ing fruition of his fullest love among the glorified.' If it be delectable here to know his works, what will it be to see the cause of all? All creatures in heaven and earth conjoined, can never afford such content and joy to holy souls, as God alone! O if we knew him whom we must there behold, how weary should we be of this dungeon of mortality? and how fervently should we long to see his face? The chicken that cometh out of the shell, or the infant that newly cometh out of the womb, into this illuminated world of human converse, receiveth not such a joyful change, as the soul that is newly loosed from the flesh, and passeth from this mortal life to God. One sight of God by a blessed soul, is worth more than all the kingdoms of the earth. It is pleasant to the eyes to behold the sun: but the sun is as darkness and useless in his glory. "And the city had no need of the sun, nor of the moon to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads : and there shall be no night there: and they need no candle, nor light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever." If David in the wilderness so impatiently thirsted, to appear before God, the living God, in his sanctuary at Jerusalem, how earnestly should we long to see his glory in the heavenly Jerusalem? The glimpse of his back parts, was as much as Moses might behold; yet that much put a shining glory upon his face. The sight that Stephen had when men were ready to stone him, was a delectable sight'. The glimpse of Christ in his transfiguration ravished the three apostles that beheld it. Paul's vision which wrapt him up into the third heavens, did advance him above the rest of mankind! But our beatifical sight of the glory of God, will very far excel all this. When our perfected bodies shall have the perfect glorious body of Christ to see, and our perfected souls shall have the God of truth, the most perfect uncreated light to know, what more is a created understanding capable of? And yet this is not the top of our a Rev. xxi. 23. • Ver. 29, 30. b Rev. xxii. 3-5. c Psal. xlii. d Exod. xxxiv, g Matt. xvii. 2. 6. felicity; for the understanding is but the passage to the heart or will, and truth is but subservient to goodness: and therefore though the understanding be capable of no more than the beatifical vision, yet the man is capable of more; even of receiving the fullest communications of God's love, and feeling it poured out upon the heart, and living in the returns of perfect love; and in this intercourse of love will be our highest joys, and this is the top of our heavenly felicity. O that God would make us foreknow by a lively faith, what it is to behold him in his glory, and to dwell in perfect love and joy, and then death would no more be able to dismay us, nor should we be unwilling of such a blessed change! But having spoken of this so largely in my "Saints' Rest," I must stop here, and refer you thither. Direct. VII. Look up to the blessed Society of angels, and saints with Christ, and remember their blessedness and joy, and that you also belong to the same society and are going to be numbered with them. It will greatly overcome the fears of death, to see by faith the joys of them that have gone before us; and withal to think of their relation to us; as it will encourage a man that is to go beyond sea, if the far greatest part of his dearest friends be gone before him, and he heareth of their safe arrival, and of their joy and happiness. Those angels that now see the face of God are our special friends and guardians, and entirely love us, better than any of our friends on earth do! They rejoiced at our conversion, and will rejoice at our glorification; and as they are better, and love us better, so therefore our love should be greater to them, than to any upon earth, and we should more desire to be with them. Those blessed souls that are now with Christ, were once as we are here on earth; they were compassed with temptations, and clogged with flesh and burdened with sin, and persecuted by the world, and they went out of the world by sickness and death, as we must do; and yet now their tears are wiped away, their pains, and groans, and fears are turned into inexpressible blessedness and joy; and would we not be with them? Is not their company desirable? and their felicity more desirable? The glory of the New Jerusalem is not described to us in vain. God will be all in all there to us, as the only sun and glory of that world; and yet we shall have pleasure, not only to see our glorified Redeemer, but also to converse with the heavenly society, and to sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God, and to love and praise him in consort and harmony with all those holy, blessed spirits. And shall we be afraid to follow, where the saints of all generations have gone before us? And shall the company of our best, and most, and happiest friends, be no inducement to us? Though it must be our highest joy to think that we shall dwell with God, and next that we shall see the glory of Christ, yet is it no small part of my comfort to consider, that I shall follow all those holy persons, whom I once conversed with, that are gone before me, and that I shall dwell with such as Enoch and Elias, and Abraham and Moses, and Job and David, and Peter and John, and Paul and Timothy, and Ignatius and Polycarp, and Cyprian and Nazianzen, and Augustine and Chrysostom, and Bernard and Gerson, and Savonarola and Mirandula, and Taulerus and Kempisius, and Melancthon and Alasco, and Calvin and Bucholtzer, and Bullinger and Musculus, and Zanchy and Bucer, and Paræus and Grynæus, and Chemnitius and Gerhard, and Chamier, and