when we come up to the Lord's upper House, we shall remove no more, because then we shall be at home. We now see and hear at home and abroad nothing but matter of grief and dis∣couragement, which indeed maketh our life bitter; but let this comfort all faithful Christians, that Christ is coming to fetch them to his Father's House; his Father will make them welcome, and give them house-room; and though they change dwelling places, yet they shall not change their Master, nor their services: His Servants shall serve him, Revel. 22.3.

SECT. IV.

MOreover, you are to understand that Hea∣ven is the Throne and Kingdom of God: Thus saith the Lord, Heaven is my Throne, Isai. 66.7. Here is the height of a Christians glory and exaltation, to be taken up into the Throne of God; according to that speech of our Savi∣our, Rev. 3.21. To him that overcometh will I give to sit with me in my Throne, even as I also overcame, and sate down with my Father in his Throne. Christ at the last day will say to the Sheep on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World: You that have followed me in the regeneration, to you I have appointed a Kingdom. Luke 22.29. Fear not little Flock, it is your Father's will to give you a Kingdom. Rev. 2.10.

Be faithful to the death, and I will give thee th•• Crown of life. In one place it is called a Crown of righteousness, in another a Crown of glory, in a third a Crown of incorruption, and elsewhere a Crown of life.

Now Crowns you know are given either as Ensigns of Majesty, or Rewards of Virtue.

1. As Ensigns of Majesty; therefore we see they are worn on the heads of Emperors and Princes, when at times of highest solemnity they will shew their greatest magnificence.

2. As Rewards of Virtue; therefore by ancient stories it appeareth, that almost all Nations, such as excelled in Valour or in Learning, they were Crowned with one thing or another; some with Roses, some with Laurel, or Bayes, some with Olives, some with Gold, that so they might cherish the profession and exercise of Arts and Virtues: to these the Scripture alluding, it pro∣miseth Crowns, and a Kingdom, as the goodliest rewards we can either desire or receive, to such as through faith and patience overcome either the affections of their sinful Nature, or the afflictions of this wretched World. Hence I infer, how abject soever the condition of the Saints be upon Earth, it shall be most glorious in Heaven; glory shall follow their sufferings, as the day followeth the night; there is no glory upon Earth you know greater then the glory of Kings: it is true, Popes of late days have striven to out-climb them; so the Bramble in Jotham's Parable would

have out-climbed the Cedar; they would per∣swade the World, that they were created as the Sun to rule the Day, that is, over the Clergy; and that Kings are but as the Moon, to rule over the Night, that is (say they) over the Laity: But Popes are no Creatures of God's making; Kings are the anointed of the Lord; God him∣self hath given testimony sufficient of their mag∣nificence, in that it hath pleased him to change Names with them, and taken their Name to himself; he is called a King, and gives them his own Name in exchange, for therefore he hath said, they are Gods.

I urge it the rather, because of the inference that followeth; for the greater Kings are, the greater Christians are; for Christians are said to be Kings, Rev. 1.6. He hath made us all Kings and Priests unto God. And to the meanest and most abject Christian a Crown shall be given, infi∣nitely far more excellent and glorious then the Crowns of all earthly Kings.

1. In respect of the Soveraignty that belongs to it: Crowns are Ensigns of Soveraignty, as I hinted before; and Soveraignty is a thing much accounted of: to be but as the Centurion was, would put a spirit of ambition into us, that we might have those under us, to whom when we say, Go, they should go; when Come, they should come; when Do this, they should do it. If we could have not only Persons, but Provinces un∣der our subjection, and could make our selves

Commanders and Rulers over Countries and Kingdoms, so that People should serve us, and Nations should bow before us, this would kindle a great fire of ambition in us; it would make one that had the aspiring mind of Absalom to snatch the Crown from his Father's head. If we could climb higher yet, and get to be not only Soveraigns over divers Provinces, as Ahasuerus was, but also be Monarchs of the whole World, as it is said Alexander was, so that the Princes of all Nations should pay Tribute to our Cof∣fers,* 1.50 and the People of all Countries bow their knees be∣fore our foot-stool; this (if any thing) would enflame our ambition; and if at all, for a King∣dom one would violate the bonds of Nature, or Justice (as one long ago was wont to say) for such a Kingdom as this, he would be provoked to the doing of it.

Alas, Beloved, all this is nothing in compa∣rison of the Soveraignty belonging to the hea∣venly Crown and Kingdom; the poorest Saint in Heaven shall be more glorious in Soveraignty then ever Ahasuerus or Alexander were, or then ever Adam was when he was Lord of the whole World; for look what was said of our Saviour, Heb. 2.8. All things shall be subdued, all things shall be brought in subjection to him; and when it is said, all things shall be subdued, there's nothing left out that shall not be subdued: the same may

be said of every faithful Member of Christ, they shall every one have a share in this Rule and Do∣minion; even all things shall be brought under their subjection; the very Angels shall then be made subject to them: where Christ sits, they shall sit; whom Christ judgeth, they shall judg; and as Christ reigneth, they shall reign also.

2. In respect of the safety that belongs to it: there is no Crown so setled upon the head of any earthly Prince, as that he can promise to him∣self perpetual safety under it; either safety from sickness and diseases, or safety from Adversaries and Enemies, either domestical or forreign, but that he is in danger of both. Kings are as much in danger of sickness as other men; for Chairs of State are not Castles of health, nor can their Crowns keep their heads from aking; they are as much in danger of Enemies as other men, nay they more then others: every railing Shimei hath a tongue to bark at them; every traiterous Sheba will be blowing trumpets of rebellion against them; but the Crown of glory shall sit sure upon the heads of the faithful, even with as much safety as majesty; no sickness shall be able to blast it, no Enemy to endanger it. St. Paul saith, that all our Enemies shall be put under our feet, 1 Cor. 15.27. And the Prophet saith, All tears shall be wiped from our faces, Isai. 25.8.

3. In respect of the peace and tranquility of it: the Princes of the Earth, though they have a great many more honours, yet they have a great

many more burthens then other men; their Crowns are thicker stuck with cares then with gems: That made one of the Emperours say, when the Imperial Robe was brought him to put on, Oh nobilem magis quam faelicem pannum: Oh here's a Robe, saith he, fuller of bravery then felicity. 'Tis otherwise with the Crown of glory, this Crown is as free from troubles as from dan∣gers; they that are crowned with it, are crowned with peace as well as with honour; it shall not disquiet them with cares, but give them rest from their labours; rest and peace shall ever wait upon them, whom God shall vouchsafe so to dig∣nifie, as to let their Temples be empall'd with this glorious Crown.

4. In respect of perpetuity: therefore the A∣postle calls it a Crown of Life, James 1.12. be∣cause they that are crowned with it shall never taste more of death. Herein again it differs from all earthly Crowns, and excells as much as it dif∣fers; earthly Kingdoms and Crowns are subject to alteration, to dissipation: Job tells us, that God sometimes looseth the collars of Kings, Job 12.13. It was told Saul, when he had been a while King over Israel, that God had rent his Kingdom from him, and given it to his Neigh∣bour, 1 Sam. 15.28. But howsoever, though the Crown be not translated, yet he that wears the Crown must be translated; Death will translate the greatest Princes to another place, though while they live their Crowns be not translated

to other Persons, but sit fast upon their own heads; but 'tis otherwise with this Crown of life, there shall be no alteration nor removal at all, either from it to us, or from us to it, when once we shall have it confer'd upon us: Were the Kingdoms of the Earth never so full of glory and happiness, yet what they want of perpetuity, they want of perfect felicity; there can be no perfection of blessedness, but where there is perpetuity of continuance: so there shall be here: St. Paul calls it an immarcessible Crown. St. Peter calls it an immortal inheritance that shall never fade away, 1 Pet. 1.4. It is said of the Bread of life, John 6. that he that eats of it, shall hunger no more; and of the Water of life, John 4. he that drinketh thereof, shall thirst no more: so I may say of this Crown of life, whosoever is crowned with it, he shall die no more. How should the consideration hereof make us to labour for this glorious Crown? what a shame is it to see what pains men will take for a little honour, that cometh short of a Kingdom? what pains to sa∣tisfie their lusts, and to get a little of the World, and that we should take so little pains for the Kingdom of Heaven? So run, saith the Apostle, that you may obtain; not a cor∣ruptible,* 1.51 but an incorruptible Crown: Those that run for a cor∣ruptible Crown, they are temperate in all things; they eat and drink very little, they diet their bodies; they neither cumber their bodies with

superfluous garments, nor their stomacks with su∣perfluous meats and drinks, because these things would hinder them in their contention, and make them lose the Crown and Garland they run for. Now if there be so much striving for a fading Crown, how should Christians deny themselves, striving for that Crown of glory which is in Heaven? a Crown not made of Ivory and Lawrel, but made out of the Tree of Life, such as is not of a withering and fading nature: Here is not jus violandum, but only jugum toleran∣dum; no law of obedience that we are to break, but a yoke of patience that we must learn to bear, to make us capable of this Crown.

How should this also stir up every Christian to walk worthy of God, who hath called him to his Kingdom and glory? 1 Thes. 2.11, 12. Re∣member it is a Kingdom we look after, let us labour to have kingly affections; it is an hea∣venly Kingdom, let us learn to lead heavenly conversations. When one urged Alexander to run at the Olympian games, he answered, Do Kings run there? So when the Devil, or the World, do tempt us to sin, let us answer, Do the Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven do so? The Egyptians had a pretty Hieroglyphick,* 1.52 by which they described a great man that was unworthily given, they described him by an Elephant hunting for Flies; you may imagine what an unseemly sight that would be, for so

huge a creature as an Elephant, to hunt so poor a prey as a Flie. Nothing is so unseemly, or un∣worthy, as for one that professeth Christianity to be vainly or vitiously given; to be an earth∣worm, a wanton, a belly-god, this is neither Christianly, nor becoming spiritual Kings: shew your selves more heavenly disposed, if you look for an heavenly Kingdom; heavenly thoughts, heavenly desires, heavenly speeches, and hea∣venly actions do best become those that look for heavenly Crowns. Finally, let the thoughts of your high dignity comfort you, O Christians, under all your sorrows: So the Roman Empe∣rour said to Galba in his minority, taking him up by the chin, Tu Galba quandoque imperium degustabis: Thou, O Galba, shalt one day be an Emperour, therefore be not sad. So I may say to thee, Chear up, O disconsolate Christian, thou shalt one day be a King, and wear a Crown of glory; think often of your Crown and King∣dom, and drive away the sadness of your hearts, for ere long ye shall be raised from a dung-hill of miseries to an heavenly Kingdom; and the greater your sufferings are, so much the more bright and glorious will your Crown be.

SECT. V.

FUrthermore, Heaven is the place where the Saints inheritance lieth; they are now Heirs of a Kingdom, but not Inheritors; but there is

a time when they shall enjoy that inheritance. The Scripture sets forth what manner of inhe∣ritance Heaven shall be to the Saints.

1. It is a rich and glorious inheritance; some inheritances on Earth are so charged and clog∣ged, that though the inheritance be rich, yet the Heir is poor, and can hardly get a living out of it, because though he receive much, yet he payes much out of it again; but here is no charge nor burthen in any kind, but this inhe∣ritance that is above is absolutely free, a rich and glorious inheritance. He that is an Heir of Heaven, never needs to trouble himself to grow rich in this World, if his Ancestors have left him no possessions, saith St. Augustine; the man that loveth earthly riches, hath but little mind to the true riches, to the heavenly inhe∣ritance, and he that is besotted with the de∣lights of this present World, never dreameth of the everlasting pleasures of the World to come: but he that hath God for his portion, may say with David, The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly inheritage, Psal. 16.6. God comprehends all imaginable perfections; nothing is dispersed in the creature, which is not recollected in the Creator; in Heaven we shall enjoy all things in God; and nothing can be wanting to him that enjoyeth all things; for in him is a conservation of all things that are truly and solidly good: in Heaven God him∣self shall be our rich and glorious inheritance;

and one of the chiefest advantages we shall reap in glory, is, that God will be to us instead of all things; and that finding in him the accomplish∣ment of all our desires, we shall there meet with our perfect happiness.

2. It is an inheritance of inconceivable excel∣lency: our inheritance is so excellent, that we cannot so much as form an Idea of it, we want words to express its excellencies; and indeed this might impose silence upon us, if the liberty we have to speak of God (though incompre∣hensible) did not permit us to speak and write of this glorious inheritance, the blessedness whereof is unconceivable: and as when treat∣ing of God's perfections, when we follow the light of the holy Scriptures, we cannot fail; so if we sail by the same Star, we cannot wander in this vast Ocean of glory; and this is sure, we need not fear shipwrack on a Sea, where all that are drowned may boast themselves happy.

3. It is an incorruptible inheritance, an inhe∣ritance that never fadeth away, 1 Pet. 1.4. in re∣gard of the beauty and glory of it; it is a me∣taphor taken from flowers; the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but this inheritance never fadeth. All creatures that were made for the use of man, were subject to vanity for the sin of man; but this Heaven at the first was not made for the use of man, but for God himself, therefore it is incorruptible. What a shame is it that we can ride and run for a lease of two or

three years, but the inheritance that fades not away is not esteemed by us? and as this inhe∣ritance is incorruptible, so likewise it is unde∣filed, in regard it is not subject to any abuse of the creatures; no unclean thing enters into it.

4. It is an immortal inheritance: though a Christian's life be subject to change, and his days upon earth must have an end, yet his in∣heritance abideth for ever; yea, God himself is the everlasting inheritance of his people, who fills their desires, perfecteth all the powers of their souls, and communicateth himself so freely and so fully to his Children, that they are abun∣dantly satisfied: God is the inheritance of his People to eternity, and it is no presumption to style him so,* 1.53 saith St. Augustine, though he be our Creator, and our Sovereign, because it is the fervency of our desire, and the sweetness of our hope, that puts this name into our mouthes.

5. It is a sure and safe inheritance; it is re∣served in Heaven for us, 1 Pet. 1.4. A Christian's tenure is the fairest, firmest, and surest, there∣fore 'tis great wisdom to lay hold on this hea∣venly inheritance, 1 Tim. 6.12. We know it is worldly wisdom to lay up our treasures in safe places; and shall not we be so wise in spiritual matters, where our treasure far surpasseth all earthly things?

Now here let us see the differences between

temporal inheritances, and the heavenly inhe∣ritance.

I. Some earthly Parents are very poor, and can leave their children no inheritance to make them Heirs, only they inherit their corruptions, and punishments due to them; but all God's Children are rich Heirs, they are all fellow Citizens of the New Jerusalem, of the Houshold of God, inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven, Eph. 2.19. they are all made meet partakers of the inheritance among the Saints in light, Colos. 1.12. Christ is the great Heir of all things; and all the Saints, be they never so poor outwardly, yet are they Co-heirs with Christ, Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, James 2.5.

II. Fathers that have inheritances, do often leave them but to one of their Children; as A∣braham left the inheritance to Isaac, and gave gifts only to the Sons of the Concubines, Gen. 25.5, 6. but here all God's Children have the hea∣venly inheritance. Upon Earth, if all do in∣herit the Father's substance, then it is divided, and every one hath the less; but Heaven is not divided by lot, as Canaan was, which was a type of it; there the inheritance of the one doth not diminish the inheritance of the other; their in∣heritance is so large, that the number of Heirs cannot diminish it; the good that they hope for, hath two properties that secure it from envy; it is one, and cannot be divided; it is infinite, and sufficeth many thousands: it's unity is the cause

that every one possesseth it entire; it's infinity, that none are affraid of a lessening; they are all rich of the same inheritance, they are all happy by the same felicity: For, as Gregory saith, That heavenly inheritance unto all is one, and unto one is all; for as much as every one of the blessed Saints rejoyceth as much at the joys and felicities of all others, as if he were in possession of the same. Hea∣ven becometh all to all, and all to every one; as all enjoy the light of the Sun when it shineth; every one in Heaven is well pleased with ano∣thers happiness, and with his own; and the charity that reigneth among the Saints there, doth so intimately unite their hearts, that the di∣versity of particulars disturbeth not the blessed∣ness of the whole.

III. On Earth Parents leave their inheritances to their Children, because they die, and can keep them no longer; but God liveth for ever, and bestoweth the inheritance upon us: in the World Parents die before their Children may inherit; but God is immortal, and Death never seperates the Children from the Father; he hath Heirs, but no Successors; he despoils not himself to en∣rich them, but living and reigning with them, he confers his inheritance upon them without loos∣ing it.

IV. In this World all Sons and Heirs do not live to take possession of their inheritance; but all God's Heirs shall be infallibly possessed of their heavenly inheritance; the possession there∣of

shall be given them by Jesus Christ himself, the Heir of all things; he shall come from Hea∣ven to conduct them to Heaven, and put them into the possession of their inheritance in the view of the whole World; and it shall be given to them in their best state, when they are most fitted and qualified to that condition which is suitable to their state; for in the state that now we are, we are not in a capacity to be put into possession of that heavenly inheritance.

V. Some Heirs, if they live to be of age, yet they are often kept from their inheritance, de∣frauded of it, or unjustly turn'd out of it, that either they come not into actual possession, or cannot long keep it; but none shall keep God's Children out of their inheritance, or defraud them of it.

Now this inheritance cometh to us by the right of Sonship only; If Sons, then Heirs, saith St. Paul, Rom. 8.17. Only the Children of God are Heirs of Heaven: the Wicked have no por∣tion in this inheritance, it is for Sons; the Son of Hagar must have no inheritance with the Son of Sarah; the Bond-woman and her Son must be cast out. The Wicked are like Slaves, who labour not but for their Master; they till the Ground, but reap not the Fruit; they plant Vine-yards, but drink not of the Wine; they suffer much pain and another tastes the plea∣sure: they are not as Wives, called into a com∣munity of goods; they are not as Children, ad∣mitted

to share in the inheritance; but the Ser∣vants of God find riches in their poorest out∣ward estate; their Master adopting them for his Children, makes them his Heirs; and before he gives them his glory for their portion, he gives them the earnest of the Spirit for their assu∣rance of this inheritance.

Then cast away all carking cares, O Christian, since thy inheritance is in Heaven; and be not disquieted, though haply God deal no better with thee for the present then with a Servant, for that is a discipline fit to prepare thee for thine inheritance: God may bring some great and sharp affliction upon thee, he may beat thee, buffet thee, scourge thee, yet thou canst not loose thine inheritance, for it is entailed, and God hath made it sure to thee by his promise, Rom. 9.8. Ephes. 1.13, 14. Heb. 6.17. Oh do not grudge at the happiness of the wicked; do they prosper? have they all things at will? thou art not inferiour to them, for thou also hast an in∣heritance reserved for thee; and this inheri∣tance is not bought by thee, but fitted and pre∣pared for thee; and thou shalt have no ruinous Cottage, but that which is fit for thy purpose when thou comest to Heaven; and whatso∣ever losses thou meetest with in this World, loss of Wife, Children, Goods, Friends, Life, yet thou canst not lose thine Inheritance: This caused the Hebrews with joy to endure the spoil∣ing of their goods, knowing that in Heaven they

had a more enduring substance, Hebr. 10.34.

Let us all therefore labour to become the Sons of God; and that we may be so, let us labour for faith to believe in Christ, and labour after all the graces of God's Spirit, hereby we shall be made meet partakers of the inheritance among the Saints in light, Col. 1.12. The inheritance is given to the sanctified, Acts 26.18. to such as are in Christ, and of Christ, by faith unfeigned, Gal. 3.29. Let us all labour to make God our inhe∣ritance; as God hath right and title to us, so let us labour by faith to challenge the same in him; and not be like a foolish child, who would buy his father's inheritance, when he was born to it, and it is his right: Like the Papists, who think by their own merits to purchase to them∣selves the Kingdom of Heaven, to which (were they God's Children, and belonged to him) they would be Heirs apparent. Reader, clear up thy right to this inheritance, & keep thy indentures safe, and let Satan come with the offer of King∣doms to thee, as he did to Christ, then wilt thou not, with prophane Esau, sell thine inheritance: Oh take heed of that prophane speech of his, in saying, What is this Birth-right to me? Gen. 25.32. but say with Naboth, God forbid that I should sell the Inheritance of my Fathers unto thee, 1 Reg. 21.3. St. Augustine speaking to his Auditors, uttered these notable words; Let us be grieved to see men distracted with the diversity of their desires; let us see their different conditions, which arise

from the difference of their designs; let some take Arms, and seek for glory in the mouth of danger; hazard their lives to get themselves a name, and place their happiness in killing and slaying; let others more harmless, but less am∣bitious, plead at the Bar, gain reputation in de∣fending innocence, and aspire to the glory of Orators, being not able to purchase that of Con∣querors; let others more humble, but not less interessed, hold commerce and traffick with Strangers, pass the Seas to content their avarice, descend into the bowels of the Earth to dig out treasures; let others more innocent, but not less miserable, till the ground, master barrenness by their laborious improvement, and at the years end reap a rich and plentiful Harvest; let all these different conditions divide the heap of perishable goods between them, but let Be∣lievers, instructed in a better School, protest that God and Heaven are their portion, and that now and for ever they will have no other inheritance. Finally, this consideration, that Heaven is a Christian's inheritance, may com∣fort thee against the death of thy godly Friend: Though thy Friend be gone to another City, yet grieve not over-much, he is gone but to his Lordship, to his own inheritance; and let all true Believers resolve to let the movables go, since the inheritance is theirs.

SECT. VI. Sheweth that Heaven is the place where the Saints shall receive their reward.

IN the next place, I shall shew you that Hea∣ven is that blessed place where the Saints shall receive their great and glorious reward. The Scripture tells us, that Verily there is a re∣ward for the righteous, Psal. 58.11. and this re∣ward shall be a great reward; and the place where they shall receive this reward is in Hea∣ven, Matth. 5.12. There is a two-fold reward:

Praemium Vincentium; Merces Laborantium.

The Reward of Conquerors; The Wages of Labourers.

1. The Reward of Conquerors: Blessed is the man that endureth tribulation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the Crown of life, James 1.12. A Crown is the honour of those that strive, of those that were put into the Lists; and St. Gregory saith well, The Crown is the reward of Victory. True it is, all the Saints have the promise of a glori∣ous Crown and reward, but they have a spe∣cial promise thereunto that endure tribulation, because they are brought to the strife of faith,

and have fought the good fight, and kept the faith, as St. Paul speaks of himself, and upon this he challengeth his reward, 2 Tim. 4.8. It pleaseth God many times to shew his great power and mercy in the strengthning of those that suffer for the truth, when they come to seal the profession of it with their blood, with invincible courage he enableth them to endure the pains of Mar∣tyrdom, even to the admiration of the beholders, and many times to the astonishment of the tor∣mentors themselves; they go to be martyred, as if they were going to be married; they embrace the Cross, they kiss the Stake, they sing Psalms to God in the midst of the Fire; they are filled with such Divine raptures, as you would rather think them in their Transfiguration, then at their Execution; this is praemium ante praemium, a re∣ward beforehand: But that which heightens their courage, and makes them to glory in tri∣bulation, is the consideration of that great re∣ward that is laid up for them in Heaven: this is like the opening of the Heavens to Stephen, that encouraged him to resist unto the loss of his blood.

2. There is the reward of Labourers, the wages of them that work and labour in the Vine∣yard; the Labourer laboureth all the day, but at night he receiveth his penny, Matth. 20. The Labourers in the Vineyard were called in at night, and received every one his penny, that is, his proper reward; the Lord would have his

work well done, and he will spare for no cost; the diligent shall not lose their labour; the ju∣stice of God requireth it, that he should pay his Servants their wages when they have done their work; their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord, 1 Cor. 15. ult.

Object. But it may be said, if eternal life be a reward, or wages, then the labours of his Children are meritorious.

Sol. 1. By way of relation to merit: there is wages of grace, not of merit; though the Greek and Latine words 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and merces, rather sig∣nifie hire, or wages, then gift, or reward: Yet St. Paul teacheth us to distinguish, that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, wages, may be reckoned to a man by favour, not by debt, Rom. 4.4. This appeareth in them who being called into the Vineyard at the ele∣venth hour, yet received a penny for wages by favour, not by debt, as much as they who were first called, and had born the burden and heat of the day.

2. It is wages in regard of the promise of God, for he hath promised to give eternal life to them that believe and obey him; the per∣formance whereof they may lawfully expect, though they cannot deserve it: Promise is a debt, and God hath made himself a Debtor to his People by promise. If a Subject, or Servant to a King, doth him any remarkable service, it is but his duty; yet such is the usual bounty of Princes, as they will abundantly reward it, as is manifest Esther 6.3.

3. It is called wages, because God recom∣penseth the obedience of his Children of free mercy through the obedience of Christ; it is not such a wages as a Master gives his Servant for his labour, but as a Father gives his Child; of love, not of merit. Therefore saith St. Paul, Whatso∣ever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, Colos. 3.23, 24. for ye serve the Lord Christ, Ephes. 2.9. We are saved by grace, not of works, lest any man should boast.

4. It is called wages, not in regard of merit, but in regard of order; because as wages is usu∣ally given at the end of the labour, so this re∣ward is given at the end of our days. Be thou faithful to the death, and I will give thee the Crown of life, Rev. 2.10.

5. In regard of faith, that looks at salvation as the end and wages of all her labours. St. Peter writing to those of the dispersion, speaks of their receiving the end of their faith, the salvation of their souls, 1 Pet. 1.9.

Object. But it may be said, this reward is con∣ditional, Rom. 8.17. that if we suffer with Christ, we shall reign with him; where merits seem not to be excluded.

Sol. I answer, the condition notes out there the order, not the cause of reigning; which may serve to comfort us in afflictions, Luke 17.7, 8.

Now I shall make it evident, that this reward is a reward of mercy, not out of merit. For

1. In a merit there must be relatio muneris & remunerati; a relation between our giving to God, and his giving to us; and it is not possible for the infinite God to receive any thing from us: we can give nothing to him, but what at first came from him, as David speaks 1 Chron. 29.11, 14. Who hath first given to God, and it shall be recompensed to him again? Rom. 11.35.

2. The obedience performed must be materia indebita, to make it meritorious; but we are every way bound to God; we are bound by the bond of Creation to be serviceable to him: By Nature we owe him our service, from whom we receive our being. We are also bound by the bond of Redemption; we are none of our own, but his that hath ransomed us, and therefore wholly uncapable of meriting any thing at the hands of God. Every meritorious work must be free, proceeding from our own meer good plea∣sure, it must not be a duty which we are bound to do: now all that we do or suffer, is but duty commanded by God, and we stand bound un∣der many obligations to do them; works of duty cannot merit.

3. Every meritorious work, must be a man's own proper work: now the good we do, is not of our selves, but of God that gives us the abi∣lity of performing it; it is by the grace of God we are enabled to do and suffer. To you it is given

to believe, and to suffer for Christ, Phil. 1.29. It is God that worketh in us both to will and to do, Phil. 2.13. It is God that worketh all our works in us, and for us, Isai. 26.12. We are infinitely indebted to God for enabling us to do any thing for God; and the giving of one gift, is an ob∣ligation that therefore one should give another ex condigno.

4. In a merit, the work done must bear pro∣portion with the reward; now what is the giving of a mite, or penny, to the purchase of a King∣dom? what proportion is there between an in∣finite reward, and a finite work? an eternal re∣ward, and a temporary work? such is our work, such is God's reward. So Christ to his Disciples, Luke 17.10. When you have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, we have done that which was our duty to do.

5. There is so much defect in our best works, that it is impossible they should merit any thing out of justice; for who can think they should deserve punishment out of justice, and merit a reward out of justice too? That work which meriteth must be perfectly perfect, there must be no flaw, not a shadow of privative imperfection in it; if God should be extream to mark what we have done amiss, Hell would be the reward ••our best works. Now though glory be called a ••eward, yet 'tis a meer gift of grace: Eternal life is the gift of God, saith the Apostle, Rom. 6.23.

Christ saith of his Sheep, I give unto them eternal life, John 10.28. It is called both a gift, and a reward, secundum quid, and in respect it is called a reward but simply and absolutely,* 1.54 it is only a gift; compare eternal life to the work, and look no further, so the Scripture calls it a re∣ward; but consider the original from whence the work it self also proceedeth, and all is meerly and wholly gift, saith learned Bishop Abbot.

6. Hereby the merits of Christ would be made of no validity; Christ hath merited for us to the uttermost, and nothing can be contributed by us, because he hath done it alone: so then eter∣nal life follows upon an holy life; not as remu∣nerated from any merit of ours, but as conferr'd in much mercy by God for the merits of Christ. I shall now shew that the re∣ward in Heaven is a great re∣ward. Aquinas on Matth. 5.11.* 1.55 assigneth to three Orders of glorified Saints (namely, to Virgins, Doctors, and Martyrs) a spe∣cial Crown of glory, excelling in glory the Crowns of other Saints. I should spend time, but to little purpose, should I tell you the idle figments of the Schoolmen about these Crowns, as that the Virgins shall have a white Crown, the Doctors a green Crown, the Martyrs a red Crown; such hay, straw, and stubble have the over-curious heads of the Schoolmen laid upon this foundation. I shall wave this, and shew you

how the reward in Heaven is called a great re∣ward.

I. It is great absolutely in it self considered; the great God himself is the reward of his Saints, the Kingdom of Heaven is their reward; we should count an earthly Kingdom a great re∣ward, much more all the Kingdoms in the World, that is a vast reward indeed; but what is all the World, and the Kingdoms thereof, in comparison of Heaven? 'tis but as a drop of a Bucket com∣pared to the Sea, the dust in the Ballance com∣pared to the Earth, and a spark of Fire compared to the Sun; there is some comparison in these, for both are finite; but there is no proportion between God and the whole World; perfection of holiness, perfection of glory, perfection of joy, perfection of pleasure is this great reward.

II. Consider the properties of this reward, and you will see it is a great reward.

1. It is an infinite reward, far above the sight of the eye, it cannot comprehensively behold it; the ear cannot hear the greatness of it; the heart cannot conceive it: Were the Sea ink, and the Heavens parchment, and all Angels and Men set on work to delineate the greatness of it, they could not describe it; the reward is great, ac∣cording as God is, and who knoweth how great he is?

2. It is an all-sufficient, and all-satisfying re∣ward: why doth the holy Ghost call it after so many names, sometimes calling it the Kingdom

of Heaven, the sight of God, a Crown, a Crown of life, joy, Rivers of pleasures, sometimes a Supper, the Marriage of the Lamb, white Robes, Paradise? the reason is, because it is so great, that one expression is not enough to describe it; it is an all-sufficient, and an all-satisfying reward. When the great day of recompence shall come, wherein God will bestow his reward upon his Saints, all Heaven shall cry out, Lord, I have enough, I need no more, I desire no more: this reward is common to millions of glorified Saints, and all are satisfied with it. Christ him∣self is a most satisfying object; the beauty of his face, the smell of his garments, the Sea and Ri∣vers of Salvation, that capacious and wide Hea∣ven, where God, his Angels and Saints are, are intrinsecally, and of themselves most ravishing, and soul-satisfying objects; there the Soul drink∣eth, and drinketh abundantly, and is fully sa∣tisfied, so that the vessel can hold no more; there the Soul is always quietly reposing it self in the arms and embraces of the glorious Prince Immanuel, always sucking the breasts of his eter∣nal consolations, and delighting it self with the abundance of glory.

3. It is called a great reward comparate, com∣pared to the active and passive obedience of Saints in this World: For as learned Spanhemius observeth on Matth. 5.11.* 1.56 our Saviour doth not make comparison between reward, and

reward of Saints, the greater and the lesser, be∣tween Crowns of glory, one more illustrious then another, but between our service on Earth, and God's reward in Heaven; it is then a great or mu••h reward in order to our sufferings: let the measure of our persecutions be full, pressed down, and running over, yet our reward shall be infinitely more full, pressed down, and run∣ning over; the joy of the Saints in Heaven shall infinitely exceed the smart of all their sufferings, as hath before been largely declared.

Quest. Here it may be demanded, Whether we may have an eye to the reward in our obedience? The Papists cry out upon us, as if we did deny that the godly ought to have respect unto the promised reward to quicken them to duty: And it is true, that some mistaking Divines have sub∣scribed to this opinion, that in no case a godly man is to eye the glory promised to quicken him to duty; because, say they, in so doing we shew forth mercenary, not filial duty; and we do not do and suffer for God's sake, but for the re∣ward.

Resp. There is no doubt but we may have an eye to the glorious reward, else why doth our Saviour here, and in other places, propose the reward to us, and promise a reward? And it is said of Moses, that he had an eye to the recompence of the reward, Heb. 11.26. Yea, it is said of Christ, Heb. 12.2. that for the glory set before him, he en∣dured the cross, and despised the shame. Although

we may not chiefly aim at our own profit, but the performance of God's pleasure; yet surely we may be moved to the doing our duties for hope of reward, as also restrained from sin, though not principally, yet partly for fear of punishment; else why would God use threat∣nings and promises in the Scri∣pture? saith Peter Martyr.* 1.57 Here let us observe these Rules.

1. The glory of God must be the primary mark at which we must chiefly aim; as he made all things primarily for his glory, so must we do all to the same end: did our lives stand in compe∣tition with God's glory, we ought to chuse rather to seek the advancing of God's glory, then to seek to preserve our lives; nay, if our very salvation stood in competition with the glory of God, we ought to chuse rather the ad∣vancement of God's glory, then to seek for our own salvation: yet God's mercy is so great to us, that his glory and our salvation are so com∣pacted together, that we cannot seek the one, but we shall infallibly obtain the other.

2. Our own duty must next to the glory of God, have the uppermost room in our hearts; the duty which we owe to God in doing and suffering, must be respected before the reward which God will give us; his holy commands must be a stronger incitement to duty, then his gifts. It was a notable act of a Woman, reported

by Gregory Nazianzen, who carried fire in one hand, and water in another, saying,* 1.58 With fire she would burn the Heavens, with water she would drown the World, that she might know her own heart, whether she loved God for God's sake, or for his re∣wards.

3. We must not eye the reward, qua merces, as it is a reward due, but as 'tis a gift of free grace; not as it is a remunerating act of God's justice, but as a crowning act and fruit of free mercy. Then see the pride of Papists, who say, it were not for their honour to have eternal life gratis.

