MOUNT PISGAH: OR, A PROSPECT OF HEAVEN. BEING An Exposition on the Fourth Chapter of The First Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, from the 13 th'. verse, to the end of the Chapter.  
Divided into Three Parts.  
By THO. CASE, Sometimes Student in Christ-Church Oxon, and Minister of the Gospel.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  etc. Naz. Orat. 
LONDON, Printed by Thomas Milbourn, for Dorman Newman, at the Surgeon's Arms in Little-Brittain, near the Lame-Hospital, 1670.   

TO THE Honourable, and his much Honoured Son-in-Law, Sr. ROBERT BOOTH, Knight, Lord Chief Justice of the Common-Pleas in Ireland. Grace, Mercy, and Peace.  
Dear Sir,  
THese Meditations presented to you, were first intended for a diversion to your and my sorrow, Conceived by the death of that Excellent Child your Firstborn, your Benjamin; but his Precious Mother's Ben-oni, for she brought him forth, not with the hazard only, but with the loss of her own Life; his Birth was her Death: from which very moment of time, You were pleased to concredit his Education to his tender Grandmother, your Pious Mother, and myself; a Depositum, than which there could nothing have been more Sacred to us in the world: I am sure we were as tender of it, as of our own Lives; yea verily our Lives were bound up in the Child's Life. 
●er. 31.20.  He was indeed Natus deliciarum, a Delectable Child, in whom Nature and Grace seemed to be at a strife, which should excel in her workmanship: and as he grew in age, so he grew in sweetness of disposition, and in all Natural and Moral Endowments, of which his Age was capable: yea he out-grew his Age, and was always beforehand with his Education; Imbibing instruction faster than we durst (rationally) infuse it, for fear of hurting the tender Vessel: So that he seemed to be a Man before his Childhood was expired: As many Loved him as knew him; and were in dispute with themselves, whether such Maturity did Prophesy an Eximious Life, or an Immature Death: I must confess (whether my infirmity or no, I know not) I was often offended at the mention of the latter, as too boldly entrenching upon God's Prerogative: But such (it seems) was the Divine Decree, so it proved; His work was done betimes, and ours about him afore we thought of it; and while we said of him in our hearts, as once Lamech said of his Son Noah, 
Gen. 5.29.  This Child shall Comfort us; he shall live with us; God said Nay, he shall leave you, and shall live with me; for before he was Eleven years old, God snatched him out of our Tuition, and removed him into an Higher Form; where he should learn no more by the sight of the eye, and hearing of the ear, which are subject to mistake; but by clear and perfect Vision; where he knows more than we could teach him; yea able to teach us what we are not capable to understand; while we see but in a glass darkly, he is seeing Face to Face. Oh could I but write what he is able to dictate concerning the Facial Vision which I am now (with fear and trembling) but peeping into; what a rare Exposition should I publish to the world, upon the present Context before us? such as Eye never Read, nor Ear ever Herd, nor can ever enter into the heart of man, until we enter into that Light where he is; where his intellectual Eye is married to the Sun of Righteousness, and his naked will is swimming and bathing itself in Rivers of pleasures for ever. This may be indeed (what these papers wished to be, and that is all) a perfumed Handkerchief to wipe off tears from your eyes, and fill your Soul with joy; Your loss is his infinite gain.  
It was a satisfaction good enough for an Ethnic, who, when one brought him the tidings of his Eldest Son's death, was able to reply, Scio me genuisse mortalem: Your Comfort may express itself in a higher strain, Scio me genuisse Immortalem; for though Nature did not make him Immortal by his Generation, Grace hath made him Immortal by his Regeneration: So that all that you and I have to do, is but to breathe after that Perfection, of which (through Grace) I am humbly confident he is already possessed: Let us so run that we may obtain. As for myself, so many deaths have been rushing in upon me (deep calling unto deep) as have not only retarded the birth of these Conceptions, but threatened their burial in the same Womb which Conceived them, which is the just cause they have stuck so long in the Birth. But since it hath pleased the Living God to let me live to see the travail of my Soul, though miserably mangled in the Birth by unskilful hands: Such as they are, Dear Son, I dedicate them to your Name, to be as an Absolom's-Pillar, until God may raise up a Living-Monument in the room of that which he hath removed: And because this may be too weak and obscure, let me provoke you (Sir) to erect to yourself a Monument that may be worthy of you; Let your own Life be a Name to you when you are dead; a Name better than of Sons and Daughters; by filling that Honourable Station, wherein God hath fixed you, and all your other Relations, with such Fruitfulness, Wisdom, and Fidelity, that all that know you, may rise up and call you blessed; yea, that your Name may be as a sweet Perfume to Posterity: Live your own Life and your Son's too.  
As for me, I cannot long Survive, having so often received in myself the Sentence of Death; 
2 Cor. 1.9. Psal. 90.10.  I have lived already one full Age of man, and am nowin the third year of my LABOUR AND SORROW, and it is little I can do for God; I must Decrease, but may you Increase; yet pray for me, that I may live much in a little time; and that myself and your Aged Mother may like those Trees of God, Psal. 92.14, 15. bring forth more fruit in old age, then in the beginning, to show that the Lord is upright, etc.  
Farewell Honoured Son, and God Almighty make you amends for the loan which you have lent to God, if not in the Stream, yet in the Fountain. He Bless you, and make you a Blessing: So prayeth  
Your Faithful, and most Affectionate Father-in-Law, THOMAS CASE.   

To my Worthy Son-in-Law, WILLIAM HAWES, Dr. in Physic; AND To M ris. ELIZABETH HAWES his Virtuous Consort, Grace, Mercy, and Peace.  
Dear Son and Daughter,  
IT is not (certainly) without some special design of Providence, that these Meditations which were conceived upon the death of your hopeful Nephew, the only Son of your Elder Brother, Sir Robert Booth, now in Ireland; should not, by reason of those distempers which have ever since pursued me uncessantly, as you (to your trouble) know; be able to come to the Birth until this time, when our sorrows are doubled in the death of your precious Child Martin Hawes, your Firstborn: Possibly, (as we may rationally conjecture) that we should not too soon forget the Affliction and the Misery, the Wormwood and the Gall; but that our Souls having them continually in remembrance, might be humbled in us, Lam. 3.19, 20.  
Possibly; that the Children being every way alike, both in Person and in Disposition, one and the same Plaster might give ease and cure to the wound; and one and the same Monument perpetuate their Memorial unto Posterity.  
Truly they were a pair of lovely Babes; Babes in Age, though men in knowledge and understanding; of whom we may (in their Capacity) sing as David once in his Funeral Elegies of Saul and Jonathan,  
They were pleasant in their lives, in their death they were not divided.  
Their lives indeed were short; so it seemed good to the Divine Wisdom, after He had showed two such excellent pieces in the Light for a while; timely to lay them up amongst his Jewels, lest they should receive hurt or slain from a present evil world. But although their lives were short, yet verily they were precious, such, as allowing them this Abatement, that they were Children; neither Parents nor Standers-by could rationally have wished they had been otherwise then they were. And though there were some distance of years, yet there was the greatest parity of Persons observed between them, that though they were but the Brother 's and Sister 's Sons, you could not (had they been together) have distinguished them from natural Brethren, or Tynnes (rather) of the same Birth.  
For Elegancy of Person, Loveliness of Countenance, Solidness of Judgement, Acuteness of Wit, Tenaciousness of Memory, Sweetness of Disposition, Universal Innocence, and Modesty in behaviour; Obedience to Parents (Next or Remote) Submission to Governors, Observance to Superiors, Love to Equals, Condescension to Inferiors, and candour to all.  
And (that which deservedly is of higher value with God) Reverend Attention to his Word Read or Preached, together with some suitable ability to give a methodical repetition of both; Studious in learning Catechisms, of which they were able to give such a rational account, as if they had been Candidates for the University; as many, both of the Nobility and others in the Parish of Giles 's in the Fields can (at this day) witness: Love to the best things, and a due respect to the best men; with a more than a Childish dislike of, and adversness to what they understood to be evil, etc.  
These Desirablenesses according to, yea and above the rate of Children, rendered them so like one another, as if one Soul had animated two bodies; or one and the same Conception had been form up into two Patterns, though reserved to be seen successively; to the end (as it were) that the Elder might outlive himself in the Younger; Aut Utrumque putabis esse verum, aut Utrumque putabis esse pictum: You would have deemed them to be either the same Person, or two Pictures; one the Original, the other a Copy.  
Sic oculos, sic ille manus, sic ora ferebat: He that had seen one, might have known them both.  
And as they were alike in their Lives, so in their Death they were not divided; or if a little, in time, not at all in the manner and Circumstances.  
They both Lived with us, but died with you; they lived with the Divine, but died with the Physician, to show that neither Religion doth kill, nor Physic can keep alive.  
Nevertheless, though they died with you, they came not to die, any further than the hidden Decree of the Divine will had before determined.  
They died alive as it were, Death gave them so little warning. Neither Parents or Children understood wherefore they came; until within a very few days, Death shown his Commission, and as soon Executed it.  
They died both of them in the absence of their trusties, who though one step higher in the Parental line, were not (I am sure) half a step lower in Parental affection, which the Divine eye Saw, and pitied; and therefore out of Compassion, hiding from us what he was about to do; As he snatched us from the Elder, by sending us abroad: So He snatched the Younger from us by sending him Home to his Father's House: So pitying our Infirmity, who otherwise (possibly) might not have parted with them so willingly, nor have born their loss so patiently. The loss of two such choice Patterns of Divine workmanship, could not but have been an heart-breaking object to us, as it was to you, but that their constant absence from you, was a preparative, whereby the terror of death was something abated: their very absence, so long before was a little death.  
That which sweeteneth it to us all, is, (that God hath not left us to mourn as men without hope) that in the Context before us, The Children are not dead, but sleep, they sleep in Jesus.  
If any Stander-by shall judge (possibly) that my affection hath transported my Charity into their excess; my Apology is this, that I had rather be guilty of an Excess in Charity, than a Defect in thankfulness. I know we cannot expect such rational accounts of Grace in Children, as may be found in Adult Saints, but that that doxology, out of the mouths of Babes and Sucklings, thou hast ordained strength, Psal. 8.2. doth not exclude Children, though not confine the meaning of the words so narrow; is the judgement of the old St. Ignatius, who from those Scripture instances of Samuel, Josiah, and others, denieth not but that the Spirit of God working in young ones, doth many times give out early discoveries of the Grace of the Covenant, when Elder Persons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (Ignat. Epist. ad Magn.) do only carry their Gray-hairs as a badge of their Ingratitude to God.  
As for your dear Children, God hath not left himself without further witness in their death, of an interest in them; Those heavenly whispers which the tender Aunt, laying her ear to the pale lips of her dying Nephew, as he lay upon his back, with eyes fixed Heaven-ward, when he wanted strength to make his heart audible, God— Christ— Grace, etc.  
And her own dear Child's delight in that little Book, A Guide to Heaven, a book little in bulk, but great in Excellency; which as it caused him to make it his Vade Mecum while he lived; his Golden Cup, out of which he drank his Morning's draught every morning in his Bed: So it caused him to take it with him as his Viaticum to Heaven, when he came to die. For it was found with him when dead: These I say are overplusses of Divine Grace, and witnesses of Divine Love, to those dying Babes from their Heavenly Father.  
Wherefore Dear Children, let not the Consolations of God seem small unto you, but improve them for your own Comfort, and quickening, in the holy Education of the surviving Treasures of your Blood; that if they live, you may have comfort in their Lives; or if they die, you may have hope in their Deaths.  
Be steadfast and , and always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know, your labour is not in vain in the Lord.  
And accept of this imperfect Monument, set up for your continual Inspection, and the blessed children's Memorial: By  
Your Faithful, and most Affectionate Father-in-Law, THOMAS CASE.   

To the Reverend Author.  
SIR,  
THis Paper cometh to you, with a design to beg a larger draught of that discourse of yours, on 1 Thes. 4.14. whereof in the other days converse, you were pleased to give me a taste; and to beg it not for myself only, but a more common good; what more profitable Argument can you recommend to the World, than a discourse about those better things which are Reserved in Heaven for us? You know better than I, that all true Wisdom consisteth first in a fixed intention of the end; next, in a choice of apt means; lastly, in diligent pursuit; our great End and scope is, or should be, to be for ever with the Lord; which if men would more steadily fix and propound to themselves, they would sooner understand their way, for their End would shine to them all along their Course, and level and direct all their actions, yea, not only become a measure to them, but a motive to quicken them to seek what they hope for, with Industry, Vigilancy, and Self-denial, and so cast off those many Impertinencies and Inconsistencies, with which we usually fill up our Conversations; and with all, the Labours, Sorrows, and difficulties of the way, would be the better overcome. Sir, what have we Ministers to do, but to Convince people of the Truth and worth of things unseen? We own it to the inconsiderate part of the world; the far greatest part of mankind is sensual and brutish, and blind, and cannot see  off, therefore live as if they only came into the world to Eat, Drink, and Sleep, or to camber themselves with much serving. That they may do well here, We cannot enough awaken these sleepy Sensualists, that they may remember Home, and make earnest and serious preparation for the World to come. We own it to the Afflicted part of the World, whose true and proper solaces, and supports, are to be drawn from the Everlasting Estate of the Blessed. Comfort one another with these words, saith your Apostle: Yea, we own it to the better and more serious part of the World, who need continually to be warned to open the eye of Faith, and shut that of Sense, to overlook things seen, which are Temporal, but to have always in the eye of their Faith and Hope things unseen, which are Eternal and Glorious; how little would Temptations make Impressions upon us, could we learn to wink out both the Terribleness and Amiableness of the Creature? and how would all present things be lessened in our opinion, estimation, and affection, had we once but the Eagle-eye of Faith, to look beyond the Mists and Clouds of this lower and vain World, to that Blessed Estate above? Sir, Let your discourse go Abroad, and try what it can do to the Cure of in Unbelieving and Inconsiderate World. I know what you Object, the many writings of this kind Extant; But necessary things must be often enforced, and every one hath his peculiar gift and way of Writing; which if it relish not with all, meeteth with an answerabl●●●●●st in other Readers; and surely discourses are most apt to edify, which come from them who have a deeper sense of the World to come than others have; and where is that to be presumed to be, but in them who are in the very Confines of Eternity; where your Good Old Age, and late soar Sickness have placed you, and so given you a stronger sense and clearer Prospect of the things you writ of: Sir, trust it with God's Blessing, and let the Church enjoy this increase of its Treasure. I am,  
Yours in all Christian Observance, THOMAS MANTON.   

TO THE READER.  
The Author Wisheth Grace and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  
Reader,  
TO help the Weaker sort of Christians, in the understanding of this more dark and difficult Context, which containeth the Description of our Lords last coming; and to quicken the more slow and drowsy Spirits to a greater vigour in the pursuit of the Glory which is to be Revealed at that Coming; have I (not without the importunity of divers Friends, (sensible of their need of the meanest helps) put myself upon the Publishing of these more private Essays, Calculated only for the use of mine own Family.  
Yet since they may (by the blessing of God) be of a larger Influence; 
Bonum quò communius, eò melius.  and knowing that Good, is so much the more Good by how much it is a more diffusive Good, I chose rather to adventure my name, than be guilty of Sacrilege, in not Casting in my Mite into the Public Treasury of the Church's Service. I must confess, had I consulted a Reputation to my self, I could never have made choice of a more improper Season; wherein, endless Opinions and Interests do inevitably expose a man that will be writing to a necessity of Censure; (not the most gentle Condemnation of the times:) and the unskilfulness & inadvertency of Mechanic Artists, whom the Learned Montacute, late Bishop of Norwich justly calleth,  
Animalia ad perdendam Remp. Literariam nata, 
Vid. Thean, thropicon. p. 6.  doth not a little gratify the malevolence of opposite parties; who are glad of any shadow that may justify their disparagement of others, who are not of the same Sentiments with themselves.  
As for me, I can truly say, 
Acts 20.24.  none of these things trouble me; But being by the good Providence of God, hitherto spared and kept alive, I have looked upon it as my duty, (the Death-Watch every night (in my bed) sounding in mine ears) to leave some Watchword behind me, to awaken this sleepy and secure Generation; wherein the most, I would it might not be said, the better part of Christians have lost the sight of Heaven; and are digging hard into the Earth, to search whether possibly, they might not meet with a Summum Bonum between this and the Centre!  
But oh, that before they go off the Supersicies, they would look back, 
Rev. 2.5.  to see from whence they are fallen, and Repent, and do their first works.  
Behold, I am here showing you, the thing which you are so eagerly pursuing; It is risen, it is not here: Oh that you would (with Moses) get up into the Mount, from whence you might take the Prospect of that good Land, where only Blessedness dwelleth.  
I must Confess the Vision is much darkened by the dimness of the Eye, and the feebleness of the Hand, which drew this imperfect Landscape: But this I dare be bold to say, that by the Optick-glass of Faith, upon the knee of Prayer, a man may make such a discovery of glory here, as, when he cometh down from this Mount, may serve, quite to extinguish all the Glory of this nether World; and to fix the eye (with that 
* Act. 7.25.  proto-Martyr) steadfastly looking up into Heaven, to see the Glory of God, and Jesus standing on the Right Hand of God; which if it may be (in any measure) the fruit of these poor labours; let them take the praise of men, whose portion it is; while I shall with more alacrity; leave these 
‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: So the Septuagint Translates the Hebrew Text.  Tents of Kedar, where my Pilgrimage hath been thus far prolonged; and mount up to that full-eyed Vision, where Blessedness and Eternity are of one length, Ever with the Lord; Ambitious of that Epitaph, by a Learned hand, set upon the Monument of that incomparable Culverwell: 
What this to know, as we are known should be,  
The Author could not tell, but's gone to see.  And who, for that little moment, while inter vivos, is Thine, Christian Reader, in Tears and Prayers.  
THOMAS CASE.   

A TABLE Of the Scriptures; more or less Explained in this Treatise.  

GEn. Cap. 2. Ver. 2. Page 96. Part 3.  
Job. cap. 19 ver. 26, 27. pag. 87.  
Psal. cap. 16. ver. 7. page 150. ver. 16. page 10.  
cap. 19 ver. 7. page 63.  
cap. 25. ver. 14. page 131. p. 3.  
cap. 27. ver. 8. page 49. p. 3.  
cap. 32. ver. 1. page 135. in tot pag. 98. p. 3.  
cap. 39, ver. 5● page 91  
cap. 45, ver. 7, page 24, Margin.  
cap. 49, ver. 12, page 106, p. 3  
cap. 63, ver. 2, page 49, p. 3  
cap. 89, ver. 47, page 87, p. 3.  
cap. 103, ver. 13, page 148, p. 3  
cap. 110, ver. 3, page 16  
cap. 136, ver. 13, page 143 part 3 

Proverb. Cap. 16 ver. 4 page 88 p 3●    
cap. 23, for 5, page 113, p 3 

Eceles. Cap. 12 ver. 3, 4, 5., page 92. ver. 14. page 131.    
Canticles. cap. 2, ver. 16 page 32  
cap 7 ver. 12 page 132 p 3 

Isaiah. Cap 1 ver. 18 page 135    
cap. 26 ver. 14 page 84. Marg ver. 19, page 16  
cap. 30 ver. 18 page 133, p. 3  
cap. 45 ver. 23 page 73, ver. 24 pag. 147,  
cap. 53 ver 5, 6, 7. page 10  
cap 57 ver. 18 page 148 p 3  
cap. 66 ver. 5 page 129 

Jerem. Cap. 31 ver. 20 page 148. p. 3  
Ez●k. Cap. 1●. ver. 6 page 162    
cap. 37 ver. 3 page 99 

Mala●. Cap. 3 ver. 17 page 127  
Matth. Cap. 5 ver. 17 page 145, 146    
cap. 6 ver. 25. & 34 page 113. p 3  
cap. 7 ver. 25 page 171  
cap. 13 ver. 26 ad 31 page 116  
— ver. 43. page 4 part 3  
cap 19 ver. 28 page 66  
cap. 25 ver. 34 page 175  
cap. 26 ver. 39, 42, 44. page 150  
cap. 27 ver. 2 page 10 part 3 

Mark Cap. 13 ver. 32 page 56 part 3  
Luke. Cap 12 ver. 20. page 140, part 3    
cap. 13 ver. 26 page 1●1  
— ver. 43 page 3. part 3  
— ver. 28 page 46 part 3  
cap. 27 ver. 37 page 67. 

I●h●. cap. 6 ver. 39 page 19, 76.    
— ver. 55.63 page 28  
— ver. 70 page 171  
— page 7 part 3  
cap. 11 ve●. 11. page 2  
— ver. 25 page 48  
cap 12 ver. 32 page 105  
cap. 14 verse 3 page 79  
— verse 19 page 18  
— verse 20, page 57, part 3  
cap 16 verse 2 page 118  
cap. 17 verse 12, page 122  
— verse 21, page 29  
— verse 22, page 25  
— verse 24, page 19, part 3  
cap. 20, verse 15, page 72, part 3 

Acts. Cap. 1, verse 9, 10. page 108    
cap. 17 Verse 31, page 76, 79 

Rom. cap. 1. verse 4 page 12    
cap. 3 verse 9 page 147  
— verse 31, page 144  
cap. 5 verse 1 page 154  
— verse 15, ad fin, page 158  
cap 7 verse 24 page 39  
cap. 8 verse 3 page 144  
— verse 34 page 147  
— verse 35, 38, 39 page 35  
cap. 9 verse 8. 14● page 149  
cap. 10 verse 4 page 145  
cap 14 verse 9 page 15.  
1 Cor. cap, 1 verse 30 page 30  
cap 6 verse 2, 3, page 49  
cap. 7 verse 12 page 61, Marg.  
— verse 31 page 70, part 3  
cap. 15 verse 12, 13.20. page 19  
— verse 35 page 86  
— verse 37 page 88  
— verse 41 page 5 part 3  
— verse 42, 43, 44. page 89 ad 95  
— verse 51 page 65 

2 Cor. cap 2 verse 16 page 25    
cap. 4 verse 17 page 89 part 3  
— verse 18 page 104 part 3  
cap. 5 verse 1, 2 page 141 part 3  
cap. 12, verse 2, page 3, part 3  
— verse 4, page 3, part 3  
— verse 2, 4 page 62 

Galat. cap. 2. verse 19 page 155.    
— verse 20. page 29  
cap. 5. verse 24, page 30  
cap. 6, verse 14, page 30 

Ep●es. cap. 1, verse 23, page 17    
cap. 3, verse 10, page 17, part 3  
cap. 5, verse 25, page 162  
— verse 27, page 162  
— verse 30, page 24 

Philip. cap. 2, verse 7 8, 9 page 20, 21. part 3.    
— verse 10, page 73  
cap 3, verse 6, page 157  
— verse 20, page 112  
— verse 21, page 82, part 3  
— page 97, 21. part 3 

Colos. cap 1, verse 27, page 43    
cap. 2, verse 9, page 23, part 3  
cap. 3, verse 4, page 29. 

1 Thes. cap. 4, verse 14, page 9.12, 21.45.    
— verse 15, 16, 17. page 56, 57 67. 70. 76. 80. 86. 104  
— page 1.84, part 3  
1 Tim. cap. 3. verse 16, page 24, p. 3  
— page 51, part 3 

Titus. cap. 1, verse 2, page 90, part 3    
cap 3, verse 8, page 91, part 3 

Heb. cap. 1 verse 2, page 19, part 3    
— verse 3, page 23, part 3  
— page 90  
cap. 2, verse 11.16, page 26  
— verse 16, page 149  
cap. 7, verse 26, page 157  
cap. 10, verse 7, 9 page 149  
cap. 11, verse 24, 25, 26. page 101 ad 104. part 3.  
1 Peter. cap. 1, verse 4, page 73. part 3  
— verse 5, page 24, 36  
— verse 8, page 76, part 3  
— verse 15, 16, page 44, part 3.  
cap. 2, verse 9, page 31. 

2 Peter. cap 1, verse 19, page 63    
1 John. cap. 3, ver. 2. cap. 4 ver, 17. page 102  
cap. 3, verse 21, page 172  
— verse 2, page 30, part 3  
cap. 5, verse 3, page 30. 

Judas. verse 6, page 164.  
Revel. cap. 1, verse 4, page 75, part 3    
cap. 5, verse 11, page 38, part 3  
cap. 11, verse 12, page 1●9  
cap. 21, verse 9, page 163  
— verse 25, page 96, part 3.    

Scriptures Misquoted.  
PAge 6. Line 3. for Prov. 14.23 Read 14.32. p. 8. ma●gem, for Mark 10.4. r. 10.14. p. 24. marg● for Eph. 2.29. r. 5 30. p. 51. marg. Psa. 94 6. r. 94.21. p. 62. marg for 1 Cor. r. 2 Cor. p 73 l. 5. for Phil 2 20. r. 2.10. p. 74. marg. for Rev. 6 26, 27, r 6.16, 17. p. 78. marg. for 1 Cor. 15 9 r. 15.19. p. 82. marg. for Num. r. Exod p. 90. marg. for 2 Thes. 2.10. read 1.10. page 99 marg. for Ezek 27.3. read 37.3. page 113, marg. for Isa. 10, 34, r. 40.31. page 118, marg for 1 Joh 16.2. read Joh.— marg for Prov. 17.17. r. 9.71. page 121, marg. for Joh. 10, 6. read 17 6. page 128. marg. for Heb. 1, 11: read 2 11, page 130, line 34, for 2 Chron. 22, 23, read 32, 31, page 135, marg. for Jerem. read Isa.— marg. for Num, 23, 24. read 23, 21, page 137, marg. for Acts 13.19, read 3, 19, page 145, marg. for Matt. 5.27, read 5, 17, page 155, marg. for Psa. 30, 3. read 130, 3.  
PART 3. page 2, marg. for Luke 21, 46, read 21 36,— marg. for Rev. 3, 2, r. 14, 4, page 8, line 16, for Mat. 24.21. read 24 51, page 29, marg. for Matt. 8, 10, read 18 10, page 30, marg. for Joh. read 1 Joh. page 31, marg. for Gen. 13, 24, 30. read 32, 24, 30, page 34, marg. for Psal. 48, 2, read 84, 2, page 38. marg. for 1 King 4, 25, read 4, 29, page 46, marg. for Ma●. read Matth. page ●●, marg. for Mark. 12, 32 read 13, 32, page 60, line 31, for Matr. 25 24, r ad 25 34 page 62, marg. for Matt: 18, 1. read 8, 11. page 79, marg. for Rom. read Revel. page 81, marg. for Eph. 5, 1. read 4, 24, page 110, marg. for 2 Thes. 1, 9 read 2 Cor. 4, 4. page 125, marg. for 2 Cor. read 1 Cor, page 132, line 13. for Cant, 6, 12, read 7, 12 page 135, marg. for 1 Cor 9, 52. read 9.25 page 150. marg. for. 1 Pet. 1 18. read 1.8. page 153. line 1●. for Psal. 94.10, read 94.19. p. 164. l. 20. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. In the first Epistle Dedicatory, p. ●. l. 6. for weak, r. mean. In the second Epistle Dedicatory are these 3 pages mistaken in the Title, v●z. p. 7, p. 10, & p. 11. for The Epistle to the Reader, read The Epistle Dedicatory. And in the same Epistle, page 9 l. 9 for their excess, read this excess, page 10. line 3. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

MOUNT PISGAH: OR, WORDS of COMFORT, OVERDO THE Death of our Gracious Relations.  1 Thes. 4.18. Wherefore, Comfort one another with these Words. 
THese words! what words are these? Scripture words in their general Nature; more particularly, the Words of Comfort, contained in this Context from v. 13. I would not have you to be ignorant Brethren, etc. down to my Text.  
For, therein doth the Apostle (by the dictate of the Holy Ghost) lay down a model or platform of Consolatory Arguments, as so many sovereign Antidotes against immoderate sorrow for our precious Relations which are departed: And with these words, the Apostle would have christian's be able to comfort themselves and one another. Comfort one another with these words.  
For the handling of the Text, I will do these two things.  
1. I will show you what these words are, and open the sense and meaning of them, as they lie in the order and method of the Context.  
2. I will improve them for 

1. Comfort  
2. Counsel.    

For the first of these,  
The words of Comfort laid down by the Apostle in this model, 
10 Words of Comfort.  may be reduced unto 10 Heads, some of them very comprehensive, and all of them like mother of Pearl (dissolved) exceeding Cordial and Restorative.  
The first word of Comfort is this, 
The first word of Comfort.  namely, That our precious Relations, over whose departure we stand mourning and weeping, are but fallen asleep; I would not have you ignorant, Brethren, concerning them which are asleep. We may say of departed Saints, as our Saviour said concerning the Damsel, Math. 9.24. They are not dead but sleep: the same phrase he also used to his Disciples concerning Lazarus, 
John 11.11.  our Friend. Lazarus sleepeth. A notion which the Disciples at first understood not, because their understandings were not yet enlightened; they dreamt of a natural sleep saith the Text; of taking Rest in sleep. And yet, as men in their sleep do sometimes dream true, so did they in this dream of theirs, speak truer than they were ware of; they said, Lord, if he sleeps, he shall do well; it is true indeed, the Saints of God do but sleep, when they lie down in the Grave; that, which we call death (in such) is not death indeed; It is but the Image of Death, the shadow and metaphor of death, deaths younger Brother; a mere sleep, and no more. The Holy Ghost, who best knoweth what things be, hath phrased it so, and that, not so little as twenty times in Scripture, to show, that it was not a sudden expression, incautelously dropped from the Pen of any one of the Secretaries of Holy Writ; but the true, proper, and genuine notion of death suggested to them by the infallible dictate of the Spirit of God; they do but sleep; and if they sleep, they shall do well: their sleep shall be sweet unto them; as sweet as once the Prophets was, Jer. 31.26.  
I shall not follow the Analogy that is between Death and Sleep, in the latitude of it, sufficient to our purpose it will be, to take notice of two main properties of Death, which do carry in them a lively resemblance of sleep.  
The first is, 
Is●. Ligath su●●●.  That sleep is nothing else but the binding up of the senses for a little time; a locking up of the Doors, and shutting of the Windows of the body for a season, that so nature may take the sweeter Rest and Repose; being freed from all disturbance and distractions: Sleep is but a mere Paerenthesis to the Labours and Travels of this present life.  
Secondly, Sleep is but a partial privation, a privation of the Act only, not of the Habit of Reason. They that sleep in the Night, do awake again in the Morning, than there is a regress or return of the habit to its Act again: The Soul returneth to the discharge of all her Offices again: In the internal faculties; to the act of Judging, and discourse in the Intellect; to recalling things for the present, and recording things for future use in the memory; It returns to its Empire and command in the will, to its judicature in the Conscience, Excusing, Accusing, Condemning, Et sic in caeteris: So likewise the soul returns again to the execution of all her functions in the external senses; to seeing in the eye, to hearing in the ear, to tasting in the palate; as also to working in the hands, to walking in the feet, and so in the rest. In a word, the whole man is Redivivus, restored again to its self as it were by a new 
* Providentia est continuata Creatio  Creation;. that which lay as senseless, and useless, tantum non, dead all the night, is raised again more vive and fresh, and active in the morning, than it lay down at night.  
Such a thing as this (for all the world) is that, which we commonly call Death, but with this considerable advantage, that in the interim of Death the soul acts more vigorously than before, as being released from the weights and entanglements of the body.  
First, It is but a longer and closer binding up of the senses; Nature's long vacation; The Grave is a bed, wherein the body is laid to Rest, with its Curtains drawn close about it, that it may not be disturbed in its repose; so the Holy Ghost pleaseth to phrase it. 
Isa. 57.2.  He shall enter into peace, they shall rest in their beds, every one walking in their uprightness. Death is nothing else, but a Writ of ease to the poor weary Servants of Christ, a total Cessation from all their labour of nature, sin, and affliction. 
Rev. 14.13.  Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord, that they may rest from their Labours, etc. While the Souls of the Saints do Rest in Abraham's Bosom, their bodies do sweetly sleep in their Beds of dust, as in a safe and Consecrated Dormitory. Thus Death is but a sleep.  
Secondly, And then again, as they that sleep in the night, do awake in the morning; so shall the Saints of God do: This heaviness may endure for a night, (this night of mortality:) but joy cometh in the morning: In the morning of the Resurrection they shall awake again; 
Psal. 17.15.  it will not be an everlasting night, an endless sleep, but as sure as we awake in the morning, when we have slept comfortably all night, so sure shall the Saints than awake, and shall stand upon their feet, and we shall behold them again with exceeding joy.  
Oh Blessed morning! How should we long and wait for that morning, more than they that watch for the dawning of the day?  
It is an error in Philosophy, to call Death a total privation of the habit, Divinity hath corrected that error, while it hath taught us to call the dissolution of Nature in the Saints, (at the most) but a sleep; 
Mors ista quam adeò perhorrescimus adeò timemus non est exitus sed transitus veni et eterum qui nos in lucem reponat dies. Sen.  which in the Philosophers own notion, is but a partial privation, and doth admit of a Regress or returning again to the habit, or former state and capacity, more beautiful, active, and vigorous than ever; as hereafter shall appear.  
A comfortable notion! which were it realized by Believing, would be able to silence our complaints, and to still all our moan-making over our departed Christian friends and Relations; how sweet and precious soever they have been to us.  
For, do we indeed take on so, when any of the Family are gone to Bed before us, in the Evening? Do we, indeed, cry out, woe and alas, my Father is fallen asleep, my Mother is laid to Rest, my dear Yokefellow is gone to bed before me; my sweet Child, the delight of mine eyes, the joy of my heart, his eyes are closed, the Curtains drawn close about him, and I cannot awake him? Do we I say thus take on and afflict ourselves in this case? no surely, he would be accounted little better than a Madman, or a Fool, that should do so; Oh fie, then fie for shame, why do we so here? the case is the same; only if the night be a little longer (which yet no man can determine before hand) the morning will be infinitely more joyous, and make us more abundant compensation for our patience and expectation: why are we so unlike ourselves in one, and in the other? Surely, because we either forget our notions, or believe them not; we call the absence of our Friends by a wrong name. We say, my Father is dead, my Mother is dead, my Isaac is dead, my dear Yokefellow is not, and these be killing words: Dead! the Letter killeth. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Death is the most terrible of all terrible things, the very name of it strikes a chillness, and coldness into our hearts; enough to kill us before our time; (for even worldly sorrow many times causeth death.) Call we then things, as God calls them; make we use of the notions, which God hath suggested to us: say we, my Parent is gone to bed, my Yokefellow is at Rest, my beloved Babe is fallen asleep 
* So also in Scripture, is death termed a departure, 2 Tim. 4.6. an absence from the body, a going from home, an unclothing, 2 Cor. 5 4.8. Job. 15.11. An entering into peace, a going to rest, Isa. 57.2. , and behold, the terror of death will cease.  
If God hath clothed this horrid thing Death with softer notions for our comfort, let not the Consolations of the Almighty be a small thing with us. Oh how comfortable lives might we live, had we but the right notions of things, and Faith to realize them! Our Friends are not dead, but sleep.  
Comfort one another with this Word.   

The second Consolatory Argument is,  
The hopeful condition of these our sleeping Relations, 
2d. Word of Comfort.  Blessed be God, we are not without hope of their happiness, even while they thus sleep.  
There be indeed that dye, and neither carry away any hope with them, nor leave any hope behind them, to th●● surviving Relations: but the Righteous hath hope in his 〈◊〉, Prov. 14.23. when our gracious Relations die (we n●●●●●se the word sometimes, that we may be understood) there is hope; They are infinite gainers by their death. Sometimes, they die full of hope in their own sense; 
Job. 19.25 26, 27.  I know saith J●b, that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin, Worm, destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God, etc. Oh Blessed hope●! And thus holy Paul, 
2 Cor. 5.1.  We know that if the earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, Eternal in the Heavens; Glorious Triumph! And thus again, we may find him in his own name, and in the name of other of his Brethren, and Companions in Tribulation, and in the Kingdom, and patience of Jesus Christ, marching out of the field of this world in a Victorious manner, with Colours flying, and Drums beating; and thus insulting over Death as a Conqueror, 
1 Cor. 15.56.57.  Oh Death where is thy Sting? Oh Grave where is thy Victory? The Sting of Death is Sin, the strength of sin is the Law; but thanks be to God which giveth us the Victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ! And thus 2 Pet. 1.11. An abundant entrance is administered unto them, into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; Oh the superabundant Consolation of the Heirs of promise! And, if any of the Saints of God (at any time) their Sun have set under a Cloud, so, that they are not able to express their own hopes; yet they leave behind them solid Scripture evidences of God's everlasting Electing Love; and of their effectual vocation out of the world, into the Kingdom and Fellowship of his dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord; 
Evidences of saving vocation, Gal. 5.22, 23.  such as are, The Fruits of the Spirit, Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance, Their Poverty of Spirit Holy Mourning For Their own and Other men's Sins. 
Math. 5.3.   

Their hungering and thirsting after Righteousness. 
6. v. 8.   
Their purity of heart, visible in the holiness of their lives.  
Their peaceable and peacemaking dispositions. 
9.10, 11, 12. Ch. 5.8.   
Their patiented bearing of the Cross.  
Their keeping of the word of God in the precepts of it, and keeping close to it in the Truth of it.  
Their superlative Love to Christ. 
Math. 10.37.   
Their Cordial Love to the Saints. 
1 Jo. 3.14.   
Their Contempt of the World. 
1 Jo. 2.15.   
Their Love of Christ's appearance. 
2 Tim. 4.8.   
In a word, Their conformity to Christ their Head. 
Rom. 8.29.    
These, and the like Divine Virtues, although not seldom more visible to a judicious slander by, than to themselves, and not to be weighed, but with some grains of allowance, in the balance of the Sanctuary; these, I say, may administer abundant matter of hope, and rejoicing to surviving Friends, that those Relations, which are fallen asleep, were a people whom God hath set apart for himself, precious in his sight, honourable and beloved of him; a people form for himself, to show forth his praise, 
Col s. 1.13.  and made meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light.  
Yea even in them, whose Sun goes down in the morning of their Youth.  

A teachable Spirit, 
Math. 13.16. Isa. 28.9. 71 Psal. 5. Jo. 16.8. 1 John 2.13. John 17.3.   
Pious Inclinations,  
Sense of a lost Estate by Nature,  
A Competent knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ in his Offices,  
A real sense of the need and use of Christ, 
1 Pet. 2.7. 2 Tim. 3.15. Ps. 119.13.   
An early acquaintance with the Scriptures,  
A good understanding of the Word Preached, not without some savour of it.  
Respects to God's Sabbaths,  
And in a word, 
1 Kings 14.13.  Any good thing toward the Lord God of Israel.   
These early Impressions (I say) where ever they are found, (though according to different ages and capacities more or less legible in them) are so many hopeful Indiciums' that God hath been at work upon their hearts betimes, and that he doth not untimely take them away in judgement, but are polished Jewels, which he hath, of special grace laid up, and secured from the violence, and profanation of a reprobate world.  
Nay, once more: Those very Babes and Sucklings, whom God is pleased to remove from us very early; snatched from their Mother's Breasts: yea possibly, who pass swiftly from the Womb of their Natural Mother, unto the belly of the Earth, their Original Mother; even these I say, they being 

A Covenant seed;  
Appendices of their believing Parents,  
Children of promise, Act. 2.39.  
Consecrated unto God by their Baptism, or, by the Tears and Prayers of their holy Parents (in the want of it) having a right to the mercies, 
1 Cor. 7.14. Rom. 9.11. Mar. 10.4. Luk. 1.44. Gal. 1.15. Renatiante quam nati. Aug.  privileges of the Covenant, as well as to Baptism.   Among whom is dispersed 

God the Father's Election.  
God the Son's purchase.  
God the Holy Ghost's Influence and Operation.    
Even these are not to be looked upon as a lost Generation, but may in the warrantable judgement of Scripture Charity, be hopefully reputed for an Holy Seed, God's adopted Children; owned by Christ, and in him heirs, coheirs of the Kingdom of Heaven; by special prerogative advanced to their Inheritance, (as it were) before their time.  
Upon this Foundation stands our hope, concerning our Godly Relations, which are fallen asleep, of what age, or state soever; we are not to mourn for them even as others, which have no hope. Let them mourn excessively, who know not the Scriptures, nor the power of God in raising the Dead; who bury their Relations and their hopes together in one Grave: but you, that (upon these Scripture evidences) have good hope through grace, concerning your deceased Friends, that while you are mourning on Earth, they are rejoicing in Heaven; that whiles you are Clothed with black, they are Clothed in white, even in the long white Robes of Christ's Righteousness; while you are rooling yourselves in the Dunghill, they are sitting with Christ upon his Throne. Do not, (I beseech you,) profane your Scriptural hope, with an unscriptural mourning; give not the world occasion to judge, either yourselves to live without Faith, or your Relations to die without hope: but let your Christian moderation be known to all men, that it may be a visible Testimony to all the world, of God's grace in them, and of your hopes of their glory with God. Therefore comfort one another with this word also.   

A third word of comfort followeth, and that is, 
A third word of Comfort   
Our gracious Relations are not alone in their Death; The Captain of their Salvation did march before them, through those black Regions of Death and the Grave, Jesus died; this is implied in the following words, If we believe that Jesus died: This is a third consolatory Argument, and it carrieth in it strong consolation. Our sweet Relations in dying, run no other hazard, than Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did, no other hazard, than all the Patriarches. and Prophets, and Apostles did, in their generations, they all died, and were resolved into their first dust.  
Yea, what shall I say? They run no other hazard, than the Lord of all the Patriarches, Prophets and Apostles did, Jesus died; this is wonderful indeed, the Lord of Life died! The eternal Son of God was laid in the Grave!  
If our Children die, we know we begot them mortal: The Son of God had no principle of mortality in him 
* i.e. No sin in him to deserve it, nor disease to cause it.  and yet he died.  
Be our Children never so precious to us, they cannot be so precious to us (God forbidden they should) as the Lord Jesus was to His Father, who testifies concerning him from Heaven with a loud voice, This is my wellbeloved Son, 
Math. 3.17.  in whom my Soul is well pleased: And yet God gave up this well beloved of his Soul to the death, Jesus died!  
And we indeed justly: Death is but our wages, wages as truly earned, as ever was a penny by the poor hireling for his days labour; both we, and our Offspring have forfeited our lives over, and over again by continual reiterated Treasons against the supreme Majesty of Heaven and Earth: yea the best blood which runs in our veins is Traitor's blood by succession from our first Rebellious Parents, for which God might justly have executed the sentence (at first imposed) even as soon as ever we draw our first breath, Thou shalt die the death, Gen. 3.  
But He! what evil had he done? He was holy, harmless, undefiled, 
Heb. 7.26. Isa. 53.61.71. Heb. Ho hath made the iniquity of us all to meet in him.  separate from sinners— He did no sin, neither was there guile found in his mouth; He fulfilled all Righteousness; and yet Jesus died! And why so! Surely he was wounded for our Transgressions, he was bruised for our Iniquities, the Chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed; we all like Sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid upon him the Iniquity of us all! Jesus Christ was the Centre, in whom the sins of all the Elect of God did meet, and unite together, to make Him, as it were the common sinner. For God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him; and under the insupportable burden of our sin, he sweat, and wept, and bled, and groaned, and gave up the Ghost.  
Behold! 
Rom. 8.31.  So God the Father Loved us, that he spared not his own Son, but delivered him up to the death for us all; and shall we think much to give up the dearest Treasures of our blood, in death, to Him?  
So much did God the Son love us, that, He died for love of us; he died the first death, that we might not die the second death; he died for us, that we might live with him; And shall we count our lives, or the lives of our dearest Relations too dear for him? especially, when no such advantage can accrue to the Lord Jesus by our death, as did accrue to us by his death? also, in as much as neither we nor ours, are in any capacity to reap the fruit, and advantage of his death, until we die also! and the sooner we die, the sooner shall we reap those fruits.  
Behold! God's Firstborn was laid in the Sepulchre; and shall we think God deals hardly with us, if we follow our firstborn to the Grave, and leave them there, till our Lord himself come to awaken them?  
Especially, since therefore Jesus died, and was buried, that he might sanctify death to us by his death, and by his being buried, might perfume the Grave, and make it a sweet Dormitory, or bed of spices for his members to rest in, until the Morning of the Resurrection.  
Oh Christians, Let us comfort ourselves, and one another with these words also, Jesus died.  
The fourth word is yet more Cordial, 
A fourth word of Comfort.  and that is, although Jesus died, yet He risen again. He died indeed, but he risen again from the dead. God suffered his dear Son to be laid in the Sepulchre, but he did not leave him there, nor suffer any taint of Corruption to seize upon his precious Body. And to that end, Christ made haste to rise again out of the Grave, he risen the third day, and that very early in the Morning (saith the Text) as soon, as ever it could be called day: The Alarm no sooner went off (as it were) but the Lord Jesus did lift up his Royal head, and put on his Glorious Apparel, and came forth out of his Grave, as a Bridegroom out of his Chamber, in State and Triumph.  
And this was the Cordial, which our Lord himself took before his passion. Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell, 
Psal. 16.10.  neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see Corruption: Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, etc. This was his Triumphant Song: And it may be ours, as well as his; yea therefore ours, because his (whether in reference to ourselves, or to our gracious Relations.) For therefore was not Christ left in Hell (i. e. in the state of the dead) that he might lift up us also out of the pit, and therefore his body saw (i. e. sustained) no corruption or putrefaction (no not for the least particle of time) that our mortal bodies might not inherit Rottenness and Oblivion in the dust, for ever. And indeed, in this phrase in the Text, Jesus arose again, there be three things implied, which interest every believer in this Triumph of Christ's Resurrection, etc. 
Jesus risen again, implieth three things.   

First, Power.  
Secondly, Right.  
Thirdly, Office.   
First, 
1st. Power. 〈◊〉  Jesus Risen again, it implieth Christ's power, Viz. That Jesus Christ risen by his own power. It is not said, Jesus was raised, which might have spoken Him passive only in his Resurrection, but Jesus risen, which speaketh Him active; namely, that he risen as a Conqueror by his own strength; as Himself professeth, I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again. 
Joh: 10.18.  What power that was Rom. 1.4. will tell us, declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the Resurrection from the dead. It is true, it is elsewhere said that Christ was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father, Rom. 6.4. And likewise that he was quickened by the Spirit, Pet. 3.18. To show that neither the Father nor the Holy Ghost were excluded from a joint share and concurrence in his Resurrection, but here as elsewhere it is said also, that Christ risen, to show that he was not merely passive in his Resurrection, as the Children of the Resurrection are, but that he risen also by the mighty power that was seated in his own Royal person.  
The divine Nature in Christ, to which the humane nature was personally united, 
Alteram Christi naturam intelligamus, nempe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Verbi incarnati potentiâ.  was that Spirit of Holiness, by which the Lord Jesus did rise Triumphantly from the dead. In the same language, speaks another Apostle; he was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, i.e. by the Divine essence which was in Christ. Death and the Grave had swallowed a morsel, which they could not keep: but as the Whale, when it had swallowed Ionas (in this, the Type of Christ) was forced to vomit him up again, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  it being impossible Christ should be holden by death: The power of the word incarnate, loosed or dissolved the bonds of Death, as a thread of Tow is broken, when it is touched with the fire. Yea (Sampson-like, herein also another type of his) Jesus Christ did break in sunder the bars of the Grave, and carried away the Gates of death upon his shoulders, making a show of them openly.  
Thus Jesus risen again, as a Conqueror by his own power, and this is our Triumph, and Rejoicing: For surely, He, that thus raised up himself, can raise up us also, and will indeed raise us up by the same power, 
Phillip 3 21.  whereby he is able to subdue even all things unto himself.  
Secondly, Jesus risen again; it implieth his Office; 
Second. Office.  he risen as a Jesus, a Saviour, the Mediator of our peace; who having finished the work he came about, namely to satisfy divine Justice, and to bring in everlasting Rightcousness, so making peace by the blood of his Cross; God the Father sent a public Officer from Heaven, to open the Prison doors; 
Math. 28.2.  an Angel to rool away the stone from the mouth of the Sepulchre; thereby proclaiming to all the world, that the debt was paid, and, that God had received full satisfaction for the sins of the Elect, saying as it were, Deliver him, for I have received a Ransom.  
This is another ground of our Triumph, that Jesus risen, that is, he risen, as our Jesus, our Saviour, and so by dying, hath delivered us from death, and from him, 
Heb. 2.14. 1 Thes. 1.10.  that had the power of death, which is the Devil.— Jesus who delivered us from the wrath to come.  
Thirdly, Jesus risen again, it implieth his right to us, 
3ly. His right and interest.  and interest in us. He rose as our Jesus, i. e. as a public Head, in whom all believers are considered. Jesus Christ as he died not in a private capacity (for he had no sin of his own, 
Goel in the Hebr. signifies both a Redeemer and the next of Kin, because the right of Redemption belonged to the next of Kin.  for which death might have any dominion over him) so neither did he rise again in a private capacity, but in a public capacity, as he was our Goel, our next of kin, unto whom the right of Redemption did belong: He risen as our sponsor and surety, yea as our Husband and Bridegroom having espoused us to himself on the Cross; He risen as the Captain of our Salvation, the public Head, and Representative of all the Elect of God.  
And this consideration layeth another foundation for our Triumph in Christ his Resurrection. 
Christ's Resurrection our Triumph, On a two sold account. 1. Account, all the Saints are risen in Christ already judicially, legally.    

And that upon a twofold account.  
1. In as much as Christ being a public person, all the Saints of God are risen already in Christ's Resurrection, that is to say, judicially, legally, as in their Sponsor, and in their stead. In the sense of the Law, what the sponsor or surety doth, the principle debtor is said to do also: when the surety is laid in prison, the principle is laid in prison also; when the surety payeth the debt, the principle is accounted as if he had paid the debt himself; when the surety is discharged, the debtor is discharged also, because in the sense of the Law, the principle and surety are but one person.  
Thus the Lord Jesus as our Sponsor and Representative, having paid the debt, we are reputed, as if we had paid it ourselves; he being discharged, we are discharged; he rising from the dead, we also rise in him, and with him: So speak the Scriptures.  Dead with Christ, 
R●m. 66. Ephes. 2.5.  
Quickened together with Christ, raised up together, and made to sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  
Whatsoever he doth, as our Mediator, we are said to do the same in a juridical sense.  
Hence our Blessed Saviour calls Himself, 
john. 11.25.  the Resurrection: I am the Resurrection and the Life, etc. He doth not say, egoresuscito etc. (It is Tertullian his observation) but ego sum Resurrectio; not I raise the Dead, but I am the Resurrection; to show, that, as in Adam all dye, so in Christ (the second Adam) all (his spiritual seed) shall be made alive; that, as the first Adam was puteus mortis, a pit of sin and death, to all his natural posterity; so the second Adam is fons vitae, a Wellspring of Righteousness & Life to all his believing seed. So again, He saith, not, I give Life, but I am the Life, to show that it is but one and the same Life, which Christ and Believers Live, 
Col. 3.3.  that his Life (he being their Representative) is their Life. When Christ who is our Life, etc.  
This is a word of Comfort indeed; The Saints of God are risen already in Christ their Head; those precious pieces of beauty and delight, the loss of whom we lament with brinish tears and sighs dipped in blood; they are risen, they are not here, they are quickened together with Christ, raised up together, and made to sit together with Christ in Heavenly places: I say, (in a forensical or Court-sence) reputed so in Christ their Head and Surety. This is much: but this is not all, there is yet a second account, and that is,  
Secondly, 
Second Account. The Saints shall use with Christ really. The Saints shall arise again in their own persons.  Jesus his rising again gives us infallible assurance of their, and our future Resurrection: As they are risen with Christ legally, so they shall rise with Christ really and personally.  
God, in the Resurrection of Christ, hath given to the world an instance and a pledge of the Saints Resurrection in the last day.  
There is an inseparable connexion between the Resurrection of Christ and the Resurrection of the Saints, and it is fourfold: scil.  
A Connexion of 

1. Merit. 
A sour-fold Connexion between Christ's Resurrection and the Saints Resurrection, &c 1. Connex. of Merit.   
2. Influence.  
3. Design.  
4. Union.    
The first Connexion that is between Christ's Resurrection and the Saints Resurrection, is a Connexion of Merit.  
The Lord Jesus by his Death purchased both the Persons and the Privileges of the Elect of God. 
Rom. 14.9.  To this end Christ both died and risen again, that he might be the Lord both of the dead and the living: In the former verse the Apostle asserts the absolute dominion which the Lord Jesus hath. over us; whether we live or die, we are the Lords: Here, he tells us what right or title that is, whereby he holds that dominion, scil. by the right of purchase; For this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived [Rose and Revived] that is, rising again he did revive; by his death he merited of the Father, that both in death and in life, both dying and rising again, he might dispose of the Saints to his own advantage. Why, now the Lord Jesus having bought his Elect at so dear a rate, if the Saints should not rise again, he should lose his purchase; there were no more Merit in the death of Christ, than in the death of any of the Sons of Adam; and even in this respect Christ had died in vain, and risen in vain.  
A second Connexion between Christ's Resurrection, 
2 Connexion of Influence.  and the Resurrection of Believers, is a Connexion of Power, and Influence. There is power in the Resurrection of Christ, for the quickening of the dead; 
Psal. 110.2.  This is that which the Psalmist calleth the dew of Christ's Youth; from the womb of the morning, thou hast the dew of thy Youth. In the Hebrew it is more than the dew of the morning, thou shalt have the dew of thy Youth: The Resurrection of Christ is called his Youth, wherein he did as it were spring and grow forth again: and the quickening influence of his Resurrection is compared to the morning dew, to show, that what virtue there is in the dew of the morning, to cause the languishing plants of the Earth to revive and flourish, that (and much more) power and efficacy there is in the Resurrection of Jesus, to quicken and revive all his Saints, after they have lain all the night of their separated state, in the Grave: So the Prophet Isaiah interprets it in words at length, 
Isa. 26.19.  thy dew is as the dew of herbs; to what end? it follows; and the Earth shall cast forth her dead: The dead shall arise by virtue of this dew; the warm animating influence of Christ's Resurrection. Hence it is, (as I have hinted before) that our Lord calls himself the Resurrection and the Life, namely to intimate to us, that by the same spirit of holiness, whereby he raised himself from the dead, he will also quicken their mortal bodies. This is a second Connexion, which inseparably links in the Resurrection of the Saints with the Resurrection of Christ: For surely, were it not so, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ would signify no more, than the Resurrection of Lazarus, or any other of the Saints mentioned, Math. 27.52, 53. Yea, the Resurrection of Christ would not be of so great virtue, and influence, as the dry bones of the Prophet, the very touch whereof raised the dead man, 
2 King. 12.21.  which was cast into his Grave.  
Thirdly, There is between the Resurrection of Christ, 
Third Connexion of Design.  and the Resurrection of the Saints (at the last day) a Connexion of Design. The Lord Jesus had a design upon the Saints in his rising again from the Dead: and what that was; he tells us in the last passionate prayer before his passion, John 17.24. Father, I will that all those, whom thou hast given me, be with me, that where I am, they might be also: Therefore Christ arose and ascended, that he might come again and awake them out of their Graves, and take them home to himself into Mansions of Glory: So he comforted his Disciples before his departure, Joh. 14.3. If I go, and prepare a place for you, I will come, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.  
Christ counts not himself full, 
Eph. 1.23. The Head is not complete without the Members. Although: I thus sense the words, yet I would not be thought to exclude every other meaning, as knowing that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies as well quod impletur as quod implet.  till he hath all his Members with him; therefore is the Church called, the fullness of him that filleth all things: mark it, Christ is the fullness of all things, and yet the Church is called, the fullness of Christ: how so? Christ is the fullness of the Church, as the Head is the fullness of the Members (supplying them with Life and Influence) and the Church is the fullness of Christ, as the Members are the fullness of the Head, making of it a complete and perfect man; Christ is the fullness of the Church for internal animation, and the Church is the fullness of Christ for external consummation. The Church is Christ's outward not inward fullness, see jean's on Colos. 1.19. page 19  
This is then a third inseparable Connexion, between Jesus rising again from the Dead, and the Saints rising again; because without this, Christ should lose the very plot and project of his own Resurrection, and be defective even in his state of Glory, as an Head without his Members. This must not be, it cannot be.  
And this casts us upon the fourth Connexion, 
Fourth Connexion of Union.  (before we are ware of it) sc. A Connexion of Union. The Connexion, which is between Christ his Resurrection, and the Saints Resurrection; is that very Connexion, which is between him and them, namely the Union which is between the Head, and Members; 
The wicked rise not by virtue of Christ's Resurrection, there being no such. Union between Christ & them, they are raised by a general power of Christ as a Judge.  Christ is the Head, Eph. 1.22. and the Saints are the Members of his body, v. 23. his Mystical body.  
It would not be proper here to discourse largely concerning the nature of this Union, especially, in as much, as I shall have occasion to meet with it again in the process of this discourse, sufficient to my design it is to show you how this spiritual Union that is between Christ and Believers, is one of the 
* In Nature we see that the Winter Trees which seem to be dead, revive again in the Spring; because the Body, Arms, and Grains of the Tree are joined to the Root, where the Sap lies all the Winter, and by means of its Conjunction, it conveys vegetation to all parts of the Tree: Even so our life is hid with Christ in God; And in the day of the Resurrection, by reason of this mystical Conjunction, Divine and quickening Virtue shall stream from Christ to his Elect, and cause them to rise again, etc.  Foundations whence the Resurrection of the Saints is necessarily inferred upon the Resurrection of Christ himself. For if the Head be risen, the Members cannot be long behind; witness the Word of Christ to his Disciples, (and in them to all Believers, a word more precious than the whole Creation) Because I live, ye shall live also. The Resurrection of the Saints is bound up in the Resurrection of Christ, as the effect is bound up in the cause, because I live, you shall live; because Jesus risen again, Saints shall rise again. Christ is our life; and therefore, when Christ shall appear, we shall appear with him in Glory.  
Can the cause be without the effect? can the Head live, and the Members remain dead? Yea, can the Saint's life live, and they themselves continue in a state of death? This is an happy contradiction, a blessed impossibility! Oh writ this comfortable word upon your hearts Christians, Christ is our life: Christ is your Life, and the Life of your Christian Relations; and as sure as Christ as risen, they shall rise, and because he lives, those Members of his, for whom you weep and bleed, (as dead) shall live also with him. Surely if the Devil, and all the powers of darkness were not able to keep Christ in the Grave, neither shall they be able to hold one of his Members there for ever! Hence you shall find the holy Apostle disputing from the Resurrection of Christ, to the Resurrection of Christians; If Christ risen from the Dead, 
1 Cor. 15.12.  how say some that there is no Resurrection of the Dead? and back again from the Resurrection of Christians, 
ver. 13.  to the Resurrection of Christ; if there be no Resurrection of the Dead, then Christ is not risen. Indeed the form of words is Negative, but the sense is Affirmative; and for the greater assurance, it is repeated over and over in the following verses; backward and forward as Convertibles; grant one, and ye grant the other; deny one, and ye deny the other. And the result is this, But now is Christ risen from the Dead, 
ver. 20.  and become the first Fruits of them that sleep; Christ is risen, 
Christ risen as the first fruits, in which the whole Harvest is considered.  and risen as our first Fruits, as a pledge and part of the whole Harvest; for if the first Fruits be holy, the Lump is also holy; if the first Fruits be laid up safe in God's Barns, the whole Harvest shall (in due time) be safely brought in thither also, only it must stay its time appointed by the great Husbandman, whose method is this, first, Christ the first Fruits, and afterward, they that are Christ's at his coming.  
Be of good cheer Christians, weep not; it is the Father's good pleasure, that not a Sheaf, not an Ear, not one grain be l●st; so witnesseth the Truth, and the Life; the Truth to testify it, and the Life to make it good; 
John 6.39.  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. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  nothing of all that, etc. i.e. not the least Person, nor the least Member of the least person, how mean, and contemptible soever.  
Will this content thee, Christian? Thy sweet Relation is not lost, but sown, and that which is sown, is not quickened, unless it die. At the Harvest time, thou shalt have thy seed again; revera faenore interitu, injuria usura, lucro damno: 
Tertul. de Resur.  when that, which thou callest perishing, shall be thy improvement; thy treasure is not cast away, but put to use; and thy loss shall be thy gain.  
Christians, This believed, is a word of Comfort indeed, so the Text tells us; If we believe that Jesus died, and rose again: thy dead men shall live, Together with his dead body shall they arise.  
Obj. But what, not else?  
Answ. Oh not so! not our Resurrection, or the Resurrection of our gracious Friends, depend upon our Faith, but our assurance and comfort of their Resurrection depends upon our Faith.  
The Resurrection of the Saints stands upon a surer foundation than our Faith, it stands upon a  foundation, as you have heard.  
Sc. The 

Merit.  
Influence.  
Design.  
Union, which is between Christ & his Saints;   A Foundation which stands surer than Heaven and Earth: Heaven and Earth may pass away, but not one of these Foundations shall ever pass away, or fail; The Foundation of the Lord, stands sure, 2 Tim. 2.19. So than not their Resurrection, but our comfort in their Resurrection, is that, which depends upon our Faith. Sense stands blubbering and crying, my Parent is dead, my Yoke-fellow is lost, my dear Child is perished: No saith Faith, no such matter, they are alive, they are safe, they are happy. And all this, Faith inferreth upon Christ His Resurrection: So that whosoever hath Faith enough to put Christ's Resurrection into the premises, may by the same act of Faith, put the Saints Resurrection into the conclusion. He that by an eye of Faith, can look upon Christ's Resurrection, as past, may by the same eye of Faith, see the Resurrection of the Saints as to come: he that by Faith can say, Christ is risen; may with the same breath of Faith, say also, The Saints shall rise: because I live, you shall live also: as a pledge and instance whereof, when Christ arose, many of the Saints which slept, were enlarged out of the Prison of the Grave (the heart strings whereof were now broken) to attend the Solemnity of their Lord's Resurrection, 
Math. 27.52, 53.  and were as an other kind of first fruits of the last Resurrection of all Believers.  
By all these evidences, and demonstrations, Jesus Christ now in Heaven, speaks to his mourners, as once he did (in the days of his flesh) to Martha, thy Brother shall rise again; so he speaks to us, man, woman, thy Yokefellow shall rise again, thine Isaac whom thou lovedst, shall rise again. And oh, that we had but Faith enough to answer with Martha! I know he shall rise again in the Resurrection at the last day: This would be a sovereign Cordial to keep our hearts from fainting under our sorrows. If indeed we have not Faith to realize this comfortable truth, our dear Relations, if they could speak, would cry to us out of their Graves in some such language, as that, in which our Saviour rebuked the women which followed him to his Cross, Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me, etc. So ours; Son, Daughter, Husband, Wife, Father, Mother, (and whatever other dear Relations) weep not for us, but weep for yourselves, and for the unbelief of your own hearts.  
I, Christians, there is the springhead of all our misery, 
Hinc illae Lacrymae!  our unbelief; It is unbelief which robs us first of our sweet Relations, and afterwards of our comfort in their gains: and, if we look not to it the better, it will keep us and them asunder to all Eternity: we cannot enter in, (to their rest) if we continue in our unbelief: 
Mark 9.24.  cry we then with the Father of the Child, I believe, Lord, help my unbelief. If we believe, that Jesus risen again, even so them also, which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him, which brings me to the fifth word of Comfort.   

Them that sleep in Jesus.  
The first word of Comfort in this model was, 
Fifth word of Comfort, the Saints sleep in Jesus.  that our Christian Relations departed this life, are not dead, but fallen asleep.— Here followeth a word of Comfort, of a richer import, which tells us, that as they do but sleep, so they sleep in Jesus.  
This expression noteth to us, that blessed and admirable Union, which is between Jesus Christ, and his Saints, 
1 Cor. 15.18. They who are fallen a sleep in Christ.  an Union frequently set out to us in Scripture under a twofold notion.  
Scil. 

1. Christ in the Believer.  
2. The Believer in Christ.    
First, Christ in the Believer, Rom. 8.10. If Christ be in you, the body is dead, etc. Colos. 1.27. Christ in you the hope of Glory; and here in the Text, they are said to be in Jesus.  
Secondly, The Believer in Christ, 1 Cor. 1.30. of him are ye in Christ Jesus; who of God is made, etc. 2 Cor. 5.14. If any man be in Christ, he is a new Creature, Colos. 1.2. the Saints in Christ. See both together, 

John 14.20. You in me, and I in you.  
15.4. Abide in me, and I in you.  
5. He that abideth in me, and I in him.    
These expressions are the same for substance, both setting forth to us the Union itself, a mutual intimate indwelling, or in-being between Christ and his Saints; He in them, and they in him, so making one.  
They differ somewhat in the notion and import of the phrase, hinting to us a different mode and fruit of this mutual In-being, viz. 

Christ is in the Believer, by his Spirit, 1 Jo. 4.13. and 1 Cor. 12, 13.  
The Believer in Christ, by Faith, John 1.12.  
Christ in the Believer, by Inhabitation, Rom. 3.17.  
The Believer in Christ, by Implantation, Jo. 15.2. Rom. 6 35.  
Christ in the Believer, as the Head in the Body, Col. 1.18. as the root in the branches, Jo. 15 5. Believers are in Christ, as the Members are in the Head, Ephes. 1.23. as the Branches in the Root, John 15.1.7.  
Christ in the Believer, implieth Life and Influence from Christ, Col. 3.4. 1 Pet. 2.5.  
The Believer in Christ, implieth Communion and fellowship with Christ, 1 Cor. 1.30.  
When Christ is said to be in the Believer, we are to understand it in reference to sanctification.  
When the Believer is said to be in Christ, it is in order to justification. It is Christ without us, 
1 Cor. 1.30. Righteousness.  that justifieth; it is Christ within us, that sanctifieth. Grace (in the Apostles phrase) is Christ form in the heart. 
Gal 4.19.     
These and the like expressions, hold forth that transcendent, and mysterious Union which is between Christ and the Believing Soul, whereby they are not only joined together; but in a sober Gospel-sense united, oned as it were; Christ becomes one with them, and they one with Christ.  
This Union with Christ, for the clearer and safer understanding of so great and precious a mystery, 
Six or seven properties of this Union.  I shall endeavour more fully to open in these six or seven distinguishing properties, 

It is a 1 Spiritual, Union.  
It is a 2 Real, Union.  
It is a 3 Operative, Union.  
It is a 4 Enriching, Union.  
It is a 5 Intimous, Union.  
It is a 6 Total, Union.  
It is a 7 Indissoluble, Union.    
The first property. It is a Spiritual Union. 
First property, It is Spiritual.  When we speak of this Union, we must abstract from all that is gross and fleshy; there is nothing in it obvious to sense, perceptible by the eye, or by the ear, or by the touch, or taste; it is not effected by any corporeal contact: Christ, and the Believer are not tied together by any material bonds, and fleshy sinews, but their Union is a pure, immaterial, sublime Union; altogether Spiritual; and that upon a double account.  
First, partly in as much as by this Union, Christ, 
1 Cor. 6.17.  and the Believer are made one Spirit; He that is joined to the Lord, is one Spirit: not only, one Spiritually, but one Spirit: not as exclusive to the body itself, 
Ephes. 2.29.  for we are Members of his Body, of his Flesh, and of his Bones; but expressing to us the top and perfection of this Union. He, that is joined to an Harlot; is one flesh, in an impure, and carnal sense. Man and Wife, 
1 Cor. 6 16.  though their conjunction be more honourable, yet are but one flesh also, in a conjugal sense: For two, saith he, shall be one flesh; I, but he that is joined to the Lord, is one Spirit; an Union infinitely more honourable, than that in Marriage; the Believer is joined to Christ, into one, and the same Spirit; he is animated, and acted by one and the same Spirit with Christ, though in a different degree and measure, for God gave not the Spirit by measure unto him. 
Jo. 3.34. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Christ as Mediator (for in that capacity Believers are United unto him, and not merely as second person) received the Spirit without measure 
* Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, Psal. 15. ●. 〈◊〉 he had a larger effusion of the Spirit poured out upon him, than all other Kings and Priests and Prophets. .  
Believers have but their stinted measure and proportion, and yet notwithstanding the Spirit of God dwelling as truly in them, as it did in Christ himself; (though not essentially) they thereby become one Spirit with Christ.  
And then again, It is a spiritual Union.  
2. Partly, because the bones and ligaments of this Union, are not Carnal, but Spiritual; Scil. the Spirit whereby Christ Unites himself to the Believer on Christ's part; The presence of the Spirit maketh this Union, by virtue of which God communicates with us, as with his Sons, and we communicate with God, as with our Heavenly Father: The exercises of Communion on both sides, are managed by the Spirit of Christ, Gal. 4.6.— And the bond of Faith on the Believers part, whereby the Believer is United to Christ, as the Cion is engrafted into the Stock, and thereby grows up to be one with the Stock: So is the Believer implanted into Christ by Faith, Ephes. 3.17. grows up in him, receiveth life and nourishment from him, and is preserved in him to life eternal; kept by the power of God, through Faith, unto Salvation, 1 Pet. 1. Behold! 
〈…〉  here is the subordination of these two bonds; Faith keeps the Believer, and the power of God keeps his Faith; 
‖ Per organum ●●lei & Sp●ritus Christi virtu●●●●  now. the Spirit of God, is that power. Upon this twofold account then, is this Union a spiritual Union, viz. 1. Because an Union of Spirit. 2. Because effected by spiritual bonds.   

A second property of this Union. It is a real Union, 
A second Property. Real in a tenfold opposition. Entia Rationis.  and that in a tenfold distinction.  
First, In opposition to an imaginary Union, it is no metaphysical notion, or like those things which Logicians call Intellectual beings; or your Mathematical Lines, which have their existence only in the understanding and fancy.  
Secondly; Nor is it a Relative Union only; as Father and Child, Master and Servant are united: such an Union there is between Christ and Believers; but that is not all.  
Thirdly; Neither is it a legal Union only. Christ and the Believer are not one only, as the Debtor and the Surety are one in Law, in a forinsecal sense, i.e. in the interpretation and judgement of the Court. In this sense they are one indeed, viz. in the judgement of God, as a Judge, (as I have formerly showed) but not only so.  
Fourthly; Nor is it an Union only of assent in point of doctrine and judgement, though so much it is, for saith the Apostle in the name of all Believers. We have the mind of Christ. 
2 Cor. 2.16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  The Believer, (so far as he is a Believer) is of the same mind, judgement, and opinion with Jesus Christ in all things. And this truly gives them a kind of oneness; whence a firm and steadfast continuance in the Faith, i.e. in the doctrine of Jesus Christ, 
Fides quae creditur.  is called an in being in Christ, John 15.4.6. and an abiding in Christ, 1 John 2.24.28. Scil. a professional or doctrinal Union with Christ. This the Saints of God have, but neither is this all.  
Fifthly; Nor yet is it merely an Union of consent; The Believer is not one with Christ, only by consent of wills. The Arrians whilst they blasphemously deny the Deity of the Son, betray a double ignorance (and if but ignorance, there sin is the less) the one in the doctrine, or assertion itself; the other in the ground, which they allege for it, which is Christ's own words, praying to his Father for Believers, John 17.22. that they may be one, even as we are one; whence they (supposing Believers to be one with the Father and the Son, only by consent of wills) do infer, neither are the Father and the Son one in any other sense. But say we, they err in the very foundation: we acknowledge indeed Believers to be so far one with Christ, 
Idem velle, Idem nolle vera est amicitia.  and that is a very sweet and precious union: to will and nill the same things, is an high degree of love and oneness; but to say no more of the Union betwixt Christ and his Saints, is to say too little.  
Sixthly; Neither is this Union barely a Sacramental Union; whereby Christians (in either of the Sacraments, or any other Evangelical institution) are in an Elemental professional way joined to Christ, and Christ to them. Thus all, good and bad, Elect and Reprobate, Simon Magus as well as any of the Believing Samaritans, Acts 8.12, 13. Judas as well as Peter: all I say, are made one with Christ in an external professional use of those Gospel-institutions; while in the mean time a real Believer, in a true, living, spiritual, saving way, is made partaker of Christ, and of all his benefits in all Gospel-Ordinances.  
Seaventhly; In contradistinction to the Union which we have with Christ, by virtue of his assuming our humane nature. Christ was incarnate in the Womb of the Virgin, and thereby was personally united to our flesh; which is the highest advancement of the humane nature, that can be conceived, Heb. 2.16. For verily he took not upon him the nature of Angels, but the seed of Abraham; Christ assumed man's nature, being God from all Eternity; he took on him the one, to the other; and so made of those two natures, one person: by this we have a kind of Union with Jesus Christ, ver. 11. He which Sanctifieth, and they which are Sanctified, are both of one, i.e. of one God, say some; the Son of God, and Saints are all of one God the Father: others understand it of Adam; Christ as concerning the flesh, and all the sanctified, are of one common root and Father, though, by a different generation. But [of one] here is to be referred principally to the nature, whereof both the sanctifier and sanctified are partakers, i.e. 
Acts 17.26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  they are of the same blood and kindred, of the same mould & constitution, of the same humane nature. This is a near and an honourable Conjunction; for by this means Jesus Christ is become our Immanuel, God with us, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh: but yet this Conjunction is common to all, sanctified and unsanctified, profane and holy; and verily it will be found an high aggravation of sin in the great day, that sinners should dare to profane and prostitute that nature to sinful purposes, 
Heb. 2.11.  which the Son of God hath sanctified by so wonderful an assumption of it into one and the same personality with the divine nature. Thus the sanctified are one with him that sanctifieth, but that's not all.  
Eighthly; It is real in contradistinction to that contemplative Union which the Saints have with Christ in their holy Meditations. Meditation doth bring the object and the faculty together, and makes them one: And thus the Saints are (often) united to Jesus Christ in holy contemplation, whereby they let in Christ into their Souls, and their Souls into Christ, and become as it were One Spirit, or one in Spirit, with him: but neither is this all, for even common gifts and parts may produce this Conjunction, as well, as Grace; Art may thus Unite Christ, and the understanding, as well, as Faith. One may be thus United to Christ for a time, and yet be separated from Christ for ever.  
Again, Ninethly; It is a real Union in contradistinction to Reconciliatory Union. Falling out separates between person and person; Reconciliation makes them one again; Reconciliation is the Atonement of Enemies: and thus indeed, God and Sinners are Reconciled by Christ; by him we have received the Atonement; those whom sin made two, 
Rom. 5.11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Reconciliation  Christ. makes one. This is a choice fruit of Christ's death, a concomitant of our Union with Christ, yet not the very Union itself, or not the whole of this Union: there is between Christ and Believers the Union of Friendship, 2 Cor. 5.18, 19 But neither is that all.  
Tenthly and lastly; This Union is real in contradistinction to affectionate Union. 
Crederes unam animam in duobus esse divisam. Min. Fel. Oct.  Love is as an uniting affection, it makes the lover and the beloved one; as if two persons had but one Soul between them: thus Christ loves the Saints, Rev. 1.5. and the Saints love Christ again, 1 Pet. 1.8. Christ's love to them is the cause; their love to Christ, is the effect, 1 Jo. 4.19. Yet this Union is, rather a fruit of that Union (we are now speaking of) than the Union itself; as in Marriage, the conjugal bond, and conjugal love are distinct things: Indeed Love doth Unite Christ and the Saints, but Love is rather the fruit of this Union, than the Union itself; there is somewhat more real in this Union, than the Love itself.  
None of all these, reach the nature of this Union. The Scripture describes it to be a real and a solid Union; as real as that between Head and Members, Root, and Branches; for, although it be a Spiritual Union, yet doth it not therefore cease to be real; things are not therefore less real, because Spiritual, yea therefore more. God, who is the most absolute, and real Being (a Being which gives Being to every thing which hath a being) is most spiritual: 
John 4.24.  God is a Spirit; and the nearer any being or excellency approximates unto God, the more real it is, the more itself; as we see in Angels, and the Souls of men.  
Our Saviour his giving of us his Flesh to eat, is not, as the Papists believe (or rather, as they would make us believe, they do believe) literal and carnal, the truth itself bearing witness, John 6.63. The Flesh profiteth nothing, q. d. If you could literally tear my Flesh with your teeth, and pour my Blood down your throats, this would not profit you at all in point of Salvation. What then will? Why, the words which I speak, are Spirit and Life, i. e. they are to be understood in a Sacramental and spiritual sense, etc.  
And yet although Christ's Body be not food in a fleshly, but in a spiritual sense, 
Jo. ●. 55. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Truly or Verily.  it is not therefore less real; no, my flesh is meat indeed, and my Blood is drink indeed, it is neither painted nor Enchanted meat, but real and substantial; yet not corporal but spiritual; yea, it is so real, that in comparison of that, all other corporal food is but imaginary and metaphorical: it is but like bread, it is but like wine, painted bread, 
Quasi food.  and painted wine; not so indeed, and in truth, compared with Christ in the holy Supper.  
Such is this Union, although, yea, because, it is not a corporal, but a spiritual Union; therefore it is so true and real, that in comparison of it, all Unions and Conjunctions in nature, are nothing else but so many figures and shadows: It is as real as the Believer himself, as real as Christ himself; Christ, and the Believer are not more really one in themselves, than they are in, and with one another 
* 1 Cor. 6.16.  spiritually. Yea our Lord carrieth us one step higher; It is an Union as real, as that essential Union between the Father and the Son. 
John 17.21.  As thou Father art in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us, as i. e. as truly, as verily, though not substantially; It notes (I say) the reality of the Union, though not the kind and manner of it.   