Capellus, and Blondel and Rivet, and Rogers and Bradford, and Hooper and Latimer, and Hildersham and Amesius, and Langley and Nicolls, and Whitaker and Cartwright, and Hooker and Bayne, and Preston and Sibbes, and Perkins and Dod, and Parker and Ball, and Usher and Hall, and Gataker and Bradshaw, and Vines and Ash, and millions more of the family of God". I name these for my own delight and comfort; it being pleasant to me to remember what companions I shall have in the heavenly joys, and praises of my Lord. How few are all the saints on earth, in comparison of those that are now with Christ? And, alas, how weak, and ignorant, and corrupt, how selfish, and contentious, and froward, are God's poor infants here in flesh, when above there is nothing but holiness and perfection? If knowledge, or goodness, or any excellency do make the creatures truly amiable, all this is there in the highest degree; but here, alas, how little have we? If the love of h Reader, bear with this mixture: for God will own his image when peevish contenders do deny it, or blaspheme it; and will receive those whom faction and proud domination would cast out, and vilify with scorn and slanders. God, or the love of us, do make others lovely to us, it is there and not here that these and all perfections flourish. O how much now, do I find the company of the wise and learned, the godly and sincere, to differ from the company of the ignorant, brutish, the proud and malicious, the falsehearted and ungodly rabble? How sweet is the converse of a holy, wise, experienced Christian? O then what a place is the New Jerusalem; and how pleasant will it be with saints and angels to see and love and praise the Lord. Direct. VIII. That sickness and death may be comfortable to you, as your passage to eternity, take notice of the seal and earnest of God even the spirit of grace which he hath put into your hearts.' That which emboldened Paul and such others to groan after immortality; and to "be most willing to be absent from the body and present with the Lord," was because God himself "had wrought or made them for it, and given them the earnest or pledge of his Spiriti." For this is God's mark upon his chosen and justified ones by which they are "sealed up to the day of their redemption." "In whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." "God hath anointed us, and sealed us, and given the pledge or earnest of his Spirit into our hearts'." "This is the pledge or earnest of our inheritance"." And what a comfort should it be to us, when we look towards heaven to find such a pledge of God within us? If you say, I fear I have not this earnest of the Spirit whence then did your desires of holiness arise? what weaned you from the world, and made you place your hopes and happiness above? whence came your enmity to sin, and opposition to it, and your earnest desires after the glory of God, the prosperity of the Gospel, and the good of souls? The very love of holiness and holy persons, and your desires to know God and perfectly love him, do shew that heavenly nature or spirit within you, which is your surest evidence for eternal life: for that spirit was sent from heaven, to draw up your hearts, and fit you for it: and God doth not give you such natures, and desires, and preparations in vain. This also is called "The witness of the Spirit with (or to) our spirit, that we are the children of i 2 Cor. v. 4, 5. 8. m Ephes. iv. 30. i. 13. God; and if children then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ"." It witnesseth our adoption, by evidencing it; as a seal or pledge doth witness our title to that which is so confirmed to us. The nature of every thing is suited to its use and end; God would not have given us a heavenly nature or desire, if he had not intended us for heaven. Direct. Ix. Look also to the testimony of a holy life, since grace hath employed you in seeking after the heavenly inheritance.' It is unlawful and perilous to look after any works or righteousness of your own, so as to set it in whole or in part, instead of Christ, or to ascribe to it any honour that is proper to him; as to imagine that you are innocent, or have fulfilled the law, or have made God a compensation by your merits or sufferings, for the sin you have committed. But yet you must judge yourselves on your sick beds as near as you can, as God will judge you. And "he will judge every man according to his work ;" and will recompense and reward men according to their works. "Well done good and faithful servant! thou hast been faithful over a little, I will make thee ruler over much; come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you-for I was hungry and ye fed me, &c." "He is the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him "." I Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man, that built his house upon a rock 9- "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gate into the city; for without are dogs'," &c. "Thus must you rejoice in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," not only as he was crucified on it for you, but also as you are crucified by it to the world, and the world to you." He that as a benefactor will give you that glory which you could never deserve of him, on terms of commutative justice, (for so no creature can deserve any thing of God,) will yet as a righteous governor and judge, deliver it you only on the terms of his paternal, governing, distributive justice; and all shall receive according to what they have done in the body. And therefore you may take comfort in that evangelical n Rom. viii. 15-17. 9 Matt. vii. 24, 25. 66 • Matt. xxv. 39, 40, &c. 66 P Heb. v, 9. |