4. We may look on the reward as God's fa∣vour, and as an encouragement he proposeth to us, to move us the more swiftly to run the race that is set before us. Every one propoundeth this to himself in any undertaking, Quid habebo? What shall I have if I do or suffer? And St. Peter proveth the question, Lord, we have left all and followed thee, and what shall we receive? It was a custom among great Princes, when they set upon any notable work, they would encourage the undertakers to come to the work by the propounding of wages, prizes, and rewards:

but we must have an eye to the reward, non tam ut utile nobis, quam ut bonum in se; not so much as it is profitable to us, and looking to our own advantage, as to the goodness of the reward it self.

5. We may look on the recompence of the re∣ward, as an incitation to patience under suffer∣ings; we need encouragement to move us to pa∣tience under all those miseries and discourage∣ments that attend our following Christ: Hence it was that Christ, to allay the sharpness of suf∣fering, propounds the greatness of the reward; this caused Moses to chuse rather to suffer affli∣ctions with God's people, then to enjoy the plea∣sures of sin, which are but for a season; esteem∣ing the reproaches of Christ greater riches, then all the treasures of Egypt; for, or because he had an eye to the recompence of the reward, Heb. 11.25, 26. Now how should the consideration of this great reward in Heaven, which a Christian shall receive for his poor labours and sufferings in this World, make him willing to die, that he may receive his reward: for as a weary Tra∣veller, having even almost tired himself with heavy labour, or hard journying, is willing to go to receive his wages of his Master, and after∣wards to betake himself to his rest; so should a good Christian, that hath fought a good fight, kept the faith, and almost finished his course, be willing to die, to go to receive his reward.

With this consideration Hilarion speaks to his trembling Soul upon his Death-bed,* 1.59 Egredere Anima, cur times egredi; go forth my Soul, go forth; depart out of this prison of pain into a place of pleasure: hast thou served Christ these seventy years, and dost thou fear to take thy wages now thou hast done thy work? Let this therefore be matter of shame to us, that we have done so little work, considering the greatness of the reward; as a holy dying Martyr said, I am exceedingly grieved, that being now to receive so great a reward, I have done so lit∣tle work. Truly, O Lord, thou art great above all gods, and great is thy reward; for thou art not great,* 1.60 and thy reward little; thou art the re∣warder, and the reward of eternal happiness it self, saith St. Augustine.

SECT. VII. Sheweth that Heaven is the place where God shall give his People a kind welcome, and loving en∣tertainment.

HEaven is also the place where God will most affectionately receive all his Children to himself; with much love and tenderness of affe∣ction at the last day, they shall be received into

the arms of his embraces. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory, Psal. 73.24. that is, thou shalt receive me with a most vehement and ardent affection. When the prodigal Son was but coming towards his Father, when he was yet afar off, his Father ran toward him, and fell upon his neck and kissed him; now this is but a shadow of that full and glorious reception of the Saints to himself, when God shall make them all glorious, and receive them without spot or wrinkle: if this Prodigal returning from his Harlots, and coming in his rags, was thus acceptable and welcome to his Father, Oh what abundance of love will God then express to his Saints at the last day, when they shall be all cloathed in long white robes, and be received into the perfection of glory! Mark what is said to the faithful Servant, Well done thou good and faithful Servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee Ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord, Matth. 25.23. Then will the Lord Jesus most affectionately say to all his Servants, Enter my dear Friends, and receive your consolation; enter Servants, and receive your wages; enter my Children, and take possession of your patri∣mony and inheritance; enter my Brethren, and receive your portion: and all ye that have fought the good fight, and kept the faith, and offered violence to the Kingdom of Heaven, enter ye, and take your Crowns. He doth not say, Come

toward it, and look upon it with a greedy de∣sire, and earnest longing after your happiness, but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, come into the joy of thy Lord, take part and possession of it with abundance of de∣light and satisfaction. The soul of man in this World is capable of more pleasure then the eye or ear, yea then all the senses can bring in to her; our soul can drink up all the pleasures at one draught, it can presently swallow them up; but the joys of Heaven do exceed the desires of our souls; therefore saith Christ, Enter thou in∣to thy Master's joy; he doth not say, let the joy of thy Master enter into thee: it is to shew, that the joy of our glorious condition doth infinitely surpass the largest capacity of our souls, though they be stretched to the uttermost. So at the last day Christ will say to the Sheep on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World, Matth. 25.34. The first word is Venite, Come; it is the voice of the Bridegroom that saith, Come; Come to me my Spouse; that where the Husband is, there the Bride, the Lamb's Wife may be; that where the Head is, there the Members may be; where the Father is, there the Children may be; where the Master is, there the Servants may be; where the Prince and Captain of our Salva∣tion is, there his Fellow-Souldiers may be. When Christ was going out of the World, he chears up the hearts of his Disciples with these conso∣latory words; Let not your hearts be troubled; in

my Father's House are many Mansions, I go to pre∣pare a place for you; and if I go, I will come again, and receive you to my self, that where I am, there you may be also, John 14.1, 2. See how much af∣fection Christ expresseth in these words; if Christ said when he was upon Earth, Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will ease you; take my yoke upon you, and you shall find rest to your souls, Matth. 11.28, 29. then much more will he retain the same sweetness of affection, when he cometh to sit down in his Judgment-seat. Christ is as it were a Servant among his People; Luke 22.27. I am among you as he that serveth. He condescendeth to serve his People; he went to Heaven in Person to prepare a place for them, and he will come again in Per∣son to receive them thither: True it is, he will do it with a glorious Train of Angels, yet he will come himself, and take them home to his Father's House, that where he is, they may be also; and then will he receive them with much affection. Come my Love, my Dove, my Spouse, my Un∣defiled, where hast thou been so long all this while out of my presence; come ye into my bo∣some, which is now wide open ready to receive you. If Jacob's and Joseph's meeting were so un∣expressibly comfortable, when they had thought never to have seen the faces of each other after so long a distance, Oh what shall the joy of that last day be? and how shall those noble souls re∣joyce, yea, leap for joy, to whom these soul-ra∣vishing

words are spoken, Come ye blessed of my Father? all the Musick in Heaven and Earth will not so ravish them, as this voice will do: Now, though they were the out-casts of the World, Heaven gates shall be set wide open for their re∣ception; the King of glory will bid them come, and welcome; the Spirit and the Bride say, come, &c. Come ye blessed of my Father; the World hath cursed you, but God hath blessed you, yea, and you shall be blessed: Come ye and inherit a Kingdom. I have heretofore told you of a Kingdom promised you, a Kingdom you have often prayed for, Lord, let thy Kingdom come; come now, my dear Friends, I am come to put you into the possession of that Kingdom; I will make you all Kings, and you shall reign with me for ever.

Great reason there is for us to think, that God will take home all his People to himself, with abundance of affection, at the last day; they are the Sons and Daughters of the Lord God Almighty: and will not our heavenly Father re∣ceive all his Sons and Daughters to glory with a most vehement affection, and take them home to his own House, after a tedious pilgrimage in the World, wherein they have met with harsh unkind usage? How did Jacob tender Benjamin, that he would not let him go from him till he was forced to it, and saw the necessity of it? but his joy is not exprest upon his return, because he heard that his beloved Joseph was alive, and

when he saw the Waggons and Charets that Jo∣seph had sent to fetch him and his family into Egypt. Oh then it is inconceivable and inexpres∣sible, with what affections our heavenly Father will take home his Children to his everlasting habitations, when they are of full age, and ready to receive their inheritance. Moreover, they are the temples of the holy Ghost; and with what abundance of love (think you) will God receive the Saints, when they are perfumed all over with sweet odours from Heaven, with all the graces of God's Spirit. The Spirit here is the source of all Divine gifts, for being the prime radical donation of our heavenly Father, there is no grace he confers upon us, which bears not the image of this first and prime gra∣tuity; the Spirit is the pandora through which all other blessings are bestowed upon us: Now the Spirit is given to sanctifie those whom Christ hath redeemed, and to preserve them to God's hea∣venly Kingdom, whom Christ had purchased and delivered from everlasting destruction. God manifested much love to his People on Earth, in that his Spirit dwelling in his Saints, when it was often grieved by them, yet would not leave nor quit his old habitation; what abun∣dance of love then will he express to them, when he shall find nothing in them that is con∣trary or displeasing to him? Besides, the Saints are espoused to the Lord Jesus Christ; and that great day wherein they are to be received to

glory, shall be the full consummation of the Mar∣riage; Oh what abundance of love will the Lord Jesus express to his Bride, when she shall be brought home to him after a long time of sepa∣ration one from another? With gladness and re∣joycing shall they be brought unto the King, and en∣ter into the Kings Palace, Psal. 45.15. Though the Church sigh here below, she knows her Be∣loved will keep his word, that having had a part in his sorrows, she shall have a share in his heavenly triumphs: Oh how shall the counte∣nance of the glorious Son of righteousness chear the hearts of God's People at the last day with abundance of joy, when he that is an universal Friend shall supply the place of a gracious Lord, of a loving Father, and act the part of a loving Brother,* 1.61 of a Head, of a Husband, of a Root, and be every thing to us. Me∣thinks the serious consideration hereof should be a forcible at∣tractive to draw Sinners to Christ, and to cause them to re∣ceive him into their hearts by faith; whatsoever offers the Devil can make them, or whatsoever entertainments they may have from the World, they are not worth a naming, to the magnificent and sumptuous entertainment that the Lord Je∣sus will give to his Spouse at the last day; Oh what a Feast will Christ make for all his Chil∣dren, when he shall bring them all together into

the House of his Father; and if that word be too strait, into the City of the great King; and if that be too strait, into the World to come, where there shall be room enough for them all?

What comfort may the meditation hereof afford to you that are poor Christians, that are now the out-casts of the World? know ye, though the World exclude you, yet Heaven will receive you; though the World afford you no house-room, but shut you out of doors, yet the everlasting Gates shall be open∣ed to you, and God shall take you into his own House, yea into his own Bosome; ye have a Father in Heaven, his House is richly fur∣nished, and there you shall be sumptuously and royally entertained; though the World refuse to feed you with the crumbs that fall from their tables, yet you shall eat and drink with Christ at his table in his Kingdom; yea, he shall be your meat and drink, who is the bread of life, and the well-spring of Salvation: the Lord will think nothing he hath too dear for you, but you shall have part with Jesus Christ, and share with him in all his enjoyments. I have read of Cyrus, who never liked any dish of meat, but he sent a part of it from his table to his Friends he loved most; yea, sometimes the very bread and meat he had upon his own trencher, with this kind and friendly salutation; Cyrus tibi ista quod ipsi fuerint jucundissima. King Cyrus sends you this, because he likes it best himself, and holds it to be

most choice and dainty. So the Lord will enter∣tain his People with his own glory and felicity; whereupon St. Bernard hath this expression, Non aurum pollicetur Dominus; the Lord doth not promise gold nor silver, nor pretious stones, but himself; he will be their substantial joy, and everlasting comfort. What tongue or pen is able to set forth that large and kind entertainment that God will give to his Children on that day, when they shall see the Lord Jesus, like a faith∣ful Shepherd, conducting all his Flock to the Fold, which was ordained for them before the foundations of the World were laid; when they shall see him like a valiant General, and tri∣umphant Conqueror, riding in the Heavens in the head of his troops and glorious train, who shall follow him with Crowns on their heads, and Palm branches in their hands? Oh the shout∣ings, oh the songs of joy, and vollies of praises and Hallelujahs that shall fill the World in that great and glorious day, when Jesus Christ shall come in his own glory, and in the glory of his Father, and of the holy Angels, Luke 9.26.

CHAP. XV.

SECT. I. Of the substance of the Saints glory.

HAving spoken of the circumstances, let us now consider more particularly the sub∣stance of that glory and blessedness, which the glorified Saints shall possess in their souls and bo∣dies: and first in their bodies; but before I speak of that glory which God will put upon the bodies of the Saints, I shall speak of that which goes before it, and leads unto it, viz. the resurre∣ction of their bodies: However God's Children are subject to death as well as others, yet they shall be raised again to a state of blessedness, and their bodies shall be re-united to their souls. For,

1. God hath decreed it, and it shall certainly come to pass. John 6.39, 40. Christ saith, This is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day; and this is the will of him that sent me, that every one that seeth the Son, and believeth in him, may have ever∣lasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

2. Christ hath promised it. Hosea 13.14. I will ransome them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death: O Death, I will be thy plagues; O grave; I will be thy destruction. John 6.54. Whosoever eateth my flesh, and drinketh my

blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day: Yea, Christ hath considered it by his last will and testament, John 17.22, 24.

3. It is evident by the Saints profession. Job confesseth thus much plainly, Job 19.25. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my flesh worms destroy this body, yet shall I see God in my flesh; whom I myself shall see, mine eyes shall behold, and no other for me, though my reins be con∣sumed within me. Our Saviour, who called him∣self the resurrection and the life, refutes the Sad∣duces, and confirms the doctrine of the Phari∣sees, as to that opinion, producing a place out of the Law of Moses, and using it as an argument for the proof thereof: As touching the resurre∣ction of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, Matth. 22.32. with the weight of which argument he astonished the multitude, and silenced the Sadduces. And St. Paul also asserteth the doctrine of the resurrection, being brought before the Councel, the one part whereof were Sadduces, the other Pharisees, one denying, the other asserting the resurrection, Acts 23.6.

SECT. II.

I Shall now prove the resurrection of the Saints bodies by arguments:

1. Else why should the Saints in all ages cru∣cifie themselves to the World, suffer afflictions for faith in and hope of the resurrection? 1 Cor. 15.19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable; for the wicked esteem the godly as the most miserable men in the World; and had they only hope of the things of this life, they were then most miserable, forasmuch as these temporal pleasures are not a sufficient reward of temporal afflictions.

2. The bodies of the just are instruments and companions in the work of holiness, therefore also in the reward of them in glory: now if we be dead with Christ, we also believe that we shall live with him, Rom. 6.8. without this the bodies of the just were of all mens most mise∣rable.

3. If the bodies of the wicked shall rise again to receive the reward of condemnation, then by the same rule must the bodies of the Saints rise to receive the reward of life and salvation. Christ saith, that the hour is coming when all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation,

John 5.28, 29. if it were not so, then God should delight or exceed in justice, more then in mercy.

4. Because God is able to raise them out of their graves again. As the Lord by the resurre∣ction of dry bones revived the dead hope of Israel,* 1.62 and made them to know, that he would open their graves, and cause them to come out of their graves, and bring them into the Land of Israel: so when the bodies of the Saints go down to the dust, and their bones are dried there, and their hope seems to be lost, yet then doth their flesh rest in hope, for God will not leave them in the grave, nor suffer his holy ones always to see corruption, Psal. 16.9, 10.

5. Otherwise the second Adam could not re∣pair the loss of the first Adam, and Christ were not so strong to save as Adam was to destroy: for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive, 1 Cor. 15.21, 22. Adam was the Author of Death's strength, and Christ of Death's resurrection.

6. Christ is an eternal King, and hath an ever∣lasting Kingdom, which cannot be unless his Sub∣jects also be eternal, for these are relatives, and do sese mutuo ponere & tollere: Also his covenant is everlasting, and that not with the dead, but with the living, sc. such as live in soul,* 1.63 and shall at the end of the World live eternally both in soul and body; and

unless we make Christ's body a monster, we must not seperate the head from the members, which we shall do if we deny the resurrection of the just, Luke 14.14.

7. If we deny the resurrection of the Saints bodies, we deny Christ to be risen; upon which many absurdities, gross heresies, and all manner of impieties will ensue. 1 Cor. 15. from 13. ad 19. verse. If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain; yea and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God, that he raised up Christ; whom he raised not up, if the dead rise not.

SECT. III.

BUt Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept, 1 Cor. 15.20. let us therefore consider the personal types or figures of our Saviour's resurrection.

1. Adam was a type of Christ, among other things in this, viz. that as he slept in the Garden, so Christ died on the Cross, and was buried in a Garden. When Adam descended into a sleep, there was a resurrection of his Rib, which awaked into a Woman. Adam's sleeping was a type of Christ's suffering and dying; and his awaking, of Christ's rising again: yea, this resurrection of the second Adam, doth well resemble the nativity

of the first Adam; for in Genesis, Chap. 2. you shall find Adam taken out of the ground, and fashioned out of the dust of the earth; so was it with our blessed Saviour at his resurrection; he was (as I may speak) born again of the earth, rose out of the dust of death; the grave was in travail with him, and Death it self was compel∣led to bring forth the Lord of life, and so he is the first-born of the dead, Colos. 1.18. But see here the malice of the Jews towards our blessed Saviour, which ended not upon the Cross; but as they began with him in his cradle, so they persecute him to his grave; where (as though they had not laid him up safe enough) they in∣vent bonds beyond death, they watch and seal him up in the grave, as if they could have held in him who had the keys of Hell and death; but for all the great stone which they had brought (with much heaving no doubt) to lay upon the mouth of the grave, for all their seal set upon the stone, and a diligent watch set to attend the Sepulchre, yet notwithstanding, our Saviour, who had wrought many miracles upon others, hath wrought a greater upon himself; the sealed stone i•• removed, the watchmen are deceived, and a d••ad car••cass revived.

2. The Antients mak•• Isaac a type of Christ's passion and resurrection; as namely Abraham's taking,* 1.64 bind∣ing, and laying his Son upon the Altar was a type of Christ's death and passion;

and as Isaac carried wood for himself, so did Christ Jesus carry the wooden Cross: Now will ye see a rising without death or sleep; behold Isaac as near the stroke as the hand of his Father arising from the funeral pile; he had taken the knife in his hand, stretched out his hand to slay his Son, and then between the sacrificing knife and Isaac's throat, God sheweth favour to Abra∣ham, bidding him to stay his hand; and a Ram was brought, by the power and providence of God, to rescue and redeem Isaac from death; here was a sacrifice offered, yet not slain; and though not slain, yet accepted, Heb. 11.8. Thus Abraham received his Son Isaac from the dead in a figure, verse 19. being a type of the resurre∣ction of Jesus Christ from the dead; who by the power of his Divinity raised his Humanity from death to life.

3. But perhaps it will more gratefully affright you, to see a man taught to be buried alive, and (more yet) to out-live his funeral: behold, then Joseph, a most excellent type of Christ; Jo∣seph is basely betray'd, and sold by his Brethren into Egypt; is falsly accused by his Mistress, and cast into prison, and after three years imprisonment is delivered; so Jesus is betray'd to the Jews by Judas, his own Apostle, Friend and Follower, and falsely accused before Pilate by the Jews, and is put to death; but on the third day Christ is raised up from the dead: and as Joseph after his deliverance out of prison is advanced in the

Kingdom of Egypt, so Christ after his resurrection is glorified in the Kingdom of Heaven. Behold then Joseph from the Tomb-stone of his Prison rising into a triumph as eminent as innocency, which before had conquered his passion, and now his affliction; behold in Joseph the mysti∣cal Body of our Saviour, a Body admirably mortal and incorruptible; a Body that suffered rather the Grave then Death.

4. Sampson was also a type of Christ, as in many things, so in these two especially, of his his death and resurrection; for after he had slept at Gaza (when the Gazites compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the City, that they might kill him in the morning) he arose at midnight, and carried away the gates of the City upon his back, carrying them up to the top of an Hill that is before Hebron, carrying away the doors of the gates of the City, and the two posts, bar and all, upon his shoulders: So maugre the watch that the Jews set to keep Christ's Sepulchre,* 1.65 Christ arose with the mystical Gates of Hell and Death upon his back (no marvel Hell-gates cannot prevail against his Church) together with the Posts and Pillars thereof: and as Sampson by pulling down the House upon the heads of the Philistines, was avenged of his Enemies; so Christ by opening the sealed Sepulchre, hath subdued Death, yea conquered him in his own Den and Cabin.

5. But what more proper type can there be then Christ makes of himself? and that is Jonas, Matth. 12.40. which is thus fitted and parallell'd: Jonah's casting into the Sea was a sign of Christ's Death; his being taken by the Fish, and received into his Belly, a sign of his Burial; and his cast∣ing on shore again, a sign of his Resurrection: Three days he lay in his new night of astonish∣ment, as if he had found an Egypt in the belly of the Whale, and did acknowledge the watry Purgatory; at last the grave of the Prophet casts up the living; he had surely died, had he not been buried: here's a resurrection of this rare Anchorite, though not a reviving, for he and his Tomb were both alive: But the Tomb of our Saviour was as desperate as his Death, yet was it not possible that he should be holden of it, Acts 2.24. for he arose on the third day from the Grave; the Humane Soul of Christ did not of it self return and quicken his Body, but his Divi∣nity which rested, raised his Humanity that suf∣fered; that is, by the vertue and omnipotent power of his God-head, whereby he is able to do all things; he reduced and brought back his reasonable Soul, and re-united it to his orga∣nical Body; and this Body that arose was alto∣gether glorious, being void of all infirmities and weakness whatsoever, being now no more sub∣ject to hunger, thirst, cold, weariness, or the like. True it is, he called for meat after his re∣surrection, Luke 24.41, 42. and did eat it truly,

but not that he needed any meat, or nourish∣ment, his Body being then im∣mortal,* 1.66 and impassible, but he doth it to prove himself to be really risen again; for as when he had restored others to life, (as Jairus's Daughter, Lazarus, and others) to prove that they were truly re∣stored to life, he caused meat to be set before them; so to manifest and declare the truth of his own resurrection, he calleth for meat, and eateth it before them; and that it might appear there was no falshood, nor forgery in the busi∣ness, he brought not his meat with him, but he takes such things as he found them furnished with, and which they had provided; and although he eateth, he doth it not for his own sake by rea∣son of the necessity of nature, or the infirmity of the flesh, but for the sake of his Disciples; for the strengthening of their faith, and not for the nourishing and cherishing his own flesh. Though the necessity of eating and drinking in glorified bodies be taken away, saith Augustine, yet it was free, and in his power to eat if he would. Peter Martyr tells us, he did sometimes after his resurrection, ad testandam veritatem hu∣mani Corporis, to testifie the truth of his humane Body; as namely, his affording himself to be seen and felt of Thomas and others, and his eat∣ing and drinking with his Disciples. And some again, ad suam gloriam demonstrandam, to shew

forth his glory; of which sort was his convey∣ing himself from them they knew not how, and his coming in among them clausis januis, the doors being shut. If you demand, what became of the meat that Christ did thus eat? I answer, it was a most easie matter for him that made all things of nothing, to cause a little meat and drink to consume and vanish to nothing.* 1.67 Stella out of Chry∣sostome saith, that Christ laid aside all accidental properties in his Body after his resurrection, but retained the essential, as longitude, latitude, circumscription, &c.

SECT. IV.

BUt will you see the manifold proofs of Christ's resurrection? if you will turn over the notes of time, you may believe that Pharaoh, as about that time of the year when Christ rose from the dead, was invaded by an host of waves, which conquering his Charets, made him without wheels to hurry faster into Hell, while Moses led his Israel through the Wilderness of the Sea, passing through the shadow of death in the mo∣nument of Waters: Did not our Lord also leave his Tomb without an equal and contrary wonder? then the Waters seemed to be firm, rising into Alps, as now the Earth was made to quake like the Waters; and well might the Earth tremble, when the Lord conquered it, and forsook it. The

Angel too made a little Earthquake in the Grave, when he removed the mighty Stone with which the senseless Jew tried to oppress our Saviour after death, as if he would have sealed him up to an utter impossibility of rising again; the Earth now moveth and danceth for his exalta∣tion, and the Stones give place to his omnipo∣tency. The Angel having opened the Tomb, shall we look into the place whence Christ is ri∣sen? but behold, he is not there to be found, an Angel supplieth his place, which he had con∣quered to obedience, as if he had meant to rest himself in triumph after the conflict of his mi∣racle; his rayment white as snow, which he did imitate in purity; his countenance was like light∣ning, but more wonderful; for that's of so in∣stant a terror, that it's rather the object of our memory then our eye: but this with a courteous Majesty was patient to be beheld: the terrified Women quickly behold this sight, being en∣couraged by the Angel, but first by their inno∣cence: the Souldiers beheld it too, but with such guilty faintness, that they seemed as much to disgrace their sex as their profession, disarm∣ing themselves at once both of their weapons and souls together, they became as breathless car∣casses, and were rather the Captives, then the Keepers of the Grave.

But now the Women being comforted, they receive a commission from the Angel to preach the Resurrection of our Saviour; and out of the

Tomb they hasten with the confused speed of fear and joy; and while they seek the Disciples, they find their Saviour himself, who comforteth them with his presence and speech, and again sendeth them to teach his own Disciples; and to shew their obedience to be as quick as their love, they depart from Christ to their duty, and speedily find Peter and John for their Auditors; who no sooner hear the news of Christ's resur∣rection, but they run as fast to the Tomb as the Women ran from it; where no sooner are they entered, but they perceive Christ's victory over Death acknowledged by the Linnen cloathes; his spoils of Death, and these spoils too had been divided, the Napkin off his head being laid up by it self. It seems the Angel at our Saviour's resurrection attended to be a Witness of it to the Women, and to leave a testimony of it to the Disciples. Thus that he was not stoln away (as was given out) appears by the inconvenience and leisure of his undressing, and by the method of the Linnen, which the affrighted policy of the Souldiers did no more touch then observe, and they no more observed it then the Women, who after the sight of the Angel had their eyes as much amazed as their minds; the Souldiers too did more tremble then watch; but the Disci∣ples had less fear, and more time: Besides, they learnt somewhat which they were not taught, and could now teach the Women this news of the Grave, Lo here the Lion of the Tribe of Juda,

whose Almighty strength vouchsafed to couch under the power of the Grave; and lo the great∣ness of his love hath raised him up from the sloth of the Grave.

Will ye behold how he was raised? behold how the Potter worketh upon the wheel, he taketh clay, he maketh it a vessel; and this vessel being made in the hands of the Potter, he makes it again as he best pleaseth. Christ was immortal Clay and Earth, purer then Heaven, when by the wonder of Omnipotency, the Creator and Creature were made into one, and of one mat∣ter did consist both the Potter and his Pot; from this broken Clay there did arise the same and a renewed Christ. Could any man in this point be yet an Infidel? if any could, see how he con∣verts them; he lets Thomas disgrace himself to a belief, and by his distrust mercifully and mira∣culously encreaseth his faith. Can any body doubt he was renewed in a Body of glory, when he was full of God? had he not a glorious Body, whom the doors that were shut (when he entered to his Disciples) did obediently acknowledge to be the King of Glory? & though he were patient under Death three days, yet since the first part of the first was spent before he died, and the last part of the last after he revived, there was the number, but not the length of three days; and thus he made so short a change, as seemed rather a sleep then death: He rose not sooner, lest he might have been thought not to b•• f••lly dead;

he lay no longer, lest he might have been thought to have seen corruption.

This resurrection of Christ proved him to be true God, as his birth, life, death, burial, proved him to be true Man: It was his own Argument against the Jews, Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up again, John 2.19. And St. Paul among other things tells us, He was declared migh∣tily to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead, Rom. 1.4. Methinks this might have stopt the black mouthes of the blasphemous Jews, who at the time of his execution, bade him come down from the Cross and save himself, and they will believe on him, Matth. 27.42. which though he would not do, yet here he doth a greater matter;* 1.68 to rise was more, saith Gregory, to rise again out of his Grave, then to descend from the Cross. This likewise declareth his dominion over Sin, Death, Hell, and all Enemies; Christ therefore died, rose again, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living; if he had died, and not risen again, then had he (at least) seemed not to have conquered and overcome death, but to have been foyled in the Field, and overcome of Death; and then how could he have been the death of Death, and the destruction of the Grave, and have delivered us from the power of Hell, Hosea 13.14. This likewise sheweth us the sufficiency of his satisfaction, and him to be

an absolute and all-sufficient Saviour, whereof we might have doubted, had he only died; for we think not a mans debts then paid, when he or his Surety goes to prison for them, and there abideth, but when he cometh out again with a general discharge, so that he dares bid defiance to all Bailiffs and Serjeants whatsoever, or who∣soever can pretend any thing to say to him; thus much Christ declared to the World by his rising from the dead, for though he discharged our debt by dying, yet we have our acquittance by his rising again, 1 Pet. 3.21. Rom. 4.25.

SECT. V.

WIll ye consider the wonder of the resur∣rection, as well as the change? do but imagine, that in the dawning birth of the morn∣ing, you saw the revelation of a grave emulating the morning; a Coarse rising with more comfort and glory then the Sun; a winding-sheet falling away like an empty cloud; the feet and the hands striving which shall first recover motion; the hands helping to raise the body, and the feet helping to bear the body and the hands; the tongue so eloquent, that it can tell you it can speak again; the ears so pure, that they can per∣ceive the dull silence of the grave; the eyes looking forth of their tombs, as if they were glad to see their own resurrection: Would you not be affrighted, as well as instructed, at the

Divine power? would you not be turn'd into very Coarses to see this living Coarse? would you not be struck as pale as the very winding-sheet you lookt upon? But when all this shall be done, as well in mercy as in majesty; as well to raise thee to an hope of eternal life, as to strike thee with a remembrance of a temporal death; as well to make thee like unto God, as to make thee know that thou art not like him; how then wilt thou dissolve into compassion, as if thou wouldst hasten to the like resurrection? how wilt thou then kiss those hands which before thou fearedst, and then stedfastly examine and adore the resurrection of that Body, which is the hope and cause of the resurrection of our Bodies? for therefore did he raise himself, that he might raise us. Christ rose not as a private, but as a publick Person; as a Burgess in a Par∣liament representeth the whole Body of the In∣corporation for which he is chosen, so Christ as our Head, represents the Persons of all them that are Heirs of Salvation, Ephes. 2.6. Christ (as in his Passion, so) in his Resurrection sustained the Persons of the Elect; and so we in him, as in Capite, rise with him. St. Paul tells us, that Christ standing in our stead, representeth our persons, Rom. 5.18, 19. this appeareth, in that he rose not alone, but many bodies of the Saints rose with him, and attended him, Matth. 27.52, 53. to shew that the vertue of him our Head, diffused and extended it self unto all the Mem∣bers

of the Church his Body; and his rising first, shewed him to be the first-fruits of them that slept: Christ rose by his own power, and not (as we) by a borrowed power from Christ; I have power to lay down my life, (saith he) and power to take it up again, John 10.••8. it was prophesied of him, Psal. 110. ult. therefore shall he lift up the head. As in his Passion, when he suffered, he bowed down his head, and gave up the ghost with a loud voice, to note that his sufferings were voluntary, John 19.30. so in his Resurrection he is said to lift up the head him∣self, to note that he had life in himself, and that it was impossible he should be holden under death, who was the Lord of life.

SECT. VI.

NOw he that could raise up his own Body by his Divine power, can much more raise up our Bodies also; he it is that shall quicken our mortal Bodies, Rom. 8.11. a privatione ad habi∣tum non datur regressus; and therefore however the Angels are instruments in respect of some an∣tecedent and consequent cause of the Resurre∣ction, Matth. 24.31. yet the immediate cause is God alone, Christ himself in respect of his Hu∣mane nature being excluded; for howbeit the Resurrection is ascribed to his Person, yet only according to his Divine nature; yet in the com∣munion of both natures we acknowledg, Christum

agere quod suum est, verbo operante quod verbi est, & carne exequente quod carnis est. Yet I grant, as in the raising up Lazarus, and the Widows Son of Naim, Luke 7.14. so in the general re∣surrection, Christ's Humane nature shall perform what belongs to it; that is, give some evident sign of his coming to Judgment; which shall be as an instrument of his Divine power for the raising up of the dead, which shall have its instrumental force, as that voice in raising the Widows Son of Naim, Luke 7.14. and that voice in raising Lazarus, John 11.43, 44. And this sign is ex∣prest diversly in Scripture, John 5.28. it is said, all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. In Matth. 24.31. He shall send his Angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather to∣gether his Elect from the four winds, from the one end of Heaven to the other. And St. Paul saith, 1 Cor. 15.52. The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. And the same Apostle saith, 1 Thes. 4.16. The Lord shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Arch-angel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. By all which places, I suppose, may be gathered, that the voice of Christ shall be used at that day, as an instrument to awake all that sleep in the dust.

But what shall we rise too? and shall this dust be taken up and breathed on? shall every man by this second Adam be made as wonderful as

the first Adam? Beloved, shall we want faith, when God wanteth not power? or shall we think it harder to unite the Body, then to make it? he that made us etantillo semine, shall he not be able to raise us etantillo pulvere? It were an im∣pious discourtesie to deny that to God, which God denied not to his own Servant: Did not the Widow of Sareptah thus receive a Son by Elias, who was neither the Father nor the God? nay, did not his Servant do more for the Shuna∣mite, to whom he promised a Son before he was conceived, and restored him after he was dead? nay, did not the bones of this Elias give life to one that was as dead as themselves, teaching him to confess the mercy of a grave? It is an high act of mercy of the living God to give life to the dead; yet by a greater mercy he makes it an act of justice, freely binding himself to admit our boldness, not so much to request, as to claim a resurrection: for shall the Bodies of the Saints be more remembred by their tombs then their labours? or shall they be worse oppressed by death, then they were by their torments? shall those eyes that did still watch or mourn, for ever want respect as much as sight? shall those hands that have been exercised in extending themselves, and mercy to the poor, be for ever bound by the ingratitude of death? shall those knees which have bowed with such willing reve∣rence, be so held down by the violence of mor∣tality, that they can never rise up again? Where

are then thy tears, O David, if thine eyes shall not enjoy the happiness of their own sorrow? What then, O Job, is become of thy faith and patience, if thy body be now as much without hope, as before it was without rest? Where are then, O Esaias, thy victorious sufferings, if after the ignorant fury of the saw and schism of thy body, thy body suffer a wider disordation from thy soul for tedious eternity? Where are thy travels then, O Paul, if after thy Christian Geo∣graphy and Conquest of Paganism, thou art for ever confin'd to the dull peace of a Grave? No, the Almighty, which hath made man with wis∣dom of Art, will neither lose his glory nor his work; but as he made the greater Heaven for his Angels, so made he the less and mortal Heaven of Man's Body (as I may so speak) for his Soul, and will have it eternal as his Soul.

SECT. VII.