Third Property.  
Thirdly; This Union is an operative Union. 
Third Property, operative. Gal. 2.20. Colos. 3.4.  Christ is in the Believer, as the soul is in the body a principle of life and operation. I Live saith the Apostle; but as if he had said too much, he recals what he had said, yet not I; but, Christ liveth in me; q. d. It is not so much I that live, as Christ in me. Christ is my life, it is he that animates me, he, that acts me, it is he, that doth all his work in me, and my works for me; It is he that believes in me, that desireth in me, (whatsoever is good, and spiritual) it is he that reputes in me, and loveth in me, and prayeth in me. My meaning is not to gratify the Antinomians; for though the Acts be efficiently from Christ, yet formally they are wholly ours; Christ is the next Efficient Cause, but not the next Formal Cause: though he be the immediate cause in respect of the virtue and power by which we act; yet he is only a mediate Cause in respect of the Order of acting; and therefore properly the act only denominates us, and not him. Though the act be mine, the strength is his; I can do all things through him that strengtheneth me; I am but the instrument only, which his hand manageth; it is his Finger that toucheth me, his skill that makes the Music. It is such an Union as from whence the Believer, by Faith draws life, and virtue from Jesus Christ to all spiritual and saving intents, and purposes.  
The influence of his Death, for the mortifying of his Corruptions; they that are Christ's (by virtue of this blessed Union) have Crucified the flesh with the Affections and Lusts, sc. 
Gal. 6.14.  by virtue derived from his Cross, The power of his Resurrection, for the quickening and strengthening of them to all the Acts and Operations of Grace; 
Phil. 3.10.  yea, whereby all the Offices of the holy Life, become sweet, facile, and complacential; those duties, and employments, which unto the Unregenerate man are hard, 
1 Jo. 5.4.  and grievous, and even so many impossibles, by Faith, improving its Union with Christ, are made light, easy, and Connatural, even as the operations of another nature: All this the Apostle would have us to understand, when he saith, his Commandments are not grievous 
* There is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the words, more is understood than expressed. .   

A Fourth Property is like unto this, 
Fourth Property, enniching.  and that is  
4. This Union is a Soul-enriching Union. By virtue of this blessed Union, the Saints are invested into all the unsearchable Riches of Jesus Christ; as by virtue of the Marriage-knot, the Wife is enstated into all the Reveneves, and Privileges of her Husband. 
1 Cor. 1.30.   
Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption. Observe Christians!  
In Christ Jesus: there's the Union, and thence flows Communion, and Fellowship with him in all his privileges, Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption. Here you have the very Epitome, and summa totalis of the Gospel; 
Christ in four words.  the whole Christ in four words; the benefit, and fruit of all his Offices, suitable and sufficient to supply all the defects and indigences of the Creature: For behold! here is Wisdom for our Folly; Righteousness for our guilt; Sanctification for our impure natures, and Redemption for our (every way) lost and undone condition: wisdom to make us wise to salvation, there is the fruit of his prophetical Office; they shall all know me, Jerem. 31.34. Righteousness for our justification; 
Rom. 10.4.  Christ is the end (or compliment) of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth 
* Finis impletionis; or if you will, rather fints intentionis: The scope of the Law; He to whom the Law leads and directs us for justification, Gal. 3 24. It equally answers my design. , there is the fruit of his Priestly Office; Sanctification, to begin holiness where it is wanting, and to increase it where it is begun, (Christ is a Fountain of holiness, as well as a Fountain of happiness) there is the fruit of his Kingly Office; he sets up his Kingdom in the Soul, Rom. 14.17. Redemption, fully, and finally to deliver us from the power of darkness, from wrath to come, from all the remainders of sin, and misery; and to translate us into the Kingdom of Grace and Glory; there is the joynt-fruit of all his Offices.  
Behold Christians! This is the rich and precious fruit which grows upon the Offices of Jesus Christ, and all made ours by means of this glorious Union. First, in Christ, then follows Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption.  
Yea, one step higher yet: By virtue of this Union with Christ, 
Believers are made  Believers are not only made partakers of the fruits of Christ's Offices, but are invested into the very Offices themselves. Was he anointed to be a King? so are they: he hath made us Kings, etc. Rev. 1.6. 
Kings,  was Christ anointed to be a Prophet? Believers also partake of the same unction. 1 Jo. 
Prophets,  2.20. Ye have an unction of the holy one, and ye know all things. Was Christ anointed to be a Priest? so are they, 
Priests.  ye are a chosen Generation, a Royal Priesthood. 
1 Pet. 2.9.  Here are two Offices twisted together, Royal, there's their Kingly Office; Priesthood, there's their Sacerdotal; a Kingdom of Priests, 
Exod. 19.6. 1 Pet. 2.5.  as Moses phraseth it; Priests, as they stand in relation to God, to offer up spiritual Sacrifice to God, acceptable by Jesus Christ: and Kings in respect of men, to rule over others, and themselves too.   

This is much, and yet this is not all;  
By virtue of this Union, Believers share with Christ in all his (communicable) titles and dignities. Is he a Son? 
Gal. 4, 5.  so are they; Christ, the Son of God by Nature; they the Sons of God by Adoption. Was Christ the Heir of all things, Heb. 1.3? Believers are Heirs also in him, and with him. If Children, 
Rom. 8.17.  than Heirs, Heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ; though they are not joint-purchasers (by their good works) as the Papist would make them, yet they are joint-heirs (by grace), as God hath made them; sc. by virtue of their Union with Jesus Christ.  
Doth Christ call God his Father, and his God? behold! He, 
Heb. 2.11.  (being not ashamed to call them Brethren) lets them know that he is their God, and Father. God to my Brethren, and say to them, 
John 20.17.  I ascend to my Father, and your Father, to my God and your God.  
Once more: Hath the Father appointed him a Kingdom? so doth he appoint unto them a Kingdom, Luk. 22.29. Hath the Father assigned him a Throne? so doth Christ assign unto his Saints a Throne also. To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me, 
Rev. 3.21.  in my Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his Throne.  
My Brethren! what a Soul-enriching, beatifical Union is this! There be Unions in nature, which convey nothing, communicate nothing, but empty, and insignificant titles, which make the person admitted into them, not a whit the richer, the better, not a jot the more noble or happy: but this Union (as that divine essential Union between the Father, and the Son doth invest Christ into all divine properties and prerogatives with the Father, so this between Christ and the Believer) invests the Believer into the whole Christ, and all his riches, and all his glory, in so much as the Spouse gives in the whole account in this vast and invaluable sum. 
Cant. 2.16.  My Beloved is mine, and I am his; he is mine; the whole Christ is mine in his natures, offices, excellencies, prerogatives, and inheritance; In all he is, and in all he hath, it is all mine, for my good, and for my glory: This is the voice of her Faith, and then I am his, this is the voice of her love, I am his, in all I am, in all I have, in all I can make by my interest in the world; and if it were a thousand times more, he should have it all, and all too little for him, who hath loved me, and washed one in his own Blood, and hath taken me into so rich and glorious an Union with his own self. To him be glory for ever, Amen. This is the fourth Property.  
I proceed to a fifth property of the Union, 
Fifth Property, an intimous Union.  and it is a near, inward, intimous Union. To hint the intimateness of this Union, the Holy Ghost in Scripture, carries us through the climax of all Unions under Heaven, and compares it with them, of what nature and kind soever, 

Whether Artificial,  
Whether Political,  
Whether Natural,   Wherein, although you may find different degrees, one exceeding another, yet all falling short of this blessed Union, in respect of closeness, and intimacy; It tells you that, look how the house and foundation are one, so are Christ and Believers, 1 Pet. 2.4, 5, 6. yea higher.  
It tells you, that; look how Husband and Wife are one, so is Christ and his Saints, Hos. 2.19. Eph. 5.30. only with this incomparable difference, Husband and Wife make but one flesh; 
1 Cor 6.16, 17.  but Christ and the Believer make one Spirit ut supra.  
It tells us (yet higher) that look how the Head and Members are one, so is Christ and his Church, 1 Cor. 12.12. how root and branches are one, John 15.1.6. so Christ, and Believers; and closer yet, the Scripture tells us, that, look how Food, and the body are one, so also is Christ, and the Believer one; hence we hear of eating his Flesh, and drinking his Blood, John 6.51, 53, 54, 55, 56. and nearer yet (if nearer can be.)  
It 〈◊〉, that look how the Soul and Body are one, how Life, and the subject wherein it resides are one, so is Christ and the Believer, Colos. 3.4. when Christ who is our life shall appear, etc.  
Behold, here (Christians) is an Union which amounts tantum non to an identity; say only with Cyprian, it is not such an Union as is between the two natures in Christ, 
Non miscet personas nec unit substantias. Cypr. It is indeed an Union of persons, but not a personal Union Mystici Theologi. A Believer transessentiated into God, and Bread and Wine transsubstantiated into Christ, are much of a Language. So they call the Holy Ghost, auram zephyri caelestis and pardon of sin, Deos superos, manesque pacare. Card. de Bemb.  which makes them but one person; not such an Union as is between the three glorious Persons in the blessed Trinity, who notwithstanding the distinction of their personality, are but one nature and essence, and you cannot say or think too highly of this Union; yea whatsoever you can say, or think, will be short of the intimacy and excellency of this Union.  
Only we must tell the world, that those mystical divines (amongst the Papists) as they call themselves, who talk of the Saints being trans- essentiated into God; and those Seraphicks amongst us (as they would be called) but fanatics more truly and properly, who rant at the same rate [Christed with Christ, and Godded with God,] these speak as men so ambitious of being accounted sublime, and Angelical in comparison of all other men, whom they scorn as illiterate Literatists, that they think it a lessening to them to speak in a common and sober Dialect; and rather, than not speak bigger words than other men, they fear not to speak Blasphemy; The Lord convince them.  
Notwithstanding, I must add this to what I have said, that because no Union under Heaven was close enough to express the oneness which is betwixt Christ and the Believer; therefore our Lord Jesus himself carries us up to Heaven, there to contemplate the essential Union, which is between the Father and the Son, 
Jo. 17.  and puts them into the same parallel; As thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us; yet still we must be careful to understand the words of Christ in a sober sense, lest, whilst our Lord doth honour our Union with himself, by comparing it to divine Union in the Trinity, we do in the least dishonour that Union by levelling it with ours; we must duly remember, that this comparative particle as, doth not here intent equality, but likeness o●●y; the truth of the intimacy, and not the nature, or the degree of it; to lift up this mystical Union above all other Unions in nature; but we must still keep the divine Union in its own place. This is the fifth property.   

The sixth property. 
Sixth property total.   
It is a total Union. The whole Christ is United to the whole Christian; as the whole humane nature in Christ, is joined to the whole divine nature; so the whole person of a Believer, is joined to the whole person of Christ; yet not so as to make Christ and the Believer but one person; but as (in the conjugal Union between Man and Wife) making up one (mystical) body; or, as in the body natural, every Member is joined to the head, and the head to every member: so is Christ and the Believer.  
Yea, once more. By virtue of this Union with Christ, the Believer is likewise united to the whole divine nature and essence in the Deity, though not essentially; and he is likewise united to each person in the Trinity, the Father, and the Holy Ghost, as well as to the Son, John 17.21. Behold, that thus it is done to the man, whom God will honour! Thanks be to God for this unspeakable Grace.  
This is the sixth Property.   

The Seaventh and last Property.  
This Union is an indissoluble Union. 
Seventh property, Indissoluble.  This Union between Christ and the Believer, is not capable of any separation. They are so one, that all the violence of the world, or all the powers of darkness, can never be able to make them two again.  
Hence the Apostle's Triumph Challenge, 
Rom. 8.35.  who shall separate us from the love of Christ? If the question did not imply a strong negation, 
ver. 38, 39  the Apostle himself doth give us a negation in words at length, neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us, etc.  
A long Catalogue, consisting of a large induction of various particulars! but in all these 'tis observable; he only instanceth in the creature, nor any other creature,— he leaveth out God, and why? because God himself is the Author of this Union; 
1 Cor. 1.30.  of him are ye in Christ Jesus; It is of God, and that   

Upon a threefold Account,  
1. It is of God's Preordination. This Union of Christ and his Saints, was the design of God's everlasting, Electing Love. 
Ephes. 14.  He hath chosen us in him, before the Foundation of the World. As the Union, so the very purpose of it, was founded in 
* 
Tanquam in capite, though not tanquam in causâ; not as the cause of Election, but as the cause of the good of Election; for it is not said for him, but in him. Vid. Twiss. vindic. grattae, lib. 1. part 2.  
Digres Prim. Secund. Tert.   Christ, He hath chosen us in him.  
2. It is of God the Father's efficiency: the Father tieth this Marriage knot between his Son and his Spouse; for, we are his Workmanship, Created in Christ Jesus, etc. The new Creation, it is God's work, and it is founded on Christ, or in Christ, created in Christ Jesus, etc.  
3. It is of God's support. As in the first Creation, when God had finished the world, he took not his hand off; but upholds it still by the word of his power, Heb. 1.3. So in this second and new Creation; when he hath wrought it, he takes not off his hand; if he should, it would quickly collapse into its first nothing. How comes it then to pass it doth not? why saith the Apostle, 1 Pet. 1.5. you are kept by the power of God, through Faith to Salvation: Faith keeps the Believer in this Union; but the power of God keeps Faith. Why now, if after all this, God should at any time suspend the influence of this power; or, by any malice, or fraud of men, or Devils, suffer this Union to miscarry, he should fail and cross his own project, he should desert his own design; this cannot be.  
Here is the Foundation then, upon which the Apostle erecteth this Triumph: God who only can dissolve this Union will not; the Creature, which only would dissolve this Union, cannot; so it stands on a surer bottom than Heaven and Earth, our life is hid with Christ in God. The Believer is in Christ, as Christ is in God, hence the unseparableness of this Union: 
John 10.28, 29.  There is no more pulling the Believer out of the bosom of Christ, then there is of Christ out of the bosom of his Father.  
And therefore once more, upon this account it is, that our Lord compareth this blessed Union to that substantial Union between the Father and the Son, that they may be one, as we are one, namely to express, as the reality and inwardness, so also, the indeficiency of this spiritual Union, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee. As, i.e. as fixedly, as inseparably, as immutably.  
This is the transcendent excellency of this Union above all others, it is Eternal. Indeed it had a beginning, but it shall never have an end. All other Unions may suffer a dissolution; a Whirlwind may throw the house off from its foundation, 
Job. 1.18, 19  as we see in the case of Job's Children; a Bill of Divorce may dissolve the Union betwixt Man and Wife: in case of the violation of the Marriage Bed. 
Math. 5.31, 32.  An Axe may dissolve the Union between the Head and Members.  
Death dissolves the Union between the Soul and body, etc.  
I, but nothing can dissolve the Union between Christ and the Believers; nothing shall be able to separate us, etc.  
My Text gives us a further instance of this; the Saints sleep in Jesus; The Union ceaseth not, no not in the Grave. 
The Saints sleep in Jesus.  Observe the progress of it, it began in their Regeneration; then they received their first Implantation into Christ, Rom. 6.3 4, 5. whence the Apostle makes Regeneration, and being in Christ synonimous, Rom. 6.3, 4.  
Next, they are said to live in Christ, and Christ in them, Gal. 2.20.  
Then to show there is no in and out; 
* In to day, and out to morrow,  in this Union (as some fond dream) we read of their abiding in Christ, not only by way of precept (which might (possibly) imply duty only, as John 15.4, 5.) but by way of promise also, as 1 John 2.27. Ye shall abide in me; which certainly doth express assurance, and establishment for ever, Rom. 4.16.  
Therefore they are said in the next place, to die in Christ; Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord: so verse 16. after the Text, makes mention of the dead in Christ; so that, that which dissolves all other Unions, dissolves not this, death itself; when the Union between body and Soul is dissolved, the Union between Christ and Believers dissolveth not.  
Yea, see one strain higher yet; not only in death, but even after death, 
The Soul sleeps not. Heb. 12.23.  this Union holds; the Saints are said to sleep in Jesus; that part of the Saints, which is capable of sleep, is not capable of separation from Christ; while their more noble part is united to Christ in Heaven, amongst the Spirits of just men made perfect; Christ is United to their Inferiors and more ignoble part in the Grave, their very dust; they sleep in Jesus.  
Thus I have opened unto you the blessed and admirable Union which is between Christ and his Saints, and it's most excellent, and transcendent properties, scil. as it is 

1. Spiritual.  
2. Real.  
3. Operative.  
4. Enriching.  
5. Intimous.  
6. Total.  
7. Indissoluble.    
Opened, did I say? Alas it is impossible! This Union is a mystery; a great mystery, Ephes. 5.32. next to that Union betwixt the three glorious persons in Trinity, and that other (like unto it) between the two natures in Christ, profound and ineffable! 
1 Cor. 2.14. Quia nihil animal animali superius, cogitare potest.  the heart of man is not able to conceive it, nor the tongue of an Angel to express it: the natural man knows it not at all, no more of it, than a Swine knows what the Union is between the Soul and body in man; it is above his principle, 1 Cor. 2.14. The spiritual man understandeth it very imperfectly; all we know is rather, that it is, than what it is; the full and perfect knowledge of it, is reserved for the future state; so our Lord hath told us, John 14.20. At that day ye shall know, that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you; then, and not till then: we shall never perfectly understand this Union, until we come fully to enjoy it.  
In the mean time, if a short improvement of such a rich point might not be judged too much improper in such a contemplative discourse, as this is; a few things might be hinted from hence, by way of Use.   

Use  
First; Here we may discover the main Foundation, 
1 Perseverance stands not in the nature of Grace.  and Reason of the Saints perseverance; surely it consists not in the nature of Grace, infused in their Regeneration; this differs not specifically from the Grace which Adam received in his first Creation; that was the Image of God, Gen. 1.26, 27. and so is this, Colos. 3.10. and therefore of itself, cannot produce any higher or more noble effects under the one Covenant, than it did under the other.  
Secondly; 
2. Nor in freedom of will.  Nor doth it consist in the liberty and rectitude of their own Wills, though Regenerate; for if Adam's free will did him so little service in his perfect state, when it was entire, free, without any mixture of servility, how little security (think you) can the liberty, 
Ex nolentibus facit volentes. Aug.  wherewith Christ maketh the will free in the new Creation, afford the Saints, wherein the state of Grace is yet imperfect? and the freedom of their wills mixed with so much bondage, that it made the holy Apostle look upon it, little different (for the present) from a captivity, 
Rom. 7.24.  and to cry out (to astonishment) for a Redeemer to come in and make a rescue? O Wretch that I am, who shall deliver me? etc. He found by experience, that if it were not more for a Christ, than for the freedom of his own will, that body of death, which he carried about him, would infallibly prove his total and final ruin: but [I thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord] there was his security. 
But, 1. In the Covenant of Grace.   
Where then shall we bottom the stability and fixedness of the Saints? surely upon a twofold Foundation.  
First; Divine Compact. Grace in the Saints is under a Covenant; God the Father hath Astipulated with the Mediator for his spiritual believing seed; not only to repair the Ruins of the first Creation (his Image) in them, but to uphold and secure it from ever dissolving & decaying again totally or finally partial, temporary decays and recidivations there may be; but saith the word of the Covenant, to the Redeemer (in Reference to his divine offspring) my Spirit which is upon thee, 
Isa. 59.21.  and my words which I have put into thy mouth, shall not departed out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy Seed, nor out of the mouth of thy Seeds Seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.  
Adam's grace was under no such Covenant, and therefore left to itself; it was exposed to the power of Temptation, and perished. This is one account of the Saints perseverance. But  
Secondly; 
Secondly, Union with Christ.  The next and immediate Foundation of it, is, this blessed Union whereof we are now speaking; by virtue whereof the true Believer is so made one with Christ, as Christ is one with his Father, ut supr.— As we are one, as, that is (as it hath been expounded) spiritually, really, operatively, enrichingly, intimously, indissolubly;— in a word infallibly, and availeably to all saving intents and purposes. Here is the ground and foundation of the Saints perseverance; 
Rev. 3.1.  They are not only fixed Stars in Christ's right hand (if no more, it would be hard pulling them thence.) But their lives are bound up in the same bundle with Christ's own life; 
Jo. 14.19.  our life is hid with Christ in God. Christ and his Saints have, as it were, but one life between them, and that life is Christ's; whence Christ himself makes the inference; because I live, 
Col. 3.3.  you shall live also. Upon such an instance, it may be questioned, and (possibly) without breach of charity, whether they who deny the infallible perseverance of the Saints, did ever truly study or believe the notion and nature of the happy and glorious Union which is betwixt Christ and them 
* The inseparableness of the Union, is given as the account of the Saints perseverance. Nothing can separate us. Rom. 8 39 .  

If we should form what hath been said unto such a Syllogism as this, namely,  
They that are United to Christ by a spiritual, real, operative, enriching, intimate, inseparable Union, can never totally or finally fall away; But all true Believers are so United.   
Therefore they can never so fall away.  
I say, cast all into such a form, and we find that both the Premises and the Conclusion, are of Christ's own making; Because I live, ye shall live also. And therefore, until I hear that Christ is dead the second time (which I am sure I shall never do, for Christ being raised, dieth no more, 
Rom. 6.9.  death hath no more dominion over him, etc.) I dare not believe this doctrine; The possibility of the Saints total and final Apostasy.  
Only, because Satan can transform himself into an Angel of Light, and the heart is deceitful above all things, 
Caution.  and desperately wicked, my earnest advice, and obsecration to all such as do pretend to this blessed Union, (as to mine own Soul), is. To give all diligence, upon solid Scripture-evidence (that is to say) by the precious and powerful influences of this Union upon their Souls; and by the gracious Reciprocations of Faith and Love, and sweet, holy communion with the Father and the Son, etc. by these. I say, and the like, to secure the Assumption, But I am thus United to Christ,  
And the Conclusion need not fear the gates of Rome, or Hell; but the Believer may boldly send forth St. Paul's challenge, Who shall condemn? What shall separate? 
1 Cor. 15.57.  Thanks be to God, who hath given us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.   

In the second place. 
Second Use.   
Hence we may take notice of the honour and dignity of the Saints, how meanly and basely so ever reputed, in, 
The Dignity of the Saints. 1 Cor. 4.13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  and by a reprobate world, even as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things, the scraping of their Shoes, or the common Town-Dung-cart, into which every one casts their soil and draught: I say, though the Saints of God are thus base and contemptible in the opinion of the ignorant World, yet they have another rate and value set upon them in Heaven: 
Heb. 11.6. Heb. 2.11. Cant. 4.8.11. Rev. 21.9.  God is not ashamed to be called their God, nor Christ ashamed to call them Brethren. Yea, he dignifies them with the stile of his Spouse, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife; and all this upon the account of that admirable, and inconceivable Union which is between Christ and them, that spiritual, real, operative, enriching, total, intimous, and indissoluble Union, by virtue whereof, 
1 Cor. 6.17.15.19.  they are in Christ, and Christ in them; as to their more divine part, their Soul's, one spirit with the Lord; and even as to their terrene and corruptive part, their Bodies, Members of Christ, and Temples for the Holy Ghost to dwell in; yea, saith my Text, their very dust is United to Christ: They sleep in Jesus.   

Such Honour have all his Saints.  
How should the sense of it engage them to Honour Christ, 
Third Use.  who hath put so great honour upon them! (yea to honour themselves whom Christ hath so highly honoured? to stand upon their advancement, and not to profane themselves by any thing that is common, or unclean, or upon the least account unsuitable to their glorious Union with Jesus Christ; but to possess their Vessels in Sanctification and Honour, 1 Thes. 4.4. as under an holy awe of that tremendous Sentence;  If any man defile the Temple of God, 
1 Cor. 3.17.  him will God destroy. 
Surely the thought of so near and intimate an Union with the Son of God, should make sin become an impossibility; Upon all the Adulterous solicitations of the Flesh, World, or Satan, to make holy Joseph's quick reply; How can I do this great Wickedness, and sin against my Union with Jesus Christ?  
Fourthly; 
Fourth Use.  And oh that such as have for many years together, 
Exhortation to such as are yet out of Christ.  sitten under the Ministry of the Gospel of Christ, and to this day are altogether strangers to this blessed Union with Christ, would now, with all seriousness and holy contention, apply themselves to know it, and to know it experimentally; that they would (with holy Paul) account all things loss and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, Phil. 3.8, 9, even this, that they may be found in him, to know him with interest, to know him in this mysterious and beatifical Union, Christ in them, and they in Christ; This only is the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, to be able to make out our Conjunction with him upon Scripture-evidence. Alas! this is the undoing Mistake of thousands, that are called Christians; they know somewhat of the History of Christ; they have some notions of a Christ in their heads, but this is the precipice, upon which they ruin themselves, They think to be saved by a Christ without them, they hang upon the outside of the Ark, they live upon bare notions, The Son of God took our nature upon him; died for sins; risen again, 
James 1.21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  and is gone up into Heaven, and sits at God's right hand: and therefore conclude they shall be saved: Oh but what a paralogism and fallacy do they put upon their own Souls! They put more into the Conclusion, than there is in the Premises, while they leave out this great, and indispensible medium of Union, and Conjunction with Jesus Christ! without which a Christ, and no Christ, is all one.  
Men and Women generally take Faith to be nothing else, but a lose conjectural application of Christ and his Merits to themselves, not considering that the great saving Office of Faith, is, To unite the Soul to Jesus Christ, Eph. 3.17. It is true, there is no Condemnation; but it is, only to them that are in Christ Jesus, Rom 8.1.  
Christ is the hope of Salvation; it is true; I, but it is not simply Christ in the Womb of the Virgin, not simply Christ on the Cross, not Christ in the Grave, no, not (alone) Christ on the Throne; but saith the Apostle, Christ in you, the hope of Glory, Colos. 1.27. It were an easy thing to be saved, if a Christ without us were all; and I know no reason why reprobate men and Devils might not get to Heaven on such terms: No, but as there is no other name under Heaven, 
Acts 4.12.  given amongst men, whereby we must be saved, but the Name of Jesus Christ, i. e. his merit and influence: So, there is no other medium, whereby that merit and influence can be effectually applied to the Soul, but only this spiritual, real, operative, enriching, intimous, total, and inseparable Union with Jesus Christ.  
Christ must be in us by his Spirit, and we must be in Christ by Faith, or else our persons and our hope (as to the present state) are both reprobate, 2 Cor. 13.15.— Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption. 
1 Cor. 3.22, 23.  All is yours, if you be Christ's, as Christ is God's. Appear before God's Tribunal in the great day, 
Math. 7.21, 22, 23. Luk. 13.26.27.  without this Union, and plead what you will, your answer will be, I never knew you; depart from me, etc.  
Believe this, Oh all you carnal Christ-less Christians, and tremble, and swim no longer down the stream of Security, lest it empty you forth into the Lake of Perdition: but work out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling, and give all diligence to make this conjunction with Christ, sure to your own Souls; 
Colos. 3.3, 4.  that, when He shall appear, you may also appear with him in Glory.  
Remember, All your true and solid comfort and rejoicing in life, in death, and at the day of Judgement, is all bound up in your Union with Jesus Christ: Christ in you the hope of Glory.   

Fifthly and Lastly, 
Fourth and last Use. Consolation.   
The Doctrine of this glorious Union with Christ, is not more for the honour of the living, than for the comfort of the dying Saints, and of their surviving mourners; And for their sakes it is here specially calculated by the Holy Ghost; behold this Union is not dissolved by death itself; though it dissolve the Union between Body and Soul, it cannot dissolv● the Union which is between Christ and his Members. Hence you find even death itself filling up the Apostle's Triumph; What can separate? neither life, nor death, etc. Not life, for Christ (by virtue of this Union) is their life; Not death, for as terrible as it is, let death do its worst, it cannot dissolve this blessed Union. Neither life nor death can separate, etc.  
Why do ye tremble at the thoughts of death, O ye Saints of God and why do you indeed, (what the Jews supposed Mary did, 
John 11.31. ) go (so oft) to the Sepulchre to weep there? behold, your beloved Lazarus, is not dead, but sleepeth; yea, that which is of an infinitely higher consideration, he sleeps in Jesus. Did he live in Christ? behold he died in Christ also; Did he die in Christ? behold he sleeps in Christ; Christ is nearly related to the Saints dust; their ashes are not laid up in the Grave, so much, as in Christ; yea, though (after death,) they should pass through never so many changes and revolutions, and should be scattered at length into all quarters and corners of the world, 
Dormire in Christo, est conjunctionem retinere in morte, quam habemus cum Christo. Calv. in loc.  he that calls the Stars by their own names, knows every dust of their precious bodies; keeps them in his hand; and is as really united to them, as to his own humane nature in Heaven.  
This may be as Jonathan's honey upon the top of the rod; taste of it oh ye mourners of hope, and your eyes will be enlightened: look not on your precious Relations, so much as they lie rotting in the Grave, or resolved into dust, as upon their dust as it is laid up in a sacred Urn, in the hand and bosom as it were of Jesus Christ; for which, he himself will be responsible, and bring it forth safely and entirely in the morning of the Resurrection; there shall not be so much as a dust wanting; for so it followeth, Them which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him: which is a wider breach.   

The sixth Word of Comfort. 
Sixth word of Comfort. God will bring his Sleeping Saints with him.   
God will come, and when he cometh, He will bring them with him, which sleep in Jesus.  
God will, or God shall,] etc.  
Some understand it of God the Father, others of God the Son; I know not why they should be separated; they that say God the Father, include God the Son, i. e. God the Father shall bring them with him, in Christ of by Christ, referring [he shall bring] unto the former clause in Jesus. 
The Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. So Erasmus and Tertul.   
Or, by Jesus; so reading it, God shall bring them by Jesus.  
And, they who understand here God the Son, exclude not God the Father. And verily, the order of working, which is between the three glorious Persons in Trinity, will not allow us to seclude either in this place; For, as all the external works of the Trinity are common, 
Opera Trinitatis ad extrà, sunt indivisa.  and undivided, so Divines observe this method or order in their working.  

The Father worketh all things of himself, in the Son, by the Holy Ghost.  
The Son worketh from the Father, by the Holy Ghost.  
The Holy Ghost worketh from the Father, and from the Son by himself. 

The Original of the action is ascribed to the Father.  
The Wisdom and manner of working, to the Son;  
The Efficacy of the operation to the Holy Ghost.     
All external operation, gins in the Father, is continued in the Son, and terminated in the Holy Ghost. This is a mystery rather to be adored, 
Psal. 139.6.  than curiously to be pried into; such knowledge is too wonderful for us; it is high, we cannot attain unto it.  
But, as to the words of the Text, God will bring them with him, I conceive they relate more properly and peculiarly to the Son, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  Jesus Christ the Lord. For so it follows, The Lord himself shall descend, etc. And when he cometh, he will bring them with him, that sleep in him. The propriety of the work is ascribed to Jesus Christ, God-man, the Mediator between God and man; he shall bring them with him, when he descendeth from Heaven,  
And that in a  respect, 

1. Their Spirit or Souls, from Heaven;  
2. Their Bodies, from the Grave,  
3. Body and Soul united, he shall take up to himself into the Clouds.  
4. And then carry all his Saints back with him into Heaven.    
First, when the Lord shall descend, he will bring the spirits of just men made perfect, with him from Heaven. The Souls of all his glorified Saints (whose bodies to this moment have slept in the Grave) shall follow Christ out of the gates of the New Jerusalem, to attend that glorious solemnity: so it is prophesied, Behold, 
Judas v. 14.  the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints. When Christ cometh to judge the world, there shall not be a Saint left in Heaven saith Chrysostom. 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Heaven shall as it were be left empty to attend the King of Glory going forth out of his Royal Palace, to finish the work of the great and last Judgement of the world; he shall come attended with all his Saints, they shall fill up his Train.  
Secondly, As Christ will bring their Souls with him from Heaven, so he will bring their bodies from the Grave. 
It is noted how that in the Transfiguration, the body of Moses which was hid in the Valley of Moab, appeared in the Mount of Tabor, which assures us that the bodies of the Saints, wherever they be lodged, are not lost, but laid up, to be raised to glory; the same numerical body that was laid down in dust.  Christ at his coming to Judgement, will first go to the Graves of the Saints, and cry to them aloud in some such language as once he did to their Souls in the days of their unregeneracy (when dead in sins and trespasses,) in the Gospel-call, Awake thou that sleepest, and stand up from the dead, and I will give thee Life.  
Or, as sometimes in the days of his flesh, he did to Lazarus, 
John 11.41.  when he had lain four days rotting in the Grave, 
Veniet aliquando Christus cum potestate et majestate carnem illam quaerere, & illud corpus cadaverosum configurare corpors claritatis suae. Bern.  (a lively Emblem and Type of the general Resurrection) Lazarus come forth: and they that are dead shall come forth. It was the tenor of his own prediction, while yet in the world, The hour is coming, in the which all, that are in the Graves, shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and shall come forth, etc.  
I shall not stay here to inquire into the nature and properties of the Saints bodies, when Christ shall raise them up out of their Graves: that inquiry will be more proper and seasonable in some of the following clauses of this context.  
Concerning the manner of it (for the help of our Infant-understandings) briefly, 
The manner of the Resurrection.  we may conceive it after this method.  
First, The holy Angels of God shall be sent abroad, to gather together the scattered dust of the Saints, though separated one from the other at never so great a distance into all the quarters and extremities of the earth, 
Math. 24.31.  and shall bring them together, 
Math. 24.31. The incineration, & dissipation of their dust shall have a Recollection in the Resurrection.  not so much as one dust wanting (for he that numbers the Stars, doth number also the dust and ashes of his Redeemed): as not an hair of their heads, so not a dust of their resolved flesh shall perish.  
Thus gathered together, Christ by his mighty power shall unite dust to dust, every dust in its own proper place, and form it up into the same numerical body it was, when it was dissolved and laid down in the Grave.  
And thus made up into a beautiful Structure, (more beautiful than ever it was in its first Creation, as I shall show hereafter); Christ will put each Soul into its own body again, and unite them together into the same sweet conjugal society and fellowship they possessed before their separation; this friendly espoused Pair, shall now be solemnly Married together, before God, and Men, and Angels, never to suffer Divorce any more, and they shall become one entire person, a totum compositum, as they were in the days of their first contract.  
And this excellent person will Christ animate, and quicken with the influences of that blessed Union with himself, which during all this long interval of their sleeping in the Grave, was not dissolved, but hidden only, and suspended.  
Now shall the Saints know, and feel the meaning of that word which Christ spoke to Martha, I am the Resurrection, and the Life. Martha in the verse immediately before, had professed her Faith of a Resurrection.— I know that my Brother shall rise again, in the Resurrection at the last day: Presently Christ replieth, 
Jo. 11.25.  I am the Resurrection and the Life: discovering to her the Fountain and Cause of that Resurrection; namely, that Life and Virtue shall then go forth from himself to animate and quicken all his Members, and shall cause them to stand upon their feet again, as the Children of the Resurrection.  
Thirdly; Soul and body thus United, Christ God-man, shall bring with him unto the place where the great Assizes of the quick and dead shall be solemnly kept, which the 17th. v. tells us will be in the Air (of which more distinctly when we come to that verse.) Thither Christ will bring with him all his Elect (whose bodies to that moment have slept in him,) 
Christ will carry the risen Saints with him to the Judgement. ) when he hath awakened them;   

And that upon a Twosold Account.  
First; 
For the greater Honour of that Day.  For the greater solemnity of that last and tremendous Judgement. The Saints shall be brought out of their Graves, to attend the Judge for his greater State and Grandeur, to strike the greater Terror into the hearts of Reprobate men and Angels, who then shall be brought forth in Chains to the Tribunal of Christ, to see, and suffer the severity and impartiality of that last Trial.  
The Glory of a King, consists in the multitude of his Nobles and Royal Attendants.  
The Judge of Assize is brought in with the Posse Comitatus, the power and gallantry of the Country, for the striking of the greater terror and awe into the hearts of offenders.  
Angels and Saints shall be Christ's Lifeguard, as it were; 
Christi Satellitium.  or as his Troops and Legions which shall conduct him in State and Triumph to the Judgement Seat.  
Secondly, when Christ shall have raised his sleeping Saints out of their beds of dust, he shall bring them with him from the Grave to the place of Judgement, That they may accompany him, and be with him throughout the whole carriage, and conduct of the last judicial process, to hear and applaud his righteous proceed. This is that which the Apostle calls, The Saints judging of the World, and judging of Angels; yea, 
1 Cor. 6.2, 3.  it seems that is not all; our Saviour tells his Apostles, that in that day, 
Math. 19.28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nymph ut Christi, vere & prop●è Judicis, Ass●ss●res. Bern. in ●oe.  they shall sit on twelve Thrones, judging the twelve Tribes, etc. judging or condemning, how? certainly not as bare Spectators only, but as Assessors, to sit with Him on the Bench to justify and consent to the judgement of Christ, the great and Supreme Judge, giving in their full and free suffrages to the final sentence, which he shall pass upon the Reprobate world of Jews and Gentiles, of Men and Devils: probably in some such language as we hear from the Saints upon the downfall of Antichrist; Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; 
And by that Doctrine they shall be judged also in the general judgement, Math. 13.18. Jo. 12.48. Heb. 117. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, He condemned the world partly, as the building of the Ark was a visible prediction of the Flood; partly, as it was a witness and conviction of their infidelity.  just, and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints: for thy judgements are made manifest.  
Here, the Apostles and Ministers of the Gospel judged the Wicked of the world by their Doctrine, and both Ministers and others of God's faithful Servants judged them by their Holy lives, and patiented bearing of the Cross; as it is said of Noah, that by his Faith in believing the warning, and obeying the Command of God, in preparing the Ark, he judged, or condemned the unbelieving World; The holiness of the Saints is a tacit reproach and conviction upon the Consciences of Wicked men, whereby they condemn them before hand; yea whereby wicked men become 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Self-condemned.  
But now the Preachers of the Gospel, with the rest of the Saints, shall Judge the world judicially, and (probably) by an audible Vote to, and with the Judgement of Jesus Christ; 
* Rev. 16.5  Thou art Righteous, O Lord, which art, and waste, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus; This honour shall all the Saints have at that Day: Thus Christ shall bring the raised Saints with him to the place of Judgement.  
But Fourthly; Fourthly. God shall bring them with him, i. e. (that last and solemn Judgement being finished) Christ shall carry all his Saints back with him, from the place of Judgement, the nether Heavens, into the upper, the supreme Heavens, where the Throne of God is, and the seat of glorified Angels and Saints; All the Saints of God shall follow the Judge in a Triumphant manner, into the streets of the New Jerusalem, the gates whereof shall be set wide open to receive them; An abundant entrance shall be administered unto them into the everlasting Kingdom of the Lord and Saivour Jesus Christ, where they shall be welcomed home with loud Acclamations of joy; Heaven will ring again with Triumphant shoutings. Thus also God shall bring them with him, that sleep in Jesus; he will bring them into the Glory of his Father: but of this I shall have occasion to speak more largely hereafter.   

This is another Word of Comfort, and there is great need of it, Use. upon a twofold Account. 
Comfort to living Saints First, To the Saints yet living.   
First; In reference to the Saints of God yet living. You are now scorned and persecuted, the ungodly world doth now judge you, and condemn you: the Psalmist observed it in his time; 
Psal. 94.6.  they gather themselves together against the Souls of the Righteous, and condemn the Innocent blood. Innocence is no security against cruelty and oppression; yea, it seems, no wine so sweet to wicked men as Innocent blood; 
Jam. 5.6.  ye have condemned and killed the just: and yet, that open violence may not want a pretence of Justice, they act in the form of a legal process, before they kill, they do condemn; but alas! those Fig-leaves will not cover their nakedness. It is the just, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  whom they do unjustly Condenm and Murder; so it was in David's time, and so it was in St. James his time, 
One saith, I should suspect him to be no Abel, who hath not a Cain to persecute him, ver. 7, 8.  and so it is now; the Reprobate world holds on its course to this day; and so it will be to the end of the World. God's Righteous Abel's must expect no better justice at the Tribunals of these unrighteous cain's.  
But be patiented, my Brethren, till the Coming of the Lord, and establish your hearts, for that coming of the Lord draweth nigh; and then the Scene shall be altered; you shall have the Law as it were (then) in your own hands; your turn shall be to sit upon the Bench, and your Enemies shall stand at the Bar; They Judge and Condemn you now, but there is a day coming, when you shall Judge and condemn them; and they indeed Unrighteously, but you shall Condemn them Righteously, because your Judgement shall be according to the Judgement of that Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth, the Searcher of the hearts; who will judge men by those two impartial Books, the Book of his own Remembrance, and the Book of their Consciences. Yea, you shall judge them for their Unrighteous judging of you: So it was Prophesied of old.  
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints to Execute Judgement upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him; not in his person only, but in his Members also: 
Loq●untur lapides.  all their ungodly deeds, and all their hard speeches, wherewith they have unjustly judged the Saints of God, shall be judged over again. And this honour shall all the Saints have, they shall judge their Judges, and not be guilty. 
Psal. 49.14.  The Righteous shall have the Dominion over them in the morning.  
Surely, this is an advancement which the poor oppressed people of God could never have expected, were they not assured of it from the mouth of him that shall be the Judge at that day: Let this stay, and establish your hearts.  
Secondly; 
Secondly. In reference to the Saints departed.  It is a word of comfort in reference to the Saints departed, our precious Relations; the sense of whose loss and absence we are not able to bear, while we think of them as smothered, and extinguished in their own ashes, silent in the land of forgetfulness, in whose sweet converse, we were wont to solace ourselves with much delight, their souls having left the habitation of their bodies, and their bodies resolved into dust, and that dust (possibly) mixed with the dust of wicked men, or of the brute Creatures, it may be, dispersed into the remotest part of the world. Ah these be some of the heart-dividing thoughts, wherewith we do afflict our Souls! But give check to your passions, Oh ye mourners of hope, and make use of the Cordials which your Heavenly Physician hath prescribed to keep you from fainting. Remember, that although their bodies are in the Grave, their Souls are with the Spirits of just men made perfect, beholding the face of their Father, which is in Heaven, from whence Jesus Christ, God-man, when he shall come in the glory of his Father, attended with all his mighty Angels, will bring them with him.  
And then shall he go to their Graves, and as he formerly said unto them, Come my people, enter into thy Chambers, shut the doors about thee, go to bed in the Grave, and take thy rest; so now he will awaken them out of their sleep with a sweet voice, Awake, and sing you that dwell in the dust, Arise, shine, for thy light is come, the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee, etc. yea, he will kiss them awake, with the kisses of his mouth; and then as a Father, and a Priest, will give the Soul in Marriage to the Body again, and unite them one to another, and both to Himself in an indissoluble bond.  
Oh Christians! think with yourselves what a joyful meeting that will be; when two such ancient Friends, that have been parted so long, shall meet, and embrace, and kiss one another, never to suffer any more Divorce, or fear of Divorce, to Eternity! How will the Soul bless God, when it shall receive its own body again, it's true Yokefellow and Fellow-labourer, which laboured with it much in the Lord, and which was wont to be its Oratory, and Temple, wherein the Soul performed all its Sacra, its holy devotions, in season and out of season?  
And how will the Body rejoice to see the Soul again, to whom it was espoused, which was the guide of its youth, that (in its capacity) which Christ is to the Soul, it's King, Priest, and Prophet, and by virtue of whose conjunction with it, the very body, as poor and mean as it was in its original extraction, was preferred and admitted into Fellowship, and Communion with the Son of God; and (upon that account) not forgotten all the while it slept in the land of forgetfulness, and thought not of itself: I say, Solace yourselves with the praevision of that Triumph and Exultation that will fill this blessed new-Married couple! especially, when they shall receive one another so much more excellent than themselves at their last parting; that the body shall seem to be Transessentiated into a Soul, and the Soul transformed into an Angel of Light; Rejoice, O Christian Soul, to think how these two morning Stars will sing for joy, in this their new and for ever blessed Conjunction.  
Thirdly; Thence follow them (in your Contemplations) following the Judge to the place, where the Thrones shall be erected for judgement, and there placed on Thrones, not as Spectators only, but as joynt-Commissioners. Where, the Saint of a day, shall judge the Sinner of an hundred years old; yea, they shall judge the Old Serpent himself, and all his infernal Angels; And as that Sentence leaves them, so shall they remain to all Eternity.  
Fourthly, and in the last place; Christians, think not so much on your precious Relations, as lying in the Grave, their Beauty turned into Rottenness and deformity; think not of them as (possibly) by a premature death (as you may think) snatched from an earthly Inheritance before their time: but think on them as coheirs with Jesus Christ, riding now in Triumph with him, and with the whole general Assembly, and Church of the First born, whose names are written in Heaven, to take possession of their Inheritance with the Saints in Light. Thus behold them, not, as they are in the night of the shadow of death, but as they shall be in the morning of the Resurrection, when God will bring them with him; and, I had almost said, Mourn if you can.  
So much for the Sixth word of Comfort.    

MOUNT PISGAH: OR, THE SECOND PART OF THIS Model of Consolatory Arguments, OVERDO THE Death of our Godly Relations.  
I Have opened unto you the first part of this Apostolical Model of divine Comforts over the Death of our Godly Friends and hopeful Relations, which contained in it six words of Consolation, sc.  

1. That they are not said so properly to be dead, as to sleep; They are but fallen asleep.  
2. That their condition is a condition full of hope; they are not in an hopeless state, as others are.  
3. Jesus Christ, the Captain of our Salvation, went before them, and shown them the way,  
Jesus Died.  
4. He died indeed, but he remained not long in the state of the Dead, He rose again. 

And that  
First; By his own power, as a Conqueror.  
Secondly; By Office, as our Sponsor, or Surety, our Jesus.  
Thirdly; As a second Adam, or public person, the head and Representative of all his spiritual Seed. This also is in his name Jesus; Jesus risen.    
5. The Saint's Union with Christ, so intimous and so inseparable, that it ceaseth not in the very Grave. They sleep in Jesus.  
6. They shall be brought back again at the Coming of the Lord, God shall bring them with him: these are contained in the 13th and 14th. verses of this Chapter.   
I come now to the Second Part of this Divine Model, 
Second Part.  which is contained in the three following Verses, viz. the 15, 16, 17. together with the improvement of the whole context in the 18th. verse, which is, mutual comfort and support, Comfort one another with these words.  

Now this later part contains in it four of these ten words of Comfort, held out in this Model. 

1. The first is, an obviating and removal of a discouragement and temptation which might possibly be upon the spirits of dying Saints, namely, lest the condition of the Saints which shall be found alive at the last day, should be happier, or (at least) sooner happy, than the Saints which are fallen asleep long before; and the removal of this discouragement, makes a seaventh Word of Comfort in this Model.  
2. A second word is, The coming of Christ, his last appearance; the Lord himself shall descend, etc. and this is the eighth word contained in this Model.  
3. The third is, The joyful and triumphant Meeting which all the Saints of God shall then have with one another, and with Christ their Head and Husband, ver. 17. And this is the nineth Consolatory Argument, in the order of the context.  
4. The last word of Comfort is, That blessed co-habitation and Communion which the Saints shall enjoy with Jesus Christ for ever: then shall we ever be with the Lord, vers. 17. And this is the tenth and last Consolatory Argument, contained in this Model.  
I shall figure them (in my opening of them) as they stand in the order of the whole Model, and make up the number of Ten words of Comfort contained therein.    
Seaventhly therefore, 
Seventh word of Comfort.  the next word of Comfort in this Model, is, The obviating or removing an objection or discouragement, which (probably) might possess the Spirits of God's dying-Saints: and that is, lest the Saints which shall be found alive at the last day, might (possibly) be happier, or (at least) sooner happy, than the Saints which are fallen asleep before that day.   
Now for the rolling of this stumbling block and stone-of-offence out of the way, The Apostle doth these three things: 

1. 
The method of the last Judgement.  He sets down the order and method of the procedure of that great and solemn Transaction at Christ's coming, vers. 15, 16.  
2. He quoteth infallible Authority for what he saith, 
The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  he tells us he speaks not a presumption of his own head, but that which he had received of the Lord; This we say unto you by the word of the Lord.  
3. 
The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  He gives us the ground and reason of this comfortable assertion, and that is the coming of Christ in person, For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven, etc. vers. 16.    
First; 
1. Branch of the word of Comfort. The order & method of Christ's procedure.  The Apostle acquaints Believers with the order and method of that great and solemn Transaction at Christ his coming. And this he doth, Two ways 

1. Negatively.  
2. Affirmatively.    
First; 
Neg.  Negatively. He peremptorily denieth that the living Saints at Christ's coming in glory, shall have any the least advantage (above the sleeping Saints) by their being found alive at that day; We which are alive and remain, shall not prevent them which are asleep. Verse. 16 i. e. The living Saints shall not prevent the dead Saints in any privilege of the Resurrection; or of the appearance of the Lord Jesus. It might probly be a temptation upon the Thessalonians (or other Christians): 

1. Either that the Saints only which should be found alive at the last day, should have the happiness of seeing the Lord Jesus coming in his Glory, with all his mighty Angels (to judge the world) and they only should enjoy the privilege of his Glorious appearance; that all the Saints that died before that day, even from the beginning of the world, were a lost generation, that should never come forth again to the light, or to behold the glory of that day, or to enjoy the blessed fruits and consequences of it.  
2. Or (at least) that they should be the first in that happiness to see his Glory, and have the first share in the felicities and triumph of that day, or ever the sleeping Saints should be awakened or get out of their beds of dust.    
The Apostle doth therefore, (I say) peremptorily and positively remove this scruple and fear out of the minds of Christians; he assures us that it is an utter mistake, it is neither so, nor so; he tells us that all Believers who had died from the first Adam, downward until the coming of the second Adam, shall have as good a share (caeteris paribus) in the privileges and glory of that day, as they who stand upon their feet, and are found inter vivos, at Christ's coming.  
Secondly, and as soon; the living shall not prevent the dead in any one of the beatitudes and honours of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. They shall neither go forth to meet this glorious Bridegroom one moment sooner than their Brethren that are in their Graves; nor shall they see him coming in his Glory, one moment sooner; nor consequently, be owned by Christ, or received by him, or taken up to him, or be placed upon Thrones with him, or receive their absolution and justification from him, or their glorification with him, one moment before their fellow-Saints that are yet in their dormitories.  
And truly, this is a comfortable word, even in the negative part of it. Believers may lie down to sleep in their beds of dust, not only with the Psalmist's evensong.  

I will both lay me down in peace and rest, 
Psal. 4.8.  for thou Lord only wilt make we dwell in safety: but with the Lord Jesus his Triumph.  
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, 
Psal. 16.9, 10.  my flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell, etc. Christ will not forget his dead in the Grave; the living Saints at his coming, shall not be made happy without them, nor one moment sooner happy in any of the Beatitudes of Christ his coming at the end of the world: This comfort, I say, the very negative part of the Apostles answer to the Objection, doth import.   
But then, How much stronger Consolation doth the affirtive part afford? which, although it lie in the close of the next verse, yet it being the main branch of the Apostle's account, whereby he satisfieth the doubt of the dying Servants of God, (ut suprà) we must of necessity speak of it here also with the Negative; at least so far as it refers to the Apostle's scope, reserving the consideration of what special and peculiar Import the words carry in them, to their own place.  
We are therefore to take notice that the affirmative part of the Apostles satisfaction to the Saints doubt, or objection, lieth in these words, The dead in Christ shall rise first.  
He doth exactly state the method of Christ's procedure at the last Judgement, 
Affirmatively. vers. 16.  viz. That the first business which shall be then transacted, shall be the awakening and raising all the Saints of God out of their Graves, which from Adam, until that moment, have slept in the dust: The dead in Christ shall rise first; nothing shall be done, till that be done. The very first work Christ will do at his Coming, will be, to send forth his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet, first to awaken the Elect out of their sleep; 
Math. 24.31.  [Awake you that sleep in the dust;] and then to gather them from the four winds, from the one end of Heaven to the other; and when they shall have put on their Wedding garments, to conduct them in State and Triumph to meet with their Royal Bridegroom now comn forth (more than half way) to meet them, and to consummate the Marriage which was long since Contracted in the day of their Espousals.  
It were easy to enlarge here, but, in a word, the sum of this Affirmative account is this, That the Saints who sleep in the Grave at Christ's coming, shall be so far from being made less happy, or later happy in the coming of Christ, than the Saints who then shall be found alive, that they shall be first remembered; the first care Christ will take when he comes in the Clouds, shall be not about the living, 
Primitiae Resurrectionis.  but the dead Saints, The dead in Christ shall rise first. They shall be the first Fruits of the Resurrection. They that have slept so long in their beds of dust, 
Ab illis ordo Resurrectionis incipiet.  shall be first awakened, before any thing be done about them that never slept; They that were unclothed, and saw corruption in the Grave, must first have their bodies clothed upon with incorruption; and then the surviving-Saints (at Christ's coming) shall be joined to them, that have for so many years and ages slept in Jesus. The dead in Christ shall rise first, and both be presented together before the Judge.  
It were too little to say, Use. This may much alleviate the bieterness of death, our own, or our godly Relations; surely it may greatly augment our joy; They and we shall be so far from being losers, by laying down our earthly Tabernacles in the dust, (before we see Christ coming in his Glory,) that it shall be our advantage. If there be any privilege, any joy, any glory, any triumph at that day, it shall be theirs who sleep in Jesus; and theirs, as soon as their surviving-brethrens'. The first dawnings of the Sun of Righteousness (coming in his Majesty) shall shine upon their faces; the first-fruits of that Jubilee, shall be reserved for a recompense of their long sleep in the Grave, they shall begin the health in this cup of Salvation; the primacy of all that blessed solemnity, belongs to the departed Saints. The dead in Christ shall rise first.  Oh Christians, Comfort one another with this word. 
And the rather, because this is not an uncertain conjecture which the Apostle lays down here, but an assertion of infallible certainty, which he had from the divine Oracle, 
Second branch of this Comfort, The Authority quoted.  the Word of the Lord; which brings me to the second branch in this seaventh word of Comfort, and that is,  
The Authority which the Apostle brings for this Doctrine, sc. the Word of God; This I say unto you by the word of the Lord. He quotes divine Authority for what he delivereth. It being a Doctrine of so much encouragement and satisfaction unto dying Saints; 
Praefatur, nihil se preferre vel suum, vel humanum, Calv.  a Doctrine above humane capacity, and (it seemeth) not commonly understood by the Churches & Saints of God at that time; he doth not pass it in his own name, or upon his own Authority, 
When he speaks as one that hath obtained mercy to be saithful, than it is 1 Cor. 7.12. I speak, not the Lord, i.e. not by express dictate of the Spirit, but by way of Faith, Christivice, as agreeable to the word: but when he speaks as an Apostle, insallibly inspired, than it is, not I, but the Lord: and so it is here.  but tells us from whence he had it, q.d. What I deliver now unto you, I speak not of myself, sed ex ore Domini, from the mouth of him that is the truth itself, the mouth of Jesus Christ; This we say unto you in the word of the Lord.  
Qu. But where or when had the Apostle this Doctrine from Jesus Christ?  
Ans. Others are of opinion he had it, by immediate Revelation; but as to the time they differ.  
Some conjecture, 
1 Cor. 12.2.4.  the Apostle had this mystery revealed to him, at what time he was rapt up to the third Heaven, and there heard unspeakable words, amongst which one was this comfortable Doctrine, that the living Saints shall not prevent the dead Saints in any glorious privilege of the Resurrection, which was an Arcanum or Mystery not formerly made known to the Church.  
But this is but a conjecture which carrieth with it little probability: The Apostle telling us (in the same place) that the words he heard in that Ecstatical Vision were Unspeakable words, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  i. e. things which were either not lawful to be uttered, or not possible to be uttered; ineffable words: had this Mystery been that Revelation, or any part of it; the Apostle had (in reporting it to the world) either exceeded his commission, or done impossibilities!  
Others therefore conceive that this was a mystery revealed to none but to the Apostle himself; and that not unto him until he wrote this Epistle, and so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the word of Lord signifies only, the Apostle his delivering this by divine Authority, from divine inspiration, & quasi eo ipso loquente Bern. & Christi mandato. Grot.  
Others there are that (waving both these Conjectures,) are apt to think this mystery (so called, because it was not commonly understood in the Church,) to be none other than the Doctrine which our Lord himself delivered by word of month, in the days of his flesh, concerning the Resurrection: for which,  
Some would make us beholding to Tradition: but others more rationally, suppose the Apostle to entitle this Doctrine to the Lord; not as if any where delivered in terminis, in so many express letters and syllables, but as a divine Truth, deduceable from the general doctrine which the Lord Jesus did deliver in his Sermons and discourses, touching the raising of the dead.  
And to this judgement I do much incline, as the more safe and warrantable; Christ's own words being a much more solid foundation to build an Article of Faith upon, than either Tradition or Revelations.  
Witness the Holy Ghost, in the mouth of the Apostle St. Peter. 
2 Pet. 1.19.  We have also a more sure word of Prophecy; more sure than what? Why, more sure than the Voice which the Disciples heard from Heaven, when they were with Christ in the Mount, ver. 18. An infallible Oracle, attested by infallible Witnesses; and yet behold the written Word is a surer bottom for our Faith to stand upon, in taking up divine doctrine than that, because, though the voice from Heaven was in itself, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 infallible; yet the holy Scriptures being the standing 
* Psal. 19.7. God's Amen.  Testimony and Expositor of God's mind to the world; it is a more authentic Touchstone to try Truth by, than a Voice from Heaven, which may be Counterfeited by Satan and Satanical Imposture.  
We shall reckon then this mystery delivered here by holy Paul, as the Doctrine which Christ himself Preached unto the world, and testified by the Evangelists and other Secretaries of the Holy Ghost: until Revelation be more clearly revealed unto us in this point.  
Amongst the passages of our Lord's Doctrine, recorded by the Evangelists concerning the Resurrection, from which this particular mystery may be collected; we may with safety and modesty select these.  

Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man, 
Math. 24.30.  and they shall see him coming in the Clouds of Heaven, with power and great glory.  
And he shall send forth his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet, and they shall gather his Elect from the four Winds, from the one end of Heaven to another.  
When they shall rise from the dead, 
Mark. 12.25,  they neither marry, nor are given in marriage.  
And again, As touching the Dead, that they rise, have ye not read in the book of Moses, & c?   
Behold (by the way) Jesus Christ, that he might give testimony to Moses, quotes the testimony of Moses for the Doctrine of the Resurrection.)  
But yet further; take another testimony or prediction of his own.  
The hour is coming, 
Jo. 5.28,  in the which all that are in the Graves, shall hear the voice of the Son of man,  
And shall come forth, they that have done good, unto the Resurrection of life, etc.  
To these Scriptures, and the like, it is most probably conjectured our Apostle doth refer, when he doth here quote the Authority of our Lord for the Doctrine here delivered; For although it doth not run verbatim, word for word with any of the recited Texts; yet these things are evident,  

First; That in these Scriptures our Blessed Saviour doth positively and expressly assert the doctrine of the Resurrection at the last day; The dead must rise.  
Secondly; That the main care which Christ will take at his coming, will be, To gather unto himself all his Elect which have been upon the earth, from the Creation, until that blessed hour; 
Math. 24.31.  He shall send forth his Angels, and they shall gather his Elect, etc. not one of them shall be wanting.  
Thirdly; Christ comprehends all these his Elect, whether quick or dead, under one and the same notion; namely, the dead, and those that are in the Graves; not the least mention made, or notice taken, of them that shall survive and be found alive at his coming, whence two things are clearly deducible, 

First; That the Resurrection, which the Saints that sleep in Jesus, shall be made partakers of, shall put them into as full a capacity of the glory of Christ's coming, as if they had remained alive in the body until that blessed hour.  
Yea, Secondly; That the Saints then surviving, can upon no other account become capable of that glory, than as they fall under the notion of the dead. Christ takes notice (in the prediction of his coming) of no other but the dead, for whom that glory is reserved. Whence     
Some are of opinion, that the surviving Saints must die in a literal sense, and a real separation must pass upon them, between their bodies and their souls; 
Mirâ celeritate.  of which opinion Austin himself was, though he conceived it would be transacted in a wonderful swift and speedy way.  
But others conceive, that the Saints whom Christ his coming shall find in the body, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  shall suffer only some thing analogical to death; and to this opinion our faith must needs subscribe, the Holy Ghost bearing witness to it, in the mouth of the Apostle in the 15th. Chapter to the Corenthians', 
1 Cor. 15.51.  We shall not all sleep, i. e. all shall not die, in a literal sense: 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  what then? but we shall all die, or be changed, i. e. they that die not, must be changed; All must either die, or be changed; 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  they that do not sleep, must suffer a mutation that shall bear some proportion to death, Verse 50 whereby the corruption of their nature must be abolished; for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. The body as it is corruptible, much less, as it is sinful, is not capable of glory; there must a refining change pass upon it; they must put off their Rags of mortality, before they put on the Robes of Glory; and this must be done.  Partly, that the Statute of Heaven may not be broken, 
Heb. 9.27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 decreed.  wherein it is appointed for all men once to die. It was a Statute Law, passed in the Parliament of Heaven, Gen. 2.17. In the day that thou eatest, thou shalt surely die; Heb. in dying thou shalt die. 
Christ himself, as man, submitted himself to this Statute, and so must all the Sons and Daughters of Adam; they must die, either literally, or analogically; Death makes a change in some, and this change is a death in others: a death to mortality, and a death to corruption.  
Partly, that hereby they may also be made partakers of the Resurrection. Our Saviour's prediction of the Resurrection, comprehends all the Saints of God; and the living Saints, at that day, can by no other means be counted the Children of the Resurrection, than as they are begotten again, as it were by this mysterious and ineffable change; 
Math. 19.28.  whence (possibly) it is called the Regeneration; because all the Elect of God shall then begin to live their new, perfect life, all over, in their bodies and Souls; both the quick and the dead.  
From these Premises, we draw this Conclusion, etc. That our Apostle here, doth not start any new doctrine of his own, or (as 
* 1 Cor. 7.12.  somewhere he doth) deliver his own judgement as an holy knowing man, and not as one infallibly inspired from above; but he doth expound Christ unto us, and gives us the sense of His words, who was both the Truth and the Resurrection.  
So that, the doctrine here laid down, as it is a word of exceeding comfort to dying Saints, and to their surviving Relations; 
Non primi extitimus Resurrectionis test●s. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  so here is a consideration which may add great weight to it, and make it so much the stronger consolation, in as much as it hath the stamp and sanction of Christ's own Authority, Christ himself hath made assidavit to it; we have the word of him that cannot lie, the Apostle being (in this) but Christ's Interpreter.  
From hence, (by the way) we are informed of these two things, 
Use of Inform.  worth our notice.  
First; Use. 1 There is no sure and infallible foundation for our faith to stand upon, but the word of God. Thither therefore the Holy Ghost sends us, 
Isa. 8.20.  To the Law and to the Testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. The Apostle himself would not aver such a solemn truth as this is, but from the mouth of Christ himself. Uncertain Revelations, dubitable Traditions, Authority of the Church, and all humane Testimony whatsoever, is too weak a foundation to build our Faith upon in any Article of Religion. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye hope, to have Eternal Life, Jo. 5.39.  
Secondly; We gather hence, that Scripture-Inference, Use. 2 is Scripture; that is to say, That which may be inferred from Scripture, by natural and necessary consequence, is to be received as the Scripture itself. The word of God rightly interpreted, is the word of God. Thus our Lord himself, 
Luk. 12.27.  proves the Resurrection out of the old Testament, by inference and deduition from the words which God spoke to Moses [I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,] he thence infers, [God being not the God of the dead, but of the living.] that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are alive in their better part, sc. their Souls, and shall live again in their inferior part, sc. their bodies.  
So the holy Apostle here inferreth this comfortable truth, that the dead Saints shall lose nothing by their not being found alive at Christ's coming; from Christ's own doctrine of the Resurrection in general: And doubts not to honour it with this Title,  
The Word of the Lord: This I say unto you, by the Word of the Lord.  
Let the Ministers of the Gospel take heed how they Preach any doctrine, opinion, or practise, 
1 Caution to Ministers:  which cannot either in terminis, or at least by just and necessary consequence, be justified to be the word of God, lest they incur the brand and censure of false Prophets, Jer. 29.9.  
And let Christians take heed how they reject any doctrine which is so evidenced, 
2 Caution to private Christians.  lest they be found to reject the Word of the Lord, Jer. 8.9.  
I have done with the second branch of the seventh word of Comfort, sc. the Authority quoted for it, save only that there is one scruple yet to be removed, and that is;  
Quest. Why the Apostle in delivering this truth, doth use this phrase, we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, and not rather they which are alive? for, Did the Apostle indeed think that he himself should live to see Christ coming in glory to judge the quick and the dead?  
Ans. Certainly, No; for 

1. 
Grotius aliter opinatur: quem vide in loc. arque etiam, Bez.  The event shows, that that had been a mistaken presumption in him; that day is not yet come, and the Apostle is long since fallen asleep.  
2. We hear him Prophesying of his own dissolution, and that as a thing hard by, 
2 Tim. 4.6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand? Gr. it is instant upon me: See, the Apostle was far from flattering himself with any such conceit of being one of them that should live and remain unto the coming of the Lord.    
What means the expression then?  
Ans. The holy Apostle divides all the Elect of God into two ranks, sc.  

1. Such as are fallen asleep from the fall of the first Adam to the coming of the second, or  
2. Such as should survive and remain unto that day; not making himself of the number of either the one or of the other, but one of the whole number of God's Elect, some of whom should sleep, some should live till Christ's last coming: and when he saith, we that are alive and remain, it signifies no more, but this in general, such of us as are then alive, shall not prevent such of us as are then asleep; this is all he intends in this expression.   
Beza and others spy out a mystery in this manner of speech; Doct. as if hereby the Apostle would hint unto us the uncertainty of Christ's Coming, 
Vult omnes suspensos tenere, ne sibi tempus aliquod promittant.  that (for aught that was revealed of that day) Christ might come while some of that generation were superstites, living upon the face of the earth.  
If that doctrine be in the Text, Use. Christ himself hath made the use of it, 
Lanet ultimus dies, ut expectetu● singulis, ut fideles, emnibus horis parati essent.  Math. 24.36. of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the Angels of Heaven, but the Father; there's the doctrine, and then the use is, verse 42.  
Watch therefore, for ye know not the hour when the Lord doth come: Therefore indeed is the last day concealed from us, that we may watch every day.  
And therefore Christians, look about you, what have you been doing so many years together under the ministry of the Gospel? are your accounts yet ready? are your evidences cleared? is your pardon sealed? your interest in Christ secured? your calling and Eleclion made sure? have ye wrought out your salvation with fear and trembling? 
Luk. 12 35, 36.   
Are your lights burning? and your loins girded? and you yourselves like unto men that wait for the coming of the Lord, that when he cometh and knocketh, you may open to him immediately? up, and (for the Lord's sake, yea, for your own sakes) make haste; this may be the day, the hour when the Son of man may come.  
woe unto that man, to whom the coming of the Lord will be a surprise. Therefore I say again, watch; what you do, do quickly.  
I come now to the third branch of this seventh word of Comfort, sc. 
Third branch of the seventh word of Comfort.   
The ground and reason of this comfortable truth, which lieth in the first clause of the next verse; For, 
verse 16.  the Lord himself shall descend, etc.  
The words are of a twofold consideration, sc. 

Absolute,  
And  
Relative.    
The absolute and positive, holds forth a main Article of our Faith, sc. Christ's last coming to judgement in person. The Lord himself shall descend from Heaven.  
The Relative; and so they are a confirmation of this comfortable truth; They which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep, and why so? For, the Lord himself shall descend, etc.  
In their absolute sense, the words are, (as I say) a main Article of our Faith, concerning Christ's coming to judgement in person, and therefore may justly challenge their room, to make up one entire and distinct word of Comfort in this divine context.  
And so I will first consider them; and then, in their relative tendency, sc. as they are a ground or reason of the former Comfort.  
In the order of this second part, they are the second; but in the method of the whole Context, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  they are 

The Eighth word of Comfort. 
Eighth word of Comfort. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   
The Lord himself shall Descend.    
Here the Apostle describes unto us the last coming of Christ to judgement. In which description, we have three considerable particulars, sc. 

1. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  The Person that shall come; The Lord himself.  
2. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  The certainty of his coming. He shall come.  
3. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  The manner of his coming. With a shout. I begin with the first of these.    
The Person that shall come: 
1. The Person 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   
The Lord himself, i. e. Jesus Christ; God-Man, the Mediator between God and Man: He that came at first to purchase and redeem the Elect of God; the same person will now come to raise them out of their Graves, to gather them together, and to bring them with him unto Glory. He will not send a Deputy-Angel about the solemn work of that day; but will descend Himself in Person to finish that last and grand trust of his Mediatory-Office.  