THere is more excellency of workmanship in the Soul, but more variety in the Body; the Soul doth more truly express God, the Body more easily; the Soul judgeth best, but the Body first: and though the eyes of the Soul do behold the work of God more clearly, yet doth the eye of the Body most properly. Nay, should not the Body be raised to life and Heaven, how great a part of Heaven and that life would be lost, whiles not enjoyed, and be as unnecessary

as it is wonderful? God hath prepared joys for the Saints which the eyes have not seen, nor the ears heard, but which the eye shall see, and the ear shall hear, and without the pleasure of a trance for ever possess, as much without error, as without measure; such honour will the Creator of our Bodies do to the Bodies of all his Saints: They shall acknowledge Corruption, yet over∣come it; they may in their journey be the Guests of the Grave, but at last they shall be the Inha∣bitants of Heaven. Yet the Lord cannot hereafter honour Humane flesh by raising it, as he hath al∣ready by assuming it; it was before his Servant, now his Companion; that was a resurrection of the flesh, when it was raised unto God, but the only resurrection of our flesh is when it is raised unto the Soul. At the last day of Judgement though there be no Marriage of sexes, yet there shall be of parts; when Souls shall be united to Bodies in so entire and so inexorable a Matri∣mony, that it shall admit no hope nor fear of a divorce: nor need we fear in the jealousie of this Match the Ignoble Parentage of the flesh, since what it wanteth by Birth is supplied by Dowry; and flesh now is become such refined earth, be∣ing made wonderful in shape and office, that the Soul may be thought scarce more noble, but that it seems more reserved by being invisible; this mortal body, shall put on immortality; this Body sown in corruption, shall be raised in in∣corruption; it shall not only be freed from death,

but also from corruption, yea, and whatsoever savoureth of mortality, or the least decay.

And notwithstanding these principles of earth fall into such an heap of dust, that they are with as much difficulty to be seen as numbred; yet thus divided among themselves, retaining still (though not an appetite, yet) an obedience to a resurrection: Nature hath not lost this, and God will supply that, and as easily unite as di∣stinguish each dust; to yield to this is the Creed of the Creed. If any mans faith in the assent to this mystery be as weak as his reason, he may help both his faith and his reason by sense; by which he shall be either convinced or perswaded. If you will be but as hardy as Antiquity, you may propose to your selves the solemn Poetry of the Phoenix, a Creature rarer then the Re∣surrection, though not so admirable, in whose ashes you may find the fire of life, expecting but to be fann'd to the resurrection of a flame; as if this Creature by a riddle of Fate, would by a fire both perish and revive: But without the courtesie of supposition, you may in earnest be∣hold the Eagle shoot forth new quills, where∣with may be written and testified his endeavor of immortality: thus doth God teach Nature how to teach us mysteries, and without the magical learning of the language of Birds, to understand without their voice their secret instruction. But perhaps you will think that to discern this truth in the nature of Eagles, would require a sight

as sharp as the Eagles. Remove then your eyes from the Fowls of the Air, but to the Trees whereon they nest, and with a negligent view you may observe, how after the nakedness and death of Winter, they bud forth afresh into life and beauty; yet why should we in the sloth of this easie contemplation, study so broad an ob∣ject? let our eye with more grateful industry confine it self with the small seed of corn, and (at least) take the pains to see the pains of the Hus∣bandman; and shall we not admire at his de∣lightful Arithmatick of nature, to behold a seed, whose hope seems as small as it self, by being cast away, to be found by destruction to receive increase, from the same furrow to take both a Burial and a Birth? He that shall now see a little drop of man's seed in a glass, and a lump of earth together, would think the one as unlikely to be∣come a man as the other; and yet we see how miraculous and curious a work the Lord makes every day of the principle of seed; which made David cry out, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Psal. 139. and he can easily restore our Bodies out of a praeexistent something, which may confute the erronious opinion of the Sad∣duces, who denied the resurrection, Matth. 22.23. of the Athenian Philosophers, who derided it, Acts 17.18. holding the Pythagorean transmigration; of Himeneus and Philetus, who said the resurre∣ction was past, 2 Tim. 2.18. and lastly, of all those Atheists and Epicures, Isai. 22.13. that

cry out and say, Mors ultima linea rerum.

SECT. VIII.

BUt now the Soul will have its old Compa∣nion again; for should the Soul for ever want the Body, it should want both perfection and wonder: Is not the Soul most perfect when it is most noble? is it not most noble when it is most bountiful? and is it not most bountiful when it gives life to the dead? Is it not likewise most full of wonder, when it is thus perfect in that which is imperfect? when it mixeth with cor∣ruption, and yet is incorruptible? when it is most burthened, and yet is most variously active? Thus by this necessary inclination of the Soul, the Resurrection is as natural in respect of the union, as it is above Nature in respect of the manner.

But now see the curious zeal of the Soul; it will not only have a Body again, but, in a pre∣cise society, it will have only its own again: not any other new created Bodies, but the same nu∣merical and substantial Bodies shall rise again, and be re-united to their proper Souls. 1 Cor. 15.53, 54. Phil. 3.21. Job 19.26, 27. St. Paul saith, [This] corruptible shall put on incorruption; and Christ shall change [our] vile Bodies: And Job saith, in his flesh he should see God; whom I shall see for my self; and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me.

There may be some general alteration in respect of their stature, deformities, superfluities, &c. to a glorified perfection; but still it shall remain the same essential Body, and good reason there is for it.

1. The justice of God requireth, that the same Body which hath been instrumental in the actions of righteousness, or unrighteousness, should be rewarded, or punished: The Godly must receive their rewards according to what good they have done in these Bodies, 2 Cor. 5.10. It were in∣justice that this flesh should be killed, and that should be crowned; that the same Body in which we served God, wherein God was glorified,* 1.69 which suffered for God, and was for Christ ex∣posed to all the injuries, in∣dignities, and torments of wic∣ked Persecutors, should be eter∣nally laid up in the dust, and another Body should be created to receive the reward due to the Body in the grave.

2. Because if God should not raise the very same Bodies of his People, in which they lived and served God in their generation, then God shall not deal so honourably with the dead Saints, as with those that shall be found alive at Christ's coming; for their very same Bodies shall be de∣livered from the bondage of mortality and cor∣ruption, into incorruption and immortality.

3. Because Christ, who is the pattern of the resurrection, did not rise in another Body, but in that in which he was fastened to the Cross; in which also after his death appeared the prints of the nails in his hands, and the holes in his side, John 20.27. Therefore Christ after his resurre∣ction, for the cure of Thomas his unbelief, (whose faith lay in his fingers) bids him put his finger into his hands and side, and not be faithless, but believing. It seems those scars remained in Christ's Body after his resurrection,* 1.70 else how could Thomas see and feel them as he is willed to do? But these scars were no blemishes in his Body then; they were no signs of defect, but ensigns of Victory: For as that worthy and renowned Captain Caius Marius, being on a time accused of Treason in the Senate, tore his clothes, and shewed his wounds and scars, and slashes he had received in the Wars, in the service and for the safety of his Country, saying, Quid opus est Verbis, Vulnera clamant? What need is there of my Words, my Wounds cry loud enough? So Christ might shew his pierced Side, goared Hands and Feet, not only to shew that it was the very same organical Body of his that was crucified on the Cross, but also to shew his love to his Peo∣ple, and what he did and suffered for them. And when the eleven Disciples were gathered together at Jerusalem, Jesus appeared to them; and they being affrighted, supposing they had

seen a Spirit, he said unto them, Why are ye trou∣bled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet; it is I my self: a Spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me to have, Luke 24.39, 40. A Spirit hath not parts, mem∣bers, and dimensions, as I have; therefore you may be sure, being infallibly taught by your sense, that it is my very Body which you see, in which I long conversed with you, suffered, and was buried, which is now truly risen again: Whence, as Theodoret saith, he proveth it was his true Body that was crucified on the Cross, that was now raised from the dead.

4. Should not the Saints rise with the same Bodies, it were no resurrection, but a new crea∣tion: Moreover, the same Souls do rise unto Grace; from the death of Sin, to the life of Righteousness; which is called in Scripture, the first Resurrection, Rev. 20.6. therefore the same Body shall rise unto Glory in the second Resur∣rection.

5, Consider that Death in Scripture is called a Sleep, a Dream; and the Resurrection, an awaking from Sleep, Psalm 17. ult. therefore as the same Body that lies down to sleep at night awaketh in the morning, so the same Body that lies down to sleep in the dust, shall awake and rise again in the morning of the Resurrection.

Hence we see that the Soul will have its own numerical Body again, for the preserving of such numerical identity; there shall be wonderfully

restored the substantial union, which is but for∣mally distinguished from the parts united; there shall be restored a personality, and lastly the native temperament, which doth contain the individuating dispositions, whereby such a mat∣ter hath a peculiar appetite to such a form; which matter, by vertue of such inclination, re∣mains (as formerly) the same, though it may be varied by extension; as when the Infant shall be raised into a Man, the person shall be en∣larged, but not multiplied.

Object. But that of the Apostle may be objected, who saith, That flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, 1 Cor. 15.50.

Resp. St. Paul speaks of corruptible qualities of flesh and blood, not of the substance of it,* 1.71 as is manifest in the last clause of the verse; nei∣ther doth corruption inherit in∣corruption. But flesh and blood by the Almighty power of God may be without corruption, as the Body of Christ was after his Resurrection incorruptible, im∣mortal and spiritual; not con∣verted into a spirit, but to the distinction of a living body that must be maintained by food, Luke 24.39.

This then may confute those that deny the identical resurrection of the Body, and affirm, that our Bodies at the resurrection must be aerial, of a more subtil nature, not consisting of flesh and members; such were divers of the Ana∣baptists of Germany, and Socinus, with his Fol∣lowers, who call into question this Article of our Creed, Credo resurrectionem carnis, I be∣lieve the resurrection of the flesh, or body.

SECT. IX.

SEe here the sacred eagerness of the Soul, it will neither lose nor change a dust; nor will it only possess, but adorn the Body: In the day of the resurrection, mankind shall feel and ex∣press a youthful spring; the walking-staff and the wrinckle, shall be no more the help and distinction of age; and Death it self shall suffer climacterical fates. Oh how the wonder will al∣most out-act faith! when the Infant and the Dwarf shall be made a proper man! when the limbs exhaled with famine, shall be replenished with as much miracle as faith! when the Child that left its own Soul before it left the Womb, shall in an instant, without growth, be as big as the Mother! when sleep shall be commanded from the eye-lids no more by care, but by im∣mortality! which shall chase Death out of Na∣ture, and with importunate triumph cry out, O Earth, Earth, Earth, hear the word of the Lord;

Thy dead men shall live; with their primitive Bodies shall they arise: Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for your dew is as the dew of Herbs.

The Bodies of the Saints shall then have no∣thing cleaving to them, that may in the least de∣gree impair their blessedness, darken or blemish their glory. St. Paul saith, Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might cleanse and sanctifie it by the washing of water through the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish both in Soul and Body, Ephes. 5.25, 26, 27. First it is said, He gave himself to it, that he might cleanse and sanctifie it by the washing of water through the word; and that he might not only cloathe it with his own righteousness, made over and im∣puted to it, but also that he might really purifie it by the water of sanctification, that he might present it a glorious Church to himself, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. It is one thing to present his Church, and each Member of it, to his Father, a glorious Church in himself as a Mediator, cloathed with his righteousness, as with a spotless robe of glory; but 'tis another thing to present the Church a glorious Church to himself, which he doth without a Mediator; for although there be a Mediator between God the Father and his Church, even the Man Christ Jesus, yet there is no Mediator between Christ

and his Church: God the Father looks on his Church mediante Christo, but Christ looks on the Church immediately; and therefore when he pre∣senteth the Church to himself a glorious Church, without spot, &c. it is evident, that the Church shall then be glorious and spotless, not only in way of imputation, in God the Father's accepta∣tion through Jesus Christ his Beloved, but also really and in it self, although it shall receive all this from the overflowing fountain of Christ's fulness, through the freeness of God's love, and the riches of his grace; and for the greater con∣solation of the Saints, the Apostle saith, when Christ shall present his Church to himself as glo¦rious, it shall be without spot or wrinkle; no spot of defilement, or wrinkle of deformity shall be in it, nor the least imperfection; for what are wrinkles, but signs or effects of natural defect, when the moisture of the Body is exhausted or consumed, Nature beginning to decay, and want∣ing matter to fill up the Body: but then there shall be no wrinkle in the Body, or defect in the Soul, for both shall have their full measure of glory: And to this the Apostle addeth those ge∣neral terms, [nor any such thing] that he might cut off all conceits of any defect imaginable; as if he had said, Imagine what you can that may in the least degree impair or lessen the glory of the Church, I assure you there shall not be any such thing.

SECT. X.

ANd we may most easily remember by whom we rise, by remembring him by whom we fell; yet if we behold the original of their hu∣manity, we shall find they were both without sin; and that the first Adam had his best Paradise with∣in himself, but when he was fallen by the weak∣ness of the Woman, that was made for his help; never did Woman prove a strong help to Man, before the Virgin-mother of Christ, God and Man: then though the first Adam had eaten up the fatal Apple, the second Adam swallowed up Death; he had before made the poor Man take up the Bed of his sickness and walk, but he him∣self was the first that ever took up Death's Bed and walked. Yet some before our Saviour bor∣rowed a fantastical resurrection, as Saul's equi∣vocal Samuel; and some rose again in earnest, but to die again in earnest, as supererrogating Lazarus, that paid to nature one death more then he owed: but our Lord Jesus is risen with as much perfection as power, and with as much power as love and glory.

The Poetical Chymick tells us plainly of an Alchymistical man at the Earth's centre, who by a spherical diffusion of his vertue, doth, like a subterranean Sun, improve Mettals to a meta∣morphosis; which as it is bold in the Fable, so by a devout mithology may be modest in the

moral: this secret Workman shall be our Saviour, whose vertue was dispersed into the bowels of the Grave, that at his resurrection he improved Carcasses into Saints, who rose with him, went into the holy City, and appeared unto many, as the Witnesses and Attendants of his power, of which something hath been already spoken: In∣deed to advance the head without the members were so unnatural, that it were rather like an exe∣cution then preferment; and it were stranger to see a Captain, or Leader, without his Souldiers, then without his Arms: Besides, were it fit, when the Master is risen, the Servant should lie still? thus then they were raised, as much to holiness as to life; it was not only a resurrection, but a consecration, and Christ was the first-fruits of them that rose; he had the precedency both in order and vertue.

The first-fruits under the Law were the first handful, as acceptible as ripe, by a bountiful me∣diation obtaining holiness and entertainment for the rest: this first offering did commend it self to the Lord, rather by the speed then the quantity; the Jew offered this at his own home, and it was as domestick as his thoughts; being a present of eloquent simplicity, which at the same time did honour and overcome the Almighty. Oh how our Saviour made this figure solid, when at once he conquered for us Death and Heaven, as I may so speak: He was but the first handful of Corn, and yet as powerful as small, making all

the rest of a like holiness, though not of an equal.

But there were greater first-fruits which the Jews went to pay at Jerusalem; and as the first were an offering of humility, so those of pomp: Those did more set forth the thankfulness of the Labourer, and these the magnificence of the Lord. If you will take the words of the Rabbins, (whom in story of custom we have no more cause to di∣strust then to feign) they will tell you, when the Husbandman carried up those Fruits to the holy City, he had a Bull went before him, whose horns were guilded, and an Olive-garland upon his head; this was the picture of his Master's affe∣ction and state: as if by the impetuous Beast, he would express the courage of his joy; by guilded horns, the riches of his plenty; and by the Olive-garland, the Crown of peace: Behold the dis∣played Herauldry of his happiness! and that it might be increased by applauses, a Pipe played before him, to charge all to take notice of it, until they came to the Mountain of the Lord. Shall not these first-fruits be likewise paid at our great resurrection? shall they not be brought to our heavenly Jerusalem, the City of the great King? shall they not have Angels go before them? shall there not likewise be Crowns? and shall they not likewise be ushered by the voice of a Trumpet? It was the sound that the Jews used at their braver Funerals, and may it not then fitly be used, when they shall be awaked from their Tombs?

Till Christ was risen, those that were buried were dead; but if we once but name him the first-fruits of them that rise, let us no more say, that they are dead, but that they sleep: yet all before the resurrection shall not sleep; some in∣stead of rising, shall be only new dressed, by be∣ing cloathed with incorruption, and so have ra∣ther a change of rayment, then of life; they shall not put off their bodies, but their mortality; and be made like unto Christ, both in the truth of the resurrection, and of glory. The Eutychian shall then confess, that the two natures in Christ are not mixed, though joyned; and that his Humanity (though exalted) is not changed: the Pythagorean shall then recover the possession and acquaintance of his vagabond Soul; the Sadduce shall then rise in that body, in which he denied the resurrection of the body; and with the eyes of his body see the errour of his Soul; the Ʋbi∣quitary shall then see that Christ's body may be seen, and it shall certainly prove that it is not everywhere, by being not in the same grave whence it was risen; that is, in respect of his corporal presence, for otherwise (as he is God) he was there, and in all other places of the World.

CHAP. XVI.

SECT. I. Of the glory of the Bodies of the Saints in Heaven, and first of the beauty and clarity of glorified Bodies.

BUt now to speak more particularly of the glory of the Body: the Apostle saith, 1 Cor. 15.43. the Body is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory: that which is here called glory, is by Divines generally termed clarity; and this no way varying from the sense of the Apostle; for vers. 41, 42. he saith, that the glories of the Saints Bodies in Heaven, at the general resurrection, shall be different and divers; one exceeding another in clarity, as one Star differs from ano∣ther in glory; so shall the resurrection of the dead be. St. Paul saith in Phil. 3.21. Christ shall change our vile bodies, and fashion them like unto his glorious body. This is very admirable, that a poor sinful Creature should be so changed, trans∣formed, exalted, as to be like the Son of God in glory: Our Bodies now are but as loathsome Carcasses; what a vile Body had Job when he sate upon the Dunghil? what a vile Body had Lazarus when he lay at the Rich Man's gate full of sores? When Children are young, break out in the face, in hands and body, there is no beauty in them; so sin breaks out in these

mortal Bodies, and makes them ugly in God's eyes; there are many corporal imperfections in mens Bodies now, but when Christ shall appear, then our Bodies shall be as his Body, beautiful and glorious. Tradition upheld by reason teach∣eth us, that he was beautiful without art; that the Holy Ghost who formed his Body in the Vir∣gins Womb, would have it adorned with comli∣ness; he consecrated beauty in his Person, when he took our nature upon him; though he as∣sumed the pain of sin, he would not assume the ugliness thereof; and as there was no ignorance in his Soul, so was there no deformity in his Body. His very types in the Old Testament were all comely: David and Solomon, the one of which represented his Victories, the other his Triumphs, were both of them famous for their beauty; the Angels took upon them his visage when they treated with the Prophets; while they spoke in his name, they would appear in his form. Jacob had the honour to see him, when he wrestled with him before the break of day; the three Children that were thrown into the fiery Furnace saw him in the midst of the flames: But how gloriously did the face of Christ shine at his Transfiguration? Christ's face did shine upon Earth, and now in Heaven doth shine like the Sun. And our Saviour intimateth, that the Righteous shall shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father, Matth. 13.43. Lazarus his Body shall be a beautiful Body, he shall have no imperfe∣ction;

Sampson shall then have his eyes which the Philistines pulled out; Mephibosheth shall not be lame in Heaven; there shall be no imper∣fection in a glorified Body. The Scripture mentioneth some Persons eminent for beauty, as David, Joseph, and especially Absalom, who (though he had a deformed Soul, yet) for his out-side, was without blemish, and had no peer among those many thousands of Israel: There was none to be so much praised for beauty as Absa∣lom, for from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him, 2 Sam. 14.25. But the most exquisite earthly beauty is but skin-deep, and but like the painting of a rotten post; it is but a fresh colour laid on mortality; the foundation of it is weak and crasie, and there∣fore it soon fadeth: but he that is like to Christ in holiness, shall be like to him in heavenly beauty and glory; the beauty of glorified Bodies shall be a shining beauty. The expression of Divines is thus; As Iron when it is heated in the Fire, we cannot see the Iron for the Fire, it ap∣pears nothing else but fiery; so in Heaven we shall not be able to see the Body for the glory thereof: and as the Air is now fully possessed with the light, so shall our Bodies be fully pos∣sessed with glory; and the Soul full of the light of glory shall be diffused tho∣row the whole Body,* 1.72 and all the parts of it, according to the opinion of the Learned; therefore it behooveth,

that the whole Body be resplendent, according to the dignity of the Soul inhabiting it. Yea, it is conceived that the glory of the Soul shall be seen through the Body, in such a sort as the life of the Soul is seen and observed in and by the vivacity and liveliness which it imparts by action and motion to the outward visible parts of the Body:* 1.73 and not only did the face of Christ shine as the Sun at his Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, but also his rayment was white as the light, Matth. 17.2. St. Mark addeth, that his rayment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no Fuller on earth can white them, Mark 9.3. Now his garments did cover his Body; yet such was the glory and clarity of his Body, that his rayment became white as snow; for it became not Christ or the Angels to appear in na∣ked Bodies.* 1.74 Cyril of Jerusalem, speaking of this point, saith, The Just shall shine as the Sun, and as the Moon, and as the brightness of the Firmament. And God foreseeing the incredulity of Men,* 1.75 hath given unto little Worms (called Glow-worms) a shining Body, that they might shine therewith, that from those things which do appear, we might believe what we do ex∣pect; he that hath made a Worm so to glister, will make

the Bodies of the Saints much more bright and shining.

SECT. II. Of the agility of glorified Bodies.

THe Bodies of the Saints in Heaven shall also have a wonderful agility, whereby they shall be able to move from place to place with incre∣dible swiftness; this agility is a glorious quality, whereby the Bodies of the glorified are totally subject to the Souls, as to most powerful movers, to be moved by them without the least reluctan∣cy or resistance; for the Soul shall then (as some Learned men say) have a most absolute domi∣nion over the Body, and by a redundancy and emanation, impart to it a glorious quickning and vivacity, far beyond that which any mortal Creatures in their bodily heavy parts can have; for glorified Souls shall then be made perfect, and glorified Bodies shall have more perfect in∣struments for motion, then those which corrup∣tible Bodies usually have, and the weight of their Bodies shall not in the least hinder their motion. And albeit the same Father saith, Certe ubi volet Spiritus, ibi protinus erit Corpus; that the Body will presently be there where the Soul would have it: Yet may we not grant unto the same Bodies any instantanean motion, so that in an

imagined instant of time, they may make any true real corporal motion; for time in a proper speech hath no true or real instant, either as part, or pe∣riod, or end of it self; for then a glorified Body must pass thorow the beginning, middle, and end of a space at once, if it move from place to place in an instant, which were more then utterly im∣possible, involving a contradiction, and would be destructive to the nature of a true Body.

Yet the motion of glorified Bodies may be very sudden, and in so short a time (as it were) imperceptible. Augustine com∣pares it to the Sun-beams,* 1.76 the which as it were in an imper∣ceptible moment of time, do fill this whole He∣misphere with their glorious lustre. The Author of the Book of Wisdom saith, The Righteous shall shine, and as sparks among the stubble they shall run too and fro:* 1.77 Whereby some think the agility of the Saints Bodies in Heaven, and their facility for motion is figured. One saith, that its agility will be so great, that it will out∣pass the winds and lightning, it will flie without wings through the spacious Regions of the Air; it will walk upon the water and not sink, and in a very short time passing from one end of the World to the other, will be no longer a clog and torment to the Soul. Moreover, which way soever they shall move, they shall have the glo∣rious presence of God with them: in Heaven the

Saints live, move, and have their glorious being in him; they live of him, by partaking of his glorious life; move before him, like the holy Angels, by a most prompt and ready obedience; and are in him, being entered into the joy of their Lord.

SECT. III. Of the spirituality of glorified Bodies.

A Farther degree of the happiness of a glori∣fied Body is, that it shall be spiritual: It is sown a natural Body, but it riseth a spiritual Body, 1 Cor. 15.44. It is called a spiritual Body, not as though the Body were changed into the Soul and Spirit; for so, that which is raised should not be Man, consisting of a Soul and Body, but a third distinct thing differing from Man: it shall not then cease to be a Body; it shall change condi∣tion, but not change nature; were its nature changed, the mystery of the resurrection of the flesh should be quite taken away, and so the same thing that fell should not be raised again: Nei∣ther is it called a spiritual Body, as though the Body after the resurrection were rarified like the Air and Wind, as the Eutychians of old affirmed, denying glorified Bodies to be palpable: but I call it spiritual,

1. Because as the Body shall be re-united to the Soul, so it shall be perfectly submitted to it;

as the Spirit serving the Flesh, may not unfitly be called carnal, so the Body obedient to the Soul, is rightly termed spiritual: The Soul shall have a more powerful influence upon, and do∣minion over the Body after the resurrection, then it ever had, or could have, in the time of her mortality; it shall no longer be the Prison, but the Temple of the Soul; then the Body shall readily yield to every motion of the Spirit.

2. The Body shall be endued with spiritual properties; the Bodies of the Saints shall be even as the Angels are now in Heaven, they shall be able to live without sleep, without eating and drinking, without marriage; they shall need none of such things as these natural Bodies in this mortal condition do: Our Bodies now are but so many clogs to our Souls, subject to toyl and weariness; but then the Body will have such ad∣vantages, as will free and clear it from all such corporal imperfections and defections, as bodily and corporal substances are obnoxious to; the corruptible Body overladeth and oppresseth the Soul, and this earthly tabernacle presseth down the mind meditating on heavenly things; but in Heaven, when the Souls of the Blessed shall see the glory of God, and be for ever in the contemplation of him, they shall then be freed from all clogs and hinderances, that so they may bend themselves with all their might to the con∣templation, love, and fruition of God, whose goodness will then be most clearly and fully pre∣sented to them.

But as for subtilty, which properly signifies a property, whereby such things as are spiritual have a penetrative vertue to pass through the corpulent parts of any thing that hath a Body, having parts and dimensions, I cannot see how it can be attributed to glorified Bodies, which after the resurrection shall have the same exten∣sive and bodily parts for quantity and material substance as they had before, and can no more pierce thorow any true bodily substance which hath the dimensions of quantity (as length, breadth, thickness) then they could before their resurrection, during the time of their mortality and corruption. Although divers of the Anti∣ents affirm, that Christ after his resurrection, en∣tered into the room where his Disciples were, the doors being shut, John 20.26. by passing thorow the door; yet if it were so, we may not attribute the same as a thing natural to his glo∣rified Body, it having the same dimensions of quantity for fulness of matter it had before, but must rather be attributed to the power of his God-head, to whom nothing is impossible: but I suppose, though the doors were shut presently before and after his passage, yet they opened of their own accord, or by his Divine power at the instant of his passage, as Acts 12.10. the Creature giving place to the Creator; otherwise we must hold the Body of Christ made a penetration tho∣row the doors, and then there must be two solid Bodies in one place at the same time, which were

impossible. And St. Augustine saith, even of glo∣rified Bodies, Tolle spatia corporibus, & corpora non erunt; take away spaces from the Bodies, and they will cease to be bodies.

SECT. IV. Of the impassibility of glorified Bodies.

MOreover the Bodies of the Saints in glory shall be made impassible; in this life we are subject to many infirmities, to thousands of miseries; our Bodies are Butts, against which miseries and afflictions (which are the Arrows of the Almighty) are shot; but glorified Bodies are subject to none of these, they suffer no pain, Christ will wipe away all tears from their eyes; sorrow and mourning shall flee away, and be sent packing to Hell among the Devils and damned Wretches, their afflictions are their portion: Heaven and the blessed state of the Saints in Heaven, is as free from misery as from sin; this World to the godly, is as the Prison to Joseph, as Nebuchadnezzar's Furnace to the three Chil∣dren, as the Lions Den to Daniel: this World to the godly is like an House of Correction, where∣in is much toyl and labour, and very much scourging besides: We are born to be miserable, we shall do nothing else but suffer; but we shall be taken out of Prison, our Bodies shall be drawn out of the Furnace, freed from the House of

Correction, and no grief nor misery shall ever∣more touch our glorified Bodies. Their impassi∣bility will then free them from all the injuries of the Elements; the natural heat which now wasteth them, shall no more consume the natural moysture; the contraries that compose man will then agree; and the Body being no longer tor∣mented with hunger and thirst, will stand in need neither of meat nor drink, he will be in a state of consistency, wherein he will have his just pro∣portion. The Apostle tells us, that what is sown in weakness, shall be raised in power and vertue; so that the Body shall not need that propping up, as the weak pillars thereof do now need support in this state of mortality. But this power is no supernatural vertue, making the elementary parts and qualities to be of another nature then now they are, for there must be no change nor de∣struction, but only a perfection of Nature; nei∣ther shall these elementary qualities, by the power of God, be limited or obstructed in their operations, that they shall not fight against each other to their mutual destruction; for then the impassibility of glorified Bodies should not be an internal vertue, as abiding in the Body (which is against the Apostle's intent) but only an ex∣ternal assistance of God. Aqui∣nas saith,* 1.78 that this vertue and power of impassibility floweth immediately from the Soul her self, which in∣forming the Body, doth so fully and perfectly sub∣due

all the powers and qualities of the same unto her self, that no contrary Agent can be able to make any violent impression upon, or act vio∣lently against the Body, either to corrupt or de∣stroy it, or in the least to be able to draw it from that quiet and peaceable state wherein it resteth.

SECT. V. Of the incorruptibility and immortality of glorified Bodies.

FInally, the glory of the Body shall be so firm and stable, that it can never wither or decay, it shall be incorruptible: The Body is sown in cor∣ruption, it is raised in incorruption, 1 Cor. 15.42. This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality, verse 53. The Bodies of the beatified shall then be embalmed with the Spirit, that shall cause them for ever to be incorruptible; their Bodies shall be made in∣corruptible and immortal, like the glorious Body of Christ; these earthly Tabernacles, or demi∣cilia Animae, must be taken down, and then these Bodies of dust must return to dust; we must say to Corruption, thou art our Mother, and to the Worm, thou art our Sister; and the Soul must suffer a divorce from the Body: But when Christ shall appear, our mortality shall be swallowed up of life, then our corruption shall put on in∣corruption; these vile dusty Bodies of ours shall

be made glorious Mansions for our Souls, and our Souls shall be for ever united to our Bodies again, so that they shall never suffer a divorce from the Body, and the Body shall never see corruption any more. We shall then enjoy an eternal spring of years which shall never wither; our days will pass on, yet shall we never feel any decay or de∣clension in our selves; our budding verdure will fear no Winter, the Lillies and Roses of our Countenances will keep their freshness; and as original Righteousness served to Man as a Gar∣ment in the state of Innocence, so Glory will be instead of a Robe to the Blessed. God hath made the Soul of so powerful a na∣ture,* 1.79 (saith one of the Antients) that from her glorious happi∣ness there redounds to the Body the vigour of incorruption; and so long as the glorified Soul shall be subject to God, and the glorified Body be subject to the Soul, so long it shall be impos∣sible for any bodily agent whatsoever to have any transient action or impression, which may any way change or hurt the same. But as St. Paul saith, Rom. 6.10. In that Christ died, he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God: so we shall then live with God, and unto God, as Christ, for ever.

SECT. VI.

ALbeit glorified Bodies shall be impassible, and incorruptible, so that they shall not be subject to any contrary or violent impressions, yet may we not deny, but that there shall be such sensitive actions of seeing, hearing, &c. and consequently answerable passions which include not corruption, as may be fitting for that glo∣rious place; each sense shall there have its own proper delight and glory: doubtless the Bodies of the Saints shall not be destitute of their senses, but be compleatly furnished with most perfect organs and spirits fit for their use, and therefore shall have the most perfect use of their senses; and verily in vain should the Body be resumed, if there might not be the use and delight of the senses, seeing the Body of man is not necessary or useful to the Soul, but for the use of the sen∣ses; neither shall there be wanting objects which may be perceived, and may delight and refresh the senses.

1. Because the Soul is not only rational, but also sensitive, and in both parts is capable of taking its delights; therefore it must not only be made happy in the rational part (which shall be done by the vision and fruition of God) but also in the sensitive part, which shall be brought to pass by the perception of the most excellent sen∣sible objects fitted to every sense.

2. The Saints in this life had many grievous afflictions and mortifications, for Christ's sake, in their senses; for the greatest part of the torments which the holy Martyrs endured, was in their senses: They were tortured; they had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings; yea moreover, of bonds and impr••sonments: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, Heb. 11.36, 37. And the greatest part of the work of mortifi∣cation lies in the mortification of the senses; there is by nature an inordinateness in all our outward and inward senses: thence we read in Scripture of a wanton eye, 2 Pet. 2.14. Genes. 21.7. of itching ears, 2 Tim. 4.11. the lust of the palate, Numb. 11.4, 5. of the lust of the nose, Prov. 7.18. so of the touch, Prov. 7.13. so that we cannot with safety trust them without Job's covenant, Job 31.1. or the Prophet Hosea's hedge, Hos. 2.6. or Solomon's knife, Prov. 23.7. or David's bridle, Psalm 39.1. Not only the rational and intelle∣ctual, but also the whole sensitive part of man is subject to lust, and much of the work of mor∣tification lies in subduing the inordinateness of the bodily senses; so in Heaven likewise, the sensitive parts and faculties which have been in∣struments of the Soul in the exercises of righte∣ousness, and in suffering for righteousness sake, shall also receive their appointed rewards and

consolations, which shall be accommodated to every one of the senses.

3. This is confirmed by the contrary, for the damned in Hell shall be greatly tormented in all their senses; the wanton eyes shall always be ter∣rified with the sight of ugly Devils which should they behold here when they are alone, would almost scare them out of their wits; the delicate ears shall be affrighted with the horrid noise of damned Ghosts, crying and roaring out with doleful shriekings, cursing the day that ever they were born; they shall famish and pine away for ever, without one bit of bread to stanch their hunger, and without one drop of water to cool their tongues, tormented in the infernal flames: your dainty delicate persons, that now cannot brook the least unsavoury smell, shall lie down in a stinking dungeon, in a loathsome lake, that burns with fire and brimstone for ever. Now if the Damned in Hell shall be so grievously tor∣mented in their senses, then shall the senses of the glorified Saints be exceedingly refreshed; for God is not more severe in punishing, then boun∣tiful in rewarding.

SECT. VII.

HEre let us consider some of the particular Senses, and parts of the Body, and take notice what notable things might be spoken of them.

1. The Eyes, those windows in the upper story, how lightsome shall they be? and what high and glorious objects shall they behold? the Eyes shall then be renewed, and made more bright and clear then the light of the Sun; the very act of seeing shall be most clear and per∣fect, they shall be freed from all darkness, dim∣ness, obscurity and defect; no glorious object shall dazle the eyes of the Inhabitants in Heaven, for the brightness of the heavenly Bodies shall not trouble the spirits of the eyes, (as the light of the Sun troubleth them now) but shall most sweetly strengthen them.

We may conceive that those that are in this place of blessedness, at one single aspect may perfectly see from one end of the Heaven to the other, there being no defect in the objects, me∣dium or organ, or any thing to intercept the sight, the objects being so transparent and glorious; here we may see a Star in a dark night at many thousand miles distance: but as the objects in Heaven shall be most glorious, so the eyes of the Saints shall be enabled perfectly to behold them. Again, the medium shall no way be defective; here the thickness or darkness of the Air often dulls our sight, but in Heaven there shall be no∣thing but a perfect serenity round about them: as in Hell is utter darkness, so in Heaven there shall be most perfect light. The organ also, the in∣strument of sight, [the eye] shall be wholly free from all dimness, and be able to discern any

glorious object presented to it; it shall be free from weakness, able to bear the brightest splen∣dor; nor shall it be any way offended with the glory of any visible thing, though never so tran∣scendently glorious. I shall now speak of the glorious objects which the bodily eye shall be∣hold in Heaven.

I. It shall behold the glory of God himself, in a most glorious manifestation of himself to it. It is a question whether we shall see God with our bodily eyes: But I will not burden you with va∣riety of opinions, but take these things in answer to the question.

The sight of God in Heaven is to be referred to the understanding; to the eye of the mind, not to the eye of the body. The Reasons of it are these:

Reas. 1. Because the Divine Essence is most spiritual, therefore it altogether exceeds the power of bodily eyes, though glorified, and raised to a far more admirable ability to discern far above what now it possibly can see: Potentia organica ultra corpora non potest extendi; by the sight of sense, with our bodily eyes we can only see corporal things, and materially bodily ob∣jects; and so we cannot see our own Souls, much less the Essence and Substance of God.

Reas. 2. Because the Apostle saith of God, that he is absolutely invisible, 1 Tim. 6.16. whom no eye hath seen, nor can see; namely, with bodily eyes. And though it be said of Jacob, that he saw

God face to face, Genes. 32. and that God talked with Moses mouth to mouth, as a man talketh with his friend, Numb. 13. yet they saw not God in his nature, essence, and substance, wherein he is invisible, but in some visible created form which it pleased him to assume, and wherein he ap∣peared to them. Athanasius saith, that they saw God in some manifestations of himself, but not in his own nature: so it is conceived that the Servants of God, even after this life, when they be perfectly sanctified and glorified, shall not see God the Father and the Holy Ghost in their es∣sence, for they shall still have their true bodies, and true eyes, and therefore they shall see but their proper objects.

Reas. 3. Because the Angels, who have no bo∣dily eyes, and stand continually before the Lord, and the blessed Souls of Saints in Heaven do now see God, and yet have no bodily eyes; where∣fore their sight of God is only mental, not ocu∣lar.

Reas. 4. Because the Apostle expresseth the seeing God face to face by perfect knowledge, 1 Cor. 13.12. Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known: where to know God as he knows us, is to see him face to face.

II. Although we shall not see God with our bodily eyes, yet notwithstanding the glorified organ of a glorified body, informed by a glo∣rified

Soul, shall have most glorious objects to look upon in Heaven; as

1. Heaven it self is a most glorious sight for our glorified eyes; what a glorious sight is the outside of Heaven, bedeckt with the Sun, Moon, and innumerable Stars? if the outside be so glo∣rious, what is the inside, wherein the glory of God is displayed? if the porch and pavement of this Palace be so glorious, what then is the Presence-Chamber? It was Chrysostom's wish, that he could see Christ in the flesh, Paul in the pulpit, Rome in her glory: In Heaven you shall see Christ, not in his state of humiliation, but in the highest degree of glory; not Paul in the Pulpit, but Paul sitting on a Throne of glory; not Rome, but Heaven it self, the heavenly Je∣rusalem, in its fulness of glory.

2. These eyes of our bodies shall see the glo∣rious man Christ Jesus, in whose Humane nature (as in a glass) God will in an ineffable manner manifest the glory of his Divine essence; hence the Apostle calls him the brightness of his person; the beam, the splendour of his person: In Rev. 21.23. it is said, The City hath no need of the Sun, neither of the Moon to shine in it; for the Glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light there∣of: that is, Christ himself is the light by which we shall see God. Oh what a glorious ravishing object will Christ's body be to the eye? A Phi∣losopher was so ravished with the Sun, that he thought himself made for no other end but to

look upon the Sun. Christ's Body in Heaven is a thousand times more bright then the Sun;* 1.80 the Sun is black∣ness of darkness in comparison of it: here we see Christ as he will manifest him∣self to us otherwise, but there we shall see him as he is, 1 John 3.2. Ferus ex∣pounds the words thus [we shall know him as he is] that is,* 1.81 saith he, we shall know Christ no more under the no∣tion of a Servant; we shall not know Christ as the Son of Man, but then we shall know him as God, as he is the Son of God, the King of glo∣rious state, the Lord of glory. Cajetan* 1.82 saith, that this particle [sicut] as he is, excludit omnem visionem per representans, excludeth our know∣ledge of Christ from any thing that represents him sed sicuti est, sicut ipse seipsum offert: (i. e.) we shall know him by himself, and not by the creature, or any thing whatsoever. Much of Christ is discovered here in the Word, in the the Gospel, and in the Ordinances; and great manifestations of Christ are made to the Souls of his People by the Spirit of Wisdom and Revela∣tion; but all comes short of this, when they shall see him as he is in himself, see him face to face; as Friends talking together do look one another in the face, so shall Christ and godly Men see one anothers face.

There's a great difference between the sight

of a Picture (though it be a true Picture) of a dear Friend, when he is many hundred miles distant from us, and the sight of his own face; far more blessed shall the Children of God be, when they shall see Christ as he is, then now they can discern him while they are in the body, and absent from him, and can see him only by repre∣sentations. If old Simeon, when he saw Christ as he was in his infancy, embraced him in his arms, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salva∣tion, Luke 2.29. How then shall the sight of him as he is, transport the Souls of the Saints with unspeakable joy and admiration? if it were so delightful to see Christ in his infancy, in his swad∣ling cloathes, what joy will it be to see him in Heaven all glorious? if the fight of Christ in the types and promises, which were but prefigura∣tions of him, were so sweet to the Saints of old, what will the sight of Christ himself, the Anti∣type, be? Abraham foresaw by the eye of faith, the first coming of Christ in the flesh; he saw my day afar off (saith Christ) and was glad,* 1.83 John 8.56. Much more glad would he have been, with old Simeon, to have seen Christ himself: If John Baptist leaped in the Womb for joy, at the presence of Mary the Mother of our Lord, how will our hearts dance for joy, when we shall

see the Lord Jesus himself in his great Majesty and glory? if it be sweet to behold him in his Image, and in his People, who are but shadows of Christ; if sometimes an heavenly vision of Christ hath driven a man into an extasie, and hath ravished him out of himself; Oh then what shall it be to see him as he is? if the inward sight of him, by a few beams darted upon us by this glorious Son of righteousness, doth transform us from glory to glory, Oh how will it then ravish our hearts, when we shall have both an ocular and intellectual sight of the Lord Jesus?

Oh what running, thronging, and posting was there to see Christ when he was upon earth, in his state of abasement? Zacheus being a man of a low stature, climbed up a Sycamore-tree, that he might see Jesus passing by, Luke 19. what then will the sight of Jesus be, when you shall see the Son of man coming in power and great glory? when you shall see him with trumpets sounding before him, and see him with his glorious train, with all his glorious Angels, as himself speaks, Matth. 16.27. to see him sitting upon his Throne of Majesty, and the World round about him; his Friends (the Sheep) on his right hand, the Goats (his Enemies) on his left hand: what a sight will this be, especially if you have then so much in∣terest in Christ, as to be placed among the Sheep at his right hand? how will it affect you, when he shall be always in your eye, and never out of your sight?

If the Queen of Sheba was so stricken with a∣mazement when she beheld the glory of Solomon, that there was no more spirit in her, 1 Kings 10.5. how will all the Saints be filled with admiration when they shall behold the glory of Christ? how did that astonished Queen bless the Attendants of Solomon! Happy are thy Men, happy are these thy Servants that stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. Alas, what happiness is this in regard of the Angels and Saints who stand conti∣nually in the presence of Christ, in whose pre∣sence there is fulness of joy, fulness of glory! was it such an happiness to hear the wisdom of Solomon? what a transcendent happiness is it then to hear the wisdom of Christ, who is greater then Solomon? I conceive that the glory which three of Christ's Disciples saw upon the holy Mount was but a glimpse of that fulness of glory, where∣with he is now silled in Heaven: yet that little drop was so affecting, that Peter cried out, Master, it is good for us to be here: He was so ravished with extraordinary joy conceived at the heavenly vision, that he even lost and forgat himself, and wist not what they said, Luke 9.33, 34. but be∣ing overjoyed, it appears his wish was inconside∣rate, and his counsel rash and unadvised, (Let us build three Tabernacles, one for Thee, another for Moses, another for Elias) for these Reasons.

1. Because he thought earthly Tabernacles fit habitations for heavenly Bodies.

2. Because he conceived not aright of the end

of the vision, viz. to comfort them; in letting them to see (as in a glass) what Christ's glory and their glory should be; which he would have had continued, when it must of necessity be in∣termitted; for had Christ continued in this estate he could not have suffered, and so our salvation had not been accomplished. But while Peter was thus speaking, behold a bright Cloud over∣shadowed them, and they feared when they were entering into the Cloud; had not this Cloud somewhat abated the glory of the Ap∣parition, it had not been possible for these Dis∣ciples, in the state of mortality, to have beheld the countenance of their Master. Now if Christ in his Transfiguration, while he was on Mount Tabor, was so delightful to behold, when his Hu∣manity appeared in a glorious form only but for a short time, how pleasant will the sight of him be to the godly, when they shall see him by per∣fect vision, and enjoy him by full fruition? With abundant satisfaction shall the Saints behold the face of Christ in fulness of glory! Oh how will it ravish their hearts, when they shall see him who gave himself for them? who loved them, and washed their sins in his blood? who being the Prince and Captain of our salvation, was con∣tent to be perfected by sufferings, that he might bring them into glory? when they shall see him who died for them, and rose again for their ju∣stification; ascended up into Heaven, took pos∣session thereof, and prepared a place for them,

and came again and took them to himself? they shall then be even transported with joy to be∣hold their Saviour, whom they loved so dearly all their lives, but never had the happiness to see before; for whose appearance they longed, thirsted, sighed, prayed, Come Lord Jesus. Oh how will their hearts melt toward him (think you) when they shall see him! Oh this is he that died for me, that shed his precious blood for me: they will then look thorow him, if it were possi∣ble; and then to think they shall always see him and enjoy him, and never be divided from him any more, they will then be even ravished into an extasie of joy; their sight of him shall be laeta, familiaris, & perpetua, joyful, familiar, and per∣petual; which is a special part of the beatitude peculiar to the Saints, from which the Wicked are excluded. Oh happy, yea thrice happy are those eyes which shall see the face of Christ, whom they shall love perfectly, and of whom they are infinitely and eternally beloved! What a ravish∣ing sight will it be to behold that Body, which was so foully disfigured upon the Cross for our sakes! It shall be undoubtedly (as St. Bernard saith) a thing full of all sweetness and delight, when men shall there see and behold a Man, the Creator of men, and Lord of all things created. We are wont to esteem it a singular great honour to our Family, to see one of our Kindred ad∣vanced to a Crown, or dignified with some Princely honour; but how far greater honour

shall this be to us, to see that Lord, who is our God, our near Kinsman, of our flesh and blood, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and made King both of Heaven and Earth? And if the Members do account that an honour to them which is done to their Head, by reason of that strict union that is between the Head and its Members, what else shall it be, but that every faithful Christian shall account the glory of Jesus Christ their Head as their peculiar glory? How should the consideration hereof make every one of us cry out, O my dearest Saviour, and bles∣sed Redeemer, when shall this joyful day come? Oh when shall I appear before thy face, and be ravished by beholding thy excellent beauty? when shall I see that countenance of thine which the Angels are desirous to behold? How true concerning the things of the World is that which Solomon saith, the eye is not satisfied with seeing, Eccles. 1.8. and it is as true, that in Heaven the eye shall be fully satisfied, but not satiated at all with seeing; they shall see such glory, that they shall desire no greater: If Philip on Earth said to Christ, Shew us the Father, and it shall suffice; how much more when we shall see the King of Kings in his glory, shall glorified Saints say, We have enough?* 1.84 they shall desire no greater glory, yet never be weary of seeing.

SECT. VIII.

3. HEreunto I may also add that blessed and glorious spectacle of the general Assem∣bly and Church of the first-born, whose names are written in Heaven; those many thousands of Patriarchs and Saints of the old and new World; Prophets of the Old Testament, Apo∣stles of the New; Martyrs, faithful Preachers, and sincere Professors of the Gospel: Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, Daniel, Joh; Peter, Paul, the great Doctor of the Gentiles, and the rest. What a ravishing sight will it be to see the glorious company of the A∣postles? to behold the goodly fellowship of the Prophets? to set your eyes on that noble Army of Martyrs and Confessors, that have shed their blood for the cause of Christ? What a joyful sight will it be to see those holy Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the rest, above the reach of their cruel Persecutors, cloathed with long white garments, with Palms in their hands, and with the glorious ensigns of their victorious triumphs? Will it not be a goodly sight to be∣hold that glorious fore-runner of Christ, who chose rather to lose his head, then to dissemble the filthiness of an incestuous King? and no less delightful will it be to see St. Stephen, who was stoned to death for Christ; and that holy Apo∣stle St. James, who was slain with the sword of

Herod, that cruel Tyrant, now reigning with Christ in glory. What an excellent sight shall it be to see those famous Lights of the Church of Christ, Peter and Paul, shining there very glo∣riously, with the Trophies of their Martyrdom wherewith they were Crowned? and this shall add to the perfection of this sight, that the Saints shall all enjoy the glories of each other, as if they were properly their own.

If the sight of the Saints in communion here be so sweet, even an Heaven upon Earth, what will it be when all the blessed Souls that have been from the beginning of the World, and shall be to the end, shall meet all together, and they wholly freed from all corruptions and imper∣fections, what a blessed sight will that be? If there be such great pleasure in the sight of Flow∣ers and Jewels, what great delight will there be in the sight of the innumerable company of the Blessed, who shall all shine as the Sun, especially when all shall be dearer to their Parents, Chil∣dren, Relations, then now they are? to behold multitude, the beauty and excellency of the in∣habitants of Heaven, and their sweet familiarity with one another, will be a most pleasant spe∣ctacle: Their multitude will be innumerable; God hath many Sons and Daughters that must be brought to glory, Heb. 2.10. there are a numberless number that are to follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes, Rev. 14.1. there shall be no empty places in Heaven, nor any void of in∣habitants.

Likewise the beauty of all shall be ad∣mirable; they shall be like unto the Angels of God, and be the most excellent images of their heavenly Father; and how pleasant a thing will this be to behold? In dignity all shall be the Ci∣tizens of Heaven, and the Children of God; all shall be triumphant Kings, having had the victory over the World, the Flesh and the Devil. We count it an admirable sight, if we could see one King among an hundred thousand persons in his glory; Oh then what a sight shall this be, when we shall see millions of glorious Kings, and Christ, the King of infinite glory, in the midst of them? — All shall be Priests unto God, offer∣ing the sacrifice of praise perpetually to him. In brief, the least Saint in Heaven shall be greater in dignity and glory, then all the Kings of this World: Moreover, they shall be most delighted to behold that sweet converse they shall have together. If it be a delightful thing in the Court of some great Prince to obtain the favour and good will of all, what pleasure will it be to en∣joy the friendship and familiarity of such an in∣numerable company of noble Persons? Oh what a royal Feast, and most magnificent Banquet, will the Lord make for his Children, when they shall all meet together in his holy Mountain? let Worldlings get them to their gluttonous and carnal feasts, let them even burst themselves with their superfluous excesses, such a Feast as this (where the choicest dainties are served in by the

holy Angels, where even Christ himself, the Master and maker of the Feast, will as it were g••rd himself and serve) is convenient only for God and his chosen People.

SECT. IX.

ANd as the eyes shall be freed from all dim∣ness, so the ears shall be freed from all de∣fects of deafness: the ears shall always hear that ravishing Musick sounding forth from the hea∣venly Quire, where a consort of innumerable Angels and glorified Saints are singing Halle∣lujahs to their God, and magnifying their glo∣rious Redeemer for ever; for the high praises of God shall be in the mouthes of all his Saints, Psal. 149.6. by reason of their ardent love to God, who hath heaped so many good things upon them, they shall break forth into praises and thanksgivings: They shall praise him out of all his works and benefits; from his works of Creation and Providence, from his works of Redemption and Justification, Adoption and Sanctification; from his works of Mercy and Justice; from the Rewards he bestoweth on the Righteous, and the Punishments he inflicteth on the Wicked; and from all his secret and revealed Judgements. They shall have all these things before the eyes of their minds, and shall clearly understand the counsel of God in them all, and shall be filled with incredible consolation, and

by reason of the greatness of their joy shall praise him for all, peculiarly blessing him, and giving him immortal thanks; they shall not want matter for everlasting praise: and they shall not only praise him with their heart, but also in their body with their tongues; there shall be a most excellent harmony of voices, incomparably sur∣passing the musick in the World; this will be exceeding sweet and pleasant, that one only sound of it were able to bring the whole World asleep.

Now as the Saints shall incessantly, with vocal praises, magnifie the Lord; so without doubt their vocal Hallelujahs shall be heard and under∣stood of one another: what ravishing expressions of love shall they then hear from Christ, and from each other? what Songs of joy and triumph? Upon the consideration whereof devout St. Au∣gustine breaks forth into this meditation;* 1.85 The whole work of the Saints in Heaven shall be to praise God without end, without failing, without labour: happy therefore, and truly hap∣py am I for ever, if after the re∣solution of my body, I shall be counted worthy to hear those Songs of heavenly melody, which are sung in praising the everlasting King, by those Ci∣tizens of the Country that is

above, and by the Troops of those blessed Spi∣rits which are there: Oh how happy shall I ac∣count my self to be, if I may be admitted to sing those songs, and stand by my King, my God; the Captain of my salvation, and behold him in his glory. Now as it was said of the eye in respect of things seen, so it is said of the ear in respect of things heard; Neither is the ear silled with hear∣ing, Eccles. 1.8. it is spoken in respect of things heard here below, all the things in the World which are most delightful to it, cannot fill it; they may tire the ear, but cannot satisfie it; but in Heaven the ear shall be filled, but never cloyed with hearing; it shall hear whatsoever is pleasing to it, and nothing that is distasteful. How should this consideration make us to think the time long till we be out of Egypt, and freed from those chains which link us to such shameful ser∣vices, and so unworthy of a Soul ransomed with the blood of the Son of God? Alas, when will the time come that we shall hear the Canticles of glory? when shall we go to the Daughters of Zion, to our Country, crying out with a loud voice, that the spiritual Pharaoh is swallowed up under the Abysses, and that all those Troops of Enemies which now pursue us, have suffered a dismal ship∣wrack, not under the Waves of the red Sea, but under the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, and ever∣lasting malediction? Oh then let us not suffer the noise and tumult of this World to strike our ears with so many unprofitable, extravagant, and

dangerous discourses, but rather let us seal up our ears against wicked words, filthy speeches, profane and rotten communications, idle and foolish jestings, and inure them to such as are suitable to those they shall hear in Heaven.

SECT. X.

AS for the sense of feeling we may not deny it to be in Heaven, for that includes not any corruption; and if congruous to sense, it is a per∣fection, not a defect of nature; and that glo∣rified Bodies be palpable, and may be felt, that speech of our Saviour after his resurrection makes it clear, Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me to have, Luke 24.39. The sense of touching will receive its delights, both from the heavenly Air, and the soft touch of heavenly Bodies, as also from the most inward sense of the best temperament; for man being perfectly sound, hath a pleasant sense and feel∣ing of the good constitution of the Body.

As for the smell and taste, some think as they are inferiour senses, so they are subservient to this mortal state, and that there shall be no use of them in a state of glory; the taste is for the try∣ing of meats and drinks; and it shall be one great part of the Saints happiness, not to hunger and thirst any more, but to be far above these things, being like to the Angels of God, to be so replenished with the love and influences of the presence of God, as to live immediately upon him,

in him, and by him, and not to lead such a weak and frail life as now they do, that lean upon the staff of bread, and must be underpropped by the creatures. But if there be any use of these senses in Heaven, it shall be after another manner then now it is; the sense of smelling shall then be refreshed with most sweet and pleasant savours; not of such vaporous things as we have here, but of such as be proportionable to the glory of Heaven.

In like manner the taste shall be satisfied with incredible sweetness and delights,* 1.86 not for the sustentation of life, but for the accomplish∣ment of all glory, as one noteth: And albeit touching the sense of taste some difficulty may arise; yet though there be no delicious taste, by eating or drinking delicious dainties (such as the sensual Epicures of these times make their God) notwithstand∣ing, it is not absurd to think,* 1.87 that glorified Bodies (by God's appointment) shall have some delicious and pleasant moisture resting upon the palate, or place of taste, that so by such a means that sensible part may have her full content. And Lessius saith,* 1.88 if the Damned in Hell are most sharply punished in these senses, (as the rich Glutton, that in Hell torments was tormented in his tongue) why should not the Saints, who have suffered so many things so grievous to the senses in this life, receive delight and refreshing in them?

Concerning all which Laurence Justinian writes thus: The flesh of man made spiritual,* 1.89 shall abound with de∣lights of divers sorts in all the senses; the eye shall be de∣lighted in the lovely sight of the Redeemer, when it shall see the King of glory decked with his own comeliness; the melodious songs of the Citizens that are above, shall not a little delight their ears; likewise the fragrant pleasantness of the Celestial odours shall embrew the smelling with a wonderful liquefaction; and an unspeak∣able sweetness of all delectable things shall as it were cram the palate of the mouth; and the touch shall abound with delights suitable to it: it is requisite that all the members of the Body should extol their Creator in their own way, that as they took their beginning from him, so also they may bring down the end of their blessed∣ness toward him, that God may be all in all. And Anselm, when he had said, that the Damned shall have the greatest pains in all their senses and members, addeth in like manner, but in a con∣trary consideration, in that life that is to come, a certain unspeakable delight shall inebriate good men, and abundantly satisfie them with its in∣valuable sweetness: The eyes, the ears, the no∣strils, the mouth, the throat, the hands, the liver, the lungs, the bones, the marrow, the bowels, and every particular member of the Body shall be replenished with such a wonderful sense of de∣light

and sweetness, that truly we shall drink large draughts of it in the torrents of delight; and instead of the dew of Manna, wherewith the Israelites were refreshed, we shall be satiated in an Ocean of Nectar and Ambrosia, that is, with∣out bounds, limits, measure, or bottom. O hap∣piness, not so much to be spoken of, as to be wished and desired, and to be purchased (if it were possible) with a thousand lives, had we so many to give for the same.

SECT. XI.

Ʋse 1. THe first Use that I shall make of this, is to commend unto you that of the Apostle, 1 Thes. 4.3, 4, 5. That ye should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and in ho∣nour, (as men that seek for glory, honour, and immortality) not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: as those who have hope only in this life, who have no entrance into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Flee fornication; every sin that a man doth is without the body, but he that commiteth fornication sinneth against his own body, 1 Cor. 6.18. Other sins are without doors in com∣parison of this, but this is within; it is a sin so inward to the Body, that it diffuseth it self through the whole Body, and makes it wholly a slave and instrument to its lust; yea, the Body is

as it were the object of these sinful lusts; they do in a peculiar manner defile the Body. What greater indecorum can there be for one that hopeth to have his Body glorified in Heaven, then thus to debase and vilifie it upon the Earth? Take heed likewise of intemperance in meats and drinks, of gluttony and drunkenness, for this also dishonoureth the Body, takes away the heart, and makes it to stick fast in the mire of sensuality, and makes a man a stranger to hea∣venly-mindedness; it sets a man below a rational man, much more below a spiritual man, whose heart, whose hope, whose conversation is in Heaven. St. Paul saith, Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them. If you expect to have your Bodies lifted up to heavenly glory, be not ye S••rvants to the belly and to meats and drinks, both which are appointed to destruction. Miserable then is the condition of those persons now, whose god is their belly; whose greatest delight is to pamper their bodies, and please their palates; that have not the least savour of heavenly things: The more heavenly minded any man is, the more he raiseth his heart far above these things, and de∣nieth himself in them; and it shall be no little ground of comfort to a glorified Saint, when after the mortification and diligent looking to the senses, (which continued so short a time) he finds himself so wholly immersed in that deep fountain of glory, without finding any bottom

or end of so many, and such exceeding great joys. Oh then let us make it our meat and drink to do the will of our Father which is in Heaven, using these outward blessings as not abusing them; as furtherances, and not as hinderances in the service of God, eating and drinking for Heaven, and (whatsoever we do) doing all for Heaven; that this among other may be one good evidence to our Souls, that we are Vessels of Honour pre∣pared for glory, fitted for Heaven, where we shall be full of God, and have no need nor desire to fill our selves with meats and drinks.

Ʋse 2. This may exhort us to a patient bearing of all afflictions and present evils, be they many, be they grievous: Suppose your Bodies are as full of diseases, as the Body of Lazarus was full of sores; they are sick, weak, crazy, deformed, blind, maimed, ulcerous, leprous; if all these, or any of these be upon thy Body, bear it pa∣tiently, for Christ will one day redeem thy Body from all these, and make it glorious like to his own Body.

Ʋse 3. Be hence encouraged to give up your Bodies to suffer for Christ what evil soever cruel Tormentors through God's permission shall in∣flict upon your Carcasses; if they judge thee to the loss of ears, of eyes, of tongue, of hands, yea the whole Body to be burned at a stake, or to be devoured by wild Beasts, (such torments Martyrs have endured) willingly submit to all; Christ will restore those eyes, ears, tongues, hands,

or any other member whatsoever, which your Adversaries shall pull from you.

Ʋse 4. Be not afraid of dying; neither let the thoughts of the dissolution of thy Body into dust, and the long abode of thy Body in the dark pri∣son of the grave be a trouble to thee; God will redeem this Body of thine from the grave, saying, Give up the dead which are in thee, give up my Saints; and he will make thy Body to out-shine in glory. The Grave is God's Refining-pot, where he refineth our vile Bodies; it is the mould in which he casteth our glorious Bodies to new mould them; it is his Work-house, wherein he sheweth his power and wisdom in transforming our Bodies. Death causeth the Saints to put off these vile Bodies, that they may put on more glorious. Finally, be exhorted to glorifie God in your Bodies, since he will one day make them glorious Bodies, 1 Cor. 6.20.

CHAP. XVII.

I Have spoken somewhat largely of the sub∣stance of that happiness which Christ hath pur∣chased for the Saints, so far as concerneth the Body; in the next place I shall speak somewhat of that unconceivable blessedness to which the Soul (the principal part of man) shall be advanced: and here is something peculiar in that glory pre∣pared for the Soul above that of the Body; not

only that the Soul in its own nature is capable of a greater perfection and excellency then the Body, but also in respect of the time; for where∣as the Body shall remain under the power of Death and corruption, until the general Resur∣rection, the Soul in the mean time shall be tri∣umphing in glory; so that the Souls of the Saints will come under a double consideration.

• 1. Before the Resurrection.
• 2. After the Resurrection.

1. Before the Resurrection, when the Soul shall remain seperated from the Body; of which I shall speak somewhat briefly, because among other wretched Doctrines hatched of old, and lately revived, this is found to be one, viz. that the Soul dieth or sleepeth with the Body, and so abideth till the great day of the general Re∣surrection, when it shall be raised again with the Body: But two clear Scriptures may be opposed against this Opinion; the first is in Heb. 12.23. where the Apostle speaking of the priviledge which the Saints have while they are upon Earth, said, they were come to the spirits of just men made perfect: not the Souls of any of the Saints living on the face of the Earth, for they are im∣perfect: for we know in part, and prophecy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. Hence then it re∣maineth, that the spirits of just men made per∣fect, must be no other then the Souls of the Saints seperated from the Body, and translated unto

glory: Now if the spirits of just men seperated from their Bodies are made perfect, they are not dead, for death is the destruction of perfection; the Body is never so imperfect as when it is dead; a diseased Body is much more perfect then a dead Corpse: so then if the Souls of the Saints were dead with their Bodies, they should be so far from being made perfect, that they should utterly lose those beginnings of perfection which they had while they were in the Body; their graces would be extinguished, and there would be a loss to them of that enjoyment of God, and com∣munion with him, which they had here upon the Earth.

The second place of Scripture I shall produce against this Opinion of the Mortalists, is in 2 Cor. 5.6, 7, 8. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord; (for we walk by faith, not by sight) we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the Body, and to be present with the Lord. Here you may see, that while the Souls of the Saints are present in the Body, (as they are during this life) they are absent from the Lord; albeit Jesus Christ dwelleth in them by his Spirit, and they are spiritually united to him; yet in regard of local distance, they are absent from Christ in respect of his Humane nature, not seeing him face to face; they walk by faith, not by sight. Moreover, when their Souls are ab∣sent, and seperated from the Body by death,

they shall be present with the Lord; not walk∣ing by faith at a distance from Christ, but resting in his presence, immediately beholding him. The Souls of the Saints then do not die with the Body, but live in the presence of their Savi∣our at the very same time when they are absent and seperated from the Body by death. This must needs be meant of the state of the Soul, not after the resurrection, but between death and the resurrection, for that is the only time when the Soul is absent from the Body; and during that time the Apostle saith, it shall be present with the Lord.

To these may be added that gracious answer of Christ to the penitent Malefactor; Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with me in Para∣dise, Luke 27.43. viz. the very same day where∣in he died; Now the heavenly Paradise is no burying place for dead Souls, but a glorious ha∣bitation for the living spirits of just men made perfect. Observe likewise that argument of Christ, grounded upon the speech of God to Moses at the bush, which strongly proveth both the resurrection of the Body, and the immorta∣lity of the Soul, as well before as after the re∣surrection, Matth. 22.31, 32. Have you not read what is spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. This was spoken long after the

natural death of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and so the Argument standeth thus:

Those who have God for their God by Co∣venant, are not dead but living; but Abra∣ham, Isaac and Jacob, have God for their God by Covenant: Ergo they are not dead, but living.

So then they live in their principal parts, their Souls, while they are absent from the Body, whereunto their Bodies are to be re-united at the great day, that their whole persons may fully enjoy their God, and perfectly possess the fruit and benefit of God's covenant. verse 34. this argument silenced the Sadduces. Finally, consider what meant Stephen's prayer at his death, Lord Jesus receive my Spirit, or Soul, Acts 7.59. If his Spirit, or Soul, had died with his Body, why should he call upon Christ more for the receiving his Soul, but because he knew his Spirit, or Soul, was immortal, and must live and subsist when it was seperated from the Body? he prayed Christ to give present entertainment to his Soul, that he might rest in the bosome of his love, until his Body should be raised and re∣united to it. Now as this may stop the mouth of this lying Spirit, which of late is crept forth into the World again, so it may demonstrate (according to the point in hand) that the Souls of the Faithful, after their seperation from the Body, are instated into blessedness. By which

places fore-mentioned, and such like, is refuted their Heresie, who either directly deny the im∣mortality of the Soul, or imply it as the Soci∣nians, who say, that Mori est penitus extingui,* 1.90 & resurgere est ex non ente iterum existere. And this Opinion some others have seemed to favour, in the Declaration of their Opinions about the Articles of Religion, in that they are altogether silent in the point that con∣cerneth the blessed rest of the Saints Souls after this life.

CHAP. XVIII. Of the blessedness of the Soul in general.

MUch more might have been spoken of the blessedness of the Soul in glory, when it is absent from the Body; but because these things belong as well to the Soul re-united to the Body, when it hath full possession of salvation, I chuse to treat of them under that consideration.

1. This shall be the wonderful felicity of the Soul, in that it shall have a Body every way suit∣able to it self, immortal, spiritual, incorruptible, glorious, as its habitation for a pure, immortal, glorious Spirit to dwell in; in this respect the glorified Souls now in Heaven (all the time of their seperation) do even vehemently desire and

wait for the redemption of their Bodies, who were their yoke-fellows in the day of their pil∣grimage upon Earth. Though the Soul of a Be∣liever reign with Angels, yet hath she a passion for her Body; and all the good she doth possess, cannot take her from the desire and memory thereof; though she hath made trial of its re∣volts, though this friendly Enemy hath often∣times persecuted her, and that she hath desired death to be freed from the tyranny thereof, yet doth she languish as it were, and vehemently long after it. Though the Body be reduced to dust, though it cause pity in its Enemies, and though it cause horror in those to whom it was lovely, yet she forbears not to desire it, and to expect the resurrection with a kind of impati∣ence, that her Body may partake of the bliss which she enjoyeth. The Souls of the Saints de∣parted this life do not account their glory, their blessedness compleat, till their Bodies be re∣unted; hence they do naturally desire their re∣union; and as they cry under the Altar, How long, Lord, how long will it be ere thou avenge our blood? so all the Souls of just men made perfect, with one voice cry out, How long, Lord, how long will it be ere thou redeem our Bodies, that we may be perfectly blessed in the full fruition of thy self? Oh then how shall the glorified Soul re∣joyce in its glorified Body, raised from among worms, dust and rottenness, rescued from its captivity, from under the power of death and cor∣ruption,

and now again made one with the Soul, no longer to be a snare or burden to it, but a companion meet for it, taking in no object by the senses that may in the least degree endanger the polluting of the Soul, and having nothing in it that may stupifie the affections, or any way discompose the eternal rest, disturb the peace, eclipse the joy of the Soul, interrupt its enjoy∣ment of God, or any way diminish its compleat happiness.