And that upon a twofold account. 
1. R. Why Christ will come personally, sc. because the Judgement must be visible.   
1. The Lord himself will Descend in his own Person, Because the judgement must be visible: and therefore the Judge must be so too: There is a dispute whether Christ shall sit on a visble Throne; and it is very probable he shall: sure we are from the Scripture, that he shall appear in the Clouds of Heaven, that He may be heard and seen of all, Behold, 
Rev. 1.7.  he cometh with Clouds, and every eye shall see him. Clouds are visible things: and these Clouds shall not obscure him, but rather render him more conspicuous; Every eye shall see him. He shall so come with Clouds, that they shall be a Throne to exalt and lift him up to the view of all the world: therefore is the posture noted as well as the Throne: Ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of Power, 
Math. 26.64.  and coming in the Clouds of Heaven; Clouds shall be his Throne, and sitting will be the posture; the posture of a Judge.  
To judge the world is an act of supreme Authority; and therefore it must be done by one of the three Persons.  
Now the Father and the Spirit are invisible; therefore hath the Father appointed a day, 
Act. 17.31.  wherein he will judge the world by the man Christ Jesus. The Flesh of Christ is a Veil to his Deity, by which God is made visible to an eye of Flesh: Christ is God manifest in the Flesh: 
1 Tim. 3.16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  God conspicuous in the humane nature; and in that humane nature which he assumed of the Virgin, will Jesus Christ appear in Judgement: that so every eye may see him: the wicked to their terror, but the Godly to their unspeakable joy, Isa. 66.5.  
Secondly; 
2. R. for the recompense of his abasement.  The Lord himself shall appear for a recompense to his abasement. It is requisite that he that was judged by the world, should now come to judge the world. He came at first humble, lowly, despised, sitting upon an Ass, spit upon, Crucified: but he shall come again in power and great glory.  
It is good sometimes to compare the two Comings of Christ together.  
At first he came into the Flesh; 
In Car●●●.  he shown himself in the nature of man, to be judged.  
But at his second coming, he shall come in the flesh. 
In Carne.  He shall come from Heaven, in the same humane nature which he carried up with him into Heaven: there to be the Judge both of the quick and the dead.  
His forerunner then was John the Baptist; the voice of one crying in the Wilderness; At his second coming, his forerunner shall be an Arch-Ang●.  
With the voice of an Archangel, and the Trump of God; as in the Text.  
Then, his Companions were poor Fishermen: Now his Attendants shall be the mighty Angels of Heaven. 
2 Thes. 1.7.   
Then, he came riding on an Ass, a Colt, the Foal of an Ass: Now, he shall come riding on the Clouds: sitting on a Throne.  
At his first coming, he appeared in the form of a Servant.  
Now, he shall come as a Lord, in the glory of his Father.  
Then, he came in the likeness of sinful Flesh: to suffer as a Sinner, for Sinners. Now, he shall appear the second time, to them that look for him, 
Heb. 9 last.  without sin unto Salvation.  
Then he drunk of the brook in the way: but now shall he lift up his head.  
This, for the recompense of his humiliation.  
Thirdly, 
Third Reas. to finish his Mediatory Office.  Our Lord Jesus Christ must come himself at the last day to perfect and finish his Mediatory-Office.  
At his first coming, his Mediatory-work was to pay a price to divine Justice, 
1 Per. 1.19. So he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  and so to purchase us of his Father.  
At his second coming, his Mediatory-work will be, to gather all his Redeemed one's together, and to present them a glorious Church to his Father, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing: but holy and without blemish: in some such language as was long before Prophesied. Behold here am I, and the Children whom thou hast given me. 
Isa. 8.18.   
And again (as when he was going out of the world, he gave his account to his Father) of all whom thou hast given me, 
Joh. 17.12.  I have lost none but the Son of perdition.  
At his first coming, his Mediatory-work was to fight with the Devil, 
Act. 26.18. Colos. 1.13. Luk. 11.21, 22. In this respect he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Rom. 11.26.  and all the powers of darkness, and to rescue what he had bought of the Father, out of the power of Satan, that strong man armed, who kept his goods in peace.  
At his second coming, his Mediatory-work will be to vanquish all those Enemies, out of whose dominion he hath freed his Elect; to bind them with chains, to cast them into everlasting darkness, and to seal the bottomless pit upon them for ever.  
And when he hath done this, the Lord Jesus shall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father; His Office is not completed till this be done. God's Oath is passed upon it, and cannot be reversed, Isa. 45.23. etc. The Text is applied to Christ, presently upon his Exaltation, to this very purpose, Phil. 2.20.  
Well then, we have now found out the person of the Judg.  
The Lord Himself, etc.  
And for the  
Use, it may serve.  

1. For infinite terror to the Wicked.  
2. For unspeakable Consolation to the Godly.   
First it serves for infinite terror to the Wicked. Use. 1 That the Judgement now should be put into the hand of Him, 
Terror to the Wicked.  whom (of all the world) they counted their Enemy: (at least, if they did not call him so, they used him so:) Oh what a dreadful sight will his Appearance be!  
If Ahab cried out with so much discomposure of spirit, at the sudden appearance of Elijah the Prophet of God, Hast thou found me, Oh mine Enemy? With what horror and affrightment, will Reprobate Gaitiff's cry out when they shall be dragged from before the Tribunal of the Lord Jesus, the Lord of the Prophets! Hast thou found us, Oh our Enemy!  
If joseph's Brethren were so astonished at the presence of Joseph, when he said unto them. I am Joseph whom you sold into Egypt! How will all the world of ungodly men be confounded at the presence of the Lord, now coming in the glory of his Father, to Judge them; when he shall say unto them, I am Jesus.  
I am Jesus, whom ye sold, for less than ever Judas sold me, even for the price of a base Lust.  
I am Jesus, whom ye Crucified over and over again to yourselves; and put me to an open shame!  
I am Jesus, whose Person you have slighted; whose Government you have spurned at; crying in the Pride and Rebellion of your obstinate spirits, We will not have this man Reign over us.  
I am Jesus, whose Counsel you have rejected; whose Threaten you have laughed to scorn; whose Promises you have derided and set at nought.  
I am Jesus, whose Blood you have trampled under your feet as an Unholy thing, even doing despite to the Spirit of grace, etc.  
I say, Now will the Reprobate world be confounded at the presence of their Judge!  
Behold in the days of his Flesh, when he appeared in the form of a Servant, and was even led away as a Sheep to the Slaughter, and as a Lamb before the Shearer, not opening his mouth (by way of murmur against his Father, or reviling against his Enemies) yet how did that Lamblike Word [I am He] fill the hearts of those sturdy Soldiers, (who came to apprehend Him) with horror, and strike them to the ground, like a blast of Thunder and Lightning?  
Oh how will that word, when he shall come clothed with Majesty and terror, with all the glorious Host of Heaven attending his Person; [I am he] fill Reprobate Souls with astonishment and distraction, and even strike them backward into Hell before their time! How will it cause them to woe the Mountains and Rocks (now as hard and inexorable, as their hearts once were, in the day of God's patience, crying out to them, (to the amazement of Heaven and Earth) Mountains, Fall on us; 
Rev. 6.26, 27.  Rocks, cover us, and hid us from the face of Him that sitteth on the Throne, and from the presence of the Lamb; for the great day of his Wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?  
But all in vain! As the Lord Jesus once in the day of his grace, cried unto them, and they would not answer, etc. So they shall now cry to Heaven and Earth, to Rocks and Mountains, 
Prov. 1.24, 25, 26. Psal. 50.22.  and they shall not answer; yea the Judge shall laugh at their Calamity, and mock when their fear cometh.  
Oh consider this, ye that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.   

Second Use. 
Second Use of Comfort to the Saints; Christ Himself will be their Judg.   
But (on the contrary) unspeakable Consolation may this doctrine of Christ's personal Appearance, speak to the Godly; the Sheep of Christ which have heard his voice speaking to them in the Gospel of peace, and have obeyed it.  
Behold, He that in the days of his flesh came to be their Redeemer; now in the day of his power shall come to be their Judge. He that so often pleaded for them to his Father, and for whom they so often pleaded and contended, with a disobedient and gainsaying Generation;  
(I say) He shall now be their Judge, and pass sentence upon them: their Friend, their Brother, their Head, their Husband. What need they fear that Tribunal, where not their Enemies, (who were wont falsely to accuse and condemn them;) not, not their prejudiced and imprudent Friends, who sometimes have rashly and causelessly mis-judged them; much less the Accuser of the Brethren; 
Rev. 12.10.  who accused them before their God, day and night; none of these (I say) shall sit in Judgement; But their dear Redeemer, who for their sake came down from Heaven: that loved them so dearly, that he died for love of them, that he might Redeem them, and wash them in his own Blood: He that Regenerated, Sanctified, Justified, Preserved, and Perfected them: He to whom, both in Life and Death, they were so nearly and inseparably United; and by virtue of which Conjunction, they are now awakened, and set upon their feet again, in a most beautiful & perfect state; I say where He, and none but He, who long since became their Adocate, shall now (by the appointment of the Father) be their Judge; Oh what matter of Joy and Triumph will this administer unto the Saints at that day! How may they lift up their heads with joy, because their Redemption and Redeemer shall then draw nigh. 
Second branch of Comfort in reference to the Saints departed.   
Again; The Doctrine of Christ his Personal Appearance at the last day affords no less Consolation in reference to the Saints departed; and to this very end, doth the Holy Ghost mention it in this place, The Lord himself shall descend from Heaven. 
The Relative consideration.  I told you the words have a Relative consideration in them: as they do imply an account why the Saints which are alive at the coming of Christ, shall not prevent them which are asleep: why? (it immediately follows): For the Lord himself shall descend. The Saints of God need not doubt of this, either in reference to themselves; or to their Relations, whom they have sent before them to the Grave; The Lord that bought them, will see to Their Resurrection in the first place: It was the will of him that sent him, that of all which he hath given him, 
Joh. 6.39.  he might lose nothing, but that he should raise it up again in the last day. And Jesus Christ is so punctual to his trust, that He will not delegate it to any of the Angels or Seraphims; but will come in Person to accomplish that charge; that so not any one of his little ones may possibly be forgotten, 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  nothing may be lost: neither Person nor Member, nor Dust: but that Christ may present it entirely to his Father at his coming, in the same language he spoke when he went out of the world;  Those that thou gavest me, 
John 17.  I have kept, and none of them is lost. 
He bought them at too dear a rate, to leave any one of them in the Grave; and therefore, to make all sure, He will come in Person, and finish his work Himself: As sure as He ascended up into Heaven after his own Resurrection, so surely shall he descend from Heaven to perfect that Resurrection in his Saints; which brings me to the second Particular.  
The second particular in this Eighth word of Comfort, 
The second word of Comfort. He shall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  is, The Certainty of his coming couched in the Verb here, He 〈◊〉 shall descend from Heaven. He shall: i.e. most certainly and infallibly.  
And so all the Scriptures which mention the Coming of the Lord, speak of it in the notion of a most unalterable Decree and Statute of Heaven; thus the Apostle to the Athenians. God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness, 
Act. 17.31.  by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given us assurance, etc.  
See how many words here are heaped one upon another, to assure our Faith of the infallible certainty of Christ's Coming.  
First he hath appointed a day; 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Statuit diem.  There is the divine Appointment and Decree, passed upon it in Gods Eternal purpose and Counsel: It is a Statute enacted in Heaven, that there shall be a future Judgement; a Statute more sure than ever the Laws of the Medes and Persians; for Heaven and Earth may pass away, but God's Decree shall stand, etc. And then there is a certain Day appointed for it, a stated time by the same Power; A day which can neither be adjourned nor accelerated. The time is fixed. He hath appointed a day, and it cannot be altered. And then the Work is determined as well as the day: and that is judgement; wherein He will Judge: The Judgement is not left Arbitrary or Contingent; but God is resolved on't; He will Judge; not, peradventure, he may Judge, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  but as sure as He is God, he will Judg.  
The Persons to be judged are also specified; 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  not less than the whole world; He will Judge the world, not a single Person shall escape that Judgement; 
2 Cor. 5.10.  we must all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ.  
As the Persons to be Judged, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  so likewise the Person that is to Judge, is named, and designed to it already; That man, that special, that peculiar man; the man Christ Jesus.  
And to make all sure, he hath his Commission already.  
That man whom he hath Ordained the Judge, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Joh. 6.27.  is Elected and commissioned under the broad Seal of Heaven, is passed.  
And if all this be not enough, there is yet further Assurance and evidence given of it already to the world; open and evident demonstration; if men will not shut their eyes, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Fide, palam facta omnibus. — of which he hath given assurance unto all men: what that assurance is, I shall show anon. In the mean time see how the Holy Ghost useth all the words and expressions which may create a firm assent to the doctrine of Christ's coming to Judgement; that there may be no room for doubting left: 
Formid, Oppositi, as the Schools calls it.  no hesitancy in the minds of men: And not here only, but in many other Scriptures; 
2 Cor. 5.10.  that, hinted even now, We must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ, etc. Not we may (only) but we must; Christ must Judge, and we must (all) appear. But; (not to multiply Scriptures,) take we a brief account of the Grounds. And: Behold 

1. Reason says, 
Reasons or Grounds of the certainty of Christ's coming.  He may Come.  
2. Faith says, He must Come.    
1. Reason saith, He may Come.  
The very Course of Providence shows it. The Godly are not the happiest in this world; 
1 Cor. 15.9.  If in this life only (says the holy Apostle) we had hope in Christ, we were of all men most miscrable. Virtue hath not a full reward, nor Vice sufficient punishment in this life. Dives the Representative of the Voluptuous world, flowed in ease and pleasure; while Lazarus, a godly man, afflicted with pain and hunger, was glad to dine with his Dogs at the door. The Dogs were both his Almoners and his Surgeons. Things must not go after this rate for ever. Sooner or later, a man shall say, i. e. He that is no more than a man; that hath no better eye in his head, than the eye of Sense and Reason, shall be convinced of this, and compelled to confess of a truth, There is a reward for the Righteous: Verily, he is a God that judgeth the Earth.  
Sin is now sometimes punished with 
* 
In judicijs suis quae Deus in hoc mundo exercet non est ista plena mensura justitiae quae erit in judicis ultimi Dici. scil.  
Non implent plenum postulatum legis & justitiae, neque super impios, neque super pios. Streso in Act. 17.31.   exemplary Vengeance, to show there is a Providence; that God is not an idle Spectator in the world. And sometimes it is let alone to tell the world that there is a Judgement to come: the full punishment of sin is not till then.  
Thus Reason says, He may Come.  
But now Faith goes further, and says, He must Come. He shall Come. The Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven.  
It is a truth not only which God can make good, but a truth which God cannot but make good.  
Witness. 
Christ must come. 1. His Purchase says so.   
1. His Purchase; would Christ buy a people at so dear a rate, and then go away and come no more at them? Nay.  
2. Witness also his promise; And if I go, 
John. 14.3.2. His Promise.  I will come again; He will, especially considering the design of his leaving them for a time, it was but to go and prepare a place for them, and he hath done it; the place is prepared; Mansions in his Father's house are made ready for them, ver. 2. Why now Christ being gone to this very end, and all things prepared for their entertainment; if he should not come again, he should certainly fail, not his promise only, but his project too; this cannot be: He that never yet failed his own promise, 
Fidelis Deus in Omnibus, in extremo non desieret.  nor his people's expectations, will not now do it; No, I will come and receive you. He that went from them, only to prepare the place for them, will certainly come again to receive them into that place now it is prepared. He loves them so well, that he will not; he cannot be without their company: I will come and receive you, that where I am, there you may be also. 
Heb. 11.11.  Faithful is he that hath promised who also will do it.  
3. Witness, The Sacrament of his last Supper; 
3. The Sacrament of his last Supper. 1 Cor. 11.26.  which is nothing else but a pledge and seal to keep alive the memorial of his second Coming. As oft as ye eat of this bread, and drink of this cup, ye do show the Lords death till he come. Now when the Lord Jesus Christ hath engaged the expectation of his people, by so solemn a Covenant; if he should fail their expectation, this Grand Institution had been in vain. Nay surely, He never said to the Seed of Jacob, Seck ye my face in vain:  
He speaketh Righteousness. 
Isa. 45.19.   
4. And lastly; Witness his Resurrection; that, is, 
4. His Resurrection.  the Assurance given in the Text, Act. 17.31. He will judge the world by that man whom he hath appointed. How may we be sure of that? why he hath given the world assurance of it; 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Non quod omnibus fidem in Christum dederit: Sed quod omnibus argumentum dederit. Streso in loc.  what assurance? in that he hath raised Christ from the dead; He hath given assurance, Gr. he hath offered Faith: the meaning is, God could not have confirmed his purpose and promise of sending Christ to Judge the world at the last day, by a more firm and solemn Argument, than by raising him from the dead, after he had paid the debt, made satisfaction to divine Justice upon the Cross.  

Partly in as much as Jesus Christ was hereby openly declared to be the Son of God with power. To judge the world is an act of divine Power and Authority; and what fit person in the Trinity is there to judge the world righteously, than He that was unrighteously judged by the world;— put to death in the Flesh, but quickened in the Spirit? raised by his own divine power?  
Partly because that after his Resurrection, God the Father took him up into Heaven, 
Vid. Strev. in loc.  and placed him at his own right hand.   
A certain evidence, that when the whole number of his Redeemed shall be accomplished, he will send him the second time to take Vengeance in his own Person, on the Shedders of his Blood, and the Oppugners of his Gospel. Else it had been all one as if Christ had been left to lie still in the Grave.  
Thus you see Christ his personal Coming at the last day, established upon its  Foundation.  1. Use. His Purchase. 2. His Promise. 3. His Supper. 4. His Resurrection. 
Now therefore, O ye Saints of God, cast not away your Confidences, either in respect of yourselves, or of your sweet Relations which have outrun you to the Sepulchre.  
He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry.  
In the mean time, let the just live by their Faith: keep up your Faith, and your Faith will keep up your hearts from sinking; 
2 Cor. 4.16.  for this Cause we faint not, etc.  

I proceed to the third Circumstance.  
The manner of Christ his coming.  
In the Description whereof we find a threefold Summons or Citation to all the world, to make their appearance at this great Ecumenical Assize, 
1 Summon●. A Shower.  sc. 

1. A Shout.  
2. The Voice of an Archangel.  
3. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hortatorius clamour.  The Trump of God.     
The first solemn summons is a Shout: the Lord shall descend from Heaven with a Shout. The word in the Greek signifies such a Shout as is to be heard amongst Mariners and Seamen, when after a long and dangerous Voyage, they begin to descry the Haven, crying with loud and united voices, a shore, a shore; as the Poet describes the Italians, when they saw their Native Country; lifting up their voices, and making the Heaven's ring again with Italy, Italy! 
Italiam, Laliam, laeto clamore salutani. Virg Aeneid. Irgenti Angelorum jubilee & acclamatione, Atetius.  Or as Armies when they join battle, rend the air with their loud Acclamations. In like manner shall the mighty Angels of God with united clamour, proclaim the Advent of their Lord, crying aloud with a voice that shall be heard from one end of the Heavens to another; the Earth and Sea, and Hell itself, shall hear and tremble.  
Behold the Lord cometh, Jud. v. 14. 
Jud. v. 14. Math. 25.5.   
Behold the Bridegroom cometh, Math. 25. v. 6.  
The second Summons is the Voice of the Archangel. 
Expositioric vice. Calv.  This clause some take to be Exegetical to the former; expounding that hortatory clamour or shout mentioned before; q. d. with a shout, i. e. with the voice of the Archangel. 
Arch-Angelus praeconts fungetur officio, & citet vivos & mortues ad Christi tribunal.  Others conceive it, to be added by way of eminency; All the Angels shall shout for joy; but the Voice of the Archangel shall be heard above all the rest. The greatest Angel hath the greatest voice; louder and shriller than all the other Angels, as Captain General to them all.  
The third Summons, is the Trump of God; 
Great Trees, Trees of God; High Mountains, Mountains of God; A great fire, 〈◊〉 fire of God. Job. 1.16.  it may signify a mighty Trump; after the manner of the Hebrew phrase, which useth to call works and wonders of unusual proportion, works of God, and wonders of God; so the Trump of God, i. e. a mighty Trump; a voice of more dreadful horror than all that went before: But, whether it be to be understood metaphorically or properly, is questioned amongst Expositors. Some understand it only metaphorically, and in an Analogical sense, signifying no more than the Virtue and Power of Christ's Voice and Proclamation; summoning both the living and the dead to appear at his Tribunal.  
But why we may not take it literally and in propriety of speech, I see no reason, so for the voice of an audible Trump, which shall be louder than all the former; And it may well be the same with that which the Apostle calls the last Trump: this sounding last of all, 
1 Cor. 15.52. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Math. 24.31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Sonora & vocalissima tuba. Bull. Numb. 10.1.9. In quo specimen quoddam editum fuit hujus ultima populi Dei, congregationis, Id.  or continuing longer than the former; our Lord calls it, The great sound of a Trumpet.  
Thus are these three Summons distinct, and each of them louder and shriller than the former. And it may allude to the manner of the calling together of the Jews to their public worship; and that (possibly) typical to this; signifying thus much to the world, that like as their Assemblies were summoned by the sound of Trumpets; so the last and solemn day of judgement, that great general Assembly of the Living and the Dead, shall be summoned together by the sound of Trumpets from Heaven; the vastest and most universal Assembly that ever was beheld by the eye of Creature.  
But a clearer Type and Prophecy hereof seems to be that at the giving of the Law, when Christ came down on Mount Sinai, to give the Law, it was in a very glorious manner, sc. with Thunder and Lightnings, 
Numb. 19.16.  and a thick Cloud upon the Mount, with the voice of the Trumpet exceeding loud, etc.  
This did Typify Unto us, Christ his second Coming at the end of the world to require the Law; which surely ought to excel in glory. Let us compare these two Comings together a little.  

At his coming to give the Law, 
2 Pet. 3.10. Deut. 33.2. Jud. v. 14. Dan. 7.10. Exod. 19.19.  Mount Sinai was all in a flame; Now the whole world shall be on fire.  
Then Christ came with ten thousands of his Saints, but Now, thousand thousands shall Minister unto him, and ten thousand times thousands shall stand before him.  
Then the voice of the Trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder: In like manner Now, there shall be first a shout of all the Angels of God with a joint acclamation; Next the voice of the Archangel, which shall be louder and shriller than they. And last of all the Trump of God, by way of eminency, distinct from the two former, & louder & shriller than either;  
God then spoke with a voice, the voice of a Lawgiver, commanding the Law; God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, etc. 
Exod. 20.1.2.  Now God shall speak with the voice of a Judge, requiring an account of the Law: viz. what men have done with that Law: whether they have obeyed or rebelled against that holy Command, and he shall accordingly Judge them.   
This now is the third Circumstance or considerable particular which the Holy Ghost commends to our notice, in the Coming of Christ which is the Eighth word of Comfort in this Model, sc. The manner of his coming. And this is to set forth unto us the Glory and Majesty of Christ his coming to Judgement. These forerunners of the coming of Christ, these various Heralds which shall proclaim his Advent, scls.  

1. The Hortatory clamour.  
2. The voice of the Archangel.  
3. And the Trump of God.   
These shall add much to the State and Solemnity of this great Judge his approach.  
When he came into the Flesh, his Herald was John the Baptist, a man of a mean and contemptible presence, 
Math. 3.2.  a Preacher of Repentance, Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Now his forerunners and Heralds shall be, The mighty Angels of God.  
Then he came in a still soft voice, 
Math. 3.3.  the voice of one crying in the Wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path strait. Now, he shall come with a loud and terrible voice. Voice upon Voice, Trump upon Trump, Alarm upon Alarm; Each louder and more dreadful than other, in comparison whereof, the loudest Thunder which was eyer heard from the Clouds of God, shall be but as the shooting off of a pistol, or the blowing of a Ram's Horn; A dreadful shout, which shall even shake the Heavens and the Earth, 
Heb 12.26.  and Hell itself.  
And it makes much for the terror and astonishment of the wicked; Use. 
A Terror to the wicked.  who in the pride of their hearts, would not lend an obedient ear, to the sweet and gentle summons of the Word, saying Repent, 
Deut. 29.19.  and believe the Gospel; but blest themselves in their hearts; saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imaginations of my heart, and add Drunkenness to Thirst.  
Oh to all such, surely, this will be a tremendous blast, which shall not so much raise as affright them out of their Graves, 
Some of the Jewish Doctors have a Conceit that wicked men shall never rise again, which they ground upon their own mistake of that Scripture, Isa. 26.14. But, though it cannot be properly said they Rise, yet they shall be raised; not from Death to Life; but from one Death to another; from the first Death to the second Death; from Death to Judgement, and from Judgement to Execution, to torment.  with horror and amazement. Behold the Judge cometh, Arise ye Dead and come to Judgement. This will be the dreadful meaning of that Ministerial Excitation, in the Consciences of the Reprobate world; Appear in Court, there to answer for all the Contempt to the Calls and Counsels of Jesus Christ in his blessed Gospel!  
Oh what would Drunkards, and Swearers, and Adulterers give that they might never be raised out of their Graves? or being raised, What would they give then for a Rock or a Mountain to fall upon them that might hid them from the face of him that sitteth on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb? but all in vain; Then, to hid will be impossible, and to appear will be intolerable. Use. 2  
But as glorious and acceptable is this description of Christ's coming to the Saints, 
Comfort to the Saints.  for whose sake this clause is added, as a word of Comfort, even to them that sleep in Jesus.  
This threefold Alarm, Shout, and Voice, and Trump, shall be no more terror or amazement to them than the roaring of Cannons, when Armies of Friends approach a Besieged City for the relief of them that are within. These sounds and ratlings, how terrible a sense soever they may impress upon the hearts and Consciences of the wicked, will be to them that sleep in Jesus as the sweetest melody that ever sounded in their ears, as the voice of Harpers harping with their Harps, to awaken them out of their sweet sleep, with the sweetest Music and Harmony that ever sounded in their ears; and these shall be their Heavenly Ditties. Awake and sing, oh ye that dwell in the dust, etc. Or (as in the Gospel-Call, a little varied.) Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen Upon thee; 
Isa. 60.1.2.  for behold darkness shall cover the Earth; even (everlasting) darkness, all the wicked of the world: but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee to all Eternity.  
In a word, This terrible triple Summons shall have no other signification upon the hearts of them that have believed and obeyed the Gospel, than that midnight cry had upon the Wise Virgins; Behold the Bridegroom cometh, 
Math. 25.6.  go ye forth to meet him.  
Lift up your heads with joy, 
Luk. 21.28.  for your Redemption draweth nigh.  
And therefore, Oh ye Saints and Servants of God, comfort one another with this Word also; Concerning your gracious Relations which are gone to Rest,  
The Lord Jesus Himself shall come to awaken them; And those Triumphant Summons and Alarms which shall usher in his Coming; as they shall add to the Glory and Majesty of their Lord, in whose bosom they have slept all this while, So they shall, on the one side, bid War and Battle to the Reprobate world; and on the other side, call together the Assemblies of the Saints, 
Psal. 50.5.  who have made a Covenant with him by Sacrifice, and it shall be for their Honour and Exaltation in that day of his Triumph.  
The sum is this: Your Dear ones, whose immature departure you so much lament, that are asleep in the dust, shall arise; Christ himself shall come for them, 
Isa. 66. ●.  and that in a most Triumphant manner, for their glory and their Enemy's shame.  
I have done with the Eighth Word of Comfort, The Coming of Christ; and come now to the  
Nineth Word of Comfort, sc. The blessed Consequences of his Coming, which are three: 

1. 
Three Consequencies of Christ's Coming.  The Resurrection of the Saints which are fallen asleep. The dead in Christ shall rise first.  
2. The Triumphant Ascent of both, (the living and sleeping Saints together,) into the Clouds; We which are alive, shall be caught up together with them into the Clouds.  
3. The Blessed meeting of all the Saints together with Jesus Christ, their Lord and Bridegroom; who comes from the Sedes Beatorum, the third Heaven, to meet them above half way; even to the lowest Region of the Air.    
To meet the Lord in the Air.  
The first Consequence is, the Resurrection of the Saints.  
The dead in Christ shall rise first.  
To which, notwithstanding I have already spoken under two distinct Notions (lead thereunto by some of the former passages in the Context,) sc.  

1. In reference to the Author of the Resurrection, Jesus Christ: Christ shall bring them with him, v. 14.  
2. In reference to the precedency of it (in that transaction;) They that are alive, shall not prevent them which are asleep, i. e. The dead in Christ shall rise first; as here, verse 16.   
Yet notwithstanding; this being a main Circumstance in the Resurrection of the Saints, worthy to be taken notice of, (before I proceed to the following circumstances of Christ his coming,) I judge it very proper to speak a word or two of it (also) in this place, 
The manner of Resurrection. 1. Cor. 15.35.  sc. 3. The manner of the Resurrection.  
The Apostle supposeth the Query, 1 Cor. 15.35. Some man will say, How are the dead raised? i. e. with what body do they come? A Query neither frivolous nor impertinent; and therefore himself (by the Spirit) thinks it worth the resolution.  
And the resolution of it, 
A twofold description of the Resurrection.  is twofold 

1. In general.  
2. In particular.    
1. In general, He gives us to understand, 
1. General the same bodier.  that the Saints shall rise, with the very same bodies they lay down with, in the Graves; it is expressed under the metaphor of Seed; God giveth it a body, etc. and to every Seed his own body; his own body, not specifially only, but numerically its own proper body, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  no ways alienated or transformed into another. And holy Job (even upon the Dunghill) believed and Preached the very same Doctrine long before. Though after my skin, 
Job. 19.26, 27.  Worms destroy this body [i. e. after Worms have digged through my skin to consume my flesh;] yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself; and mine eye shall behold and not another, etc.  
Observe how express and significative the words are, weigh them well; first, This body; Job points as it were with his finger to his body, and cries This; there is no more in the Text [body] is supplied to make up the sense; this, 
Heb. Soothe. So the Ancient Believers were wont, when they repeated the Article of the Resurrection, to add Etiam hujus Carnis, as the Apostle this Corruptible. 1 Cor. 19.5.8. Pointing to his own body as it were. Heb. 12.  to express the contemptibleness of his body, q. d. this Ulcerous and (already) Wormeaten Carcase; this putrified rotten flesh; this nothing, this, worse than nothing: Yet this, as vile and putrid as it is, shall be raised up again at the last day.  
In my flesh I shall see God; I shall not see God with my Soul only; amongst the Angels and Spirits of just men made perfect; but I shall see my Redeemer God-Man in my flesh, in this body of flesh, wherewith I am now clothed.  
And I shall see him for myself: i e. not by a deputy or proxy, but in mine own person, to my own infinite happiness and satisfaction.  
And yet again, mine eyes shall behold him; a further declaration of his individual seeing of Christ; from the Instrument or Organs; mine eyes, these numerical eyes that are now in mine head: with these eyes, wherewith now I see the Sun, the Heaven, the Earth, and all these objects of sense here below; with these I shall have the viewing of my Glorious Redeemer.  
And yet, to express it more Emphatically, he adds the Negative to the Affirmative [not another] a phrase of speech which men use when they would be sure to prevent all mistakes, with my own body, not a strange body; not transformed or changed into any thing else than now it is; with mine own eyes, not another's, not a borrowed eye, not a new created eye placed in the room of this, etc.  
Thus Job in variety of words, doth express the invariety, or same-ness of body in the Resurrection, to the same sense with the Apostle, to every Seed, his own body.  
To this, Obj. if it be Objected, that in the 37. verse of that Chapter, under the metaphor of Seed, he tells the incredulous Fool (that cannot believe this Article of Faith, the Resurrection) Thou sowest not that body which shall be. Not that body which shall be. It seems then the body shall be another thing, from that which is now sown?  
Ans. Answ. Yea, and indeed so it shall be; in respect of quality, though not of kind. There is diversity in one and the self same body: as it is in the Metaphorical, so it shall be with the natural; the Grain's swoon mean and bare, but it springeth up after another manner, beautiful and green; yet the same Grain: 
Meliorata substantia non numero multiplicata. Tert.  the body likewise is the same, when it riseth as it was sown, for Substance, Parts, Members, and Organs; but not the same for beauty and excellent Properties.  
The Infant shall rise a man of perfect Age; the Lame shall rise Sound; the Blind shall rise Seeing; the Deaf shall Hearing; the Dunth shall be able to Speak; the Resurrection shall take away all Defects and Excesses of Nature; the Deformities of the Saints shall not be raised together with their bodies; yea, Deformities shall be turned into Comelinesses and Beauties: and yet all these Alterations, do no more change or destroy the Individuality of Person, than Youth doth make the Person numerically different from what it was in Infancy; or Old Age, from what it was in Youth; or, as it was in the Persons of all sorts, which Christ healed (in the day of his Flesh); they were the same Individuals after Cure, as they were before; Cure makes not another Individual man of a Cripple, nor Health of the Sick; so shall it be in the Resurrection; the bodies of the Saints (for of them only I speak, not at all of the wicked) shall be the same for substance and matter; but wonderfully changed for Form and supernatural Endowments and Qualities: 
Second description in particular.  Which brings me to the particular description of the Resurrection, sc. in respect of admirable and transcendent Properties; of which our Apostle hath instanced Four, sc.  
Four Properties of the risen bodies of Saints. 

1. Incorruption. 
Prope●ies of the body in the Resurrection. 1 Cor. 15.42, 43, 44.   
2. Glory.  
3. Power.  
4. Spirituality.    
All these in opposition to the contrary Infirmities and Deformities of the state of Mortality; 
Contraria ●uxta se p●sita ●●●g's ●lucescunt.  That so by Comparison, the (well-nigh) infinite disproportion of both Estates may appear, and the Superexcellencies which the Resurrection puts upon the Body, may shine forth more conspicuously.  
First, it is sown in Corruption; it is raised in Incorruption. 
1. Property Incorruptible.  It is sown in Corruption. Behold, the body is Corruptible, whiles it liveth; a Nursery of such Seeds and Principles, as will inevitably destroy itself: a Spittal of all manner of Diseases: but when it is dead, it is Corruption itself: Infirmity resolved into Rottenness and Deformity; the fondest Relation who (while living) laid it in the Bosom, cannot now endure it in the sight: Give me a Burying place (said Abraham of his beloved Sarah) that I may Bury my dead out of my sight: 
Gen. 23 4.  It is now the picture of all ghastly Loathsomeness.  
But Oh, how unlike itself, shall it be in the Resurrection!  
It is raised in Incorruption: When Christ hath fetched the body out of the Grave, and set it upon its feet again, there shall not be the least smell or savour of Mortality upon it; as there was no smell of the fire upon the Raiment of the three Children, when they came out of the fiery Furnace. 
Dan. 3.27.  All the Principles of Corruption and Mortality shall be put off and lest, together with the Grave-Cloaths, in the Sepulchre. The body (as some think) shall give forth a sweet fragrant smell, like the Flowers of Paradise: it shall be an Angelified body, Flesh Immortalised; subject to no more Corruption than the Soul itself. There shall be no more Death, nor fear of Death; nor possibility of Death for ever.  
Secondly, It is sown in dishonour.] As soon as the Soul is enlarged from its Imprisonment; the body is presently stripped naked of all its Robes and honourable Attire, and wrapped up in a poor shroud of no other use than to hid Deformity; and, as a mean contemptible thing, it is buried under ground: Yea, sometimes, denied so much honour; it is exposed naked above ground, in the sight of the Sun, without any other Funeral, than what it may have in the bowels of the Fouls of the Heavens, 
Psal. 79.1.  or the Ravenous Beasts of the Earth. But, be the Burial never so Ignoble; the Resurrection of it shall be Glorious. 
Second Property, Gloricu●.   
It is raised in Glory. We may truly say, Solomon in all his Glory was not arrayed like one of these Children of the Resurrection; there shall be a glory put upon the Body, which shall outshine the Sun in its brightest refulgency. And that upon a double account.  

1. By virtue of a Principle within.  
2. 
The body shall be glorious in the Resurrection. 1. By virtue of an Inward Principle.  By means of a Glorious Irradiation without.   
1. By virtue of an Internal Principle: The Soul, which is the Candle of the Lord, is here for a time put into a dark Lantern of the Body: But then the glorified Soul being now returned (by the power of Christ) into its ancient habitation; and become a Vessel replenished with Immortal and unmixed light, will transmit such beams of glory into the refined body, that it shall shine like an Angel of Light; the body of the poorest Lazar that ever lay on the Dunghill, shall be clothed with such ravishing rays of Beauty, as will transcend the most absolute Beauty that ever mortal eye beheld. 
2 By virtue of External Irradiation from Christ. 2 Thes. 2.10. Heb 1.3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   
Secondly, By virtue of an External Irradiation: It is said of Jesus Christ at that day, He shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all them that believe: As, Jesus Christ was the Brightness of his Father's Glory; (it is spoken of him, not as he was the second person in Trinity, God blessed for ever; but as he was Verbum Incarnatum, The Word Incarnate;) all the beams of Divine Majesty and Glory did shine forth in him, with such a refulgent brightness, that, thorough his Flesh, the Godhead was as it were made visible; we saw his Glory as the Glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth: So shall the Saints at his Coming (in their proportion) be, the brightness of Christ his glory; the beams of that glory, which shall shine forth from the glorified Person of their Redeemer, shall reflect such a glittering Splendour upon the Saints in the Resurrection, that they shall be glorious even to admiration: They shall be admired by the very Angels, by one another, and even by themselves also: they shall wonder to behold this strange Change wrought upon themselves; as a poor Captive-maid taken out of the Dungeon, stripped of her nasty stinking rags, and clothed with Princelike Robes, adorned with rich and costly Jewels, to be Married to a King; would stand filled with wonder and delight, to look round about upon herself, and behold the beauty and lustre of every part: So shall it be with the Saints in the Resurrection. The reflexes of Christ's glory shall shine forth in them, even to wonder and astonishment: Christ shall be glorified in his Saints, and in all them which believe; Christ shall not be glorious in Himself only, but glorified in all his Saints.  
Thirdly, It is sown in weakness] weakness indeed! What more impotent than Man while yet alive, Vanity itself, Psal. 39.5. Yea, hear that Text out, and you will say he is vanity indeed; for first it is every man, Kings as well as Beggars; 
C●l Adam  Giants. as well as Pigmies; every man, take where ye will: And secondly, as it is every man, so it is Every vanity, or, 
* Col-Hebel Vniversa Vanitas.  altogether vanity: Every man is the Centre of every vanity; he is not only mixed vanity, partly something and partly nothing; some solidity and some froth; but vanity throughout; vanity, and nothing else! And then (again) it is every man in his 
* Nitztzab.  best Estate;. or, according to the Heb. 
* Nitztzab  Standing:. Ye need not stay till he is down, when he is languishing (suppose) in his sick bed: but, take him standing in his most erect posture, when he is most himself, in his bravery; 
Heb. Chased.  or, as it is Isa. 40.6. take him in his goodliness, Gallantry; in his freshest colours and excellencies; and yet then, even then, he is vanity; every man is every vanity: 
Ach. Vtique.  and, that you may not doubt of it, the Holy Ghost hath set a double seal to it; one in the front, Verily, and another in the heel of the Text, Selah; Verily, every man in his best Estate is altogether Vanity, Selah; such a piece of vanity that he is not able at his best to free himself of, or fence himself against, the injuries of the most contemptible creature that ever God made; Frogs, and Flies, & Lice, and Worms, have courage enough to encounter, and strength enough to conquer the proudest, potentest Tyrant; as we see in Pharaoh, Herod, etc.  
Thus weak he is in his Strength: what is he in his Weakness? So feeble he is when he stands: how feeble, when he is fallen, in sickness, in his old decrepit age, his second Infancy? Read and ponder on that graphical description which the Holy Ghost hath drawn of him, 
Eccles. 12.  Eccles. 12. We will pick out but some of those lively Characters, ver. 3. The Keepers of the House tremble; the Arms and Hands, the principal instruments in repelling evil from the body; they tremble with Palsies and shake.  
The Strong men bow themselves] the legs and thighs which were wont to carry the body upright, with strength and vigour; now falter and shrink under their weight, and buckle together for very debility; the ligaments of nature being now untied.  
The Grinders cease because they are few] the Teeth that were wont to grind the Food, and prepare it for the Stomach, they cease from their function, because but few, and having lost their keenness.  
Those that look out at the Windows are darkened:] the eyes, those Spies and Intelligencers of this little world, by reason of the dryness and ineptitude of the Organs, defluxion of humours, etc. do fail in the execution of their office.  
The Doors are shut in the street; All the Senses, which are the Doors by which objects enter, are so weakened, that they are unuseful and of very little service.  
They rise up at the voice of the Bird:] Old men through difficulty and want of sleep, rise at the crowing of the Cock, or the chirping of a Sparrow; the least noise disturbs their sleep, 
See the more full and accurate exposition of this description of Old Age, in the English Annot. upon Eccles. by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Reynolds.  verse 5. They are afraid of that which is high:] they go slowly and timorously, lest they should stumble at every stone, or the least unevenness in the way.  
The Grasshopper shall be a burden:] the lightest hop of the least creature, is burdensome to Old Age.  
Desire fails] all the sensual appetitions of Youth are now undesired and unsavoury.  
Behold here is weakness to perfection; And yet all-this-while there is Life; the Soul yet imbalms the body, and keeps it from putrifying.  
But Man returns to his long Home] This same dry Seed is sown, and it is sown in weakness indeed; not only meat for Worms; but it turns into Worms and Vermin; and hasteneth into its first feeble principle of dust, to which it was sentenced by Divine Justice: Dust thou art, 
Gen. 3.19.  and to dust thou shalt return.  
But now, behold this feeble thing shall be raised in power: 
3. Property Powerful.  The body even of the weakest Infant, shall be invested with an Angelical power; A Monument whereof, the formidable Host of Sennacherib King of Assyria hath erected for all posterity: wherein, 
2 King. 19.35.  one Angel went out and smote one hundred fourscore and five thousand, who overnight, like so many Goliahs, defied the Armies of the Living God; but in the morning, lay upon the ground so many blasted life-less Corpses; and all by the Ministry of one Angel. Such Vessels of strength and Activity shall the bodies of the Saints be in the Resurrection; they shall be endued with such power (saith one) that they shall be able to remove the Globe of the Earth with their foot, as if it were but a foot- ball: they shall be clothed with a kind of Omnipotence; Gideon, Samson, Jephtah, David, and all his famous Worthies, are but as suoking Babes to the Children of the Resurrection: He that is weak among them shall be as David, and he that is as David shall be as the Angel of God. Again;  
It is sown a natural body, according to the Greek, word for word, an 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Abnimal body: i. e. such a body as is animated, sustained and acted by the Soul; 
The holy natural: 1. Because acted by a natural Soul.  yet in so low a way, that it is subject to Corruption, and is no sooner deserted by the Soul, but it resolves into dust, (ut supr à) or Natural, i. e. such a body as stands in need of natural helps, of meat, drink, rest, sleep, 
2. Because it stands in need of natural props. 3. Because endued only with natural affections, etc. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Fourth Property, Spiritual.  to shore up the feeble Tabernacle of dust for a while: and all will not do; but down it will come Roof and Walls, and Props and All. Or again Natural, i. e. such as hath natural motions, operations, and affections; such as are proper only to the fallen Nature of man; feeble, slow, limited, and temporary.  
But now behold, in opposition to all these acceptations, it is raised a spiritual body; not in regard of the substance of it, as if it were turned into a Spirit; but  
1. Because animated and acted by the Soul now in its glorified capacity, made perfect with all heavenly qualifications, and so Spiritualised in all its faculties and operations, 
Heb. 12.23. The Spirits of just men, made perfect.  that it is called no more by the name of a Soul, but of a Spirit; To the conduct and motions whereof, the body NOW shall yield absolute and immutable obedience and conformity. Here, the Soul depends (as it were) upon the body: 
Anima sequitur temperamentum Corporis.  because, though the body be acted by the Soul, yet the Soul acts according to the temperament of the body, and the disposition of the Organs.  
The difference (if we take notice of it) between men and men in respect of Wisdom, and judgement, and other natural excellencies, 
Omnes animae sunt ejusdem perfectionis.  ariseth not from any disparity that is between their Souls; for all Souls are of a Size: the Soul of a Fool is as perfect as the Soul of a Wise man. But the difference ariseth from the Crasis and Complexion of the body, which many times puts Yokes and Manacles upon the Soul; so that (at the best) it is but as a close Prison, or dark Lantern, which obstructs and restrains the more noble and liberal operations of the Soul; and penn's in those beams of light, which (if within more transparent Walls) would send forth a greater lustre to enlighten the world.  
But now in the Resurrection, it shall not be so: the body then shall depend wholly upon the Soul, and be acted properly and indistarbedly by the Soul. Here the Soul seems to be flesh it self, because acted by the flesh, 
Every way subject to the motions and desires of the Soul. Spiritui subdita.  and is oft subservient to the flesh: but then the very body shall seem to be a Spirit; because acted by the Spirit, and shall be universally and uniformly serviceable to the Spirit: The Soul shall immediately be acted by God, and the body shall immediately be acted by the Soul; thus it shall be a Spiritual body.  
Secondly, It is raised a spiritual body; because it shall subsist as a Spirit; it shall stand in no need of those gross material Aliments, of meat, and drink, and sleep; by which it is now underpropt; but it shall be sustained merely by virtue of its union with the Soul; as the Soul by virtue of its union with Jesus Christ; this is to be a spiritual body, when the body shall subsist as a Spirit, or as an Angel doth subsist.  
Thirdly, Spiritual; because the motions, operations, 
Care Angelica, Angelified flesh, Tert. de Res.  and affections of the body, shall then be all Spiritual: it shall be in the Resurrection of so pure and refined a Complexion, that it shall be diaphanous and transparent; and move up and down with the agility and celerity of a Spirit.  
Zanchius resembleth it to the motion of birds in the Air, 
Zanch. De Operibus Dei.  that the body being hatched (as it were) in the Resurrection, shall be able to mount up into the Heavens, and as lightly fly through the skies, as if it had wings. David shall then need to wish no more for the wings of a Dove, but be able to contend with fouls of the swiftest flight. Augustin hath an higher strain, and saith, that, 
Miraceleritate  The body shall move from place to place with what celerity it listeth: and (after him) Luther expresseth it by the swiftness of a Thought, as instantaneous as the Lightning, which in the twinkling of an eye passeth from one end of Heaven to another.  
Likewise the operations of the body shall then be all spiritual operations: It shall then be abased no more to any of the servile drudgeries of this present state: it shall work no more, toil no more, sin no more; the Offices of the body shall be as far above its present functions, as the work of a King transcends the employment of a Swineherd or Scullion: they shall for ever be freed from all those uses which do imply a state of infirmity, and shall be taken up wholly in Heavenly and Angelical Services: sc. to stand before the Throne of God, and of the Lamb, and to praise him for ever and ever.  
And lastly; the body shall then be Spiritual, because it shall be endued with Spiritual Affections; it shall not be liable to weariness, sickness, pain, or external injuries, no more than a Spirit is. It shall not indeed be an Aerial and Spiritual body, as the Socinians and others do (inconsequentially) infer from this and other Scriptures; but it shall be no more capable of a stroke or wound, or any other violence, than the Air or Sun, or the Heavens themselves. It shall be a true, real body, but no more vulnerable or penetrable, than if it were a Spectrum; an imaginary body, a mere Apparition. It is true, Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God: but the meaning is not, that in the Resurrection, the bodies of the Saints shall cease to be flesh and blood, 
Ver. 50, 51.  but that they shall be devested of all the defects and infirmities of flesh and blood. This is the mystery of it, 
The Fire of the last day; the only Purgatory.  We shall be changed. The fire of the last Judgement (that only Purgatory of the Saints, that we dull Protestants know) shall not consume the bodies of the Saints, but their corruption only; it shall not destroy the substances, but refine their qualities, as the Goldsmith maketh a new Vessel of old Plate; not by altering the metal, but by changing the form and fashion. The furnace of the Resurrection shall purge out all the slime, and dross, and filth, and imperfection out of the bodies of the Saints, and refine them into a body that shall exceed the Celestial bodies, of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, in clarity and purity.  
This is that Affection and Property which the Schools call Impassibility; 
No more capable of a blow or wound, than the Air or Heavens, or the Sun itself.  they shall be put into a blessed incapacity or irreceptiveness of any (even the least) injury or prejudice incident to the humane nature, in this state of mortality. They shall be no more liable to suffering, than the glorified Angels in Heaven, or the Spirits of just men made perfect.  
Behold, these be now the beatifical properties wherewith the very bodies of the Saints shall be arrayed and beautified in the Resurrection!  
Of 

Corruptible,  
Ignominous,  
Weak,  
Natural,    
It shall be made 

Incorruptible.  
Glorious.  
Powerful.  
Spiritual.    
A Change which we are not in a capacity to understand, till we shall possess it.  
And all these admirable Properties the blessed Apostle hath cast up into one Word, a word of a most incomprehensible signification, the Summa totalis; the vast comprehensive estimate of all the rest, sc.  Our vile bodies shall be fashioned like to [Christ] his Glorious body. 
Phil. 3.21  
This short comprehensive description of the glory of the Resurrection, is expressed (also) by way of Opposition to its Contrary; that the excellency of the Resurrection might be more illustrious, being compared with the meanness and obscurity of the present state; and either of them is absolved in one word.  
The meaness of the present state of the body: It is a Vile Body.  
The glory of the future; It shall be conformed to Christ's Glorious Body.  
The body now is a vile body, Gr. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Our body of this vileness: A word of so full a signification, that in the whole Dictionary of Language, there cannot be found a term more proper, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  to express the meaness and ignominy of the present state; Some derive it from a Greek word, which signifies to bury; expressing such a corrupt and fordid thing, as if with Lazarus it had lain four days stinking in the Grave: 
Joh. 11.39.  a Carcase that stinks above ground; how much more when it is buried indeed?  
Others derive it from a word that signifies to stamp and tread underfoot: 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, calcari. See Mr. Calamies Sermon Preached at Dr. Boltons' Funeral.  implying the body (in itself) to be of so fordid and base an Extraction (since the Fall) as is fit for nothing, but to be cast out upon the dunghill, and trampled under the feet of man and beasts; whether alive or dead, it is a vile thing, (set aside only its divine workmanship) Vileness itself.  
Why-but now, the Resurrection shall make amends for all; Then this vile body shall be fashioned, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  like unto Christ his glorious body; like, i. e. of a like form and fashion to Christ's body; that must needs be a ravishing beauty indeed: for, mark ye, it is not like to Christ his body, in his state of Humiliation, which yet was full of beauty, though the blind world could not see it: 
Isa. 53. Joh. 1.14. The divine beauty beaming itself through the very body of Christ, and adding lustre unto it. Exod. 34.30.  they whose eyes were opened see and admired; we beh●ld his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth. But in the Resurrection, it is said, Our vile bodies shall be fashioned like to his Glorious body; surely that must needs excel in glory.  
Behold, if such were the brightness of Moses his face, at the giving of the Law, that the Israelites were not able to bear it; They were afraid (saith the Text) to come nigh him: If St. Stephen's Countenance did shine as the face of an Angel, when he stood holding up his hand at the bar of his Unrighteous Judges, in the posture of a Malefactor! what think we is the lustre and brightness which shines forth from the glorified body of the Lord Jesus, 
1 Tim. 6.15, 16.  who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, who only hath immortality, 
Math. 17.3.  dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see? Behold, in his transfiguration, 
Heb. 11.3. In Regia Caelorum sedet Jesus ad dextram Patris. Tert. the Resurr. Carnis,  his Face did shine as the Sun, and his Raiment was white as Snow! What ravishing beams of light and glory do Moses, and Elias, and Peter, now see sparkling from his glorified Person exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on high, i. e. on the highest Throne of the highest Majesty in the Court of Heaven: 

Illud corpus cadaverosum configurabit corpori claritaris su●. Aug.  
Ver●or ne temerarium sit, omne quod de illa proferiur el●qui●m. August. de civet. Dei. Lib. 22. Cap. 21.   Surely the glorified body of Christ doth as far surpass the Sun in brightness, as the Sun surpasseth a clod of Earth; and yet to this Exemplar of glory, must the bodies of the Saints be conformed in the Resurrection! Surely, glorious things are spoken of the Resurrection: So great, so glorious, that, had not the Spirit of God spoken them before, it had been daring presumption, to have reported or believed it.  
Qu. But some may say, How can these things be? or, How is it possible, that such rotten stinking Carcases should be capable of such a glorious Metamorphosis?  
Ans. It may well nonplus our poor dark Infant-understandings; For eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
1 Cor. 2.9.  nor hath it entered into the heart of man, what glory God hath prepared for the very bodies of his Saints! But, because it is wonderful in our eyes, Shall it be wonderful in the eyes of the Lord of Hosts?  
With men indeed this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. [O LORD GOD, thou knowest:] 
Ezek. 27.3.  was the answer which the Prophet of old returned to that non-plussing question, concerning the Resurrection of the dry bones of the house of Israel (a Type of this last and general Resurrection) He referred it (as being a mystery transcending his understanding) to Divine Wisdom and Omnipotence, to resolve.  
And upon the same bottom doth our Apostle here fix this Mystery and our Faith, sc. It is, according to the working of his mighty Power, whereby he is able to subdue, even all things to Himself. In his own Resurrection, the Lord Jesus as Mediator, gave us a signal specimen of his power; 
Colos. 2.15.  when he spoiled Principalities and Powers, and made a show of them openly: He subdued the Devil, Hell, and the Grave, to himself; got them under his feet, and led Captivity Captive; by virtue of which Conquest, he became the Resurrection and the Life: and therefore is able to exert the same power and influence in raising his Members, and in conforming them to their Head, which he put forth in his own Resurrection; it is a work of no greater difficulty: 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The bodies of the Saints shall be raised; tanta facilitate, quanta faelicitate, with as much ease as happiness. Aug.  If it were, He is able to subdue even all things; (it is a note of similitude.) All things are alike to Omnipotence; the greatest are as the least. Our Impossibles are all one to him, as our facilities: nothing can stand in his way, which he cannot subdue and conquer to Himself: i e. at his own pleasure, to his own glorious purposes and designs: And therefore, even this admirable and stupendious Transformation shall be effected upon those poor deformed Carcases of his Saints, which sense and reason gave for lost; Faith says, it shall be done, our vile bodies shall be transfigured into the likeness of his own Glorious body; How? according, or suitably, to the mighty working, whereby he is able to subdue even all things unto himself: God can do what he will, and that's enough.  And thus I have opened the first Consequence of Christ his Last Coming, sc. 
The Resurrection of the Saints, as (formerly,) in respect of the 

1. Author; The Lord Jesus.  
2. The Precedency of it; they that are alive, shall not prevent them which are asleep; they shall rise first: So also (now)  
3. In respect of the manner of it; the bodies of the Saints shall be invested with four glorious qualities. 

1. Incorruptible.  
2. Glorious.  
3. Powerful.  
4. Spiritual.      
By all which it shall be conformed to the Glorious Body of our Lord Jesus.  
It may be of Use 

1. For Counsel.  
2. For Comfort; and but a word of either.    
First; It may serve by way of Counsel; 
1. Use. Of Counsel.  and that unto all (indefinitely). You that would secure unto yourselves an interest in the glory which shall be put upon the Saints bodies in the Resurrection; labour to experience this beatifical transfiguration, first in your Souls, on this side of the Grave. Labour to get your vile spirits to be made like to his glorious Spirit. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ; put Him on, by an holy and universal Imitation.  

Labour to be meek, as He was meek.  
Holy, as He was Holy.  
Pure, as He was Pure.  
Merciful, as He was Merciful.  
Heavenly, as He was Heavenly.   
And, 
Joh. 4.34.  Let it be your meat and drink to do the will of him that sent you, and to finish his work.  
* A. Christ was the brightness of his Father's glory, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Insculpta forma.  the express Image of his Person: So do ye study (in your finite capacity) to be the brightness of Christ, his glory, the express Image of his Person: Oh labour to get his Image and similitude to be deeply engraven upon your hearts; and to scatter the beams of it in your Conversations, 
Philip. 2.15.  for the enlightening of a dark world.  
Behold this shall be the evidence and first-fruits of your future conformity to Him in the Resurrection of the just. The ground and Reason is, because that blessed Transfiguration which shall conform the Saints to Christ, their Head and Husband in the Resurrection (and from thenceforth to all Eternity;) hath its beginning here in Regeneration, 
Ephes. 4.23, 24.  or the New Birth, wherein they are renewed in the Spirit of their minds, 
B●ta referts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. unto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the Regeneration, ye also shall sit upon twelve ●n●●nes.  and do put on (habitually) the New man, which after God is Created in Righteousness and true holiness; Jesus Christ is form in their hearts. And upon this very account, is the Resurrection styled also, the Regeneration, Math. 19.28. In the Regeneration ye also shall sit, i. e. in the Resurrection ye also shall sit, etc. And it is therefore called the Regeneration; because the Resurrection shall perfect in the Saints, what the Regeneration begun, sc. Conformity to Christ their Head and Husband in Holiness. Yea at the Resurrection, the Image of Jesus Christ shall be completed; as on their Souls, so on their bodies also: because, that Image was begun upon their Souls on this side the Grave in their New Birth; accordingly as they were predestinated to both in the purpose of God, 
Rom 8.29.  from all Eternity. The Resurrection to Grace here, and to Glory hereafter, is but one and the same Regeneration. Whosoever therefore is a Stranger to this Transformation of Spirit, in the Resurrection to Grace, shall never partake of that Transfiguration of body in the Resurrection to Glory. The bodies of the wicked shall be raked out of their Graves with all their defects and excesses; all their mis-shapes and deformities, which they carried with them to their Graves; in their perfect ugliness; which were the shame and curse of the fallen nature; an abhorrency to God and Angels, etc. Yea to the very Devils themselves, whom they shall have to be both their Companions and Executioners. The Saints of God were the world's derided, persecuted Non-Conformists here; but themselves shall be Christ's and his Saints Non-Conformists hereafter, when their Carcases shall be cast out for a spectacle of shame and abhorrency unto all flesh for ever. 
Isa. 66. ult.   
Christians, as you love your Souls, and would bear the Image of the Son of God in his Kingdom and glory: Study this Soul-Conformity, now, and make it your business; Labour to feel this blessed change wrought in your hearts; and let the world behold it in your lives: without which, all your Confidences concerning that day, will prove but so many delusions, 
Rom. 5.5.  to aggravate your shame and everlasting despair. Hear, oh hear, how the Disciple of Love doth argue, When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, Glorious!  
But why? 
1 Joh. 3.2. cum. c. 4.17.  Because, As He is, so are we in this world. He disputes from Conformity to Christ in the Gospel-state, to Conformity to Him at this Appearance.  We shall, etc. because we are, etc. 
By such Argumentations, Christians, 
Philip. 2.12. 1 Tim. 6.18, 19 1 Joh. 4.17.  Work out your Salvation with fear and trembling, that ye may have boldness in the day of Judgement, etc.  
Secondly; It may serve by way of Comfort; 
Second Use. Consolation.  and for that end it is written by the Comforter Himself in this model: for Comfort, I say, in reference to our sweet Relations that sleep in Jesus; over whom (not seldom) we spend our fruitless Tears, (take we heed lest sinful also) while we compare their once lively, sweet, amiable Countenances, which sparkled so much beauty and delight in our eyes; with their pale, ghastly Visages in the Grave; where they say to Corruption, 
Job. 17.14.  thou art my Father; and to the Worm, thou art my Mother, and my Sister: We look upon them, I say, not without a kind of trembling and horror; as if their Ghosts appeared to us out of their Graves; or that we ourselves were buried with them alive in the same Coffin.  
Ah Sirs, why stand ye not (with the men of Galilee,) 
Act. 1.11.  gazing up into Heaven? but, (with Peter) stooping down, and looking into the Sepulchre? Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy; The day is coming, when that Corruptible shall put on Incorruption; and that Mortal shall put on Immortality: when that poor dust, over which thou now mournest, that vile body, shall put on its Angelical Robes, and shall more surpass itself in its freshest and liveliest colours, while yet in the land of the living; than that beautiful pile of flesh and blood did exceed itself, when it was resolved into rottenness and dust.  
Look not, then, oh ye Children of God, upon your Selves or your Relations, as they lie in the Grave; but, contemplate them, as they shall be in the morning of the Resurrection: Oh what a glorious change shalt than behold! How unlike itself, shall this poor vile body appear in the Resurrection?  
It was sown in Corruption, it is raised in Incorruption; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in Glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. In a word, It was sown a vile body; It is now transfigured, in the Resurrection, into a most eminent Conformity with Christ's Glorious body.  
Be of good Comfort, Oh ye mourners of hope; here is a perfumed Handkerchief to wipe off all tears from your eyes; You that sow in tears, shall reap in joy: you that carry forth precious Seed weeping, shall come again rejoicing, and bring your Sheaves with you.  
The Resurrection shall make amends for all!  
I have done with the first Consequent.  
I come now to the second Consequent of Christ's Rising; 
Second Consequent. Triumphant Ascension of the Saints.  sc.  
The Saints Triumphant Ascension.  
Verse 17. Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the Clouds, etc.  
Here, we have a further instance of the Saints Conformity unto Christ in the Resurrection. Christ himself when he was risen did Ascend; He was carried up into Heaven: So shall it be with the Saints, when they are raised up out of their beds of dust, they shall be caught up into the Clouds; they shall Ascend to meet their Lord.  
And this Ascension, according to the Analogy of Scripture, we may conceive, shall be effected by a  medium, 
1. Medium. The power of Christ.  Scil. 

1. The Power of Christ.  
2. The Ministry of the Angels,  
3. The Spirituality of the Saints own bodies.    
First, the Ascension of the Saints in the Clouds shall be effected by the Power of Christ.  
By the same power whereby he raised them out of their Graves, will he lift them up unto Himself; yea this taking them up, is a branch of the Resurrection; it is continuata Resurrectio, as Divines say, that Providence, is, continuata Creatio, a Progressive Creation: So I may call this Rapture of the Saints into the Air, It is nothing else but a Progressive Resurrection; the continuation and perfection of the Resurrection; the proper work (also) of Him, who is the Resurrection and the Life; It is the second part of the Resurrection, without which the first would differ little from the state of the Dead. In vain should the Saints be raised out of the dust, if being raised, Christ should leave them at a distance from Him: and the Resurrection of the Saints themselves would look too like the Resurrection of the Wicked, a Punishment rather than a Bl●ss; Separation from Christ being half, (yea, the worst half) of Hell: though even there the damned have a kind of Life. Surely, the Children of the Resurrection might have too real occasion to weep Absoloms' dissembling complaint to his abused Father; Why am I come from Geshur, if I may not see the King's face? Why are we brought up out of the Grave, if we may not enjoy the Lamb's presence?  
But the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, cannot be worse than his word; He spoke it at his Departure (to his Disciples;) and he will make it good at his Return;  
I will come again and receive you to myself, that, 
Joh. 14.3.  where I am, there you may be also.  
In order therefore to the accomplishment of this Promise, the first work the Lord Jesus will do, at his Coming in his Kingdom, (after he hath awakened his Spouse out of her sleep) will be, to lift her up unto Himself, now, sitting upon his triumphant Throne, to Judge both the Quick and Dead.  
This is the first Receiving of them unto Himself, 
Christ his first receiving of the Saints to Himself. Joh. 12.32.  his drawing of them up unto Him, according to his own phrase in the days of his flesh; And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me: (All men i e. All my Redeemed ones,) which promise, although the Spirit expounds it upon his being lifted up upon the Cross, verse 33. This he spoke, signifying what death he should die: Yet we may (not without warrant) extend it also to his glorious Exaltation in the great Day of his Judging the World: this being both the design and reward of his Passion; to the intent, that whom he drew to Himself, by the merit of his Cross, he might also actually draw unto Himself by the power of his Resurrection and Ascension. I will draw all men unto me; or, I will attract unto me; As the Loadstone draweth the metal unto itself by its magnetic virtue; or as the Sun draweth up the vapours of the Earth by its attractive beams: so will the Lord Jesus Christ that Sun of Righteousness, when his glory shall arise upon the world, with healing under his wings; draw all his Saints unto Himself, by the sovereign attractive influence of that mysterious Union between Himself and his Members.  
This is the first and great Medium of the Saints Ascension; the Power of Christ.  
A second Medium is the Ministry of the Angels; 
Second Medium, the Ministry of the Angels. Heb. 1. Ult.  for which, though we have not certainty of demonstration to compel belief; yet we want not more than bare probability of argument to invite Assent.  
For if it be in the Commission of the Angels to be Ministering Spirits, for them who shall be Heirs of Salvation, we have no reason to imagine their Commission should expire until the time, when the Saints shall be actually and safely invested into their long-expected Inheritance. And therefore, if they were the Saints Lifeguard in the state of their defilement and infirmity, to bear them up in their hands, lest at any time they should dash their foot against a stone; How much more ready and active, now, in the Saint's Virgin-state of Purity and Perfection, will the Angels be, to be their Convoy to conduct them (in their Ascension) going now to meet the Lamb! Sure we are, the Lord Jesus, though he be the Resurrection and the Life, yet is pleased to make much use of the Ministry of the Angels about the Resurrection of the Godly; They shall sound the first Trump, at the sounding whereof, the Dead do rise.  
They gather the Elect together, from the four Corners of the Earth, and sever the Wicked from them; the Tares and all things that offend, and them which work Iniquity, are by them bound up in bundles, and cast into the fire. All this is the Angel's Office; not because our Lord could not with equal facility do it Himself? Why should we think the service of the Angels should cease, until the whole Scene of the Resurrection be finished!  
Yea to determine our dubious thoughts, we hear the Lord of the Harvest giving charge to his Reapers (which are none but Angels) not only to reap the Wheat, but to carry-in the Sheaus into his Barn; I will say to the Reapers, but gather the Wheat into my Barn! Behold this is the Angel's Office; their work is not done, till the good Corn be Inned.  
This, in the Metaphor of the Marriage of the Lamb, is nothing else but the Angel's attendance on the Saints, the Lamb's Wife, while She is making ready, 
Revel. 19.7, 8.  that when She is arrayed in fine Linen, clean and white, they may then take her up in their winged Arms, and conduct her in state to the place, where her Royal Bridegroom is staying for her.  
Thirdly; 
Third Medium. The Spirituality of the Saints bodies.  The Spirituality and Power wherewith the bodies of the Saints are endowed in the Resurrection, may well concur also to this Ascension.  
By virtue of that marvellous Spirituality and Agility, wherewith the Resurrection shall, (if I may so say) inform the Saints bodies; they shall be able to mount upward (ut sup.) and move with admirable celerity up and down, to and fro in the Air; as Swallows in a Sunshine day, dart themselves through the sky; or as the Angels themselves, who with equal facility, Descend and Ascend, with a motion as swift as their Wills.  
In the Resurrection, indeed, the Saints were purely passive; as passive as when their bodies were first form out of the dust, and had the breath of Life breathed into them.  
But now, in their Ascension they shall be active and agile. Moved, indeed, they shall be, by an extrinsic power; why else are they said to be caught up into the Air? But yet not so, but that they may move themselves by an intrinsic Principle: Else, 
1 Cor. 15.42, 43, 44. God and Nature do nothing in Vain.  those supernatural affections of their re-divine bodies, might seem to be superfluous and insignificant. Suitably to this, it is storied of Elijah his Ascension (a Prophecy and figure of this universal Translation of the Saints) that although a Chariot of fire parted Him and Elisha; yet He went up by a whirlwind into Heaven: He was carried, and yet he went up; so the Saints, etc.  
Thus I have showed the probability (at least) of a threefold Medium in the Saint's Ascension. 1. Christ's Power. 2. The Angel's Ministry. Object. 3. The Agility of the Saints bodies.  
But it may be Objected.  
What meaneth this Concurrence of Mediums? For, if any one of these be sufficient, What use of them all?  
For Answer, 
Ans. Twofold  I shall offer two things to your consideration.  
First: This Concurrence of Mediums is no other than we meet with in the Ascension of our Lord in his own Person. For,  
First: 
Act. 1.9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Of the Lord Jesus Himself, after his Resurrection, it is said, He was taken up, or lifted up; the phrase may import the Power of the Father, as (formerly) in raising him up from the dead: So, now also, in lifting him up into Glory, according to that, Act. 5.31. Him hath God the Father exalted with his right-hand: Here is the power of the Father in the Son's Ascension. And then you have the subserviency of second Causes added; first a Cloud is prepared, as a Royal Chariot to carry up this King of Glory to his Princely Pavilion, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Luk. 24.51. He was carried up into Heaven.  A Cloud received him out of their sight.  
And then a Royal Guard of mighty Angels surround the Chariot; if not for support, yet for the greater state and solemnity of their Lord's Ascension; He was carried up into Heaven, Luk. 24.51.  
Yet notwithstanding all this, it is said of the Lord Jesus, He went up, 
Act. 1.10.  while the Disciples looked steadfastly towards Heaven: He went onward, or he went upward; as implying that his motion was not only passive, but active; he mounted up into Heaven by his own divine power, He Ascended. Behold here we have a perfect Pattern of the Saints Ascension in all the Mediums of it; they hold exact proportion with their Lord. The Father lifted up the Lord Jesus; the Lord Jesus, He lifts up his Saints. A Cloud received Him; the Saints also are caught up in the Clouds. Angels attend upon their Lord in his Ascension; nor do they refuse their attendance on the Saints in their Ascension. Jesus Christ, notwithstanding, Ascended by the Power of his own glorified Person: The Saints likewise Ascend by virtue of those supernatural properties, wherewith their bodies were adorned in the Resurrection.  
I Answer, Secondly; 
Second Answ.  That in both Christ's and the Saints Ascension, this variety of Mediums is neither superfluous, nor inconsistent; but signal instances of that sweet harmonious subordination of Causes, which the only wise God hath established in his own Counsel, for the managing of his works and wonders of providence, viz.  
Second Causes working together in their several Sphere and Orb.  
The supreme cause, ordering, influencing, and actuating the second causes to his own ends and designs.  
And lastly, 
See a notable instance of this subordination. Hos 2.21, 22. Rev. 11, 12.  Particular Being's and Persons lest to act according to the mpressions of their own individual natures, notwithstanding their subordination.  
All these Mediums, we may observe once more, concurring in the Resurrection of the Witnesses, mentioned in the Revelations; There, you have,  
1. A great voice from Heaven calling them, Come up hither; There's th' Power of Christ: It was a great voice, a voice of Power; a voice which did what it commanded.  
Second; The subserviency of the Clouds; the Witnesses road upon a Cloud into Heaven in Triumph.  
Thirdly; And to show their motion was not violent, but free also, and voluntary; it is said, they Ascended.  
Fourthly; And there is yet one Circumstance more of special remark, and that is, This was in the sight of their Enemies. Their Enemies beheld them; beheld them with great fear, verse 11. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Horror and Astonishment took hold of their Persecutors, Envying their Advancement, and vexing themselves that they should have no more power to Persecute the Witnesses, and (add to all this) confounded in the expectation of their own succeeding judgement.  
This one Scripture is a perfect prediction and model of the general Resurrection of the Saints in the last day.  
The Lord Jesus from his Throne shall call them up by a powerful voice: Come up hither, Clouds shall be their Chariots, and Horses to carry them. And yet they shall Ascend upwards by a supernatural principle, spontaneously, and of their own proper motion.  
While, in the mean time, the whole world of reprobate Men and Angel; shall be left below upon the Earth, looking upward and gnashing their Teeth, to see such a sudden and tremendous Turn of things: the Saints, whom they despised and persecuted, snatched out of their reach, and ascending in so much pomp and royalty to meet their glorious Redeemer; they themselves being left behind with a certain looking for of Judgement and fiery Indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. Then shall begin their weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of Teeth, which shall never have an end.  
For Use,  
In the first place it may serve as a Cordial to the Saints of God; 
Use 1. A Cordial.  whether in reference to their own dissolution, or the dissolution of their precious Relations already fallen asleep.  
Behold! the descent of the Saints of God into the Grave, is not with so much weakness, ignominy, and abasement, as their Ascent after the Resurrection, to meet their Lord in the Air, shall be with Power, Triumph, and Glory.  

Christ shall draw them.  
Clouds shall carry them.  
Angel's shall conduct them.   
Yea, they shall mount up to Heaven, by virtue of those Christ-like impressions stamped upon their glorified bodies in the Resurrection.  

Each one of these were sufficient:  
All these must needs be exceeding Glorious! yet,  
Such honour have all the Saints!   
Secondly; There is Caution in it, as well as Comfort; 
Use 2. Caution.  And that is, Begin this Ascension betimes. Labour to experience this Heavenly motion on this side of the Grave. Sursum corda, Lift up your heads Oh ye Gates, and be ye lift up, Oh ye everlasting Doors: behold;  
The Resurrection and Ascension in the future state of happiness, have their spring and rise in the present state of holiness; they are link in, and joined one to another, in the eternal counsel and purpose of God; with the very same Connexion wherewith Birth and Conception are linked together; Harvest and Seedtime. So that look what impossibility there is in nature, that there should be a Birth, where was no Conception; or an Harvest, where no Semination; the same impossibility there is, that such a person should share in the Resurrection of Glory, that is a stranger to the Resurrection of Grace, the new Birth; or that a Man or Woman should Ascend to meet Jesus Christ in the Clouds, who in the state of Regeneration, labours not often to meet Christ in the Mount of holy Meditation.  
If therefore ye be risen with Christ, 
Colos. 3.1, 2.  seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at God's right hand; set your affections on things above.  
Christ, after he arose from the dead, did often ascend to his Father, till, at the end of 40 days, He went up to Heaven in the sight of his Disciples. 
Acts 1.9, 10.   
Do ye also imitate your blessed Lord, in your frequent ascensions after him; and thereby evidence to yourselves, not only that you are already risen with Christ in the Resurrection of Holiness; but that ye shall also arise with Him, and Ascend to Him at his coming in his Glory.  
Christians, let not that man think ever to be caught up to meet the Lord in the Air, who is patiented of being a stranger to Christ in the Spirit; without God (in the world), 
Eph. 2.12.  and without hope; he burieth his hope of Ascending, where Christ is, who burieth his heart and affections in the dunghill of worldly and sensual fruitions. Oh labour to say with the Apostle, though our Commoration be on Earth, our 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. or Traffic Burgesship.  Conversation is in Heaven, from whence we look for a Saviour; 
Phil. 3.20.  though ye walk below, 
Aug. The Saints do uti mundo, but frui Deo. Carnal men do uti Deo, & frui mundo. Corpore ambulamus in terra, cord habitamus in coelo. Aug.  yet live above. Though ye use the world, yet labour to enjoy God, and to be able to say with holy David, Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee, Psal. 73.26.  
Though ye have your converse with men, let your Communion be with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ, 1 Joh. 1.3.  
Labour to say with Augustine, Our bodies are on Earth, our hearts in Heaven: while the men of the world Earthlize Heavenly things, do you study how to Heavenlize Earthly things; labour, (as he did) to eat and drink, and sleep Eternal Life.  
So may you, with an holy Confidence, go along with the Apostle, from whence we look for the Lord Jesus. Christian's can no further look for the Lord Jesus to Descend from Heaven, then as they themselves (in the mean time) labour to be often Ascending with him into Heaven. Heavenly-mindedness, is the Saint's Evidence, and first-fruits of their Heavenly-blessedness. I have done with the second Consequent; I come to the third Consequent of Christ's Coming.  