2. There shall be a perfect harmony between the Body with all its parts, and the Soul with all its powers; and both Soul and Body shall be fully conformed to Christ, and so shall most sweetly comply each with other: and I conceive the very remembrance of that dulness, sottish∣ness, earthiness, and drossiness, (which in the state of mortality is in the Body) shall be matter of great joy to the Soul, now that it findeth such a wonderful change in the Body transformed unto such a glorious perfection; even as it is a great refreshment to the mind of a man after a perfect cure to find the Body lightsome, full of spirits, and in perfect health after a lethargy, or some other dulling disease that hath debilitated nature, exhausted the spirits, and indisposed it for action.

Then shall the happiness of man be perfect, when a glorified Soul shall be united to an im∣mortal Body; and mutually communicating all their advantages, the Soul shall be happy in the

felicity of the Body, and the Body happy in that of the Soul; all their differences shall then be composed in this general peace: the Soul shall then forget all the revolts of the Body, nor shall the Body any more complain of the severities of the Soul; but both of them remembring only the good they have done each other, they shall reign in Heaven in a community of glory.

CHAP. XIX. Of the more distinct blessedness of the Soul.

SECT. I. Of the perfection of the apprehensions of the Saints in glory.

LEt us now more distinctly consider of the bles∣sedness of the Soul; first laying this general rule, that it shall be perfect: for the Apostle plainly sheweth, that the Spirits of just men are made perfect, Heb. 12. Now the perfection of the Soul principally consisteth in the knowledg of God. Now there is Scientia directa & intui∣tiva, a direct knowledg of God upon view and sight: Now this is either perfect, or imperfect.

A full and perfect knowledg of God himself, none hath but God himself; no creatures, no man, no Angel is capable of it; God himself

fully and perfectly seeth himself, which no other can do; for a full and perfect knowledg of an in∣finite Beeing is infinite, as that Beeing is. He that hath a full and perfect knowledg of any thing whatsoever it be, hath the full measure of that thing in his understanding, which he fully and perfectly knoweth. Now what is the shallow and narrow capacity of any created understand∣ing of Man or Angel, that it should measure the infinite essence and excellency of the God-head? it is not so much as a spoon to the Ocean; and there is less disproportion between the water of the Sea, and the capacity of a spoon, then the understanding of Man or Angels, and the infi∣nite majesty and excellency of God.

Now God knoweth himself fully and perfectly in himself. If the Sun-beams were animated, and living creatures endued with reason, how clearly and perfectly would they know and see through themselves, every way being altogether light and transparent? God is the light of lights, a most pure, bright, and glorious Beeing; and he is of infinite wisdom, and so fully and perfectly knoweth himself.

On the other side, there is a knowledg of God direct and intuitive, or upon view, which is not perfect, and this is of those blessed Crea∣tures already possessed of glory: such knowledg have the Angels, who see God face to face, as our Saviour saith, Matth. 18.10. The Angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in

Heaven. They do not only see his back-parts, as Moses did, but his face, by an immediate view, beholding the beauty and glory of the Lord. Whether the Saints departed, before the resur∣rection of the Body, do thus see the face of God, I determine not; doubtless they do already en∣joy a great degree of blessedness, the fruition whereof is more sweet for one day, then the en∣joying of all the World for a mans life: howso∣ever, after the resurrection, when they shall be fully possessed of glory, they shall see the face of God as the Angels do, Job 19.25, 26, 27. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God; whom I shall see for my self, and not ano∣ther, &c. So David compareth the temporal pro∣sperity of Worldlings, which they enjoy in this life, with the blessed estate which he expected after the resurrection of the Body; he calleth them, Psal. 17.14, 15. Men of the World, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly the Lord filleth with his hid treasures; which are full of Children, and leave the rest of their substance to their Babes. This was their seeming happiness, all worldly and temporary. Now on the other side he speaketh of his own condition: As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be sa∣tisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. He cared not for those hidden treasures locked up in the mines and bowels of the earth, nor for a portion

in this life, nor for large portions for his Poste∣rity, &c. but to behold the face of God in righte∣ousness; to see him face to face, (which he was assured of by faith) and so to be satisfied with his Image.

Object. But why is this knowledg said to be im∣perfect, sith the Apostle, speaking of this glorious condition of the Saints, saith, That then that which is perfect shall come, and that which is imperfect shall be done away?

Sol. I answer, this knowledg of God which the Angels have, and the Saints shall have in God himself, is

Perfect, in regard of the Subject in which it is.

Imperfect, in regard of the Object of whom it is.

Perfect in regard of the Subject, and that in two respects.

1. Because it filleth the understanding, and satisfieth the spirit with a fulness of light result∣ing from so glorious an object; so that the Soul hath a beatifical vision of God, so far as it is ca∣pable. And as the eye is refreshed by an object fitly proportioned, and hurt or dimmed by a disproportionable eminency, or excellency, in the object surpassing its strength and ability; so the Soul, perfected and glorified, and the An∣gelical Spirits, have such a knowledg of God in himself, as filleth them, not such as confoundeth them; and this is perfect in regard of them, be∣cause it is such a perfection as they are capable of, and can contain.

2. It is perfect in respect of the subject in which it is, in that it is as much as is due and requisite to make their happiness compleat and perfect without any defect; it is so perfect, that they need no more knowledg of God then that which they have: and who can deny but that this is a perfection of knowledg in respect of the subjects? they are as blessed every way, and so especially in regard of the knowledg of God, as such crea∣tures can be; and that is a perfection, though relative, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 (as they say) in relation to the subjects in whom it is.

Secondly, on the other side, this knowledg which these glorified spirits have, and shall have of God in himself, is imperfect in respect of the Object of whom it is, viz. God, whom they know in himself; that is, it is not a knowledg matchable to the infinite essence and excellency of the God-head: This cannot be comprehended by any of the creatures.

Yet let me tell you, the understanding shall then be more perfect,

• In its apprehension,
• In its judgment.

I. In its apprehension; that shall be most quick and acute; the Soul shall have a most sharp and piercing eye-sight, readily apprehending and conceiving; it shall not see thorow a glass, it shall not have its knowledg at second hand.

1. It shall not apprehend God by the Creature, by the light of Nature; the Creatures are the

darkest representations of God, there are but some of his foot-prints in the Creatures, they are no glasses wherein we shall behold the face of God: At the best, the Creatures are but Jacob's Ladder to us, by which we may ascend from Earth to the knowledg of God in Heaven; the Creatures can but take us by the hand and lead us to God, and lift up our minds to Heaven; the sight of God is more then all the Creatures can afford, because God's face cannot be seen in the Creature: and yet this we may grant, that the Saints shall see God in the Creatures then, but with this difference, as Diony∣sius well observeth,* 1.91 the Crea∣tures will be specula clara in statu integro, clear glasses in a perfect state; but now in statu corrupto, in a corrupt state they be spe∣cula aenigmatica, obscure glasses.

2. The glorified Soul shall apprehend God af∣ter another manner then now it can know him from his Word, or understand him in his Word. The knowledg of the Word is by the Schools called cognitio Fidei, the knowledg of Faith; it is a far greater knowledg then the knowledg of God from the Creatures; Faith is of an higher reach then Reason, or the light of Nature; the Word of God speaks of God more, then the eye of Reason ever can by the eye of Nature kenne; things which Reason could almost deny, (at least dispute against) the Word reveals of God. The Creatures shew but the foot-steps of God,

the Word sheweth his back-parts, his glorious attributes, his gracious goodness: but yet the Word cannot shew us the face of God; there∣fore the Beatifick Vision is more then the know∣ledg of God we have from the Word.

3. The knowledg of God in Heaven is more then that which the Saints have of him by the light of grace in this life; by the light of grace the Saints do behold the light of God's counte∣nance in this life: David often prays, Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance upon us; but yet the light of grace cannot shew the very counte∣nance of God himself, it must be the light of glory that must discover that to us. Indeed to know God by the light of grace, (which more properly is termed the knowledg of Faith) is called life eternal, John 17.3. It is called eternal life, because to believe in God, and in Christ, is the medium, a way and means to life eternal; and then again, it is vita eterna inchoata, saving Faith in Christ is the beginning of eternal life: but the eye of Faith is too weak to look God in the face: yet this we may grant, that what the Creature, what the Word reveals of God, what we know by the light of grace, we shall have a more clear, more full, and more manifest sight of it in Heaven.

We shall then see God as he is, (i.) know him∣self by himself; we shall know him by himself without the Creature, know him by himself with∣out the external preaching of the Word, know

him without the Sacraments; the Word and Sa∣craments being glasses wherein we behold the glory of God, but in Heaven there shall be no need of these glasses, we shall see his face without these glasses by himself. Look as God doth mani∣fest himself to the Angels, so he will manifest him∣self to us; they see God in himself, and by himself, therefore they are said always to behold the face of God, and so shall glorified Saints do.

Here the bodily eye may be dim, either by reason of the weakness of the eye, a defect of strength in the organ or instrument of sight, or because of scales or films growing over it; so it is with the understanding, or eye of the Soul, its sight may be dim and imperfect, either by reason of its natural weakness, or by the scales of lusts or sinful corruptions overgrowing it; these do exceedingly blind the understanding, and dull the apprehension, while we are in this state of mortality: Now both these shall be done away in that state of glory; the organ, or eye of the Soul, shall then be strengthned with perfe∣ction, there shall be no weakness remaining in it, it shall be most strong and vigorous; the Soul shall then be elevated and raised to that strength, that it shall be able to gaze upon the glory of God for ever, and so see him, as never to lose the sight of him: then likewise all the scales shall be removed, there shall not be the least mote of lust to dim the eye of the Soul, it shall see clearly and perfectly; and ignorance, which is

here a brand of sin, shall be quite defaced by the brightness that shall enlighten the Soul. Tunc nec falli, nec peccare possunt homines, veritate illumi∣nati, & in bono confirmati; then men illightened with the truth, and confirmed in good, can nei∣ther deceive, nor be deceived, nor sin, saith St. Augustine.

How quick was Adam's apprehension in the state of innocence? how did the acuteness of his understanding penetrate into the insides of the Creatures, as is manifest by his giving them names suitable to their natures? Now as Christ (the second Adam) is incomparably more excel∣lent then the first Adam, and Believers are the spiritual seed of Christ, as Men and Women are the natural seed of Adam, so far more transcen∣dent shall that perfection of apprehension and understanding be, which Christ shall illighten the Souls of his Saints withal (as his seed) in that state of blessedness, even far surpassing that which Adam had, and which should have been propa∣gated from him to his natural issue, had he per∣severed in the integrity of his nature wherein he was created.

SECT. II. Of the perfection of the judgments of the Saints in glory.

II. AS the apprehensions, so likewise the judg∣ments of the Saints shall be perfected in Heaven: Here sometimes quick apprehensions

are accompanied with shallow judgments, as on the other side solid judgments are joyned with slow apprehensions; but in glory, the soundness of the judgment shall be correspondent with the clearness and quickness of the apprehension, it shall not be subject to the least mistake, nor ob∣noxious to any error; here we are full of levity, and wavering in matters of Religion, taking up opinions lightly, without due examination; and for want of strength of judgment, we are ready upon every sleight occasion to receive another Doctrine; and likewise presuming upon the strength of and subtilty of our own wits, not li∣mited by grace, we are shamefully foiled. Love and affection to our own vain opinions, is a great impediment to sound judgment; it breeds pre∣judice against the truth, making men resolute in defending their opinions, if by any way of wrest∣ing the Scripture to their purpose it be possible. But in Heaven the soundness of the Saints judg∣ments shall be answerable to the acuteness of their apprehensions, they shall be no longer accom∣panied with doubts and darkness; as they learn without labour, so they shall not fear forgetful∣ness, drawing light and wisdom from the very fountain; they shall know all things in their prin∣ciples; their Souls shall then be penetrated by the Spirit of God, and their judgments clarified with the light of glory; the Saints shall then be able not only to view the superficies, or surface of things, but also to dive into the bottom of them,

to comprehend the breadth and length, the height and depth of them; they shall then see that God is ever like himself, and that all things in him do most exactly consent and agree together.* 1.92 Durandus saith of the knowledg of the Scriptures, that the knowledg of all humane Sciences is no more to be compared to the knowledg of the Scriptures, then the Earth to the Heavens for bigness; the Earth is but a small insensible point in regard of the Heavens: I am sure the knowledg of God which we have from the Scripture, from the Creatures, is no more to be compared to the knowledg of God, which the blessed Saints and Angels in Heaven have, it is nothing to be com∣pared with it; all Solomon's wisdom and know∣ledg is nothing.

It is said, that God gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, 1 Reg. 4.29. and largeness of heart, even as the sand on the Sea-shore; and this was to admiration in this state of mortality: but I believe, that he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven, shall far surpass So∣lomon in understanding and judgment. If John Baptist (according to our Saviour's testimony) were greater then any of the Prophets, because he saw Christ already come in the flesh, whereas they only foresaw Christ to come; and yet the least in the Kingdom of God (that is, in the

Church of the New Testament) be greater in this respect then John Baptist, because they see into the Mystery of Christ, not only as already come, but as having actually performed the work of our redemption, died, overcome death, risen from the dead, ascended into Heaven, given forth his Spirit, and spread his Gospel over the World; how far then shall the understandings of the Faithful in Heaven (seeing Christ face to face) excel the knowledg which all the Prophets, So∣lomon, John Baptist, and all Believers under the New Testament, had here upon the face of the Earth? and as the perfection of these faculties, so the excellency and perfection of the objects which they shall thus clearly apprehend and per∣fectly know, shall wonderfully advance the bles∣sedness of the Saints.

CHAP. XX.

SECT. I. A description of what things shall be seen in God by the Saints in Heaven.

HE that seeth a wise and mighty man, although he seeth his out-side, yet his in-side he seeth not, viz. the beauty and perfections of his mind; but in Heaven the Saints shall see the Divine beauty and excellency with the eye of the inner man; they shall see the brightness of his glory and majesty; they shall behold him, not by a

reflex, as a man may see the image of the Sun in a Looking-glass, but they shall as it were look upon him in a direct line.

1. They shall with admiration behold him as the first eternal Being, as the Ancient of days, comprehending all the Centuries of years, all the ages and generations, all the hundreds and thousands of years, all the changes and periods of times, all of them making up but a moment, and being no more then the twinckling of an eye to his eternity.

2. They shall see him as he is in himself, that he is glorious in himself, in his being; that he is infinitely glorious in all his Attributes; that he is eternally glorious in all his works; they shall see him to be such a God as he proclaimed himself to be, that he is the Lord God, the Lord God of Gods; they shall know the immensity of his be∣ing, the infiniteness of his greatness; that he is infinite in grace, infinite in mercy, infinite in glory; they shall then see the unlimitedness of his essence, filling them with himself, with his presence and fulness filling all things, and with his infinite being enclosing all things that are.

3. They shall clearly see him as an unchange∣able God, who hath wrought all the wonderful changes that have hapned in the Heavens, in the Earth, in the Seas, yet that himself hath remained still immutable; they shall look upon him as the first universal mover, who setteth all things in

motion, in whom and by whom all things move, himself remaining immovable.

4. They shall not only be convinced of his Al∣mighty power, but shall see it clearly, and ma∣nifestly discern his infinite strength; it is one thing to read of the great strength of Sampson, and to believe it as a certain truth; it had been another thing, and a matter of far greater satis∣faction, to have seen him smiting the Philistines hip and thigh with a great slaughter, killing a thousand of God's Enemies with the Jaw-bone of an Ass, carrying away the gates and posts of a City upon his shoulders, pulling down with his hands the house wherein thousands of the Philistines were sitting: so it is one thing to read and believe the Almighty power of God, but another thing, and a matter of greater satisfa∣ction to the Soul, to have a clear view of it; to see God forming Heaven and Earth of nothing, and changing times and seasons; to see him raising some out of the dust, and lifting them out of the dunghil, and setting them with Princes, and throwing down the mighty from their seats, that were exalted to places of great eminency and dignity, overturning Nations and Kingdoms, and working great wonders. These things (though past) it is conceived, they shall be as clearly seen in God, when we shall see him face to face, as if they were but then in doing. With great delight also shall they see his Almighty power, that shall bring up all the Potentates of

the Earth, all men, high and low, rich and poor, young and old, before his tribunal; in tran∣slating all his Children into everlasting glory, and throwing the Wicked into everlasting burn∣ings. They shall also see God exercising his power in dissolving the frame of this visible World, rolling the Heavens together as a scroll, and folding them up as a garment; melting the E∣lements with fervent heat, and burning up the Earth with the works that are therein. More∣over, they shall see what God shall do for ever, they shall see God in all his workings to eternity: What a ravishing thing would it have been,* 1.93 if any of us should have been admitted into the presence of God, and there to have seen what God hath done from the beginning of the World to this day? but when this World shall be at an end (as it will shortly be) God and his Saints will then remain everlastingly, and they shall be for ever with the Lord, and they shall be there where they shall see what God will do for ever.

5. They shall see the infinite love of the infi∣nite God, of which now they have but a taste; they shall then clearly understand that love of God, which is the spring of all spiritual blessings in heavenly things, out of which they were ele∣cted to holiness, eternal life and glory; that love out of which Christ himself (as a Mediator and Redeemer) issued, and out of which all things were given them that appertain to life,

and godliness; that love which prevented them in their lost condition, which turned the eye of God's compassion towards them when they lay in their blood; that love which issued out a par∣don of all their sins from the Court of mercy, which lengthened out the patience of God to∣ward them when they lingred in their sins. Then shall they know fully where this love was bred, and that none but the eternal love and delight of the Father could have outed so much love; then shall they see themselves over head and ears drown'd in many obligations to his infinite love.

6. They shall see him as the Fountain of light and wisdom, as the only wise God, as the Father of lights, in whose light themselves see light, from whose face all those beams do shine, where∣by their Souls are filled with heavenly wisdom; they shall see clearly that God is light, filling Heaven with his brightness and glory, and fixing the eyes of all the Angels and Saints upon him, as an object infinite, altogether lightsome and lovely. They shall behold that infinite wisdom of God which created Heaven and Earth, which great piece of workmanship had nothing but no∣thing for its materia, how all the different parts whereof it is composed had the same original, and how this vacuum, by the word of God, brought forth the Heavens with their Constella∣tions, the Earth with all its Fields, the Sea with all its Rocks; how the Heavens and Earth were

created in an instant, though there went six days to their disposal. The Saints in Heaven shall also understand that wisdom of God which in all ages hath governed the World, and directed all crea∣tures to their courses and motions; how this ad∣mirable work hath endured numberless ages, contrary to the Laws of Nature, which suffereth that soon to perish which she is not long in form∣ing. Then shall the mysteries of Providence be fully opened, and we shall see the Births in the Womb of Providence, which on Earth are in∣visible to us; then shall we understand all the ways, circuits, lines, turnings of Providence, and see how Christ hath steered the helm of Heaven and Earth when means have failed, and men and times have changed. They shall likewise know that wisdom that hath ordered the sins of Men and Devils to holy ends, never intended by the Actors, which hath over-reached the craftiest devices of the Serpent and his Seed— They shall likewise behold that manifold wisdom of God, that contrived the whole method of mans Redemption and Salvation, the very Master-piece of Divine wisdom; that wisdom that hath given light to the blind, wisdom to the foolish, and abundance of light to those that sate in dark∣ness, and in the shadow of death, and which made those that were darkness to become light in the Lord. This shall be matter of admiration to Men and Angels, that the great God should condescend to look on such vile Sinners, so far

below the free love and majesty of the most High. Then shall the Saints understand all the counsels of God concerning themselves from all eternity; when they shall be admitted into the House of God, they shall not only see what God himself is, but they shall see his heart, his will, and all his ways, and glorious contrivances for their sal∣vation.

7. They shall see him as that God who is truth it self; they shall exactly discern how every pro∣mise of his, every prophesie delivered by his spi∣rit to the Churches, and recorded in his word, is fully accomplished, not one failing or falling to the ground; and that whatsoever God promised, or bound himself by covenant to perform, though it seemed difficult, or long, before it was fulfilled, yet it came to pass at last in its appointed time: Oh the sweet satisfaction which the Saints in Hea∣ven shall find in the full contemplation of the truth of God every way manifested, and so glo∣riously verified in and upon themselves, in keep∣ing them by his power unto salvation, in pre∣serving them to his heavenly Kingdom, in guid∣ing them by his counsel, and bringing them to glory; when they shall see that all the art, ma∣lice, skill and power of Men and Devils, could never frustrate nor make void the least tittle of God's sacred truth.

8. They shall see him as a God infinite in ho∣liness, of perfect purity; they shall with great delight look directly into that overflowing foun∣tain

of holiness, which hath streamed into so many thousand Souls, which hath washed so many unclean hearts from their filthiness, which filleth all the Saints and Angels in Heaven with perfect holiness; then shall they behold those fair hands (as I may speak) that stooped to wash such black-skinned and defiled Sinners, and purged away the filth of the Daughter of Sion— If the Egyptians for many ages have had a great desire to find out the fountain of that River Ni∣lus, which by his yearly inundations watereth the Land in that hot climate, (having no showres of rain) and maketh it abundantly fruitful: Oh then how shall glorified Souls rejoyce to be brought to the Spring-head of holiness, which hath watered so many barren Souls, and made them bring forth the fruits of the Spirit.

9. They shall clearly see him as an all-sufficient God; they shall see that rich treasury opened, out of which all that good was given, which was received by any, or all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth. The Lord by many notable instances of his own glorious works, Job 38.22. con∣vinced Job of ignorance, and posed him by a multitude of interrogations; among the rest saith he, Hast thou entered into the treasures of snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of hail? But in that state of glory, not only this holy man, but every one of the Saints shall be admitted to view the treasures of God's all-sufficiency, out of which all good things concerning this life and the life

to come, have been and shall be dispensed and distributed among the Creatures, life, breath, all things, grace and glory; grace of justification, grace of sanctification, preventing grace, sub∣sequent grace, exciting grace, confirming grace, strength against temptation, support under af∣flictions, help in extremities, relief against seem∣ing impossibilities, faith, repentance, love, hope, &c. they shall see the Spring of that River of God's pleasures, and of those living Waters, which have refreshed so many thirsty Souls when they seemed ready to perish. Oh how would it tickle the vain curiosity of many men, to be ad∣mitted to the sight of the rich treasures of great Princes, and to have their Cabinets (filled with the rarest and most sumptuous Jewels) unlocked before their eyes? Alas, they are not so much as common stones of the street, in comparison of the treasures of God's all-sufficiency which the Saints shall behold in Heaven.

SECT. II.

FUrthermore, as the Saints in Heaven shall see what God is in himself, so they shall perfectly and fully see what God is to themselves; here is the happiness of the beatifical vision, not only to know that God is infinitely gracious in him∣self, but that he is also infinitely gracious to us; not only to know that God is goodness it self, bonum summum, the chiefest good, but also to

know God is our chiefest good, our happiness. Then the Saints will all say to God as Job did, when he had that familiar conference with God, Job 42.5. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. So when we come to Heaven, every one of us will say, Lord, I have heard thy Ministers say, that thou art a merciful, a gracious God; I have heard thy Word to pro∣claim thee to be a Lord, a Lord God gracious and merciful, a God pardoning sin, and for∣giving iniquity, and now mine eyes see thee; now I plainly see that thou art such a God as in∣deed thou art. I tell you this is one main part of the beatifical Vision, not only to see what God is in himself, but to see clearly what a good God he is to us; this is the happiness of all the Saints, this is the fulness of joy which is in the presence of God, this is the rivers of pleasure which are at God's right hand. Suppose the Devils and damn∣ed Spirits should know what God is in himself, that he is the God of grace, the God of mercy, the God of glory, alas, they would but little bless themselves in the knowledg of God, because God is not thus to them; it is their woe of woes, because they know that God is to them a con∣suming fire, devouring burnings, and an angry Judge: To know a thing, and not to possess that thing, is no happiness at all; to know there are riches in the bottom of the Sea, doth nothing rejoyce a man, but to possess those riches; to know there are rich treasures of all good things,

and not to have any part in that treasure, what comfort hath a poor man in the knowledg of that? It is true what Chrysologus saith of the rich Man in Hell,* 1.94 The glory of Lazarus doth more torment him, then the fire of Hell. It is no comfort to him to see Heaven, and Lazarus in Abraham's bosome, and himself to be thrust into Hell. This brings joy to the heart of man, when he knows a thing, and seeth it to be his own. There are three things that make a man glad: 1. When a man hath that which he loveth. 2. When that which he hath and loveth is the best thing. 3. When a man knoweth that he hath, and that he loveth, is the best thing. All these things are in the beatifical Vision.

The Saints enjoy that which they love, viz. God; then God is the best thing: among all the treasures of good things, nothing to be com∣pared to God. Likewise the Saints do know that they do enjoy God, that God is their God; and what God is in himself, that he is to them: this is that which will satisfie all the Saints when they shall awake out of the dust.

They also shall see all things in God: it is a true Theorem among the Schools, Videntes Deum omnia vident in ipso; those that see God, shall see all other things in him. And the reason that they give is this, because the Divine essence is the re∣presentative

object of all things. Fulgentius makes this comparison,* 1.95 God (saith he) may not unfitly be compared to a glass; look as in a glass we see three things, we see the glass it self, then we see our own self in the glass, then we see other things in the glass too; so in God we shall see Deitatem, nosmetipsos, caeteraque; see God, see our selves, see all other things besides.

Now this knowledg will not be a comprehen∣sive knowledg of God; we may be studying God to all eternity, and yet we shall never be able to comprehend him: God is infinite, and our under∣standings are finite; it is impossible for an infinite object, to be confined within the limits of a finite being. Aquinas gives this good rule;* 1.96 We shall see the whole essence, but as most sim∣ply void of all composition, but we shall not see him wholly; we shall have large and clear apprehensions of God, but no comprehension: As Cardan told them that asked of him, What God was? Tunc Deus essem; if I were able to tell you what God is, I my self should be a God. We should all be Gods, if we could comprehend God.

SECT. III.

THe Saints in Heaven shall also behold the Lord Jesus as he is God, the same God with the Father and the Holy Ghost. More particu∣larly,

1. They shall have a perfect knowledg of him as God and Man, as Mediator between God and Man; they shall not only see the Lord Jesus with their bodily eyes, but they shall also discern his incomparable excellency with the eye of their inner man; they shall then understand the my∣stery of the incarnation of the Son of God; they shall clearly see into the mystery of the hyposta∣tical, or personal union of God and Man, which is now so little understood by us; they shall then see the God-head filling the Manhood with glory and majesty, dwelling in it substantially; they shall behold how the nature of man was raised unto an infinite height above all created nature, and joyned to the Deity in the word hypostati∣cally and substantially; they shall see how God is truly and properly Man, and how Man is truly and properly God, which naturally no created understanding can comprehend; they shall then clearly behold that wonderful conjunction of the Son of God, and of the Seed of Abraham in one Person, and shall see the Man-hood exalted far above all Principalities and Powers.

2. They shall behold him as the Author and

Finisher of their Faith, as the Sacrifice for their Sins, as him who was their wisdom, righteous∣ness, sanctification, and redemption — They shall know him as their Pledg and Surety, as one that satisfied the justice of his Father, and bore all the pains and torments their sins deserved: they shall know him as their Head, that gave them life and motion; they shall know him as their Tutor and Guide, that hath led them through their Pilgrimage in this World to the heavenly Canaan; they shall then know how he carried a world of Saints over the same Seas they are now sailing in; how Christ paid the fare of the ship himself, and that not one of them was found dead on the shore — They shall know him as a Father that was more tenderly affected with the sorrows and sufferings of his Children then of his own; they shall then know how Christ's eye and heart was upon his Spouse, making their sal∣vation his end, and the measure of his love; his rising early, his night watching, his toyling, his sweating, his sore and hard travel, and all that he might have a redeemed People. Then shall they know him as their King, Priest and Prophet, who offered up himself for them; they shall look upon him as one who presented all their prayers to his Father, and procured acceptance; who taught them the mind of God, who came out of the bosome of God, and revealed the Father to them, who governed them and protected them all their days; they shall look upon him as one

that brought them through fair and foul ways to his Fathers House. The perfect knowledg of these things, and the like, will abundantly satis∣fie the Saints in Heaven. Then Jesus Christ shall be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all that believe, 2 Thes. 1.10.

I. He shall be glorified in his Saints; which glory shall result to Christ two ways.

1. By putting glory on his Saints; in glorify∣ing them, he glorifieth himself; he manifesteth what a King of glorious state he is, what trea∣sures of glory are in him, that he can put so much glory on innumerable Saints, without any dimi∣nution of his own glory; all that glory which the Saints enjoy, is Christ's originally; he is the Fountain, they the Cisterns; he infinitely full, though they are filled with it also; they receive grace for grace from Christ, and they receive glory for glory, happiness for happiness, joy for joy from him. Christ sheweth the riches of his glory, as a King sheweth the riches of his trea∣sury, when he can make many rich, and he not wax poor: but what King can do so excepting Christ the King of Kings?

2. He shall be glorified in his Saints] that is, as Chrysostom expounds it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, by his Saints.* 1.97 All his Saints shall with one heart and mouth ascribe to him all the glory of their glory, and for their glory, Revel. 4.10. Then all the Saints will take their Crowns of glory from off their

heads, and cast them down before the Throne of Christ, saying, Thou art worthy to receive ho∣nour, and glory, and power. He is infinitely wor∣thy in himself, because he is God over all; but he is also relatively worthy in respect of the Saints, because all the glory they have, they re∣ceived from him; he purchased their glory, he hath brought them to glory, he hath glorified his power in making them glorious, and he counts them worthy of this glory.

II. Christ shall be admired in all that believe.] Wonder and astonishment ariseth ex magnitudine & novitate rerum; the greatness and strangeness of a thing causeth admiration in all beholders. The glory which Christ will put on his Saints shall be exceeding great, and exceeding strange, beyond all conceit and imagination; the heart of man cannot now perceive it; but when the eye shall see this glory, and the heart shall per∣ceive it, Christ will be wonderfully admired in them and by them. The glory of his power will be admired, in that such poor dust and ashes should be advanced to such an height of glory, that he can make his Creatures so glorious. They will admire his love toward them in communi∣cating such glory to them; they will admire his grace in bringing such worthless Creatures to such glory, even from the Dunghil to the highest Throne of glory. Moreover, they shall clearly understand that great mystery of the Trinity, of the Persons in the unity of one God-head and

Divine essence, which is now so far above the understanding of the sincerest Christian; they shall see how the Son is begotten of the Father, as the word and wisdom of the Father, and abideth in the Father; how the Holy Ghost pro∣ceedeth from both, and abideth in both; they shall see how these three are distinguished by a personal propriety, so that they are three Per∣sons subsisting in themselves, and yet together in number are one essence, or simple Deity, one power, one wisdom, one goodness, one majesty, one immensity, one eternity; then shall they see how the Father is in the Son, how the Son is in the Father, and the Holy Ghost in both; how all are in each, and each in all. This is a mystery which here no heart can conceive, or tongue express; it is, as Hilary saith, Extra sermonis sig∣nificationem, extra sensus intentionem, & extra intelligentiae conceptionem: no speech can set it forth, no sense can sound the depth of it, no reason reach the reason of it; but in Heaven the Saints shall perfectly understand this great my∣stery. This is the Heaven (saith Gregory Nazianzen) that I look for,* 1.98 that I may have a view of the glorious Trinity, and understand that great mystery. This truth that hath met with so much contradiction from many blasphemous Hereticks in former ages, such as Nestorians, Arrians, Sabel∣lians, Macedonians, they shall then most clearly understand.

SECT. IV.

GLorified Saints shall also look into the great mystery of godliness; with great delight shall they read the Book of Life, the eternal De∣cree of God electing them to Salvation; how shall it fill their hearts with joy, to look into the original Records of eternity, to see into that depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledg of God, at which the Apostle made a stand. The Apostle was at a stand, as one whose stature in that condition of mortality was too low to wade any further into that great deep; therefore he cries out, Rom. 11. How unsearch∣able are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! The waters are too deep, I can find no bot∣tom; for who hath known the mind of the Lord, or been his Counsellor? But in Heaven the Saints shall fully understand this unsearchable depth, viz. how God should so carry on the great designs of the declaration of his pardoning mercy to some, and his punishing justice to others; and that in both these God was free in his grace, and just in his judgments, though he neither chose nor called according to works; that the damned Creature was most guilty, and that God was both severe and graciously merciful, and that none hath cause to complain of God; and that the fundamental cause of this various administration with Nations and Persons, is the holy and soveraign will of

God, who hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardeneth. This is the depth without a bottom that St. Paul speaks of. But in Heaven the Saints shall be filled with the knowledg of these mysteries, the bosome of God being opened to their understandings. What are the events that have hapned in the World, or in the Church, but the effects or consequents of those decrees which have been everlastingly in the mind of God? Now if the Saints in Hea∣ven shall perfectly see God, then nothing of God shall be hid from them, which may make up their compleat happiness: they shall then clearly understand the mysteries of justification and glo∣rification, and all the deep things of God, all the mysteries of the holy Scriptures, all the Pro∣phecies, all the Figures, Types, and Symboli∣cal shadows, all the mystical Senses; all these things they believed here, either expresly or im∣plicitely, but the reward of faith is vision and clear knowledg. The same doth St. Augustine insinuate, saying,* 1.99 What shall we see in Heaven but God, and all those things which now believing we see not?

CHAP. XXI.

MOreover, the Saints shall see and know that innumerable company of Angels, their na∣tures, each of their persons in particular. As the Angels know every Elect person, because it is their work to gather the Elect from all the cor∣ners of the Earth, and to seperate them from the wicked, Matth. 13.41. so the glorified Saints shall know the holy Angels, whom the Lord sent forth to minister for them, whom the Lord ap∣pointed for their guard while they were upon Earth, who encamped round about them while they were encompassed with so many dangers. Some Divines are of opinion, that the number of the Angels is so great, that they exceed with∣out comparison all corporal and material things in the Earth; and like as the greatness of the Heavens exceedeth the greatness of the Earth without any proportion, even so doth the mul∣titude of the glorious Spirits, exceed the multi∣tude of all corporal and material things that are in the World, with the like advantage and pro∣portion. Now what thing can be imagined more wonderful then this? Again, if every one of the Angels (yea though it be the least Angel among them all) be more beautiful and goodly to be∣hold then all this visible World; what a glo∣rious sight shall it be then to see such a number of beautiful Angels, to see the perfections and

offices that every one hath in that high and glo∣rious City? there do the Angels go as it were in Embassages, are exercised in their Ministry, there the Principalities and Thrones triumph, there do the Cherubims give light, & the Seraphims burn with fervent love: All of that heavenly Court are perpetually singing Praises and Hallelujahs to God Almighty, and to the Lamb that sits on the Throne for ever. Oh what honour is this which God will do to his Children hereafter, when he shall exalt them to so high a dignity, as to place them among the Angels in Heaven, and make them like unto the Angels of God?

CHAP. XXII.

SECT. I. Of the Saints mutual knowledg of each other in Heaven.

FInally, the Saints shall know each other, the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, and People of God in all Ages and Nations; the Saints shall behold numberless hosts and troops of glorified Pieces, redeemed Saints, in that highest Orb and Region of glory; there they shall behold the general Assembly and Church of the first-born, whose names are now written in Heaven, Heb. 12.23. immediately illuminated, studying, preaching, and praising Christ for ever∣more. There you shall see Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob, and all the Prophets, in the Kingdom of God, saith our Saviour, Luke 13.28.

It was propounded as a doubt to Martin Luther,* 1.100 a little before his Death-bed, Whether glo∣rified Saints should have mutual knowledg of each other? he thus resolved his Friends, that as Adam knew his Wife in Paradise, when she was first presented to him; and as St. Peter, ravished with a heavenly vision at the Transfiguration of Christ, Matth. 17.4. took notice of Moses and Elias, when (as Tertullian saith) he never saw so much as any of their Pictures,* 1.101 the Law pro∣hibiting such things to the Jews; if in this short taste of glory, he and the other two Disciples with him, had a knowledg of these glorified Saints, then doubtless when the Saints shall enjoy fulness of glory, they shall have a clearer know∣ledg of each other.

As we think it reasonable to conclude the Soul to be immortal, because it desireth to be so, be∣fore it be enflamed by any studied notions and apprehensions of eternity; so with equal proba∣bility, we may prefigure and delineate some parts or shadows of our future happiness, being guided by those innate and universal propensions which encline every Soul to desire and wish the same thing. Among those transcendent desires which issue from our natures, this is one, that those acquaintances which were virtuously begun on

Earth, may be renewed and perfected in Heaven. This desire was once of so great authority, that former ages had respect unto it; for when they found it easier to overcome all other terrors of death, then that one of an everlasting absence from a Friend, they were careful to chear a de∣parting Soul, by assuring it, that the happiness of the other World, next to the contemplation of the Divine nature, consisted in the gaining of new, and the indissoluble recovery of old ac∣quaintance. What they made a part of their hap∣piness, we admit but as an appendix to ours; and as we think it not safe to joyn any Creature unto God, to make up the object of our happi∣ness, so we believe it would derogate from the glory of his goodness, if particular Souls, like so many divided channels, should have their own banks full, but yet be debarred from all com∣merce, and mutual knowledg of each others blessedness.

Our Creed moreover calls upon us to believe a communion of Saints; which if it be a matter of our faith here, it must be an object of our knowledg hereafter; if we must believe that there are some who sincerely communicate with us in the faith in this life, then we shall hereafter clearly know who were our fellow-members in that communion; and as faith it self shall be done away by evidence, so shall that communion which is here by faith, be hereafter perfected by that communion which shall be by vision.

Those who have laboured to find out the most intimate and peculiar properties of the humane nature, do affirm, that it was made and fashioned for Society. Now as Divines use to say, That Christ came not to abolish, but to perfect the Law; so may we pronounce of our blessedness in Heaven, that it shall not extinguish, but establish, confirm and perfect those desires which are ap∣propriated to the Soul, as reasonable and im∣mortal. If the Soul may carry with it a sociable inclination, then may it for the use and exercise of this desire be admitted to the knowledg of other Souls, and of those especially with whom it had sojourned on Earth, that like fellow-travellers, who have been equally afflicted with the difficulties of the way, they may thenceforth interchangeably communicate their joys, spring∣ing from their present rest and peace.

Object. But it may be said, that in our union unto God shall be supplied all imaginable contents; and that the Souls of the blessed shall be held in so great admiration, as that they cannot admit the mixture of any second or less joy.

Resp. Though this opinion seem specious, and agreeable to reason, yet we must consider, that as in the Divine nature we admit no useless At∣tributes, (such as the Divine justice and mercy would be, if there were not a Creature to ex∣ercise them on) so likewise in the Humane, we must either say it hath no aptness eternally to de∣sire or rejoyce in the good of another, (which a

sociable nature inwardly abhorreth) or else we must allow it an object whereon to practice its endless love and joy. This love we conceive shall be the perfection of that desire which was begun on Earth, but always mixt with fear and jealousie (being subject to those common infirmities, which attend both the powers & acts of the Soul in this life) and this joy we believe shall succeed in the place of that condolency and compassion, which on Earth we sustained one for another. This love therefore, and this joy, must have such an object, as was once the subject of our fear and com∣passion, which cannot be either God or Angels, but a Creature only, of the same nature and con∣dition with us. These are perhaps but wild and ranging conceits, which assert that there is no nature, but it is capable of happiness; no happi∣ness without society, no society without a plura∣lity of individuals of the same kind. Yet by the power of these imaginations, did that Disputer in Plutarch create a plurality of Worlds for society sake; and by them was Hortensius in Tully puz∣zelled, and made to doubt, how God may be said to be blessed, if alone. And I think that those rude and untaught ages, measuring the blessedness of God by what themselves most de∣lighted in, did easily admit a multitude of gods to prevent a solitude, which in their belief over∣throweth all happiness. Though these opinions relish of the blindness of the age that brought them forth; yet as the darkest Bodies by collision

may send forth some light, so out of these asser∣tions some sparks and glimmerings of truth may be produced; for though in God there be an in∣finite fulness to satisfie an infinite desire, and so he alone may suffice to make himself happy, yet is he pleased not so precisely to love himself, as not also to be delighted with the blessedness of his Creature: and if God (who is essentially bles∣sed, and hath all blessedness in himself) be not∣withstanding by his own goodness, enclined to delight in the glory of a poor Creature, it must needs be, that Man, who is the image of this good∣ness, hath imprinted and stamped upon his na∣ture, a proneness to delight in the blessedness of his fellow-creature, as well as a desire to see him∣self happy.

SECT. II.

Object. BƲt it may be feared that our knowledg of one another, and our mutual delight in each other, may beget some interruptions in our union with God, taking the Soul aside from the con∣templation of its Maker, to gaze on and delight in the beauty of a Creature; therefore those acts of the Soul, love and joy, seem not to be admitted, being but digressions of the Soul, and an allay to our bles∣sedness.

Sol. This fear, I think, will vanish, so soon as we consider, that it is the same beauty which we behold in God, and love in the Creature, though

of a different splendor; and as the Stars, the Air and Water, by their borrowed lights do raise us to behold the Sun, the fountain of all that light; so wheresoever the rayes of glory are cast, (whe∣ther on Angels or Men) we cannot but behold God shining on each nature, and confess him to be all in all. Moreover, it is not a glance, but a fixing on the Creature (which in that state is not to be feared) can endanger our happiness, otherwise neither God nor Angels are truly bles∣sed; for the Divinity of former ages would per∣swade us, that God as it were cometh daily out of himself to behold his own image in the Angels, and the Angels look upon the same resemblance as cast from them, and reflected by the Soul; but neither God nor Angels are so ravished with those dimmer beauties, as to dwell upon them, but do suddenly return back to the Fountain, God to himself, and the Angels unto God.

But to let pass these excusable conjectures, let us remember upon what ground we are solicited to believe, how the Angels are daily conversant about us in acts of knowledg and love in their ministerial employments, in fulfilling the Divine justice & mercy; yet notwithstanding these seem∣ing interruptions of their vision, they continue blessed. And we believe also that Christ himself (though in perfect glory) continueth his inter∣cession for us, which being an act of mediation between divers parties, cannot be performed without a knowledg and love of those for whom

he interceedeth. And though it may be con∣ceived, that in God there can be no intermission in the contemplation of himself, because by the same single act, he at once beholdeth himself, and all things else; yet we must not imagine such an infinite comprehensiveness in the creature, as to be able within the same Act to involve and circumscribe all that may be known or desired in every object, for this were to extol the Creature above it self, making it equal with God. The Angels therefore, and Christ himself as man, have their actions bounded; and those acts by which they immediately behold and love the Creature, are not the same by which they immediately con∣template, and necessarily love the Creator. Wherefore I think we may without rashness be∣lieve, that our blessedness, which is a cleer and everlasting contemplation of the Godhead, may consist with such inferiour acts in the soul, as are requisite to constitute a blessed society among the Saints.

SECT. III.

IT was no small contentment and satisfaction to S. Paul, that he should meet his beloved Thessalonians in the presence of Christ: for thus much seemeth to be intimated by that his exult∣ing demand: What is our hope, or joy, or Crown of rejoycing, are not ye even in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? And the

same Apostle, when he would set bounds and limits to a Christians sorrowing for the dead, tells us, that we must not sorrow, as those that have no hope (such as are all that are imbued with those Epicurean principles of the Soul's Mortality, and it's resolution into nothing) such mens sorrow finds no case, because that good whose absence they bemoan, in their opinion is irrecoverably lost: and to shake hands with a dying friend, is with them as much as to bid them everlastingly farewel: But a Christian's tears (like drops from a cloud) may sometimes fall; they must not, like a River, be alwayes running. He may sorrow because he is parted from some good (suppose from a loving friend) bur this sorrow must be tempered with this hope, that he shall see his friend again, and that good which as yet continues the object of his sorrow (while considered as stoln and taken from him) must after a while become the subject of his hope and comfort, being put in mind, that God who for a time laid it out of his sight, will restore it back again unto him. This the Apostle allow∣eth to be his meaning, by bidding us, comfort one another with these words: for if otherwise, it would fully answer the Apostle's meaning, to say it is enough, that God raise those that sleep to glory, though he exile them from a mutual knowledge of each other. Then let us see what comfort this interpretation can afford to a pensive and lamenting Soul, which may suggest unto it

self on this wise; God will restore my friend un∣to himself, but not to me; he will bring back the Jewel into the Cabinet, but will lock it up from my sight; he vvill restore the thing, but not repair my loss: and it seemeth all one to me to lose him in an eternal nothing, and not to be allowed to know that he is a glorious somthing; now what comfort can we place in such a medi∣tation?

This perswasion of a restauration to a mutual knowledge of each other, containeth also some advantages and motives to a Godly life; for the fear of being eternally divided from those I sincerely love on earth, will draw me to an imitation of their sanctity, if herein they be ex∣emplary: or give me the courage to lead them into the way, if their course be irregular and exorbitant: for those who unfeignedly desire to meet at the journeys end, will study to pre∣serve each other in the way: and they who would wear the same crown of rejoycing in the presence of Christ, will assist each other here, that they perish not in the agony and conflict: it gives an edge and sharpness to those affections which are employed for each others good, when we consider that that heat and fervency, which they spent in desire and travel for one another, shall be turn'd into an excess and extre∣mity of delight in each other.

The Egyptians embalmed the Carcasses of the dead, to preserve them, if it were possible,

through all the parts of time; being guided by an opinion, that so long as the body continued undissolved, the soul would not forsake the earth, but continue hovering about the place where the bodies lay: in like manner the Souls of men, which by many kinds of association may be united into one masse and heap, and as it were become parts of one another, will con∣tinue the more vigilant and active for each others everlasting welfare, so long as they are perswaded against an eternal divorce and dissolution, and do contrarily believe they shall be rewarded by a sense of each others happiness; and that that union which is among themselves (as of one member to another) shall not be dissolved, but perfected by that union which shall unite them to Christ as to their Head, and through him un∣to God.

CHAP. XXIII. Of the perfection and purity of the wills of glorified Saints.

IN the next place I will shew how the wills and affections of glorified Saints shall be raised to a fulness of glorious perfection: now it is evi∣dent, God must be first gloriously united to the Soul and her powers, before she can by her un∣derstanding see, and by her will and affections

love and embrace God: in Heaven God shall be immediately united to the very nature of the Soul her self, which is chief in man, yea formally man, which can be no otherwise done than by a glorious change and immutation made in the Soul it self, by communicating to her by grace, a glorious and perfect estate of participated eternity, which is the root and foundation of all that most glorious exercise about which the Saints in Heaven are conversant.

This being so; the wills and affections of glorified Saints shall be perfectly pure and holy, without the least tincture of defilement; they shall be holy as God is holy; not infinitely holy, but perfectly holy, without mixture of any thing contrary to holiness: their wills shall suit and meet exactly in every thing, with the pure and holy will of God; they shall will what he willeth, and nothing but what he willeth; their wills shall give full consent to the will of God in all things: There shall be compleat holiness in the will: our wills (like to the will of Christ) shall be altogether conformable to the will of God; we shall fulfil the will of God: the con∣formity of our wills to God, is the glory of our wills, which in this life are like Nebuchadnezzar's Image, partly clay, partly gold; here we are partly regenerate, partly unregenerate, but in Heaven we shall be all gold, all holy: glorified Saints shall never find any grudgings of their old diseases (sin and corruption in them) in the

least degree; they shall see themselves perfectly cured of all the sicknesses and distempers of their Souls: they are no longer constrained to resist the motions of the flesh, because this Rebel is subdued, and losing in the resurrection what ever they drew from Adam in their birth; they have now none but just and holy inclinations: the Spirit of a glorified Saint is now no longer busied to maintain a war against sin, because this monster cannot set its foot within the gates of Heaven; he groaneth not now under the revolt of his passions, his will cleaves to God as strongly as he can desire.

CHAP. XXIV.

SECT. I.

MOreover, the affections of the Saints in glory are much enlarged, and are most quick and lively; our affections in this life are subject to distractions, but then they shall be composed and rightly placed.

1. In Special; the Saints shall love God with all their hearts,* 1.102 with all their souls, with all their strength: from the cleer contemplation of God presently there ariseth in the blessed a love, which most powerfully draws them unto God: and the greater any good

is that is propounded, so much the more strongly doth it draw the affection to it, especially if it be cleerly discerned. But God is a good of infinite excellency, containing all things which the Saints can desire, and is cleerly discerned by them, therefore he most strongly draws their affections to himself. They shall in Heaven see so much excellency in God, and be so fill'd with his love, that their hearts shall be full of holy flames of love toward him: there shall be nothing either within them or without them to draw away their love from God, or lessen or cool their affections toward him: all things that they shall see or hear, or understand, shall serve to fill them with his love, and keep up and confirm their love in the height of it for ever: they shall be so fully like to God, that it shall be im∣possible for them not to love him perfectly: God shall dwell in them, and they shall wholly pos∣sess him; and they shall dwell in God, and he shall wholly possess them: they shall be knit to each other in mutual love to all eternity. The principal employment of the Saints in Heaven is to love God; and all the vertues in Heaven are useless, except charity, and enjoyment, which is the rest of love, and is also its recompence, saith S. Augustine; for as desires do disquiet lovers, when they possess not what they long for, so being now in the possession of him whom they love, they are satisfied.

The love of the Saints in Heaven is much perfecter than ours upon the earth: whatever pains we take to love God on earth, our love is never without some notable defect to enfeeble it▪ i•• is blind, because faith that enlightens it, is (as one saith) a candle whose lamp is alwayes surrounded with a cloud or smoak: it is faint and drooping, because we possess not the supream good we passionately affect, and being separated from him, we are as well his Martyrs, as his Lovers. Here our love is also divided, because self-love is not yet extinguished; and the greatest Saints, if they mannage not their intentions well, do rob God of all the love wherewith they indulge themselves. In brief! it is almost ever interested: we love not God so purely, as not to seek our own pleasure with it, when we seek his glory; and we are more earnest with God for riches and honours than for heavenly graces: but the Saints in glory have not one of these im∣perfections in their love; their love is not blind, because they love him whom they see; and the brightness of glory that illuminates them, is a ray dispelling all the darkness of their under∣standings: it languisheth not as ours doth, nor spends it self in its longings, because they possess what they love, and being intimately united to God, are eternally inseparable from him: their love is not divided, because self-love enters not into the celestial Jerusalem, but is quenched by the flames of true charity; finally it is not

interested, because God's glory is the end of their desires, yea in Heaven it self they seek not so much their own happiness as his glory.

SECT. II.

11. AS the Saints shall love God entirely, so they shall love each other in the Lord: they shall see the Image of God shining cleerly and gloriously in each other, and so shall love God in each other, and each other in God: Peter shall admire Christ in the glory conferred on Paul, and Paul shall admire Christ in the glory conferred on Peter: The Saints shall find them∣selves all agreeing in God; and so among them∣selves, they shall see nothing in any of their brethren, but what shall be most lovely, nothing to estrange their hearts, or damp their affections: they shall not be capable of any touch of envy, for every one of them shall be full of glory and blessedness: And albeit some have higher de∣grees of glory than others, yet this causeth no emulation or jealousie among them. The variety of the world (as one observeth) is one of its rarest ornaments; the flowers which checker a walk, do embellish it: the Stars which make an hundred several figures in the firmament, do set a lustre upon its beauty; neither doth any thing make a Countrey more pleasant, than the diversity of the parts that compose it: the riches and glory of a state dependeth upon its diver∣sity:

if all subjects were of the same condition, there would neither be diversion for strangers, nor accommodation for the naturals. The or∣nament and profit of the body politique appea∣reth in this agreeable mixture of rich and poor, Artists and Husbandmen, Souldiers and Mer∣chants, Magistrates and Ministers; but here is the mischief that attends it, that this variety of conditions which begets its beauty, breeds en∣vy and jealousie among the subjects: for as their goods are not common, because their conditions are different, one is jealous of what another possesseth. Great men are apt to be proud, and to despise their inferiours: Men of low degree are envious, and murmure at those that are above them. But in Heaven the difference of degrees produceth their beauty, and giveth no occasion of envy or jealousie; the Crowns of glorified Saints are proportionable to their labours and sufferings for Christ. They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the Sun, Dan. 12. Peace bears rule among all the Inhabitants of Heaven: love which uniteth them renders their content∣ment common, though the justice that reward∣eth them, maketh their condition gradually dif∣ferent. Every one is glad of anothers happiness; and without interesting in any one, they find that the felicity of particulars contributeth to that of the publique. In Heaven love is in its full perfection,* 1.103 the property whereof is to cause all things to be

common: there all the elect shall be more strait∣ly united to one another, than the Members of one and the same Body, because all shall partici∣pate of the same spirit, which gives unto all one and the same being, one and the same blessed life. What is the cause why the members of one and the same body have so great an unity and love one to another, is it not because they are all partakers of one and the same form? one and the same Soul giveth the same being and life to them all. Now if the spirit of a man hath power to cause so great an unity between the members that are so different in Offices and Natures: is it any wonder, if the Spirit of God Almighty, by whom all the Elect do live (which Spirit is as it were the common soul to them all) should cause a greater and more perfect unity among them, especially considering that the Spirit of God is a more noble cause, and of a more excellent vertue and power, and gives also a more noble being: now if this manner of unity and love do cause all things to be common, as we see in the members of one body, who rejoyce every one at each others felicity as its own: what delight then shall each one of the Elect take in the glory of all the rest, considering that he shall entirely love every one of them as well as himself?

CHAP. XXV.

SECT. I. Of the joy of glorified Saints, what it is, and to what it extendeth it self.

OUt of love floweth joy, which openeth and enlargeth the heart upon the enjoy∣ment of God and Glory: the beatifick joy is as sublime, supernatural and wonderful, as the beatisick Vision of God, and Love it self is; for these are altogether equal and commensurate among themselves, as well by intensive perfe∣ction, as by eminency of nature or specifical per∣fection: so much do the Saints love as they see, and so much do they rejoyce as they love. The chief object which delighteth the Saints is of in∣finite goodness, beauty and sweetness, compre∣hending in it self the goodness, beauty and sweetness of all things: and this joy of the Saints doth so far surpass all worldly joys, which are taken in, either by the sense or understanding, as the Vision of God in Heaven doth excell all the knowledge we have here upon earth, and as much as an infinite good doth exceed a finite good: for that joy is infinitely greater and sweeter than all the joyes of this life. I say infi∣nitely, so that although all the joyes of the world, and all the delights of the senses (which may be had in this life) should be gathered to∣gether in one, and should be augmented never

so much, yet could they never be equalled with the joyes of glorified Saints, because this joy is of an higher kind, viz. Divine, and the sweet∣ness of it is of a far other nature than the sweet∣ness of earthly joyes. This will the more evi∣dently appear, if we consider the eminency, va∣riety, and stability of the good things in which the Saints in glory do rejoyce.

1. First, and above all things they do rejoyce in the intrinsecal good things of God, which are infinitely abundant in him, viz. because they see him to be of infinite power wisdom and goodness, they see him to be eternal and incom∣prehensible, they see him to be the Author of all things, the end of all things, the preserver of all things: they see all good, sweetness and blessedness most abundantly contained in him; and their joy is the greater, because they see him possess all these things after a most eminent man∣ner; for as they love God incomparably more than themselves, so do they rejoyce more in those eminencies that are in him, than in all their own blessedness. If the joyes that the Saints have here in this vale of tears be many times unspeak∣able, and far greater than all worldly joyes, how incomparably greater then shall their joy be, when it shall be said to every faithful Soul, Enter thou into thy Masters joy, Math. 25. Then they shall as it were enter into an ocean and abysse of joyes, and therewith shall be compassed about on every side, and dwell eternally in it.

2. They shall rejoyce in all the extrinsecal good things of God: They shall rejoyce in that glory which God hath from the perpetual praises, benedictions, and thanksgivings of all his Saints; they shall rejoyce in that glory which accrueth to him from the salvation of his elect Children, and from the torments of the wicked, which they do and shall suffer in the Prison of Divine Justice to all eternity: and all this joy of theirs ariseth from their love to God: as when a Kings Son rejoyceth in the wisdom, power, riches and glory of his Father, without having any respect at all to his own profit or honour, but meerly out of love to his Father, and for his Father's sake: Of this joy Anselm thus speaketh: so much as any one loveth another,* 1.104 so much he re∣joyceth in his good: and as in Heaven, every one will incom∣parably love God more than him∣self, and all others with himself; so he will rejoyce more in the blessedness of God, than in his own happiness, and of all others with him.

As for their joy, it shall be most full and abound, a perpetual feast of marrow and fatness; in God's presence is fullness of joy, and at his right hand pleasures for evermore. Psal. 16.11. S. John saith, That which we have seen and heard, that we declare unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with

the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ; and these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full, 1 Joh. 1.3, 4. This seems to assure us, that Christians in this life may have a fulness of joy through communion and fellowship with God the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, viz. a fulness of eminency, not of perfection; such a fulness of joy as surpasseth all sinful and worldly joyes, such as overcometh all worldly losses and sorrows: how much more in the life to come shall their full enjoyment of God cause in them an absolute and most perfect fulness of joy, as much joy as their hearts can hold? their hearts also being enlarged, and made capa∣ble of abundance of joy unspeakable and full of glory: they shall have joy then, not that shall overcome all sorrow onely, but they shall be altogether free from all mixtures of sorrow; never a cloud of sadness or discontent shall ever in the least measure eclipse or darken their joy: what are all our terrene joyes? they are but as a dream to this fulness of joy that is in the pre∣sence of God in Heaven.

SECT. II.

MOreover, besides this, which is also un∣speakable, although inferiour to those beforementioned.

1. They do rejoyce in their own happiness, which (as it is very great) so shall their joyes

be multiplied accordingly: and first of all and above all, they shall rejoyce in this, that they are come to the sight and possession of God, and are made partakers of his glory and blessed∣ness: for if mortal men in this life having found a great treasure, or coming to possess a rich in∣heritance, or having obtained a Kingdom they looked not for, or some earthly and frail good (which yet draweth a thousand cares with it, and lasteth but a short time) are so exceedingly affected with joy, that they are not able to con∣tain themselves, and are even transported be∣yond themselves with an extasie of joy; with what joy then (think you) shall the Saints be affected, when they shall come to the possession of an infinite good, which excludeth all solli∣citude, and wherein all riches, all honours, all dignities, all beauty, all sweetness (and whatso∣ever the mind of man can desire) is most abun∣dantly contained: and that which addeth to this joy is, that they shall see the possession of this good to be most firm and sure, and to abide for ever, without any change or alteration: therefore upon a double account their joy shall be incomparably greater than all the joyes of this world, viz. because the good which they shall possess, shall be infinitely greater and more sublime, than all the good things of this life, and they shall also have an everlasting enjoyment thereof.

2. They shall likewise rejoyce in the good

things of the mind, and chiefly in the perfection of all their graces, and that cleer knowledg they shall have of all things, which shall wonderfully delight them. They shall also be much affected with joy from the consideration of the evils and dangers (as well temporal as eternal) which they shall then perceive themselves to have escaped, from the danger whereof they shall see themselves to be secure for ever: and beholding the horrible fire of Hell, and the numberless multitudes of those that are cast into everlasting burnings, and the danger to which themselves were exposed, how shall their hearts be fill'd with joy, upon the meditation of God's infinite mercy, by which they were saved from everlast∣ing destruction, and carried in safety into the Port of eternal blessedness?

3. They shall likewise rejoyce in the glory of their bodies, when they shall perceive their bodies to shine as the Sun, to be swift as it were like lightening, to be like a Spirit immortal, in∣corruptible, impassible.

4. They shall rejoyce in the amiableness of their habitation, seeing themselves now transla∣ted from Earth to Heaven, into the glorious Kingdom of Heaven, into the Paradise of all delights, into the Region of light, into the Vision of peace, into the Land of the living, into the celestial Jerusalem, into the place of the Blessed, a place abounding with all delights, and with all good things, and void

of all discommodity, grief and sorrow: out of every one of these good things of their own ariseth to them unspeakable joy.

SECT. III.

FUrthermore, they shall rejoyce every one in the good things of each other, and in the felicity of all their companions; for they shall most ardently love all as the Sons of God, and their own Brethren and Sisters, and fellow Heirs, and withall they shall rejoyce in their splendour, glory, excellency, wisdom, vertues, blessedness, as in their own, and that much more than any Parent in this life can rejoyce in the felicity of his Children, or one Friend in the prosperity of another.

Quest. But with what affection shall the Parent and the Child, the Husband and Wife, and one Friend greet another in Heaven?

Sol. We must not surely imagine, that any of these conjugal or paternal affections, which had their consummation on Earth, can be of any use in Heaven, nor that there shall be any return of by-past and mortal affections towards Friends, Kindred and Children: but as the body must put on incorruption and immortality, e're it can be a fit companion for the Soul; so must the soul likewise be devested of all such desires, as are apt again to wed it to earthly and transitory delights, before it can be received into the

blessed communion of the Saints: and as the Soul shall assume the hand, the eye, and every member of the body unto a participation of glo∣ry, without soliciting them again to undergo the fore-past drudgeries in the flesh; so the Father and the Child, and one Friend may behold ano∣ther without the intimation of such duties, or any resultance of such mortal desires as are implied in those relations.

But as the Soul is permitted to resume its own body, rather than another, and reason exacts it should gratifie that flesh, whose inmate it had been, rather than another: so likewise those persons whom some nearer relations had former∣ly united, may be conceived to retain so much partiality, in the dispensation of their joy, as in the first place to rejoyce, that they are again united in the participation of glory, excluding none from being an argument of their joy, but preferring some in the order of their rejoycing: but it may be that this affection must comply with the justice of the divine bounty, and that we shall there bestow a greater measure of our joy, where he hath been pleased to confer a greater portion of his glory. It would seem unreasonable that the Soul alone should inherit that glory which was procured perhaps by the torments and sufferings of the body, as in holy Confessors and Martyrs; and the same reason which makes the Soul and Body sharers of the same happiness, begets a mutual claim among the Saints to each

others joy; for one man may be a powerful In∣strument of another's blessedness; the Father's care may preserve the Child, and the piety of the Son may enflame the Father; the Mothers tears may reduce the perverted Son, the believ∣ing Husband may save the unbelieving Wife; and one Friend may with happy success, instruct, ad∣monish, rebuke, and pray for another. Now is it more reasonable to think that these immortal benefits and obligations shall be promiscuously and undiscernably swallowed up in the Sea of glory, or to say that these parties whom it may concern, shall see each other face to face; some gratefully rejoycing that the Instruments of their Salvation, like Stars of a greater magnitude are more eminently glorious: others alwayes re∣joycing in beholding their labours so highly bless'd, as to have procured the endless bliss of their fellow-creatures. Our Saviour tells us, what joy there shall be for the conversion of a Sinner, in the presence of the Angels, who by reason of their nature are strangers to us: if Angels, who are in the presence of God, and but of a remote alliance to us, be as it were turned aside from the contemplation of the chiefest good, to behold with joy a repenting Sinner, shall not men who are of the same stock and li∣neage, be much more allowed some expressions of joy (suitable to the greatness of the wonder) when they behold one another, no longer repent∣ing Sinners, but glorious Saints.

In those parts of the world near the Line, where the Sun is near them all the year, they are said to have no Winter, the Earth and Trees being alwayes green, as in a perpetual Spring: so the Saints in glory, upon whom the face of God and Christ shall shine for ever, shall never see one cloudy day, one winters night, nor feel any sorrow or discomfort, but shall enjoy a con∣stant plenitude or fulness of joy, as a perpetual Spring for ever. To conclude! the frame of their bodies and spirits, the place of their abode, their company, the objects which they shall see and hear, all things within them and without them shall concur to make their joy compleat, and to cause their hearts to rest in everlasting peace.

CHAP. XXVI.

SECT. I.

AS for the affection of desire, it shall have no place in Heaven: the infinite sweetness which the Saints shall tast in God and Christ, and in the love of God and Christ, shall abundantly satisfie them, and leave no place for desire: their perfect enjoyment of God shall admit no hun∣gring or thirsting after further delights: they shall find it is enough, they shall be fully satisfied, but never cloyed, nor satiated. Whence S. August. saith,* 1.105 such shall that de∣light of beauty in Heaven be, that

it shall be alwayes present with thee, and yet thou never satiated: for if I shall say, Thou shalt not be satisfied, there shall be an hunger and thirst: if I shall say, Thou shalt be satiated, thou wilt fear a cloying there, where shall be neither famine, hunger, nor thirst, nor any te∣dious cloying: to the same pur∣pose Cyprian saith,* 1.106 the Saints shall not onely taste how sweet God is, but they shall be filled with a wonderful sweet∣ness, nothing shall be wanting to them. In Heaven there is no more desire for Christ as a thing absent, the thirst being swallowed up in Christ, the Soul thirsteth no more; Christ being present, their desires are satisfied: God shall be all in all, his presence shall fill and satisfie all the powers and faculties of their Souls.

Holy David having here tasted of God's sweet∣ness, cries out, Whom have I in Heaven but thee, there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee? Psal. 73.25. intimating to us, that he that hath God, hath enough in God: The Soul that pos∣sesseth God in this life, hath recovered that great loss that fell upon Adam, and all Man-kind by fin: Man by sin lost God, now he that hath God in Christ, hath recovered this great loss: Man in his first estate had enough by enjoying God; now he that recovereth this loss, wanteth nothing, for he findeth enough in God. And although Adam in innocence enjoyed many other things besides God, as perfect health, possession

of the Garden of Eden, and full authority over the Creatures, and albeit these things were com∣fortable in a degree in their kind, yet man's hap∣piness in that state did not consist in possessing these things, but in enjoying God: and all the glory and sweetness, and any thing that was de∣sirable in all these things, was derived meerly and wholly from God. Now whatever God doth here give to man by the Creature, he will supply in Heaven without the Creature, viz. im∣mediately by himself: if the streams be sweet, how much better is water in the Spring, and purer there? In Heaven the Saints shall want nothing, yet shall they enjoy nothing there but God; he will be all to them, their drink, their food, their rest, their joy, their pleasure, the height of all their honour, he will be all, and more than all unto them. Which consideration made a devout man meditating hereupon to cry out, Deus meus & omnia, ah! one refreshing of thine,* 1.107 one en∣joyment of thee is a sweet re∣freshing indeed; for to enjoy thee is to enjoy the quintessence of all good. Thou art unto me, O my good God, goodness it self, rest in my labours, pleasure in my grief, security in my cares, and the only true riches in my poverty; thou art my strong Bulwark, against all the furious assaults of men; thou art my refuge whatsoever evil doth oppress me; and finally, Thou art all unto me, whatsoever I can wish for, or desire: where∣fore

then when we come to Heaven, we shall not need to seek to quench our thirst with any stream, when we have so chrystal a Spring-head or foun∣tain as this, where we may lye down and drink our fills: in having and enjoying God, we shall have whatsoever we can desire: then the Lord will wholly frame the hearts of his Children ac∣cording to his own mind, that whatsoever is pleasing to him shall be delightful to them; the heart shall then be kept in from wandring any more after vain and sensual delights; and the Soul being wholly conformed to God, it hath whatever it can desire.

SECT. II.

ANd as for the affections of fear and sorrow, and anger, they shall have no place in Hea∣ven: for then they shall be set far above the fear of all evil; the Saints being possessed of an infi∣nite good, which is God himself, for their portion, they shall have no cause then to fear any evil; there is no evil can hurt them, for no evil shall be able to reach them that are in possession of him that is an infinite good: they are also pos∣sessed of God (the infinite good) in perpetuity; they have him in everlasting possession: for otherwise, although they need not fear any evil while they are possessed of him, yet they might fear the loss of him, and their woful separation from him, and then they should lye open to all

sorts of evils; therefore to prevent this fear, the Lord hath betrothed them to himself for ever, and hath given himself to them in Marriage, and that in an everlasting covenant, and will never be divorced from them, but be theirs for ever and ever.