Thirdly: 
Third Consequent of Christ's Coming.  The Saints joyful meeting, and it is twofold 

1. One with another.  
2. With Christ their Head.    
The one is Implied, the other Expressed.   
The Saints meeting one with another, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  is implied in this Adverbial particle, Vnà Together, we shall be caught up together with him, i. e. We, which shall be found alive upon the face of the Earth at Christ's coming; together with them (which being fallen asleep before, of elder or later time) Christ hath now raised up out of their Graves; we and they, shall All be caught up together, etc.  
This I say presupposeth their meeting together, antecedaneous to their Ascension: how else can they co-Ascend, if not congregated before they Ascend? And therefore, in order of nature, though the Saints meeting together should have been spoken to before their Ascension; yet the series of the words not well admitting this method, it will not be improper to consider it where it meets us.  
The Scripture takes notice of the Saints meeting one with another, as distinct from their meeting with the Lord Jesus, Mat. 24.31. The Elect shall be gathered together from the four winds, from one end of the Heavens to another. At what distance soever (imaginable) they were dispersed and scattered, they shall all meet together into one distinct body, or Assembly: And then co-ascend, to meet their Lord. Some of the Schoolmen apply that passage of the Prophet, 
Isa. 10.34.  They shall Mount up with wings as Eagles, to this ascension of the Saints after the Resurrection. Whether that be so or no; we may not incongruously suppose, the Elect of God to be gathered together into some one 
* Some suppose the Valley of Jeh●shaphat.  vast capacious tract or region of ground on the right hand of the Judgment-seat, from thence to take their flight together to meet the Judge in the Air. 
We must understand the placing of the Sheep on the right hand, and the Goats on the left hand, to be upon the ground (for the Wicked shall not Ascend to meet Christ); and the Godly, when Ascended, shall be placed on Seats round about the Throne, Mat. 25.33.   
And of this Congregation of the Elect, the Scripture assigneth a twofold Cause.  
1. CHRIST, the principal efficient Cause: The Son of man shall come in the Clouds, and shall send his Angels, and shall gather the Elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the Earth, to the uttermost part of Heaven. He, not They; Christ, not the Angels; shall gather his Elect together: Christ Autocratorically by his own Power and Authority, shall assemble all his Elect that ever have been upon the face of the Earth into one general Assembly.  
2. Yet doth not this exclude the Ministry of the Angels; Christ may make use of them in the separation of the Elect, from the Reprobate; and this is expressly affirmed by our Lord Himself;  
The Angels shall come forth, 
Mat. 13.49. Or from the midst of the Just.  and sever the Wicked from the Just. This same full and final separation of the precious from the vile, the Sheep from the Goats, the Seed of the Woman from the Seed of the Serpent, it belongs to the Angel's Office; the Angels shall come forth and sever; Christ doth it Authoritatively, but the blessed Angels do it Ministerially: Christ gives out the Commission; He shall send his Angels; but they shall execute the Commission. Christ gives out the word; Gather my Saints together unto me: But the Angels, those Ministering Spirits, they go forth and gather.  
3. There is yet another Cause mentioned; sc. the Instrumental or signal Cause, and that, is the Alarm of a Trumpet: He shall send his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet.  
It seemeth not improbable that the Congregation shall be called together by sound of Trumpet: for though some (both Ancient and Modern) do understand all, that is said concerning the Trumpet sounding, metaphorically; yet doth the phrase of Scripture favour their opinion more, who understand the speech of a literal sounding the Trumpet: 
Schindler in his Lexicon.  and Schindler tells us, that the Jews thought this to be one end of the feast of Trumpets, to put them in mind of the last day: in the which the dead shall rise with the noise of a Trumpet; and be gathered together, not otherwise than as when people do hear the sound of a Trumpet, they assemble themselves together into some place. And why may we not think that as the Trump is used in order to the Saints Resurrection; so also there may be use made of it, in order to their gathering together, when they are raised? May not this be suggested from Math. 24.31. though neither the Resurrection, nor the Congregating of them together, are effected properly by this sound; it being not a Physical, but a moral instrument only, or signal; 'Tis not the sound of the Angels, 
Joh. 5.28.  but the voice of Christ, which the dead hear and live. That voice being the voice, not of a mere man, but of God-man, may well be allowed to have both quickening and congregating power in it; Hence in some Churches it is sung, 
Tuba, mirum spargens sonum,  
Per Sepulchra regionum,  
Coget omnes ante Thronum.  
The Trump of God, diffusing sound  
Through all the Graves now under ground;  
Shall cause the Dead, Christ's Throne surround.   
To this end it is observable in the Text;  
1. That in the Original, it is not (as in other places) the sound of a Trumpet only; but the Voice of a Trumpet; implying it to be a Vocal Trumpet: giving out (not only) an audible, but (even) an Articulate Voice, speaking in a Language which the Saints shall understand: 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. So, in 4 Copies, Bez.  and therefore some Greek Copies (as Beza observeth) make the Voice, additional to the Trump, sc. with the Trumpet and a Voice.  
2. It is observable: It is not a Voice (only) but a great Voice; a Voice of some unusual terribleness and power; a Voice (it seemeth) that can do what it speaketh; that when it saith, Rise ye Dead, they Rise; and when it saith Come, they Come; it shall not only summon, but bring them together before the Throne of Christ; and this probably is the very same with this in the Context, verse 16.  
The Voice of the Archangel, and the Trump of God.  
That Voice, which before raised the Dead, shall now bring them together, (by a sweet compulsion,) into one Triumphant Assembly: The Church of the firstborn; 
Heb. 12.23. Quomodo prim●genitus esse potuit nisi quoniam s●cundum divinitatem ante emnem creaturam ex Deo p●●●e Sermo esset? Tert de Trin. Use.  not Children only, but Heirs, Heirs of God, and coheirs with Christ; who being the Firstborn of every Creature, hath invested all the Children of Promise, into the same prerogative of Primogeniture with himself; and are therefore styled the Church of the firstborn.  
But, as the Scripture would have us take notice of this Antecedent of the Saints Ascension; so it doth teach us also how to improve it to 

A threefold Comfort.    
1. In case of undue mixtures of Saints and Sinners, whether in Church-Assemblies, or in Civil-Societies.  
How far either of them may be lawful, is not an Enquiry proper for this place; sure I am, much, in both, is unavoidable. A total separation from impure Society in either, may well be the object of our wishes, but it cannot be of our hope: while we are in the world, we may separate from Church to Church, we may remove from Country to Country, roll up and down from the one end of the world unto another: But, the Apostle tells us, we must go one step further, if we will avoid the society of Sinners; 
1 Cor. 5.10.  then, must ye needs go out of the World.  
Yea, But here is the Comfort, and it is the signal use our Lord makes of this very Doctrine; The time is coming when a thorough separation shall be made; Under that double parable of the Seed and the Net. 
Math. 13.   
Ver. 26. In the one the Tares grow up with the Wheat.  
Vers. 47. In the other, all kind of Fishes are gathered, good and bad; Concerning the former, the Servants of the Housholder were offended at it; it grieved them at the heart to see the Weeds growing, yea (and it may be) over-growing the good Corn, and so hindering the maturing of it. They make their addresses to him for a present separation; 
verse 27.  and offer their faithful service for an utter radication of the Tares: 
verse 28. verse 29.  Wilt thou that we gather them up? Nay, saith the Lord, a total extirpation of the Tares, may do more hurt than ye are ware of. Better (it seems) it is, that some Tares should remain, than the least grain of Wheat to perish: The distinguishing-Time is at hand; In the time of Harvest I will give order to the Reapers for a perfect separation.  
All this our blessed Redeemer expounds (for the comfort and encouragement of his offended Servants,) to be accomplished at the Resurrection; So shall it be at the end of the world; the Son of man shall send forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend, and they that do iniquity, As if he should say  
Be of good cheer, The time is coming when impure mixtures will no more be a temptation to the Saints of God, for ever. Saints and Sinners shall no more be burdensome one to another. The Seed of the Serpent, shall no more be an offence to the Seed of the Woman, nor è contrà; but there shall be a perfect separation. The Sheep shall be separated from the Goats; the Elect from the Reprobate; there shall not be a Servant of the Lord amongst the Worshippers of Baal; nor a Son of Beltal among the Sons of God: Sinners and none but Sinners, Saints and none but Saints, shall make up these two distinct Congregations. Nay so terrible will the glory which Christ will put upon his Saints be, upon the faces of the Reprobates; and so great the horror of their own guilty Consciences; that they shall now as much dread their Society, as once they hated it, and choose rather to leap alive into the burning Lake, then to mix themselves unto them; or so much as to put their head within that holy Assembly. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in praestituto temp●re. Verse 30. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  This Christ assureth to his Mourners shall be effected in the appointed time; if not, in our time, yet in God's time, in the time of Harvest. But what shall we do in the mean time? why, saith our Lord, Suffer them to grow together: suffer them; not, by sinful toleration, (in Rulers); nor by sinful compliance (in people): 

Expectardo non teme●è occupando.  
If we cannot separate from Churches, yet separate from their Corruptions and defilements. 2 Use.   but suffer them by patiented expectation (in case of necessity), having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reproving them. If you cannot avoid the Workers, yet avoiding the Works of darkness: and then, in your patience do you possess your Souls.  
2. This Circumstance of the Saints separation from the Wicked, is improved for comfort, (by our Lord Jesus Christ himself.)  
In case of undue exclusion from Church Ordinances, of such as Christ would not have excluded.  
Our Lord Jesus hath foretold, that the power of the keys should fall (sometimes) into such hands, as would so diametrically pervert the use of them, as that ofttimes none should be excluded, but whom Christ would have admitted; nor admitted, but such as Christ would have shut out.  
They shall put You out of their Synagogues, 
1 Joh. 16.2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  i. e. Excommunicate you: You, my Disciples; you, my Friends. Hard measure! I, but here is comfort; the time is coming, wherein all the Elect shall be Congregated into one universal Assembly, never to suffer exclusion or ejectment any more to all Eternity. And then their unrighteous Excommunicators shall be righteously Excommunicated; yea they shall be Excommunicated with the highest sort of Excommunication, (higher than any Church of Christ ever used) Excommunicated for ever; delivered unto Satan, not for the destruction of the flesh only, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, 
2 Thes. 1.9.10.  and from the glory of his Power; (when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints): That's a dreadful Excommunication indeed; the Anathema Maranatha in the highest sense: quum Dominus venit: quia Domino quasi in manus citra veniae spem dedentur.  
Judas 14. Now; the Saints of God are glad to get into Corners by twoes and by three, (and, blessed be God, not without a promise) to seek the face of God; so making the Harlot's Text, 
Prov. 17.17.  speak chaste language; Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret, is pleasant.  
But in that glorious Morning of the Resurrection, they shall meet by millions and myriads of millions; and there shall be none to disturb or offend them; yea their Enemies shall look on and gnash their Teeth for anguish and vexation of Spirit, to see them now got (for ever) out of their power.  
3. 
3 Use.  And lastly, for Comfort in case of the Saints separation one from another, whether by the unrighteous hand of Violence, or the righteous hand of Providence: Now; by means of Dispersions, Imprisonments, Exile, etc. the people of God are like Arms and Legs torn out of the body, and lie bleeding in their separations. Yea, God Himself is pleased to make sad breaches between them, and their sweetest Relations, by Death; Under which they are many times like Rachel (not without sin) weeping for her Children, and refuse to be Comforted, because they are not; lifting up their voices and crying; Oh! my Father Abraham, and Oh! my Son Isaac. O Absalon my Son, my Son Absalon, would God I had died for thee. I will go down to the Grave to my Son, mourning, etc.  
But here is Comfort; the time is coming when the Parent and Child, Husband and Wife, Friend and Friend, with the whole Family of Heaven and Earth, from all their dispersions, from the uttermost part of the Earth, to the uttermost part of Heaven, shall meet together, and embrace one another; Everlasting Joy shall be upon their Heads, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.  
In a word; how may all the Saints of God (in what state or condition so ever for the present) solace themselves in the fore-contemplation of the Triumphant gathering together of the Elect of God? What a joyful Sight will it be when all the Saints and Servants of the most high God, which ever saw one another's faces, or heard of one another's names; yea, and all they which never saw or heard each of other: All of every Tongue, Nation, Kindred or Family of the Earth; of what Age, Sex, Generation soever, from the day wherein God made time, to the day wherein time shall be no more, shall meet together, and stand on tiptoe, ready to take their flight, to meet their Lord and Bridegroom, coming in the Clouds with his mighty Angels? Yea, what a glorious sight will it be to see all 

The glorious Company of the Apostles,  
The goodly Fellowship of the Prophets,  
The whole Army of Martyrs, with  
The holy Church throughout all the World!    
A Congregation of Kings and Priests in all their Royal Robes: Yea (as I may so say) a Congregation or Constellation of Morning-Starrs, yea of so many Noonday Suns, arising from the Earth, co-Ascending through the several Regions of the Air, to meet the Sun of Righteousness, now descending from his own Orb of Supreme Glory and Majesty in the highest Heavens, to Judge both the quick and the dead?  
Surely such an Assembly, eye never saw, ear never heard of, nor can it enter into the heart of man, to conceive how immense, how august, how exceeding, it will be in glory!  
While, in the mean time, the Congregation of the Reprobate, the Malignant Church that are left below upon the Earth on the left hand, shall stand trembling, looking upwards, and gnashing their Teeth to see this sudden and tremendous turn of things; the Saints whom they despised and persecuted before, thus snatched out of their cursed power and fellowship, Ascending in so much Pomp and Royalty to meet their glorious Redeemer! They themselves left behind to curse themselves, and one another, for their Prejudices, Envy, and Rage, which once they breathed out against God's people: and shall be filled with horror and astonishment, in the certain looking for of Judgement, and that fiery Inaignation which shall devour the Adversaries; and even now already, seizing upon them.  
For surely, this Sight shall be the beginning of their sorrows; but, of everlasting joys and triumphs, to the followers of the Lamb, Who now comes in glory to meet them, and to receive them to himself,  Which brings me to the second Meeting mentioned here in the Text, etc. The Saints meeting with Christ their Head, 
The Saints meeting with Christ Jesus.  to meet the Lord in the Air. 
In this Meeting there be three things considerable.  

1. The Persons meeting.  
2. The Place where they meet.  
3. The ends of their meeting.   
1. The Persons meeting, Christ and his Saints. He Descends to meet them, and they Ascend to meet him. Such is the Love and Condescension of the Lord Jesus to his Saints, that he cometh out of his Royal Pavilion more than half way to meet them; and then sends his Charrets and Horsemen, a Guard of Angels to carry them up in the Clouds, and to conduct them unto the place, where he stayeth for them. There shall they be brought into his Royal presence, and like a Royal Spouse, who hath been long separated from her Bridegroom by distance of place, they shall fall down before Him, and with Tears of joy shall wash his feet, and wipe them dry with the Kisses of their Lips: while, at the same time, Christ will take his Bride up into his Arms, and (with the Father of the Prodigal) fall upon her neck, and kiss her; and, with all the unconceivable expressions of Love and Joy, receive her to Himself, and bid her welcome into his presence. Oh! what Soul can conceive what mutual Joy and Triumph there will be between Jesus Christ and his Saints in this blessed Interview?  
Oh how welcome will the Saints be to the Lord Jesus at that day? 
The Saints under a threefold Relation.  when he shall look upon them under a threefold Relation! sc.  
1. As the Father's Election: 
First. The Father's Election. Joh 10.6. Eph: 1.18.  To see the whole number of names which were given unto him by the Father, from all Eternity, as the fruit and reward of his Passion, now (at the last) all gathered together, and given into his actual possession, as an inheritance for ever.  
2. To look upon them as the Purchase of his own Blood. 
2. The Sons Purchase.  If it was a satisfaction to the Lord Jesus, when behold he was in the throws and agonies of his Travel with them upon the Cross, to see his Seed, 
Isa. 53 11.  when they were but in the swaddling  of their imperfect Regeneration, according to their successive generations (wherein they were to be brought into the Church); Oh what infinite satisfaction will it now be to the Lord Jesus, to see the Travel of his Soul in their perfect and consummate estate, all the mixtures of Corruption and Infirmity now deleted, and they come to a perfect man, to the measure of the Stature of the fullness of Christ? to see them all brought in; not a Soul wanting of all those whose names he bore upon his breast, while he hung upon the Cross? that not one drop of Blood, not one Prayer, not a Sigh or Groan, or Tear, that ever he spent for them, (in the days of his Flesh) is lost or fruitless, as to any one Soul whom he purchased of the Father? 
Joh. 17.12.  In the Pastoral charge of Christ, there was one Son of Perdition, but in his Mediatory charge, not one Soul shall miscarry; but all shall be presented to him safe and entire, at his appearance: And over them shall he glory, saying (as it were) All these are mine, the Travel of my Soul, the Purchase of my Blood, the Fruit of my Agonies; for these, I was born, and for these I was made under the Law: For these I Bled, 
Joh. 1●. 24.  and for these I made myself an Offering for sin: Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me, where I am, that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me: Come near unto me, my Sons, and my Daughters, that I may kiss you. 
Gen. 27.27.  See, the smell of my Redeemed is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.  
A Woman when she is in Travel, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; 
Joh. 16.21:  but as soon as she is delivered, she remembreth no more the anguish, for joy that a manchild is born into the World: Surely, the joy of our Lord will so much transcend the joy of all natural Mothers, by how much his agonies were more bitter, the birth more precious, and his Soul more capacious of higher and purer joys, than are to be sound in the poor narrow Creature!  
3. When he shall look upon them as the charge and deposisitum of the Holy Ghost. Whom the Father did Elect, the Son was to purchase; and whom the Son purchased, the Spirit was to Sanctify: Who therefore is called the Holy-Ghost, not only because, as the third glorious Person in the blessed Trinity, he is essentially holy in himself; but because by Office he is a Fountain of Holiness to all the Elect. The Blood of Christ indeed is the Fountain of Merit; but the Spirit of Christ the Fountain of operation and efficacy; gathering the Elect out of the world, wherein they lay (in common with the rest of the lost Sons and Daughters of Adam,) 
Gal. 5.22, 23.  planting their Souls with the habits of Grace, (which are therefore called the Fruits of the Spirit) and then acting, supporting, preserving, and ripening those habits into perfection.  
The Father's Election, and the Son's Purchase, are both perfected by the Sanctification of the Spirit.  
The Father's Election; 
2 Thes. 2.13.  so the Apostle tells his Thessalonians, God hath from the beginning chosen you to Salvation, through Sanctification of the Spirit.  The Son's purchase; 
Tit. 3.5.  He saved us by the washing of Regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 
Oh how acceptable then must the Offering up of the Saints be to Jesus Christ, because thus Sanctified by the Holy-Ghost? And when Christ shall thus present his Redeemed unto Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but Holy, and without blemish: How will he rejoice over her, as the Bridegroom over his Bride? That day being, indeed, the Marriage of the Lamb: (of which anon.) 
Rev. 19.7.   
Thus will the Lord Jesus, the King of glory rejoice to meet the Saints. And surely the Saints (according to their finite capacity,) will not less rejoice and triumph to meet their Lord. Oh! to meet him now, whom their Soul loved; whom in the days of their Pilgrimage (upon Earth) they often sought and could not find; sought him in Prayer, Meditation, Conference, etc. but could not find him; and when they could not find him, mourned for him, lamented after him; bedewed their cheeks with Tears; ask solicitously of every one they met, Saw ye not him, whom my Soul loveth?  
I say; To meet him, now on the Throne of his glory; of whom, could they have had but a glimpse in a glass darkly, in the Evangelical Ordinances, 
Can. 6.12.  their Souls would have made them like the Chariots of Aminadab. To see him whom (having not seen) they loved: and in whom, though they (then) saw him not, yet believing, they rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory! I say, now to see him, and so to see him, as to have a full sight of his unveyled face, shining more gloriously than ten thousand Suns at Noonday! Once more, So to see him, as never to lose the sight of him to all Eternity: How will this transport their Souls with unspeakable ecstasies of joy, which will cause them to break forth into Triumphant Hymns, yea, and to call to their now- fellow Angels, to help them with their Celestial Hallelujahs?  Behold, such (and infinitely more than tongue can express, or heart conceive) will be the mutual joy & triumph between Christ and his Saints, at his blessed appearance? 
Go forth in the mean time, Use. Oh ye Daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the Crown, 
Cant. 3.11.  wherewith his Father will Crown him in the day of his Marriage, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.  

Gird up the loins of your minds, 
1 Pet. 1.13.  be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is brought to you at the Revelation of Jesus Christ, 
Ch. 4.13.  that when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad with exceeding joy.  
Thus I have done with the first thing considerable in this meeting; The Persons meeting, Christ and the Saints.  
I come to the second; The place of meeting, and that is, In the Air.   
We shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the Air; That is the place where Christ stays for his Saints: There, they meet him; and there, this great Ecumenical Assize will be held. The Judge shall sit upon the Throne, and all the Saints shall be placed on bright Clouds, as on seats or Scaffolds round about him; The Wicked remaining (below) upon the Earth, there to receive their final doom and sentence; and from thence to be dragged away, by the Executioners of divine Vengeance, Infernal Spirits; to the place of Execution (the bottomless-Pit,) yet standing; and (to the greater aggravation of their horror) looking on.  
If it be demanded;  
Qu. Why this Solemn Meeting must be in the Air.  
Answ. It may suffice for answer, The Lord Jesus hath made choice of this place.  
It is the privilege of earthly Judges in their Circuits, to appoint the place where they will keep their Assizes or Sessions, wherein if stat pro ratione volunt as, their will is a sufficient reason; surely, it is not less the prerogative of this great Judge of the quick and the dead, to appoint the place where he will hold this last and tremendous Judgement. And we may well acquiesce in the choice, not only because his will is the sovereign Law of the Creature, but as his infinite Wisdom hath judged it the place most convenient for the design.  
And yet (if it be lawful to make our Conjectures, where Scripture is silent) we may humbly suppose this twofold Account of it.  

1. The Capacity of the Place.  
2. The Conspicuity of the Judgement.   
1. The Capacity of the Place; Vast, 
For the Capacity of the Place?  and (as to us) infinite will be the numberless numbers of those that do meet in this universal Assembly. Behold, the Lord will come with ten thousands of his Saints; 
Judas 14.  Yea thousand thousands minister unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before him; All the Saints that slept in Jesus from the Creation of man, and all the Saints which are found alive upon the Earth at Christ's Coming, must all appear before the Lord Josus. And besides these, the Judge cometh with his Royal Satellites, his Officers of State, Myriad and Legions of Angels;— All his holy Angels, Math. 25.31. There shall not be an Angel (as it were) left in Heaven as it were. Jacob met two Hosts or Camps of Angels of God, in his Travel, Gen. 32.12. Our Saviour mentions more than 12 Legions, which as a commanded party, 
Math. 26 53.  would have been (in an instant) sent out for his rescue, (if there had been need). What an infinite Army of Angels must it needs be then, when all the Angels come in Christ's Train? An innumerable company of Angels? 
Heb. 12.22.  And all these must not appear in confused heaps and multitudes, but in their distinct ranks and order; and the Saints are to sit in Order, in their several degrees round about the Throne.  
Why now, the Place had need be of an huge extent and circumference, that will suffice to receive and contain such variety of multitudes: So that even in this respect, no place so fit for this August and solemn Convention, as the Air; for its vast extensiveness and capacity. But  
Secondly: Much more in respect of Conspicuity, that so, the Judge and Judgement, with all the Assessors and Attendants, might be more eminently visible from Heaven above, to the Earth beneath, that the whole process of this general Assize may be heard and seen by all, good and bad; Elect and Reprobate; Heaven and Hell. Heaven would be too high, the Earth would be too low; the smoke of the bottomless pit would obscure this glorious vision: The Air, (where is no interposition of Hills and Mountains,) and now, serened and brightened by the confluence of so many glorious Suns, will render this last tremendous Transaction, visible and audible to every Creature. Behold, he cometh with Clouds! Clouds, which will not obscure him, but bright Clouds, which, filled with the beams of his glory, shall render him most visible and conspicuous: 
Math. 24.30. Rev. 1.7.  So it is Prophesied, Every eye shall see him, etc. Thus it shall be, and this will make for the exceeding Glory and Majesty of the Judge,  
For thus it is (even) in humane Judicatories upon Earth, the Tribunal of the Judge, and Bench of Assessors, is erected in open Court, and lifted up on high in the sight of all the people, that all may see and hear the whole judicial procedure of the Law, with the posse Comitatus attending in Arms for the greater solemnity and honour of the Judge. Upon the same account hath our Lord made choice of the Air to keep his great Arsize in, there to erect his Royal Throne, and to place seats of Judgement for all the Saints to sit upon, round about him; all the holy Armies of Angels surrounding them. This will make Christ very glorious in the eyes of all the Spectators. Hence it is said, He shall come in the glory of his Father, and his own glory. The Father sends the Son about this great Work of the last Judgement, with as much pomp and glory as can be put upon him, for the recompensing of the ignominy and abasement of his first coming in the flesh.  
I come now to the ends of this Meeting; And the ends why the Saints ascend to meet Christ in the Air, we may conceive to be such as these: 

1. Their public Reception and owning by Christ.  
2. Their full and perfect Justification.  
3. The Consummation of their unptial Contract.  
4. Their Confession, or Sitting together with Christ in the Judgement.  
5. Their complete and final Benediction, or blessed Sentence.  
6. Their solemn and triumphant Attondance on the Judge, going to take possession of the Kingdom.  
These (or the like) ends of the Saints meeting with the Lord in the Air, are not obscurely hinted to us in Scripture.    
The first is, Their public reception and owning by Christ, (come, now, to judge the world). The Elect Angels having gathered together the Elect Saints (according to the Commission upon which they were sent forth, Go ye and gather my Saints together unto me; those that have made a Covenant with me by Sacrifice) and having carried them up into the Air, where the Judge stayeth for them (for he will do nothing until they come): I say, their Angels shall now present them before Him, in the rich and glorious attire of their (now) perfected Resurrection; wherein, their (once) vile bodies, are now made like to Christ his glorious body. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought into the King's presence: and the first public Act which the King shall do, is, solemnly to receive them, Come ye blessed of my Father, and embracing them in his arms, and kissing them (as it were, as Joseph once did his Brethren) in the open view of Heaven and Earth, he will solemnly own them, and acknowledge them; and that  
First, in their Persons and Relation unto himself.  
A Prerogative long-before promised, 
Mal. 3.17. Christ will own the Saints. 1. In their persons.  They shall be mine when I make up my Jewels. That is the very work which Christ is now come about; to make up his Jewels (to lay them up in their Heavenly Cabinet.) And the first word he will speak, is, These are mine (he appropriates them for his own) they be mine, my Jewels, my Gems, my 
* S●gullah.  precious Treasure. As the Saints have not been ashamed of Christ before men; so neither will Christ now be ashamed of them before his Father, 
Luk 9 Heb. 1.11. 2 In their Relations.  and all his mighty Angels: he will not be ashamed to call them Brethren; yea, he will appropriate them as his Children; a Seed given him of his Father, as the great reward of is Passion; saying, These be the Children which God hath given me; 
Ver. 13.  my Sons and my Daughters, who have served me: thus he owns them in their Relations.  
Secondly: 
3. In their Duties and attendance  He will own and acknowledge all the holy duties, public and private, which they have done in obedience to his Commands; their hearing, praying, fasting, and afflicting their Souls for their own sins, and for other men's sins; their fearing of God, and laying to heart the reproaches of Religion, and Blasphemies, cast upon his Name; their mutual holy conferences, 
Mal. 3.16.  one with another, etc. All these were written in a book of Remembrance of old, and laid up before him, that they might never be forgotten; and now the Book shall be brought forth, and read in the Audience of the world, for their greater honour, even the very secret duties which they have performed in their Closets, when no eye saw them but God's; even they shall be proclaimed in the Audience of this Universal Assembly at the last day; 
Mat 6.6.  Thy Father which saw in secret, will now reward thee openly, not a prayer, but it was filled up; not a sigh, 
Psal. 56.8.  nor groan, but it is booked; not a tear, but is bottled; not an holy ejaculation, but was upon Record, and shall be now publicly produced and acknowledged: I know your Works and your Labour, and your Charity, and your Service, 
Rev. 2.19.  and your last Works to be more than the first, etc.  
Thirdly: 
4. In their fidelity and perseverance. Rev. 2 13.  Jesus Christ at that day will own the fidelity of his Saints, their constancy and perseverance in their holy Profession, and confess them before all the world: I know your Works, and where you have dwelled, even where Satan's seat was, and you have held fast my Name, 
Chap. 2.10.  and have not denied my Faith, even in those days wherein Antipas, (Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, etc.) were my faithful Martyrs; who were slain among you where Satan dwelleth; behold! to you who have been faithful to the death, do I now give a Crown of Life? To you who have overcome, do I grant to sit with me in my Throne, 
Chap. 3.21.  as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his Throne. 
5 In their sufferings.   
Fourthly: He will own and acknowledge the Saints, in their sufferings for his sake. All the reproaches, hard speeches, 
* L●quntur lapides.  incivilities, abuses, scandals, persecutions, which ever they sustained in their names, persons, livelihoods, and lives, upon Christ's and the Gospel's account, he will acknowledge; and bespeak them in some such language as this, Isa. 66.7. Your Brethren which hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, 
* So mocking God, and deriding the Godly for their confidence in God. Luk. 22.28, 29, 30. 6. In all the Offices of love done to him or his.  Let the Lord be glorified: but, now I appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed: Or, as he once encouraged his Disciples in the days of his flesh; You are they which have continued with me in my temptations, and behold, I appoint unto you a Kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that you may eat and drink at my Table, in my Kingdom, etc.  
Fifthly and lastly: The Lord Jesus will own all the Services and Offices of Love, done to Himself, or to any of his Members; Clothing, Feeding, Visiting them when Sick, coming to them when in Prison; He will acknowledge all before Heaven and Earth: yea, what they themselves have forgotten, never thought-worthy of their own notice, much less of Christ's notice; Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee; or thirsty, and gave thee drink, & c? Observe (by the way) the difference between Saints and Shadows! Hypocrites can boast of what they never (truly) did, they can own what God will disown! We have fasted, say they; nay, saith God, In the day of your fast, ye find pleasure! ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness, etc. We have, say they, afflicted our Soul; no such thing, saith God; Ye have bowed down the head like a bulrush for a day; ye have spread Sackcloth and Ashes under you: Is this a Fast? will you call this, Soul-afflicting? if you will, I will not. I but now, on the contrary, as to true, real Saints, God owneth what themselves dare not own; but though they have forgotten, God is not unrighteous to forget their work and labour of love, which they have showed towards his Name, 
Math. 2●. 7.  in ministering to the Saints; but all shall be remembered, even from the Alabaster-box of costly Spikenard, to the Cup of cold water given in the name of a Disciple; and proclaimed in the Audience of that general Assembly; 
Math: 25 40.  For as much as you have done it to one of these little ones, ye have done it unto me; yea, those very acts of Charity, which have been done so secretly, that the left hand did not know what the right hand did, 
Math. 6.3.  shall be now published upon the housetop (the great house of Heaven and Earth); they were not so closely done, but they shall as openly be rewarded; the book of God's remembrance shall be brought forth and opened, and publicly read, that all the good which any of the Saints of God ever did, may be mentioned to their everlasting praise; and that with a double circumstance of signal honour.  
First, 
A twofold advantage of the Recital made of the Saints Graces.  That, in that large Recital which shall then be read, of the Saints lives, there is not the least mention made of sin; they had (sure enough) the remainders of their original corruption, (surviving their conversion) defiling & molesting their most holy Services, which were as so many scourges in their sides, and Thorns in their eyes, uncessantly tempting them, and exposing them to temptation; forcing from them sad laments and outcries; 
Rom. 7.24.  O Wretch that I am, who shall deliver me? They had (and not rarely) their actual Surprises and Seductions, their Lapses and Relapses, which brought them upon their knees with holy Job's Confession, 
Job. 7.20.  I have sinned, what shall I do unto thee, O thou Preserver of men? but none of these things come up into remembrance against them in that day. As, here below, God saw no Iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel, to impute it to them: so, in their appearance before the Judge; God remembreth no iniquity against the Saints, to charge it upon them, or to reproach them with it. In the petty Sessions which Christ held with some of his Saints and Churches (here on Earth), amongst their Commendations, there were some Exceptions; and some faultinesses were charged upon them, a [Howbeit,] 2 Chron. 22.33. a [Nevertheless] Ch. 33.17. as abatements of their excellencies. Nevertheless, I have a few things against thee, Rev. 2. So in the Process against the Church of Ephesus, verse 4. Nevertheless; a But against Pergamos, verse 14. Against Thyatira, v. 20. a Notwithstanding, etc. But now in the judicial Process of this last and Universal Assizes, there is not found in all those voluminous Records (which shall be opened,) so much as one unsavoury But to blemish the fair Characters of the Saints: as if (even before they got into Heaven) they had obtained that privilege, to be, just men made perfect! This is very wonderful.  
Had Reprobate men and Angels had the drawing up of the Report of the Saints lives, 
Heb. 12.23. See the reason of it page, 134. sub fine  what a black Bill of Indictment would they have preferred against them? to be sure, all the evil which they ever did in their whole lives, with all their blackest aggravations, should have been raked up, and produced against them. Yea, if the Saints themselves had been trusted with giving in the story of their own lives, they would not have dealt much more kindly by themselves, than the Seed of the Serpent would have done; to be sure, if there were any thing worse than other, they would not have concealed it; vilifying the good, and aggravating the bad, (as sometimes they were wont to do in their desertions, even beyond truth and justice,) as if Satan had hired them to belly themselves: I but now the Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth, He is far from dealing so with them: but, as if he himself had never known any evil by them; he brings in Omnia bene in his presentment, all fair and well, and so it is proclaimed in that High Court of Justice.  
This is no small Encouragement for the poor self-accusing Saints of God 
Use. Rev. 12.10.  Although the accuser of the Brethren and his seed do not cease to accuse them before God, day and night; yea, and doth often (taking advantage of their natural distempers) even to force them to accuse themselves (not much more Righteously than He himself doth) yet will not the Righteous Judge accuse them.  
But is it not Prophesied of the day of Judgement, 
Object. Eccles. 12.14.  that God shall bring every work into judgement, whether it be good, or whether it be evil? How then is there no mention made of their sins?  
That Scripture is to be understood Respective; 
Sol.  sc. with a just respect to the two great parties which are to be judged, good and bad; godly and ungodly; that is to say, All the good of the good shall be brought into the judgement of mercy; and all the evil of the wicked, into the judgement of Condemnation; the godliness of the godly, that it may be graciously rewarded, and the wickedness of the wicked, that it may be righteously punished:  
Here, 
Caution.  I say, is encouragement for the Saints, howbeit not to sin; such a vile Conclusion would ill become such Premises; and were sufficient evidence to un-Saint any person, that should (deliberately) make such Inferences, as being a Logic taught in the Devil's School, not in Christ's; and exploded by all real Saints, with the greatest abhorrency, Ab sit! God forbidden, Rom. 6.1. Comfort, then, here is for the Saints, but such as will make them more Saints, 1 Jo. 3.3. Every one that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself even as he is pure.  
But Secondly; 
Secondly; The Crown of praise is put on the Saints Head.  Another Circumstance of honour in Christ's acknowledgement of the Graces in, and Duties performed by, his Saints, is, that although their Graces were nothing else but so many drops of Christ his own fullness, [Grace for Grace] and their duties so many operations of his own Spirit in them; 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Joh. 1.16.  (nothing their's but the very act of Believing, and the act of Repentance, and the act of Love to Christ, and the act of Prayer, & sic in caeteris); yet Christ is pleased to ascribe all the Praise, and all the Glory, both of their Graces and Duties, unto the Saints (assuming nothing to himself, to whom the whole was wholly due) as if not only the act itself, but the principle also, from whence they acted, had been their own; This is truly wonderful! here is the breadth and length, depth and height of the Love of Christ, 
Eph. 3.18, 19  which passeth knowledge. Christ then, will indeed, be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all that believe: 
2 Thes. 1.10.  Oh, how will such an Acknowledgement as this, made by the Judge himself, fill the Elect Angels with Admiration; and the Reprobate with Envy, that not the least guilt should be charged upon them, by whom they themselves knew so much, having been so many eye-witnesses, (as I may say) the one, to their grief, as Tutors; the other to their joy, as Tempter's! Yea how will it fill the Saints themselves with amazement, while they are secretly accusing themselves (with joseph's Brethren) we are utterly guilty concerning our Brother (our Lord and elder Brother,) I say, to hear the Lord himself not charging them with the least unkindness; yea representing them before God, men and Angels, even (as it were) as immaculate as the Angels themselves, who kept their first Estate; yea in all this, putting the Crown upon their head, 
Rev. 4 10.  which they cast down at his feet, saying, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name, give the Glory. Behold such honour have all the Saints?  
And oh, 
Use of Consolation.  How will this infinitely compensate all the reproaches and scandals, which a generation of malignant Cainites did cast upon the Saints of God (while they sojourned with them in Mesech, & had their habitation in the Tents of Kedar) speaking all manner of evil against them, 
〈◊〉 malam Verbum, Gr.  (lying falsely) for Christ's sake? How will it cut them to the very heart, to hear the Judge himself speak so honourably of those very persons whom they reviled with so much pride and contempt! 
Mich. 7.10.  shame shall now cover them which said, Where is the Lord your God? Their eyes shall behold them, and now they shall be trodden down as the mire in the streets! 
Math. 5.12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Let them rejoice and skip for joy.  Oh let the Saints (even here) rejoice and be exceeding glad; because, for their repreach they shall have praise; and for their shame, they shall have double (sc. renown and glory) and for their confusion, they shall rejoice and triumph in the approbation of their Judge and Redeemer, etc. yet behold, all this is but the beginning of their Triumph!  
I come now to a second end of the Saints meeting with Christ in the Air, 
Second end. The Saints public justification, consisting—  and that is their  
Full and final Justification;  
And this consists of two parts 

1. Their public Absolution.  
2. The Judg's Pronouncing of them to be Righteous.    
First: Their public Absolution. Pardon of Sin is the privative part of Justification; Imputation of Righteousness, is the positive part. Pardon or Remission is the Sinner's Justification, sc. from sin, both from the guilt of sin, and from the sentence or punishment due to sin. By him (sc. by Christ) all that believe are justified from all things, 
Acts. 13 39  from which they cannot be justified by the Law of Moses. This now must be one branch of the solemn justification of the Saints at their meeting with the Lord Jesus in the Air; as a Judge, he shall fully and finally, in open Court, Absolve the Saints from all their sins, both guilt and punishment, from which there was no Absolution ever to be expected by the Covenant of works. This truly was done before, initially, at their first Conversion; then were their sins truly and perfectly pardoned, though not (as some too presumptuously affirm) all past, present, and to come, 
Rom. 3.25.  (for sin to be pardoned before committed, is somewhat an uncouth doctrine) yet all 1. As to sins already past: 2. All as to the state of Remission; 
Jus ad rem, though not jus in re an aptitudinal right, though not an actual. 1 Jo. 1.9. Ch. 2.1. Rom. 8.16.  they had a perfect right to the pardon of all their sins past, present, and to come, though not an equal investiture; Pardon was theirs, and Absolution theirs, though it was to be applied to them from time to time, upon new acts of Repentance in them; and new acts of Intercession in the Mediator; and so likewise, by new acts of Application by the Spirit: thus the Saints were truly pardoned at the first moment of their Regeneration, or new Birth, And  
Secondly; Fully and perfectly their sins were forgiven at the moment of their dissolution; at death, I say, not only their right and state of Absolution was perfected, but all their sins were so fully and finally forgiven them, that at the moment of their Souls going out from the body, there was not one sin, Omissive or Commissive, nor any Aggravation or least Circumstance, left standing in the book of God's Remembrance.  
And this is the true Reason, 
1 Jo. 1.7. The reason why the Judge makes no mention of the Saints sins  why there is not (as I told you even now) the least mention made of sin, in their trial at Christ's Tribunal, because they were all pardoned fully and finally at the hour of their death; all scores were then crossed; so that now when the books are opened and perused, there is not a sin to be found, but all blotted out, and all Reckon made even in the blood of Christ: There was a punishment indeed due to sin, but that was forgiven, or taken off, 
Psal. 32.1. Ashre nesu● pushing, nesui from nasa, Hebr. elevate. Num 23.24. Ch●sui from Chasah egure. Lo Ja●ha sh●b jehovah is gnavon.  (as the word signifieth blessednesses to the man, whose transgression is forgiven; i.e. the punishment of whose transgression is taken off.) There was a stain or pollution in sin, but that is covered, covered so close, that it cannot be seen, no not by God's allseeing eye; he hath not seen iniquity in Jacob, etc. Likewise, there was a guilt in sin, but that is not imputed; and that's the meaning of the former passage, he hath not seen iniquity in Jacob, i. e. not seen so as to impute it. I say, there was sin enough, and enough, for which God might have sentenced all the jacob's in the world to Condemnation; and have cast all the Israel's that ever were, into the bottomless pit; but it is gone, it is forgiven; pardon makes such a clear riddance of sin, that it is as if it had never been; 
Isa. 1 18.  the scarlet Sinner is as white as snow; snow newly fallen from the sky, which was never sullied: the Crimson Sinner is as wool, wool which never received the least tincture in the dye-fat: Here is (I say,) 
jer. 50.20.  the reason why, when the iniquity of Israel is sought for, there is none; and the sins of Judah, and they are not to be found, 
jer. 31.34.  for I will pardon them, etc. Yea, not forgiven only, but forgotten; and should they now be remembered? The Judge had long since cast their sins behind his back; and he will not now (surely) set them before his face; 
jer. 38.17.  he had cast them into the depths of the Seas (bottomless depths of everlasting Oblivion) that they might be buoyed up no more for ever: yea, the Lord Jesus nailed all their sins to his Cross, 
Colos. 2.14. Rom. 4.15.  and buried them all in his Grave, yea, and crossed the debt-book with the red lines of his own blood. If now he should call them to remembrance, to charge the Saints with their sins; he should undo what he had done; he should cross the great design of his Cross, 
Rom. 4.25:  (upon the matter) deny himself to be risen again from the dead, and disown his own hand and seal! Upon this foundation stands the absolute impossibility that sin, the least sin, the least circumstance of sin, should be so much as once mentioned by the Judge, in the process of that judicial trial, unless it be in a way of Absolution, and so sin shall be mentioned indeed, 
The Saints Absolved of Sin in the day of judgement, in what sense? 1 In their own Conscience.  but in order to the magnifying of their Pardon and Absolution. Their sins may then be said to be blotted out in a twofold respect.  
First: Because the Saints shall then be fully and finally Absolved in their own Consciences: It is true, there be some of the Saints even in this life, to whose Consciences the Spirit of God doth evidence and seal up Remission of sin; who are not only safe but sure; and possess not only the blessedness of a pardoned estate, but the comfort and assurance of that blessedness: nevertheless, 1. Not all the Saints; 2. Nor any, at all times; 3. Nor always in the same degree: as they have their lucida intervalla, so they have also (and more frequently) their dark times, their Eclipses as well as their Transfigurations; and no wonder, since the Sun of Righteousness himself suffered an Eclipse upon the Cross so dreadful, as forced the great Master of Astrology in Egypt to cry out, Either the God of Nature suffers, 
Aut D●us naturae patitur, aut mit di machina d●ssolvitu●.  or the whole frame of nature is dissolved: and caused the Lord Jesus Himself (to the just astonishment of Heaven and Earth to cry out) My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Is it any wonder then, if many of the poor Saints of God with Paul and his Shipwrecked Company, see neither Sun-light nor Starlight for many days together; and no small tempest doth often lie upon them, 
Act. 27.20.  so that all hope of being saved is taken away? yea, not a few precious deserted Hemans are there, 
Psal. 38.15.  who from their youth up are afflicted and ready to die, and while they suffer the terrors of God, are (even) distracted? yea, and (that which is more tremendous) their Sun (as to any observation which Standards by could make, (though very rarely) hath set in a Cloud.  
I but now, at this blessed day, the Judge of the Quick and the Dead, shall Absolve the Saints of God, not only at the Tribunal of his own Justice, but at the Tribunal of their Conscience; He will proclaim that Name in their Bosoms, which he Proclaimed before Moses, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, abundant in Goodness and Truth; pardoning Iniquity, Transgression, and Sin, etc. And He will speak so audibly, that every Saint shall hear the voice; and so particularly, that every one shall know he speaketh to him; and shall all echo back again with joy and joint acclamation, Who is a God like unto thee; 
Micah. 7.18.  pardoning Iniquity, & c? Nor shall any reflection, either upon sin or sorrow, ever damp that joy any more: Though the Saints cannot plead Not-guilty in regard of fact, yet they shall be acquit by the Sentence of Christ, Not, that they never sinned; but that they are before the Judge as if they had never sinned; Not in His Account only, but even in their own Consciences; and that will fully and finally resolve the Question, which all the Ministers in the world (while they lived on Earth) could never resolve, with all the Absolutions which ever they applied to their doubting Souls; though it were even Clavae non errante, from the testimony of the Word; This Proclamation shall do it, and leave no room for doubting or misgiving thoughts, for ever.  
Secondly, 
2ly. The Saints absolved in open Court.  The Saints are then said to receive their full and final Absolution; because than their Absolution shall be Proclaimed in open Court; the Judge in Person, shall pronounce their Absolution in the Audience of God, and all the Elect Angels, and of the whole world of Men and Devils; what Christ in the days of his flesh said to one poor trembling Penitent, he will now say to all, Sons and Daughters, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you; This will be good Cheer indeed; These, be the times of refreshment from the presence of the Lord, when the sins of the Saints shall be blotted out; 
Acts 13.19.  blotted they were before out of God's book; but now they shall be blotted out in the sight of all the world; so that now indeed, Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect? since Heaven and Earth, yea, and Hell itself must be witnesses to the Crossing of the book, and to the Cancelling of the Bond; wherein they stood obliged to Divine Justice! Oh what inexpressible, inconceivable refreshment will this be to the Saints of God? even the perfecting of all their former refreshments? The sense of their pardon pronounced by the Spirit, to some of their Consciences within, was wont to be exceeding sweet; yea any Scriptural hopes of purdoning mercy, though apprehended by a weak and trembling hand of Faith, were a reviving to their drooping Spirits; What must needs then the highest plerophory, ratified by the most solemn Proclamation of the great Judge, (before the upper and nether world, as well as to Conscience,) be, but life from the dead? Surely it will be even Heaven, before the Saints come to Heaven! Nor shall any reflection either upon sin or sorrow, ever damp that joy any more; nor shall Willow-boughs mix with the Palms of the Saints Triumph in that blessed Jubilee; but everlasting joy shall be upon their Heads, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.  The Second Branch of the Saints Justification, is, that the Judge will pronounce them perfectly Righteous. 
This may seem superfluous, as supposed to be included in the sentence of Absolution: Not to be a Sinner, seemeth to imply a Saint; To be pardoned all sin, and all the degrees of sin, and all kinds of sin, omissive as well as commissive; all defects of perfection, all want of conformity to, as well as transgression of the Law of God, this seemeth to be perfection.  
Answ. It doth seem so, and (truly) it doth but seem so; for Pardon relates to what is passed only; 
Rom. 3.25.  Remission of sins that are past; it is but privativum quid, a freedom from Gild, and a freedom from Punishment; it doth not suppose any real and positive Righteousness, which may set a man rectus in curiâ, perfect before the Tribunal of God's Justice.  
Obj. If it be objected; There is not a third State, or a third Person, viz. one that is not Guilty, and yet not Righteous; a man must be one of these, either Guilty or Righteous; if he be not Guilty, he is Righteous; if Righteous, he is not Guilty?  
Answ. The objection admits of a fair and easy solution, namely this; 
* The Law is satisfied by suffering the Penalty in men's precepts, but not in God's; wherein not only Penalties are threatened, but Blessings are promised. Down de Justif.  It holds true in matters of criminal Justice, where a person is tried upon Indictment of a Crime, suppose Theft, or Murder, or Sacrilege, or the like; there, upon Examination, to be found Not Guilty, is to be Righteous, Legally Righteous; there being no other Righteousness looked after in that Trial, but, Whether Guilty of the Fact, or not Guilty: But in matters of remunerative justice, where the Law propounds a reward to such and such qualifications, there a not-Guilty will not suffice. Ex. gr. If a Scholar in the University be a Candidate for an office there, or a Fellowship in a College, where the Statutes do require such and such qualifications there: upon Examination, to be found not-Guilty of Murder, of Sacrilege, or any other Crime; this will not capacitate the Candidate for the preferment; this is the case in hand, The Saints are now Candidates for Heaven and Glory, Absolution or Pardon is not sufficient to capacitate them for this glory; yea though it be supposed the pardon be extensive to all (not the transgressions only of the Law, but) the very omissions & defects too, yea to the least nonconformity, unto the Law in its utmost perfection, it sufficeth not; because a pardon is not the qualification which the Law requireth; but a positive perfection, Fac hoc, etc. Do this, and Live.  
Whether God, by absolute Prerogative, cannot dispense with this qualification, and pardon the want of it, I will not dispute; but, Whether God can in Justice dispense with his own Law, and with that Condition of Righteousness and Life established in the first Covenant, is the main Enquiry, (of which anon.)  
It is true, there is not a third State, a State which is neither a state of Gild, nor a state of Righteousness; neither is there a third person: there is not a person to be found which is neither Guilty nor Righteous; but though there be not a third State, or a third Person, yet there is tertius Conceptus, a third Conception or notion in the understanding; though there be not a person which is neither Guilty nor Righteous, yet to be not-Guilty, 
They differ as to the predicate, though they be not separate as to the subject.  and to be Righteous are two different capacities, considerable in one and the same person; it is one thing for a man to be considered merely as not Guilty (or purely as an absolved person,) another thing to be considered, as a Righteous person, invested with all those excellent qualifications, which may capacitate him for the privilege annexed to the condition.  
Ex. gr. As it is between Sin & Holiness; He that is not sinful, is holy; there is not a person to be found who is not sinful, and yet not holy: the notions are different, though the subject be one and the same:  
So it is between not-Guilty and Righteous; there is not a person, who is neither, not-Guilty, and yet not-Righteous; for although the considerations be unseparable, yet they are not identical: Not-Guilty is not the same notion with Righteous; that is purely privative, this positive: though they are ever United, yet they are not to be Confounded.  
Again, as in point of Eternal punishment; He that is punished with the pain of Loss, 
Paena damni. Paena sensus  is punished also with the pain of Sense; yet is not the pain of Loss, the same with the pain of Sense: He that is deprived of God's presence, and the joys of Heaven, doth suffer the torments of Hell with the Devil and his Angels for ever; the punishments are distinct, though they be inseparable: So it is between the two capacities, relating to these two places, Hell and Heaven.  
The Person under the notion of not-Guilty, is an absolved person, and acquitted from Hell and eternal damnation: And, as under the notion of Righteous, he is capacitated for Heaven and life everlasting: Not-Guilty relates to freedom from Hell: Righteousness, relateth to Heaven, as the proper qualification thereof: Do this and Live; though, where the one is, there is the other, yet the one is not formally the other.  
And according to these two capacities and places, there are two great Works, which the Redeemer did undertake for the Redeemed: The one to make satisfaction for sin to divine justice by his Blood, i. e. by his Death.  
The other to yield most absolute Conformity to the Law of God, both in Nature and Life.  
By the one, we may conceive the Redeemed freed from Hell and everlasting burn; by the other, we may conceive them qualified for Heaven and everlasting Glory.  
Yet, not so precisely, neither the one or the other, but that both may be produced by both: Active and Passive obedience may have a joint influence upon both; his Active to save from Hell; and his Passive to bring to Heaven: As a man that payeth a debt, and purchaseth an Inheritance, either of them to the value of five hundred pounds (at the same time) with a Jewel worth a thousand, one half whereof relates to the debt, the other to the Purchase; yet so, as it is hard to distinguish which is done by which; there is a distinct consideration in it, yet so, as that both concur to both: so in the case in hand. As the Active and Passive obedience in Christ, suppose not two Redeemers, but one and the same Person under both these distinct engagements; so Absolution, and positive real Righteousness infer not a distinction of persons, but diversity only of considerations in one and the same person.  
But further; That a positive Righteousness is requisite to the justification of a Sinner, as well as Absolution from guilt and punishment, may appear upon a  account, viz.  
Of 

1. The Justice of God.  
2. The Perfection of the Law.  
3. The Necessity of the Sinner.  
4. The Excellency of the Redeemer.    
First, the Justice of God: 
1. Account. The justice of God.  this is for the glory of God's Justice, to justify man in such a way, as wherein he may also justify himself: This the holy Apostle counts highly worthy our best observation; That he might be just, 
Rom. 3.26.  and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus: God would show himself a Righteous God in justifying of Unrighteous men: and this he declareth in both the parts of Justification.  
Sc. 

Pardon.  
Accounting Righteous.    
First: In Pardon, God shows himself just. He declareth his Righteousness for the Remission of Sins, that are past. Remission looks backward, Righteousness forward; Pardon relateth to a state past already, Righteousness to a state future, the State of a Sinner for the time to come. Now in both these, God's design is to declare himself a just God: in Remission he declareth himself a just God: by pardoning upon the account of satisfaction (by the justice of God we are to understand the infinite severity of God in punishing sin in a way agreeable to the nature of his justice) and this God eminently declareth, 
Pardoning Sin in God, is not an Act of mercy only, but of Justice.  as in the Eternal Damnation of the Reprobates in their own persons; so even in pardoning the sins of the Elect, while he doth not pardon them, 
Justitia nemine intelligatur summa illa Dei in vindicandis peccaris s● veritas justissimae ipsius na urae co●veniens. Bez. in loc.  but upon the account of a valuable consideration, namely (as in the beginning of the verse) of that propitiation, or propitiatory Sacrifice, which Christ hath made to divine justice by his Blood, apprehended by Faith. Whether God could not have pardoned sin by absolute Prerogative, is an enquiry of an extrinsic consideration to this place; since the Text informs us, God was resolved to Consult his own Honour, as well as the Creatures Happiness, in this great Act of jurisdiction, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Placam●ntum. Beza.  namely, Pardoning of Sin: and purposed in Himself (as highest reason requireth) to pity Sinners so far as He might not be Cruel to Himself, and to show Mercy to them, in such a way, as he might not wrong his own glorious Attributes, and cast no blemish upon his Law and Government.  
Should God indeed, without any further Consideration, have merely Pardoned, it might have had the shadow of a Reflection, sc.  

1. Upon his Wisdom; as if he had made a Law, either so Strict as could not have been kept, or so inconsiderable, that, being broken, it was not worth the Vindication; Or  
2. Upon his All-sufficiency; as if he wanted Power to have Chastised the breach of his Holy and Just, and Good Law, with Condign punishment; Or  
3. Above all, His Veracity and Justice; who having presentenced the breach of his Law with Death, (Death surely, answerable to the nature of his Righteous and Eternal Law), The Law being now notoriously Violated; He should account it a a matter of indifferency, whether He executed the threatened Sentence, yea or no, etc.   
Oh how had this been to have prostituted the honour of His Government, to be trampled under foot by bold and presumptuous Sinners?  
Nay, but God Pardoning Sin, upon no inferior account, than the Propitiatory Sacrifice, which his own Blessed Son, made to Divine Justice, by his Death; hath born Witness to his High and Glorious Attributes, Wisdom, Power, and Justice, etc.  
And hath left such a dreadful Monument of severity in the world, as may for ever affright lapsed Sinners from daring God, and destroying themselves. Thus God is just in not putting up the wrong done to his most glorious Attributes by Sin; without either the death of the Sinner, according to the Letter; or the death of the Surety, according to the Equity of the Threatening.  
2dly. As God declareth himself a just God by pardoning upon the account of satisfaction; so he declares his Justice also in accounting the Sinner Righteous upon the consideration of a positive Righteousness. For the better clearing of which point, I shall briefly speak of the second account, viz.  
Secondly; The perfection of the Law: And for better understanding of this, I shall lay down these following propositions.  
1. Prop. The first is this; The Law which at first God wrote in man's heart, and afterward in two Tables of Stone, was a Law of a most holy, and absolute perfection. It must needs be so; for if God in his own nature, and ends be most Holy; his Law also must be so too, it being the very Image of God's Nature, and Will: So that the Law was a perfect mirror, wherein the perfections of the Divine Nature were made visible and conspicuous.  
2. Prop. This most perfect Law was given by God for two great Ends, sc. 

1. To be a rule, and pattern of Eternal Life, and happiness.  
2. To be a condition of Eternal Life, and happiness.   Do this, and Live; It was not only a Command, but a Covenant, with a promise of Eternal happiness, upon perfect and perpetual obedience.  
3. Prop. These two ends being of perpetual necessity, the Law itself must needs be so too, such an excellent piece of beauty and perfection God never made for an Almanac, to continue but for a year, yea, a day rather, or moment of man's Integrity. It is hard to conceive that God should intent to null this Law; (this had been for God to have let go his hold of man) and to set up another in the room of it, considering the end he aimed at; as soon as he had made it 

A Law of an higher perfection, 
Ho solum omnipotenter non potuit.  God could not make, and  
A Law of an inferior perfection would not serve the turn, either Gods' or man's.    
4. Prop. Although God permitted man to lose the perfection of his nature, he never did intent to lose or dispense with the perfection of his own Law. Heaven & Earth may pass away; but one jot, or tittle of the Law must not pass away: The Righteousness of God's Law, like that of his Nature, is immutable and everlasting.  
Man being fallen, and so, (by the abuse of his own free will) having rendered himself altogether unable to fulfil this holy and perfect Law, God sent his only begotten Son into the world, not to introduce another Law, or another Righteousness, but another medium to fulfil and establish the former, Rom. 3.31. There was no need of a new Law, but of a new Nature to keep and fulfil that which was already in being.  
That Law was abundantly able to justify, but the lapsed Nature of man was not able to keep it; what defect there was, lay in the humane Nature, not in the divine Law. The Law was weak, 
Rom. 8.3.  but how? through the flesh: If fallen man could have fulfilled the Law, the Law, as considered in its self, and its first institution could have justified him: Christ therefore, when he comes into the world, destroys not that which was perfect, but repairs, 
Mat. 9.27.  and perfects that which was weak; and that he did, by taking the humane nature into the same Personality with the divine Nature, by a supernatural Conteption in the Womb of the Virgin. 
Gal. 4 4.   
6. Prop. Jesus Christ, as Mediator, thus born of a Woman, was under the Law: He that made the Law, as God, was made under the Law, as God-Man; whereby both the Obligations of the Law fell upon him, 

Penal.  
Praeceptive.    
The Penal Obligation, (For in the lapsed Estate, there we begin) to undergo the Curse; and so to satisfy Divine Justice: The Praeceptive Obligation, to fulfil all Righteousness, Math. 3.13. This Obligation, he fulfilled by Doing; That, he sustained by Dying.  
7. Prop. This double Obligation could not have befallen the Lord Jesus Christ upon any natural account of his own, but upon his Mediatory account only; as he voluntarily became the Surety of this new and better Covenant: 
Heb. 7 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  So that the fruit and benefit of Christ's voluntary subjection to the Law, redoundeth not at all to Himself, but unto the persons which were given him of the Father, Joh. 17. whose Sponsor he became; for their sakes he underwent the Penal Obligation of the Law, that it might do them no harm; he being made a Curse for us: 
Gal. 3.13.  and for their sakes he fulfilled the Praeceptive Obligation of the Law, Do this, that so the Law might do them good. This the Evangelical Apostle clearly asserts; 
Rom. 10.4.  Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth. Weigh the Text.  
Christ is the end of the Law: the end; 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  not finis destructivus, to destroy the Law: such he had been indeed, had he come to have brought in any other Law in the room of this holy and perfect Law; 
Mat. 5.17.  but, saith he, I came not to destroy. What end then? 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christus Finis legis. i e. eompleti● legis. Rem●g.  why Finis perfectivus, the perfection and accomplishment of the Law; not to destroy, but to fulfil, sc. the end of the Law for Righteousness: i. e. to the end, that by Christ his active Obedience, God might have his perfect Law, perfectly kept; that so there might be a Righteousness extant in the Humane Nature, every way adequate to the perfection of the Law: And who must wear this Garment of Righteousness, when Christ hath finished it? surely the Believer, who wanted a Righteousness of his own; for so it follows, for Righteousness to every one that believeth, that is, that every poor naked Sinner believing in Jesus Christ, might have a Righteousness, wherein being found, he might appear at God's Tribunal, but his nakedness not appear; but as Jacob in the Garment of his Elder Brother Esau, so the Believer in the Garment of his Elder Brother, Jesus, might inherit the Blessing, even the great Blessing of Justification. This leads me to an 8th. Proposition, and that is  
8. Prop. Faith, which is commonly called the condition of the new Covenant, is not in its self a new Righteousness, but as it were an instrument, or hand to apprehend and apply the Righteousness of the first Covenant; as fulfilled by the great Sponsor, 
Rom. 8 3. Perfectionem habet Legis, qui in Christum credit.  and Surety on the believer's behalf; That the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, sc. in our Nature, to our justification: Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth.  
9 
* As imitation of Adam only made us not Sinners; so imitation of Christ only makes us not Righteous, but imputation. Down. of Justifit.  Prop. This Mediatory Righteousness of Christ (for his Personal and essential Righteousness falls not at all under this consideration) can not way become the Believer's, but, as the first Adam's obedience became his posterity's (who never had the least actual share in his transgression) sc. By an act of Imputation, from God as a Judg. The Lord Jesus having fulfilled the Law as a second Adam, God the Father imputeth it to the believing Sinner; as if he had done it in his own person. I say not, God the Father doth account the Sinner to have done it, but he doth impute it to the believing Sinner, as if he had done it, unto all saving intents and purposes. Thus Abraham, the Father of the faithful, was justified; his Faith was imputed to him for Righteousness; his Faith, i. e. objective the Righteousness which his Faith apprehended, sc. Christ his fulfilling of the Law, as the Surety of the New Covenant. And so are all the Children of Abraham's Faith justified also; unto whom it shall be imputed also, if we believe on Him, that raised up Jesus from the dead, Who was delivered for our sins, and was raised again for our justification.  
10. h. and last Prop. The believing sinner appearing at the Tribunal of the great God, and pleading his Righteousness, thereupon standeth rectus in curiâ, and is pronounced Righteous in the Court of divine Justice. Thus the Sinner is brought in (as it were in a way of judicial Process) Isa. 45.24. holding up his hand at the Judgement Seat, the Judge on the Bench bespeaking him thus.  
Sinner thou standest Indicted for breaking the holy and just, and good Law of thy Maker, 
Rom. 3 9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is verbum forense: Sign. Legally proved.  and hereof art proved Guilty: Sinner, what hast thou to say for thyself, & c?  
To this the Sinner, upon his bended knee, Confesseth Guilty; but withal, humbly craves leave to plead for himself full satisfaction made by his Surety: It is Christ that died, Rom. 8.34.  
And whereas it is further objected by the Judge: I but, Sinner, the Law requireth an exact and perfect Righteousness in thy personal fulfilling of the Law! Sinner, Where is thy Righteousness?  
The believing Sinner humbly replieth, My Righteousness is upon the Bench; in the Lord have I Righteousness. Christ my Surety hath fulfilled the Law on my behalf, to that I appeal, and by that I will be tried: This done, the Plea is accepted as good in Law; The Sinner is pronounced Righteous; and goeth away glorying and rejoicing! Righteous, Righteous! In the Lord shall all the Seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.  
If this be not the Righteousness, whereby a poor Sinner is justified, (sc. the Righteousness of the Law fulfilled by a Mediator on behalf of God's Elect) I would gladly inquire What is become of the [Do this] in that first Covenant? Is it indeed abolished? Then hath Christ destroyed the Law: destroyed it I say, not fulfilled it, at least in one great and main design of it.  
Secondly; If so; I would fain be satisfied, what succeeds in the room of the Fac hoc, to supply the office of a justifying Righteousness? what can?  
First; Not, surely, Inherent Righteousness, that being quidimperfectum, and an imperfect Cause can never produce a perfect Effect; which some observing, have had no other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 left them, 
Bell. de justif. li. 2. ca 7. S 3.  but, in down right language, to affirm Habitual Righteousness to be perfect; whom we shall leave to the confutation of fire in the last day.  
Secondly; 
Eph. 2.12.  Nor can it be Adoption. The terminus à quo in Adoption is a state of alienation from God. The verminus à quo in Justification is a [guilty Malefactor] as to Absolution; and of [want of Righteousness] as to the Condition of the Covenant.  
Thirdly; Much less can faith, in its own nature considered, supply this office; For, if faith; then either as it is an [Habit], or as it is an [Act]: not, verily, as an Habit; for so it falls within the List of Graces, and is a branch of Sanctification. Nor, as it is an Act: For so it is a Work, and would confound the two Covenants.  
We assert indeed with the current of Scripture, Justification by faith; but, in the sense of the reformed Churches, sc. Not by virtue of any intrinsic merit in faith; but by virtue of the extrinsic object, which faith layeth hold on; namely, Christ the great Sponsor of the New Covenant; fulfilling the Righteousness of the Law for Believers.  
Fourthly (lastly:) And lest of all can Remission of sin supply the office of the Fac hoc: Take it in the utmost extent, and latitude, that may be, sc. as including Commissions, Omissions, Defects or imperfections even to the least want of Conformity to the Law, either in 

1. Life, or  
2. Nature.    
Pardon can no more make a man Righteous, 
Anth. Burgess. do justificat. The Law is not fulfilled by the passive Righteousness of Christ only and therefore, pardon alone cannot justify.  than it can make a man Learned: Remission not being the qualification, which the Eternal Law of God calls for.  
Object. To which if it be Objected: No more is imputed Righteousness. The Righteousness which the Law requireth upon pain of Damnation, is a perfect obedience, and Conformity to the whole Law of God, performed by every Son and Daughter of Adam in his own person.  
To this Objection I offer these particulars following by way of Answer.  
1. Imputed Righteousness is the same materially with that which the Law requireth; It is Obedience to the Law of God exactly, and punctually performed to the very outmost iota and tittle thereof, without the least abatement. Christ hath paid the uttermost farthing; He is the fulfilling of the Law, for Righteousness, ut suprà.  
2. Christ's fulfilling, or accomplishing of the Law was performed in, and by, the humane Nature: For, verily, to this purpose, 
Heb. 2.16: Rom. 9.8.14. It is not always necessary the debt be paid by the Principal: if it be done by the Surety, it is all one, as if the Principal had paid it himself: Rom. 8.3. Especially if the Creditor gave his consent.  the Lord Jesus took not upon him the Nature of Angels, but the Seed of Abraham. Because the Children of Promise (undertaken for) were partakers of flesh and blood; He also took part of the same, to the intent, the Law might be fulfilled in the same Nature, to which it was at first given,  
3. It was expressly done in their names, and on their behalf; that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, as if our Lord had said; This I suffer, and this I do to the use, and in the stead of my Covenant Seed, that they may have a Righteousness which they may truly call their own.  
4. All was done, not without full consent of all parties; for,  
1. As to the Lawgiver, it was his own free gratuitous motion, I will send my Son: God seeing how the case stood with poor lapsed man, took up a resolution to save some, whatsoever it should cost him; Well, (said he) I will send my Son!  
2. God the Father no sooner made the motion, 
Heb. 10.7.9:  but the Son echoeth unto it, Lo I come: Yea observe, how quick he is, than said I]: The word was no sooner out of God's mouth, but it laid a Law of sweet Compulsion upon Christ's heart, his bowels yern'd within him, and then said he, Lo I come to do thy Will: by the which Will we are Sanctified, i. e. either the Will of the Father appointing the Son to his Mediatory Office; or the Will of the Son, accepting it so readily; or by both, we are Sanctified, freed from the evil of sin, and accounted Righteous, and holy before God. And though, (as we may so say) the Lord Jesus ensnared himself by the words of his mouth, yet he never repent to this day, nor ever sought to be released from this Suretyship, but rejoiceth in it, as if he were the gainer, Psal. 16.7. I will bless the Lord who hath given me Counsel, He giveth thanks to his Father for employing him in this Work.  
Hereunto if it be objected that the Lord Jesus, Object. when the hour of His Sufferings drew nigh, did Repent of his Suretyship; and in a deep passion prayed to his Father to be released from his Passion;  
Father, 
Math. 26.  if it be possible, let this Cup pass from me, [and that three times over,] ver. 39.42.44.  
We Answer, Answ. that in those words of our Lord, there is a twofold Voice, sc.  

1. There is Vox Naturae; the Voice of Nature; Let this Cup pass from me.  
2. There is Vox Officii, the voice of his Mediatory Office; Nevertheless, Not as I will, but as thou wilt.   
The first Voice [let this Cup pass,] intimates the Velleity of the Inferionr part of his Soul, the Sensitive part, proceeding from a natural abhorrency of death, as he was a Creature.  
The later Voice, [Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt] expresseth the full and free Consent of his Will, complying with the Will of his Father, in that grand everlasting Design, of bringing many Sons unto Glory, by  
Making the Captain of their Salvation, perfect, 
Heb. 2.10.  through sufferings.  
It was an Argument of the truth of Christ His humane Nature, that he naturally dreaded a Dissolution. 
Omne appetit Conservationem sui.  He owed it to Himself as a Creature to desire the Conservation of his Being; and He could not become unnatural to himself, 
Phil. 2.8.  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, etc.  
But being a Son, he learned submission; and became obedient to the death, even the death of the Cross, that Shameful, Cruel, Cursed death of the Cross; The suffering whereof he owed to that solemn Astipulation which from everlasting passed between his Father and Himself; 
1 Joh. 5.8. As to Christ's humane Nature, the Cup was Calix ameritudinis.  the third Person in the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Ghost being Witness.  
And therefore, though the Cup was the bitterest Cup that ever was given man to drink, as wherein there was not Death only, but Wrath, and Curse; yet seeing there was no other way lest of satisfying the Justice of his Father, 
Nor did Bridegroom go with more chearsulness to be Married to his Bride, than our Lord Jesus went to his Cross, Luk. 12.50. Ratione officij it was Calix Salxtis.  and of saving Sinners, most willingly He took the Cup, and (having given Thanks (as it were) in those words, The Cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?) He drank it; It was Bitter indeed, but he found it sweetened with three Ingredients, 

1. It was but a Cup, not a Sea.  
2. It was his Father that mingled it, not the Devil.  
3. It was a Gift, not a Curse: as to himself; The Cup which my Father giveth me.    
He drank it, I say, and drank it up every drop; leaving nothing behind for his Redeemed, but large draughts of Love and Salvation; in the Sacramental Cup of his own Institution, saying, This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood, 
1 Cor. 11.25. Math. 26.8.  for the remission of sins: This do ye in remembrance of me.  
Thus (my B.) look upon Christ as a Mediator, (in which capacity only, he Covenanted with the Father, for the Salvation of mankind;) and there was not so much as a shadow of any receding from, or repenting of, what he had undertaken.  
3. As for the Elect, whose Salvation lay at stake, there was no doubt to be made of their free consent to the Contract. For though they were not originally consulted, à parte antè, yet, as soon as in their several ages, and successions, they come to be acquainted with the compact, between the Father and the Son; and begin to understand how deeply they are concerned in it; they do not only give in their own affirmative vote, but, falling down on their faces, they break out into joyful acclamations, 
Rom. 7.24.  and sing We thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord; and again, Thanks be to God, who hath given us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
1. Cor. 15 57   
4. last; The whole Astipulation between the Father, and the Son, was solemnly Transacted in open Court, in the presence of a public Notary, the Holy Ghost; Who being a third Person in the Glorious Trinity, of the same divine essence, and of equal power and glory, makes up a third legal Witness with the Father, 
So the King writes, Teste Meipso. 1 Jo. 5.7.  and the Son, They being (after the manner of Kings) their own Witnesses also. For there be three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.  
Behold what can be desired more, to make commutations of parties, in public contracts, authentic in Courts of Justice, than Consent of all parties, the Allowance of the Judge, and Public Record?  
And if this selfsame commutation of Penance must be allowed of by those who are for justification by way of satisfaction only, 
Bellar. de justific. li. 2. ca 7. Sec. 4. Staple●on, etc. Their own argument will serve to prove the necessity of imputation of Christ's active obedience to the Law for justification, because, Nothing, say they, can satisfy for sin (which is an infinite wrong to God) but that only which is infinite in value. By the same reason, Nothing can give us right and title to Eternal Life, (which is an infinite reward) but that which is of infinite worth.  why should it seem incongruous in this other branch of justification, sc. by imputed Righteousness? Surely, God would have the Active as well as the Passive obedience, as near the same, required by the Law, as might be, that he might dispense with as little of the Law as was possible.  
It only admits one Objection more, and that is, Object. This Doctrine seemeth to reduce the Law again into Office, and to put the crown of Justification upon the head of works; against the universal suffrage of the holy Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament.  
To which I reply: Answ. This doctrine neither destroys the Law with the Antinomian; nor establisheth it, as a Covenant of works with the Papists. But, As the great Office of the Lord Jesus Christ was, to reconcile all things, 
Colos. 1.20.  whether they be things in Earth, or things in Heaven, Ex. gr.  

God's Justice, and God's Mercy,  
God, and Man,  
Jew, and Gentile,  
Man and Himself:   
So herein, hath our blessed Lord, and Mediator, magnified his infinite Wisdom and Power in reconciling the Law and the Gospel in this great mystery of Justification; wherein the material cause of our Justification is still the Righteousness of the Law; so that the Law hath no cause to complain, Christ hath done it any wrong.  
And the other Causes are supplied by the Gospel, Ex. gr.  
The efficient cause, Christ his fulfilling the Law, Rom. 10.4.  
The formal Cause, God's Imputation, Rom. 10.4.  
The Instrumental Cause (so our Divines phrase it), Faith.  
And the moving Final Cause, the exaltation of free Grace. 
Rom. 1.20:  Accordingly we find the Righteousness of Justification to take its various denominations; that is to say,  

In respect of the Material Cause, it is called the Righteousness of the Law.  
In respect of the Efficient Cause, the Righteousness of Christ, Rom. 5.17. 1 Cor. 1.30.  
In respect of the Formal Cause, the Righteousness of God, the imputing it, Rom. 3.22. Phil. 3.9.  
In respect of the Instrumental Cause, the Righteousness of Faith, Phil. 3.9.  
And in respect of the moving and Final Cause, we are said to be justified freely by Grace, Rom. 3.24. Tit. 3.7.   
In a word: The Law, as it was a Covenant of works, required exact and perfect obedience in men's proper persons; this was legal Justification: In the New Covenant, God is contented to accept this Righteousness in the hand of a Surety; this is Evangelical Justification.  
Thus hath our blessed Lord reconciled 

The Law, also.  
The and also.  
The Gospel. also.    
I have done with the Second Account. I come now to a Third Account.  
The Necessity of a Sinner. 
3d. Account. The necessity of a Sinner.  The state and condition of a Sinner doth necessarily require a Righteousness should be imputed to him for his Justification, and that to a twofold End.  

1. The Settling of solid Peace in his Conscience.  
2. The Securing of his Appearance in the day of Judgement.   
1. A positive Righteousness is necessary for the settling of solid Peace in the Conscience of the Sinner. The Peace and Comfort of a poor sensible Sinner, can never stand firm and stable, but upon the basis of a positive Righteousness.  
This is one of the great Arguments, whereby the great Apostle in his Christian Ca●chism (so some of the Fathers were wont to call the Epistle to the Romans) doth invincibly prove Justification by Faith, chap. 5.1. The argument lieth thus.  
That way of Justification, which tends most effectually to settle Peace in the Conscience of a poor Convinced Sinner, that must needs be God's way of Justification:  
But Justification by Faith is the most effectual medium to this end. Ergo.  
The first Proposition: is founded upon that blessed Truth, which the Holy Ghost witnesseth, Heb. 6.18, 19 the willingness of God, that the Heirs of Promise may have strong Consolation; the result thereof is this, that  medium is aptest to beget strong Confidence and Assurance in their hearts, God is graciously pleased to make use of it, for their abundant satisfaction.  
The second Proposition, namely, that, Justification by Faith (in the sense before explained) is the aptest medium to establish solid peace in the bosom of a poor sensible Sin●●r, may appear by comparing Works and Faith together. Send a poor Sinner to his own Righteousness, which is of the Law, sc. his own good works, Holmess, Fasting, Prayer, or the best Service that ever he did for God, they can afford him little ground of Confidence; alas, hinc illae lachry●ae, hence his fears, and doubts, and diffidence do arise; His Prayers need Pardon, his Tears need washing, 
Job. 10.  his very Righteousness will Condemn him; here is no place for the sole of his foot to stand upon● If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, O Lord, 
Psal. 30.3.  who shall stand? 
Gal. 2.19.  This was that which scared Paul from coming to the Law for Justification. Why, saith he, I through the Law, am dead to the Law, q. d. That I seek not to the Law for Justification and Life; The Law may thank itself; I come to the Law for Justification, and it convinceth me of sin: I plead my innocence, that I am not so great a Sinner as others are; I plead my Righteousness, my duties, and good meanings, and good desires; and it tells me, They are all too leight; the best of my duties will not save me, but the least of my sins will damn me. It tells me, mine own Righteousnesses do, 
Job. 9.20.21.  as filthy rags, defile me; and my duties themselves do witness against me: I plead Repentance, and it laughs me to scorn; It tells me, my Repentance needs Pardon, and my Tears need washing: Besides, if they were never so good, What careth it for my Repentance? It looketh for my Obedience, perfect, and personal, which, because I have not, it tells me, I am Cursed, and pronounceth Sentence; and when it hath so done, it hath no mercy at all for me, though I seek it carefully with Tears. What can I expect from so severe a Judge? I'll come no more at that Tribunal: Behold, I appeal to the Gospel; there Repentance will pass, and Tears will find pity; there imperfect obedience (so sincere) will find acceptance, (though not to Justification.) There, there is a better Righteousness provided for me; an exact perfect Righteousness; as perfect, as that of the Law; for it is (indeed) the very Righteousness of the Law; though not performed by me, yet by my Surety for me, The Lord my Righteousness. I, here's a foundation for the feet of my Faith to stand upon; here, I can have pardon of all my debts, though the Law will not abate me one farthing; here be long white Robes, though I never spun a thread of them with my own fingers. To this Tribunal will I come, and here will I wait for my Justification; If I Perish, I Perish.  
Yea here, Obj. may one say, is foundation for presumption to stand on; here's a Bed for Security to sleep in; here's a doctrine to send men merrily to Hell; while they break the Law, to tell them, There is one that hath fulfilled it for them; while they sin, Christ hath Righteousness enough to justify them: Surely this is a doctrine; that makes God not only the Justifier of Sinners, but the Justifier of sin too: So disputed the  men of those times against the Apostles; and so the  men of our times against us: but, for Answer.  
1. Answ. The Apostle disclaims the Consequence with a vehement negation. Absit. (q. d.) God forbidden any one should be so impudent to force such a scandalous Conclusion upon such immaculate Premises.  
2. He shows the reason of it; and the reason is taken from the New Covenant, wherein God hath inseparably joined the merit of Christ's Cross, and the power of Christ's Cross together; in so much, that whosoever hath a share in the merit of the Cross for Justification; hath also an interest in the power of his Cross, for Mortification: He instanceth in himself, Verse 20. I am Crucified with Christ, q. d. While, (through grace) I appeal to the merit of Christ's death, for my Justification; I can also (through grace) evidence my appeal to be Scriptural, by the power of the Cross, whereby the World is Crucified to me, and I to the World. 
Gal. 6.14.   
And as it is with me, so it is with all truly justified persons; for they that are Christ's, have Crucified the flesh with the Lusts and Affections thereof. They have Crucified them, 
Gal. 5.24.  and they do Crucify them: they are upon the Cross, and with their Lord and Redeemer refuse to come down, till they can say with him, It is finished; therefore let the scandal of the Cross, and of Justification cease for ever. 

The Sinner's necessity to such a justification in the day of Judgement. Phil. 3.6.  
Inveniri in Christo, tacitam habet relationem ad Dei judicium; in ijs nullam invenit condemnationem, quia justitiá, qualem esse requirit, i. e. perfectâ ac cumulatâ exornatos nos invenit; nempe justitia Christi per sidem nebis imputa●a. Bern. in loc.    
Secondly; The other indispensable necessity the Sinner hath of such a Righteousness to his Justification, is, For the securing of his Appearance in the day of Judgement.  
The great Apostle, who had as fair a show for a legal Justification, as any other in the world, protesteth he dares not think of appearing without this positive Righteousness in the last and dreadful Judgement; But, oh that I may be found in him, not having mine own Righteousness, which is of the Law: In Him, in Christ, not in myself: in his Mediatory Righteousness, not in mine own Personal Righteousnesses; away with them, they are but filthy Rags, rotten Clouts, dogs-meat in comparison of Christ's Robes: Give me the Righteousness which is of God by Faith; of God's Ordination, and of Faith's Application: That, that [the Righteousness of the Law fulfilled by Christ in my behalf]! and then the Law cannot say, black is mine eye; I fear it not: In that, if I appear not, I am undone for ever. Behold, here is the Sinner's necessity of such a Justification, 

Peace of Conscience, and  
Boldness in the day of Judgement.    
I come to the fourth Account. The Excellency of the Redeemer: This way of justifying believing Sinners, doth infinitely become the excellency of our glorious Redeemer, set forth, Heb. 7.26. Such an high Priest became us (saith the Apostle) who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from Sinners, made higher than the Heavens.  
Holy] By God's special and immediate Unction, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  and Consecration of him to his office. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   
Harmless,] He did no sin, neither was there guile found in his mouth, 1 Pet. 2.22. He that would expiate the guilt of others, must have none of his own; so expounded, Verse 27.  
Undefiled] Immaculate in respect of his humane Nature, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  as well as of the divine, without the  stain or spot of a sinful Nature in him: to the same end also he must be  
Separate from Sinners] conceived and born, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  not after the Law of other the Sons & Daughters of Adam; for, that which is born of flesh, is flesh.  
Made higher than the Heavens,] 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  i. e. of an higher Perfection than all created Powers in Heavenly Places, whether Angels or Principalities, etc.  
Such an High Priest became us: An High Priest of an inferior perfection would not have done our business for us.  
And as, such an High Priest became us, so, truly such a way of justifying believing Sinners, became him; namely, it was becoming a person of such a transcendent worth and excellency, to justify his Redeemed in the most ample and glorious way; etc. by working out for them, and then investing them with, a Righteousness, adequate to the Law of God; a Righteousness, that should be every way commensurate to the miserable estate of fallen Man, and to the holy design of the glorious God. It was a becoming thing, that the second Adam might restore as good a Righteousness, as the first Adam lost; that this should justify as sully, as the other did condemn. 
Rom. 5. from verse 15. to the last.  This is the very design of that famous Parallel instituted by the Apostle between the two adam's, namely, to signify an equality, not of number in the persons receiving: but of efficacy in the persons deriving, and communicating what was their own, to either of their Seeds: The first Adam to his natural Seed, and the second Adam to his Spiritual Seed; to the end that Men and Angels might take notice, that Jesus Christ the second Adam, was not less Powerful to save, than the first Adam was to destroy: To which purpose it is of great use to observe how exact the Apostle is, in setting the specialties of either Adam's Legacy one over against the other, the wound and the cure, the damage and the reparation.  
Observe the Parallel.  

The first Adam Propagates his 

Offence.  
Gild.  
Death. vers. 15.  
Condemnation.  
Bondage, Slavery.  
Sin. ver. 19    
The second Adam obtains 

Forgiuness for many offences.  
A gift of Righteousness, 17.  
Life, vers. 18.  
Justification, ibid.  
Reigning in Life.  
Righteousness.     
Every way the Salve is as Sovereign, as the Wound was Mortal; the Cure as Vital, as the Sickness deadly; yea the Apostle winds up with a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 on the second Adam's part, and an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Behold, Absolution for Condemnation, Righteousness for Sin, Reigning for Slavery, Life for Death; and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 eternal Life into the bargain.  
Thus it became our High Priest to justify his Redeemed! The great Apostle cannot pass it by, without special notice; He is able to save to the uttermost, such as come to God through him; To the uttermost of what? To the uttermost Obligation of the Law, preceptive as well as penal; to bring in perfect Righteousness as well as perfect Innocence: To the uttermost demand of divine Justice; perfect Conformity to divine Will, as well as perfect Satisfaction to divine Justice: 
Perfection as well as Pardon.  To the uttermost Indigency and necessity of the lost Creature; Qualification as well as Absolution: To the uttermost of our High Priest's perfection, in whom dwelled all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.  
Oh, for such an one to have saved a cheap way, to drive the Purchase to as low a price as might be, by pardoning their sin, and making reparation to divine Justice; to satisfy for the wrong, which man had done to the Creator, and his Law; This, only, (with Reverence may we speak it) had not become so August a Redeemer as the Son of God was. But, to set him upon his Legs again, to make him as good a man as he was in his Created perfection (one way, or other) such as all the Attributes of God should acquiesce in, to put him into a capacity of demanding Eternal life, not by gift only, but by merit (through a Redeemer) yet so still, as it is the Redeemers merit, not Man's; not that Christ hath merited, that we might merit (as the Papists would vainly varnish that proud doctrine of merit): no; all was done by Him, and is Ours only by Imputation.  
Such an Highpriest became us; And such a glorious way of saving Sinners became him; who was made higher than the Heavens, i. e. than all created perfections whatsoever, Angels, Cherubins, or Seraphims, or what ever Order else may be possibly conceived.  
This is the Righteousness, 
Non est metuendum ne nimis divites simus in Christo.  wherewith our Redeemer saveth us, and we need not sear to wrap up our selves in this fine Linen, to put on these Robes; we need not fear to be made too rich by Christ, who, when he was Rich, became Poor, that we through his Poverty might be made Rich. 
2 Cor. 8, 9   
And this Righteousness indeed, was made over to the Saints of God by Imputation at the very first moment of their Conversion. In this they lived; In this they died, as Standard-Bearers wrapped up and buried in their Colours: And in this they shall arise, and appear at that glorious Appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who will then, and thus, be glorified in all them that believe, to the Admiration of all the Elect Angels, the extreme horror of the Reprobate, and the infinite joy and ravishment of the Saints; who shall then sing, Isa. 61.10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my Soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath Clouthed me with the Garments of Salvation, he hath covered me with the Robe of Righteousness; as a Bridegroom decketh himself with Ornaments, and as a Bride adorneth herself with her Jewels.  
Oh how glorious will Christ be in his Saints, when they shall all wear one and the same sparkling Livery with Christ? and this shall be his Name, Jehovah Tzed-kenu, 
Jer. 23.6.  The Lord our Righteousness.  
Thus I have done with the Second End. I should now immediately come unto the Third, save that before we wholly dismiss this point, we cannot but take a little notice of the insolency of the Papists, in Reproaching and Blaspheming this blessed doctrine of Justification by imputed Righteousness: at which, though they scoff, and laugh at with so much scorn and derision, that the Earth is not able to bear their words, calling it Spectrum cerebri Lutherani, Staplet. Putativa, & imaginaria justitia, Bellarm. Amentissima insania, Andrad. Yet it seems to stand firm, and unshaken upon these impregnable Arguments.  

1. That way whereby the guilt of the first Adam is made ours, that way the Righteousness of the second Adam is made ours also, Rom. 5.12. cum. 15.  
2. That way whereby the Redeemer is made a Sinner; that way the Redeemed are made Righteous, 2 Cor. 5. Vlt.  
3. That way, wherein Abraham was justified, are all Believers justified also, Rom. 4. The Father and the Children have all the same Righteousness, and it is Communicated to them the same way.  sup.  
4. The fulfilling of the Law, communicatur eo modo, quo communicari potest id quod transit; nimirùm, per Imputationem, as Bellarm. himself confesseth in point of satisfaction.  
5. The Scripture is clear, and express for those two branches, as of absolute necessity to Justification, scil. 

Pardon,  
Righteousness, distinct from one another, and yet unseparable: by reason whereof, when but one of them is mentioned, both of them are to be understood.    
6. If satisfaction be imputed, Righteousness must be imputed also, both being the peculiar and proper Office of the Mediator; neither of them falling within the capacity of the Creature, standing at the Bar of Divine Justice.   
The third end of the Saints meeting with Christ in the Air, 
● Psal. 116. 3d. End. Consummation of the Saints Nuptials.  is, The solemn Consummation of the Saints Nuptials, with Christ their Bridegroom. They were Contracted here on Earth, when Christ and the Saints gained one another's consent; Jesus Christ did then solemnly Espouse the Saints to himself, 
Hos. 2.19, 20.  I betrothed thee unto me for ever, yea, I betrothed thee unto me in Righteousness, and in Judgement, and in loving kindness, and in Mercies, I even betrothed thee unto me in faithfulness. Indeed the Church in herself, when Christ came to make Love to her, was a very unlovely Creature, whose emblem therefore is a poor wretched Infant in the Blood of its Nativity. 
Ezek. 16.4.6.  But Jesus Christ did first Love her with a Love of Pity, Ezek. 16.6. I saw thee polluted in thine own Blood: I saw thee, that is, I cast an Eye of Pity upon thee, my bowels yearned towards thee: And then, as Love-less as she was, that he might have a Legal right to her, 
Eph 5.25.  he Purchased her of his Father; He Purchased her at a dear rate, for, He gave himself for her: first, He gave himself for her, and then He gave himself to her. They were wont to buy their Wives of the Father of the Damosel; but never did Husband buy a Wife at such a Rate, as the Lord Jesus did the Church. Shechem bid fairly for Dinah, 
Gen. 34.12  jacob's. Daughter, Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me. Jacob served seven years for Rachel, (as it fell out) twice over, etc. yea, but the Lord Jesus gave himself for his Church; he purchased her with his own blood, Act. 20. 2● Thirdly: That he might love her with a love of Complacency, he doth sanctify her, 
Eph. 5.27.  and cleanse her, by the washing of water by the word. As he doth purchase the Church with his blood; so he doth purify the Church by his Spirit, compared to water for the cleansing virtue thereof, in the Ministry of the word; as Ahashuerus had the Virgins first purified and perfumed, before he took them into his bed. Fourthly, He wooeth her by the Ministers of the Gospel; who love their Lord and poor Souls so well, that they will take no denial at her hand: as Eleazar Isack's Steward, 
Gen. 24.33.  would not eat before he had sped for Rebeccah to Wife for his Master's Son: 
2 Cor. 11.2.  And when they have gained her consent, than they present her as a chaste Virgin unto Christ. Fifthly; Christ and his Church, upon their mutual interview, like one another so well, that they mutually engage and contract themselves one to another, 
Cant. 2.16.  they do mutually give away themselves; one for, and one to another: My Beloved is mine, and I am His. Sixthly; Christ doth nourish her and cherish her, until she be of age, fit for his Marriagebed. Seventhly; And then He cometh for her, and meets her by the way (as Isaac met Rebeccah) sc. in the Air, as here in the Context. last; 
Consummation of the Marriage.  Then and there he Consummates the Marriage before God and Angels, and Men and Devils; he doth take her to himself as his Royal Queen, saying, Come my Love, my Dove, my Undefiled one; He embraceth her, and kisseth her with a Marriage kiss, and takes her to Wife. The Marriage knot is knit; Heaven and Earth are witnesses to it, thousand thousands, yea ten thousand times ten thousand, even a great multitude, whose voice is as many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings.  
This was the Wedding, unto which John was invited, 
Rev. 21.9.  Come hither, I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. He that had the Bride, was the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus, King of Kings, etc. but John, the Friend of the Bridegroom, 
Jo. 3 29.  stood and rejoiced greatly to hear the Bridegroom's Voice; then (indeed) was his joy fulfilled. At the Consummation of this Marriage, what inconceivable Triumph and Rejoicing will there be? the loud Music of Heaven shall sound, the voice of mighty thunderings, all the Angels, Cherubims, Seraphims, with all the Blessed Quoire of Celestial Spirits, who attend this glorious King of Saints, shall praise God with the still Music of their Hallelujahs; yea, all the Saints of God, whether Patriarches or Prophets, and Apostles, all the Martyrs and Confessors of Jesus Christ, with the whole number of the Redeemed, who are both Guests and Bride in this glorious solemnity; will make the Arches of Heaven to Echo, when they shall be joyful in glory, and the high praises of God shall be in their mouths, 
Rev. 19.7.  singing one to another, Let us rejoice and be glad, for the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made herself ready. The Gates of Hell, and the very foundations of the Kingdom of darkness, shall tremble and be confounded at the report of this Triumphant Jubilee.  
This Nupt●ll solemnity finished, 
Fourth end of Saints meeting Christ, To sit as Assessors with him. Psal. 45.9.  the next and fourth act in that solemn meeting will be, that the Bridegroom will take the Queen his Bride, and set her upon his Throne, at his right hand, (as King Agrippa did Bernice, Act. 25.27.) as a Confessor with himself in the following part of the Judgement, which He, as Judge, shall pass upon the Reprobate world of men and Devils; who have all this while stood trembling below upon the Earth, beholding (to their infinite shame and horror) all this glory put upon the Saints; and fearfully looking for their own Judgement, and that fiery indignation which shall devour the Adversaries; which now succeeds; For the Elect Angels who are appointed to be the Satellites, or Posse comitatus, to attend the Judge, shall now drag that miserable company of Jale-birds (those reprobate Caitiffs of infernal Spirits, 
The judgement of the wicked.  and wicked Men) before the Tribunal of the great Judge; there they shall pass under a most impartial, exact, and severe Trial; 
Mal. 3.16.  the books shall be opened, the book of God's Remembrance, and the book of their own Consciences; and out of them they shall be judged for all the evils, which ever they committed from the time they first had a being in the world. The Reprobate Angels shall then be judged for their first Apostasy; 
Ad solomen calamitatis suae non desinunt perditi perdere, Min. Fel. Oct.  and for all their malice and revenge, which since that cursed defection, they ever acted against God, and against his Saints; yea and against the precious Souls of Men, which (they being damned themselves) ceased not to draw into the same Condemnation, The Angels which kept not their first Estate, or principality, (Judas 6.) but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in chams under darkness, unto the judgement of the great Day. With these chains rattling at their heels, shall they be dragged to the bar of divine Judgement; and there, having received their dreadful Sentence, they shall be hanged up in those 
* There be two Chains, viz. God's Wrath and their own Guth.  chains, in the midst of unquenchable flames to all Eternity: but first they shall have a just and a fair Trial. And as the Reprobate Angels, so the Reprobate world of ungodly men and women, shall be judged for all the wickedness done in the body. For the sin of their Natures, 
Eph. 2.3.  for they were by Nature Children of Wrath: And for their actual sins, for as they were Children of Wrath, so also they were Children of disobedience; they shall be judged for their Atheism, whether secret, by which, as Fools, 
Psal. 14.1.  they have said in their hearts (only), There is no God; or open, whereby as proud Blasphemers, they have set their mouth against the Heavens, 
Psal. 73 9  saying, How doth God know? and Is there knowledge in the most High? who through the pride of their Countenance, 
Psal. 10 4, 13.  would not seek after God, yea contemning God, said concerning all this wickedness, and that to God's Face, Tush, thou wilt not require it: But that Judgement shall fully convince the Atheist; and he, that would not believe a God, shall know him by the judgements which he executeth. Then shall the Idolater, whether Ethnic or Romish, or of what other impression soever; the Blasphemer of God's Name, whether by prodigious Oaths, or by lighter taking his Name in vain; the Profaner of the Sabbath, which violateth that holy day of God by work or sport, either by sinning or idling out that holy time; either by writing against the Sabbath, or by living down the Sabbath; the disobedient to Fathers or Mother's 

Natural  
or  
Political   the Murderer, the Adulterer, the Thief, the false Accuser, the Covetous whom God hateth; all these, I say, in what degree of wickedness soever, even to every idle word, 
Rom. 2.16. Math. 12.36.  and every vile, yea vain thought, which (with David, Psal. 119.113.) they have not hated, shall be judged (I say) out of those books: The Gospel-Sinner shall then be brought to the Bar, to answer for his unbelief, impenitency, his rejecting of Christ's Yoke, his despising the tenders and offers of free grace; his ignorance of, and disobedience to, 
2 Thes. 1.8.  the Gospel, shall then be judged; the Lord Jesus is (now) revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming fire to take Vengeance of them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. All the Persecutions, whether by the mouth of the Sword, Imprisonment, Banishment, Martyrdom, etc. or by (the sword of the mouth) revile, scandals, false accusations, cruel mockings of proud Sinners, now, they shall be all charged upon the world of ungodly men, whether out of the Church, 
Judas 15.  or in the Church; Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints, to execute judgement upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodlily committed, and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly men have spoken against Him, whether his Person or Members; every sin, with all the Circumstances and Aggravations; yea Omissions shall then be reckoned to them that thought themselves safe, because they were not gross and scandalous Sinners, Math. 25.42, 43. men shall be judged for their notes; yea, for defects and coming short in the manner of duties, as well as the matter, Mal. 
Rom. 2.12.  1.14. Formality and Perfunctoriness, and Hypocrisy shall then come into open view. In a word, all the world of ungodly men (that have sinned, and not repent of their Sin) shall be judged at Christ's Tribunal, and every man, according to the Light and Law, under which he hath lived; As many as have Sinned without Law, shall Perish without Law. Heathens shall be judged by the light of Nature; and as many as have Sinned 
* Bez. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. cum lege. Verse 16.  in the Law, shall be judged by the Law; And they that have Sinned under the Gospel, shall be judged by Jesus Christ according to the Gospel. Yea, they that sin against the Gospel, shall be judged by the light of Nature, by the Law of Moses, and by the Gospel too, as having not only sinned against Moses' Ink, but against Christ his Blood: And all these Trials will be severe; but especially the Trial in the Gospel Court: So that whereas Sinners flatter themselves with thoughts, That Trial by the Gospel, will be the easiest Trial, as if the Gospel were all Mercy; the Trial of the Gospel will be found to be the most severe, and above all others intolerable: It was indeed a Gospel of Mercy, and a Gospel of Peace in the tenders and invitations and expostulations, and wooings and beseechings that were used; the Tears of the Ministers, and the blood of a Crucified Redeemer, while once the long- suffering of God, waited in the day of Grace: but all these are now past and gone, having been rejected, despised, and laughed to scorn by wretched proud Sinners, who with the bloody Jews, preferred a Barrabas before a Jesus; a base Lust before a precious Saviour; now is the time of Recompense come, the day of Vengeance from the presence of the Lord is come, and the Sinner shall know it. The terror of which day will further appear in these following Particulars.  
First; There will be no denying of any matter, 
In the day of Judgement there will be 1. No denying of sin.  small or great, that shall be charged upon those guilty Malefactors. By the mouth of those two Witnesses, the book of God's Remembrance, and the book of Conscience, shall every branch of the Indictment be established; the one of these books was kept before the Face of the Lord continually, so that the great Accuser himself, nor any of his malignant Agents, could get in thither to alter or add to any thing upon Record in that sacred Register, unless per-adventure he could find a time when God was a-sleep; And the other book, the book of Conscience was in the Sinners own keeping, and who could break in there to interline it? Indeed the Sinner writ down many sins there with the juice of a Lemon, but the Fire of the day of Judgement will make it legible; he writ them with the point of an Onion: but God writ them with a pen of Iron, and with the point of a Diamond; deep and durable Characters, that should never be razed out of the Conscience of a Sinner. Now these two Books will agree so exactly (like two Tallies) one with another, that it will be impossible for the Sinner to deny any particular, but he will be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Self-condemned.  
Secondly; As there will be no denying, 
2. No Extenuation.  so there will be no room for extenuation; this was one of the Sinner's hiding places, while in the Land of the Living. Sinners have their butts, 
Eccle. 5.6. I● was an Error, per exteruationum, It was but a mistake.  now; It was but thus and thus, it was but a little one, etc. Great sins, were but small sins; and small sins, were no sins. Now, the Sinner will have no such Sanctuary to fly unto; the Account will now be inverted, Those that were no sins before, will be sins now; small sins will be great sins, and great sins will be infinite; the last Judgement will give sin its just proportion: that which the Law could never do, though it were given on purpose, the Fire of the day of Judgement will effectually do; make sin appear exceeding sinful: The Popish distinction of mortal and venial sin, will vanish before that fire into smoke, while Penitent reforming Sinners will find all their sins Venial in the blood of Christ; secure, impenitent Sinners will find every sin mortal and damning in its own merit and nature; the Carnal Protestant will then find (to his cost) there is no such thing as a small sin, because than he will be convinced there is no small God, against whom sin is committed; no small Law, whereof sin is the violation; no small Christ, whom sin hath Crucified; no small Heaven, which sin hath forfeited; no little Hell which sin hath merited; and by its merit hath (justly) now plunged him into for ever.  
Thirdly; 
3 No translating of sin.  there will be no translating of sin upon others, as here below there was; the Thief enticed me, the Drunkard seduced me; 
Gen. 3.13.  the Harlot deceived me; the Serpent beguiled me; yea, what bold Sinners are not afraid to speak, will not then be heard amongst the Malefactors at Christ's Bar; God tempted me, 
Jam. 1.13.  or God decreed it; no, these and all other palliations and colours, wherewith men do wash the face of sin, will melt before the fire of the day of Judgement; God will say to the Sinner, 
Jer. 2.17.  Hast thou not procured these things to thyself? yea, Sinners shall then own their own guilt & confess that their destruction is of themselves: 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. P●ut de se●â Num. vindict.  their heart shall cry out, as Apollodore dreamt his heart cried to him in a Cauldron of boiling Lead, O Apollodore, I am the Cause of this Vengeance, how have I hated Instruction, and my heart despised Reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my Teachers, nor inclined mine Ear to them that instructed me!  
Fourthly; There will lie no appeal from this Tribunal: 
4. No appealing.  once, there lay an appeal from Moses to Christ, from the Law to the Gospel; but proud Sinners scorned it, or securely presumed, they had made the appeal by a lose, verbal Application of Jesus Christ; whilst yet they stuck in themselves and their own foolish presumptions, their serving of God, their good works, and their good meanings, and their good desires; and, why should not they be saved as well as others? but now if they should appeal, their appeal's with themselves, will be cast out as Reprobate Silver; this is now the supreme and last Judicatory; from hence is no appeal, once doomed here, the sentence is irreversible for ever.  
Fifthly; 
5. No Pardon.  Neither is there any Pardon to be expected at this Judgement Seat. Pardons were tendered in the Gospel upon gracious terms, but ungracious Sinners would have none of them, or would have them upon their own terms, Sin and Pardon too; their Pardons were nothing, unless they might have dispensations, also, such as the Pope sells often times; but Christ's Pardons, sc. Pardon & Repentance, Pardon of sin and forsaking of sin, Pardon of sin and Hatred of sin, 
Act. 5.31. Prov. 28.13. Judas 23. Heb. 12.14.  Pardon and Holiness, would not be accepted, and now the time of Pardons is out; the day of Grace is expired; no cries nor entreaties will prevail with the Judge; no, though the Sinner would fall upon his knees, and weep as many Seas of Tears, as once the Ministers wept Tears of Compassion over them; or as Christ himself shed drops of blood upon the Cross; Christ was once upon his knees, in the Person of his Ministers, beseeching them to be reconciled. 
2 Cor. 5.19, 20.  Though the Sinner was first in the Transgression, yet God was first in the Reconciliation; and followed the Sinner (as it were) on his knees, entreating him to accept of Mercy, as if God had stood in as much need of the Sinner, as the Sinner did of Mercy; but nothing would prevail, a deaf ear was still turned to Christ's importunity, and now Repentance is hid from the eyes of the Judge, as once Repentance was hid from the eyes of the Sinner; the things of their peace are everlastingly hid, because they knew them not in that the day of their Vision: As Sinners obdurated their heart against Christ's voice, so Christ will harden his heart against the Sinner's cry, Prov. 1.24.  
Sixthly; There shall be no mitigation of the punishment; not a farthing abated of the whole debt, 
6. No mitigation.  Math. 5.26. there was once Mercy without Judgement, before the Sinner; now there shall be Judgement without Mercy; now Sinners shall know that God is not mocked, that the Lamb of God is also the Lion of the Tribe of Juda; His voice was once, Fury is not in me; 
Isa. 27.4.  now the voice will be, Meckness is not in me, mercy is not in me; now must the Sinner expect nothing but the utmost severity of divine justice, who once despised the yearnings of Christ's bowels, the lowest condescensions of divine Grace; the Sinner in his day, knew no moderation in sin, the Judge now in his day, will know no mitigation of Judgement; there will be a Sea of wrath, without a drop of Mercy.  
Seventhly; Not a word of any good that ever the wicked did, 
7. No mention of any good that ever Sinners did.  shall now be mentioned to their honour or advantage: as none of the sins which ever the Saints committed, were mentioned to their shame in their Process; so none of the good that ungodly Sinners have done, shall be once named, unless it be by way of aggravation of their sins; for indeed they managed the good they did at such a rate, 
Splendida peccata, Aug.  as even their duties differed not from their sin. As under the Law, the Sacrifice of the Wicked was abomination to the Lord; killing Oxen, but Murder; 
Prov. 15.8. Isa. 66.3.  Sacrificing Lambs, but cutting off Dogs necks; Oblations, as Swine's blood; Incense, as Idolatry, so under the Gospel, their Prayers were but so many take of God's Name in vain; and hearing the Word, mocking of God; Fasting, but holding down the head like a bulrush, Isa. 58.5. receiving the Lords Supper, Christ-murder, etc. All their Services were but so many sins, and the aggravations of sin; so many provocations of God; as all done from a Carnal principle, by a Carnal rule, to Carnal ends; nevertheless the Scripture tells us, these woeful wretches will be ready (there) to plead for themselves their duties and services which they have done for Christ (as vile as they are) as they did in the days of their flesh, Isa. 58.3. We have fasted (they said) we have afflicted our Souls, &c. so now also in the day of Judgement; False Apostles, and scandalous Ministers will then be so bold as to plead their Preaching in Christ's Name, (and that, possibly, not without success); Lord, we have Prophesied in thy Name, and in thy Name cast out Devils; (peradventure even to the work of Conversion) Judas might cast out the Devil, and yet himself be a Devil, John 6.70. he might convert others, and yet be unconverted himself; they will plead their doing of miracles, healing the sick, and raising the dead, 
Mat. 7.25.  making the Blind to see, and the Deaf to hear, and the Lame to go, and in Christ's Name done many mighty works! Lkewise, lose Christians and formal Professors, will then also plead for themselves, their hearing Sermons, and receiving Sacraments, 
Luke 13.26.  etc. take it in their own Language, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our Streets, their external familiarities with Christ in the Assemblies of the Saints, their common gifts and graces; any thing then that hath but the likeness of grace upon it, Christ shall hear of it: 
Rev. 2.18 23.  But all in vain, The Judge, whose eyes are a flame of fire to search the hearts and the reins, will reprobate their persons and performances with an [I know you not] Luk. 13.25. and again, with greater Emphasis, I tell you, I know you not, verse 27. yea, once more with a more dreadful note of abhorrency, I never knew you, Mat. 7.23. I never approved of you, nor of any of your Services which ever you performed from the first to the last, but my Soul hated both you and them.  
Eightly; There will be No begging further time of the Judge; no adjourning the Trial to another Assize-day: That Court knows no Reprieve; the Sinner's Trial, and Sentence, 
8. No begging of Day.  and Execution go all together; the day of Patience was out in the other world, I gave her space to Repent, and she Repent not, and now the Judge swears in his wrath, that Sinners shall never enter into his rest.  
Ninthly; No days-man tointercede with the Judge: 
9 No Intercessor. Prov. 1.28:  God will not; he will laugh at their Calamity, and mock when their fear cometh; Oh dreadful Calamity, which God will stand and laugh at; Angels will not; 
Job. 5. ●.  and to which of the Saints will those miserable Caitiffs turn themselves? they are upon Thrones round about the Judge, but quite to other purposes than to become Advocates to those guilty Malefactors, as will anon appear.  
For, Tenthly; Therefore, the Judge shall proceed to the last Acts of Judgement, 
Two Acts of Judgement. 1. The Judge will pronounce them guilty.  which are Two, first to Pronounce them guilty of all the Treasons and Misdemeanours which those wretches have been Indicted of. The Judge indeed (to vindicate the justice and equity of the Court) will demand of the Convict Sinner, Whether he hath any thing to say for himself, why he should not receive Judgement to Die, and Sentence to be Executed according to Law? but now Conscience shall speak impartially between the Judge and the Sinner, justifying the Judge, and Condemning the Sinner; who having before hand received in himself the Sentence of Death, shall now be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without-excuse, 
Rom. 2.20.  not able to make the least apology or defence on his own behalf, but shall confess before that formidable Assembly; Lord, though thou judge me to everlasting flames, yet thou dost me not wrong, but art justified in what thou speakest, 
Psal. 51.4.  and clear when thou judgest; and alas! What a miserable thing is this, that all the time that the Sinner and his Conscience dwelled together under one Roof, and Conscience would fain have spoken out; the vile wretch should stop the mouth of his own Conscience, and never suffer it faithfully to do its office, till now, when it will do him no good, and tend to no other end but to justify God, and to aggravate his own Condemnation! Oh that Sinners would seriously consider this, and lay it to heart in time, and hearken to the secret whispers of Conscience before it be too late; 
1 Jo. 3.21.  and deal kindly with Conscience now, that Conscience may deal kindly with them in that day, when one good word from Conscience, will be worth a thousand worlds. Oh if the Sinner would have done that once willingly which now he doth whether he will or no, if he would have judged himself in the day of the Gospel; it might have prevented this fatal Judgement now, he should not have been judged of the Lord: 
1 Cor. 11.31.  Oh if the Judge would now speak such a word to the Convicted multitude of Reprobate Castaways, as once he did to wretched Sinners! Behold I make you this Offer, that, if yet before I proceed to Sentence, you will unfeignedly judge yourselves, I will not judge you, neither shall the Sentence of Condemnation pass upon you: Oh, what an uproar of joy would there be among those miserable Catiffs? how would they down on their knees, and judge themselves worthy of a thousand Hells, and be content to suffer a thousand years' Torment, to expiate their guilt! but though they would do this, and (if it were possible) ten thousand times more, no such word shall ever be spoken to them by the Judge; their time of Sinning is past, and their time of being judged is come; and, though they do now really judge themselves, yet the Judge will proceed to judge them also. The Sinner having thus justified the Judge, the Judge shall now Condemn the Sinner out of his own mouth; and solemnly setting himself down in the Judgment-Seat, shall openly in the Court proclaim the Sinner guilty; guilty of the whole Indictment preferred against him; And then proceed to pronounce Sentence in some such words as these; Sinner, thou hast been Indicted, Arraigned, and Convicted of High-Treason, against the Supreme Majesty of Heaven, in the breach of his holy Law, and in contempt of his blessed Gospel, trampling the Son of God under foot, 
Heb 10 29. Chap 6.6.  and Crucifying him over and over again, and putting him to an open shame, &c: Hear now therefore thy sentence, Thou art Accursed for ever; the Wrath of God abideth upon thee, thou shalt not see light; 
Mat. 25.41.  Go thou Cursed into everlasting burn, prepared for the Devil and his Angels: and what shall be said to one, shall be said to all, Depart from me ye Cursed, into everlasting fire, where the Worm never dyeth, and the fire is not quenched; into utter darkness, where is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of Teeth, there to be tormented with the Devil and his Angels for ever. Now during all this tremendous transaction, the Saints shall sit in judicature as Assessors, or Justices of the Peace with Christ upon the Bench, seeing and hearing all that is done by the Judge, voting with him, approving and applauding him in his judicial proceed, crying out with loud acclamations, Thou art Righteous, O Lord, which art, and waste, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus: and other Saints shall echo to them saying, Even so Lord God Almighty, true and Righteous are thy Judgements! Thus the Saints shall judge the world, 
Rev. 16.57. 1 Cor. 6 2.  yea, they shall judge the Angels, the Reprobate Angels; but of this I have spoken more largely in the former part of this Treatise.  
I come now to the Fifth end of the Saints meeting with Christ, sc. To receive their complete and final Benediction. Come ye blessed of my Father, receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; A blessed Sentence indeed, every word in it is Heaven before the Saints come to Heaven.  
Come] my Love, my Dove, my undefiled One, stand at no longer distance, come and follow me, whither I go: I will that where I am, there you may be also.  
Ye Blessed] Blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Your Enemies on Earth accounted you the filth of the world, 
1 Cor. 4.13.  and the offscouring of all things; Satan hath desired to have you, that you might be accursed with him for ever: but ye are blessed, and shall be blessed for ever.  
Blessed of my Father] Blessed in the eternal electing love of the Father: Blessed in the Son's purchase; you have washed your garments white in the blood of the Lamb: Blessed by the Laver of Regeneration, 
Tit. 3.5.  and renewing of the Holy Ghost.  
Inherit] Ye are Children, Heirs, Heirs of God; joint-heirs with Christ; behold I have adopted you to be follow-heirs with myself, and the Father hath made you meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light; Oh come now and take possession of your Inheritance, behold it is not less than a  
Kingdom] for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom; 
Luk. 12.32.  the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of Glory; behold it is  
Prepared] In the Father's decree, God hath laid it out for you before the foundation of the world was laid; and it is prepared by my purchase, and by my taking possession of it long since in your Name: 
Jo. 14.2.  I went before to prepare a place for you.  
For you] whom I also prepared for it, and for every one of you personally, every one of you shall receive an entire Kingdom to yourselves, and you shall live and reign with me for ever and ever: As Heaven hath been kept for you, so you have been kept for it, by the power of God, through Faith to Salvation, 1 Pet. 1.5. Oh come now and take possession! Behold! This is the Saints full and final Benediction.  
I should have spoke to this before I spoke of the Sentence passed upon the Reprobate; for in our Lord's method it doth precede, Mat. 25.34. compared with ver. 41. yet because Execution of the Sentence gins with the wicked, and ends with the godly, as ver. 46. to the end, that the Saints, may behold with their eyes the Sentence Executed, and seeing they may (as God himself doth) laugh at them, saying, 
Psal. 52.7.  Lo these are the men that made not God their strength, but trusted in the abundance of their riches, and strengthened themselves in their wickedness. I have (I say) therefore chosen to speak of the Sentence of blessedness, which the Judge shall pass upon the Saints, in this place, that from thence I might pass immediately to the happy Execution thereof upon them (nothing intervening as to the persons of Saints) which is the  
Sixth and last end of the Saints meeting with Christ in the Air, sc. Their solemn and triumphant Attendance on the Judge, 
The Sixth and last end of the Saints meeting with Christ, is Their taking possession.  to take possession of the Kingdom. This last judicial process being thus solemnly finished, Sentence on both sides pronounced by the Judge, the Reprobate already dragged away by the Executioners of divine Vengeance, to the place of Execution, (where they shall be tormented with the Devil and his Angels for ever and ever; immediately the Bench will rise, the Court shall be broken up, that great Ecumenical assembly shall be dissolved, and forthwith the Judge shall ascend his Majestic Chariot, waiting ready for him; and all the Saints shall follow him in their Wedding-garments, glittering as the Sun in his Meridian glory, upon their several Chairs of State) all the holy Angels of God attending round about them; with their Ensigns of glory flying, Trumpets sounding, Angels singing, the Saints themselves shouting all the Regions of the Air resounding with their Celestial harmony, the like whereunto never entered the Ear of man, from the day wherein God laid the foundations of the Heaven and Earth, to this happy moment. In this triumphant posture shall they march, till they come to the walls of New Jerusalem, where the Gates of pearl (to whom it shall be proclaimed, Lift up your heads oh ye Gates, and be ye lifted up ye everlasting Doors, and the King of glory shall enter in) shall stand wide open to receive them, An entrance shall be administered unto them abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ; through the Streets whereof, which are of pure gold, as it were transparent glass, they shall ride in Triumph till they come to the Throne of his Majesty, where the Ancient of days sitteth, 
Dan. 7.9.13.  whose garment is as white a● Snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his Throne is like the fiery flames, and his wheels as burning fire, etc. Then shall the Son of God come to Him, and taking his new Bride in his hand, shall present her to his Father, and bespeak him in some such language as this; 
Rev. 7.16. Chap. 5.9. Chap. 12.11.  These are they which come out of great Tribulation, who have washed their Robes white in my blood; These are they which have kept the word of my patience; these are they that overcame by my blood, and by the word of their Testimony. 
John 17.6. Verse 12.  Thou gavest them me out of the world, thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word; while I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy Name; those that thou gavest me, I have kept, and none of them is lost but the Son of Perdition, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled; I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them because they were not of the world, even as I was not of the world. O Righteous Father, for these I opened my mouth, and for these I opened my sides and my heart; for those was I mocked and scourged, and blindfolded, and buffeted, and Crucified; for these I wept, and sweatt, & bled, and died. Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou hast loved me before the Foundation of the world, etc.  
Then shall the Father rise from his Throne, and say unto them, Come near unto me my Sons and my Daughters, that I may kiss you: See, the smell of my Children is like the smell of a field, which the Lord hath blessed. Then shall he call for Crowns to put upon their heads, & bracelets upon their Arms; Rings upon their fingers, palms of Victory, & Sceptres of Royalty into their hands, & appoint them their several Thrones, the Mansions which their Lord went before to prepare for them; upon which they shall be placed, that they may sit and live, & reign with Christ their Heavenly Bridegroom for ever and ever; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, all Tears shall be wiped from their eyes, & sorrow and mourning shall fice away. And so shall they ever be    

MOUNT PISGAH: OR, THE THIRD PART OF THIS Model of Consolatory Arguments, OVERDO THE Death of our Godly Relations.  
I Come to the tenth and last word of comfort, The Saints blessed cohabitation and fellowship with the Lord; so shall we beever with the Lord. This consequent of Christ's coming is the perfection and crown of all the rest, cohabitation, and fellowship with the Lord, together with the extent and duration of it, Ever.  
Now cohabitation containeth four glorious Privileges, viz. 

1. Presence.  
2. Vision.  
3. Fruition.  
4. Conformity.    
1. 
1 Privilege.  The first Privilege, which cohabition implieth, is presence; The Saints after their triumphant reception by Christ into his glory, shall ever be where he is. The Scriptures abound with expressions of this nature: appearing in God's presence, 
Psal. 42.2 Col. 3.4 Luke 21. ●● Psalm 15.1 Rev. 3.21. and 1.5, 6 John 17.24 and 14.3.  standing before him, abiding in his tabernacle, dwelling in his holy hill; yea, dwelling in him, and he in us; sitting upon his throne, and following of him wherever he goes: (if at least that Scripture be to be underderstood of Heaven) a glorious privilege certainly; for it is the purchase of Christ's blood, the fruit of his prayer, and one of the great ends of his coming in person at the end of the world, that his Saints may be where he is; dwell in his family, be as near him, as ●ationally they can desire, 
1 Kings 10.8  even stand before him, and enjoy interrupted cohabitation and fellowship with him. If the Queen of Sheba accounted it the happiness of Solomon's Servants, that they might stand continually before him, and hear his wisdom; how much rather may we proclaim them happy, thrice happy, whose feet may stand within the gates of the new Jerusalem, for behold, a greater than Solomon is here, even he, 
Psalm 16.11  of whom the Psalmist sings, In thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.  
A second Privilege is Vision: 
2 Privilege, Vision.  The Saints shall not only be where Christ is 〈◊〉 but they shall enjoy the beatifical viston, they shall see and beh'ld that, which the seeing and beholding of will make them blessed for ever.  
Now there are six beatifical Objects in Heaven.  

1. The seat and mansions of blessed Souls.  
2. The glorified Saints.  
3. The elect Angels.  
4. The glorified body of the Lord Jesus.  
5. God in the Divine essence.  
6. All things in God.   
The first vision which the Saints shall see, 
1 Vision, the seat of the blessed. John 14.2 2 C●. 〈…〉 Luke ●●. 4; 2 Cor. 12.4. & Rev. 2.7.  is that which is called, Sedes beatorum, the seat or babitation of blessed souls, the mansions of glory, which our Lord hath purchased for his redeemed, and which he went before to prepare for them; the third Heavens; the Palace of the great King. A glorius place certainly, for therefore it is called Paradise, to set forth the beauty and pleasantness of the situation; that as the Paradise wherein God put man in his innocency, was the beauty and delight of the whole nether world, so Heaven the place which God hath prepared for man (restored to perfection) is the beauty and glory of all the upper Regions, the top and perfection of the whole Creation. Behold, the outside of this stately Palace is very glorious, beautified and adorned with all those bright and glittering Luminaries, the Sun, Moon and Stars; what think you is the inside? Consult that description which the Spirit of God hath made of it in the Revelations, 
Chap. 21.18, 19, 20, 21.  the wall of jasper, the City of pure gold, the foundations of the wall of the City garnished with all manner of precious stones, the twelve gates of twelve pearls, every several gate of one entire pearl, the street of the City of pure gold, as it were transparent glass; and you will surely say, Heaven is a glorious place; and yet behold, this description of it is leveled to the low and childish capacity of our weak and fleshly senses, as we judge of things in this imperfect state of mortality: what think you then, will the glory of the new Jerusalem appear, when glorified sense shall be ●levated and raised up to a perfection suitable to its object? Surely, Heaven will as much exceed the description of it in glory, as the bodies of the Saints in the Resurrection, shall exceed in beauty these vile bodies of ours, when they are resolved into dust and rottenness: What shall I need say more? Heaven is a place as beautiful and glorious as the wisdom and power of God could devise to make it, that it might be the Royal Palace of his own Residence: That august and magnificent fabric which the proud Babylonian Tyrant stood tracking and boasting over, 
Dan 4.30.  Is not this great Babylon that I have built, for the house of the Kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my Majesty, was but a prison or hovel in comparison of this building of God, 
1 Cor. 5.1.  that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; and those words are proper only for the mouth of God; Is not this the new Jerusalem which I have built for the house of the Kingdom? and for the glory of my Majesty? What David spoke of the Temple, that little type of Heaven, in decimo sexto: The house that is for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical of fame and of glory, etc. must be infinitely more august and magnificent in the antitype; this the glorified Saints shall behold, and it will, beyond conception, be marvellous in their eyes.  
Secondly, 
a Vision, the glorified Saints.  They shall see the glorified Saints, in their souls as well as in their bodies, all the elect of God that ever were in the world, 
* In their souls as well 〈◊〉 in their bodies.  from Adam until the second coming of Jesus Christ; and it will be a glorious sight, to see the King, and all his Peers and Nobles in their Parliament Robes, with Crowns and Embellishments of honour, fitting in their state and order, is a ●ight which every one covets and crowds to see: What will it be to see the King of Saints, with all the Redeemed ones of God, in their Robes, washed white in the blood of the Lamb, and Crowns of gold upon their heads, and palms of victory and triumph in their hands? a Parliament all of Kings and Priests, every one of them shining forth as the Sun, 
Mat. 13.63  in the Kingdom of their heavenly Father? The Sun when it breaks forth out of a cloud, and displays its refulgent beams in full lustre and brightness, what a glorious Creature is it? and with what a beauty doth it gild and adorn the world? Oh my soul! what a sight will that be when I shall see an Heaven full of Suns, scattering their rays of glory through all those celestial Regions? There is another Scripture which makes the glory of this Vision yet more splendid and radiant, every one of the glorified bodies of the Saints shall be made conform to Christ's own glorious body; 
Phil. 3.21  the glory of the Father shines forth in the Son, and the glory of the Son shall shine forth in the Saints, He in his Father's glory (is even in his humane nature) and they in his. Surely the Luminaries of the first magnitude in the visible heavens, the Sun and Moon will be turned into darkness before the glory of this Vision; they shall shine as so many Christ's in the Kingdom of their Father, that will be a glorious Vision indeed! Not to speak any thing of the several degrees and orbs of Saints; orbs of several degrees of Grace, and orbs of several degrees of offices and services in the Church, Patriarches, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, etc. of which the Apostle gives us not an obscure hint, 
1 Cor. 15.41.  [As one star differeth from another in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead; q. d. as the Luminaries of these visible heavens, are of a different magnitude and brightness, each above the other in their orbs and spheres, so also is the Kingdom of glory;] there be different forms of Saints, one excelling another in brightness and glory; I say, to pass by this in silence, which yet certainly hath somewhat in it for the heightening of the beauty of this vision, (as we see in the Luminaries of this inferior world, their different orbs and magnitudes, contribute not a little to the beauty and ornament of these visible heavens): We may add this before we go off, viz. That the communion and converse with the Saints in heaven will be as sweet to the taste as the vision of them will be glittering to the eye; there will be heaven in both: Behold! their fellowship and converse here was so sweet, that David could say, All my delight is in the Saints that are in the earth, 
Psalm 16.3.  and in the excellent ones: David could take no pleasure in the company of any in the world, but only in Gods holy Ones, who were beautified with his Image. Oh what will their communion and fellowship (think you) be in heaven, when they shall be totally divested of all their sinful corruptions, their ignorance, their pride, their passion, their peevishniss, their tenaciousness, their impurity, their envy, their impatience, their censoriousness, their unseriousness, their infincerity, and their unsavouriness, whereby they are apt to offend and hurt one another? Yea, when they shall have put off their natural infirmities as well as their sinful, their impertinencies, their mistakes, their weaknesses, their indispositions, their hunger and thirst, their drowsiness, their vanity, their mutability, whereby they are not more unlike to other men than to themselves (sometimes) their diversions and reservedness, etc. whereby they are less able to do one another good? What will their converse be, when they shall put off all their defects and all their imperfections? When there shall be no dissent amongst them, much less dissension, but when they shall all speak the same thing, and there shall be no division, but they shall be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgement, which the Apostle commends so passionately, even to the Saints on this side Heaven, 1 Cor. 1.10. When there shall be such a perfect harmony amongst the Saints, as if there were but one soul to act that whole Assembly of the firstborn? When there will be nothing in them to converse with but pure grace, grace without mixture, grace and nothing else but grace? Yea, not pure grace only, but perfect grace; when every grace shall be in its perfect state, and have its perfect works; when every grace shall act to the highest degree, yea, when there will be ●o use of those inferior graces which are but for the way, as patience, repentance, sympathy, pity, fear, hope, yea, none of the highest of all the graces hath faith itself; now abideth faith, hope,— now is in this imperfect state, faith itself belongeth unto the imperfect state, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is imperfect shall be done away, when sight is come, than faith shall cease, and the Saints shall converse one with another only in their superior graces; their marriage-graces, their glorious graces, that are proper to their adult state, love, joy, delight in God, mutual complacency, zeal, obedience, praising God, thankfulness, when they shall love God as much as they would love him, yea, as much as God would be beloved, and obey God as much as God would be obeyed, and praise God as much as God would be praised, etc. Oh, when the Saints are cast into such an heavenly mould, yea, and we ourselves are capable of such pure converse, (for here in this imperfect state, the Saints of God are not always in the same frame one with another, or with themselves, wh●n one Saint is up, the other is down, like an Instrument out of tune, jarring and disharmonious, when one is alive, the other dead, when this is hot, the other is cold, when one is ready to give, the other is not fit to receive the communications of grace.) But oh, when now I say all the Instruments of Glory are alike strung, and equally tuned (in their several capacities) what sweet ravishing harmony, what heavenly music will they make? Oh might we but see such a Saint on earth as one of these are, how would every one be ready to kiss his lips, yea, to kiss his very feet, and hardly forbear even to worship him, 
Acts 10.25. Rev. 22.9  as Cornelius would have worshipped Peter? or as John, the Angel? Oh then, when the whole Assembly of Saints shall be all such, how will they fill one another with unspeakable joy? How might this vision (as it were) be an heaven alone! If Paul expressed so much satisfaction, to be filled with his precious Converts company at Rome, what satisfaction will it be when the Romans shall be filled with Paul's company, and all other the Saints of God, they and he, now, made perfect in glory?  
Finally, It will be no small security to the mutual love and complacency of the Saints, that in Heaven they shall be set beyond all possibility of being mistaken in one another's condition. Here below, how easily and how often are we deceived? Behold, a Judas amongst the Disciples, whom none of them could discover, but only their Lord that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a Devil? John 6.70. Oh dreadful, a Judas follower of Christ, and yet a devil! a Disciple and yet a devil! a Preacher and yet a devil! fast and pray and yet a devil! do miracles and yet a devil! cast out devils and yet a Devil! yea, once more Judas who, (for some time) carried it so fair, that when their Lord prophesied of one of their company that should be guilty of so horrid a treason as to betray his Lord, they every man began to suspect rather than Judus, and cried, Lord, is it I? Is it I; Lord, &c, Oh dreadful mistake! And such mistakes (when discovered) oh what a shame! what condolency! what grief! what perplexity of spirit do they occasion amongst God's upright ones!  
But now are the Saints in Heaven delivered from all danger and fear of such charitable errors. There shall be no Hypocrite in Heaven, upon whom the Saints can lose their love: Hypocrites shall be all locked up in one infernal dungeon together, that they may never deceive any more, Matth. 24.21. What an access of joy will this be to the Communion of Saints in glory.  
Quest. Whether or no in this blessed Vision the Saints shall see one another with a distinguishing sight, i. e. see them so as to know them under such relations and respects as once they stood in one to another in this imperfect state? Whether Abraham shall know Isaak as (once) his son, and Isaak know Abraham as (sometime) his father? Whether the Husband shall know his Wife, and the Wife her Husband, as (once) such that have drawn together in the same conjugal yoke? Whether Kindred shall know their gracious Kindred, and friend his friend? Whether the godly Minister shall know his gracious People that were of his particular flock, and the flock know him as once standing in that ministerial relation to them? Et sic in caet.  
This, I say, is a Question which seems neither difficult nor fruitless to be resolved. Probability (without doubt) falls upon the Affirmative, and that whether we consult Reason or Scripture.  
Reason saith, It is very likely we shall know them, Reason. whether by the secret impressions of former converse one with another, or by revelation (as some conceive) is disputed; some think that we shall remember what relation we have had one to another by circumstances and emergent occasions, by comparing notes as it were; but that discursive, syllogistical way, of coming into the knowledge one of another, seems to be too mean and slow for the heavenly state; and the reason is, because the senses of the body, and the faculties of the soul shall be elevated and refined to a kind of Angelical perfection, for we shall be like the Angels. 
Luke 20.36 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  What although many Ages and Generations have passed over the Saints in their state of separation of the soul from the body, and one from another, wherein all the species and figures of sensible objects may seem to be totally obliterated or abolished? Why may not those vestigia, those impressions of sensible things, which are granted to remain in the understanding, be thought sufficient to reduce the species of those sensible objects themselves, whereby the Saints did once converse each with other, into the memory again, by the sole help of that supernatural vigour and activity which the state of Glory superinduceth upon the faculties of the soul and corporeal senses? Behold here in this dark region, what quick and admirable recoveries of things past, 
There shall no knowledge be wanting which now we have, but only that which implieth imperfection; And what imperfection can this imply? To know one another as well in the glorified estate, as we did in the state of mortality, and better. The good of this blessed state consisteth in the knowledge one of another, communion one with another, and mutual content in that knowledge and communion. Baxtor.  do the senses of the body and faculties of the soul make sometimes? The eye can distinguish its wont object after many years' separation; the memory can presently recall the face, and voice, and gestures of an intimate friend, after sleep, which is death's image, yea, after twenty years' absence, or more: At the Resurrection, the soul (I make no question) will know its own body at the first sight; proportionably, in the state of glory must the mutual knowledge and remembrance of old relations, be more quick, vive and (if I may so say) intuitive, according to the admirable and glorious capacity which they shall then be invested with; make but a just allowance for the vast disproportion between the regenerate state on earth, and the glorified state in heaven, and you may rationally conclude the affirmative.  
And if we consult Scripture, 
Scripture.  it votes no less for the Affirmative than Reason doth: Did Adam know Eve in innocency? 
Mat. 17.4.  Did Peter, and James, and John know Moses and Elias at our Lord's transfiguration, whom they had never seen? 
Tertul. contra Martion.  No, not so much as in a picture: (as Tetullian observes; the Jews being great enemies to the use of pictures:) And shall not the Saints know one another at the first view, whom they knew and mutually conversed with, while they were here on earth? Surely the knowledge of the beatifical vision shall excel, not only the knowledge of Peter and John, 
1 Cor. 13.12  but even the knowledge of Adam in innocency, as far as the state of glory excels the state of grace? Did Peter and John know Elias on the Mount (whom they had not seen) and shall not Peter know John, and John Peter, whom they had mutually seen?  
Again, the Scripture tells us, that Dives in hell knew Abraham and Lazarus in heaven; 
Luke 16.23  shall the reprobate have better eyes in hell than the elect of God have in Heaven? Shall Dives know Lazarus, and shall not Lazarus know Paul and Peter, & c?  
And yet again, the Scripture tells us, the poor Saints on earth shall know their rich benefactors when they come to heaven, how else can they receive them (in what sense soever) into everlasting habitations! shall the Saints know one another upon the account of a temporal alms, and shall they not know one another upon the account of spiritual offices performed one for another. Lo here is probability if not demonstration for the stating of the Question! the fruit of it (certainly) is as sweet, as the truth itself is probable; a mighty spur it is to holy and heavenly converse here on earth, to converse with one another in grace, so that we may promote our mutual converse in glory— Ministers so to preach, so to live, Parents and Governors so to educate and govern their children and families, as that they may mutually rejoice one in another, and for another in heaven— It cannot but add much to their blessedness and joy in heaven, and be matter of praise and glory to God to all eternity, especially over such, as to whom God hath made us instrumental, either to their conversion or to their edification; whiles in this vale of tears, here we mourned and wept bitterly, when we kissed their pale lips and cold cheeks, when we follow the corpse to the grave and laid them down in their cold beds of dust; but there will be joy and glory with infinite compensation, when we shall see and say, 
The more unthankful are they, that having received so infinite a mercy from God, by their ministry would never in their live● open their mouths to acknowledge it to their ministers for their encouragement.  oh here is my spiritual father who begot me to Christ, under whose Ministry I drew my first spiritual breath; how sweet are such acknowledgements here? Certainly they are the richest rewards of Gods despised and persecuted Servants and Ambassadors here on earth; oh what will it be in heaven! when grace shall be seen what it is, when grace shall have put on its royal apparel? Oh what a joy to Parents (by nature or by trust) to see the dear Child, that got into heaven, as it were, before its time! and the Child to embrace the Parent, oh this is my Father, my Mother, my Grandfather, my Grandmother, that traveled with me the second time, till they saw Christ form in my heart, oh blessed be God that ever I saw their faces on earth, and now shall see them for ever in heaven! and so for friends, oh this was my soul-friend, this was a brother, that a kinsman, who loved me with a spiritual love, an heavenly love, that loved me into Christ, to heaven, to this glory I now possess! Christians, if these things be not so, 
Aug. Ep. 6.  then Augustin mistook his Cordial which he wrote to the Lady Italica after her Husband's death, telling her, That she should know him amongst the glorified Saints, yea, know him, and love him batter than ever she did in this life; yea, a greater than Augustin was mistaken else, even the great Apostle, who himself had been caught up to the third Heavens, and saw what was done there, even he was mistaken, when, 
1 Thes. 2.19, 20  by an Apostolical Spirit, he dignifieth his Thessalonians with those glorious titles, his hope, his joy, the crown of rejoicing, his glory and joy, and that in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming; Can they be all this to the Apostle in the resurrection, and he not know them, and be able to distinguish them from all other Saints of God, that shall stand on Christ's right hand at that day? It cannot be: What although all such relations do cease in Heaven, must the remembrance of such relations cease also? Or, what if the glorified state make such an alteration in the Saints bodies, that they are not the same for colour, gesture, and some other accidental circumstances, (as when we knew them in the valley of tears) shall there be no line●●●ent or property of individuation remaining, whereby the quick, acute eye of glorified sense may possibly discern who they were? There want not instances in our experience, of some, who from their childhood even unto full age, have been absent from their friends, whom yet many years after, upon a deliberate interview, their relations have called to perfect memory again: and if such a thing be possible in the imperfect state here, why should it seem a thing incredible, that the glorified eye and intellect should revive a distinct remembrance of their gracious relations, even out of the imperfect bints and notions of their former knowledge? If the resurrection do show nothing of the old individual distinction of persons, it may seem to be rather another Creation than a Resurrection, and may shake a main Article of our Christian Faith.  
But as clearer evidence than all this, I demand further, How did Adam know Eve upon the first sight? (even before God spoke a word who she was, or whence she came;) And did he own her as bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh? Will ye say it was by divine instinct and revelation? Grant then but so much in this case and it shall suffice; especially the rather, because this solution of the difficulty will take in the case of elect infants dying before their form and figure can well be discerned (possibly stilborn) surely a distinct knowledge who they are when glorified, will be no small joy to the elect parents, to consider that free grace made them the happy vessels to help to people Heaven with such Inhabitants: We may not presume to speak definitively in cases not clearly stated by the holy Scriptures, but this we may with safety and modesty conclude, that if such a mutual knowledge of godly relations in heaven, may contribute any glory to God, and any addition to the joy of the Saints, the absolute perfection of the glorified estate, will not permit any doubt about this matter; surely if our natural affections of love, and delight, and joy be not extinguished in heaven, but perfected, it cannot but add to the elect Mother's joy, to see her elect Infant now adult in glory; and so for other nearest relations, will it not be some accent to their hallelujahs to say, This was my precious yokefellow, this my holy parent, this my gracious brother, kinsman, friend, with whom I had sweet communion on earth in holy duties? We went to the House of God as friends, etc. Especially when it may be added, whom God made Instrumental to the pulling me out of the infernal lake, (where the Devil and his Angels are tormented for ever) and for the bringing of me into this place of rest and glory? Thanks be to God for ever and ever,  
Object. If it be objected, Doth not this distinct knowledge of our elect relation, infer a distinct knowledge also of the Saints reprobate relations in hell? And may not that be a Vision of as much terror as the other of rejoicing?  
Answ. I answer: No: And that upon a twofold ground.  
First, It stands with the analogy of faith, to believe that all those affections which imply defect or imperfection shall be totally abolished in Heaven, as inconsistent with the glorified estate, 
Rev. 7.14 21.4  God shall wipe all tears from their eyes.  
Secondly, We answer, that there shall be such a perfect conformity of will, between God and the Saints, that there will be no dissent (in the least.) It shall not be then, as it is now, to the no little embittering of their present estate, (first by sin, and then by grief for sin) but what pleaseth God shall abundantly please them. This the Saints pray for here, but there shall they be fully possessed of it; here it is their duty, but there it shall be their reward; the Saints in glory would have nothing otherwise than God would have it; so that now, to the full and perpetual silencing of this Objection, I answer; That the glory of God shall so perfectly swallow up all private personal considerations, that (I am confident) it is no breach of charity to say, that the believing Husband shall rejoice in the damnation of the unbelieving Wife, the holy Parent in the damnation of the stubborn and ungodly Child, Et sic in caet. God's Will is the Law, and his Glory the triumph of the Heavenly Inhabitants.  
Oh let Parents, and Ministers, and Governors, and Tutors, and Yoke-fellows, Brethren, Friends, etc. be but as good now as Dives was in hell, I mean, let them be but in as good carnest here as he was there, that their Relations may never come into that place of torment; and if they do wilfully cast themselves headlong into that irrecoverable Gulf, it will be no grief of heart to them when they come to Heaven: But even as God himself (they being then swallowed up in God) they will even laugh at their calamity, and mock when they see their condemnation.  
This shall suffice to have spoken of the second Vision in Glory.  
A third Vision, which the Saints shall have in Heaven, is, that of the elect Angels, 

Gregor. do Valent. in Thom. Aquin, gives many reasons of that multitude of Angels asserted by Tho. Aquin. and adds, Certum est in hac multitudins Angelorum, nt mero differentium jus esse Hierarchlas, quarum quaelibet contineat tres ordines, & ita in universum esse novem ordines Angelorum; neppe Seraphin, Cherubin, Thronos in primo: Domination●s, Virtutes, Potestates in secunda. Principatus, Archangelos, & Angelos in tertio.  
Gregor. tom. 1. pa. 10●6, & 1027. Certum est (saith he) & de fide, in his ipsis ordinibus, alios Angelos esse afficio & dignitate superiores, alios inferiores.  
The Platonists assert as many Angels as there are Species or sensible Creatures. Aristotle makes as many Angels as Orbs. R. Moses affirms all the powers and operations of superior and inferior things to he so many Angels. Tho. Aquinas confidently asserts the number of the Angels, incomparably to e●ceed the number of material Substances Maniminus Arrianus saith, there are ninety nine times more than the number of men in the world.   they shall see those glorious ministering Spirits, those flames of fire, the Angels of God, by what names or titles soever they are dignified or distinguished in their Hierarchical orders (if there be any which because it is a dispute of greater fancy than Scripture evidence, and hath filled the world with more empty speculation than substantial knowledge, I shall wholly wave it. Heaven will be the place only, where we shall exactly know their nature, number, order, distictions (if any) and not so only, but have sweet and heavenly converse and communion with them.  
About the way and manner of the Saints knowing and conversing with the Angels, is a query of some difference amongst the Learned. Some are of opinion, that the Angels shall assume aerial bodies to entertain the eyes of the Saints withal, and to bring them into a nearer capacity of conversing with them. Some è contra, conceive that the bodily eyes of the glorified Saints, shall be spiritualised, and angelified, that they shall be able to see the very essence of the Angels, as not being so remote from materiality as the Divine Essence. Others tell us of a vehiculum, 
Caro Angelificata Text. d● Resur.  or a visible glory, (as the rays about the Sun) wherein the Angels do move, and whereby they are discerned and distinguished from one another. But all these are but so many uncertain Comments of men's brains. As for that Opinion which makes them knowable only by their operations, 
The Sadduces.  vigour and activity, it is too narrow, for so they are known unto us, even in this life. The immediate and continual converse which the Saints shall have with them in Heaven, doth necessarily infer an higher way and manner of knowing them. The seeing of them by the glorified eye of the understanding, is the clearest and surest way we can pitch upon, on this side the place of their constant Residency: So, they know one another, and so, they know the Saints, and so, for the Saints to see, and know them, is not inconsistent with the analogy of Scripture and Reason. In what way and manner this mutual converse, and communion, betwixt the Saints and Angels in glory, shall be managed, is not determinable by us poor mortals, until this mortal shall put on immortality; how they communicate their minds and thoughts one to another is yet dark to us.  
Concerning the Angels converse amongst themselves, the Schools speak very rationally, when they say, it is by the opening of their wills one to another; when ever they would communicate their minds, and notions, and meanings one to another, it is done; when they would be understood by one another, they are understood. And the same way they converse with one another, it is most probable, they converse with the Saints, and the Saints with them; the Saints may more rationally be conceived to communicate their thoughts to the Angels, by opening their minds than by opening their mouths; partly because the Angels have no corporeal organs to receive what the Saints express by their corporeal instruments of speech, and partly because the superior part of the Saints, their glorified souls being of so spiritual and cognate a nature to the Angels, that way of communication which is most agreeable to divine Spirits, we may well conceive to be common to those heavenly Inhabitants. Whatever the way or manner be, this we may be sure of, sc. that the communion and converse with the Angels in Heaven, will be no small augmentation of their happiness, and of their joy; if we consider their Angelical perfections, especially those two of Knowledge and Zeal, therefore called in Scripture, flaming fire, flames for brighiness of illumination; and fire for the ardency of their love and zeal.  
Oh what rare notions and experiences will the Angels be able to communicate to the Saints in Heaven, having ministered about the Throne of God from the foundation of the world, and been sent forth continually to manage the great affairs of the world, but especially of the Churches! The Apostle tells us, they are beholden to the 
* Eph. 3.10.  Lectures read in the Assemblies of the Saints, for some insight into the mystery of Christ in the Gospel. Oh how ready and able will they be to pay their debts (with an abundant interest) out of the immense volumes of knowledge, which they have treasured up! The Communications of their love, their holiness, their zeal, their heavenliness, etc. what united flames will they make when they be joined in communion, and converse with the graces and perfections of the Saints?  
Object. If it be objected, Is there not enough in God to fill the Saints, to the vastest capacity? What need then of Starlight when the Sun shines? Yea, may not the Saints conversing with Angels and one another, be thought to be a diversion from the supreme object of light and love?  
Sol. To this I answer, No; and the reason is, because all the perfections and excellencies which are in the Creature, are as so many beams and emanations, leading the eye of the beholder to the Sun itself, the body and fountain from which they do spring; 
August. saith, we shall see God in his Saints, and their glorious actings, as well, and as manifestly, as now we see men's bodies, in the vital actions of their bodies. De Civit. Dei, l. 22. c. 29.  or as learned and holy men's Commentaries and Expositions are to the holy Scripture, which do neither detract from, nor add to that immense volume of truth, but serve only to illustrate it, and to render it more intelligible to the dark and imperfect understanding of the Creature: Surely such an infinite full Text as God is, will stand in need of some marginal notes, as it were, 