The graces of Repentance, Mortification, Self-denial shall have no place in Heaven, which are of great use here in the way to Heaven: there shall be no sense of evil to be sorrowed for, nor sin to be repented of, nothing distasteful to provoke their anger, or to discompose those blessed Spirits that are above; there shall be a perfect harmony between God and them.

Neither shall there be any use of those graces of Faith and Hope in Heaven. S. Paul tells us, Now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity: why greater than the other, but because this abideth immor∣tal for ever? In Heaven instead of believing we shall see; here the object of faith is things not seen; the thing promised, but not yet performed; now in the life to come, when all things that are promised are fully performed to us, and possessed by us, there is no use of faith, in relation to these things. —So for Hope, when all the glory of Heaven is fully enjoyed, that the Saints hope for, there is an end of Hope in reference to the same things: the affection of Hope ceaseth not, until the good that is desired and hoped for, be ob∣tained, and made present; but that good thing

being had and attained unto, then the affection of Hope ceaseth, for what we have and enjoy we hope not for,* 1.108 Rom. 8.24, 25. Therefore, saith August. Hope is a Child of Faith, by which man hopeth (from him whom he knoweth) for that which yet he hath not: Now when the good that we hoped for is obtained, Hope doth end and cease. Yet notwithstanding, although Faith, Hope, and Patience, shall cease in respect of their objects, yet they are eternal in respect of their fruits, Heb. 6.12. The Apostle stirring up the Hebrews to walk after the examples of those that are now in glory, speaks thus; Be ye followers of them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises. Those things that heretofore were not seen by them but by an eye of Faith, they are now in full possession of, they do inherit the promises: on the other side, they have no more sufferings to endure, therefore there is no more use of patience; but the fruit of those graces which they sought for, that they now inherit and enjoy. S. Paul tells us, Gal. 6. that he that soweth to the Spirit shall reap life everlasting. When the Husbandman soweth his seed in the Earth, the seed dieth, and is dis∣solved in the ground, there it lies hid, he sees no more seed till the harvest cometh, but then he reapeth many Bushels for one: so he that soweth to the spirit, worketh in the strength of those graces, shall reap life everlasting: he

shall have no use of those graces in the life to come, but reap the fruit of it, even life eternal: when the Saints come to possess Heaven as a por∣tion cast out by God's own lot for them from all eternity, they shall for ever enjoy the fruit of their piety, and the end of their Faith and Hope: Oh how sweet shall the remembrance of their work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of Hope be to all eternity?

CHAP. XXVII. Of the Adjuncts of the glory of Heaven.

HAving spoken of the Circumstances and sub∣stance of the glory of the Saints in Heaven, in the next place I shall treat of the adjuncts thereof.

1. The glorious state of the Sons of God is a state of liberty, Rom. 8.21. I will shew in what respects it is a state of liberty.

I. A liberty from all subjection, Natural, Ser∣vile, Magistratical; in this state of liberty all yokes shall be broken to pieces; Fathers shall no more exercise their paternal authority, and Sons shall not be under their command; men shall be no more servants to men, the highest Potentates shall no more exercise authority over men: as it is said of Marriage, They shall neither marry nor be given in marriage; so I may say of subjection,

they shall neither command nor obey in the resurrection, 1 Cor. 15.24. He shall put down all rule, and all authority and power. Christ will put down all the authority which Fathers have over their Children, which Masters have over their Servants, which Princes have over their Subjects and Vassals, all the authority which both the Enemies and Persecutors have over the Church; then it shall have no more nursing Fa∣thers and Mothers; all Crowns and Scepters shall be cast down at the feet of Christ, he will put them down, the Greek word is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, ener∣vabit, he will at the last day put them down, not onely that they shall not prevail, but that they shall be utterly abolished.

II. They shall be delivered even from that sweet and gracious subjection to Christ as King and Mediator; Christ shall rule over his body, not as Mediator, but as God; he himself will lay down the Crown of his Mediatorship, and deliver up his whole government into the hands of God, 1 Cor. 15.24, 28. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then &c. When Christ hath levelled all authority with the ground, and shall have trodden down all his Enemies, then he will rule no more as Mediator, but give up the Kingdom to God the Father, and God will be all in all, he will immediately govern all his Saints.

III. A liberty from all spiritual Tyranny in divers respects.

1. It is a liberty from the Tyranny of Sin: Sin though it doth not rule in the Godly as a King, yet as a Tyrant: though the Saints do not, and never will sell themselves to work evil, yet while they are in this body they are sold un∣der sin: no slavery is more intollerable to a Holy man, than this slavery to sin; it is a Godly man's hell to be under the Tyrannical power of any lust: Slavery to Pharaoh is liberty, compared to slavery to pride, to worldly-mindedness, or to any lust whatsoever. It was the doom of a Godly Martyr to have a dead man chained to him, his eyes to the dead man's eyes, his breast to the dead man's breast, that he might perish by the stench of the dead Carcass. Such is a Godly man's present condition to be tyed to the body of sin, which is a very death to him in whom is the life of grace. Now the state of glory will set all the Children of God at liberty from this thraldome: sin will then be put off, when glory is put on: when the new man is perfectly renewed in respect of degrees and parts, the old man which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts, shall be perfectly destroyed in respect of presence and operation: in the state of glory they will not be afraid of sinning, such will their liberty be from sin; they shall be as free from all sin as the Sun from the least shadow.

2. It is a state of liberty from all tokens, effects, yea fears of the wrath and displeasure of God: Now and then God writes bitter things against

his people in this life, and makes them his mark, to shoot the arrows of his displeasure into their very Consciences. What doleful complaints have the Godly made, and still do make of God's dealings with them? some of them live in Bon∣dage to the fear of God's wrath all the dayes of their lives: Now there is no liberty from the fears of God's displeasure in this life, so long as there is the remnant of sins within them; while we have a body of sin within us, we shall have a miserable body: now in the state of glory they shall enjoy a perfect liberty from wrath, and all their chains of fears shall be knockt off; the glorified shall no more fear wrath, than the glo∣rified shall hope for favour; they shall no more dread Hell, than the damned truly desire Hea∣ven; their perfect sense of God's love toward them, and their perfect love of God will cast out all these fears: the state of glory is a fearless estate; as far above fear as Heaven above earth; the mountain of glory cannot be removed with the greatest tempest of the fears of any evil.

3. It is a state of freedom from all afflictions: now afflictions are compared in Scripture to Bonds, Fetters, Chains, Yokes, and such En∣gines and Instruments of miserable bondage. The evil of sin and afflictions are twins born together, and shall cease and dye together: when the Soul takes her flight to the mountain of glory, she casteth off the mantle of suffering: Glory and misery are as inconsistent together, as the most

contrarious extreams; sooner shall East and West meet in one point, noon and midnight in one moment, than perfection and glory, and the least affliction; Lazarus is now as great a stranger to afflictions, as Dives to pleasures.

4. It is a freedom from all temptations and rage of Satan, it is impossible for the Devil to tempt a man in glory. When man was in a per∣fect state of grace, he tempted him to sin; but when man is in a perfect state of glory, he cannot tempt him; the Devils are cast out of Heaven, never to appear there to tempt any who have made their entrance into it: the Church hath a promise that Satan shall be bound up a thousand years; but then he is bound to eternity: the Devils are now in chains of utter darkness, but through God's permission, Satan's chain is some∣times lengthened; but then no more lengthening: now he walketh up and down assaying to de∣vour, and seeking whom he may devour, but then he shall walk no longer; the Saints shall follow the Lamb wheresoever he goeth, and shall not in all their walks meet with a Devil to tempt them to any sin whatsoever.

5. The state of glory is liberty from death, from the fears of it, and from all things tending to mortality; bondage to death will be swal∣lowed up of this life of liberty; glory is trium∣phant over Death, Hell and the Grave, bidding defiance to them: O Grave where art thou! O Hell where art thou! O Death where art thou!

1 Cor. 15.54, 55. Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire, Rev. 20.14. By Hell (there) we must understand the Grave: Death and the Grave shall be damned as well as the wicked.

6. The state of glory is a liberty from the rage, wrath, and persecution of all the wicked men in the world: their rage and persecution is a bondage and captivity to the Saints, hindring them from serving God with desired freedom: they cannot put forth their godliness, but they expose themselves to the scoffs, hatred, rage, and persecutions of the world; now the state of glo∣ry will put a great gulf between the Godly and the Wicked, which will hinder them from all intercourse: for know, that if the damned could again be in company, or in the place where the godly are, they would persecute them again to the uttermost, though they know they must be damned, and therefore the Devils now hate and tempt them, though they aggravate their own torments.

7. It is a liberty from all imperfections of graces, and weakness in their serving God.

1. From all imperfections of their graces, which in this present life are very imperfect: we know but in part, saith the Apostle: so we believe but in part, we love God but in part, we are Holy but in part, we are zealous for God but in part: there is more doubts and ignorance than know∣ledge,

more unbelief than faith, more want of love than love, there is more sin than grace and holiness: now the state of glory is a state of perfection; we shall know as we are known, our understandings will be enlarged, that we shall know God fully and perfectly, our faith will be turned into sight, our hope into possession: we shall then love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, &c. The Angels are called Seraphims, because (as some say) they burn in love and zeal toward God; so shall all the Saints be filled with this Seraphical love, we shall be as holy as our natures are capable. The Church and peo∣ple of God in this life are compared to the Moon, because of those spots in her, which are imper∣fections; but in the state of glory they are com¦pared to the Sun which hath no spots in it; and as the Prophet speaks of the Sun and Moon, that the light of the Sun shall be seven-fold more re¦splendent than now: so the graces, the holiness of the Saints shall be seven-fold more holy than now they are.

2. It shall be a liberty from all weaknesses and infirmities in serving God, this is the necessary consequent of the former; for the more glorious and holy a man is, the more able he is to serve God, if perfectly sanctified; then he serveth God perfectly: the Angels fulfil the whole will of God, because they are filled with grace; they run, yea, they fly in the wayes of his commande∣ments: this liberty and enlargement shall all the

Saints have in the state of glory: while they are here, they are in bondage to much spiritual deadness, and slothfulness, they pray, they praise God acceptably, though they cannot pray nor praise him perfectly; they may pray and purpose to run the wayes of God's Commandements, but cannot because they are too weak, and are fet∣tered with spiritual slothfulness and deadness: glory will do away all this, and make us as ready and able to do the whole will of God, as Angels do.

8. It is a liberty from all natural clogs which the body in this state of union fastens upon the soul, insomuch that the body is animae ergastulum, the prison of the soul; it is pondus, or onus animae, the burden or weight of the soul; the regenerate soul cannot act vigorously, because the body is so unweildy; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak: but when the soul and body shall be re∣united, and meet in a state of glory, the body will be a nimble handmaid, and pliable to all the motions and commands of the soul: the body then (which is now the souls prison) will be the souls paradise: and both soul and body will act most vigorously; the soul will never tyre out the body, nor will the body clog the soul; they will both be unwearied in their glorious servi∣ces; the body then will be spiritual, though not a spirit, and become immortal, incorruptible, as the soul is.

9. It is a liberty from many duties and services, and

spiritual exercises, which are now required of us; the Saints work shall be lessened in Heaven. The Service of the Church and people of God under the Gospel, is much less than it was under the Law: hence the state of the Church under the pedagogy of the Law is by the Apostle called a state of bondage, a state of subjection, but the state of the Church under the Gospel is called a state of liberty: but when the Church shall be taken up into glory, then their services shall be far less than now they are; many duties and graces shall be done away in Heaven; we shall pray no more for any mercy for our selves; all praying shall be turned into praising of God; we shall not hear the Word, nor receive the Sacraments any more; nor fast and afflict our souls any more; we shall no longer mourn for sin; repentance will be done away, yea faith it self (as many Divines conceive) shall be done away: Pray we shall not, because then we shall never be in want: our souls shall be so abundantly satisfied with the fulness of God's house: we shall mourn and repent no more, because we shall sin no more. Our ser∣vice in the state of glory will be taken up in prai∣sing God, in admiring God, in loving God, rejoy∣cing in God, giving him praise and glory for the riches of his grace toward us in Christ Jesus.

10. In respect of the place, it is a state of liberty indeed: the vast Heaven of Heavens, O ye Saints, shall be the place of your habitation and delight: what is the whole world compared

to it, it is but a narrow prison, an house of cor∣rection, an house of bondage to a gracious spirit, it is but as a Cage to a bird, so is the world to the soul of a Godly man.

11. It is a liberty from all fears or dangers of everlosing their glory and blessedness, which then they shall enjoy; they shall never be afraid of losing God, Christ, Heaven, Happiness, but shall be secured to all eternity, which is the Crown of this glorious liberty of the Children of God. It is a sore thraldome to be perplexed with fears of losing our enjoyments, it imbittereth all our joyes, it is death to a worldling to think he must die, and leave all his riches, honours, friends, delights; much more will it be a very Hell to the afflicted, if they should be afflicted with the fears of losing Heaven: but no such fears or thoughts shall at any time (during eter∣nity) perplex the hearts of the Godly, it casteth out all such fears: they shall see it is impossible for them to lose what they do possess. Notable is that phrase, Luk. 16.26. Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: that if the glorified would get out of Heaven, they cannot come to the damned; and the damned cannot come out of Hell to Heaven; God hath fast bolted the gates of Heaven and Hell with an everlasting decree.

CHAP. XXVIII. Of the eternity of the glory of Heaven.

II. THe second adjunct of this glory is the per∣petuity of it, it shall be everlasting: this is abundantly witnessed in the Scriptures; I give to them eternal life (saith Christ) and they shall never perish, Joh. 10.28. He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath ever∣lasting life, Joh. 5.24. To them who by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality, eternal life, Rom. 2.7. it is called eternal life, eternal glory, eternal salvation, 2 Tim. 2.10. Hebr. 5.9. Hebr. 9.15. The Hebrews when they did speak of eternal life, they would speak in the plural number 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 vitae not vita, lives, not life, implying eternity.

Quest. Here it may be demanded, how the blessed∣ness of the Saints is made perpetual, endless, ever∣lasting? Adam was made perfect, after the Image of God, perfectly blessed, perfectly holy, and yet he fell both from holiness and happiness: this blessed estate of his seemed to have been of very short con∣tinuance; yea, many of the Angels, which were more excellent and glorious than man, and had none to tempt them, yet left their habitation, and fell from this blessed estate; how then cometh it to pass that the happiness of man shall be ever∣lasting?

Resp. For answer hereunto, if I should say, that they shall see God face to face, and so shall be filled with God, and so all occasions of sin, and revolting from God shall be prevented; and they shall be so abundantly satisfied in God, and so invincibly strengthened and confirmed by God dwelling in them, that nothing shall so far pre∣vail over them, as in the least degree to with∣draw their affections from God. I see not how this might suffice: for doubtless the Angels that kept not their first estate, did thus see and enjoy God, yet they fell totally and finally. — There∣fore the sole reason is the will of Almighty God, his infinite goodness, his eternal love toward them, according to which he hath made a cove∣nant of grace with them in his Son, by his pro∣mise and oath, assuring them of eternal life: and this immutable will and love of God declared in the infallible truth of his gracious promise and covenant, is a better and firmer assurance than the highest perfections and excellencies, that any meer creature is capable of: yea a child of God here on earth, having the least measure of true grace mixt with many corruptions, almost stifled with the body of death, opposed, discouraged, discountenanced by a wicked and ungodly world, assaulted by all the powers of darkness, and with numberless temptations, is in a safer condition for perseverance, and is better assured to hold out to eternal life, because of the verity of God's promise, and the firmness of his cove∣nant

grounded upon the rock Christ-Jesus, than one that were by creation perfectly upright and happy, if his holiness and happiness were only in his own keeping, and not established upon this everlasting foundation, the will of God, and the infallibility of his promise. This being the cause, we may also conceive divers holy ends, for which as he doth preserve every child of his by his effectual working power unto salvation, so having brought them thither, he will for ever preserve them in his Heavenly Kingdom. As,

I. That he may have some of the lost seed of Adam to be everlasting Monuments of his rich grace, who to all eternity shall be real demon∣strations of his infinite love, and unspeakable mercy and goodness, in redeeming, justifying, sanctifying, cleansing, and preserving them.

II. That he may be to eternity praised for his glorious victories over all his enemies, that when the Devil and his Angels have used the utmost of their craft, might and malice, when the hands of the world have been hot and smoking with the blood of the Saints, and their hearts sick with blasphemy and malice against Christ and his fol∣lowers, when sin hath thrown out its most deadly poyson, or when death hath been devouring Man-kind so many ages, yet shall the Almighty power of God be so prevalent over all, as to make, and everlastingly to keep his elect in a blessed state; and he in them, and they with him shall ce∣lebrate an eternal and most glorious triumph in the Kingdom of Heaven,

III. That Jesus Christ may be eternally ho∣noured as a Redeemer: God the Father will have the fruit of his Son's purchase to be perpe∣tual and everlasting; he will magnifie the infinite value of that price which Christ hath paid, the infinite vertue of that blood which Christ shed for the redemption of lost souls, by establishing his ransomed ones in everlasting happiness: therefore it is said, He shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all them that do believe, 2 Thes. 1.10. Christ is now very admirable and glorious in the hearts of his redeemed ones, who are illightened with saving knowledge, who have an experimental taste in themselves of the efficacy of his blood, and the fruit of that redemption which he hath wrought: But oh how admirable and glorious shall he then appear, when they shall enjoy the fulness of his redemption in an unchangeable state of blessedness for evermore?

IV. That he may have everlasting objects of his love, to whom he may communicate his goodness, sweetness, fulness; whom he may enrich with the treasures of his Kingdom, feast with his love, beautifie with his salvation, and adorn with the brightness of his glory for ever: and this is that wherein the infinite goodness of God delighteth, even to give forth and to com∣municate it self: such is his blessedness and per∣fection that it is beyond all possibility of addi∣tion; he can receive nothing from any, but

delighteth to give and communicate: and as he is an everlasting fountain of blessedness, so he will have everlasting vessels of honour into whom fulness of blessedness may stream and flow from himself for ever; that we may see our debt of love to Christ is eternal. O how many thousand talents are we owing to Christ, and the longer the Saints enjoy the glory of Heaven through millions of ages, their debt to the Lamb that sitteth on the throne will be the greater: eternal praises can take down nothing of it.

V. God will have some everlastingly to praise and glorifie his name, a consort of Saints, his redeemed ones to joyn with his elect Angels in magnifying his name, exalting his praise, and doing him honour to all eternity. Ransomed ones shall sing the Gospel-Song, Worthy is the Lamb, &c. The Gospel-Tune of the Song of free grace shall be for ever sung in that blessed As∣sembly of the first born, whose names are now written in Heaven.

VI. He will make his Saints everlastingly blessed, even for the Angels sake, who perse∣vered in their integrity and obedience from the first moment of their creation until now, that their joy may be full. This may be collected by way of analogy and proportion from that speech of Christ. I say unto you, that joy shall be in Hea∣ven over one sinner that repenteth, Luk. 15.7, 10. and again, there is joy in the presence of the An∣gels over one sinner that repenteth. If the Angels

do now rejoyce to see their loss in part repaired, and that (instead of their fellow Angels that fell, revolting from God and forsaking them, and now fighting against God, and opposing them in that Ministery wherein they serve him) some of man kind are turn'd unto God by unfeigned repentance, and joyned in communion with them (according to that of Hebr. 12.22. which is spoken to the faithful: ye are come to an innu∣merable company of Angels) I say, if the Angels rejoyce in this, how shall their joy be filled up, to see many thousands of the children of Adam translated to Heaven, and confirmed in the full possession of everlasting glory and happiness?

This being a principal adjunct and qualifica∣tion of that blessedness and salvation, which Christ hath purchased for his people, it may serve to rouze up those, whose hearts and thoughts are chiefly taken up with such tempo∣ral things as are perishing, and of a very short continuance. S. Paul's practice was quite con∣trary, 2 Cor. 4.18. We look not (saith he) at the things which are seen, which are temporal, but at the things which are not seen, which are eternal. Oh that we could be sensible of this extream folly, and learn seriously to consider, what it is for an immortal soul, that must have an everlasting be∣ing and subsistence, chiefly to mind, take care for, and strive for things that last but a short time, when it hath the offer of things eternal; to surfeit on momentany delights, and neglect eter∣nal

fulness of joy; to seek greedily after uncer∣tain and perishing riches, and to neglect the trea∣sures of eternity; to affect vain applause from the short breath of dying men, and never labour to make sure of everlasting glory; to strive to get the friendship of great men, carnal persons, and neglect to have the eternal love of God assured to them, not labouring to enjoy God for ever. This may be much aggravated, if we take in consideration, viz. that the loss of everlasting sal∣vation for the gaining of temporal things, is ac∣companied with everlasting misery and destru∣ction. Is not this then extream folly to forfeit Heaven for Earth, and not onely to lose ever∣lasting salvation for earthly things, but also to bring upon themselves everlasting misery and destruction?

CHAP. XXIX. Of the certainty of the salvation of the Saints.

Ʋse 1. HAving spoken of the Circumstances, substance, and adjuncts of the Saints glory, it will now be necessary that I make some use and improvement of what hath been spoken.

Will God crown his people with glory, and is there such a blessed estate reserved in Heaven for them, as I have shewed at large? This then

in the first place may inform us concerning the certainty of the salvation of the Saints. The sal∣vation of God's Children is so certain, that the Scripture speaks not of it as if it were to come, but as if it were already past or present, even as if it were now done, and not as of a thing to be done: it is usual in Scripture to describe those things which God hath certainly determined, in such a manner as if they were certainly accom∣plished: So S. Paul speaking of the salvation of the Saints, saith, Tit. 3.5. according to his mercy he hath saved us: not he will do it, but he hath done it. By grace ye are saved, Eph. 2.8. not ye shall be, but ye are; whom he hath called, them hath he justified; and whom he hath justified, them also hath he glorified, Rom. 8.30. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tryed, he shall receive the crown of life, Jam. 1.12. From the certainty of future happiness, the Apo∣stle inferreth and concludeth present blessedness; he shall be blessed, therefore he is blessed.

1. The salvation of the Saints is certain if they look to God, or to themselves; to God both in respect of his own purpose, and of Christ's per∣formance. God hath purposed it, therefore it shall inevitably come to pass; all the powers on Earth or Hell shall never be able to divert it: Man's purposes are subject to alteration, God's are not. Balaam himself could say, where he bles∣seth, none can curse, Numb. 23.23. if God hath said it, he will do it; if he hath spoken it, he

will certainly perform it — Certain it is also in respect of Christ's performance, Christ hath per∣formed all that is necessary and sufficient for our salvation; he hath been both our ransome and our purchase; ransomed us from Hell, and pro∣cured for us an inheritance in Heaven. He is called the Lamb slain from the beginning of the world, Rev. 13.8. for, if ye look to the decree and purpose of God, he was so; or if ye look to the merit and efficacy of his sufferings, he was so: To all the faithful that have lived, from the be∣ginning of the world, the suffering and sacrifice of Christ is meritorious, and available, even to them that lived before Christ came into the flesh, as well as to us that live after it: as many as are saved, are saved by it, as S. Bernard wittily speaketh, Mors Christi prosuit, antequam fuit: the death of Christ was profitable, before it was.

2. The salvation of the Saints is certain also if they look to themselves, if they look to what they are, aut re, aut spe, either indeed, or in hope; that is, either to their present estate, or their future.

As to their present estate, God hath already so far given it them, as he hath certainly given the seal and earnest of it to them; they have his Spirit already, that is the seal of their adoption, the earnest of their salvation; and having this, they are sure of the other, as when a man hath his earnest, he is sure of his bargain; and God never

takes this earnest back again, because it is so the earnest of our inheritance,* 1.109 until the redemption of the purchased possession, as that it is an earnest also, that in the mean time God establisheth us in Christ, and that he hath created us even for this very thing, namely to cloath us with immortality and eternal life: Moreover, God in giving earnest to assure the end unto us, doth thereby undertake against all lets and impediments, that should hinder the atchieving of that which is earnested thereby; and therefore as Chrysostom saith, the things pre∣sent which thou hast already attained, do assure unto thee those things which are yet to come: But of this I have spoken before, Chap. 4. And as in respect of their present estate, so in respect of their future hope, as well as their present earnest:* 1.110 their hope of salvation confirmeth their cer∣tainty of it, Rom. 8.24. Ye are saved by hope, saith the Apostle: though hope be properly of future things, yet he speaks of sal∣vation as of a thing present. Indeed it is not with this hope as with worldly hope: worldly hope doth many times fail a man, but this doth never; therefore it is called an anchor, Hebr. 6.19. which hope we have, saith the Apostle, as an an∣chor of the soul, sure and stedfast. Non dixit fun∣damentum, sed anchoram; he did not say a foun∣dation, but an anchor, saith Chrysostom: foun∣dations

are many times so firm, as that they are without any shaking or tottering at all, but it is not with a Ship lying at anchor, as with an house built upon a foundation: a Ship when it lyeth at anchor in the Sea, & movetur, & non movetur, it is moved, and not moved; it is moved as the winds stir it, but not moved from the place where the anchor holds it. Thus it is with the Christian that lies floating in the Sea of this world, and yet hath cast anchor in Heaven, & movetur, & non movetur, he may be both moved and not moved; for he stands not like a foundation that cannot be moved: the streams of temptation and trouble will agitate and toss him (O thou afflicted, and tossed with tempests, Isa. 54.11.) yet not moved, that he cometh in danger of being utterly overwhelmed, for hope is an anchor sure and stedfast, that fixeth and setleth him. Where there is stedfastness of hope, there is assuredness of salvation: and that hope may be the anchor of the Soul, saith must go before to sound the ground, or hope cannot do its office; for what more absurd, than that hope should have any certainty at all without faith, any more than an anchor should have any stay without ground to fasten upon? this hope (as Hilary noteth) is not a presuming of things uncertain, but an expectation of things known to us: for that cause it is, that S. Paul saith, Hope maketh not ashamed. They that hope, saith Theodoret, and are deceived of their hope, do

blush, and are ashamed thereof; now saith S. August. we are certain of our hope, for our hope is not uncertain, that we should doubt thereof; yea, we are so certain thereof, that S. Paul saith, We rejoyce under the hope of the glory of God, Rom. 5.2. which confidence and rejoycing of hope groweth from that which the Holy Ghost termeth 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, full assurance of faith: that which the Saints hope for, it can∣not but come to pass, the Spirit of God would never work this undoubted perswasion in their hearts, if he did not intend their eternal good; the promises of God are sure grounds to cast the anchor of our hope upon, they are the pillars of hope. David saith often in Psal. 119. that he hoped in God's Word.

CHAP. XXX. Sheweth, that no afflictions or sufferings shall rob the Saints of their crown of glory.

Ʋse 2. HEnce we may be informed, that no afflictions shall deprive the Saints of their crown of glory, no temptations, no trials that we suffer here, shall be able to deprive us, or to dis-inherit us of the Kingdom of Heaven! what though through the malice of Satan, the injustice and cruelty of our adversaries, we may be put to endure much, to suffer much, yet

when they have all done, they shall not shut up Heaven against us, we shall have our reward there for all that; there we shall receive the crown of glory: there are two reasons why they cannot deprive us of that crown.

1. That which cannot animam laedere, cannot caelo privare, that which cannot hurt the soul, cannot deprive him of Heaven; I have Heaven sure as long as I have my soul safe: but no affli∣ctions can do that; they cannot prejudice or hurt the soul, not endanger the safety of it, nor come neer the life of it; all the hurt they can do, is but to the body onely, so far they can reach and no farther. Our Saviour gives us that comfort, Luk. 12.4. Be not afraid of them, saith he, that can kill the body; and when they have done so, there is no more that they can do: indeed that's a comfort worth a thinking on, that whosoever our Enemies be, or whatever our afflictions be, they can onely reach to the hurting of the body, but there's no more that they can do: it is a strange barbarousness of nature that some Tyrants will shew, when they have killed and Martyred the poor Saints of God, as if that were too little to satisfie their rage, and that the fire of it could not be sufficiently quenched with their blood; they'l take pleasure to exercise fury upon their dead bodies, mangle them, hew them, and tread them under their feet; yea, sometimes take them out of their graves, when they have been buried, as in the time of Queen Mary, those

merciless Popish persecutors of the Protestant Religion did by Martin Bucer, and Paul Fagius, when they had long lain sleeping in their graves. Alas! it onely shewed the barbarous fury of the bloody Papists, it did no harm at all to the inno∣cent bodies of the dead Saints; when the body is once dead there is no more to be done, as our Saviour saith. The Heathen themselves appre∣hended this, and cast it out as a Shield of de∣fiance to all their Persecutors and Tormentors: as Laertius writeth of Anaxarchus, when he was con∣demned to be pounded to death in a Morter with Pestles of Iron,* 1.111 he returned the Tyrant this an∣swer. Do it, (saith he) pound and break in pieces this case and vessel that holdeth Anaxarchus (meaning his body) but Anaxarchus thou shalt not touch; he knew his soul was out of the Tyrants reach. Afflictions and tortures hurt not the soul then; 'tis only sin hurts that; let not sin destroy it, nothing shall destroy it: and if sufferings and torments have not power to destroy our souls, they can never have power to deprive us of Heaven.

2. That which can never separate us from God, can never shut us out of Heaven: let us be sure that God is ours, and we may be sure that Heaven is ours: our sins may separate us from God. Isa. 59.2. but our sufferings, our afflictions shall never separate us from him: you may re∣member that heroical challenge of S. Paul,

Rom. 8.35. What shall separate us from the love of Christ? There be three things to be noted in that challenge. 1. That the godly are subject to all those evils that the Apostle there reckons up; he reckons up seven in all; and still that which cometh after, aggravateth that which went be∣fore. Tribulation or trouble, that's the first: but to be in trouble and in anguish too; in anguish to be driven into persecution and banishment; in banishment to suffer hunger and nakedness; with these to be in continual peril and danger: after all, to dye violently by the sword: these are great evils all of them, and all of them exceeding one another, and yet it is certain, the godly are subject to all of them. 2. That in these evils the main end that the Devil aims at, is to sepa∣rate God from us, and us from God; as may plainly be seen in Job's case, where the Devil laid all the load he could upon him, and all to set God and him at variance, to make him to blaspheme God, and God to forsake him. 3. That yet the anchor of our safety is so firmly cast, as that no such tempests as these shall ever cause such a Shipwrack: in vain shall the Devil ever labour by any of these cords to pull God and us asunder; they shall not make the faithful for their parts to shrink any whit from him; nay they will rather stick the closer to him: as wind puts not out the fire, but rather kindleth it; so that same wind of affliction which is sent out to blow upon them, it shall not be a means to put out, but rather to

kindle the fire of their love. God on the other side for his part will never the sooner forsake them; nay, he is so far from forsaking his Chil∣dren in afflictions, as he doth then draw the nearer to them. Perhaps they are not alwayes so sensible of his presence, but afraid that he hid∣eth his face away; yet certain it is, he is then ever at hand, and near unto them, ready to do by them, as Christ did by Peter in the storm; as soon as they begin to sink, to put his hand under them, and to save them from drowning. David saith, God hath compassion on us as a Father hath compassion on his Children; now Fathers have most compassion on their Children when they see them in most trouble and distress; if natural Fathers have so, God our Heavenly Father can∣not then be void of the bowels of affection, when he seeth us in affliction and distress; God doth then pity us, and those are infallible arguments of his love toward us: now if troubles and affli∣ctions cannot separate God's love from us, sure they cannot shut up God's Kingdom against us, but notwithstanding all the hardships they make us to suffer for the time, yet when we have been tryed, we shall receive the crown of life.

CHAP. XXXI. Setteth down a cordial to them that are in affli∣ction, and a Preparative to them that are not.

A Twofold use may be made of what was laid down in the precedent Chapter; and it concerns them that are in affliction, and them that are not: for them that are in affliction, a cordial of unspeakable comfort: for what can more comfort an afflicted soul when he seeth how all earthly joyes have forsaken him, and that he is every day fain to eat the bread of sorrow, and to mingle his drink with tears, what can more comfort him than to know and to be assured, that yet for all this, he is never the farther from God, never the farther from Heaven: the world powreth contempt upon him, but God hath not cast him out of his favour: his outward man per∣adventure is weakened and decayed, but his inner man is safe and untouch'd: Earth hath de∣nyed him peace and comfort, but in Heaven there's laid up for him a crown of blessedness.

This was it that gave Job comfort, and made him Victor in stercore, made him sing Songs of Triumph, even when he was sitting on the dung∣hill; his substance was gone, his Children were slain, his Wife tempted him, his Servants scor∣ned him, his enemies insulted on him, his Friends forsook him, the Devil was a scourge to him, God

himself seemed to hide his face from him, yet for all this, saith he, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that I shall see him at the last day: there is no comfort in the world comparable to this; so we may be sure to come to Heaven at the last, no matter though we go thither in a a whirlwind and a fire; no matter whether a smooth way or a rugged: Better go a fowl way to a Banquet, than a fair way to a Gibbet. The reward we look for in Heaven is sometime compared to a reaping, to a harvest; now you know when the corn is sown once, before we come to reap it, it suffers a great deal of hard weather; many dashing rains, many nipping frosts, many biting winds, yet none of all these do hinder the har∣vest, they make the corn never the worse either for ripening or reaping: in due season we shall reap, as the Apostle saith, notwithstanding all these. Afflictions are to us while we are living in the world, as hard weather to the corn while it is growing in the field: they nip us, they pinch us, they blow cold, they beat hard upon us, yet they shall not spoil us of the harvest we look for, they shall not bereave us of the least of those sheaves of joy that lye a ripening for us, but in due season we shall reap the full crop into our garners: let this then be a cordial to all that are in affliction.

Let it be also a preparative for those that are not: prepare your selves O Christians for the patient bearing of all trials that God shall send

upon you, by laying up before hand this comfort and assurance, that no trials shall rob you of your crown.

Object. Peradventure you will object, that yet they have done so by some— extremity of affliction hath driven them into extremity of despair; so in∣stead of receiving the Crown of life, they have caused their portion in the second death.