To see God in his Saints, and the Saints in God, this will be no diminution of the bentifical Vision.  
All the excellency's in the Creature, are but drops from God the Fountain.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
The glorious Angels and Saints are always sunning themselves in the presence of ●od, and will keep company together to all Eternity.  
A fourth Object.  
The glorified body of the Son of God.   to help the Reader; as Christ is said, in the days of his flesh, to be the Exegesis, or Interpreter, of the Father unto us, John 1.18. So may the Angels be to the Saints in Heaven; and such is all the glory of Heaven: yea, so is the humane nature of Christ himself, now in glory, the great Expositor of the Divine Essence, a Mirror or Glass, wherein we come to see God more clearly and fully. Which brings me to.  
A fourth Object of the beatifical Vision, and that is, Christ himself, or the glorified humane nature of the Lord Jesus; Christ in his humane nature exalted to the right hand of his Father (the highest seat in glory) far above all principality and power, 
Eph. 1.21  and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. This is the highest beatifical object in Heaven (next to the divine Essence) the sight of Christ as man; it was the great design, which the Lord Jesus had in redeeming them with his blood; 
●●●n 17.24  Father, I will that they whom thou host given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me. And s●rely this will be a glorious sight indeed; behold, of the glory of Christ in his transfiguration, it is said, That his face did shine as the Sun, and his raiment was white as the light: If the glory of his transfiguration was so excellent, what will the glory be of his exaltation? If the glory of his foot-stoul was so excellent, how will the glory of his throne excel in glory? If he appeared so bright upon an carthly Mountain, how transplendent will he appear upon Mount Zion, the Mountain of God, that heavenly Mountain? If such were his lustre in his state of humiliation, before passion, what beams of Majesty will shine from his face, in his state of glorification, when he is to receive the reward of his passion? Behold, there appeared then, with him, only Moses and Elias; what will his glory be, when all the Patriarches and Prophets, all the Apostles and Martyrs, the whole Society of the Saints, with the whole host of the mighty Angels, that begirt his Throne, with their hallelujahs and joyful acclamations. 
Mark 9.6.  That vision of Christ on earth did fill Peter and the Disciples with wonder and astonishment, even to an ecstasy; so that the Text tells us, He knew not what he said. Oh with what joy and ravishment shall the sight of Christ in glory fill the glorified Saints, when their faculties shall be so raised, that they shall understand what they see, and profess what they unstand! Surely Peter and all his fellow Saints will then say, (and know what they say) Lord, it is good for us to be here!  
What a beautiful, beatifying Object this will be, 
Considerations evidencing the glory of Christ's humane nature. 1 Considerate. The reward of his Passion.  we may guests (for more we cannot) by these three Considerations.  
The first Consideration is this, The glory of the humane nature of Jesus Christ in Heaven, is the reward of his Passion here on earth. In respect of the divine nature, and as Jesus Christ was the second Person in Trinity, the glory which the Lord Jesus now possesseth at his Father's right hand, was the glory which he had with the Father from before the foundation of the world: 
John 17.24  but as to the assumption of the humane nature, it was glory given him by the Father. Christ had a twofold right to the Kingnom of glory, sc. natural and constitutive; natural, as he was the only begotten Son of God, and so of the same nature and essence with the Father from all eternity, and so whatever power and glory was essentially the Fathers, was essentially the Sons also. But then besides that, 
Heb. 1.2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. tuit.  Jesus Christ had also a constitutive right, or, a right by donation, as he was appointed and made heir of all things; now this constitutive glory (as I say) was the fruit and, reward of his sufferings, 
Phil. 2.7, 8, 9  Because he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the Cross, Therefore hath God highly exalted him, and given him a name above all names, etc. Because and Therefore; the exaltation of his humane nature was the merit and compensation of his humiliation and abasement. Now then, if we would make an estimate of the glory of Christ now at his Father's right hand, we cannot find out a more proper medium, than to make a serious and (if it were possible) a thorough search and enquiry into his abasement and humiliation. And certainly if there had been nothing else in it, but his incarnation, or the assumption of our flesh, it had been an infinite abasement to the Son of God; so deep an abasement, as it had been blasphemy for men or Angels to have sought for, or so much as to have thought of. Such a wish in the standing Angels (Oh that God would give his own essential, eternaly begotten Son, to take the humane nature upon him, and therein to recover lost man) would have been a presumption (without doubt) which, no less than the first ambition of the Apostate Angels (probably conceived only in thought) might have justly merited their ejection also out of Heaven.  
Oh for the second Person in the glorious Trinity, to take upon him the nature of man (and that too, when it was at the worst) when it was fallen and stripped of all its original beauty and excellency, was more than for all the Angels of light to have been degraded (if I may so say) into so many Chimney-sweepers, or Kennel-rakers, or to have been condemned, to have been made hewers of wood, and drawers of wtaer, for the service of the reprobate world, had it been to have stood for ever! This, this is the great stupendious mystery, which may fill the understanding of men and Angels with wonder and delight to all eternity, 
* Tim. 3.16.  God manifested in the flesh, the Son of God incarnate. Justly then may it swallow up our thoughts with horror and astonishment, to descend step by step to the bottom of the Lord Christ, his mediatory humiliation and abasement, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; Ex omni Scipsum ad nihilum redegit, exhausit. Tertul. lib. 5. adversus Ma●cion v. 8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he debased, or vilified himself.  to find him emptying of himself, as it were, to the last drop of his glory, meekly submitting himself to all the affronts and insolences of a reprobate world, all the temptations and harassing of infernal Spirits, and at length to death itself, even the death of the cross, that shameful, cruel, cursed death of the cross; that death which was proper only to accursed slaves; and therein drinking up the bitterest cup that ever was put into the hand of a sinner, the cup of his Father's wrath, the venom whereof filled his soul with unconceivable anguish, and made him cry out, to the astonishment of Heaven and Earth, My God, my God, why baste thou forsaken me?  
In a word, if you would come to the bottom of our Lord's abasement, you must dig to the very bottom of hell itself, (if there be a bottom there) for though Christ did not suffer poenas inferni, he did suffer poenas infirnales, hellish pains, though not the pains of hell. Why now, then if you would make any discovery of that glory, wherewith the humane nature of our blessed Lord is invested, at the right hand of God, you must screw up your thoughts, to a glory every way adequate and commensurate to his inanition and abasement, for less than that (not only the love, but) the justice of his Father could not proportion to him. It were good sometimes in our thoughts to compare the abasement of Christ and his exaltation together, to set them, as it were, in columes one over against another. He was born in a Stable, but now he reigns in his Royal Palace; then he had a Manger for his Cradle, but now he sets in a Chair of state; then Oxen and Asses were his Companions, now thousands of Saints, and ten thousand thousands of Angels minister round about his Throne; then (in contempt) they called him the Carpenter's Son, now he obtains by inheritance a more excellent name than the Angels; for to which of the Angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? Then he was led away into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil, now it is proclaimed before him, let all the Angels of God worship him; then he had not a place to lay his head on, now he is exalted to be the heir of all things; in his state of humiliation, he endured the contradiction of sinners, in his state of exaltation, he is adored and admired of Saints and Angels; then he had no form or comeliness, when we saw him, there was no beauty that we should desire him, now the beauty of his countenance shall send forth such glorious beams, that shall dazzle the eyes of all the celestial Inhabitants round about him; once he was the shame of the world, now the glory of heaven, the delight of his Father, the joy of all the Saints and Angels; once he was the object of the Reprobates scorn, and the Devil's malice, now they shall be the objects of his most righteous vengeance; he shall speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure; Crucifiges will then be turned into Hallelujahs, he that was called the Deceiver shall now be adored as the Amen of the Father, the faithful and true witness; a man of sorrows then, but now the mirror of glory, Prince of peace; then accounted a servant of servants, now he shall be called the Lord of Lords, King of Kings,; than they put upon him a mock-robe, (a fools-coat) but now he shall be clothed with a royal garment down to the foot, girt about the paps with a golden girdle; the feeble reed shall now be turned into a massy Sceptre of gold; his Cross of wood into a Throne of glory, and the Crown of Thorns into a Crown of Stars. In the day of his abasement he was the football of his enemies, kicked up and down the world by every profane fool, but now in the day of his exaltation, his enemies shall be made his footstool; yea, Thrones and principalities being made subject unto him: Surely the very prints of his hands and feet, and the holes that were bored in his sides, shall be so many signal marks and trophies of victory, and Thomas 〈◊〉 set now above all doubting) may sing in triumph, My Lord and my God, And lastly, the Lord Jesus himself, instead of his desertion (the lowest step of all his abasement) shall solace himself for ever in the vision and fruition of his Father and of the blessed Spirit, and instead of my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? shall be that triumph, I and my Father are one; thou Father in me, and I in thee.  
These be some crevices, through which we may have a glimpse of the glory of our Lords (once) crucified body; the full discovery of it you will never be able to make, until you come eye to eye, to see and enjoy it in the Kingdom of Heaven, witness a second Consideration.  
A second consideration evidencing what a glorious beatifying object the glorified humanity of our Lord Jesus will be in Heaven, is, 
2. Consider.  The personal and hypostatical union which the humane nature hath with the divine nature of the Son of God, 
Col. 2.9  the sulness of the Godhead dwelleth in Christ bodily, i. e. in his body: the fullness of the divine essence dwells in the humane nature, and is (as it were) transparent through his flesh; and this makes it to be the most beatifying vision, next to the vision of God himself; and indeed is (in a very high degree) the vision of the essence, because the glorious properties and excellencies of the Godhead are, as it were, radiant and refulgent in the flesh of our Redeemer, therefore he is called, 
Heb 1.3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  The brightness of his Father's glory, the brightness or refulgency of God the Father's glory, not only in reference to his divine essence, the second-Person in Trinity, but as he is Verbum incarnatum, the Word incarnate, as he is God-man, because all the beams of divine Majesty do shine forth with a most resplendent brightness in his flesh; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; augasma is that which hath brightness and glory in itself, such is the divine nature and essence, it is the fountain and body of glory, from whence all brightness and splendour doth beam and issue; but apaugasma is that which receiveth that brightness into itself, as a glass or mirror receives into it the beams of the Sun; such a mirror is the flesh of Christ to the divine essence, wherein all the glorious beams of divine wisdom, holiness, mercy, goodness and truth, etc. do shine forth. This is the mystery Saint Paul admireth, 
1 Tim. 3.16 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. John 1.14  God was manifested in the flesh, or, God made visible in a body of flesh; Jesus Christ was nothing else (as it were) but visible Deity; and so he was even while he was on earth; The Word was made flesh, and dwelled amongst us, and we beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father: The flesh of Christ was but, as it were, a veil, through which men might look upon the Sun of Righteousness, which open and naked would have been too vehement and strong for mortal eyes; we saw his glory; there did beam forth (at times) such rays of glory through the body of Jesus Christ, that whoever had not wilfully shut his eyes, might have discovered him to be more than man, and been constrained with the Centurion, to cry out, Surely this was the Son of God; we saw it, saith the Apostle of himself and the rest that were Christ's witnesses. Now if by virtue of the personal union of the two Natures in Christ, so much of God was conspicuous in the flesh of Christ while he was on earth, how much more abundantly do the emanations of divine glory dart themselves forth through the humane nature, now it is exalted to the right hand of the Father in Heaven! And that upon a twofold account,  
1. Partly because there the body of our Lord Jesus Christ is a glorified body; the very body of Christ is made more spiritual and shining than the Angelical nature; I had almost said, the very flesh of Christ transubstantiated into the divine nature, it is so diaphanous and transparent, that it is nothing else, as it were, but a vail, through which the Saints may look upon the face of God more steadily; surely that sight of Christ will be God manifest in the flesh indeed, the invisible God made visible in the humane nature; that will be a most beatifical Object!  
2. And partly because the organ or faculty in the Saints shall be glorified also, the eye of sense in them shall be raised to a wonderful degree of quickness and activity, able to receive in this glorious object clearly and fully. Here the world saw no beauty in Christ, not because Christ wanted beauty, but because they wanted eyes, yea, the godly themselves, their eyes were held, that they could not perfectly discern his glory; but oh now, when the object shall be perfected, and the organ perfected to receive it, what a blissful vision will the very Man Christ Jesus be in glory?  
Go forth then oh ye Daughters of Zion, Use. 
Cant. 3.11  behold your heavenly Solomon, with the Crown wherewith his Father crowned him in the day of his solemn Nuptials, (when he was married to his heavenly Bride) in the day of the gladness of his heart; prevent, oh my Soul, that beatifical vision, by spiritual and fixed meditation, get into Heaven before thy time; and so much the rather, not only because of the eminency of the Object, but because of  
Thirdly, The Saint's interest in this Object, 
3 Consider.  Christ in glory and Christ ours; as much of the eternal brightness of the infinite God (as is possibly visible to an eye of glorified sense) will be seen in the humane nature of Christ, (that will be glorious) and as much of that glory made ours, as the Creature can be capable of; this will be joyful, to see all this glory that is put upon the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to see it with propriety, to see it mine! And how mine? Why mine by purchase, he that is the object of this Vision, was the purchaser of it; he bought it for me; yea, he purchased both it and me by his blood; it for me, and me for it; the sight of his glorified body was the fruit of his crucified body; as once he gave his crucified body to my faith, so now he gives his glorified body to my sight, to be my portion and my bliss for ever! Oh blessed vision, wherein indeed purchaser, and purchase, and purchased do all meet together, to suffer no more separation for ever! This sure will make the Saints sing their Hallelujahs, 
Rev. 1.5, 6  To him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen.  
I come now to the fifth Object in the beatifical Vision, which is the Divine Essence: 
5th Object The Divine Essence.  This is denied by some, and well it may, if the assertion were so to be understood, that the essence of God is to be discerned by the bodily eye, though in its glorified capacity; for where ever the excellency be which God will put upon the glorified bodies of the Saints in Heaven, yet still they retain the nature of corporeal beings, and God's essence is so infinitely pure and spiritual, that the Angelical nature compared with it would seem to be but quid materiale, of a material and corporeal constitution; so that now to affirm God to be visible to an organical eye (though glorified) would seem to imply one of these two things, scil. that 

1. Either the Divine essence hath matter and corporiety in it.  
2. Or that the glorified sense were made altogether immaterial and spiritual, either of which is repugnant to the analogy of faith. Vorstius himself was ware of this, and therefore, though at first he seemed to affirm, that the glorified eye being made (as all the rest of the body shall be) spiritual, might see God, though a Spirit, yet afterward he so explained himself, as only to assert, that from the divine essence there did flow a certain light, which light (and not the essence itself immediately) is the object of the glorified eye its sight. But, that God may be seen by the eye (i.e. understood) of the glorified understanding, cannot be denied by any that believe Scripture, or duly consider wherein the happiness of the glorified Saints must needs consist. But how or in what manner he shall be seen, is that, which by this dim light, which now we see by, is wholly undeterminable. The Schoolmen are wont to say that the blessed shall see God, essentially, or by his essence, immediately, intuitively, comprehensively; not indeed comprehensively as God sees and knows himself, but yet comprehensively in contradistinction to apprehensively. Yet some of them say, that the Vision of God is not comprehensive, but apprehensive only, all make it intuitive, quidditative, immediate, and some of our own Divines follow them in this Tenent; I shall give my thoughts of it in a few Conclusions.    
There be some Arguments against this immediate intuitive Vision, that either cannot, 
1 Conclusion.  or (at least) have not been answered to satisfaction. I will form but one only Argument, in which I will suppose nothing but what is granted by all, which is this, that the understanding of the blessed is not infinite, thus, 

That which is infintte, cannot by a finite understanding be known so as it is in itself.  
But the Divine essence is infinite.  
Therefore, it cannot be known as it is in itself by a finite understanding.    
The Major is grounded on a thing infinite, which is such as it cannot be passed over, so as to come to the end of it. Answers to this Argument I have met with many, but such as are either apparently impertinent, or else do plainly yield the cause; of this there will be little doubt, by any that shall read over the Discourse of Gishertus Voetius de visione Dei per essentiam; for in that Discourse, the Answers to this Argument are out of various Authors, recited and replied unto, and that to satisfaction.  
A second Conclusion I lay down is this, 
2 Conclusion  This immediate intuitive Vision is not therefore to be denied, because there are some Arguments against it which we know not how to answer, for there are Arguments for it, which carry in them great probability, and will difficultly be solved, and the state of bliss is such, as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor did ever yet enter into the heart of man.  
Thirdly, 
3 Conclusion  Therefore, Scripture is to be searched, and if the phrases thereof do hold out such a vision, we may warrantably receive it; if not, it must be rejected, or at least be left as a Problem to be disputed rather in the Schools, than to be handled in Pulpits.  
A fourth Conclusion is this, 
4 Conclusion  The expressions of Scripture do not necessarily infer an intuitive immediate vision of the divine essence; This can be proved only by examination of the particular places that are brought by the assertors of this Vision. They are either of the old or of the new Testament.  
In the old. The Lords answer to Moses is much insisted on; Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see my face and live. All that these words intimate, will be, must be granted, and it is no more than this, That such a full sight of God's glory as Moses desired, is not to be expected till the dust of mortality be blown out of our eyes; the eyes of our mind now can no more endure to see the face of God, than the eyes of an Owl can behold the Sun in its noonday glory; this although it were a gross mistake of the Jews, to infer natural death presently to befall any person, that should have a sight of God, under any visible representation, yet it might well give occasion to Augustine to make that quick reply, Lord, if I may not see thy face and live, let me die to see thy face. But how an Argument should from thence be form, to conclude an immediate, intuitive vision of God in glory, I cannot easily conceive; more colour there is in the Apostles phrase, Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face; 
1 Cor. 13.12  now I know in part, but then shall I know, even as also I am known. These truly are wonderful expressions, and such as afford unto us the greatest security, that all privative imperfection shall be done away, and that we shall have as full a sight of God, as our natures are capable of, we shall have as full a knowledge of the Divinity as we can rationally wish for, such as shall leave no room for complaint, much less for envy. Greater things than this I find not are said of the Theology, of the blessed Angels, their happiness is but this, They are ever beholding the face of God: 
Mat. 8.10  But let a Syllogism be thence form.  

They who shall be admitted to see God face to face, shall see him immediately, intuitively, quidditatively.  
But glorified Saints shall see God face to face.  
Therefore, They shall see him immediately, etc.   
I will deny the Major, and do despair of ever seeing it proved from this Text; the phrase of seeing God face to face, doth not necessarily import such a vision, for than should Jacob, Moses, etc. on this side glory have seen God comprehensively, immediately, intuitively, quidditatively; which I presume none will affirm, nor is there any circumstance in the tex or context, that should determine it so to signify in Saint Paul's speech.  
Object. It is said, We shall know as we are known!  
Answ. It is true: But similitudes do not always quadrate, run upon all four, God knoweth us so far as we are knowable; Do we know God so to? It is impossible God should not know us, but is it impossible we should not know God? Can he not hid himself from us if he pleased? We do not know God in every respect as he knows us, therefore it doth not follow from this phrase, that we should know him quidditatively, immediately, intuitively, because he knoweth us so, unless there be some other Scripture remaining, on which such a kind of knowledge may be built, and other there is not, unless it be that of Saint John, 
John 3.2  We shall see him as he is. These words I confess come nearer the terms of the Schools, than any other I could ever observe in Sacred Writ; yet neither can these (without violence) be extended to the seeing of the Divine essence essentially; my reason is, because the object here promised, is not the Divine nature or being, but the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mediator; and that according to the nature which he assumed in the fullness of time, and in which he shall at last appear to judge the world: when he so appeareth, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, i. e. in the brightness and fullness of his state of exaltation; here we saw him but in his state of humiliation, than we shall see him in his state of exaltation; As he is set on the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens.  
Object. But it will be objected, What profit is there then of the beatifical Vision? Or, What advantage have they who see God in Heaven, above the Saints who see him in the Evangelical vision?  
Answ. I answer, Much every way. Concerning which, not to say any thing that exceeds sobriety, and yet to say somewhat that may help our understandings, I would ascend to the highest pitch of what my weak, narrow apprehension can reach unto of this blessed Vision, by these several steps and gradations.  
First, 
First Step. We shall see more of God, than either we or any of the Worthies of God ever saw.  We shall know more of God than ever we understood of him in this life, either by faith, or by the highest revelation that ever God made of himself to our Souls; more than ever the best of the Saints discovered by faith or divine manifestation; yea, we shall know more of God than ever the most holy of the Patriarches, the most illuminate Prophet, the most seraphic Evangelist, the most inspired Secretaries and amanuensis of the Holy Ghost (à secretioribus) on this side Heaven did ever know; yea, what Abraham, (the friend of God) Jacob, who at one time had God in his arms, 
Gen. 13.24 ver. ●0  and at another time had his Peniel, the facial vision of God, Moses (the savourite of Heaven, 
Exod. 33.11  to whom God is said to talk as a man speaketh to his friend, and to know face to face) Elijah, 
Deut. 34.10 James 5.17  (who wore as it were the keys of Heaven at his girdle, and could open and shut them as he pleased, and at length ascended thither in a fiery Chariot) Daniel (who had the visions of God) John the Evangelist (whose Patmos was turned into a Paradise, 
Dan. 10.6, 7, 8  where he had and writ the Revelations of Jesus Christ) and finally holy Paul, (who was wrapped up into the third Heaven, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 2 Cor. 12. 4●.  and heard things inessable) what these (I say) or any of these knew of the most high God, was but as the Premier learning of Children, to the vast readings of the greatest Masters of learning, in comparison of that of God which shall be known to blessed Souls; the least of Gods elect Infants, going from their Mother's womb to the grave, shall know more of God the first moment it entereth into glory, than the profoundest Divine in the Church of God, could by study, or revelation, ever attain to in this world; this is much.  
Secondly, 
Second Step.  The glorified Saints shall know more of God and the divine nature, than Adam did in Paradise; he was prevailed upon by the Tempter, to affect a greater and higher degree of knowledge than he had, above what the Creator saw fit to bestow, more than belonged to his nature and state; he would have known as God knows; that is, to full satisfaction and complacency.  
Thirdly, 
Third Step.  The glorified Saints know God affirmatively. The greatest part of our knowledge of God in this life is either By 

1. 
Dem cognoscitur per mo dum 

Negation●.  
Eminentiae.  
Causationis.    Denying, or  
2. Comparing, or Ascending  
3. By way of Causation.    
First, By denying, we come to know God in this life, by removing all imperfections, and defects, and limitations, by taking away all things which are inconsistent with a Deity: conceive a spiritual being, and pair off whatsoever is imperfect or defective, and that which remains is God; we can go in our conceptions, or descriptions of God, very little farther. Or,  
Secondly, We come to know (or rather to guess) what God is by comparing God with the Creature; take in all that is amiable, or formidable in the Creature; go over all imaginable perfections and excellencies in the Creatues, Men, Heavens, Sun, Moon, Stars, Angels, and ascribe them all to God, and there you lay a foundation of knowing God, but infinitely short and narrow of what he is; therefore we must ascend.  
For when we have gone through all the ranks and gradations of perfections in the subordinations of created beings, when we have searched out the utmost excellency of each classis, we may say, this is in God, and more; whether Man or Angels go higher and higher till we come to the top of jacob's Ladder, still all this is in God and infinitely more. The Creature must be winnowed from all imperfection, and the finest of them must be taken to give some weak resemblance of a Deity.  
Thirdly, Per modum Causationis; 
Whatever is in the effect is more perfectly in the cause. God is Causa fontana, a fountain. essence of all the perfections which sparkle in the Creature.  we know God by the Creature, as the cause by the effect; as the fountain of all power, goodness and perfection; whatever is lovely and illustrious, we must needs say, this is in God, and infinitely more; God is stronger than the mightiest Man or Angel, wiser than the wisest, holier than the holiest Saint or Angel, he being the fountain and cause of all perfection. This, I say, is all we can reach to, in spelling out God, for be it said, we must add infinite to all these perfections, and that is God, this is also by denying; for what is infinite, but without bounds and limits? That is to say, God is strong without weakness, wise without ignorance, holy without impurity, etc. If we would conceive these excellencies, (which seem to us to be affirmative) we are glad to be beholding to negation: As for example, if I would know what is God's eternity, the negative must help me, it is his being without beginning and without end: What his holiness? I cannot tell affirmatively, but must answer myself, it is to be without the least sin, defilement, or shadow of impurity, etc. In all this there is little to satisfy the covetous inquiry implanted in the Soul, Quid sit? What is holiness? And what wisdom?  
But now in Heaven our knowledge of God shall be affirmative, we shall be able to apprehend God, though not to the utmost extent of his esse, yet without being beholding merely to his non esse; we shall be able to say as well what God is, as what God is not; and when we have said what he is, we shall not need to expound our meaning by what he is not.  
Fourthly, 
Fourth Step. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: Mat. 22.30  We shall know God as much as the Angels in Heaven do. They behold the face of God, Matth. 18.10. Glorified Saints are with the Angels, Rev. 4.8. and are said to be like Angels, and equal to the Angels, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as Angels, Angels incarnate. And what inconsistency is there to the analogy of faith, to conceive that the Saints shall enjoy as full a prospect of God in Heaven, as the Angels themselves do? 
5. Gradation.  for though their bodies be united to their souls, yet shall not their bodies be any hindrance to their souls vision of God, since the soul dependeth not now upon any corporeal organ of the body, inward or outward sense, and, i. e. the body, shall be refined (by the power of Christ in the resurrection) to such a spiritual alloy, that it is itself even of an Angelical nature.  
Fifthly, The Saints shall know God up to the height of that Principle which God impressed upon the Soul in the Creation; For God intending to make a Creature perfectly happy, implanted in its nature 
* Concupivit anima mea. Psal. 48.2 This Candle of the Lord doth aspire, (& that without sin) to be a Sun; it being the just and modest desire of the end which God himself created it; not that it would be the Sun, butunited to the Sun: and now that innocent ambition shall be satisfied. Sixth Step. 1 Cor. 13.  a disposition covetous and capable of knowing God (wherein only the summum bonum of the soul consists) now if God should not satisfy this holy concupiscence in the soul, and fill its capacity to the utmost, he should fail, not the desire of the Creature only, but his own project; the soul will not be contented with such an imperfect knowledge of God as it hath here.  
Sixthly, They shall know him properly. Junius tells us, it is the Judgement of all Protestants; and Willet upon Exodus expounds that notion by [apprehensively] (though not comprehensively) that is, we shall understand clearly, certainly and fully what God is: Clearly] in opposition to dark created mediums; we shall see God by his own light, Psal. 36.9. Certainly] in opposition to guess, opinion and imperfect knowledge: And fully] not objective in reference to God, but subjective in reference to ourselves; the faculty shall be full of God as it can hold, 
† nor all alike but according to the capacity of every vessels heat, degrees of happiness do spring from that lumen gloriae, being variously shed among these blessed Souls.  as a vessel in the Sea, that is full of the Sea, though it contains not all the Sea in it.  
Seventhly, The Saints shall know God fruitionally, 
Seventh Step.  that is, they shall know him so as to possess God, and to be possessed of God. The soul doth, as it were, enter into God, and God into the soul; the joy of the Lord enters into the soul here, there the soul enters into the Lord's joy.  
Eightly, It shall be a transforming knowledge, 
Eighth Step.  we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is: But these two latter, my method propounded leads me to speak too distinctly by themselves: Of these therefore in their own place.  
In a word, The Saints shall know God to perfection, though not to infinitude, they shall see him so as to repose themselves in him with full complacency and delight, so that they shall say, they have enough. In this life some of the Saints, at sometimes, have had such manifestations of God, as have made them weep as bitterly (as ever any under desertion) crying out, Lord withdraw thy glory, else the vessel will split, and I shall dishonour God. And it may justly be our wonder, how it should be otherwise to the Saints in the other world, a wonder that a created, finite faculty should be able to bear the weight of glory, which filleth the infinite Object, and not be destroyed by the immensity of it; especially since we read of the very Angels themselves, 
Omne vehemons sensibilo destruit sensum.  who in a vision of somewhat an inferior nature to that facial vision in glory, for the exceeding brightness of it, are said to veil their faces and their feet; their faces, as having their eyes dazzled with the exceeding brightness of his glorious appearance; and their feet, as abashed in the apprehension of their own meanness and imperfection, in comparison of God's incomparable and incomprehensible perfections.  
But as to this difficulty.  
First, Our most learned English Annotator upon that place tells us, that those expressions signify rather the intenseness of the Angel's reverence and fear, in their approaches to the Supreme Majesty, than their incapacity to take in what of his glory he is pleased to manifest; The Angels being said always to behold the face of God, Matth. 18.10. For, saith he, this is certain, that the nearer the Creature makes his approaches to God, and in the more glorious manner he is pleased to manifest himself, the more apprehensive the Creature is, of its own meanness, baseness, vileness and nothingness, in regard of God's infinite greatness.  
Secondly, We are taught from the Scriptures, that Divine manifestations in Heaven, though they beget greatest veneration, yet they cause pleasure, not pain, and do rather nourish and perfect the faculty, than any ways hurt or oppress it; the vessel shall be made capacious enough to hold any liquor which the thice blessed Trinity shall see meet to put into it.  
To this end we may take notice from Scripture itself, that the glorified understanding shall be adorned with a six-fold perfection, scil.  

1. Spirituality.  
2. Clarity.  
3. Capacity.  
4. Sanctity.  
5. Strength.  
6. Fixedness.   
The first perfection of the understanding shall be spirituality; 
3. Perfection Spirituality,  it shall be spiritualised; spiritual it is now; as spiritual is opposed to corporeal, though not as spiritual is opposed to natural. The Soul is now forced to be a Caterer for a body of flesh, to provide things that are necessary for the sustentation of the animal life; it busieth itself to satisfy the appetites of hunger and thirst, etc. if it can redeem a few hours for actions more proper and peculiar to it, it is so clogged, so pressed down with the bodies infirmities, as that it soon drops down to the earth, and is drawn aside, to attend the impertinencies of this present life. But when it shall be joined to an animate a spiritual body, and itself, in its glorified capacity, than it shall be wholly taken up with objects spiritual and heavenly, and made, as it were, connatural to them, elevated by the light of glory, to the vision of God. This lumen gloriae is not so much for the discovery of the object, as for the help and advancing of a created faculty, which would else be much oppressed with the weight of glory, it is not so much the raising and screwing of nature higher, but it is the adding of a new disposition, that may close with the divine object, so that though there be still an infinite disproportion between God and the Creature in esse naturali, yet there is a just proportion in esse intelligibili.  
Secondly, 
2. Perfection Clarity.  By virtue of this supernatural influx of the divine object, the faculty shall be brightened and cleared. There is now upon this mirror of the understanding, many labes and stains, whereby the vessel is defiled, the breath of the world and the steam of corruptions from within, do so fully this crystal glass, that it cannot receive into it the beams of light, which shine upon it; the more impurity the dimmer the vision; Blessed are the pure in heart, 
Mat. 5.8  for they shall see God. Why now in glory all these maculae and spots shall be perfectly wiped off, and the vessel shall be made a clear burning glass, to receive and contain the glorious rays of divine excellency, which do immit themselves into it. Hence this vision of God is called by Divines, a clear, distinct, and perfect sight of God; not as if the blessed did see all whatever is in the divine essence, but as opposed to our present dim, glassy vision; 
1 Cor. 1●.  so that it perfectly takes in what the divine will is pleased to reveal, without any the least obstruction or diminution.  
Thirdly, 
3. Perfection Capacity.  The faculty in glory shall be widened and extended to a vast capacity; now the understanding is large, there is no bounding or limiting of it, it is higher than the Heavens, and deeper than the Sea, and wider than the World; it is said of Solomon, in respect of his understanding, 
1 Kings 4.25.  that he had wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is upon the Seashore; but all that was specially in order to the mysteries of nature, as it follows there in his character from verse 30, to 34. But in glory the understanding shall be widened to a vaster capacity, scil. to take in not the little things of the Creature only, 
Magnalia Dei.  but the infinite God; I do not say infinitely but apprehensively, though not comprehensively, for then the vessel must be as large as the object, yea, larger, since the thing containing must be somewhat bigger than the thing contained, but the understanding shall apprehend God clearly, certainly and fully; the object itself shall extend the faculty, and make it capacious for itself. It is worth our notice to compare those two expressions of the beatifical vision, the one Matth. 18.10. where it is said, The Angels do always behold the face of God; the other, where the Angels and Saints (the number of whom is said to be, 
Rev 5.11  ten thousand times ten thousands, and thousands of thousands) are described surrounding Gods Throne, they are round about the Throne; compare them together; They always behold the face of God, and yet are round about; and it hints us this blessed notion, God hath no back parts in Heaven, God to the blessed Inhabitants there is all face, and they are always beholding it; how should not so transplendent an object confound the spiritual organ, with the immense splendour and glory thereof, but that the object itself doth sustain and nourish the faculty.  
A fourth Perfection is Sanctity, 
4. Perfection Sanctity. Heb. 12.23  the understanding shall be made perfect in holiness: In the state of separation, The spirits of just men are made perfect, and surely the soul looseth nothing of its sanctity, by being united to the body in glory. Now of all divine qualities, none doth more capacitate the Soul for the vision of God, than holiness, witness that holiness is called the divine nature. 
1 Pet. 1.4  Holiness assimilateth unto God, and the perfection and delight of vision is founded in conformity; it is so in the Evangelical vision, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, according to the purity of the heart is the vision of God. What a glorious vision of God will that be, which the perfection of holiness shall advance the soul unto, when the glorious object shall both- enlarge and purify the faculty.  
The fifth Perfection is Strength. 
5. Perfection Strength.  The vision of God doth fortify the understanding. In nature, the more vehement and intense the object, the more it hurts and crusheth the sense; the vision of God, though but under a veil, 
C●●e vehement sensibile destruit sensum. Dan. 10.7, 8 Rev. 1.17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lumen gloriae superaddita perfectio, qua intellectus confortatur ad videndum Deum. Tho. Aquin.  did undo the Prophet Isaiah. Holy Daniel's vision (though but a vision) did dispirit him, and left him without strength. Saint John his vision, though but the darker side of the beatifical sight of God, stayeth him outright for a time, I fell at his feet as dead. The souls of the blessed in Heaven, are set beyond all fear of such a surprise of glory, while God fills their faculty, he doth also sustain and perfect it, by means whereof the faculty shall never be weary of its object, but still behold it with fresh vigour and delight: So it follows.  
A sixth and last Perfection is Fixednese. 
6. Perfection. Fixedness.  In the state of grace the mind is exceeding slippery, like that of little Children, whom you cannot six, we lie upon spiritual objects, as upon a bank of ice, where we slide, and slide, and never leave sliding, till we be in the dirt, and this comes to pass by reason of those mixtures of impurity which are in these natural minds of ours; the objects are pure and simple, 
James 1.21 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  but the faculty is woefully clogged with superfluity of naughtiness, hence the lubricity and floating that is in the understanding, like the Sea itself, but now in glory all that mixture is abolished, so that there is nothing remaining to divert or distract the faculty, yea, the object itself (still) shall unite the faculty to itself, though not so as to make it its self, yet so as to make it like its self, to make it capable of its self in all the (communicable) dimensions of the divine nature, In a word, the faculty shall be made perfectly suitable to the object, not only in the properties, but in the very nature of it, whereby it shall be enabled to know it, and understand it to perfection; Oh blessed and blessed-making vision!  Glorious things are spoken of thee, oh thou vision of God Truly beatifical for ever! Eye truly hath not seen, etc. 
Before we leave this Vision, let us make some use of it.  
And the Use may be twofold: 

1. Study holiness.  
2. Labour to see God before you come to Heaven.    
First, Study holiness, there be two Visions of God mentioned in Scripture, 

First, The Vision of God in Grace.  
Secondly, The Vision of God in Glory. 

The Evangelical Vision.  
The Angelical Vision.    
The Vision of God in Ordinances.  
The Vision of God 

Without  
Above   Ordinances.    
In the Vision of Grace, the Evangelical vision, the Saints see Gods back parts, but in the Vision of Glory, the Angelical vision, they see God face to face; in the Evangelical vision they see God darkly, and know him in part, but in the Angelical vision they know him, even as they are known by him; the Saints shall have a full prospect of God in Heaven.  
But of both these Visions, holiness is the indispensable qualification, without holiness there is no admission into Heaven. 
Rev. 21.27  There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth. And when entered, without holiness there is no vision, for without holiness no man can see the Lord: 
Heb. 12.14  And holiness doth dispose the Soul for this blessed Vision three ways; 

First, By removing the distance between God and the Creature.  
Secondly, By assimilating the Soul to God.  
Thirdly, By causing mutual delight and complacency between them.    
First, Holiness disposeth the Soul for the seeing of God, by taking away that distance which is between God and the Soul. Sin is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that great Gulf, 
In this respect sin is Hell.  which separates between God and the Creature; and surely sin sets a vaster distance between the holy God and a sinner, than there is between Heaven and Hell, yea, than there is between God and the Devil; that is, between God as a Creator, and the Devil as he is a creature.  
Until this distance be removed, there is no possible access for the Soul to God; this partition wall is broken down when holiness is set up; and according to the degree of purity, is the degree of vision, as the Soul passeth from one degree of holiness to another, so it passeth from one state and degree of vision to another; 
2 Cor, 3.  We all beholding as in a glass, etc. The purer the glass, the brighter the vision.  
Secondly, Holiness disposeth for the vision of God by approximation and assimilating the Soul to God. Holiness is the very Image of God, the divine nature, not in a fanatic sense, not the divine being. Indeed holiness in God is the divine essence, but holiness in the Creature is but a gracious quality, whereby the Creature resembleth God, 
1 Pet. 1.15  and is made pure as he is pure, holy as he is holy. This advanceth the Soul to a nearer vicinity to God, whereby it is put into a passive capacity of seeing God; passive, I say, for the formal visive power of seeing God, is from the object more than the subject of it, scil. so far as God is pleased to beam in his glory into the faculty, and enableth it to bear it; 
Lumen confortans, Scholar  holiness only gives the Soul a sutableness to receive in those divine irradiations.  
Thirdly, Holiness causeth mutual delight and complacency between God and the Soul; all liking is founded in likeness; conformity is the fountain of complacency; so that until holiness be form in the Soul, neither can God delight in the Soul, nor the Soul in God verily without this mutual complacency, the vision of God would be penal to the Creature, rather than beatifical, not much better than that vision which the damned themselves may be conceived to have of God in hell, whose vision of God makes full one half of hell at least; 
Oh quam miserum est Deum videre & perire?  they see God and despair; this is the Worm that never dyeth: they only see what they have lost.  
Christians, as ye love God's face, look to your boliness; God loveth holiness more than he loveth the Creature, saith Arminius; and I say so too, if we understand it of the holiness that dwelleth in God, for that is his essential holiness, 
Exod. 15 11  God himself, so loving holiness, he loveth himself; God's holiness is his glory, glorious in holiness; he accounts it the most radiant Jewel in his Crown Royal, the very varnish and beauty of all his glorious Attributes; for the love he beareth to which, he loveth to see the very image and likeness of it in the Creature; but he loved the Creature so well (in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉) that he did elect the person unto the qualification, though not for the qualification; God chose the elect, 
Eph. 1.4  not because he foresaw they would be holy, but that they might be holy; holiness was not the cause, but the end of their election. Oh love that (dear Souls) which God loves so much, and loveth to see in his Saints, who are therefore called Saints from their holiness. There is nothing can make you so beautiful in God's eye as holiness, because in your holiness he seethe the reflection of his own beauty; 
Ezek. 16.14 Taliter pigmentatae Dei habebitis Amorem: Tert.  Thou wast comely through the comeliness which I put upon thee; God cannot choose but love his own likeness where ever he seethe it; oh love the Lord all ye his Saints, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness, Psal. 30.4. Let your hearts leap within you as oft as you think what an holy God you have; who if he can but see true holiness in your faces, will admit you to see that holiness which is in his face for ever. Love holiness, I say, but be sure it be such an holiness as God loves; there is an holiness in the world, which is but a thing like holiness, but is not so; moral righteousness, an harmless innocence, a sober retiredness from sensual excesses, a pretty ingenuity, a readiness to do offices of love, a negative Religion, concerning which you may better tell, what it is not, than what it is; yea, there is a thing called holiness in the world, that hath not so much as the appearance or shadow of holiness, freedom from grossest impieties, and that but partial too; not to swear at the highest rate, to be soberly drunk, and privately unclean, 
Apud vos optimi censentur quos comparatio pessimorum sic facit. Arnob.  not to be overmuch wicked, etc. in a word (as Arnobius speaks of the Gentiles) not to be so bad as the worst, is a kind of being good; even this (Sirs) will pass in the world for holiness: And lastly, there is a superstitious holiness, which to the Evangelical holiness is no better than what the Ivy is to the Oak, and hath eaten out the very heart of it; a Brat which (as 
* Gurnats' Christians Complete Armour, p. 2.  one saith) the Devil hath put to nurse to the Romish Church, which hath taken a great deal of pains to bring it up for him; and it hath brought in no small revenue, as to herself, of worldly riches and treasure, so to Him of Souls; for such holiness is the very road to Hell the followers of Antichrist fill up the greatest part of it But hear our Lord plainly telling you, Except your righteousness exceed the best of these, ye cannot enter, etc. Oh Christians, get you a copy of grace out of the Scripture-Records (those Court-Rolls of Heaven) which may be seen and allowed by God, and Angels, and Saints, if ever you desire to see God's face: 

Holiness of a peculiar strain, Titus 2.14. Perfecting holiness in the fear of God, 2 Cor. 7.1. Holiness to the Lord, not an holiness that may approve itself to men only (that is easily done) (but unto God. unblameable holiness in God's fight, Colos. 1.22. His holiness, Heb. 12.10. That is,  
An holiness which hath God for its pattern, & 1 Pet. 1.15, 16.  
An holiness which hath God for its motive, 1 Pet. 1.15, 16.  
Be ye holy as God is holy; be ye holy because God is holy.    
In a word, study an holiness that knows no limits, but what it shall have in Heaven; an holiness without any stint, still pressing after further degrees of conformity unto Jesus Christ; unless your holiness be of this impression, you can never hope to see God's face, and if your hope be a true Scripture hope, your holiness will be a right Scripture-holiness; 
1 John 3.3 S● diaeeru fot est, periisti.  He that hath this hope in him purifieth himself as he is pure: Where ever you stick you perish: Labour for such an holiness as will give you admittance not into the Church only, but into Heaven, without which no man shall see God; no men of what classis or form soever they be, whether such as have no holiness and care for none, all profane persons; Shall eyes full of adultery ever see God? the holy God? Shall eyes full of anger and revenge see God the meek, merciful God? Et sic in caet. All such as deride holiness, or despise holiness, or persecute holiness, such as have neither name nor thing, yea, that perfectly hate both, shall they enjoy God? The Apostle sends them this word expressly, There is no room for them in Heaven. And indeed, what should such do there? There is nothing in Heaven but what is holy, holy Angels, and holy Saints, and above all a thrice holy Trinity, Father, 
Rev. 4.8.  Son and Holy Ghost; Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God Almighty, the beauty of whose face is holiness, alas! there is nothing for them to see or hear, but what is an abomination to their souls! Holy words, yea, the very word (Holiness) they now stop their ears at it, it is vinegar to their teeth, they make faces at it; holy Ordinances, they cannot bear them; the impurer the Ordinance is, the better they like it; An Holy God, they say of him, 
Isai. 30.11  'Cause the holy One of Israel to departed from before us; preach as much as you will of the merciful One of Israel, and of the bountiful One of Israel, etc. but tell us not so much of the holy One of Israel. Molest us no more with messages of holiness, and the severities thereof; yea, 
See learned Gataker in loc.  they say not only so of God, but they say as much to God to his very face, They say to the Almighty, depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways; they say so by interpretation, if not in words at length; he that can expound actions as well as language, tells us, they say so; yea, they are not ashamed of the very language, it is a piece of their gallantry to profess to them that reprove them, or but (meekly) admonish them, I say, to answer with scorn enough, We are none of your Saints; Proud scorner, what art thou then? An unclean swine, yea, an unclean spirit, incarnate Devil, a profane Hellitean, as one faith, for thy speech betrayeth thee? What need farther proof? Ex ore suo, etc. Put such an herd of Swine into Heaven, and verily they would need no other damnation: But God made Heaven for better purposes, than to be an Hell for the haters of holiness: Tophet is prepared of old for them, 
Isai. 30.33.  and thither they must be packed away, with the reprobate Angels; down they came, when they had laid aside their holiness, and shall such maligners of holiness, and holy ones, ever come there? Let them not fear, the company of Saints shall never molest them; they would have none of their society on earth, and they shall have none of their society in heaven. Possibly, with their elder brother Dives, they may have a prospect of Heaven, where they may see 
* Luk● 16.23  Lazarus in Abraham's bosom; and (with others of the reprobate family) they may see Abraham, 
Luke 13.28  Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God, 
Oh quam miserum est Deum videre & perire? Et ante praeteritur conspectum perire?  but that vision will be so far from beatifical, as that it will be the aggravation of their damnation; for as it follows verse 28.  
They themselves shall be thrust out, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, cast out, with as much contempt and violence, as ever they themselves cast the Saints out of their Societies. Certainly, that vision, will be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. These haters of holiness would have none of God, Psal. 81.11. They said to the holy One of Israel, Depart from us. 
When it was too late.  And now God will have none of them, I know you not whence ye are; they bade the first word, but will have the last, 
They said, depart from us.  Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity; not a man of them shall stand in God's presence, but be cast out for ever into utter darkness. Then shall the back slider in heart be (indeed) filled with his own ways. 
Mal. 25.41  They banished God and his Saints out of their company; and now they themselves shall be punished from the presence of the Lord, (and his Saints) and from the glory of his power, 2 Thes. 1.9.  
Second Use, Use 2 Labour to see God on this side glory, to begin your vision on Earth, which shall never cease in Heaven. Indeed the vision in Grace and the vision in Glory are one and the same vision; the object is the same, God; and the faculty is the same, the eye of the Soul: they differ only in two circumstances.  
First, In the Medium. Here we see in glasses, the Works of God, 
Psal. 19.1, 2.  the Creatures are a glass, the Heavens declare the glory of God, 
Praesentemque refert quaelibet herba Deum.  and the providences of God are a glass, Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge: Every day's experience, and every night's experience, is a glass wherein much of God is to be seen; and the Gospel is a glass, wherein we all, as in a mirror, 
2 Cor. 3.18  behold the glory of the Lord: And lastly, the glass of Ordinances, Preaching, and Prayer, and Sacraments, all these be glasses; and meditation is a glass; faith is another way of vision; by faith Moses saw him who is invisible; all these, I say, 
Heb. 11.27  are glasses wherein we may see God. But alas! The glass takes away from the object and darkens our vision, as painted glass in the Church windows, they let in some light, but keep out more; but in Heaven we shall see without glasses, face to face, the Lamb shall be the light in that Temple.  
Secondly, These visions differ in their degree of light and clearness, here we see in part, this is but a partial vision, that in glory is extensive, a full-eyed vision, as one calls it, a most ample, perfect vision; we shall know as we are known, the understanding here is dark, dim and narrow, there clear and vastly capacious.  
Now that which this word of Exhortation calls you to is, to exercise yourselves much in the vision of God here, and to that end I would have you 

1. Make much of your glasses: But  
2. Take heed of resting in, and being satisfied with your glasses.    
First, Make much of your glasses; Be thankful for them: How many Churches of Jesus Christ have their glasses taken away or broken? Robbed and spoiled of all their precious things, and have not so much as a glass left, wherein they might have some glimpses of divine light conveyed into their understanding? Oh Christians, before it be so with you, make use of your mediums; While you have the light, walk in the light, etc. Bless God that the Sun is not totally gone down upon your Prophets, 
Mich. 3, 6  nor the day dark over them; God hath done that for you (in as much wonder, and more mercy) that once he did for Joshua, caused your Sun to stand still in your Gibeon, etc. Oh bless God for it! Make his praise glorious.  
And secondly, Make good use of your mediums, attend Reading, and Hearing, and Prayer, and Sacraments while you have them; take heed of that dangerous notion, of being above Ordinances, it is a Precipice upon which many have stumbled into darkness: Oh that it may not prove utter darkness, the blackness of darkness for ever!  
There is a living above Ordinances which hath a good sense in it: that is,  
First, When God hath taken away Ordinances, or permitted men to take them away, then to live above them, i. e. to be able to live immediately upon God, as knowing, that though God hath tied us to means, he hath not tied himself to means; he that converts and saveth by Ordinances, can do his work without them; the means can do nothing without God, but God can do what he will without the means; so to live by faith is exceeding precious.  
Secondly, In the use of Ordinances, to look above Ordinances, to look up to God, whose Ordinances they are, as only able to make his own Institutions effectual to the accomplishing of his own ends; thus to use Ordinances, and to trust God, is excellent; but for a people while they have Ordinances to slight them, and neglect them, and talk of living above Ordinances, this is intolerable pride and folly, yea, it is a mocking of God, to be wiser than God, and instead of living above Ordinances, to live without God. Oh learn to make much of the Ordinances, lest that angry question come and sweep away all, Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, 
Prov. 17.16  seeing he hath no heart to it?  
A second thing I would call you to is, while you use Ordinances, to take heed of resting in, and of resting contented with Ordinances; an Ordinance of God, without the God of the Ordinance, what an empty glass is it? There is a vision of Ordinances, and there is a vision in Ordinances; oh take not up with that without this; pray for such a spirit as he had, whose voice it is, Psal. 63.1. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee: David was now in the wilderness, banished from the Tabernacle and Ark, Altars, (those legal Ordinances of the Sanctuary) I but it is not the bare Ordinances that will serve his turn, but God in the Ordinances, thee, thou, my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee.  
Oh Christians, let the same mind be in you which was in holy David, make God the object of your vision, in your Evangelical attendances; God commands it, Seek ye my face, Psal. 27.8. Seek the Lord, and seek his strength, and seek his face evermore, Psal. 105.4. Oh let your hearts echo with David's, Thy face, Lord, will I seek, or (as it may be read) Let my face, Lord, seek thy face: What he meaneth by the face of God, and so by (thou, thou) in the 63. Psalms, he expounds himself, ver. 2. That I may see thy power and thy glory in the Sanctuary, namely, the powerful and glorious manifestations of God in his Ordinances, the manifestation of all his divine attributes and excellencies, that which God offered unto Moses, Exod. 33.23. and which our Lord promiseth to all his loving and obedient Disciples; 
John 14.21  He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him; yea, Father and Son, ver. 23. we will come, and make our abode with him: This is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the height and altitude of our Gospel vision, as God told Moses, thou shalt see my backparts; the face of God, the vision of God, his essence, (whatever it is) that is reserved for an higher form, the vision in glory; yea, I must tell you the clear manifestation of any divine truth in the brightness of it upon the understanding, and in the sweetness of it upon the heart, is this Evangelical vision, as well as those higher manifestations of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit in divine ravishments: I say, when it pleaseth God, by the Spirit, to beam in Gospel-truth from the very face of Christ, not into the head only, but into the heart, with such a glorious light, 
2 Cor. 4.6 1 Peter 2.9  that it seems to be the same in the Soul as it is in Jesus, the very glory of God, so that the Soul stands wondering at the light, when in his light we see light, divine truth, by a divine irradiation, not by borrowed mediums and natural representations only by its own native brightness and lustre.  
This, this, Christians, is Gospel vision, which as it doth necessarily tend to, so it will infallibly expire into the beatifical, facial vision in glory. How rare are those Christians, that do experience this vision of God in the Ordinance, yea, how rare are they that do thus breath, and pant, and cry out for the living God with this holy Psalmist? Hence darkness, hence deadness, hence formality, a powerless profession hath woefully spread itself upon the face of Christianity, yea, upon the very reformed parts of it. Let Christians stir up themselves, and let their souls press hard after God, when they come to Ordinances, or else this very thing will be worse to them than all the evil that befell them from their youth until now, it may provoke God to withdraw even the Evangelical vision from them here, and, without great repentance, to deny them admission to the beatifical vision hereafter: They that will not seek God's face in Grace, shall not see God's face in Glory.  
The sixth and last object of the beatifical vision is, 
Sixth Object of the blessed vision, All things in God.  All things in God. God is the universal Library of all truth, whether divine or natural; yea, all truth (quà truth) is divine, and doth emanate from the God of truth, in whom it is, there to be read as in its original, and lieth open for all the whole University of those heavenly Academics to peruse. Yet we must remember, that the divine essence is an arbitrary and voluntary glass, manifesting all mysteries not by necessity, but according to the freedom of his own will; there the Saints may read to the full the Mystery of the blessed Trinity, how three in one, and one in three, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, God blessed for ever! That thrice glorious and (till we come to Heaven) not to be fathomed Mystery, the wonder and adoration of the believing world, that immense ocean, over which so many daring Spirits having essayed to fly, have fallen in and been drowned: that burning light, unto which so many presuming to approach too near, have scorched their wings, and lost both their eyes and themselves together: that sacred Ark, into which too many presumptuous Bethshemites, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  having dared, over boldly, to look, have been smitten: What is essence? And what is person? And how they differ? How the Father begets, and the Son is begotten, and how the Holy Ghost proceeds from both: how they are distinguished, by their order, their personal properties, and manner of working upon the Creature: how the Father worketh from himself, the Son worketh from the Father, and the Holy Ghost worketh both from the Father and the Son: How there should be alius & alius, and not aliud & aliud, etc. These will be Lectures which shall be read in the Trinity itself in glory, and that in a most clear and intelligible notion.  
then shall the Saints be able to understand the mystery of the incarnation of the second Person, the Son of God, that Mystery of Godliness (of Godliness, 
1 Tim. 3.16  because it transforms sinners into Saints; and mystery, because it containeth so many deep and mysterious wonders in it. The blessed, blessed-making Mystery of the Incarnation, of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, scil. Why the second Person in Trinity, rather than the first or third should be incarnate? Why he should take the nature of man rather than the nature of Angels, and that when it was at the worst? how he could take the nature of sinful man, and yet not take the sinfulness of his nature? the Hypostatical union between the divine and humane natures in the Lord Jesus, in one person; how there should be there aliud & aliud, and yet not alius & alius? That mysterious union, between the Lord Christ the Head, and all Believers the true Members of his body, what it is, and how they are made one with Christ, as the Father and the Son are one; this precious Mystery (I say) shall then be made manifest, Jehn 14.20. at that day you shall know, both what it is, and how it is, that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you, etc. then, and not till then. How he that is every where, filling Heaven and Earth with his presence, should yet be included in the narrow limits of a Virgin's womb? How he that made the Law, should be made under the Law? How the Ancient of days should become an Infant of moments? How he that was begot before all time, should be born in the fullness of time? 
Ephes. 3.10  How a Virgin, and yet a Mother! These and a thousand difficulties more, wherein doth meet that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, multiform, multivarious wisdom of God, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 1 Pet. 1.12 Ephes. 3.10  as lines in a centre, where into the very Angels desire to peep, and for some imperfect discoveries, whereof they are glad to be beholding to the Lectures read in the Churches, by their 
* 
Hoc v●rd nostra altior no titis praedicatur quam Anclorum, tan 〈◊〉 intelligit Petrus ea nobu promitti, quorum complementum videre cupiunt. Cal. in loc.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, alludit ad propuiatorii formam. etc. Jam tum indicante figurâ, fore ut in Christo cujus typur erat arca, omnes sapientiae, & intelligentiae insiderent thesauri, per Evangelii praedication●m patesaciendi; avid● ipsis Angel● beat● totum hoc mysterium cognoscare, cujus etiam exhibitionem, jam inde ab ip●is Christi noscentu incunabilu ecclesiae enarr●rant. Beza in loc.   earthly Angels, the Ministers of the Gospel; these, I say, shall be clearly read and understood in that original wisdom wherein they were first conceived.  
That profound and dark Mystery of Election and Reprobation, why God should choose one and leave another? Why God should love Jacob and hate Esau? Why the one should become 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and the other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉? Why first the Jews should be a Church, and the Gentiles (Aliens) should afterward be adopted into the Covenant, and the Jews broken off and cast out? That God should break open the heart of a rebellious sinner by efficacious Grace, and deny sufficient aid to one that hath improved his present strength far better? With all other the dark, profound Mysteries of God's Decrees, shall then be made glasses. And lastly, That mystery of wickedness and abominations, and why God hath suffered him so long to reign, and to usurp so great a part of Christ's purchased and promised possessions, with all his witchcrafts and sorceries, whereby he hath deceived the Nations, they shall all be discovered and brought to light, to his eternal shame and confusion? That God should shine out only upon some few spots of ground with the light of the Gospel, and shut up the rest in palpable darkness,  
The Creation of the World, shall then be more clearly understood in the cause, than now it is in the effect, how all things were made out of the first matter, and that out of nothing. 
Rev. 13 10 14.12  Those hard mysteries of providence which do now try and exercise the faith and patience of the Saints, scil. Why they that are best should speed worst? That there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; and again, That there be wicked men, 
Eccls 8.14  unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous; In so much, that now we call the proud happy, 
Mal. 3.15.  and they that work wickedness are set up, yea, they that tempt God are even delivered? Why the worse cause should many times have the better success? Why God should suffer his dearest Children to be abused and insulted over, when wickedness in the mean while triummphs securely? Why wickedness should be set up in high places, and innocence should be trod under foot? Somewhat of these Riddles the Word doth now interpret unto the Saints (blessed be God) to command their silence and submission to God, but then shall they return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not: all this will be then seen in God to infinite satisfaction.  
The grand Article of the Faith, The Resurrection of the dead (being, then, already past) shall be fully understood, how the body after thousands of years (in some) through unutterable varieties of mutations and vast dispersions into all the quarters and corners of the world, should be revolved back again, bone to bone, and skin to skin, and every dust to its own dust, it shall clearly be expounded in the mirror of the divine understanding, 
Acts 26.8 The Saints themselves are both Instances and Expositions of that Text.  and exemplified in (the counterpart thereof) the bodies of the Saints; than it shall no longer be thought a thing incredible, that God should raise the dead. All the hard places of Scripture, that vex the profoundest Divines, and make the Believer sigh out his How can I understand, except some man should guide me? shall then be expounded in the Original text of eternal verity, 
Acts 8.31  without looking into any other Commentary, and oh what joy will that be, to understand the whole Bible without study? 
2 Peter 3.17 There shall be in the glorified understanding at the Schools say, Cognitio clara & lucid clara & fixa contemplatio omnium naturaliter scibilium, even above its primitive capacity. The Soul shall be indeed at its full 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Then the meanest understanding shall be able to confute all the depths and fallacies of Jesuitical seducers, whereby they have darkened the Truth, and led away the willingly ignorant into their pernicious errors, and doctrines of Devils.  
In a word, All the Arcana of Nature and all the Mysteries of Philosophy (properly so called) with all occult things under the Sun, and the highest speculations of this nether Orb, in the painful and knotty disquisition whereof the greatest Masters of secular learning have tired themselves almost to distraction, and upon the gaining of some little supposed satisfaction, wherein they have so much gloried, and insulted over other men, shall now be made easy and familiar to the Saints, the very A B C of Heaven, and only worth a cast of their eyes, either as such knowledge came from God, or as it leads them unto God again.  
For the use of this last branch of the heavenly vision: Use. It may serve to moderate and restrain that inordinate curiosity in our natures, to be looking into dark and hidden mysteries. There is a concupiscence in the understanding, lusting after forbidden knowledge, as there is in the will after forbidden fruit; we inherit both from our first Father and Mother; they affected a knowledge above the capacity of their natures; they would know as God knoweth, universally, intuitively, and at once; but by such an ambition of knowing more than they ought, they forfeited what they had, which was sufficient to have made them happy; and while they aspired to be as God which made them, they became like the beasts that perish. It was the presumption of the Bethshemites, they would be prying into the Ark, though they died for it; and there is a pride and wantonness in our nature, 
1 Sam. 6.19  which sets us a prying into Arcana Coeli, the hidden and secret counsels of God. Adam's Children are yet sick of his disease, they would fain be as wise as God, and know all things: But, the secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children for ever, that we may do them. And in these revealed things there is matter enough to exercise our studies, had we Methusalem's lease of life sealed to us. In the revealed things of God, there is so much yet unrevealed, and therefore left unrevealed, that we might search and dig into them, Prov. 2, 3, 4. with the addition of a promise to encourage industry, Then shall we know, 
Hosea 6.3 Ars longa, vita brevis. M●aeima pars corum quae scimus, est minima pars eorum qua nescimus.  if we follow on to know the Lord; so much I say, that when we have travelled many years in the disquisition and search thereof, we may fit down and complain, our lives are too short for our work, and truly confess, that the greatest part of what we know, is nothing to what we are ignorant of. Oh that upon those studies Christians would lay out their time and spirits! proving what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. And therefore study to know it, that they may do it, for to such is the promise, 
John 7.17  If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God: Oh this is excellent, when Christians study to know that they may do, and not that they may know only; and so doing they shall know, and so knowing they shall do; this will keep open the passage between the head and the heart, That the man of God may be perfect, 
2 Tim. 3.17  thoroughly furnished unto all good works. But in the time according to the Apostle his Caution, Rom. 12.3. It is our duty to be wise to sobriety, and it is our sobriety not to be wise where God would have us to be ignorant; 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Of that hour knoweth no man, no not the Angels of heaven; behold the very Angels of God, who for their knowledge are called Angels of light, 
Mark 12.32  are yet in this point (of the last day) contented to be in the dark, and the Evangelist hath an addition of a higher consideration, neither the Son, but the Father, whether the sense be that the humane nature of Christ is absolutely ignorant of that day, or knoweth it only by revelation from the divine nature, the document is the same, viz. on this side glory to be contented to know no more than God hath revealed; where Scripture is silent, there to be willing to be ignorant. And for our encouragement and satisfaction keep this consideration alive, upon your hearts, we shall not always be ignorant; secret things shall not always be secret, the time is coming when Mysteries shall be Revelations, when we shall be able to read that in the original, which we cannot now so much as spell out in the translation; nor in any measure understand with the help of all our Commentaries. It was that which much comforted that precious Saint and Martyr, 
Mr. C●lamy, etc.  Mr. Christopher Love, while he was prisoner in the Tower; The day before he died, divers of his learned, godly Brethren, came to take their last farewell of him, (as being never to see him more, until they saw him ascending to and with their common Lord and Redeemer) they fell into a discourse of the joys of Heaven (a discourse suitable to that solemn parting) and in that discourse meeting with some difficulty, which the Scripture had not determined, and so being silenced, that holy man, with a smiling countenance, and looking upward to Heaven, broke forth into these words (or others like them) Well (said he) to morrow by this time I shall fully understand this mystery, and it will be no difficulty unto me.  
It is indeed a most satisfying contemplation, that the time is coming when we shall be ignorant of nothing, but know all things to be known, the knowing whereof may any way make us happy; in Heaven we shall know as much of all the mysteries of Grace and Nature as we would know; Etiam curiositas satiabitur, 
Anselm. John 14.20  Curiosity itself shall be satisfied, we shall know whatsoever it is we desire to know; with this our Lord satisfieth his Disciples, concerning those two great mysterious unions, the essential union, union between the Father and the Son, that I am in my Father, and the mystical union that is between him and all believers, you in me, and I in you, q. d. although now ye are ignorant of these high, transcendent mysteries, yet let this stay and comfort your hearts, when I shall come again in glory, to take you unto myself (that where I am there you may be also) then these shall be no mysteries unto you, but so many evidential Revelations; At that day ye shall know, then, and not till then.  
And so it may abundantly satisfy the insatiable desires of inquisitous spirits, into the deep mysteries both of Creation and Redemption, That when Christ shall appear, we shall also appear with him in glory; and then shall the veil be taken away, and they shall see God, and all things in God's face which their souls desire to see, the soul shall be filled and inebriated with variety of all desirable knowledge, that may any way tend to its perfection. This may satisfy; save that it may set their souls a longing for that day, and cause them to cry out with the Bride, Even so come Lord Jesus, come quickly.  

The third Privilege contained in Cohabitation is Fruition.  
A third Privilege employed in the Saints being with the Lord, 
3. Privilege Fruition.  is Fruition; Vision, in Glory, is accompanied with fruition; and this is that which makes it truly beatifical: whatever glorified Saints see, they do enjoy, else this Vision would not differ much from Report; nor that state of glory, from an Heaven in a well-drawn Launskip. The very Reprobate (it seemeth) have a prospect of Heaven, 
Luke 13.28  but to their torment, they themselves being thrust out.  
Now Fruition consists of a tenfold Ingredient or Property.  
Viz. 

1. Propriety.  
2. Possession.  
3. Intimacy.  
4. Suitableness  
5. Satiety, or fullness.  
6. Freshness.  
7. Present.  
8. Fixedness.  
9 Reflection.  
10. Complacency.    
The first Ingredient into Fruition is Propriety; 
1. Ingredient Propriety.  Whatsoever the Saints see in Heaven is their own; God saith to Abraham, 
Gen. 13.14  now in the heavenly Canaan, what he once said to him of the earthly, Lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art Northward, Southward, Eastward and Westward; for all the land which thou seest 〈◊〉 thee do I give it; whatever is within that vast circumference of Heaven it is Abraham's, and all his spiritual seeds for ever. Now David may tune his Michtam a key higher; and instead of, Gilead is mine, 
Psal. 60.7, 8  and Manasseh is mine, Ephraim and Judah, etc. he may now sing, God is mine, and Christ is mine, and the Spirit is mine; all the elect Angels are mine, and all the whole Congregation of the firstborn mine, all the glory of Heaven is mine. And so may the best of the Saints in heaven triumph, all is mine, and what pleasures, or riches, or honours, or glory, or joys, are in the presence of God, they are all mine. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, John 1.13  They did sing so while yet in the valley of tears; or they might have sung so; Faith gave them a title, their Jus adrem, a right to Heaven, but the blessed vision giveth them now real interest, Jus in re, right in Heaven; and they need not now fear to call it theirs; they might have said, my God, my Christ, and my Comforter here below, but one thing was to be done first; sound Scripture evidence was to be cleared out, and sealed up to their souls, but some or other defect therein (did not seldom) check their confidence, and damp their joy for a time. But now in glory Propriety is beyond all dispute; their evidences were seen and allowed at their first admission into Heaven, and now mine, mine, is their song and triumph to all eternity, and God is not ashamed to be called their God; truly he was not ashamed to be called so, even when they had but too much cause to be ashamed of themselves, and gave God too much cause to be ashamed of them. But now God is so far from being ashamed of owning them, that he rejoiceth in them, and glorieth over them.  
This people I have form for myself, 
Isai. 43.21  they shall show forth my praise: And again,  
Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, 
verse 1  I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.  
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, 
Jer. 31.3  therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.  
The Lord Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call them brethren; to own them for Subjects, Friends, 
Rev. 15.3 chap. 14.1  Coheirs with himself in glory, his Bride. And they claim their Propriety in him as such. The King of Saints, 
chap. 1.6 verse 5, 9  with their Father's name written in their foreheads; they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, 
chap. 21.9 Mat. 18.10  owning themselves as his beloved, his redeemed, Kings and Priests unto God and his Father; yea, as the Lamb's Wife. They have a propriety in all the elect Angels of God: they be still their Angels, as ready to do them brotherly offices as ever, and take more complacency in their company and in them than ever, by how much more purified and Angelified they are, then when they lay among the pots of the earth, now made like themselves, fellow Angels (as it were) as well as fellow Saints.  
They have propriety in one another, although they may know some of the Saints under the notion of natural relations; yet do these all cease there, as now being retired into the first and chief root and Springhead of divine Relation; Children of one heavenly Father, in whose House they are all together, embracing and courting one another in purest communion and communications of love; each Saint not more himself than his fellow Saints.  
In a word; the place where the Saints are met together (never to part) it is their own, not a strange Country (where they see one another as Strangers and Pilgrims do sometimes visit and comfort one another) Heaven is not a borrowed Palace (where they are admitted by courtesy) to celebrate a Festival for a few days or years, but the Saints in Heaven are at home now, 
2 Cor. 5.2  in their own house and Kingdom.  
Their own 

1. By Inheritance, Col. 1.13. An Inheritance prepared for them, from before the world had any foundation, but what it had in God's Decree, Matth. 25.24.  
2. By purchase: Therefore is Heaven called the Purchased possession, Ephes. 1.14. Their dear Lord and Bridegroom purchased them and their Inheritance together with his own blood, 1 Pet. 1.19.    
He bought the Inheritance for them, and them for the Inheritance at the same price.  
This is the first thing employed in Fruition, Propriety; without which the vision were no way beatifical; for how can that make me happy, which I have no title to or interest in? 
Tolle meum, tolle Deum.  Take away mine and ye take away Heaven; yea, take away mine and ye take away God: good is no farther good (to me) than as it is mine; and as I may warrantably claim my right to it, and interest in it.  
A second Property of Fruition is, Possession; 
2. Ingredient Possession.  the Saints have not only propriety in Heaven, but Possession of Heaven; when their dearest and sweetest Lord left the world, and ascended to his Father, they took possession of Heaven in him, as in their great Representative and Head, Joh. 14.2. But when they ascended to him, now they take possession of it in their own persons. They had livery and season given them by the Father, upon the consummation of their marriage with his dear Son Jesus Christ, their Royal Bridegroom. And it was done in the presence of the eternal Spirit, the public Notary of Heaven, 1 John 5.8. All the holy Angels standing by as so many Witnesses; so that God himself could not make Heaven surer to them than he hath made it.  
While the Saints were upon earth, Heaven was theirs, but it was only in reversion, and they counted themselves blessed in that, Matth. 5.3. But now reversion is turned into possession; the Saints hold nothing in Heaven by reversion, that title ceaseth there: All the Beatitudes in Heaven are present possession; God, and Christ, and the Holy Ghost, Angels, and Saints, and all the glory of the upper world, are so many possessions; the Saints are possessed of God, and possessed of Christ, and possessed of the Holy Ghost, and possessed of glory: as on the contrary, the damned in hell are possessed of the Devil, they are possessed of hell, and of utter darkness, and of the worm that shall never die, etc. Oh dreadful possession!  
Hope was once their tenure: 
Titus 1.2 Rom. 5.1  In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, etc. And they rejoiced in it; Ye rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, and they blessed God for it: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, which hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, etc. of which hope faith was the substance and basis, Heb. 11.1. and even this hope was very precious unto them a little heaven upon earth, save that now and then some clouds of fear and doubts did interpose between heaven and their dim eye, and so eclipsed their vision.  
But faith and hope did set them down at the gate of heaven, and then, with Moses, died in the mount; and took leave of them for ever.  
And if faith was so precious to them then, what is sight now? If hope made their hearts (not seldom) leap for joy, how doth possession now fill them with joy unspeakable and glorious, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, above all hyperbolye of expression!  
Object. If any should be so critical as to object, In heaven the Saints live in the hope and faith of the continuance of heaven!  
We make use of the Apostles Maxim for Answer.  
Hope seen is not hope: 
Rom. 8.24  All the glory of heaven is seen, and all is present, there is no futurity in heaven: heaven i● but one point of eternity; 
1 Cor 13. last  the Saints have all beatitudes, and all at once in God; now abideth indeed faith and hope, but then possession. 
Mat. 18.1  They shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is theirs, and they shall sit by it. All the precious privileges of the Gospel, which cost Christ so dear, are now perfected into full possession. Adoption is now perfect; now they are the Sons of God, and they know what it is to be the Sons of God: Justification is now complete: Sanctification is now at perfect age: In a word, all their hopes are now their inheritance. This is fruition!  
A third Ingredient, of which Fruition doth consist, 
3. Property Intimacy.  is Intimacy: Propriety and Possession are not sufficient to constitute fruition: Mutual converse will not serve the turn, without intimate communion: Communion not with one another's persons only, but with one another's spirits; this is fruition, when friends are possessed of one another's heart, and one another's spirits. 
In Heaven there is not mutual cohabitation only, but mutual inhabitation. 1 John 4.16.  This is the great beatitude of heaven, even vital vision, with all the beatifying objects thereof; mutual in dwelling, and mutual in being. God dwells in the Saints, and the Saints dwell in God: It was so here, God is Love: He that dwells in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. The Saints love to God is now made perfect (without a figure) and as their love is, so is their mutual in being, perfect; I in them, 
John 17.23  and they in me, that they may be made perfect in one: Perfect, according to the supreme Exemplar, 
verse 21  As thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may he one in us: This also had its imitation on earth, it hath now its consummation in heaven; the Saints can be no nearer God than they are: (Essential union is the sole prerogative of the glorious Trinity:) They dwell also, in Christ; I in them, and they in me: Eternity is their wedding day, Heaven their bride-chamber, their bed of love is the heart of Christ, and it is always green, always fresh, and always flourishing with interchangeable loves.  
There the Saints see the place where they were conceived from all eternity, and read the very original thoughts wherewith their Redeemer and Bridegroom loved them, when as yet they were not form in their Mother's belly; and their Epithalamium, or Nuptial song is, I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine; 
Cant. 2. 1●  they began this Song in the day of their espousals, and continue it in their everlasting wedding-day, which they celebrate in mutual embraces and festivities, joying in one another, and glorying in one another, delighting themselves in mutual appropriations and appreciations, mutually contemplating and commending one another's beauties and perfections. Behold thou art fair, my Love, behold thou art fair, and there is no spot in thee.  
The Angels and Saints in light, behold they dwell not with one another only, but in one another; they inhabit, as it were, in one another's hearts.  
That primative Congregation, Acts 4. was a lively type of this Royal Congregation of the firstborn, 
Acts 2.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Crederes unam ani●am in omnibus ●esse divisam. Chap. 4.32  They are all with one accord in one place; so these, one place holds them all, and one soul animateth and acts them all. The whole multitude of Saints in heaven are, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, all of one heart and of one soul: Neither said any of them, that aught of the things which he possesseth are their own, but the joy of one is the joy of all, (I cannot say the sorrow of one is the sorrow of all, for this is their prerogative which was not on earth, there is no sorrow in heaven:) The Saints and Angels mutually open their hearts one to another, and communicate their notions, and mysteries, and loves, and desires one to another, as having as much share in; and right to one another as to themselves.  
Neither are those celestial Inhabitants  a whit the more remote from God, when they thus go into one another, 
There is no diversion in Heaven from the summum bonuo●.  for (where ever it is) they meet with God, he fills Saints and Angels, not only as he doth the world, with the fullness of his being and power, but with the fullness of his glorious and beatifying presence; they are still in God, and God in them.  
In a word, whatever beatitude there is in heaven, the Saints and Angels are in it: hence it is said, they enter into joy: here below joy entered into them, but there they enter into joy: Heaven is all inside, yea, God himself is the inside of heaven: This is fruition indeed.  
A fourth Ingredient into Fruition is, Fullness: 
A fourth In greding Falne●.  There is in Heaven good, and there is enough of it: Fullness to satisfaction: They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house, 
Psal. ●8.  and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures: The joys of heaven are compared to a Feast, 
Venachal g●ada necha.  consisting of all imaginable rarities both of meats and drinks, fatness expressing the delicacy of food, and the River of Eden (for so the word signifieth) of the River of thy Eden; the ravishing sweetness of their drink, infinitely beyond all that is fancied by the Poets, of the Nectar and Ambrosia of the Gods (which indeed was but an imperfect notion of the joys of Heaven, filched out of some fragments of Scripture by those blind Naturalists.) But of such deliciousness doth this marriage Supper consist of, and there is plenty of them, plenty even to satiety, they shall be satisfied with the fatness, and inebriated with those wines upon the lees well refined: The Master of the feast will say to his Guest;, then in the feast, what he said here below in the figure.  
Eat O friends, drink, yea, drink abundatlny, 
Cant. 5.1. Heb. Or be drunken with love.  my beloved.  
And it must needs be so; for every one of the glorified Inhabitants do enjoy an whole God, even the whole glorious and thrice blessed Trinity; an whole Christ in his glorified humane nature; every one doth enjoy an whole Heaven, with all the felicities of it, as much as if Heaven had been made but for one individual person. For although the Church of the firstborn in heaven consists of ten thousand times ten thousands, and thousands of thousands, yet hath no one the less for what others do enjoy.  
As in Nature, every beholder hath an whole Sun, and the whole Heavens to himself, with all their splendour and influence, as much as if there were but one man in the world.  
In terrestrials (indeed) it is not so; there what one man hath, another hath not, and where many share, every single man's portion is the less: whence it is that Meum and Tuum fills all the world with quarrels and confusions:  
But there is no such thing in heaven: the multitude of heirs do not divide or lessen the Inheritance: the Reason is, because there are no particles in Essentials; every one hath all, and none the less for what another enjoyeth.  
Yea, the more, because the joy of one is the joy of all; every heir of Glory enjoyeth not only what himself hath, but what his Co-heir hath too; so that upon the point each Saint enjoys as many heavens as there be Angels and Saints in heaven: A blessed Mystery of Multiplication.  
With thee is the fountain of life: 
Psal. 36.9.  how can they choose but be full, who are always at the fountainhead? Yea, are always drenched and immersed in the immense Ocean of Beatitudes, God himself, the Latitude of all Being, Truth, and Good.  
God is infinitely full of himself, and infinitely happy in his own happiness, and infinitely satisfied in his own happiness.  
And this is the augment of the Saints joy, that they are not able to contain that infinite Object of Glory: apprehend it they may, comprehend it they cannot: And this the blessed Angels and Saints rejoice in, that God only dwelleth in himself, and they in him, and are as full of God, as a finite Creature can be of an infinite Creator, brimful, and running over: yet so, as that in all this reduncancy not one drop shall be spilt, or run waist for all the overflowings of sweetness and glory do run back again into the fountain, in streams, or (rather) in the flames of love and admiration; they take in by fruition, and give out again by praise and admiration.  
And thus of all other the unconceivable Beatitudes of glory, there shall be satiety without nauseating, so that they shall say they have enough, without envying others, or wishing more for themselves. Now they may have some fits of joy, but then they shall have their fill; even the external senses of the glorified body shall now contain more glory, 
2 Cor. 4.17  than the spiritual senses of their Souls were capable of in this imperfect state. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a pressing or oppressing weight.  The Saints shall have as much glory as they are able to stand under; hence we read of a weight of glory, a weight that would utterly sink and crush them into nothing, were there not an Arm of Omnipotence to sustain them, and to make them bear it, as their Crown, not as a burden, with ease and delight.  
Suitableness is another Ingredient into Fruition, 
5 Ingredient Suitableness.  without which both the former, scil. both Intimacy and Fullness would be a burden, and not a bliss; suffering rather than fruition. In the choice of our inferior felicities in this life, whether things or persons, we have more respect to the suitableness of them, than to their preciousness: the just content of the married estate consists not in the rareness of beauty, or largeness of portion or possessions, no, not (always) in the eminency of grace, but in the suitableness of disposition; and so our experience will tell us of all other states and conditions in the world; and this is the great infelicity of this present world, that it affords it not such an absolute parity between the person and the possession (from the King upon the Throne, to the Hermit in the Cave) as that a Person should be found that can say (unless it be upon the account of gracious submission to the divine will) I would not wish my condition other than it is.  
This is only Heaven's prerogative: All the Beatitudes of that upper world, both in their nature and degree, shall be most agreeable to the constitution of the Saints; in their nature, they being suitable to the nature of the Saints, to the heavenly Principles of purity and holiness communicated to them from the divine nature; both the objects and subjects of glory are of one and the same constitution. This must needs breed unconceivable delight.  
And as suitable are all the Joys of Heaven in their degrees and proportions to the heavenly capacities: 
The Objects of glory.  neither too much, nor too little, nor too heavy for the Saints to bear, nor too light, neither too vehement, nor overflat.  
The weight of that prepared glory shall not be heavier than those blessed Souls shall be well able to sustain with exceeding pleasure, neither shall it be so light, that they shall be able to say, I could bear more.  
The light of glory shall not hurt the organ, by an over-vehement brightness; neither yet shall there be the least dimness in it, to abate the delight of the acutest sense.  
The language of the new Jerusalem, 
Isai. 33.19. Gal. 4.26.  shall be one and the same throughout all the streets thereof; not a speech deeper than the meanest Saint can perceive, nor a barbarous tongue that they cannot understand shall be heard there, but the Mother-language, intelligible and Isacile to be understood and spoken, by the meanest Inhabitant, shall be the language of the upper Canaan, that all may hear, and all may understand, to their unspeakable satisfaction.  
The music of Heaven shall be sweetest melody to every ear, and though it consists of the rarest strains, and most delicate airs, that ever ear heard, yet it shall not transcend the skill of the lowest capacity, but the meanest Chorister in the heavenly Temple shall bear his part with the most Seraphic Angel, in the higher or lower praises of the most high God in most perfect Symphony.  
The infinite variety of most luscious delicacies, wherewith the Table shall be spread, where Abraham and all his spiritual Seed shall be feasted, shall consist of relishes suitable to the palate of every Guest there; what is fancied of the Manna of the nether heavens, shall be fully verified of the Manna of the third heaven; it shall give that taste to every , which every  likes best, yea, all the Saints shall be but of one and the same guest, the delight of one is the delight of all.  
In a word, all the Objects of glory do hit the faculty with a most perfect and commensural proportion: there is nothing in heaven to offend or grieve the least in the Kingdom of God, yea, which is not of the most absolute complacency.  
Earth is a place of mixture and composition, somewhat suitable, and somewhat unsuitable; some pleasure, some vexation: Hell and Heaven are the extremes: Hell is a place of unmixed torment, nothing there but what is renitency to the will of the damned; nothing present but what the Reprobate would not; nothing absent but what he wisheth for.  
Heaven is a place of unmixed joy; 
Nullum bonum abesset hominis quod recta voluntas op●ar● possit. Aug. De Ci. vit. Dei.  nothing wanting of all that blessed Souls can rationally desire; nothing absent, the absence whereof can possibly give any check to their fullest delight.  
And though possibly there may be several orbs of glory, (for as one Star differeth from another in glory, so also is the Resurrection of the dead) yet shall not the inferior orb envy the superior, nor think itself too low; there shall be no such voices heard from the mouth of any the meanest Inhabitant, Oh were I but in such a superior orb I should be happy, such a Mansion would please me better: This would destroy fruition, and make heaven cease to be heaven: but no such whisper is to be heard, no such thought in that holy Mountain; because, the glory of one is the glory of all, and every Saint is as happy in another's fullness, as in its own; yea, it enjoyeth its own and the others glory too; the narrowest capacity is widened by the others fullness; the joy of one is the joy of all.  
In a word, the Saints shall live in love, and have all in him who is all, not so much as wishing their fellow Saints less, or themselves more, nor any thing in that whole world of felicities otherwise than it is. This is fruition.  
Oh that all that have this bope in them would study to begin this life here below!  
The next property of this fruition is Fixedness: 
6. Fixedness.  There be of those things in the world which men call felicities, which (if they be not mistaken in their nature) to be sure they will find floating and unfixed. There is scarce a comfort which we possess in this movable world, that we can find the same at the years end, or at the month's end, which we fancy them to be at the beginning: all our most beautiful objects, how quickly they change colour, and our very options grow stolen upon our hands, In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up, in the evening it is cut down and withereth, 
1 Pet. 1.4.  Psal. 90 6. But blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us to an inheritance, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Isidore. Semper vivens.  uncorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away; the heavenly inheritance is compared to that precious stone that cannot be soiled; (as one of the Ancients writes) and to a choice flower that never withereth, but is always green. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 1 Cor. 7.31. 1 John 2.18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a mathematical figure. Rev. 4.8. Mat. 18.10. Worldly pleasures engratiate themselves by intermission: Voluptates commendst rarior usus. Whereas heavenly pleasures heighten and advance themselves by fixed and constant emanations.   
The world is compared to a Stage, where the Scene is quickly changed, and another face of things doth suddenly appear; but Heaven is a place of fixed and immutable beatitudes: Heaven is still of one fashion, their work the same, they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.  
And their joy the same; They do always behold the face of their heavenly Father. They are in God, like God, Yesterday, and to day, and the same for ever; with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. The Saints in Heaven are so far from mutation, that there is no shadow of it. Here on earth our choicest delights meet with changes; created beings show their face a while, then hid it again; their colour goes and comes, they are always in motu & fluxu. Godly acquaintance is sweet, but the farewell is bitter; we call at the door, and sip of the cup, but we cannot stay by it. The best of our time is but a seventh part of it, and how woefully full of diversions! Such is our heaven on earth; but our heaven in glory, or our glory in heaven, is not so, God is the only unchangeable object of the Soul; there the Soul stays, and sucks, and drinks immeasurably, and yet there is not a drop less in the object.  
A seventh property is Reflextion. 
7. Property, Reflection.  Reflection is one of the choicest Ingredients into Fruition: to enjoy Heaven in all the beatitudes thereof, and to know I do enjoy it, this is the beatitude of all beatitudes. Direct Acts and Privileges of Grace, scil. to believe, to love Christ, to be united to him, to have communion with him, to be clothed with his Righteousness, to be acted by his Spirit, etc. these may make a Christian safe, but (alone) they cannot make him sure: these may constitute a Christian happy, but not give him the comfort of his happiness: and how many precious Saints of God are there in this vale of tears, whose all consists in these bare naked direct acts; the newborn Babe, 
Vivit & est vitae nescius ipso suae.  oft like the natural Babes in the womb, hath spiritual life in him, but he knoweth it not? how many gracious Souls believe, but know not they do believe? Yea, cannot believe, they do believe? They think they have no grace, because they have so much corruption; they think they have no grace, because they have not so much grace as they would have; they love Christ, but know not they love Christ: they covet so much love to Christ, that they seem to themselves to have none at all; they are united to Christ, and have communion with him, but can apprehend neither this nor the other. Et sic in caeteris.  
And this is that which makes their lives so uncomfortable to them for the present, 
Psal. 42.9.  and causeth them to go mourning all the day long; yea, sometimes with Mary, they talk with Christ, and Christ with them, but their eyes are held, they know him not. Christ and the Soul speak like strangers one to another, 
John 20.15.  Woman, saith Christ: Sir, saith the Soul: Until Christ be pleased to speak in a more familiar dialect, better understood by the poor Believer, (Marry) and then the ravished Soul turns itself unto him, 
ver. 16.  and springing into his arms, cries out, (Rabboni) My Master, my Lord and my God.  
It fareth with many a poor believer here in the wilderness of desertion, 
Gen. 21.16.17.18: Isai. 12.3.  as it did with Hagar in hers, they sit down to die, for want of water, when there is a well before them; yea, 
ver. 19  many a well of living water (the precious promises) out of which wells of salvation they might with joy draw water, and drink and forget their sorrows; but alas they see them not, until God open their eyes, and then they can go and fill their bottles, and drink, and cause others to drink also. This is oft the state of the way! Oh but now, in the Country, the land of fruition, there the Saints have their reflext Acts as well as their direct Acts; they see, and they know they see; they love, and they know they love; yea, they are beloved, and they know they are beloved: They are bathing themselves in the Rivers of pleasures, and they know where they are, and what they do: All tears are wiped from their eyes, and they know who wiped them off with the kisses of his mouth. They are safe, yea, and they are sure; they are blessed, and they know they are blessed. The Spouse is now got into the Throne, the bosom of her Beloved, the King of Glory, and there she singeth (and she sins not in it as the Harlot did) Here I sit as a Queen, 
Rev. 18.7.  and am no widow, and shall see sorrow no more for ever.  
In a word, all the acts of love, and joy, and delight in Heaven, are acts of highest assurance, without the least mixture of doubt and uncertainty. There is no fear in this love, because love being now perfected, hath cast out fear. And now the Saints come to see the reason of their love to God to be God's love to them, and the reason of God's love to them to be God himself; and in this the Soul sweetly acquiesceth triumphing for ever; I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine; for he hath loved me with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness will he draw me, and I shall remain in his love for ever.  
Eighth, Freshness. 
8. Properly, Freshness.  The Joys of the glorified Saints are always fresh from the Springhead, that makes them so sweet and luscious: what we receive by the mediation of Creature-Conduits, loseth much of its native delicacy. Heaven is an Inheritance incorruptible, 
1 Pet. 1 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Drusius. The name of a flower called Amarantus.  and that fadeth not away: It is incorruptible, not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only that cannot die, but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, not obnoxious to corruption, it is made all of materials that cannot corrupt; and as it is in incorruptible, so it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 also, still fresh and green.  
Adam and Eve were created in the prime ripeness and bravery of the humane nature, in perfection of beauty and strength, and such shall all the Saints be restored, of what age and state of body soever they lay down in the grave; the Children of the Resurrection shall rise (in the morning) in the most sparkling gallantry of youth, and in that posture shall be for ever. Like as the Angels are pictured to us, in the adult and perfect beauty of youth, not (indeed) of infancy, that would import immaturity; nor yet of old age, that would intimate a declining state; but (I say) of youth, to show they still retain the vive impressions of their first Creation.  
The most delicate of all our sublunary delights, of which we are (at first) so fond, that we cannot spare them a moment out of our eye, but are always courting of them, and solacing ourselves in their fruition, do quickly grow stolen and flat upon our hands.  
What is storied of Tithon, a beautiful active young man, holds full analogy with all our Creature-felicities; Aurora (for the elegancy of his person and industry) begged him of Jupiter to be her Husband; withal praying, that he might never die; both which Jupiter granted; but she, through her womanish inadvertency, forgetting to pray that he might not grow old as well as not die, in his old age he grew impotent and burdensome to himself, and to Aurora too; so that repenting of her choice, Jupiter out of pity turned him into a Grasshopper.  
Such are all our worldly beatitudes, we would fain espouse them to ourselves, and write eternity upon them; but how brave and sprightly soever they appear in our first appetitions of them, they quickly grow old and fastidious, and signify no more than so many impotent Grasshoppers.  
But now there is no such thing in Heaven; there is eternity but no old age; the joys of heaven are always young.  
The flowers of Paradise, of which the Saint's Posy is made, do neither whither nor change colour, the drops of their morning dew standing thick upon them (like orient Pearls) preserve them in their perpetual verdure and odoriferousness.  
God himself the fountain and spring of all those glorious beings, is not a moment older than he was from all eternity; and therefore all their fresh springs being in God, their roots feed their branches with continual and unchangeable moisture and influence.  
God, who is an Object of infinite fullness, doth always feast the glorified Saints and Angels with fresh visions of delight and wonder.  
Yea, God himself, the fountain and springhead of all those glorious Beatitudes, doth wash their roots perpetually with fresh moisture and influence: though God be but one and the same ineffable essence, yet he being an Object of such infinite fullness, it cannot be conceived, but he must needs feast the eye of the glorified Angels and Saints with fresh discoveries of delight and wonder to all eternity; so that they can never be cloyed or forfeited with the same beatifical vision.  
All the joys of Heaven are present; 
9 Property, Present.  there is nothing in the beatifical vision antecedaneous or future: but as God himself is but one pure Act or Being, always the same, from eternity to eternity, so are all the felicities of Heaven.  
There are no fragments in glory: There is nothing in glory which shall be, and is not; nor any thing in fruition which shall ever cease or change.  
Glory borrows that immense title of the God of Glory, (what the Jews say of the ten Commandments) is, 
Rev. 1.4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  and was, and is to come; a name that is not to be divided or taken asunder, but must be spoken all together in one word.  
So Is, as that it was, so was as that it shall be, so shall be as that it is: Eternity is a single Point, such are all the blessednesses of the Saints, were, and are, and shall be: so Past, as to come, and so to come as present, this is a mystery, and it is marvellous in our eyes.  
Out of these nine Ingredients or Properties there ariseth a tenth, the very top of all, scil. Delight and Complacency; 
10 Property. Complacency.  and this makes Heaven to be Heaven indeed, the joy of the Lord, even the same joy which God himself possesseth; the same for kind, though not for degree.  
Propriety, Possession, Intimacy, Suitableness, Satiety, Reflection, Immutability, they all meet in God essentially, making up an infinite delight and complacency in the Saints and Angels, they are perfectly, though bounded and limited according to the capacity of the Creature, 
We cannot conceive it until it receive us.  making up a delight and joy, which (on this side Heaven) passeth all understanding; of which the Psalmist sings,  
In thy presence is fullness of joy, 
Psal. 16.11.  and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.  
Behold faith in the glorious Redeemer doth (at times) raise the Soul of the poor Believer to a marvellous high pitch of joy and ravishment, 
1 Pet. 1.8.  Whom having not seen ye love, in whom, though ye now see him not, yet believing ye rejoice, with joy unspeakable and full of glory.  
The expression is very full, faith brings the Soul in love with an unseen Christ, and fills the heart with joy; not ordinary joy, such as men do easily express upon all occasions, but unspeakable, the heart conceives such joy that the tongue cannot utter, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, ineffabilis. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  yea, it is not to be uttered by the tongue of men or Angels; it cannot be spoken, it is ineffable, and that is not all, it follows, it is glorious, and our translation gives it an addition very emphatical, 
Of the Saints j●y and delight in heaven, see incomparable Mr. Baxter's Saints everlasting rest, p. 41 part. 1. And else where abundantly.  full of glory; and yet that reacheth not the top of this joy, for the Greek signifieth not glorious only, but Glorified: faith fills the heart with glorified joy, a joy that rivals (as it were) the joy of the glorified Saints, a joy which sets the Soul for the present above itself, and puts it into Heaven before its time. Oh Christians, if faith, (which must not enter in within the veil) can transport the Soul into such ecstatical raptures, what can vision and fruition do? Oh the mountings of mind, the ravishing joys of heart, the solace of soul, which glorified Saints possess in the beatifical vision!  
The Soul shall live in joy, and be filled with delight in the mirror of all delights; love and joy shall run in a circle, and mutually empty themselves into one another, love shall dissolve into joy, and joy shall resolve into love, a River, an Ocean of unmixed Complacency, wherein the Soul shall bathe itself for ever  
The Saints are so pleased with their own beatitudes, that as they cannot spare any joy they have, so they know not what their souls can wish for more. This is pure complacency, there are none above them that they need envy, none beneath them capable of their pity. Oh blessed state!   

The fourth and last Privilege contained in cohabitation, is Conformity.  
Even in the Evangelical state below, Conformity is the fruit of vision, vision produceth Assimilation.  We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, 
2 Cor. 3.18.  are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 
Surely the heavenly vision will beget so much more full and perfect conformity, by how much the mirror is more vital and energetical: The Apostle reacheth forth, this blessed truth and the reason of it together, as a known Doctrine.  
Beloved, now we are the Sons of God, 
1 John 3 2.  that were dignity enough for a poor sinner (one would think) I but that's not all; it is well, and it shall be better. God hath laid out much upon us; but how much glory he hath laid up for us we cannot conceive; it doth not yet appear what we shall be! This only we know, that when he shall appear we shall be like him! That's infinite honour indeed! But how doth he prove it? Why, he proves our conformity from our vision, we shall be like him, for we shall see him: Him, ver. 3. God in Christ; the Godhead in the glorified humane nature of Jesus Christ, even while he was here in the days of his flesh; the flesh of Christ was a, veil, 
1 Tim. 3. 1●.  through which the deity of Christ did appear, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, God was conspicuous in the humane nature; 
John 1.14.  the invisible God was, as it were, made visible in a body of flesh: We beheld his glory (says the Evangelist) if it were so upon earth, how much more will it be verified in heaven? The glorified body of our Lord will be as transparent glass, through which the glorious beams of Divinity will display themselves to the eye of the blessed beholders: And in the beholding whereof there will go forth a transforming virtue which will change them into the same Image; if it were so, I say, in the Gospel vision, how much more will it be so in the beatifical? 
The Soul by enjoying God cometh nearer to the pleasure of God himself.  The sight of God hath a conforming power in it to assimilate the beholder into the likeness of God, he converts all into its own nature; God as he is a consuming fire to the wicked, so he is a purifying refining fire to the Saints, by purifying out their dross to make them partakers of his holiness, Heb. 12.10. It was the design of their correction in this world, and the perfecting of that conformity is the ultimate and supreme design of the facial vision: we shall be like him, for we shall see him; we shall be as he is, when we shall see him as he is: we shall be like him:  
Like him in 

Our Souls.  
Our Bodies.    
Like him in our Souls; like him in all the faculties of our Souls: 
The Saints like God in their understanding.  our understandings shall be like the divine understanding; we shall know all things, past, present, and to come; we shall know all things as God knows them, for we shall know all things, and see all things in God, ut supra.  
Then Adam (for the promise of a Redeemer being first preached to him, 
Gen. 3.15.  and that by God himself, giveth us more than a probable ground to believe that he is in heaven) Adam, I say, shall have his ambition satisfied in a better sense than he intended, o● the Tempter suggested, of being like unto God knowing good and evil; 
Gen. 3.5.  now he knows universal good, to be filled and satisfied with it; and evil in all the distinctions of it as it is now (through the infinite grace of a Redeemer) the Tempter's portion and not his own.  
The will is made like unto God's will, not a fountain indeed, but a large vessel full of goodness and holiness; the Saints shall be holy as God is holy, pure as God is pure, perfect as he is perfect; they were so on earth, truly; now in Heaven they are so, perfectly; the will shall be as holy as it would be, as holy as the holy God would have it be, so holy that there will be mutual joy and delight, between God and the Saints, in the contemplation of their holiness, the Saints shall rejoice in the holiness of God, that they have such an holy God, it was their duty in the state of Grace, Psal. 30.4. Sing unto the Lord, oh ye Saints of his, give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness: 
They rest not, and yet they are not w●●●y Rom. 4.8.  It is their work and wages, their labour and their rest now, in the state of glory: They rest not day nor night saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, etc. See how the Saints are ravished with the contemplation of God's holiness, they double and triple the mention of this glorious attribute, they cry, Holy, holy, holy, for once Almighty, etc.  
And it seems God (if I may so say) is as much taken with the beauty of their holiness; they have their denomination from their holiness, Saints, in English, Holy ones, such as God accounts to be his Inheritance, yea, the glory of it; they were so while they were below; 
Eph. 1.18.  The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints: What is it above, where their holiness is consummate, where the Saints are now presented by Christ, a glorious Church, even (like their God) glorious in holiness, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  not having spot or wrinkle, neither sin, nor shadow of sin, neither spot nor appearance of a spot, but holy and without blemish, immaculate holiness! there is not so much as a stained thought, not an inordinate motion, in the whole Region of Heaven to defile that upper world; this God delights in, because in the holiness of the Saints he sees the reflection of his own face, God pleaseth himself to see, how like himself he could make a Creature! such was the design in the first Creation; Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness, 
Gen. 1.26.  (it was the counsel of the thrice blessed Trinity:) and now though once it suffered a miscarriage, it is perfected with advantage by the second Adam. 
They will what God willeth, and nill what God nilleth.  An Argument that it was not a miscarriage of improvidence, but of ordination: In a word, in Heaven there is but one will between God and the Saints, and that will is Gods.  
Moreover, 
In their affections, Love, Hatred, Joy. His exaltation to the right hand of his Father. Isai. 62.5.  the Saints are like God in their affections. They love what God loveth, and hate what God hateth, their joy is God's joy; they rejoice in God and in his glory, they rejoice in Jesus Christ their Bridegroom, and he rejoiceth in them; As the Bridegroom rejoiceth over the Bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee; that was but the word spoken to the Church at her Espousals, what must the joy be (think we) upon her wedding-day.  
All the affections which either were inordinate, or suitable only to the imperfect state, as envy, malice, fear, hope, desire, etc. they are all abolished, as either inconsistent with or useless to the heavenly state; and therein consists no small part of their conformity to God, as being capable of nothing which denoteth infirmity or imperfection.  
The Saints are like God in their memories, they shall have holy memories; their memories shall be like the Ark of the Covenant, which was overlaid with gold, wherein (according to the Apostles Inventory) were 
The golden Pot that had Manna.  
And Aaron's Rod that budded.  
And the Tables of the Covenant,   
The Ark of the Memory now overlaid with glory, likewise shall contain the Manna that Angelical food of Word, Sacraments, Promises, Ordinances, Providences, Experiences, wherewith God was wont to feed the Soul, while in the wilderness of the world.  
Aaron's Rod that budded, God's fatherly Rod of correction, which though for the present seemed not joyous but grievous, yet afterward it yielded the peaceable fruits of Righteousness, 
Heb. 12.11.  in them that were exercised thereby.  
And the Tables of the Covenant: The two Covenants, which God made with man; the one of Works, the witness of God's holiness and perfection; the other of Grace, the witness of God's goodness and commiseration.  

The Covenant of Works, the standing evidence of man's guiltiness.  
The Covenant of Grace, the standing evidence of God's righteousness.  
The Covenant of works the lasting monument of man's impotency and changeableness.  
The Covenant of Grace the everlasting monument of God's omnipotence and immutability.   
These, with all the particulars included in either, are the chief things which shall fill the memory, and the remembrance of them, comparing the type with the antitype (if I may so say, things passed with things present) will fill the Soul with admiration and delight.  
If any thing of evil do occur, whether of 

sin,  
affliction,   as soon as ever it enters within that glorious firmament, it loseth the nature of evil, and is naturalised into matter of rejoicing and thankfulness.  
In a word, the entire Image of God, 
Eph. 5.1. It was their duty in the state of grace, it shall be their infinite dignity in the state of glory.  which was imprinted upon the Soul in the first Creation, and reprinted upon it (though in an imperfect character) in the new Creation, shall now be perfected to the life in the Regeneration, the Saints shall be as like God as ever they can look, as like God as ever Children were like their Father; so that there will be nothing but looking and liking the one upon the other.  
Prevent that holy gaze now, oh ye children of the most high God, be often taken up in the beholding and contemplation of the face of your heavenly Father; behold, will it not 

Quicken you to duty?  
Comfort you in your droopings?  
'Cause you to overlook the contempt of the world with an holy pride?  
And even be the dawnings of glory upon your faces, whereby some line and lineaments of beauty shall be added daily to that blessed draught begun already against that day!    
Once more before we go off from this pleasing contemplation, add we,  
The very bodies of the Saints shall share in this blessed conformity as well as the soul: It had its degree in the first Paradise, man had a kind of resemblance to God in the very make of his body, 
The bodies of the Saints. Os homini sublims d●dit, caelumque tueri jussit, etc.  beautiful; upright, active, no such visible picture of God, in Heaven or Earth, as man was, not Sun, Moon, or Stars, not Earth, and Sea, or the visible Heavens themselves have so much of their Maker in them as the body of man; his very corporeal senses had much of God in them, they were Vestigia Dei, though not Imago, one might easily have known who was their Father.  
But now in glory, saith the Apostle,  
Our vile body shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body. 
Phil. 3.21.   
The glorified body of Christ, next to the divine essence, (to which it is hypostatically united) shall be the glory and the wonder of Heaven, and our body, saith the Apostle, shall be like his, conformable unto his glorious body.  
What a mirror of glory will the Saints be in their souls conformed to the divine nature, and their body conformed to the glory of the humane nature of Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory! Oh wonderful astonishing transfiguration!  
Well said the Apostle, It doth not yet appear what we shall be; surely eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither can it enter into the heart of man, etc.  
This will be an infinite compensation to the Saints of God, for all their holy endeavours of being like to God, that as obedient Children they have been followers of their heavenly Father, 
Eph. 5.1.  and for all the reproaches and abasements they sustained from a reprobate world because of those endeavours.  
The earth was not able to bear the hard speeches, wherewith the enemies of God have reproached the footsteps of Gods anointed one's, labouring to insist in the steps of their heavenly Father, willing to be Nonconformists to the will and lusts of men, and striving to be conformable to the will and pattern of their holy King and Law giver the Lord Jesus the King of Saints: Now I say, it shall be no shame nor grief of heart unto them, when they shall reap the fruit of their weak and imperfect conformity on earth, in the most full and perfect consummation of that conformity in heaven; when behold whatsoever is glorious and wonderful in the person of their glorious Redeemer, or in the thrice glorious and blessed Trinity, the very print and Character of it shall be stamped upon the glorified Saints (in their created capacities) causing them to appear not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as so many Angels, but even to resemble God himself, and to shine as so many Christ's in the Kingdom of their heavenly Father; and they that laughed them to scorn shall see it, and their faces being filled with shame, their consciences with horror, and their hearts with envy; they shall now revile and curse themselves, howling out, 
Wisd. 5.4.  We fool's accounted their lives madness, etc.  
Oh how much better are the reproaches of Christ, than all the grandieur and applause in the world! Be of good cheer, all ye Servants of God, the time is coming when you shall not repent of your conformity to God and Christ in holiness, but shall ever sing, I thank the Lord who gave me counsel, and taught me to choose the better part, which shall never be taken away from me.  
I come now to the Compliment and perfection of this last fruit and consequent of Christ his coming (the Saint's cohabitation and fellowship with the Lord) namely, The extent and duration of it in this particle ever.  We shall ever be with the Lord. 
The extent and duration ever.  
Ever, a little word, but of immense signification! a Child may speak it, 
It was a witty reply of a Grandchild of Doctor Reynolds (now Bishop of Norwich) He ask the Child, How long Eternity is? The Child answered, If you will tell me how long half eternity is, I will tell you how long whole eternity is.  but neither Man nor Angel can understand it. Oh who can take the dimensions of eternity? Yea, who can tell me how long half eternity is? Behold I show you a Mystery, half eternity is eternity; yea, every part and particle of eternity is eternity; for eternity is not made up of hours, or days, or years, or lustrums; or jubiles, or ages, or millions of Ages, the whole space between the creation of the world and the dissolution of it, would not make a day in eternity; yea, so many years as there be days in that space would not fill up an hour in eternity. Eternity is one entire Circle, beginning and ending in itself. This present world, which is measured out by such divisions and distinctions of times, is therefore mortal, and will have end, 2 Cor. 4.18.  
If eternity did consist of finite times (though never so large and vast) it would not be eternity, but a longer tract of time only; that which is made up of finite is finite. Eternity is but one immense indivisible point, wherein there is neither first nor last, 
Deus est octus simplicissimus ex quo omnia s●nt & in ●uem omnio redeu●  beginning. nor ending, succession or alteration, but is like God himself, one and the same for ever.  
From hence we infer this Doctrine.  

The blessedness of the Saints in Heaven is everlasting.  
Their presence with God is ever.  
Their vision is ever.  
Their fruition is ever.  
Their conformity to God is ever. We shall ever be with the Lord.   
Quest. But why? What good have the Saints done to merit such an ever of bliss.  
Answ. Nay Christians, if we go that way to work, we shall be sure to fall short of this ever. An Heaven proportionable to the Saints merit is not to be found, unless it be amongst their Antipodes in the Regions of darkness (if there be an heaven there:) The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Rom. 6. ult.   
Hell is the wages of sin, pure and proper merit; but Heaven is a free gratuitous gift, a gift in regard of us, though merit in regard of Christ. Eternal life is the gift of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  
So that if it be demanded, Why Heaven must be for ever?  
The first and only account of merit is the blood of Jesus Christ; the Saints were once a lost generation, 
Reasons why the Saints reward in glory must be for ever. 1. Christ's merit.  that had sold themselves and their inheritance too, and had not wherewithal to redeem either.  
But they had a near Kinsman (even their elder Brother by the Mother's side) to whom the right of redemption did belong, who being a mighty man of wealth, the Heir of all things, undertook to be their Goel, and (out of his own proper substance) to redeem both them and their inheritance; them to be his own inheritance, Ephes. 1.10. and Heaven to be theirs, 1 Pet. 1.4. And therefore had Heaven been but a moment short of eternity, the Redeemer had over-bought it, for he laid out the infinite treasures of his blood upon the purchase, the blood of God: 
Acts 20.28.  had not Heaven been infinite also, as in value, so likewise in duration, it had not stood with the justice of God, or his love to his Son, to have taken so dear for it.  
It is this ever in the Text, which makes Heaven to be but an even bargain; were there a period of time (though after the revolution of never so many Ages) wherein the purchase were to expire, Price, and Inheritance, and Heirs, were all lost for ever.  
Behold this is the first Reason.  
A second account may be in respect of the elect themselves. 
2. Reason. Saints have immortal Souls.  The Saints have immortal souls, souls that have an ever stamped upon them; an ever, a part post, an enduring ever, though not (a part ante) a beginning ever, or rather an ever without beginning; of such an ever the Saints were uncapable: God himself (with holy reverence be it spoken) could not have bestowed such an ever upon the Creatures, for than he must have made them so many Gods; and this God could not do, and that because he is omnipotent; there is but one supreme, but one omnipotent; but now an ever, a part post, an enduring ever, God by divine Covenant conferred upon their souls, and will invest their bodies also with at the Resurrection, that so eternal Being's might be capable of eternal Rewards, the wicked of torments, the godly of bliss, both eternal; If there were not this ever upon the beatitudes, as well as upon the persons of the Saints, they would be extremely losers by it, and outlive their own happiness.  
Thirdly, 
3. Reason. Saint's Graces are eternal.  Such a cessation of the joys of Heaven would be as inconsistent with the Saints Graces, as it is with their beings; God hath beautified their immortal souls with immortal graces, 
1 Cor. 13. ult.  their love abides for ever, their zeal is eternal, their holiness eternal, and all their qualifications for glory are eternal, and can their glory itself be mortal? It were in vain to contend for perseverance in Grace, should we admit falling away from Glory. Poor Saints indeed, if neither grace here, nor glory hereafter could secure their happiness! Were grace (indeed) amissable in this life, and glory in the future, the foundation of the Lord were not sure, and the Saints of all men most miserable! Such a cessation is totally inconsistent with the Orthodox faith, as well as with the wisdom of God; who certainly if he had furnished the Saints with immortal principles and qualifications for an heaven which would or might determine, had taken far more care upon the Mediums than upon the End: And oversight incompatible with a wise man, much more with the only wise God.  
But the main pillars upon which this blessed Article of our faith (everlasting life) is built, 
The Attributes of God the main pillars of Heaven's eternity. 1. The Wisdom of God.  are the glorious Attributes of God: I shall therefore pursue the discovery of this delightful contemplation unto the Springhead.  
First then, The Wisdom of God is the head corner stone, upon which we build the belief of this Doctrine, Heaven's eternity.  
Not to recur to any thing already spoken, I shall only take the hint of the Psalmists Question, Psal. 89.47. Wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? For the better understanding whereof, we are to take notice, that the rise of the Question is a passionate complaint of the Prophet, concerning the brevity and misery of the present life, in Job's phrase (Heb.) Short of days and full of trouble: In the former part of the verse, Lord, remember how short my time is.  
And in this latter part of the verse he doth, as it were, expostulate the case with God, why God would have it so? Wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?  
In which words, although he seem to ask God the question, yet he giveth himself the answer, and the answer is negative, q. d. No: God made not men in vain: It is not possible that the Wisdom of God should make such an excellent Creature as man (the masterpiece of the whole nether world) to no purpose: It cannot be, that God should bring in such a Creature only to take a turn or two in the world, and then to disappear, never to be heard of any more! What then? Why thence he doth rationally infer, that certainly in man's creation God had a design upon him, in order to a future estate: And what was that? But what the wise man discovers to us, 
Prov. 16, 4.  The Lord hath made all things for himself, i. e. for his own glory; scil. The wicked for the day of evil, to the manifestation of his justice, and the godly for the day of redemption, to the exaltation of his free grace; in both which (however the wicked may seem in this world to go unpunished, and the godly unrewarded yet) God will have time enough to make reparations to his justice in another world; hell and heaven will make amends for all.  
But now after all this, should there be a period wherein the flames of hell should be extinguished, or the joys of heaven annihilated, if after the first creation suffered a miscarriage, the second also should prove an abortion, if man should outlive his heavenly Paradise as he did the earthly (though his lease should be made for never so many lives) this would but aggravate the vanity of his creation, and we must needs approve of Solomon's choice, Wherefore I praised the dead more than the living, 
Eccles. 4.2, 3.  yea, better is he than both they which hath not yet been: Surely such an improvidence is totally inconsistent with that immense understanding, whose most just tile is, The only wise God.  
This then is the first account of this ever here in my Text, God's wisdom.  
Another Attribute upon which this beatifical Truth standeth is, 
2. Attribute, The Truth of God.  The veracity and truth of God: the future estate both of the reprobate and of the elect, is every where in Scripture held out to us with a note of eternity.  

That of the reprobate: Eternal judgement, Heb. 6. everlasting sire, Mat. 18.8. and 25.41.  
Eternal fire, Judas 7. unquenchable fire, Matth. 3.12 Luke 3.17. fire that is not to be quenched, ver. 44. fire that never shall be quenched; ver. 43. after never so many years and ages of continuance, it is still wrath to come, everlasting darkness, Judas 6.  
It seems though there be fire enough in hell, there is no light in that fire, even those flames are darkness, and that darkness everlasting; fire for heat, but not for light; whatever is afflictive, within hell nothing thats refreshive, that's dreadful.  
The worm that shall never die.  
Everlasting destruction, 2 Thes. 1.9.   
And as that of the reprobate is, so 

This of the elect is expressed under the like notions, not a moment short of eternity: the Father of Glory, who best knew what he had begotten, baptizeth it with that name. 

Eternal glory, 2 Tim. 2.10. 1 Pet. 5.10.  
Everlasting life, fourteen times so called in the new Testament, and once in the old, Dan. 12.2.  
Eternal life, thirty times so called by the Evangelists and Apostles.  
Everlasting Kingdom, 2 Pet. 1.11.  
Enduring substance, Heb. 10.34.  
An incorruptible Crown, 1 Cor. 9.25.  
Pleasures for evermore, Psal. 16. ult.  
A Kingdom that 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Not fluctuating or floating up and down, as all sublunary Kingdom and glory.  cannot be moved, Heb. 12.18:  
An eternal weight of Glory, 2 Cor. 4.17.    
Heaven is a weight of glory; both the Hebrew and Chaldee words signify both weight and glory, Heaven is made all of massy glory; glory that would be too heavy even for the shoulders of glorified Saints, were not underneath them the everlasting arms.    
But as God puts forth omnipotence to cause the damned to subsist under their (otherwise) intolerable pains, for the glory of divine justice; so in Heaven he is pleased to exert the arm of his almighty power, to sustain the Saints under their unconceivable weight of glory, for the more illustrious manifestation of his everlasting love.  
But this is not all; as there is a weight of glory to make heaven as big as the Saints can (joyfully) bear, so that weight must also be eternal, that so the glory may not be too short for them, but every way commensurate to all the dimensions of their souls,  
This, this is the witness and testimony which God himself hath given to the Saints inheritance in light, and to show the infallibility of this testimony, the Apostle gives that glorious character of God, 
Titus 1.2.  God that cannot lie; and that in the very same Scripture wherein he makes this glorious promise— Eternal life, which God that cannot lie hath promised before the world began. Observe it, as if the Apostle by the Spirit did foresee what atheism might object, or weakness of faith might call in question, viz. the eternity of heaven: How can that be? Oh yes, saith the Apostle, it must needs be so, God who cannot lie hath called it eternal life: cannot— he saith not will not, but cannot lie; whereas it might be objected, why the least Child in the world can lie, I but saith the Apostle, God cannot lie, 
Hoc solum omnipotens om nipotenter non potest. Aug.  it is against his essence; It is omnipotence in God that he cannot lie, as Augustine speaks, if he could lie he were not almighty: whoever calls the eternity of the Saints rest in question, at the same time calls in question God's omnipotence as well as his truth, his being as well as his bounty.  
If heaven were but a moment shorter than the measure which the Scripture giveth us, the Apostle had ascribed to God a mistaken title (God that cannot lie) upon such a testimony as this from the mouth of God, how securely may the Saints lie down in their beds of dust, in confidence of enjoying an eternal rest, after the Resurrection?  
A third Attribute which mightily contributes assurance to the faith of heaven's eternity, 
A third Attribute is Immutability.  is God's Immutability. The unchangeableness of his counsel and purpose will set the ever of the Saints vision and fruition of God, beyond all dispute and hesitation. It was the very design and purpose of God upon the Saints in their regeneration and renewing by the Holy Ghost, which he shed upon them abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being justified by his grace, they should be made heirs of eternal life. Did God manifest his eternal purpose to the world, of eternal life, and make such solemn provision for the carrying on that purpose upon the heirs of promise, by interesting the third Person in the glorious Trinity, the Holy Ghost, in it, and after all this can Heaven become but a peradventure and the Saints everlasting communion with God, prove a Scepticisin or ungrounded opinion only? Nay, 
Tit. 3.8.  (saith the Apostle) in the very next verse, This is a faithful saying, i. e. a man may venture his soul upon it, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, i. e. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  assert as a matter of greatest assurance, of which there is no doubt, scil. this grand principle, The eternity of the Saints blessedness, that we should be made heirs of eternal life, and that to this end, that believers may be careful to maintain good works: leave Christians at an uncertainty of an everlasting reward, and farewell good works; men will act arbitrarily where they work doubtfully. Nay, but tell them, The foundation of the Lord stands sure, his counsels and purposes are unchangeable, with him is no variableness, 
Jam. 1.17.  neither shadow of turning; fix their faith upon this bottom, that God's purpose of eternal life is as immutable as God himself, this will set them on work to purpose in the use of all such means as tend to so glorious an end. Did God from eternity purpose salvation to the elect, to eternity? A soul set beyond all suspicion of the accomplishment of this blessed promise, will be careful to maintain good works: so the Apostle follows it home, 1 Cor. 15. ult. Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord: faithful is he that hath called you, who also will do it: Heaven will make amends for all.  
Fourthly, 
4th. Ground, God's morcy.  Such a supposed cessation of Heaven's glory is totally inconsistent with the mercy and goodness of God: that man of God, holy David, gins his Psalm of thanksgiving (in this lower Choir of Saints) with this strain, Oh give thanks unto the Lord, 
Psal. 136.1.  for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever: And having begun in that strain, he can sing no other tune all the Psalm over, it is (as it were) the burden of the Song, For his mercy endureth for ever: And shall we imagine he is now turning his Hallelujahs to a lower key in that celestial Choir, to Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and to the Lamb!  
No, 
Quicquid in Deo Deut. Rom. 9.23.  mercy in God is not a moral or mortal virtue, but an essential Attribute, God himself eternal. Mercy in God hath been from eternity, and shall be to eternity; it can no more out live its objects, the vessels of merey prepared unto glory, than it can cease to be mercy. God is the Father of mercies, and mercy can never go childless; God must exercise the infiniteness of his mercy extensive to all eternity, as well as intensive above all dimensions.  
Fifthly; 
5. Attribute, Omnipotence.  The omnipotence of God doth gratify his mercy in this design, for while mercy poureth in this strong liquor of the Lords joy immeasurably into the vessels of glory, omnipotence doth support and strengthen those vessels that they split not with their own fullness; it were not else imaginable how created vessels should hold uncreated glory and if the vessel should run out, or fail, the I quor would be lost.  
Sixthly, 
6. Attribute, Eternity.  God is eternal, and therefore Heaven must be eternal also. In Heaven there are not second causes, which are obnoxious to contingency or alteration? all causes there are resolved into the first being and sovereign cause, where they remain fixed and immutable, as that immense Being himself, and because he liveth eternally, they shall so live also. The eternity of Gods being layeth the foundation of the eternity of the Saints glory.  

* Rev. 21.23.  The Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the Temple of it, the Sun that shineth there by day, & the Moon by night, are no part of the first Creation, which is to 
† Mat. 5.18.  pass away, but the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof; there shall not be so much as a post of the old fabric in this new building, to infirm or endanger it: God alone is the Roof and Foundation of Heaven, the very Centre and Circumference is God; all the Arches and Pillars of Heaven are made of the Tree of life, in which no worm can breed which may corrode or consume the Saints mansions; no moth is there to fret and eat out the long white robes where with the Saints are adorned; nor Th●ef to break into the Palace of the great King, to steal away their crown from them? There is malice enough indeed in that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Angel of the bottomless pit, and all his cursed Goal-birds, to act such hellish villainies, not upon the Saints only, but upon God himself, even to pull him out of his Throne if they could; but thanks be to God, they are made fast enough in the lowest Dungeon, where they are staked down by a perpetual Decree, and reserved in ●bains of darkness for ever, so that the Saints need not fear that Antichristian brood shall ever break lose to cast in one Granado, or Fireball, into the walls of the new Jerusalem, or to break open the gates thereof to disturb their peace.  
In a word, the Manna of those upper heavens, which is the Angelical food the Saints live on, is not subject to breed worms, which may corrupt their constitution: behold! the worm is only in the nether place of darkness; and yet neither can that eat out any part of the subject on which it feedeth! Oh how sweet would that worm be to the Reprobates, if but once in a thousand years it might eat out but a piece of them, till they were utterly consumed! but woe and alas! the worm knows only how to augment, but not how to shorten the torments of the damned; but as it is a never dying worm itself, so is the miserable subject also upon which it feedeth; there is fire in hell, but it is such only as doth nourish its fuel, not diminish it: Whence should this be, But because the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it? 
Isai. 30. ult.   
And if the justice of God gives eternity both to the torment of hell, and the tormented also to sustain it, how much easier and sweeter is it to conceive; the shine of God's face is both the eternity of the blessed in glory, and of their bliss also.  
It is true indeed, of the nether heavens it is said, they shall perish— yea, all of them shall wax old as doth a garment, as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; but hath he any where said so of the upper heavens too, the seat of the blessed souls, the mansion house of the great King? Surely not: Yea (to use those words in an accommodated sense at least) saith God, 
Isa. 66.22.  The new heavens and the new earth shall remain before me. However, even in contemplating the consummation of these nether heavens, the Psalmist hath a (savoury) But, which will save all harmless, But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.  
Behold, God is the heaven of his Saints, what can put a period to this heaven.  
A seventh Attribute is Love: 
7. Attribute, the Love of God.  Which way should the glory of the Saints come to be extinguished, or so much as eclipsed? If such a thing could be, it must arise from a cessation of divine love, which cannot be supposed: Will God grow weary of their company? Behold! he made them (when he brought them into that state of glory) as perfect as he would have them be (I had well nigh said) as perfect as he could make them, that they might be a meet Bride for his firstborn, his only begotten Son; and now behold, he that hated putting away in the fantastical Jew (unless it were in case of adultery) will he give the Lamb's Wife a Bill of divorce, and put her out of doors in whom (since her first reception) there was never sound the least distoyalty, no not in thought, but remaineth without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, as immaculate as the elect Angels? or must they also far no better than the Angels that kept not their first estate? Must all be cast out for ever, and heaven stand now as an house to be let, without a Tenant? 
Jam. 1.17.  Were not this more than a shadow of turning? Of the Lord and Head of the Saints in the days of his flesh it was said, having loved his own, he loved them to the end: And is his love less now in heaven than it was on earth? Is Christ's love to his Church, now she is his wife, less sincere and intense, than when she was but his Spouse? Did Christ love more ardently at a distance, than now in their mutual embraces? These are prodigious blasphemies, 
Jer. 31.3.  not once to be admitted into our thoughts: Nay, saith God, The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.  
An eighth Attribute is Justice. 
8. Attribute, The justice of God.  The cessation of heaven and hell would utterly destroy divine justice, and make that cease also for ever. Take away those two tremendous patterns of Reward and Punishments, heaven and hell, by which the Saints (here below) do justify God, and vindicate the truth of the Christian Religion against all other Religions in the world, and you cut the very sinews of Religion, and make Laws of God vain and insignificant; you starve the hope of the godly, and extinguish the fear of the wicked.  
Ninthly, A cessation of the joys of Heaven, and of the torments of Hell, would turn Heaven into nothing else but the carnal dream of a Turkish Paradise, and Hell into the ridiculous fancy of a Popish Purgatory. If ever we be happy, we must be assured of the perpetuity of our state, or else the whole vision will be but as a pleasing dream, wherein we may fancy ourselves to be happy, but are indeed miserable in ignorance and mistake.  
Fear of loss will not only lessen the joy of heaven, but turn joy itself into anguish; yea, the damned in hell might seem to have the better of the Saints in glory, by how much hope of deliverance out of present misery is better than the expectation of the loss of present fruitions.  
Surely the love of God never prepared such bitter sweets for his children: neither could I have been induced to have spent so much time in fortifying so grand an Article of our Faith against supposed violence of atheistical spirits, had it not been by occasion hereof to discover the beauty and strength of those pillars, by which this dear-bought truth is supported.  
To conclude, It was not (possibly) without a type that the first Sabbath is mentioned without an evening, and the new Jerusalem had no night, 
Gen. 2.2. Rev. 21.25.  both were prophetic to the eternal Sabbatisme of Heaven; my Text assureth all the Saints of an everlasting fruition of God; Ever with the Lord.  
There was an ever in the will of the Saints to holiness, 
Hell is wrath to come, and Heaven the Saints remaining rest.  and God who takes the will for the deed, doth put an ●ver to their future reward; that hell may be the everlasting witness of divine justice, and heaven the perpetual monument of divine grace.  
Christians, this is the measuring Reed of the new Jerusalem, the Cube of the heavenly Temple, the breadth, and length, and height whereof, none but he that can lay his right hand on the one end of Eternity, and his left hand on the other end, hath given unto us; the computation whereof infinitely exceeds our Arithmetic, yea, the Arithmetic of all the Angels in heaven.  
Those comparisons of the running out of an hourglass by a single sand once in the revolution of a thousand years, (by which computation there would be scarce six sands lessened in the glass since the Creation of the world to this day) or, a little birds carrying away a mountain of sand by one small dust once in a twelve-mouth; the emptying of the Sea by a drop once in an age, and whatever of the like nature, these are but like the span of an Infant to measure the circle of the heavens, so many empty cyphers without a figure to calculate eternity by, though they may seem Hyperboles to our childish capacities; oh who can describe eternity! It is an Ocean without a bottom, it cannot be fathomed, a Sea that can never be sailed over from shore to shore.  
Ever is that which cannot be measured but by itself; ever is that out of which take never so many ages, and worlds of time, there is not a moment less to come, ever is still to begin, never to end; eternity is still entire, a spring which fills as fast as it emties; a vast circle, which gins where it ends, and ends where it gins.  
And now Christians, is this the duration of Heaven? Is this, nothing less than this, the measuring line of the Saints cohabitation with God.  

Their Presence with God  
Their Vision and of God  
Their Fruition of God  
Their Communion with God  
Their Conformity to God   
What? ever with the Lord?  

Oh the purchase of Christ!  
Oh the gift of God  
Oh the love of the Spirit!   
How unscarchable 〈◊〉 his counsels, and his thoughts past finding out! Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!  
And here I might fix a full point to mine own and the Readers labour; but because I find our Apostle closing his words of comfort with a word of counsel, Wherefore comfort one another, etc. give me leave to follow my Guide, and before we dismiss this beatifica? contemplation, let us inquire a little further what blessed improvement may be made of it, even on this side of Eternity!  
And the first Use we may make of it may be that which the Psalmist makes the title of the 32. Use 1 Psalm, (as of some others) Maschil, a Psalm to give instruction. Let this (I say) be a word or Doctrine to teach: And what doth it teach? Even the very sum in the total sum, which David's Psalm there teacheth, namely, who is the truly blessed man, and wherein real blessedness doth consist? Holy David saw the sons of men every where dis-spiriting themselves in the vehement prosecutions of blessedness, every man would be happy, but the mischief is, men seek blessedness where it is not to be found; every one knocks at the wrong door; and therefore he labours to call them off from their mistaken purfuits in some such language, Oh ye sons of men, how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? wherefore do ye spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which saetisfieth not? Come hither, and hearken, and I will show you the thing which you are seeking and hunting after, but in vain; behold! I will show you who is indeed the blessed man, namely, the pardoned man— blessednesses to the man whose transgression is forgiven, 
Alad solum 〈◊〉 ●dest, 〈…〉 pro●●● 〈◊〉, so 〈…〉. 〈…〉 offic.  whose sin is covered, blessednesses to the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity; q.d. other men may seem blessed; to have what one would, and do what one listeth, this may be accounted a ●are felicity amongst sensual men, who live no higher than the brate beasts of the earth, merely by sight and sense; but when all is done, the pardoned man is the blessed man, yea, he is blest, and blest, and blest again, double and triple blessednesses are his portion for ever.  
In like manner we may conceive our holy Apostle calling after sinners, and even beseeching them not to lose themselves and their precious souls in the pursuit of a lie; They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercies: 
Jonah 2.8  Here therefore he discovers to them, who are blessed, and what it is that will make them happy for ever, only with this difference.  David's Maschil in the Psalm describes initial blessedness; the holy Apostle here describes perfect and consummate blessedness. David describes the blessedness of the way: Paul sets forth to us the blessedness of the Country and state whither the Saints are travelling: David speaketh of the blessedness which lieth in order and tendency to blessedness; Saint Paul of ultimate and supreme blessedness, the summum bonum, the chief and most transcendent good which either the Creature is capable of, or God can confer on it, even immediate vision and fruition of himself to all eternity.  

Ever with the Lord.  
Adam by that first candle which God lighted in his first creation, clearly saw in what his summum bonum did confist, and for a moment enjoyed it; but the Angel, who keep not his first estate, envying his happiness, 
Ad solamen calomitat is suae, incipit perditus pordere.  well remembering the method of his own apostasy, tempts him by the same medium of pride to cast himself down from the pinnacle of happiness, whereon he stood, whereby himself fell down from heaven; and the temptation unhappily took, for while Adam was ambitious to be a sun, he miserably put out his candle, and so lost his way and himself too, since which time none of his unhappy posterity could ever (by the help of that snuff which remained) find their way again to true happiness.  
How miserably did the great Sophy's of the world, the Philosophers, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Rom. 21. In their ratiocinations.  those Secretaries of Nature, the reputed Masters of Knowledge and Learning, cum ratione insanire! and in the Apostles language, Grow vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened! How did they weary themselves with the blind Sodomites to grope out the door which openeth to happiness, but lost themselves instead of finding the truth?  
Varro the learnedst of the Romans maketh report of no less than two hundred and eighty Opinions (in his time) concerning man's chiefest good, 
Aul. Gol.  each differing from the other, and all from the truth, as Basilis is reported to have asserted one hundred sixty five Heavens.  
To this very day we see all the sons and daughters of Adam seeking for happiness, but few or none finding what they seek for, all agree in the notion, but they differ in the object. People generally go for happiness to the world's Trinity. 

Scil. The lust of the flesh, 1 John 2.16.  
Scil. The lust of the eyes, 1 John 2.16.  
Scil. The pride of life, 1 John 2.16.   But alas! 
Nihil dat, quòd non bob●●.  these have it not to give; men would fain squeeze that out of the world which God never put into it. As an evidence whereof it is highly observable, that the wisdom of God (who best knows the worth of things) hath not (in that Scripture, 1 John 2.16.) dignified these elements of the world, with those innocent titles of their primitive institution, pleasures, riches, honours, but calls them by the odious names, which the first apostasy, and the habitual degeneracy of nature hath justly imposed, the lust of the flesh instead of pleasures, the lust of the eyes instead of riches, and the pride of life instead of honours; in which respect the Apostle denieth them their original from the Father, and sends them to fetch their pedigree from a lower extraction, nim. from the world, ver. 16.  
And behold! if these objects, which contain in them the utmost latitude of all worldly excellency (and that in their puris naturalibus) were never ordained by the great and wise Creator, for any higher service than of the inferior part of man, the sensitive part (wherein he differs little from the beasts that porish) now, when by the malice of the Devil, and the corruption of man's heart, they are debauched and poisoned into so many snares and temptations, how totally (I say) uncapable are they become, of being an adequate blessedness for immortal souls.  
Such of the sons and daughters of Adam, as have had the candle of the Lord (which was put out by the fall) lighted anew by the Sun of Righteousness, are mightily enabled by the irradiation of the Holy Ghost, to discern the airiness and emptiness of all sublunary and elementary happiness, and to make choice of more solid, supercelestial excellencies for their summum bonum, to sing with the sweet singer of Israel.  In thy presence is fullness of joy, 
Psal. 16. ●●.  and at thy right hand there are pleasunes for evermore. 
Moses in the Old Testament, and Paul in the New, stand as two pillars of fire, to light men the way to true blessedness.  
Moses was courted by all the honours, pleasures and treasures of Egypt, to espouse them as his ultimate and supreme beatitudes, but he shakes them off all (as once Paul the Viper into the fire) not less full of poison than that venomous beast was. 
Acts 28. ●4.   
First, Pride of life, the honour and grandeur of Phara●h's Court came to do him homage; every one in the King's Court (for there he was brought up) bowed the knee, and saluted Moses by the Princelike title of the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter, which signified no less than Heir apparent to the Crown of Egypt, Pharach having then no other Child but that only Daughter, nor she, but Moses, whom she had adopted to be her Son from the Cradle of bulrushes; yet all this glory did Moses, when he came to years (able to make his own choice) refuse, by faith seeing what an hollow insignificant advancement this was; i● was not the Egyptian Monarchy which could make Moses happy, especially in the terms he must take it, namely, to turn Egyptian, and forsake the society of God's people; no, said Moses, I'll have none of it; to suffer with God's people here, and to reign with God hereafter, is a felicity infinitely to be preferred before all the Empires in the world.  
This temptation failing, next succeeded, in the second place, Pleasure, called by the Apostle the lust of the flesh, with her face painted, her locks curled, breasts naked, and impudently solicits Moses his embraces. All the beauties of the King's Court, delicious fare, ravishing music, beautiful gardens, stately walks, fruitful orchards, pools of water, princely sports and pastimes; in a word, all the delights of the sons of men, the sensual fruitions of an Egyptian Paradise; if these can make Moses happy, they are at his service, he may be where he will, and do what he please: oh dangerous temptation! Did it not take? What's the reason? Why, faith here also stepped in to Moses his rescue; Moses by his piercing eye of faith did quickly discern a double blemish in the face of pleasure, though it was never so artificially painted: i. e.  
First, They were but the pleasures of sin, fit for nothing but to defile the soul, and to render it unmeet for communion with God, wherein consists the highest felicity of the humane or of the Angelical nature: sensitive pleasures have more of dregs, intellectual more of the quintessence; the pleasure of the Bee is more refined than the pleasure of a Swine.  
2. Again, another fault he finds in pleasures is, their brevity; as they were the pleasures of sin, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  so they were but for a season; as impure as they were they had no duration, they perish in the using, so soon doth the pleasure of an Epicure whither, he eats, and drinks, and dieth before his morsel or his draught be swallowed. 
The pleasure of taste is but in fine polati, just when it is going off.  Anacreon in the midst of his cups was choked with the husk or kernel of a grape, so did Epicurus himself die with a cup of wine at his mouth; and this was the end of their summum bonum; the sweetest pleasures are the shortest. Moses his Spirit was to august to be filled with a little poisoned air. But.  
3. This offer also thus despised, the Mammon of Egypt presents its self to Moses; (money may tempt him that is not taken with beauty:) What say you Moses, all the treasures of Egypt attend your Highness, ready to make you one of the richest Monarches in the world, for so at that time Egypt was for Jewels, Gold, Silver, precious Stones, all the peculiar treasure of Kings, the most opulentous of all Kingdoms round about, the very Magazine of the world, Moses need never to fear being poor any more: Is not this enough to make a man happy? No, not a Moses: 
Insatiabilu divitiarum gurges. Tacit. Germana ista bestia non curate pecunia●.  a covetous Mammonist might have taken it down with a grateful swallow; such an one as Felix was, that infatiable gulf of riches, as the Historian calls him— but Moses (as the Papists once said of Luther) could not be caught with money: The reproach of Christ was a mountain of infinitely more valuable, invaluable treasure, esteeming the reproach of Christ, i. e. Christ in the promise, or the reproach of the Church, which is Christ mystical, 1 Cor. 12.12. Oh, saith Moses, let me be counted worthy to suffer reproach for Christ and his people's sake, and I desire no more riches in the world: How so? Moses faith did clearly outbid all the proffers of Egypt, he looks within the vail, 
Heb. 11.26.  fixing his eye upon the recompense of neward, and there he discovered such honours, pleasures, treasures as eye never saw, 
1 Cor. 2.9  ear. never heard, nor can enter into the heart of man, in comparison whereof, all the preferments, delights and riches of Egypt were but as so many gilded erowns, painted banquets, insignificant cyphers, ten thousand of which in the summa totalis, make just nothing.  
Thus Moses turns his back upon the world and all her glittering elements, 
Valde protestot● son monon ito setiori à Deo.  protesting as it were (as it is said of Luther) that God should not turn him off with these things, he had weighed them in the balance of faith, and found them too light to make a summum bonum of, there wanted something within. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   
Such an account doth the Apostle Paul, that Evangelical Moses, bring in concerning the whole visible world, when it was as it were set forth to sale in all its splendour and gallantry, to what Merchants would bid for it, Paul would offer nothing, but passeth by in an holy scorn, and will not so much as cast an eye upon it; 
Oculo irrotorto. 1. Cor. 4.13.   We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. 
How much doth the judgement of Saints differ from the judgement of the men of the world, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, things which fall under sight and sense were Paul's nothings, but they are the men of the worlds only solid substances and realities, è contra, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, invisible things of eternity, they were in the holy Apostle his estimation, the only entities and real beings, but in the judgement of the men of the world, they are the only chimaeras and shadows, which have no more being than what they have in the fancy: so far were the things of the world from being able to make up an happiness for a rational Creature, that the Apostle accounts them not worth a look, unless it be of contempt and derision, which account that ye may know did not proceed from pride and singularity, but from a well-informed judgement, he gives us the ground or reason of it, scil. the perishing nature of things visible, they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but for the present moment, as Moses (even now) summed them up, for a season, (and how short a season no man can tell.) 
Psal. 14.1.  Well hath holy David called the Atheist a fool, The fool hath said in his heart there is no God. And why says he so? Because he cannot see God: a fool indeed! If God could be seen, he were not God, whatever falls under sight and sense to be sure is subject to mutation: Is this a fit thing to make a beatitude of? No, upon this very account the wise man calls off our eyes and hearts from all sublunary fruitions, as most insufficient to make up a felicity for a Creature, which God hath ennobled with a rational faculty, wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? Mark, 
Prov. 23.9.  the most proper title which the wisdom of God can give these seen things is, a nonentity, the world in all its ruff and bravery is nothing else but a spectrum, an apparation, a mere non ens, a great, goodly, gilded nothing, and why so, but upon the account of their lubricity and fickleness, there is no more staying of them, than of the running stream, or wind, or bird in the air, for riches verily make themselves wings; riches, i.e. whatever it is which men make their confidence, they make themselves wings; a metaphor from a bird in the nest, it is hatched naked, yet feathers out of the very nature of the bird, if no hand take it out of the nest, yet in short time it will take wings and fly away; just so it is with riches (of what species soever) if the plunderer or oppressors, the thief, fire, inundations, etc. give them no wings, they will quickly give themselves wings, and take their slight towards heaven from whence they came.  
And are these the things which are proper to make up to a man a standing, holding selicity?  
No, saith the Apostle, the things which are not seen are eternal. God, and Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and Angels, and the Spirits of just men made perfect, and Heaven, and Glory, etc. these are the only beatifying objects, as being only of a pure, spiritual, fixed, immutable nature, the things that are not seen are eternal, and upon that account only able to constitute an adequte blessedness for an immense and an immortal soul, an intellectual being.  
Corporeal delights like so many sparks may make a crack and vanish; 
Sapientl nihil est magnum cui nota est aeternitotu magnitudo. Luth.  nothing can seem great and excellent to him that knows the infinite vastness of eternity. Ever with the Lord, here's a summum bonum for an heavenborn soul: this Moses kept his eye upon, and therefore all terrestrial felicities were but as sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal, much noise, but no harmony, he saw him that is invisible, an elegant contradiction, q. d. he saw him that could not be seen, he saw him by an eye of faith, whom he could not see by an eye of sense, and so did Saint Paul, and so did all his fellow Apostles and Saints, We look on the things which are not seen, i. e. we look on them, and them, and them alone as our ultimate, unmixed and supreme good. Men and women, who have none but eyes of flesh, such as beasts have, may choose their good as beasts do by sight and sense, but man that is in honour and understands not, is like the beasts that perish, Psal. 49.12.  
Man that understands not what a bubble, what a shadow, 
Ratio humans tantum in praesenti sta● haeret, nihil aliud audit, sentit, intelligit, vider, cogitat. Luth. in Isai. 54.7.  what a dream all sublunary glory is; man that understands not what immarcessible Crowns of glory are prepared for them that love God, this man shall be like the beasts that perish, he shall have the burial of an ass, though he hath swayed a Sceptre, he shall fall like a brute into the ditch and die there; though he hath flourished like a green Bay-tree, rottenness shall be upon his root, and his blossom shall go up into smoke.  
Be wise now therefore O ye Kings, and be instructed O ye people of the earth, spend not your strength in vain, and your labour for that which satisfieth not, strive not to force that out of the Creature, which God never put in; you may as well extract fire out of the Ocean, mollify rocks into syrup, wash the Ethiopian white, as squeeze happiness out of mortality.  
Behold! vast sums are required to make up a summum bonum, scil.  Goodness, Fullness, Sutableness and Immutability. 
Find me such a Creature under the Moon, 
Psal. 47.4. Lam. 3.24.  and do with it what you please: but saith the Church, Lord, thou shalt choose our inheritance for us; yea, the Lord is my portion, saith my soul. It is impossible to churn happiness out of a Chest of gold, it will never come, you can never make immarsible crowns of fading flowers.  
Or, I will tell you when pleasures, profits, honours, will make you blessed, when you can sow your fields with Grace, and fill your barns with sheaves of Saffron, when the Lord Jesus is your wine, the Word of God your bread, the bosom of Christ your bed of love, the honour of Christ your trade, the graces of the Spirit your gold, then and not till then, you may write happiness upon these things. These are the pleasures which are for evermore, this is the enduring substance, these the Crowns that whither not, here you may find that which your soul seeketh for; here is the mine, here is the vein, here the spring of happiness, Ever with the Lord.  
Lose not, I beseech you, eternal glory for a flash of impure joy, sell not an eternal inheritance cheaper than ever Esau sold his birth right, for one draught of swill out of the swine-trough of sensual pleasures,  
The Devil offers you the glory of the world, God offers eternal glory; put not a scorn upon God's offers, nor a cheat upon your own souls: the Devils offers are not only inconsiderable, but fraudulent, he offers that which is none of his own to give [the world] or if it were, it would be infinitely too short of the price he will have for it, your precious and immortal souls; What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? And suppose thou shouldst repent of thy bargain, the Devil will not repent of his, nor will he sell as he buyeth; shouldst thou say to him, here Devil, take the world and give me my soul again, I repent, he'd but laugh at thee, and say as the Priests said to Judas,  See thou to that, what is that to me? thou hadst what thou agreed'st for, I have done thee no wrong. 
The sinner's feast is soon served in, but the Messengers of divine Justice are preparing the reckoning, and then are ready to take away: And how sad will the catastrophe of that pleasure be, when the sting of the shot must survive in Conscience of the sinner to all eternity? Glorified Saints are entertained upon freecost, no affeighting thoughts need discompose them so as to break any one draught of those pleasures wherewith their cup runs over, or to hinder the pleasing swallow of those delicate morsels wherewith their table is full fraught, no army of evils or of devils can break in upon them, to make them forsake their Nuptial feast; sensitive pleasure is contracted to the narrow point of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for the sense hath no delight but by the enjoyment of the present object, and indeed so is glorified pleasure too, but with this difference, that Heavens 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is eternity itself, They shall ever be with the Lord.  
Oh what a prodigious forfeiture of reason is this, for the momentany satisfaction of a sordid lust, to lose eternal cohabitation with God, this transcendent beatitude, ever with the Lord! Yea, to plunge one's self into that opposite gulf of misery, never with the Lord, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, 
2. Thes. 1.9.  and from the glory of his power.  
The life from God, the life with God, the life of God can never expire.  
Christians, here is your summum bonum, choose it, and your souls shall live.  
Use the second. It may serve in the next place, Use 2 not only to inform the erroneous judgement, 
2. It shows how much we are concerned to secure our interest in this blessed state.  but also to awaken the sleepy Conscience. Is this heaven? Is this the summum bonum of immortal souls? Then oh how much is every one of us concerned to secure our interest in this glory? What a folly is it for men to take such indefatigable puns to make sure an earthly inheritance, to run from Lawyer to Lawyer to attend eary in the morning, and late at night, to give see upon fee, to spend half a patrimony or an estate to secure the rest, and as if heaven and the beatifical vision were the only trivial, worthless thing, a mere accident that might adesse or abesse sine subjecti interitu, be present or absent without the least prejudice (at all) to a man's happiness, I say, to take up that upon trust, and to leave this ever with the Lord, upon a peradventure? Oh unspeakable folly and madness!  
Oh that the sons of the earth should thus shame the heirs of heaven, 
Hab. 2.6.  that an earthly inheritance should be more valued by sense than the heavenly is by faith, more care taken to be sure of dirt and dung, thick clay, than of that which is infinitely more valuable than coral or pearls, whose price is above rubies, 
1 Pet. 1.18, 19  as bought not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot.  
Were this error the fruit only of incapacity, as it is in little Infants, that cannot judge what belongs to their present or future good, verily it were a thousand pities, an infelicity upon the humane nature to be lamented with tears of blood; but that rational Creatures, furnished with such noble faculties, for such divine and heavenly purposes, should through a mere brutish sensuality be so willingly content to remain at such uncertainties, is the most dreadful prodigy that can possibly enter into the heart of man!  
That adult persons grown up to maturity should despise their birthrights, and desperately neglect to look into their writings, which relate to such an immortal estate, argues not only the woeful degeneracy of the humane nature, how rife and pregnant the seeds both of ignorance and atheism are therein, but even a judicial blast upon their understandings, as if the God of Heaven had given them up to the God of the world, 
2 Thes 1.9.  to blind the eyes of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the Image of God, should shine unto them.  
Oh that men would consider seriously, what avail will it be at death and judgement, to have had assurance of many large earthly possessions while they lived, and then to have neither scrip nor scrol (as we say) to show for heaven (that blessed inheritance of the Saints in light) when they come to die! to be able to say now, my house and my land, and my silver, and my crown, and my kingdom, but not then, my Lord and my God, my heaven and my inheritance! I have bestowed all my time and strength to assure my earthly possessions, but now I can keep these no longer, and can call nothing mine own but the dungeon of darkness, there to be staked down to easeless and endless torments, or at best to cry out with that heathen Emperor, Animula, 
Adrianus Imp.  blandula, vagula, quo vadis nescio, I know not whither thou art going, O my precious darling, my never dying soul!  
Confident and presumptuous supposals may quiet and satisfy the sleepy and slothful Conscience in fair weather, but in the hour of temptation, 
Mat. 7.27.  when the rain shall descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow, than these foolish confidences will fall, because they were built upon the sand, and great will be the fall thereof.  
Then when in hell the miserable soul, made now as sensible as formerly it was secure, shall from thence lift up its eyes, and see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God, and itself thrust out, what furious and fiery reflections will then rend and vex the Conscience, and the sinner cry out with horror, O damned wretch that I am, I might have had pardon and glory as well as others, I had as many means and motives, I had as much need as they, it was as much my concern as any others, but I trifled and took up all upon trust, and would not give diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end, oh now a thousand worlds, if I had them, for a may be, which once I had; oh for one of those days of grace which I then sinned away, and idled out in the pursuit of vanity, for one of those tenders and offers of salvation, which then pursued me, and I would not hearken, but thought I might have had heaven time enough when I had done with the world; but now I see how miserably I have mocked God, and deceived myself, the day of grace is now gone, and the time of peace is at its full stop and period, and instead of ever with the Lord, here I must lie and boil and broil in these flames with the Devil and reprobate spirits for ever.  
Oh that sinners would therefore in this their day be wise, 
As I In●ew a profane wretch in Kent, who lived in all kind of wickedness and debauchery against the most passionate and compassionate cautions and expostulations of his godly Minister, and would not hearken to him; when he came to die, he sent for his Minister, who coming and ask him why he had sent for him, replied, only this, Oh Sir, my time is done, and my mork a not begun! and so died.  and know the things which belong unto their peace, before they be hid from their eyes.  
Consider as Motives. 
Motives to labour for Assurance. 1. It may be attained.   
First, Heaven way be made sure; assurance may be attained.  
1. God commands it: 
Phil. 2.12. 2 Pet. 1.10. Heb. 6.11.  Work out your salvation with fear and trembling: Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure: We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope. And God doth not command impossibility; the Law indeed did, but he giveth more grace; 
Jam. 4.6.  God in the Gospel giveth what he commandeth: To which end  
2. It is observable, that what is a precept in one place, is a promise in another, that if the command find work, the promise may find strength: Hence, His Commandments are not grievous, 
1 John 5.3. Phil. 4.13.  and I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me.  
So run the promises, 
Mat. 7.7. Augustine desired no more of God, but d● Domini quod jubes, & jube quod vis.  Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you: A multiplied use of Gospel means, will bring in a multiplied increase of Gospel grace and strength.  
3. Many of the Saints of God have attained assurance of their salvation: holy Paul, in the name of himself and his fellow Saints, 
2 Cor. 5.1.  could say, We know— we have an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; not we hope only, but we know: So the Disciple of love, 1 John 3.14. We know we have passed from death to life, and God hath given us eternal life, 
Chap. 5.11.  not only will give, but hath given, as sure as if we were there already: and thus in many Scriptures more.  
Now this is certain, what hath been may be, what some of the Saints have attained, and not only by special prerogative, others may attain also, provided they be not slothful, 
Heb. 6.11. curn. 12.  but followers of them, who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Thus heaven may be made sure.  
But on the other side, 
The world nor any part of it can be made sure.  earth cannot.  
1. It is not all the ensuring Offices in the world, nor all the Law or Lawyers in Westminster-hall, that can make an undefeazable entail to secure an inheritance upon the third or second generation; not only in respect of the brevity and uncertainty of man's life, the great mutability in the Creature, the wiles and frauds of men who are cunning to deceive, but even in regard of the methods and intricacies of the Law itself; 
1 Tim. 6.17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  hence the Apostle calls all sublunary possessions uncertain riches, to which he opposeth the living God: God only is immortal, not mutable; all the things in the world which men make their riches, are uncertain, heaven only by a true Copernicisme is fixed, the earth movable and unstable.  
2. And God would have it so. God hath on purpose filled the whole Creation with emptiness and vanity, that the heart of man might not be ensnared and beguiled with it; for saith God, 
Prov. 23. ●.  wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? How not?  
Not that which it appears to be, a mere non-ens, a nothing.  
Not that which the heart of man promises to itself from it, happiness and satisfaction, nothing less—  
Not fixed and durable, for riches verily make themselves wings, and fly away, as an Eagle towards heaven, 
(Supra.)  from whence they came: God gave them, and when he calls them they take wings and are gone in a moment, they cannot be secured; as good secure the bird upon the wing, as go about to secure the world, in any of the elements thereof.  
3. God would have us sit lose from the Creature; here God would have us contented to be at uncertainties, Matth. 6. ver. 25.  