Resp. Affliction hath not caused this, but the ill use that hath been made of affliction: we are to judge of affliction as we are to judge of prospe∣rity: they are either of them good or evil ac∣cording to the good or evil use that is made of them: it's certain, that some that are in prospe∣rity shall come to Heaven, yet their prosperity is not the cause of it; and so for some that are in affliction, 'tis possible for them to miss of Heaven, yet 'tis not their affliction that deprives them of it: the good or evil use of either, is that which makes all of us in either to be happy or unhappy.

Let it therefore prepare us for the constant and patient bearing of afflictions, whensoever they shall come upon us, especially if they shall come upon us for the testimony of the Gospel, and for righteousness sake; for if the crown of glory be∣long to any that suffer, then certainly to those sufferers that our Saviour speaks of, Matth. 5.10. Those that suffer for righteousness sake, they of all other are blessed, and to them belongeth the Kingdom of Heaven: yea, if in Heaven there be degrees of glory (as we may perswade our selves

there be) we may withall perswade our selves that the chiefest mansions are for such: they that most partake with Christ in his sufferings, they shall most share with him in glory; the faire•••• crowns of glory that Heaven hath to give, shal•• be set upon the Heads of Martyrs; first the Crown of Martyrdom, and then a Crown of Glo∣ry: as God hath called them to their sufferings, so doubtless he will strengthen them in their suf∣ferings, and crown them for their sufferings: may they therefore stand fast unto the end, and bear all their troubles and tribulations patiently, constantly, joyfully: Patienter propter Deum, confidenter propter auxilium, gaudenter propter praemium; patiently, for God's sake, because he hath called them to it; constantly, for his assistance sake, because he will aid them in it; joyfully, for the rewards sake, because he will crown them for it. Upon this account it was, that the Apo∣stle commendeth the Hebrews, that they passed thorow all manner of afflictions, and cleaved fast to the Gospel, and therefore bids them call to remembrance the former dayes, in which after they were illuminated, they endured a great fight of afflictions; partly (saith he) while ye were made a gazing-stock both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly while ye became companions of them that were so used: for ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoilin•• of your goods, knowing in your selves that ye ha•• in heaven a better, and an enduring substance,

Hebr. 10.32, 33, 34. Have any of us then re∣ceived the beginning, the earnest, the first-fruits of eternal life, then let it be far from us to think of leaving all these rich hopes of eternity, for fear of the sharpest temporary sufferings; and let me add, that afflictions are so far from keep∣ing us from Heaven, as they be rather a way to bring us to Heaven. We must through much tribu∣lation enter into the Kingdom of God, Act. 14.22. Certainly, many persons had never come to Heaven, if God had not brought them to his Kingdom this way.

CHAP. XXXII. An Exhortation to Christians to believe the promise of God touching their salvation, and so to lay claim to it.

1. NOw seeing God will hereafter crown his people with glory, then labour, O Chri∣stian Reader, in the first place to believe the pro∣mise of God touching the salvation of thy soul; labour to have a full assurance of faith, and a full affiance in God that he will save thee. A man takes it ill if he be not believed on his Word and promise, and so doth the faithful God, who is truth it self, and cannot lye. The sum of that which every faithful soul professeth to believe in the Creed, is as much as if he should say, I believe

that God is my God and Father by the mediation of Jesus Christ, through the sanctification of the Holy-ghost, whereby he hath made me a member of his Catholick Church, which is the Commu∣nion and Society of his Saints, to which and to all the members thereof, and so namely to me, he will give remission of sins, and an happy re∣surrection of the body, to be partaker with the soul of life eternal. This was David's faith; I be∣lieved to see the goodness of God in the Land of the living, Psal. 27.13. And Fulgentius saith, it was not proper onely to David to say so; for saith he, the just man living by faith, saith boldly, I be∣lieve to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. S. August. speaks well to this pur∣pose; God hath promised thee, O man, that thou shalt live for ever, dost thou not believe it? that which he hath already done for thee, is a grea∣ter matter than that which he hath promised thee.

Therefore let us labour to get an assured trust in God and his promise, that when he that is our life shall appear, we also may appear with him in glory: which glory though we know it not, yet we know that God hath given us the interest and title of it already, and by faith do stand assured through the Spirit, that he will in due time give us the full sight and fruition of it, which none can know but they that have it revealed to them from God? but God revealeth it by the Holy Ghost to every one that believeth in his promise, and hopeth for his salvation: therefore

let no faithful soul whom God hath called into Communion with himself, and to the hope of everlastingly life, stand any longer in doubt of that salvation which God hath promised him.

2. When once thou dost believe the pro∣mise of God touching the salvation of thy soul, then mayest thou claim Heaven as thine own by a due debt: God hath made himself a debtor to his people by promise; faithful promise makes due debt; the debt in that case ariseth not from any desert of him to whom the promise is made, but only the word of him that promiseth. We must therefore distinguish between debt of de∣sert, and debt of promise; for debt of desert ariseth out of the nature and condition of the work it self, which obligeth him to whose use and service it is done; but debt of promise ari∣seth not from the thing that is done, or yielded to another, but onely from the promise it self, whereby a man hath bound himself. As August. well observeth, that it is one thing to say to a man, Thou art a debtor to me, because I have given to thee; another thing to say, Thou art a debtor to me, because thou hast promised me: debt of promise moveth the promiser for his own sake, though there be nothing in the party to whom he hath made promise, that may excite or cause him to perform his promise. Now it is an act of justice in God to perform his promise made to his Children to bring them to Heaven, and to bestow eternal life upon them, for it is the

justice of God that what is promised be paid or performed: hereupon saith August. we say not unto God, Repay that which thou hast received, but pay that which thou hast promised: let us hold him therefore a most faithful debtor, because we have him a most merciful promiser: the pro∣mise was made in mercy, the performance there∣of dependeth upon the fidelity of the promiser, not upon the merit of the worker; the promise is sure, not according to our merits, but accor∣ding to his mercy: therefore go to God and say, Lord thou hast promised to bestow the Crown of glory upon all that come unto thee, Lord we have thy word, there is a promise wherein thou hast caused me to hope; Be it to thy servant ac∣cording to thy Word.

CHAP. XXXIII.

SECT. I. Sheweth, how a man may know whether he hath a title to Heaven.

Quest. BƲt here peradventure thou may'st de∣mand, how shall I know whether the promise of eternal life belongeth to me or not?

Sol. I answer first, dost thou love God; the promise of giving the crown of life is made to them that love him, Jam. 1.12. He that is the best lover, is the best and most accomplished Christian; it is not so much what thou doest, or

what thou sufferest, what thy actions or what thy sufferings are, as what thy love to God is: so then the greatest Saint is not barely he that hath done most, or suffered most, but he that loveth most, as it was said of Mary Mag∣dalen,* 1.112 that many sins were forgiven her, because she loved much. If thou hast true saith, it will be the fountain of thy love to God, who believing God to be such, and so merciful to to thee, it swalloweth up thy affections, and draweth out thy love and devotion toward him; which is not unfelt in us; but by the feeling thereof in our selves, we gather a further confir∣mation and assurance to our selves, that we are beloved of God; both which S. Bernard well de∣clareth, saying, that the love of God breedeth in the soul love toward God; and by feeling it self to love, it is also out of doubt that it self is beloved: now if thou art one that lovest God, thou maist conclude thou art beloved of him (for we love him because he loved us first) and therefore thou hast an interest in the crown of life which God hath promised to them that love him.

True it is, sometimes it is said, it shall be given to such as the Lord loveth; his love to us, that is it that shall set this glorious crown upon our heads. The Apostle, Eph. 2.4. speaking both of our Sanctification and Salvation, makes God the Author of them both: and in God, the cause of both, the riches of his mercy, and the greatness of his love. God who is rich in mercy, through his

great love wherewith he hath loved us, hath raised us up together, and made us to fit together in Hea∣venly places. So S. John saith, it was God's love to us, that he sent his onely Son to us, in him to give us life and salvation: herein was the great love of God manifested towards us, in that God sent his onely begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him, 1 Joh. 4.9. Yet S. James tells us, the crown of life shall be given to them that love the Lord: as if it were not so much his love to us as did graciously vouch∣safe it, as our love to him that did deservedly merit it. But these may both stand together; the promise of eternal life may be said to belong both to those whom the Lord loveth, and to those that love the Lord: for first, this love of God to us and our love to him, do alwayes go together, like fountain and stream, seed and fruit, fire and light, cause and effect: whensoever his love takes hold upon us, it generates and begets in us love toward him again. We read of Solomon, that he was named Jedidjah, because he was the beloved of the Lord, 2 Sam. 12.25. and we likewise read of him, 1 Kings 3.3. that he loved the Lord: he was the beloved of the Lord, and he loved the Lord: God's love working upon him, it wrought in him again love toward God: now they that are beloved of God, and they that love God, they have both of them the pro∣mise of eternal life. God's love to them is pro∣perly the cause of it; their love to him, that's

onely the Seal of it. What S. John saith of the love of our Brethren, the same may we say of the love of God. We know by it, that we are tran∣slated from death to life,* 1.113 which life is a token of assurance by which we know we shall be saved. The cause of our sal∣vation is in God's loving us; our loving of God is a token only, by which we know we are sealed up unto salvation.

SECT. II.

2. ARt thou Holy? thou hast hence good ground and reason to expect whatsoever reward God hath promised unto holiness. Being made free from sin, and become servants unto God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end ever∣lasting life, Rom. 6.22. Are ye pure in heart? they onely shall see God, Math. 5.8. Are ye holy in life? then shall you see the Lord, Hebr. 12.14. Beware how thou dost go on in any sin; answer thy lusts, thy temptations, thy wicked company that seduce and entice thee to sin, as Solomon answered Bathsheba, when she desired Abishag for Adonijah, let him take my Kingdom too; so say thou to thy lusts, to thy temptations, to thy wicked company; if you beg my company, then take away my Kingdom too, take away my glory, take away my happiness too; take heed of laying down thy head in the lap of any lust, as Sampson did in the lap of Dalilah. What said she to him? The Philistines be upon thee Sampson: So if thou sufferest thy self to be deceived by thy

lusts, by thy sinful pleasures; I will not say, the Philistines be upon thee, but all the Devils in Hell be upon thee: it may be thou expectest Angels to carry thee like Lazarus into Abraham's bosome, and the evil Angels will take thee and hurry thee into Belzebub's bosome; nothing but sin will make thee uncapable of glory: it is only Christ and interest in Christ by saving faith, and grace and holiness, that can fit thee for glory, that can make thee capable of glory and happi∣ness; we must be gracious here, otherwise we shall never be glorious hereafter: consider the nature of this glory which God will communi∣cate to his Saints, it is pure glory, therefore it is necessary that the subjects which must receive it be pure also; God will put pure glory into pure vessels. What ado had Queen Esther before she was brought to the King? Est. 2.12. She was to purifie her self a whole year before she could attain to be Queen, six months with oyl of Myrrh, and six moneths with sweet Odours, then she was brought to the King: shall an earthly Prince expect such exact purification, before he will bestow his honours? and shall not God expect our purifying our selves, before we come and sit upon thrones of glory? can we think that God will cloath our Bodies of sin with Robes of glory, and that God will put the pure white linnen of the Saints upon the stinking low∣sie rags of the old Adam? Zech. 3. Jehoshua was a Type of such whom God will glorifie; he was

cloathed with filthy garments, when he stood before the Angel; he was to put off those filthy garments, and then God caused a Mitre to be put upon his head, and change of raiment for his clothing; so God will have you to put off your filthy conversations, before he will set a crown of pure gold upon your heads, and put on you the white linnen of his Saints.

Go to now Brethren! ye that hope to be glo∣rified with Christ; consider with your selves, whether the old man be put off, whether your earthly members be mortified, or do you walk still in the vanity of your minds, do you still keep your former conversations? are your lusts your Centurions still? do you obey them? then let me tell you, you have no part in Christ, you are not the Sons of God, your hopes of Heaven are but presumptions, you are never like to see God in glory. See what you must expect, Coloss. 3.16. For which things sake cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Tremble at it, ye that hope for glory, and yet go on in your sins; your sins will bring the wrath of God upon your souls, and not the glory of God; you are the children of disobedience, and not the children of God: if you will maintain your hopes of glory and title to Heaven, shew it forth by purifying your selves as Christ is pure. Suppose a leper in times of legal pollutions should have pronounced himself clean, while the leprousie was upon him, yet he should not be ad∣mitted

into the Camp, unless the Priest did pro∣nounce him clean: so may you say that you are clean, and that you shall be glorified, yet you shall never possess glory, unless Christ the High-Priest pronounce you clean.

CHAP. XXXIV. Setteth forth the danger of those that are in a state of Damnation.

THis in the next place may serve to awaken all slumbring spirits, and to startle all those that sleep securely in sin, that are far from God, and nigh to destruction, and yet are well pleased with their condition, and are insensible of the danger they are in: if the Lord would now open their eyes as he did the eyes of the Host of the King of Syria, they would see they were in the midst of Samaria, in the midst of Enemies, in the way to destruction, that their judgment lingers not, their damnation slumbers not; on the one side they are hastening toward destru∣ction, and on the other side destruction is hast∣ning toward them: Oh how woful is the condi∣tion of such men! who can dwell with the de∣vouring fire? who can endure everlasting burn∣ings? Secure Sinners! ye are almost in the mouth of Death, and in the gate of Hell; and the longer you continue in the way you are in, the farther

you are from God, and the nearer to ruine; you are very near to hell and condemnation, upon the very brink and border of the land of dark∣ness: it is said of the watered ground that bringeth forth nothing but briars and thorns, that is rejected, that it is nigh to cursing, whose end is to be burnt, Hebr. 6.8. Salvation is far from the wicked, and destruction is near them, Psal. 119.150. If a man had a dwelling near the gate of hell, within the hearing of the hideous cry and noise of those lost souls and damned spi∣rits, could he sleep quietly, could he take any content in meat or drink, or any thing else? they that are far from God are near to the pit of destruction, and this is their misery that they know it not. Is it not a madness for a man to be at his sports and pastimes, when his house is on fire, and all that he hath is burning to ashes? and is it not a far greater madness for you O sinners to sport your selves with sin, while the flames of Hell fire are ready to seize upon you? Oh have pity and compassion on your own souls; you would pity a Beast if you should see him ready to break his neck down a rock, and will you have no pity on your own souls that are now ready to be swallowed up in the gulf of hell?

Consider, I pray you, that to enjoy the Word of Christ, and to hear it powerfully Preached, and yet not to be effectually converted by it, it brings not a man one step nearer Heaven, and puts him not an inch farther from hell than he

was before. It is said, Jude vers. 5. that the Lord having saved the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that be∣lieved not: there was a land of Canaan, a land of promise, and of rest offered to them, and the Lord had made way for them to enter in and possess it; he had saved them out of the land of Egypt, and brought them near the borders of Canaan; but this did no whit avail those among them that were unbelieving and disobedient; they were destroyed, their Carcasses fell in the wilderness, they perished in their sins: this I take to be a Type of the condition of secure, unbe∣lieving, impenitent persons under the Gospel: there is salvation wrought; Jesus Christ came into the world to save; a way is open to the Hea∣venly Canaan, to that eternal rest prepared for the people of God: the fiery pillar, the light of the Gospel is in sight, shewing the way to the Kingdom of Heaven; but when men and women do carelesly neglect it, this their condition is worse than if there had never been any possibility of salvation; Better it had been they had died in Egypt, than at the borders of Canaan: better, never in any degree to be saved, than to be once saved, and afterward to be destroyed; utter destruction after some beginnings of salvation, is worse than no kind of salvation at all; therefore in the 12 verse of that same Epistle of Jude, it is said, they are trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. I entreat

you seriously to consider the woful estate of a soul twice dead, twice lost, twice condemned; once condemned by the Law, and then again condemned by the Gospel; Oh tremble and be∣ware of this double condemnation. If the river of brimstone enkindled by the Law be so dread∣ful, Isa. 33.14. Oh how dreadful then shall those flames of wrath be, if they shall be fed and increased with the oyl of the Gospel, for the neglect and contempt of salvation wrought by Christ?

Oh how do multitudes of men that are now under the sound of the Gospel, and have the means of salvation afforded them, put away the word of life from them, and judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life! such will one day (when it is too late) see their folly, and wish they had never had a Christ nor a Gospel, nor a Heaven, nor an immortal soul to lose. The Turkish History reporteth of Bajazet the Fourth, King of the Turks, who hearing that Tamerlane had taken his City Sebastia, and there slain his eldest Son Orthobules,* 1.114 he was so much grieved at it, that marching with his great Army against Tamerlane, and by the way hearing a Countrey Shepheard merrily reposing himself with his homely Pipe, as he sate upon the side of a mountain feeding his poor flock, standing still a great while listening unto him, to the admi∣ration of many, at last fetching a deep sigh brake

forth into these words, O happy Shepheard, which hadst neither Orthobules nor Sebastia to lose! This will be all the comfort that the despisers of the Word, and the rejecters of everlasting life, so freely tendered in the Gospel, shall have at the last day, when in the anguish and bitterness of their souls they shall cry out; happy are ye dark mountains on whom the Sun of righteousness ne∣ver shined, happy ye dry and barren deserts that were never refreshed with spiritual dew, nor watered with the rain of Heavenly doctrine, who had never any Moses to drop doctrine upon you, no Paul to plant, no Apollo to water you with the word; happy ye benighted Gentiles who never had any Gospel, nor a Christ, nor a King∣dom of Heaven to lose by your Rebellion against Christ: this will be all the comfort such souls will have for all the priviledges they have had beyond others, and all the opportunities they have lost: it is an honour here to enjoy God's Oracles, and to be under the call of the Gospel: but to have the word of Grace and means of Salvation, and not to bring forth fruit thereby to everlasting life, it will turn to their greater confusion in another world.

CHAP. XXXV. An exhortation to offer violence to the Kingdom of Heaven.

THese things being so; how should the con∣sideration hereof stir up to labour after eter∣nal life and blessedness: eternal life is the stipend of our warfare, the hire and wages of our works; God hath not appointed Heaven for idle Droans and Loiterers, but for such as labour for it; Heaven is a Crown or Garland, win it and wear it; it is an Harvest, labour for it, if thou wilt enjoy it; it is a Field of Treasure, thou must purchase it, if thou wilt possess it: it is a strong City, and must be taken by force and violence. S. Bernard hath this division, Alii mercantur, alii furantur, &c. Some do Merchandize for Heaven, and they are such as make friends with the Mammon of unrighteousness; others do steal Heaven, and they are like the Woman that was healed by the secret touch of our Saviours gar∣ment: many invade Heaven, and take it by force, (for indeed the Kingdom of Heaven suf∣fereth violence) and they may be compared to Jacob that strove with God, wrestled with the Angel and prevailed; but none of these shall merit eternal life hereby: but life eternal shall be the consequent of a Holy life, and the reward of their labour that strive to enter in at the strait

gate; God having so ordained the one to be the way whereby he will bring us to the other.

S. Paul saith of himself, 2 Tim. 4.8. I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished my course, henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of righteousness, &c. where observe, 1. He acted like a mighty man of war, fighting valiantly against all the enemies of his Salvation, both within and without, that went about to hinder him from getting the crown. 2. He finished his course, he ran with all his might, he put forth himself to the uttermost, that so he might finish his course. 3. He kept the faith, he would not suffer men or Devils to rob him of this precious jewel; and he was sure to speed, here was his confidence, henceforth, saith he, is laid up for me a Crown of righteousness.* 1.115 Now saith Irenaeus, the good combatant exhorteth us to the combat of immortality, that we may be crowned, and may think the crown precious, as being obtained by sight, and not of it self accrewing to us: and by how much the more it cometh by fight, so much the more pre∣cious it is; and the more precious it is, so much the more we may love it, and ought so much the more to labour after it. So run that you may ob∣tain, 1 Cor. 9.24. He that runs for a prize runs with all his might, he runs himself all over in a sweat: I run, saith Paul, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as beating the air; he ran, but not

as some do, in a cold and negligent way, not knowing whether he should come to the end of the race or not, but with all earnestness, as one that was resolved to finish his course. A Soldier that fighteth in the Wars, fighteth with violence, he fighteth for life and ho∣nour both; so much more one that fighteth the good fight, even for eternal life and glory: a Soldier that fighteth in the War, fighteth to save his own life, and for glory be∣sides; so a Soldier of Jesus Christ fighteth to save his life from eternal ruine, and to gain eter∣nal glory. Some of God's Children are so vio∣lent, that the world looks upon them as mad men; they may think them out of their wits, but, they may answer with Paul, If we are beside our selves it is for God and Christ, it is for Heaven and everlasting Salvation. The Apo∣stle thus exhorts the Philippians, Work out your own salvation, Phil. 2.12. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, break out thorow all difficulties, work out, work thorow all, 2 Pet. 3.11, 12. What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for, and hastening to the coming of the day of God? as if he had said, I am not able to express, what manner of persons such ought to be, what exactness is required of those that will be saved, how they ought to walk in all holy conversation and godliness, as persons that are in hast to meet with Christ, and have no leisure to turn out

of the way of holiness, into crooked paths with the workers of iniquity.

Things of the greatest worth are usually accompanied with the greatest difficulty, and are hardest to be gained; so it is in the things of the world; the greater worldly designs men do pursue, the more pains it costs them to attain their end; high honour, and a great estate is not gotten without much sweat, and great endeavours; much more when a soul will get an incorruptible crown, what holy contention is required in this case? Though it be most true, that the Prince and Captain of our salvation hath already overcome the grea∣test difficulty of all, without which it had not been possible for any of the Children of Adam to have come to glory, yet he will have his children conformed to himself in going through many difficulties unto glory. Moreover, power∣ful enemies do beset the way unto, and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven; Principalities and Powers, the Rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickednesses in high (or heavenly) places, Eph. 6.12. now small forces in a narrow way are able to keep back a great Army for a long time; now these strong and mighty enemies must be removed by violence, or else there is no passing: Oh what necessity is there now required to break thorow all these, and in the power of Christ to tread the Devil and all his Angels under our feet, if

we will enter in at the strait gate; to march on, though never so many forces of the world, and Legions of Hell should stand in the way; to contend mightily, as knowing there is no middle condition between everlasting death and vi∣ctory, that we must overcome or perish.

How vigorously and vehemently doth the Apostle press this, 1 Cor. 16.13. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit your selves like men,* 1.116 be strong. Where in most pithy and sinewy expres∣sions, he giveth a fourfold ex∣hortation of this kind, and every one in the Original is delivered in one word, except the second: the first is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, watch you, be not secure, but very vigilant: the second is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Stand fast in the faith, keep your ground, do not give back: the third is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, play the men, quit your selves like men of Heroick spirits: the fourth is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, be strong and of a good courage: in these quick expressions, the Apostle, as a wise Master-builder, sought out choice words, that he might fasten them as Nails and Goads, peircing the hearts of men, and quickening their dull spirits to more vehemency and holy violence in the great business of their salvation: now where these mighty strivings after the Kingdom of Heaven are, they are effects of God's eter∣nal counsel and purpose, in those whom he hath ordained to everlasting life and glory: These

are fruits of God's election; because God hath chosen them, therefore he hath stirred them up to act violently for the Kingdom of Heaven:* 1.117 they are no causes, but the evidences of their election; their works are not the proper cause for which the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them, but as signs and tokens that they are the persons for whom Heaven is prepared; they are tokens of our occult praedestination, fore∣tokens of our future happiness; the way to the Kingdom, not the cause of our obtaining it, saith devout Bernard.

FINIS.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Rhem. Test.
• * 1.2

  Erasm.
• * 1.3

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• * 1.4

  Non si••no equipo∣lenti I••••l. Tr••nsl.

  Non sunt pares. Erasm▪

  Minime esse pare••. Beza.
• * 1.5

  Non sunt condig∣nae passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam▪ Vulg.
• * 1.6

  Non dignae passi∣ones nunc temporis ad suturam g oriam. Ar. Mont.
• * 1.7

  Nullo modo su∣perbiant sancti Mar∣tyres, tanquam dig∣num aliquod pro il∣lius patrae participa∣tione fecerint, ubi ••••terna est & vera fe∣licitas. Aug. de Civit. ••••i. lib. 5. cap. 18.
• * 1.8

  Bernard. in Annun∣ciat. serm. 1.
• * 1.9

  Fulgent. ad Momin. lib. 1.
• * 1.10

  Muscul. ex Chrysost. in loc.
• * 1.11

  Ambrose Epist. 22.
• * 1.12

  What glory is.
• * 1.13

  Exod. 9.27.
• * 1.14

  Dr. Sibs.
• * 1.15

  August. Epist. 109. ad Bonif.
• * 1.16

  August. in Psal. 29.
• * 1.17

  Quod est primum in unequoque gene∣re, est mensura reli∣quorum.
• * 1.18

  Lomb. sent. Lib 1. Dissin. 40.
• * 1.19

  Dr. Holdsworth Ser∣moon Jam. 1.12.
• * 1.20

  Debtor factus est, non aliquid a nobis accipiendo, sed quod ei placu••t promitten∣do. August.
• * 1.21

  Guilielm. Parisiens.
• * 1.22

  Aug.
• * 1.23

  Philo Jud.
• * 1.24

  Gregor. Nazianz••n. Orat. contr. Arrian.
• * 1.25

  Nimis supra quam dici potest, admira∣tivè cum nimio pon∣dere. Bruno.
• * 1.26

  August. Psal. 36.
• * 1.27

  Jam. 2.
• * 1.28

  Hoc est ingenium Mundi, ut quibus vi∣det deum extrinse∣cus maledicere male∣dicit, & quibus ex∣trinsecus benedicere benedicit. Mercer.
• * 1.29

  Gorran.
• * 1.30

  Muscul. in loc.
• * 1.31

  Beza in loc.
• * 1.32

  Origen ad loc.
• * 1.33

  Beza in loc.
• * 1.34

  Comeron in loc.
• * 1.35

  Muscul. in Loc.
• * 1.36

  Calvin in Loc.
• * 1.37

  Heb 11.35, 36, 37, 38.
• * 1.38

  V.d. Dr Ha kwel's Apologvof the pow¦er of God for the government of the World.
• * 1.39

  Piscat. in Loc.
• * 1.40

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• * 1.41

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• * 1.42

  Joseph Mede in 2 Pet. 3.10.
• * 1.43

  Totus hic Mundus vi••••••••i••is p••r ignem folverdus, Eque••a∣ci•• ••••lus, &c. Theolog. Leyders.
• * 1.44

  Lombard sentent.
• * 1.45

  Pet. Mert. in Rom. 8.21.
• * 1.46

  Calvin in loc. Chrysost. homil.
• * 1.47

  Sa. Ward on the life of faith in death.
• * 1.48

  Heylin. Geograph. Willet. Synops. Pa∣pismi.
• * 1.49

  Paradisum vocant Graeci locum irrigu∣um, & an oenum, om∣ni florum varietate distinctum, & sempi∣ternis arboribus con∣situm, aprissimum ad aetatem feliciter de∣gendam. Ossor. Lu∣sitam. de Nobilit. Chri∣stiana. lib. 1.
• * 1.50

  Si jus violandum, regni causa violan∣dum. Caesar ex Eu∣ripide.
• * 1.51

  1 Cor. 9.24, 25.
• * 1.52

  Plerij Hieroglyph.
• * 1.53

  August. in Psal. 32.
• * 1.54

  Abbot de Meriti••.
• * 1.55

  Aquin. Suppl. 3. por∣tis. quaest. ••6.
• * 1.56

  Spanhem. dub. E∣vangel.
• * 1.57

  Pet. Mart. loc. com.
• * 1.58

  Bellarmine saith, Magis honorificum est, habere aliquid ex merito, quam ex sola donatione.

  Tapper saith, Ab∣sit, ut justi vitam ae∣ternam expectent si∣cut pauper cleemo∣synam, multo hono∣rificentius est, ipsos quasi victores, & triumphatores cam possidere, tanquam palmam suis sudoribus debitam. Tapper Tom. 2. Act. 9.
• * 1.59

  Hieron. in vit. Hi∣lar.
• * 1.60

  August. in Soliloq.
• * 1.61

  Tu mihi qui con∣jux, pariter scater∣que paterque.

  Tu Dominus, tu Vir, tu mihi Prater eris. Ovid.

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Ar∣rian in Epictet.
• * 1.62

  Ezek. 37.10, 11, 12.
• * 1.63

  Matth. 22.32.
• * 1.64

  B••••a in Ge••es. 22. Isidor. d•• ••cc••es. offic. lib. 1. cap. 29.
• * 1.65

  Vide Ferum. in Matth. p. 292.
• * 1.66

  Edebat Christus, non ut necessitati sa∣tisfaceret, sed ut ve∣ritatem humanae na∣turae ostenderet. Pet. Mart.
• * 1.67

  Stell. Enarrat. in Luc. 24.
• * 1.68

  Plus fuit ex Se∣pulchro resurgere, quam de Cruce de∣scendere. Gregor.
• * 1.69

  Absurdum & Deo indignum ut haec ca∣ro lanietur, illa vero coronetur, ut cor∣pora quae in via sa∣cta fuerint membra Christi, in patria aliis suffectis in eorum locum arcerentur. Tertul. de Resurrect. cap. 56.
• * 1.70

  Vulnerum signa, virtutum insignia. Aquinas.
• * 1.71

  Identitas formae in quacunque ma∣teria consistit, q. ex identitate formae consequitur identi∣tas materiae, cum ma∣teria nullam per se habeat actualitatem, sed esse suum accipit à forma. Numerica identitas non conti∣netur in sola identi∣tate primae materiae nudae, sed etiam identitate corporis humani. Durand. sent. 4. distinct. 44. plura de resurrecti∣one. Vide Synops. purior. theol. disput. de resurrect.
• * 1.72

  Lessius de summo bono, lib. 3. cap 5.
• * 1.73

  Dr. Rich. Sheldon of mans last end.
• * 1.74

  Cyril. Hierosol. Ca∣tech. 18.
• * 1.75

  Ut Anima ista dum exercet functiones sua•• in corpore im∣pertit ei colorem, & totam hanc exter∣nam Corporis glo∣riam: ita tum cum Deus erit omnia in omnibus, spiritus Christi in nobis ha∣bitam, induet Cor∣pora nostra glorio∣sissima quibus{que} qua∣litatibus. Rolloc. in Johan. cap. 5.
• * 1.76

  August. Epist. 4••.
• * 1.77

  Sap. 3.7.
• * 1.78

  Aquin. supplem. qu. 82. art. 1.
• * 1.79

  August. Epist. 66. ad Dioscor.
• * 1.80

  Non in forma ser∣vi, sed in forma.
• * 1.81

  Ferus in 1 Joan. 3.2.
• * 1.82

  Cajetan. in loc.
• * 1.83

  Qui bona egerint, fulgebunt sicut Sol cum Angelis in vi∣tam aeternam, cum Domino nostro Jesu Christo; videntes e∣um semper, & ab eo visi, & incessabili lae∣titia, quae apiso pro∣venient perfruentes. Damascen. lib. 4. de Fide.
• * 1.84

  Satis, Domine sa∣tis.
• * 1.85

  Omne opus san∣ct••rum leus Dei sine fi••e, sine defectione, sine labore. faelix er∣go & vero in perpe tuum faelix, si post resolutionem hujus corpusculi audivero iila cantica caelestis enelodiae, quae can∣tantur ad laudem Regis aeterni, ab illis super••ae petriae ci∣vibus, beatorumque spirituum agminibus, &c. August. med••t. cap. 25.
• * 1.86

  Ludovic. Granat. Medit.
• * 1.87

  ••r. Rich Sheldon of Man's last end.
• * 1.88

  Lessius de summo bono.
• * 1.89

  Laurent. Justinian. lib. de Dicipl. Mo∣nach. cap. ••3.
• * 1.90

  V.d. Gens. in Con∣fes. remonstrant. p. 254, 256.
• * 1.91

  Dionys. Ercop.
• * 1.92

  Sicut terra respe∣ctu coeli est insensi∣bilis quantitatis, sic honitas aliarum sci∣entiarum respectu Scipturarum. Du∣rand.
• * 1.93

  Burr. in Beatitud.
• * 1.94

  Dives magis uritur Lazari gloria quam proprio incendio. Chrysolog.
• * 1.95

  Fulgentius his com∣parison.
• * 1.96

  Divina essentia to∣ta videtur, quia est simplicissima partibus carens, sed non to∣taliter. Aquinas.
• * 1.97

  Chrysost. in 2 Thes. 2.10.
• * 1.98

  Nazian. orat. con∣tra Arrian.
• * 1.99

  August. de Civit. Dei, cap. 21.
• * 1.100

  Chemnit. harmon. evang. cap. 87.
• * 1.101

  Tertul. contr. Mar∣cion. lib. 4.
• * 1.102

  Sicut magnes impetum quen∣dam imprimit ferro, quo illud ad magnetem trahitur, & ei se arctè jungit; ita Deus clarè con∣spectus, impetum quendam im∣primit animae, quo ipsa poten∣tissimè in illum trahitur. Lessius de summo bono. Ca. 11.
• * 1.103

  Ludovic granat. Meditat.
• * 1.104

  Quoniam quan∣tum quis{que} diligit alterum, tantum de bono ejus gau∣det. Anselm Proso log. Ca. 25.
• * 1.105

  August. Tract. 3. in Jo••n.
• * 1.106

  Cyprian de laude Martyrii.
• * 1.107

  Drexel. Consider. de Aeternit.
• * 1.108

  Visibile non est objectum Spei.
• * 1.109

  Praesentia & quae j••m assecutus es, de futuris tibi fi∣dem faciunt. Chrys. in Rom. Homil. 9.
• * 1.110

  Futura sperant, quicunque sperant. August.
• * 1.111

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. L••ert. lib. 1. ca. 10.
• * 1.112

  Luk 7.47.
• * 1.113

  1 Joh. 3.14.
• * 1.114

  Knoll's Turkish History on Baja∣zet 4th.
• * 1.115

  Iren. lib. 4. c. 27.
• * 1.116

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• * 1.117

  Occuliae praedesti∣nation•• indicia, futurae faelicitatis p••ae••agia, via reg∣ni, non caus•• reg∣nandi. Bernard de g••at. & lib. arbitr.