Take no thought for your life.  
34. Take no thought for to morrow.   
In the concerns of the present life, God would have us live at an holy kind of adventure, and leave all to providence, i. e. as to the issues and events of things.  
But oh how are men turned Gods antipodes! What cannot be made sure, and God would not have to be sure, that vain man would make sure, and that which may be made sure, which God commands us to make sure, and what the Saints have made sure, this and this only, he takes upon trust, and leaves it upon: Why notes and peradventures. Thus man stands (as one saith) upon his head, and shakes his heels against heaven. It is a Lamentation, and shall be for a Lamentation,  
A second Consideration may be this: 
Motive 2.  To get assurance of heaven, is a work never unseasonable, but never more seasonable than in times of danger and uncertainty, when all sublunary things are in a doubtful and wavering condition; in such a juncture of time, he that can secure heaven by making his calling and election sure, he is like the Philosopher's good man, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  foursquare, cast him which way you will, he always falls upon a square, he is built upon a Rock and cannot be shaken, or though he be moved, he cannot be removed, but stands like a pillar in the Temple of God, even like those pillars in Solomon's Temple, Jachin and Boaz, stability and strength.  
This is the most important business incumbent on us, and it being about an Inheritance which is fixed and sure; it is both our duty and our wisdom to be so too; uncertainty in things of uncertainty is no solecism, but to be uncertain in things of greatest assurance and permanency is an intolerable shame: Heaven secured, our work is done, a man may sit down and sing a requiem to his own soul (in an holy security, 
Rora hora, brevis mora, O sidurasset!  saying) Soul, thou hast goods laid up for many years, for years of eternity, eat, drink, and be merry, and not fear the rebuke of O thou fool!  
The joy of the Lord enters into the soul, before the soul entereth into the Lord's joy, the Inheritance safe, a man may well be merry, for he can never be miserable.  
He that is sure of Heaven knoweth also, that whatever he hath, more or less in this life, he hath it as, 

The fruit of God's everlasting- electing love.  
The purchase of Christ's blood.  
With God's love, as well as with God's leave.  
By promise as well as by providence.  
As part of his child's portion, in earnest of what is to come.    
He knoweth that whatever befalls him on this side heaven, 

Honour or dishonour,  
Good report or bad report,  
Health or sickness,  
Prosperity or adversity,  
Peace or persecution,  
Life or death;   All shall work together for good, his best, his spiritual, his eternal good, Rom. 8.28.  
Who but a mad man would leave such an estate upon uncertainties? The world may call him (if they will) a wise man, but a greater fool goeth not about the streets with a whisk and a batible.  
And truly without this, a man cannot rationally take any delight in these inferior enjoyments, this will be a care at the bottom, yea, it is well now, but what it will be hereafter to all eternity, I know not.  
Consider in the third place: 
Motive 3.  The more wisdom any have attained to, the greater hath been their care and diligence to secure to themselves an interest in this future blessedness. Witness holy David and Paul, 
Porphyry saith of Photin●●, that he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉:  whose indifferency about the present, and contention about the future estate, was such, as if they had forgotten they were in the body; Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee; so sings David, Psal 73.25. And, I forget the things that are behind, and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus; so professeth holy Paul, Phil. 3.13, 14. Oh happy security! they were careless of the world, that they might secure themselves of heaven!  
Fourthly and lastly consider, 
Motive 4.  That disappointment is the most afflicting evil, that a rational Creature is capable of: And there be three Aggravations which render it intolerable.  

First, The more precious the concernment, the more grievous the disappointment, to be disappointed of a common preferment is very vexatious, what is it then to be disappointed of a Crown, a Kingdom.  
Secondly, The higher the confidence of speeding, the deeper the anxiety of disappointment: to come to the Church door in expectation of a rich and honourable match, and when hands come to be joined, then to be rejected, this is enough to distract.  
Thirdly, The less hope of recovery, the fadder and more killing is the disappointment; to be cast in a Suit of Law for an Inheritance which is uncapable of a second trial, is enough to put a man besides himself.   
Behold (oh precious souls) disappointment at the day of Judgement, falls under the terror of this threefold aggravation, and that in the most dreadful notion that tongue can express, or heart conceive.  

1. Here disappointment is in a matter of no less value than a Crown, a Kingdom. 

A Crown of 

Righteousness, 2 Tim. 4.8.  
Life, Rev. 2.10.  
Glory, 1 Pet. 5.4.    
A Kingdom of 

God, Luke 13.28, 29.  
Heaven, Matth. 5.3.  
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 2. Pet. 1.11.     Oh how dreadful will that disappointment be, especially with that addition, Everlasting kingdom?  
2. This will be the disappointment of highest confidences and presumption. None are so confident of heaven, as those who have nothing to show for their right to it: most Christians (promiscuously so called) think themselves as sure of heaven as if they were there already: and oh when these shall come and knock at the door with their bold Lord, Lord, 
Mat. 7.21, 22, 23. cum Luke 13.16, 27.  open to us, crying loud, and pleading hard, what they have done, how they have preached, and prayed, and received Sacraments, and (possibly) converted others, expecting now to have the door opened, and ready to set foot over the threshold of heaven, and shall then be thrust back with that terrible blast, I never knew you, depart from me; Oh what shame and confusion will this disappointment fill their faces and consciences with for ever! Surely this will be the very emphasis of damnation, to have been within a step of salvation and yet miss!  
3. And all this without the least hope of speeding or speaking to Christ any more for ever about the matter of salvation. 

Now therefore fear, and tremble, and pray that this may not be the portion of your cup from the hand of the Lord.     
Another Consideration may be, This will make you 
Motive 5.  fruitful in the work of Grace. Christians that make their calling and election sure, will and cannot but be fruitful in good works, for by these you must maintain your assurance, as being the fruits and evidences of your salvation.   

A third improvement of this point. Use 3  
Is this the glory and happiness of the future estate in heaven? Let it then excite in us an holy ambition to be often looking into this glory, to anticipate it by our frequent contemplations; the sweeter the vision, the more taking it should be with men of ascending and ambitious spirits: Can earthworms take such complacential contentment from beholding a bag of gold, or a field of corn, or a sumptuous fabric, and please themselves in a peculiar manner with the reflection of their interest, 
Psal. 108.8.  this is mine, that appertains to me; as David sings, Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, Ephraim also is the strength of my head: And shall not Saints turn their song to an higher key, and be joyful in glory, singing upon their beds?  
God is mine, and Christ is mine, and the Holy Ghost is mine, Angels are mine, and Saints are mine, all the glory of Heaven is mine, this (for ever with the Lord) is mine?  
I knew a rich Mammonist near the place where I was born, 
In Kent.  that would once a day take all his bage of silver and gold out of his trunks, and laying them in several heaps (for he was exceeding rich) upon a large table, would go to the utmost end of the room, and there having glutted his eyes with so delightful an object for a good while, would (all on a sudden) take his run to the table, and with stretched out arms, gathering all into one vast heap (as a man overcome and distracted with joy) cry out, All is mine, Quere. all is mine! Why may not the Children of the Kingdom rejoice in hope of the glory of God? and collecting those treasures of glory into several heaps, and embracing them with the arms of faith, 
Filius ante diem, patrios inquirit in annos.  cry out in an holy ecstasy, All is mine, all is mine! Shall the adult heir of a fair Lordship, or principality, be often enquiring into his patrimony, search into his writings, and even grow great with the thoughts and contemplations of what he is born to? And shall not the Heirs of the Inheritance of the Saints in light, much rather delight themselves with the fore contemplation of their incorruptible, 
1 Pet. 1.4  undefiled. inheritance that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for them?  
Object. Yes, so we would, if we were sure it were ours?  
Sol. And is that the cause of your apathy and flatness of spirits to these heavenly fruitions? Truly, this very uncertainty should even startle and affright us into an earnest contention to make heaven sure; so infinite a weight of glory, and we not ascertained of our interest upon some good Scripture-evidence, is enough to make us to forget to eat our meat, enough to break our sleep, and to keep our eyes waking all the night long, and to make us take little comfort in the present comforts we possess.  
Quest. You will surely ask then, 
Evidences of Heaven.  What are the Evidences?  
Answ. 1. Why, 
Evidence 1.  truly this one thing would amount to an evidence (and not the least evidence) viz. Active endeavour to assure ourselves of a share in this Inheritance of the Saints; this would argue an high appretiation of this estate in the practical judgement, as most incomparably and absolutely eligible; this is the very language of an heaven-born-soul, What have I to count upon but my treasure which is in heaven? What business have I on earth comparable to this, to ensure my portion in heaven? for this cause I was born, and for this end I came into the world; the whole earth, in comparison of heaven, is but a dunghill, Cabul, 
1 Kings 9.13.  (as Hiram called the Cities which Solomon gave him) dirty or displeasing.  
This will argue a childlike spirit, Children mind their inheritance; absent Children long to be at home at their Father's house, they are often there in their thoughts and wishes: so the Saints, We groan within ourselves, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven— and, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.  
Secondly, 
Evidence ●.  Especially if the holiness of heaven do kindle those desires in us more than the happiness, when a poor foul can truly say, I should not account it an heaven, were it not that it is a land of holiness, a land flowing with milk and honey of pure and immaculate joys, that there the beauty of holiness shines forth with unconceivable lustre and glory, and there (saith the soul) I shall be in some degree like my God, glorious in holiness; this is not only an evidence of heaven, but heaven itself.  
Thirdly, 
Evidence 3.  Again, an universal hatred of sin is a good token that heaven is designed for thee; for hatred of sin is the negative part of holiness, and heaven is a place provided by God on purpose, that there the Saints may be as holy as they will without disturbance or reproach: fear not to think much and often of heaven; if sin be an offence to thee, if sin be an hell on earth to thee, heaven is designed for thee to be thy Paradise: 
Learned men conceive the sin of the apostate Angels went no further than the first ambitious thought.  fear not to be often solacing thyself in the contemplation of that place where sin never entered, or if it did, it was cast out as soon as ever it was conceived.  
Indeed it is but a fancy men have taken up, that they love happiness, while they continue to love sin; a chaste love of heaven can never consist with the love of impure lusts.  
Sin is the Devil's image, holiness is Gods; he loves not the beauty of holiness that would have the Devil advanced thither; If men would not have it so, why else do they give sin such free entertainment in their own bosoms, and will by no means give it a bill of divorce?  
Fourthly, 
Evidence 4.  A superlative love to him that hath purchased this state for us, and us for it, is an infallible evidence of our right to it, and interest in it, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ; and a strong motive upon which gracious souls are so often in heaven by their contemplations, is, that thereby an eye of faith they may behold, not the purchase only, but the purchaser, whom having not seen we love, and whom loving, we would fain see; and this is the glory of every one that is so affected; so it is expressly said, 
1 Cor. 2.9.  The good things prepared for them that love him. Dost thou love the Lord Jesus? Ascend often in the Chariot of love, that thou mayest see his face, and in his face the glory and beauty of heaven. Surely such as love not Christ, and yet think they love heaven, are miserably mistaken, they know neither Heaven nor Christ, and may well cry out, 
Isa. 44.20.  Is there not a lie in my right hand?  
Well Christians, you that would gladly have your portion in this glory, shut your eyes downward, I may invert the Angels Question to the men of Galilee, and say, 
Acts 1.11.  Why stand ye paring upon the ●arth? Yea, why crawl ye with your bellies upon the ground, as if you had inherited the Serpent's curse as well as your own? Sursum corda, lift up your hearts, let your souls often withdraw and bid the body farewell for a time, that you may with Paul be wrapped up to the third heaven, and then see things which may even ravish your souls out of your bodies,— seek the things above, set your affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Pregustation by faith is a kind of prepossession, an entrance beforehand into the glorious joys of our Lord and Master, an ascent into the Mount of transfiguration, when the soul may truly say, Master, it is good for us to be here, and the oftener ye come, the more welcome Christ will make you; they that know the divine relishes of such contemplation, would not exchange them for the most delicious fruitions of the whole inferior creation. Oh strive to antedate glory, and to get into heaven before your time!  
Yet give me leave to add one Caution, I do not say, every one that hath a right to heaven, hath an assurance of heaven, or else no right or warrant to meditate on heaven: but this I say,  
1. Though every Christian hath not assurance, every one may, if not by way of special prerogative and extraordinary revelation, yet in a way of holy duty, the mediums whereby Christians attain to assurance, being common to all.  
2. Though all attain not to the same degree of assurance, the plerophory of God's love, yet all may attain to such a degree of Scripture-hope, good hope through Grace, 2 Thess. 2.16. as may quiet their hearts, and cause them to go on their way rejoicing, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, Judas 16.  
3. I say not, it is the duty of all to have assurance in what degree soever, but it is the duty of all to labour for assurance in the highest degree; not to labour for assurance, argues a defect of love to God; true love can rest in nothing short of assurance; and even this may sustain the soul till assurance comes.  
4. Therefore I say, let not thy want of assurance be the fruit of thy sloth, do not continue without assurance, for want of holy industry in the pursuit of it, for want of giving all diligence (as the text saith) to make thy calling and election sure; and thy want of assurance need not discourage thee from taking a full and frequent prospect of heaven's glory; let God bear witness to thy Conscience, that assurance is thy design, and that you are not voluntarily and habitually wanting to God and yourselves, as to the pursuit of that design, in a concurrent use of all those mediums which God hath sanctified for the attainment thereof and you may with as much boldness and confidence get within the vail, and there take a full prospect of the upper Canaan Northward, Southward, Eastward, Westward, in all the dimensions of it, as God once spoke to Abraham, Gen. 13.14. concerning the ●●ather Canaan, and with the same promise, All the land, all the glory which thou seen, to thee will I give it for ever— I say, with as much boldness, as if thou hadst got the plerophory of faith, and were already sealed with the Spirit of promise to the day of redemption; and who knows, but in the same Chariot wherein Love ascends into Heaven, Assurance may come down from heaven, and or ever thou art ware, thy soul may make thee like the Chariots of Amminadib!  
Quest. But what are those mediums, in the concurrent use whereof assurance of an interest in the heavenly inheritance may be had?  
Answ. The Question being but occasional, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, I shall with much brevity but hint, only at some special Helps.  
1. Take heed of determining before inquiry. 
1. Means.   
2. Study well your evidences; 
2. Help. Take heed of false evidence.  and verily this is an evidence to be solicitous about your evidences. Take heed that neither your evidences be false evidences, nor you make a false application of the true; that you neither take exclusive evidences for inclusive, i. e. 
Jam. 1.22.  such as are only to shut out bold presumers, (as bare doing of duties, hearing, praying, etc.) for such as do necessarily conclude a state of grace, sergeant, graces for the fruits of the Spirit of God.  
3. Earnestly beg the Spirit of God: 
3. Help. Be● the Spirit.  His Office is twofold as to assurance.  
1. Mediate, To clear your evidences: 
The Office of the Spirit twofold. 1. Mediate.  This he doth two ways 

1. By helping the soul to know and believe the evidence as it lieth in the word; such as these, 

He that believeth shall be saved, Rom. 10.9.  
They that through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body shall live, Rom. 8.13.  
Hereby we know we are passed from death to life, because we love the brethren, 1 John 3.14, 18. cum 19  
Hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given of his Spirit, 1 John 4.13.      
The heirs of glory are only such as God hath made meet for the Inheritance, Col. 1.12.  

He that hath the Son hath life, 1 John 5.12.  
We groan to be clothed upon, that mortality might beswallowed up of life, 2 Cor. 5.4.  
These and many other are the Graces and Qualifications, to which God hath infallibly annexed heaven and glory. And to these evidences, the Holy Ghost helps the Soul to set his seal, as to the infallible testimony of God, that they are true, John 3.33.   

2. The Spirit clears the evidence by the Candle of the Lord, enabling the Soul to read it evidently written in the heart by his own finger: the Spirit enlightens the understanding to see that these graces in the Soul are real and genuine. 

The believer dan say. I believe.  
I through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body.  
I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, 1 Cor. 9 ult.  
I love the brethren, and the more of God I see in them, the more my heart cleaves to them.  
I have the Son, as a fountain of light and life dwelling in me.  
I am in some measure made meet (I hope) to be partaker of the inheritance, etc.     
Now from the premises, the Spirit enables the believer comfortably to issue this blessed conclusion, Therefore I shall be saved; Therefore I am a partaker of the inheritance of the Saints in light.  
Behold! this is the first office of the Spirit! Oh pray for it Christians; that in judging of your evidences, neither on one hand you may be deceived with shadows instead of substances, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Jam. 1.22.  Bristol-stones instead of Diamonds (as hypocrites deceive themselves and perish for ever) nor on the other hand, still lie trembling under a causeless suspicion that all is but sergeant when there is no just ground for it, and so (for the present) lose your comfort; be sure not to trust your own spirit in so infinite a concern, and if at first you cannot so readily make this practical Syllogism, wait and pray for the Spirit which is of God, That you may know the things that are freely given to you of God Cry with David, Search me, O God, 
2 Cor. 2.12.  and know my heart, etc. Psal. 139.23, 24. It is good to be afraid to deceive ourselves.  
The second Office of the Spirit is that which some Divines call immediate, 
2. Office, Immediate.  and it is a bright irradiation of the Holy Ghost beaming out upon the soul, not only giving i● a clear distinct discerning of its own graces (that we referred to in the former Office) but immediately witnessing to the soul its adoption by Jesus Christ, and right and title to the Kingdom of God, wherein God speaks to the soul in some such like language as that: 

I am thy salvation, Psal 35.3.  
Making the soul to hear joy and gladness, Psal 51.8.  
I have loved thee with an everlasting love, Jer. 31.3.  
I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins, Isai. 44.22.  
I have redeemed thee— like that in the Gospel, Thy sins be forgiven thee, Matth. 9.2,    
Now this act is usually called immediate, i. e. without the mediation of signs and evidences (as in the former Office) not but that there are signs and evidences in the person testified, but that the Spirit makes no use of them in the act of testification; there are gracious qualifications in the soul, sufficient to distinguish and justify it from all the false witness of the lying Spirit (upon all seasonable occasions) but the Spirit of God doth not refer to any of these qualifications in this act, but immediately darts in light and comfort, which fill the soul which joy unspeakable and full of glory: This act of the Spirit is sometimes called in Scripture, 

1. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  The Seal of the Spirit, Ephes. 1.13. The office of a Seal being like that of an Oath, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Heb. 6.16. an end of all strife, to put the matter beyond doubt or disputation: So a Believer sealed is set beyond all fear or danger, and God, as it were, leaves himself no possibility of receding or going back from his word and promise, Heb. 6.18.  
2. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  This act is called an earnest, 2 Cor. 5.5. Who also hath given us the earnest of his Spirit: Now the office of an earnest is not only to assure, but to give possession; an earnest is part of the purchase or bargain: so is this act of the Spirit an act, whereby the soul is not only assured of, but put into possession of the heavenly inheritance, it is as it were part of it, the joy of the Lord enters into the soul, before the soul enters into the joy of the Lord, assurance is nothing else but antedated glory, heaven on this side heaven.    
This is (my B.) the second Office of the Spirit, which, I well know, some eminently learned and godly Divines deny, acknowledging no other act of the Spirit in assurance but the former: But I resolved at the entrance of this work, not to dispute, but thetically to assert my own opinion and judgement in any point that admits of debate.  
In this case therefore I know and believe there is enough in the former Office of the Spirit, to carry a believer to heaven, yet this second Office can be no useless redundancy, or over plus; a Believer will need all the assurance that is to be had, and therefore if God be so bountiful to give both, let a Believer pray and wait for the promise of the Spirit in both these Offices, mediate, and immediate; if he speed, it will be a labour well bestowed, if he speed not, it will be a labour well lost.  I have done with this third Help or Means to attain assurance, I come to the fourth, and shall more briefly dispatch them that remain. 
A fourth Help to get assurance is this, 
4. Help. Be very tender of the Spirit.  Make much of the Spirit; surely it concerns us highly to be very tender of the Spirit, for if both kinds of assurance be the fruit of the Spirit, we had need to hear (as it were) founding in our ears, Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, 
Ephes, 4.30.  whereby ye are sealed to the day of redemption; whereby ye are sealed, i. e. whose office it is to seal up believers. Grieve him not.  

Malicious sins despise the Holy Ghost, Heb. 10.29.  
Wilful sins vex the Spirit, Isai. 63 10.  
Obstinate going on in sin, resists the Holy Ghost, Acts 7.51.  
Immersing ourselves in pleasures and profits of this present world, doth quench the Spirit, 1 Thess. 5.19.  
But the least sins (convinced of) grieve the Spirit.  
He is an holy Spirit, and therefore sin must needs grieve him, sin, quâ sin, being a pure contrariety to his holy nature.  
Enemies do despise, and vex, and resist, and quench, but friends are properly said to grieve; and such are the persons to whom the Apostle directs his exhortation, friends, believers; unkindnesses do most properly grieve a friend.   
Oh all you that desire assurance, take heed of unkindnesses, take heed of small sins, appearances of sin, take heed of neglecting your communion with God in holy duties; take heed of bitterness, wrath, anger; be ye kind one towards another, 
Res delicato est Spiritia sanctin.  tender hearted, etc. (for so it exegetically followeth the Text) q. d. by all these the Spirit is grieved. It is a tender thing, and you may quickly grieve it: and if you grieve your Comforter, who shall comfort you? And if you grieve the holy Spirit, who shall sanctify you? And if you grieve the sealing Spirit, who shall seal you to the day of redemption? Never look for assurance as long as you are not afraid of grieving the Spirit, which is the earnest of the inheritance. Carnal men's question is, May I do this and not be damned? But a godly man's question is, Can I do this and not grieve the Spirit of God? Will not Jesus Christ take this unkindly?  
5. 
5. Means. Take heed of blotting that evidence.  Take heed of any thing that may darken your evidences, or damp your comforts: a small drop of ink or dirt falling upon an Evidence, may make it illegible, or darken it: people make nothing of small sins, but small sins do not the least hurt to the soul; if it were no more than this, small sins will raise up a jealousy between God and the soul; great sins will destroy peace, little sins will disturb it; the least hair casts its shadow; and a barley corn laid upon the light of the eye, will hinder the sight of the Sun as well as a mountain: abstain from all appearance of evil, if you desire God should be a God of peace to you, 1 Thess. 5.22. cum 23. Abstain from all appearance of evil, and the God of peace sanctify you.  
Make much of the least intimations of love and favour from God, in prayer, hearing, or reading, meditation, 
6. Means. Make much of the least hint of Divine love.  at Christ's Table, or any other of your holy converses with God; the least beam or ray of God's face upon thy soul, let it be as life from the dead; do as Benhadad's servants, 1 Kings 20.33. did to the King of Israel, Diligently observe whether any thing will come from him, any smile from Christ's face, any wink of his eye, any sweet breath, any whisper of peace from his lips, such (possibly) Son be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee, or the like, and hastily catch at it, thy Son Lord! I am most unworthy to be called so, not worthy to be an hired servant; but Lord, since thou pleasest to deign me so infinite an honour, 
Luke 1.33.  Behold the servant of the Lord, and be it unto me according to thy word; come in thou blessed Lord, and take possession of my soul, and rule in me according to all the desire of thine heart.  
Object. But how shall I know whether such a whisper of peace may be (indeed) the voice of God, or a delusion of Saan?  
Answ. For answer briefly.  
1. Such breathe of God upon the soul do usually carry their own evidence with them; if God say, I am thy salvation, the irradiation carrieth a satisfying light with it; the Sun needeth no other luminary to comment upon its own light but its own; nor the Spirit of God any other manifestation of its own presence but itself.  
2. We say, though it want no other manifestation, it hath other; the effects (as Christ said of his miracles, John 5.36.) and impressions of such whispers and breathe upon the soul, will witness of them whence they come; Springs will rise as high as they fall, that which cometh from heaven will carry up the soul to heaven. Do therefore such hints and intimations of love and favour endear God to thy soul, cause that to say, as Psal. 103.1. and 116.1? Do they make Evangelical Ordinances (public and private) more sweet and delightful to thee? To say, as Psal. 43.4. I will go to God my exceeding joy? Do they make thee more active and vigorous for God, and for the promoting of the interests of Christ's Kingdom in thy place and station? Fear not, thy God, and the God of thy Fathers, hath given thee treasure in thy sack.  
That is the answer which in my poor ministry I have used to give to all those who have repaired to me for satisfaction, whether their peace and comfort be good? Doth your comfort make you more humble, more active for God, more holy? Peace be unto you, your comfort is heavenborn comfort, and you may christian it Gad, for behold a troop cometh.  
Oh be very thankful for the least of such messengers of peace to thy soul, and write down such divine testimonies in thy book, 
Habemii dabitur. Mat. 25.29.  with the year, and day of the month, that it may never be forgotten; be thankful for what thou hast, and thou mayst comfortably expect more.  
Be much in duties of mortification: 
7. Help.  lie often in sackcloth and ashes before the Lord; exercise thyself in frequent acts of Self denial; little dost thou know how soon God may put a new song into thy mouth,— Lord, thou hast turned for me my mourning, 
Psal. 30.11.  thou hast put off my sackcloth, and hast girded me with gladness, to the end my glory may sing praise unto thee and not be silent, etc.  
Be careful to mortify corruptions, and to crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts. 
Gal. 5.24.  A mortified Christian is the fittest vessel to contain the precious liquor of assurance: Mortification first purifieth, and then dilates the heart, and makes it capacious to divine consolations. I keep under my body and bring into subjection, 
2 Cor. 9 ult. 2 Cor. 5.1.  was his voice that could say, We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God, etc. He filleth the hungry with good things.  
Set others to pray for thee: Yet not every one, 
8. Help.  who (it may be) can pray: Assurance is not an errand to send every common Christian to the Throne of Grace about: Special Favourites are employed to Princes for special Favours: thou canst not pray thyself, nor set any of the household of Faith at work for an higher Boon than for Assurance: Oh get some special Favourite (under the great Mediator) some Noah, some Job, some Daniel, etc. Men or Women of great acquaintance and much communion with God, Christians of large experience and eminent holiness, to such God usually denyeth nothing: And (Heb.) The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, 
Psal. 25.14.  his Covenant to make them know it. Speaks to others, as men and women ordinarily bespeak prayers, Pray pray for me, and the like, and (truly for the most part) it passeth for a common, if not a vain Compliment, and there's an end of it; speak to some (not Heathen) and they will laugh at thee, they know not what thou sayest; speak to others, and they'll forget thee: He that makes not assurance his own concernment, how can he make it thine? Speak to serious, solid,  Christians, who know what assurance is, and what it is worth, earnestly beg of them, If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies? That they would plead hard for that (in the interest of our Lord Jesus) if God would remember your poor thirsty soul for one draught of this wine of this consolation, Assurance, and they cannot, yea, they dare not forget thee: They know whose prayers have prevailed for themselves in the like petitions, and they dare not but pay their debts.  
But whilst thou settest others to pray for thee, 
Caution, forget not to pray for thyself.  forget not to pray for thyself: If thou settest others to pray for thee, and prayest not thyself, thou art an Hypocrite, and God will account thee as one that mockest, and thou wilt get a curse, and not a blessing; wherefore pray, pray constantly, and pray instantly, 
Vehementia & constantia in istu petitionibus requiritur, etc.  knock hard at the gate of heaven for this grand mercy, and if God open not the first, or second, or twentieth, or the hundreth time, yet, with Peter, continued knocking; let God know, as it were, that thou art resolved to take no denial to thy Petition for assurance. This was the greatness of the poor woman of Canaan's Faith, 
Mat. 15.27.  she would not be denied.  
Be constant and conscientious in your attendance upon Christ's Table; 
9 Help.  behold it is the sealing Ordinance, his Banqueting-house, his Presence-chamber, his Marriage-feast, his Bed of love, where he doth use to give out to his Spouse his Loves, Cant. 6.12. 〈◊〉.  
Behold, the Spirits run in the blood, and the sealing Spirit of Christ is not seldom conveyed in the precious streams of Christ's blood, in that mysterious Ordinance.  
The holy Supper was the pledge of his dying Love, a Seal of his last coming to receive home his Spouse to himself: This Cup is the New Testament in my blood; 
1 Cor. 11.25, 26.  this do ye, as est as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. As oft as ye eat, etc. Christ would have his Spouse perpetuate the remembrance of his dying love, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 2 Pet. 3.12.  that thereby they might look for a hastening of his coming.  
Oh let not thy place be empty at such a glorious festivity, who can tell whether the Lord may come in the very hour of this solemn Ordinance, which he hath appointed to be the very sanction and pledge of his glorious and triumphant coming, 
Sam. 20.27.  and say concerning thee, Where is the son of Jesse to day? Oh at such a time for the Bridegroom to find thee absent, how unkindly may he take it? Who that he might be sure not to miss thy company at this Love-feast hath said, As oft as ye eat, etc.  
Lastly, Wait. This is blessedness in assurance, 
10. Help.  next to the beatifical vision itself, and there wants not blessedness in waiting for it, while short spirited Christians can find no sweetness but in a plerophory: gracious souls can taste blessedness in waiting for it, Lam. 3.26.  
The Saints in Scripture have been not only a praying generation, but a waiting generation; the old Testament Believers waited for the Promise of the Messiah: 
Luke 2.25.  It is said of good old Simeon, He waited for the consolation of Israel: And the Primitive believers in the new Testament (after Christ's Ascension) were commanded by our Lord, to wait for the Promise of the Father, 
Acts 1.4.  which (said he) ye have heard of me; namely, the Promise of the Holy Ghost, which should fill their hearts with assurance, and seal them up to the day of Redemption.  
Indeed there is Patience in Faith as well as Power, it knoweth as well how to stay the Lords leisure as to wrestle with him for the blessing. Indeed it is a rare temper to be importunate with God and Christ, willing to stay God's leisure; but it is most excellent, and there is nothing lost by it.  Holy David gives us his own experience, Psal. 40.1. I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry: Go you and do likewise. 
Pray and wait, wait, and wait patiently; and if the Lord answer not as soon as your souls could wish, know this, that you do not so much wait for God, as God for you; 
Isai. 30 18.  The Lord waits to be gracious; God doth but wait the fittest season of mercy; and therefore blessed are they that wait for him.  
And let me tell you this for your unspeakable encouragement, that if assurance come not till your dying hour, nor then neither to your own or others sense and observation, yet vigorous and persevering endeavours shall wear the same Crown with assurance in heaven; not want of assurance, but the neglect of it, is the sin which God takes unkindly.  
It was the last words wherewith holy Jacob went triumphing out of the world, I have waited for thy salvation, 
Gen. 49.18.  O Lord.  
And thus I have done with the second Use of this Ever.  
I come to a third   

Ever with the Lord. 
Use 3. 1 Cor. 15 ult.   
It may serve as a spur to diligence and activity in the ways of God. It is the very use the Apostle makes of this blessed Doctrine: Therefore, my brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Not in vain? a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, more is to be understood than is expressed, the meaning is, your reward shall be great and glorious: What is that? this motive hath relation to the glorious resurrection treated on in the whole foregoing Chapter, q. d. on the other side of the resurrection, God hath prepared an eternity of glory for you, and therefore bestir yourselves in good earnest; do somewhat for God on this side the grave, that may (if possible) bear some proportion with your future expectation; Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might: Labour hard, here's eternal rest after thy labours. 
Rev. 14.13.  Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord, for they rest from their labours, Thou hast but a moment to work in, but an eternity to rest in; be industrious now, and anon thou shalt be glorious. Enter now into thy Lord's Vineyard, and soon thou shalt enter into thy Lords Joy. Take pains here, there remains a rest, an eternal rest, not an eternity of being only, but an eternity of well-being; Ever be with the Lord.  
Ply the Oar of duty, Christians, a blessed Haven is at hand, you look for more than others, what do you do more than others? Never did servants expect such a recompense of reward: The gift of God is eternal life. 
Rom. 6. ult.  Oh let the fear of missing this glory urge you to the greater diligence; let it stir you up to the most severe and intensive acts of holiness and obedience: 
Phil. 2.12.  Work out your expected salvation with fear and trembling; he that runs for a great prize, fears he should fall short; Let us fear, 
Heb. 4.1.  lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of us should seem to fall short; you cannot merit it by your diligence, but your may forfeit it by your sloth: Oh work, and work out your salvation: Hope calleth up a Saint to duty; he is said therefore to be saved by hope: Christ in the soul, and hope of glory, 
Rom. 8. 1 John 3.8.  cannot be an idle and sluggish principle: He that hath this hope purifieth himself, even as he is pure: There are no bounds to his holy endeavours after conformity to Christ; his hope to live with Christ in heaven puts him upon utmost essays to live the life of Christ here on this side heaven.  
Momentany enjoyments are strong inducements to worldlings to greatest pains and labours; and will not the everlasting fruition of God make you steadfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the Lords work? 
1 Cor. 9.52.  They run (saith Paul) for a corruptible crown, but we for an incorruptible: Oh how should we run? They rise early to build an house, that in one hour may be consumed to ashes; what pains should we take to get an interest in that house which is eternal with God in the heavens! They toil, and moil, and sweat to heap up riches for an unknown possessor, and shall not we labour for that better portion, that cannot be taken from us. 
Heb. 3.2.  Moses was faithful and active in the house of him that appointed him, 
Chap. 11.26.  and this did in a great measure excite him, he had respect to the recompense of reward, and shall we fear to  our work, who have a clearer prospect of heaven than Moses had? His face was vailed, we see with open face. There's no inducement to take pains comparable to this, ever with the Lord: 
2 Cor. 3.13, 18.  Ever in the Presence-chamber of the greatest Monarch in the world; may, ever upon the Throne, giving laws to Kingdoms, ever increasing treasures of gold, and silver, and precious stones; ever bathing in the full streams of sublunary pleasures, is no ways comparable to one moment's enjoyment of the presence of the Lord in heaven. Let that man's money perish with him, said that noble Marquis Galeacius Caracciolus, who esteemeth all the gold in the world worth one day's society with Jesus Christ and his holy Spirit, etc.  
I have often thought with myself, that if heaven were capable of grief, those very rivers of pleasures would swell with the tears of glorified souls, to think that they have served God no more, served him no better, did no more for that God, who hath prepared such an heaven full of glory for such an unprofitable servant, as I have been: Oh how coldly did I pray for this inestimable blessedness? How unaffectedly did I hear the report of this great salvation? And what little pains did I take for this exceeding and eternal weight of glory, which exceeds all hyperbole? While slightest expressions are too big for my diligence? What! all this joy, and so little pains to obtain it? All this glory, and so little zeal for the glory of God So great an harvest, and so little seed sown! So great a reward, and so little service! Surely there would be a day of humiliation kept in heaven (and it might well take up half eternity) to bewail the Saints remissness in the work of the Lord, were heaven capable of it, or did not the reflection of glorified souls upon the former iniquities of their holy things issue only unto the admiration of the riches of that grace, which hath brought them to glory.  
But though heaven will not admit of grief, thy present estate will: mourn therefore, that thou hast been so dead and so dull in the service of God, who hath set before thee no less a reward, than the enjoying of himself to all eternity; and let the sense thereof quicken thy dead heart to work after another rate for the little remnant of mortality yet behind: Say not, yet there is two much sand left in the glass for God and eternity: say rather, Oh that, (were it not to keep me so much the longer from my Father's presence) oh that every hour yet behind were a day, every day a month, every month a year, every year a life! it were all too little for that hope which is laid up for me in heaven! Oh had I an hundred pair of hands, they were too little to employ in my heavenly Father's work! an hundred pair of feet they would not carry me fast enough in the way of his Commandments! an hundred pair of eyes were not enough to behold God in every Creature round about me! 
Col. 1.13,  a thousand tongues were not sufficient to trumpet forth his praises, who hath made me meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the Saints in light! Oh, 
Eph. 5.16.  what shall I do? If I cannot love God more, serve him better, bring him more glory, than hitherto I have done, I am undone, I am undone. Oh redeem.  
Christians, the eternal Jubilee is at hand, the trumpet is ready to sound, and the glorious eternal liberty of the Saints and Servants of God ready to be proclaimed; up and be doing now, as ye would be found, when Christ shall come with his mighty Angels, and his reward with him, that you may hear the blessed Euge, Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord. Use 4  
In the fourth place: This may serve as a preservative to the people of God to keep them from fainting and falling away in time of sufferings, and persecution for righteousness sake; after a moment's sufferings they shall have eternity of rest, they shall ever be with the Lord, and thenceforth there shall be no more sufferings nor sorrow: all tears shall be wiped from their eyes, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, once housed in heaven, and they are safe for ever: Persecutors, to be sure, will not follow them thither, but they shall be looked up in hell for ever, bound in chains of everlasting darkness for their fury against the people of God, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.  
Ever with the Lord; here's a short fight, but an eternal triumph, a short race, but an immarcessable crown of glory; a short storm, but an eternal harbour, who would not almost be covetous and ambitious of suffering upon such gainful terms? One day with the Lord will more than pay for all the Saints sufferings, how much more this ever with the Lord? There is no proportion between a Christian his Cross and his Crown, 
Rom. 8.18.  if the Apostle have brought us in a true account, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Compare a Molehill with a Mountain, a Glow-worm with a Sun beam, a drop with the Ocean: and more disproportionable are a Saints sufferings unto his glory; here he lets drop a few tears, there he swims in a river of pleasures for evermore. To convince us of the odds, the Apostle puts both into scales, and the scales into the hand even of Reason itself, see (saith he) how infinitely the reward praeponderates the sufferings: 
2 Cor. 4.17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Affliction light, Glory heavy; a weight of glory, yea, an exceeding weight, yea, a far more exceeding weight, hyperbole upon hyperbole. Affliction but for a moment, Glory eternity, let sense and reason give sentence; what equality or proportion! an heavy burden may be born a moment, how much easilier a light one especially if ye add this consideration, that after that little little moment past, burden shall never be laid upon the back any more for ever! We are apt to think, that our sufferings are not only heavy, but intolerable, the only unparallelled affliction in the world, never sorrow like our sorrow! but they will appear as they are poor and inconsiderable, when we come to heaven; then our Mountains will appear Molehills: How will a prison look then? when for a few day's confinement we shall have the glorious liberty of the Sons of God in the highest heavens days without end! How will then the reproach of Christ appear to be greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, when for a little shame and ignominy thou shalt shine as the Sun in the Firmament, for ever? How will thy former poverty for Christ look then, 
1 Pet. 1.5.  when thou shalt be possessed of the inheritance of the Saints in light; Incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for thee? Nay, if thou shalt lose thy life for Christ, it shall seem but a poor stake, when thou shalt be crowned with all the beatitudes of life eternal.  
Oh labour for such thoughts of sufferings now, as thou wilt have then, and this will carry thee through fire and water for Christ's sake, and, with the Daughter of Zion, cause thee to shake thy head at them. Though sufferings offend thee now, and are very grievous to the fleshy part, yet it will be no grief of heart to thee then, when thou comest to put on thy Robe, and thy Crown, and to sit down with Christ on his Throne. If there could be grief in heaven about sufferings, it would grieve a Saint, that he had suffered no more for Christ, or suffered with no more patience, courage, and holy insulting over the persecutors, 
40. Martyrs in Basil.  now led by his sufferings into so much glory. Poor not then upon thy sufferings, but look up to the Crown that is prepared to be set upon thy head after thy sufferings; behold Martyrdom itself shall be but as Elijah's Chariot to carry thee up to heaven in triumph: If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him; if we wear his Crown of thorns, we shall wear his Crown of glory; if we die with him, we shall also rise with him, and reign with him for ever. Think much of the Kingdom to expel base fears in sufferings. This is the glorious recompense which Christ sets before his Church, 
Luke 12.32.  to encourage her in the midst of her persecutions; Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's pleasure to give you the Kingdom. If a Kingdom (yea, the Kingdom of Heaven) be able to make you amends for your sufferings, you shall not be losers by them, well you may be losers for Christ, but, to be sure, you shall not be losers by Christ. Our Lord Christ himself did set the joy of this Kingdom before himself in his temptations and sufferings, 
Heb. 12.2.  and the Apostle (therein) set Christ as an example before us, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy which was set before him, endured the cross, and despised the shame, etc.  
Surely the joy of our Lord may well make the servant willing to endure, and able to despise the greatest sufferings, to laugh at reproaches, and to sing in prisons, to be like the Leviathan, 
Job 41.27.  He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood, the arrows cannot make him flee, slingstones are turned with him into stubble, darts are counted as stubble, he laughs at the shaking of the spear, etc. Heaven in our eye will make us thus heroic in our persecutions, 
Rom. 5.3.  We glory not only in God, but we glory in tribulation: Hold out then faith and patience, but one stile more, said Doctor Taylor. when he went to the Stake, and I am at my Father's house; Oh this word, at my Father's house, at home, Ever with the Lord, this made the holy man to leap over the stile, as if he had been a young man going to be married to his Bride.  
Ever with the Lord: Use 5 It may, serve as a sovereign cordial against the fear of death; man having an immortal soul, naturally desireth and breatheth after eternity; but man in his corrupt estate, being ignorant and mindless of a blessed eternity with God, is not willing to die, to leave the shore of this life, and to venture upon the unknown immense Ocean of eternity, therefore the ungodly man's soul is said to be taken from him, Luke 12.20. Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee. Sinners do not willingly part with their souls, they are torn out of their bodies by violent hands, none but a Paul (who is ballasted with the hope of everlasting cohabitation with the Lord) can desire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to lose from the shore, to hoist up sail, and make for the heavenly Canaan. And well may he, that hath made a rich (though stormy) voyage to the Indies, set sail for his own native Country, where he may sit down in peace, and enrich himself with the gain of his adventure.  
Come hither then, oh you trembling souls, who through the fear of death have all your lives time been subject to bondage, come hither, I say, and set your feet upon the neck of this King of terrors, and fear not to make that triumphant challenge of the Apostle, Oh death! 
1 Cor. 15.55.  where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory? Death is swallowed up in victory, and (being conquered) serves to that high and honourable end, scil. to be the Saint's Usher of State to bring them into the presence of the King of glory, to behold his face, and to hear his wisdom, from thenceforth for ever to be with the Lord: Death serves the Saints now for no use, but to kill mortality, and to extinguish corruption; This corruptible must put on incorruption, 
ver. 33.  and this mortal must put on immortality, i. e. We shall ever be with the Lord a in perfect incorruptible state of glory; and this must be effected by means of death: Oh, what were ten thousand deaths, ushering in the Soul into so much glory!  
The glimmering presence of God with a believer here below may conquer the fear of death, 
Psal. 23.3.  Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; How much more may the hope of a full fruition of God in glory deliver the Saints from the bondage of fear.  
Ever with the Lord: This puts Lilies and Roses into the ghastly face of Death, and makes the King of terrors to outshine Solomon in all his glory: Ever with the Lord, this makes death not only tolerable, but amiable, desirable; For we know, 
2 Cor. 5.1.  that if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, and for this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our house, 
ver. 2.  which is from heaven.  
For in this we groan, i. e. in this tabernacle (for this is earthly) earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven; the reason is, because that house is eternal in the heaven: A Saint looks out of the windows of this earthly Tabernacle, and cryeth out (as the Mother of Sisera) Why stay the wheels of his Chariot thus long? When shall I be carried to those eternal Mansions, where I shall ever be with my Lord and Bridegroom?  
Is any thing sweeter than life? Yes, death to a believer: That of Solomon holds best in this case, the day of death is better than the day of birth: It is transcendently so to a Child of God, who is conveyed by death into his Father's presence, where he shall dwell for ever: The passage is dark, 
Psal. 16.1.  but it shall be quick and speedy; Thou wilt show me the path of life; the path of life lieth through the grave, but Christ hath gone it already, and will take the believer by the hand, and lead him through it into the Presence-chamber of the King of glory, where he shall hear the Bridegroom's voice, and his joy shall be fulfilled; then tremble thou not believer at the approach of death, but go forth and meet him with this friendly salutation, Come in thou blessed of the Lord; Art thou come to fetch me to my Father? Welcome death! thou art my best friend next to Jesus Christ: Death is only my passage into a blessed eternity. Death is Joseph's Chariot, not to carry the Saints down into Egypt, but up into Canaan, and how quickly doth he carry a believer thither? It is but winking, and he is at home; as soon as the eye of the body is closed here, the eye of the soul is open there (O blessed vision!) to behold at once all the glories of eternity! Say then (with Jacob) Jesus, my Lord and Redeemer, is yet alive, and seated on the Throne at the right hand of the Majesty on high, there proclaiming in the cars of all his trembling followers, 
Rev. 1.18.  I am he that liveth, and was dead: and behold, I live for evermore. Amen, and have the keys of hell and death. Fear not, O thou believer, to say with Jacob, I will go and see him, not before I die, but I will die, that I may go and see him: Death is but the flames that must sing asunder the cords of thy mortality; the hand that shall open the Cage, that thy soul may get lose, and take her flight for the Mountain of Spices, the glorious immortality and liberty of the Sons of God.  
Be of good cheer, Believers thou shalt die but once, and then ever be with the Lord, with whom is the fountain of life; life bubbling up unto all eternity: The damned are always dying, repeating death every moment, their flames only serve them to read over the black lines of death, which have neither Full-point or Comma: But death enters not into the borders of the heavenly Canaan; they say, there is no Spider in Ireland, it is certain, there is no putrid matter in heaven to breed the vermin of mortality; in heaven only death cannot live, when thou diest, thou shalt rise again, and die no more, but death shall die, and shall rise no more; thy grave shall be the eternal grave of death: It is appointed for all men once to die, and for believers to die but once. Do but clear up thine interest in the death of Christ, and thou mayest bid farewell to the fear of death for ever, for the worst thing that death can do to thee, is thee best thing that can be done for thee, even to guide thy poor straying soul home to thy Father's house, and so shalt thou ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.  
Lastly, It may teach us how to prise Christ, Use 6 that triumphant Grace, a Grace that hath eternity stamped upon it, it outlives Faith; for faith gives way to vision, and it doth outlast hope, for hope is swallowed up in fruition, what a man seethe, why doth he yet hope for? Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail, whether there be tongues, they shall cease, whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away, but charity never fails, but as long as God lives it lives, for God is love, and they that love dwell in God, and God in them.  
I have finished, I cannot say perfected, the main work intended, seil. the opening of the ten words, or Arguments of Comfort here laid down in this model or platform by the Holy Ghost, as so many sovereign Cordials to revive disconsolate and fainting Christians over the death of their hopeful Relations, with the several improvements which each word (by itself) may afford unto us.  
But before I do, Manum de tabula tollere, dismiss this discourse, I do observe divers useful Corollaries and Instructions lie couched in the general improvement of these words, Comforting one another, which will serve as so many branches of information, which (without guilt) I cannot omit, and they are ten.  
1. 
Several branches of Information arising from this general exhortation, Comfort one another. 1. Branch of Information.  Sorrow not as men without hope, but comfort one another.] Obs. There is a sorrow for departed friends, which God condemns not. We are forbid an hopeless sorrow, v. 13. but simply to mourn for the loss of our gracious Relations we are not where forbidden. He that hath wrapped up natural affections in our bowels, doth not prohibit the due and moderate exercise of them. Those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, persons without natural affections are in the black Roll amongst the most ulcerous and excrescent part of mankind: To be without natural affections is to do violence against Nature herself, and to violate the law of humanity. Covenant breakers without natural affection] are monsters, not men. Christ himself, who knew no sin, yet being acquainted with all our griefs, even had this kind of sorrow for the dead, John 11.35. Jesus wept, and his tears do here instruct us in our duty. Holy Paul blots his Epistle to the Ephesians with his tears for Epaphroditus, Lest (saith he) I should have sorrow upon sorrow; he was sorrowful for his sickness, had he died there would have been another flood of tears, sorrow upon sorrow. Where mention is made of the death of public persons, there public lamentations for them is mentioned also: The Spirit of God doth no where reprove those tears, but rather puts a value upon them as so many pearls. As in the mourning for Jacob, Gen. 50.11. for Josias, 2 Chron. 35.24. for Samuel, 1 Sam. 25.1. for Stephen, Acts 8.2. It's reckoned amongst God's thunderbolts, 
Psal, 78.64.  Their widows made no lamentation. The removal of God's peace from a people, and prohibition to mourn for their dead, are twin-judgments, or one the birth of another: Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament, nor bemoan them, for I have taken away my peace from this people. Tears are like wine, you may pour them out, but take heed of excess; Be not drunk with tears, wherein is excess: you may weep, but as those that weep not; you may mourn, but not as others, which have no hope: 
1 Cor. 7.30.  these affections are natural, but this hope will baptise and regenerate them.  
Secondly, Hence we learn, 
2. Branch of Information.  There is another work or duty incumbent on Christians, under the loss of gracious Relations, Then only to mourn for them, namely, to inquire, yea, 
1 King. 20.33  (with Benhadad's servants) diligently to observe what words of comfort do fall from the lips of Scripture, and hastily to catch at them: q. d. Comfort another with these words: yea, Lord! with these words do thou comfort thy servant!  
We are usually either senseless under, or swallowed up with great losses; either our bowels, are made of iron, or they melt like wax, and we faint away: Vehement sorrow is like raging fire, that turns every thing into its own nature. It's thy work therefore to study recruits, as well as to poor upon thy losses, to ballast thy soul with divine comforts: If I go not away the Comforter cannot come: 
John 16.7.  Many times the best of our earthly enjoyments stand between us and our heavenly consolations: But if I go away I will send him unto you. It is good to resolve with ourselves, be my loss in this world never so great, it is capable of a reparation. For certainly, if the loss of Christ in his bodily presence were to be repaired, there is nothing under the whole heaven, the loss whereof we can sustain, but may much easilier be made up with advantage, to be sure the presence of the Comforter is able to do it with an infinite overplus. It is thy wisdom therefore to balance thy soul with divine comforts; as afflictions abound, run to thy Cordial, these words, that thy consolations may abound also: if the affliction scale be heavier than the consolation scale, thou wilt certainly sink in thy spirit, and then thy burden will break thy back: 
Prov. 18.14.  The spirit of a man is able to sustain his infirmity. Thou mayst mourn, but that is not all thou hast to do, 
2 Cor. 4, 14.  it concerns thee to get a cordial to keep thy heart from fainting: For this cause we faint not. Mark, the Apostle had (always) his Cordial about him, so do thou, be equally just to thyself, as to thy deceased friends. Thou owest them a debt of tears, hast thou paid it? Now be just to thyself, thou owest a care to thy soul, that thou sin not, to thy spirit, that it sink not; must thou needs die, because thy Husband, thy Child, thy Friend is dead? Look after divine consolation, let it not be a small thing to thee, neither say thou (by interpretation) nay, if God will have this comfort from me, let him take all. Take heed of weeping thyself blind, as to the consolations of God, as Hagar did, there was a well spring of water close by her, but she had cried out her eyes, and could not see it, Gen. 21.16. until God opened her eyes, verse 19 There is too much of the pride and sullenness of the Babylonish Favourite in us, who when he had made a large and boasting recital of his Court favours, could throw away all in a pet for want of a compliment, Yet all this availeth me nothing, 
Hest. 5.12, 13.  so long as I see Mordieai the Jew sitting at the King's gate.  
In all things pray and give thanks, Phil. 4.6. Oh labour for the quick eye of faith, which can spy out a little mercy in a great deal of affliction, and can fit down and give thanks: A Christian is never in such an affliction, but he hath as much cause to praise God, as he hath to pray unto him, 
Lum. 3.2.  yea, many mercies for one affliction; that it is not so bad, but it might be worse, to be sure it is not hell● 2. That when ever he takes away one comfort he leaves more: 3. 
Psal. 30.5.  That heaviness may continue for a night, but joy in the morning. 4. And in the mean time he hath a God to go unto, Oh love the Lord all ye his Saints, Psal. 31.23.  
3. 
3. Branch of Information.  Observe further the goodness and condescensions of God, who hath laid in comfort before hand against a time of sorrow and mourning: Cordials ready prepared to keep the hearts of his people from fainting in the hour of temptation, like a good Chirurgeon, he hath in his Chest a Salve for every Wound, a Cordial for every Qualm; there is not a fear in Gods people's hearts, but there is a fear not in God's Book to antidote it withal, and yea here in this model of divine comfort, you have ten fear notes for one fear; ten words of comfort for one grief, conceived for the loss of a dear Relation, These words, 
2 Cor. 1.5.  that if our sorrow should abound, our consolations may much more abound by Christ.  
God dealeth in this case with his people, just as he dealt with our first Parents, providing a plaster beforehand to clap on the wound of conviction of sin, in the promise of the seed of the woman, that should break the Serpent's head. 
Gen. 3.15.  Lest the wound should take cold, fester, and (by delay) prove incurable, all the Promises in Scripture, they are but so many Receipts written down beforehand in the Book of the great Physician of souls for the use of all God's Family, the Saints of God from the beginning of the world; there are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, i. e. concerning exceeding great and precious things, 
1 Pet. 1.4.  and they are all yea and Amen in Jesus Christ, verity and infallibility. Thither, therefore, let all God's Patients go, and search, and read, and take whatever Receipt suiteth best with their Malady, and they shall (rightly applied) find present ease, and infallible cure, in the constant and believing use thereof: For whatsoever was written aforetime, was written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope, Rom. 15.4.  
God's compassions over his mourners are great, and therefore his consolations are not small. Though God would have his people deeply humbled and tried to the quick, yet he would not have their spirits sink under the temptation; and therefore, when he observes them to begin to faint, he ceaseth contending with them, and gins his comforting work for the iniquity of his covetousness, 
Isa. 57.18.  I smote him, and was wrath, but when God saw that would do no good, he trieth another course, I will restore comforts to him. Just as when a Parent is correcting a Child, and the Child cries, and swoons, presently away goes the rod, and the strong-water-bottle is snatched up, and applied to the mouth of the Child; so compassionately dealeth God with his fainting Children.  
It is a wonderful expression which God useth towards Ephraim, Jer. 31.20. My bowels are troubled for him. Ephraim saith, I smote upon my thigh, and presently God smites upon his heart, and cries out, My bowels are troubled for him, I will have mercy upon him: O ineffable sympathy! answerable whereunto, God hath a cup of consolation prepared in his hand, which he putteth to their mouths, and bids drink, yea, drink abundantly of it, till they forget their sorrows, even that overflowing cup, Fullness of joy and pleasures for ever at his right hand. Ever with the Lord. 
Psal. 103.13.  Surely as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him; and such compassions would he have to fill the bowels of all his Evangelical Messengers: 
Isa. 40.1, 2.  Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith their God, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, etc. Thus doth God fill up his Title brimful, and running over, The Father of mercies, 
2 Cor. 1.3.  and the God of all comfort.  
In the fourth place, 
4. Branch of Information.  here you may see the absolute and indispensable necessity of faith, without which, all the choicest consolations, and richest cordials the Word can afford, are but so much water of life in a dead man's mouth, or as Elisha's Staff upon the face of the dead Child, 
● King. 4.  which causeth neither voice nor motion: 
Heb. 10.38.  The just shall live by faith; an unbelieving man is but a dead man; for as faith is the first principle of spiritual life, so it is the constant medium, whereby the spiritual fuel and restoratives of that life are brought in, and made vital to the soul, The life I now live in the flesh, I live it by the faith of the Son of God. Christ's flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed, but it is to faith only, it is not meat indeed, if there be not faith indeed; He that cometh to me shall never hunger: What's that? He that believeth on me shall never thirst. The Word of God is the power of God to salvation, 
Rom. 1.16.  but it is to them only who believe. God hath provided a cup of consolation for his fainting people in their swooning fits, but it is the hand of faith that must take it, and the mouth of faith only that can drink it. The unbeliever is an unhappy man, nothing can do him good; 
Heb. 4.2.  The word doth not profit, not being mixed with faith. The body and blood of Christ proves poison instead of divine nutriment, because it is not received by faith: This is the will of him that sent me (saith our Lord) that he that believeth on me may have everlasting life: Divine Cordials so magisterial, that they are able (as it were) to put life into a dead man: give them to an unbeliever, they signify no more than water in the shoes: Oh get faith, Saints, act your faith, or else ye are undone. Great notions are but small comforts to a natural man, and the reason is, because they are above him: nothing can act above its principle, you can never comfort a Swine with arguments of reason; no more can ye comfort a carnal heart with heavenly consolations; the reason is, 
Quiequid recipitur, recipitur ad modum recipientu.  because both are above the constitutive principles of either: Divine notions may serve a man (without faith) to discourse by, but they will never serve him to live by; reason may discourse upon them, but faith must live upon them: The life I now live I live by the faith, etc. Therefore doth the Apostle there put the cup of consolation into the hand of faith, ver. 14. If we believe, that Jesus died, and rose again, etc. There is an inexhaustible fullness of comfort in Christ, and in the Promises, but not one drop to be drawn forth without faith. The breasts of Scripture-consolation are full, they even drop again; but it is the mouth of faith that must suck them out: the stillborn Child may as well-draw the Mother's dug, as a faithless Christian make the teats of Scripture to afford any drop of divine influence to his drooping soul; but to the believer it is cried (at least by way of accommodation) Suck ye, 
Isa. 66.11, 12.  and be satisfied with the breasts of consolation, milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of glory. A man may as well live and laugh without a soul, as have true evangelical comfort without faith, which is the bond of union between Christ and the Soul, and so being united to the fountain, 
1 Pet. 1.18.  Believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and glorious. This is that golden pipe, through which all the golden oil of grace and comfort is derived into the heart. 
Zech. 4.12.  The men of the world may have vast proportions of knowledge, both natural and divine, but mere knowledge is light without heat, but faith warms the heart, as they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us, when he spoke unto us? If I assent and consent to the glorious Doctrine of the Resurrection, knowing, with Job, that my Redeemer liveth, etc. I can (in that) triumph over all occurrent evils, over the Grave itself, though it swallow up my dearest Relations: If I believe not, I am like a thirsty man at a well without a bucket, where I may sooner drown myself than quench my thirst. Oh get the bucket of Faith, and then with joy may ye draw water out of these wells of salvation, These words.  
Hence we are informed, 
5. Branch of Information.  that it is a special duty of Christians, to administer words of comfort to their mourning friends, according to their various temptations and trials. It is the very law of those consolations, wherewith the Holy Ghost doth comfort us in our afflictions, that we may be able to comfort them, which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God: A lesson (it seemeth) Jobs friends had learned, and came to put in practice, when by mutual consent they met together at Job's house, Job 2 11. this was their end, though unhappily they mistook their work, by spicing their cup of consolation with too many bitter ingredients, (whose error may it be our caution.) Thus also we read in the Gospel of many friends, who came to comfort Marth● and Mary concerning their brother, supposed to be dead.  
Christians, your eyes are not your own; we are commanded to rejoice with them that rejoice, and to weep with those that weep in point of affection, we should he like the primitive Christians, have all things in common; we should joy our brethren's joys, mourn their sorrows, lament their sufferings, and endeavour their comfort as our own, else we turn engrossers, yea, we become guilty of Sacrilege in robbing one another of divine treasure; our comforts are not given us for ourselves only, but for the afflicted: Saints they have a common right one to another's graces, comforts and experiences, and Christ's word should always sound in our ears, Strengthen thy brethren. How ornamental were those Christians in the once famous Roman Church, of whom the Apostle presumeth, I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, 
Rom. 15.14.  that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another: Oh that as many as do abound in abilities, would pray for wisdom to parcel out those abilities into all the Christian Offices commended to them by the Holy Ghost in their several seasons: To warn the unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, etc. Oh how beautiful are the feet of those Christians, 
Tit. 3.1.  who are ready to every good work, as the hand in joint ready to turn every way for the use and service of the body? A Christian should nevor be unfurnished of a reproof for sinners, nor of a word of comfort for distressed Saints. Let none have cause from thee in their sorrows to complain, as the blubbered Church in the Lamentation, saying, There is none to comfort me. Oh that Christians would study to show themselves good Scribes instructed to the Kingdom of God, bringing out of their treasures things new and old! Be not of the Sect of the stonyhearted Levite, that had not one drop of pity to pour into the wounded Traveller, lest thy wounds another day (as so many mouths) plead for pity to deaf ears: Hast thou not thyself been comforted in thy troubles? 
John 14.18.  Hath not Christ made good that great promise, I will not leave thee comfortless, I will come unto thee? How often have the everlasting arms kept thy soul from sinking! How frequently have the Messengers of Christ refreshed thy weary soul! And hast thou forgot those arms of mercy, as not to help thy brother with thy little finger! Hath God conferred on thee such treasures of comfort, and hast thou not one mite to bestow upon thy disconsolate Brother.  
It is their infirmity sometimes, that they are not in a capacity to close with comfort when it is tendered unto them, but, with Rachel weeping for her children, they refuse to be comforted for their children, or friends, because they are not: but it is thy sin and guilt, if at any time they faint, because thou drawest not forth thy soul unto them in a way of seasonable relief, if they fall at thy door for want of bread.  
It is angelical employment to comfort a weary soul; a great part of their ministration is to comfort the elect in their temptations, as you may see by comparing Matth. 4.11. with Heb. 1.14. It is the work of the malignant Angels, to grieve and add to the sorrow of the Saints; and the world may know by this whose work they do, when they deride the tears, and bitter moan-making of Gods isaac's, 
Gen. 21.9. Gal. 4.29.  upon which the Holy Ghost sets the black brand of persecution, he mocked, saith the Story, he persecuted, saith the Interpretation. Well Christians, do as much as ever you can of this Angelical work, of which there will be no need in heaven, to give or take the great work enjoined here in my Text, Comfort one another with these words; which doth also hint unto us another instruction. These words.  
God's words of comfort are the only words of comfort: 
6. Branch of Information.  God is the God of consolation, 2 Cor. 1.3. The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort: 
God is the caus●●ontan● of comfort.  all comfort doth emanate from God as water out of the fountain; nothing can be in the stream, but what was first in the fountain; he is the Father of mercies; there are no mercies pure and legitimate but what are of his begetting, which can call God Father; no waters are pure, and vital, but those that are fetched out of the fountain: And therefore those Pronouns are very sweet, and carry the greatest emphasis with them, Thy comforts delight my soul, Psal. 94.10. My peace I leave with you, John 14.27. A soul throughly awakened will never take its rest again, or be comforted, until God speak a word of comfort from his own mouth: Make me to hear joy and gladness, 
Psal. 51.8.  that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. It was not all the honours and pleasures of David's Dominions, it was not all the victories and spoils of his enemies, yea, it was not all his prayers and tears (though every night he made his couch swim with them, Psal. 6.) that could whisper a syllable of comfort to his sin-scorched conscience, until God himself spoke them with his own hand, (that's the specially of comfort, which the Apostle begs for his Thessalonians) Now the God of peace himself, 2 Thess. 3.16. 
Chap. 2.16,  give you peace: Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God even our Father, i. e. himself comfort you. That is right peace which God himself giveth, and that is true comfort which Christ himself speaks: Therefore prayeth the holy man, Make me to hear joy and gladness, q. d. Lord speak so loud, that I may hear the voice, and speak so distinctly, that I may know whose voice it is; that I may know it is thou thyself that speakest to my Soul, that I may say, It is the voice of my Beloved, etc.  
Christians, I know God may, and doth oftentimes convey his comforts by the lips of his faithful Messengers, and Servants, 
Isai 40.1.  Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, etc. speak to her heart (as the Hebrew phraseth it) I say the Prophets were but God's mouth to deliver the message, and so are the Ministers of the Gospel, and other of his Saints; but be sure the comforts which you administer be Gods comforts, see that ye can say with the Apostle in another case, 
1 Cor. 11.13.  That, which I have received of the Lord, deliver I unto you. Be sure what you dispense from God be these words, be sure your words of comfort be none but such as Christ himself would speak were he upon the place: Do not my words do good, 
Mic. 17. Jer. ●3 28.  saith the Lord? Yes, they be God's words only that can comfort fainting souls: But what is the chaffe to the wheat, saith the Lord?  
It is true, the Devil and the World have their counterfeit Cordials, their guilded Pills and Plasters, which, like Quacksalvers, make quick Cures, but they never heal to the bottom; they may for a time stupefy the sense, but they do not mortify sensuality, ease the smart, but not cleanse the wound. Saul, when the evil Spirit was upon him, calls for a Fiddle, and when God hath forsaken him, he goes to the Witch, as if, because God would not answer him, the Devil should: Most people have learned a way of their own, some to drink down their sorrow, and sleep out the sense of those breaches, which God hath made upon their Relations, or in a crowd of worldly business can lose their sorrows, yea, many carnal Professors there are, when they have disturbed their peace, and wounded their Consciences, can make a shift to lick themselves whole with their duties, a few Pater-nosters, Church-absolution, a morsel of Sacramental bread, and a drop of the Sacramental cup will make them as well as ever, though that which stilleth conscience never killeth corruptions, what a world of souls doth Satan gain by such cures, Eating and drinking damnation to themselves, 1 Cor. 11.30.  
In this affliction of the loss of dear Relations, the World, when she comes to visit the surviving Mourners, wants not her Cordials, but oh what pitiful puddle water, instead of water of life, doth she administer! We must be contented (say they) there is no remedy, God will have it so, we cannot help it; and however their friends have lived, in-grace-a-God they are well, we must live by the living, and not by the dead; and with such dirty rags, as these, they bind up one another's dreadful stinking wounds; or peradventure others there be, that with the stout shoulder of fortune may bear their wounds without complaining; some Porters can carry greater loads than others can; or else (on the other hand) some corky spirits ye have, whom much lead will not make sink in the waters of affliction.  
But alas all these are but lying vanities, and will stand men in least stead when they stand in most need of comfort. Oh that men had faith to believe, that all these are Physicians of no value! Christ's words are the only words of comfort, Then shall we be ever with the Lord. So our Lord again, Let not your heart be troubled, 
John 14.1, 2.  ye believe in God, believe also in me, in my Father's house are many mansions: With thee is the fountain of life, 
Psal. 36.9.  and in thy light we shall see light, These, these indeed, are Apples of gold, which, when they meet with Pictures of silver, 
Prov. 25.11.  hearts truly capable of such consolation, are very beautiful, Comfort one another with these words.  
Hence be we instructed, 
7. Branch of Information.  If it be the duty of Christians to administer words of comfort to Mourners, than it is also the duty of Mourners to open their ears and hearts to receive those words; if those Apples of Gold meet not with pictures of silver, they are lost and cast away. If God should send an Angel, or any Messenger of peace to comfort you in your trouble, what a sin would it be to make him go away ashamed, with an Who hath believed our report? Or, Lord, I have delivered thy message, and all thy precious Cordials were of no value. I know there be few or none of God's Mourners, that dare do this in terminis, in express language; but what and if a deaf ear, and a dejected countenance, and a dead heart; unchearful conversation alter all the words of comfort, which God sends thee by his Messengers, be so● with God, by interpretation? May not this provoke God to afflict thee more, and to increase thy sorrows, until the pride of thy heart be abated? May I not say unto thee, as Joab to David, when he grew sullen upon the death of Absalon, Thou hast shamed the face of God's Messengers, 
● S●m. 19.5.  and hast declared, that the consolations of God are small in thine eyes? Now therefore arise, and thankfully embrace their message of peace, or else it may be worse unto thee, than all the evil, that befell thee from thy youth; until now. Surely it is as great an indignity to slight Gods comforts, as it is to scorn God's counsels: this spurns against God's Authority, that tramples upon his compassion; this man doth resist the Spirit, that man doth grieve the Spirit, and if thou grieve away the Comforter, who shall comfort thee at length? If David took the affront which Hanun put on his Messengers sent to comfort him over his Father's death, so heinously, that he armeth Joab, and all his men of war against him, to avenge the indignity, how justly may God send forth Armies of afflictions against thee, for thy sullen refusal of his tender hearted consolations?  
Surely there is more pride in such refusals, than Christians are easily convinced of; for is it not by interpretation to say, my loss is not to be repaired, my wound is incurable, there is no balm in Gilead that can heal thy hurt! Is it not, as if thou shouldst say, there was but one intolerable thing in the world, and God must needs send that upon thee! Dear Christian, be afraid by thy frowardness of running the hazard of such an interpretation: That Question of Eliphaz to Job, 
J●b 15.11.  Are the consolations of God small with thee? implieth greater unkindness in refusing divine comfort, than Mourners are willing to believe. God could not do thee wrong in taking away thy amiable Relation from thee (it was but calling for his loan again, which he lent thee) and yet doth he send to comfort thee. Oh how thy head, and worship, and say, Behold the servant of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy Word.  
Poor disconsolate soul, know thou that every crumb of comfort, which falls from Christ's mouth, is more precious than a Ruby; and who art thou, that thou shouldst refuse Cordials from Heaven made of the blood of Christ? Jewels taken out of Gods own Cabinet. Away, away, Christian, with Rachel's peevishness, and Ionas his passion, which serve for nothing, but to turn sorrow into sin. I do well to be angry doth ill become meekness of Christ's Spouse, say rather, I will bear the indignation of the Lord, 
Mic. 7.9.  because I have sinned against him. What if God hath given thee a bitter potion, he comes now to comfort thee, he offers thee a sovereign Cordial, Oh spill it not upon the ground, as a vile thing, nor say in thy passion, Let God keep his Cordials to himself, and so, as it were, take revenge on God for afflicting thee: Oh lay thine hand upon thy mouth, yea, put thy mouth in the dust, that it may not cause thy flesh to sin.  
Thou art a man, or woman of sorrows, it were thy wisdom, as well as thy duty, to look out for some spiritual Cordials, and not to reject soul refreshment when it is offered; say not to thy comforters, with the Prophet Isaiah, Look away from me, 
Isai. 22.4.  I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, and thy case will not bear it: He was weeping the Church's tears, thou art poring over a private personal trial, consider in so doing, thou art but preparing new causes of sorrow for thine own soul, and when thou hast done sorrowing for thy loss, thou wilt begin anew to sorrow for thy sin in so sorrowing. Hark soul, Ever be with the Lord. Is not there a word, that may wipe away all tears from thine eyes, even on this side heaven!  
In the next place, 
8. Branch of Information.  hence we gather this sad truth, scil. That there is not a word of comfort belonging to wicked men when they die, nor while they live in sin. Comfort one another; none other but one another; not the ungodly; they and their parasites may flatter themselves and one another; but there is not one word of comfort belonging to them: of all those Rivers of pleasures that are at God's right hand not one drop for a Dives. Of all those treasures of glory not one mite for an Esau. Indeed pity belongs to wicked men, and reproof belongs to them, Reprove them rather, Ephes. 5.11. and counsel belongs to them, Let the wicked forsake his wickedness: and expostulation belongs to them, Why will ye die? etc. And prayer belongs to them, Father forgive them, etc. But comfort doth not belong to them. Consolation is none of their portion in the state wherein they are. As there is no peace to the wicked, so consequently no comfort for them. Indeed a wicked man hath his portion, but 'tis a dreadful one, Psal. 11.6. Upon the wicked shall the Lord rain snares, fire and brimstone (alluding to the destruction of Sodom) this shall be the portion of their cup; these fiery ingredients shall be put into their cup, after the delicious draughts of sinful pleasures: this was Dives his case, Luke 16.23, 24, etc. after his delicate fare, the Devils snap dragon, draughts of flaming fire was his portion for ever; and this is all the comfort that is to be administered to them, Isai. 3.11. Say thou to the wicked it shall be ill with him; They shall be cast into utter darkness with the Devil and his Angels for ever, etc. These are their words of comfort; they are ministers of hell, who have any better words of comfort for wicked men (while wicked:) for the Devil would have them dance about the snare till their foot be taken in his gin. They that can cry peace, peace, when there is no peace, are the Devils Factors, who bring him in the greatest revenues to his Kingdom.  
But alas! how shall a wicked man be comforted? His death is not a sleep, but death indeed; 
Rev. 6.8.  death armed with all its horrors; death with its sting, which is sin, death with hell at the heels of it, death with the wrath of God, and death with the loss of eternal life.  
Indeed a wicked man shall rise again, but it is that he may have the more solemn trial, and more tremendous sentence from the Judge, in the face of heaven and earth, and who can comfort him, that doth truly represent his condition to him?  
How much then are we concerned to labour to be such as may have comforters in our own death, 
9 Branch of Information.  and leave matter of comfort to our surviving friends? It is a duty incumbent on us, to make our death as comfortable to ourselves, and our godly friends as may be: And how is that done? but in a word to get an interest in Christ, Scripture evidence of that interest, and the Seal of the Spirit to those evidences.  
The death of some persons is exceeding dreadful, not only to themselves, but to standers by; this is the (supposed) reason of that lamentable ingemination of David, Oh my Son Absalon, my Son, my Son Absalon, q. d. Absalon died in his rebellion, I fear he is fallen into a worse hand than Joabs': Oh that my death might have prevented so dreadful a miscarriage; Oh Absalon! would God I had died for thee!  
But alas, my brethren, it is not freedom from such parricidious villainies, no, nor all the moral innocence in the world, nor civil righteousness in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the altitude of it, that can fill a dying Saint with joy, or the surviving godly Mourners with comfort: whatever blaze unregenerate persons make in the world, they go out like a stinking snuff, but a Saint leaves a presume behind him, he embalms his own death, he leaves every one of his weeping friends a Legacy of hope concerning his eternal state; he sets up a lustre in the House of mourning, brighter than those were with which Great men's Hearses are watched, and in an instant turneth it into a House of rejoicing; he is entered into glory, and hath left behind him the prints of his feet to guide us thither, and being dead yet speaks to us, as Christ to Mary Magdalene, Why weepest thou? The wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death, Prov. 14.32: Study therefore, I say, an interest in Christ, that while you are ravished with the joys of Heaven, you may leave comfort on Earth for your godly Relations.  
Carnal friends are satisfied with a negative holiness for themselves, or for their Relations that die before them; to be better than the worst is evidence enough to them of a blessed state; or whatever their life hath been, put but in, a little dead repentance into the premises, they will put heaven into the conclusion; Oh, say they, he is happy, he is in heaven sure enough.  
But Christians, whose eyes have been opened to look into the horror of the bottomless pit, out of which free grace hath redeemed the Saints, the purity of the Gospel rule, and the glory that shall be revealed at the appearance of the Lord Jesus, they cannot take up with such miserable comforts as men usually die with. And it must needs be an addition to the torments of hell, to leave godly Relations mourning under the dreadful apprehensions of a Relation miscarrying to all eternity. And to be regardless of our friend's anxiety of spirit even in this respect, is somewhat less charity than they have in hell. Dives in hell was solicitous to prevent his brethren's coming thither.  
Graceless Relations dying, with the marks of their unregeneracy upon them, do even scorch the hearts of their gracious surviving friends, with the sense of those flames which they suffer. So it will be to them while they are yet in the body, 
Woodcock his Sermon of Heaven, p. 657.  though at the Resurrection (as one saith) it shall be no more allay to their joy, than if they saw so many fishes caught in a net.  
Impartially therefore and accurately examine your own estates, make your Consciences faithfully to answer this Question.  
Can I give myself or friends comfort in this present state, should I die this very moment?  
If Conscience, assisted with Scripture light, say no, this is a lost estate, this is a damnable condition I am now in, oh poor wretch! how highly doth it concern thee this very hour to look about thee? for thou knowest not how near thou art to the last point and period of thine appointed time. 
Vide Morning Exercise Giles in the Fields, 1659.  It is a vain thing for thee to comfort thyself without some Scripture grounds of interest in Christ, who is the resurrection and the life. Paul sends Tychichus to comfort the Colossians, but he must know their state first, Colos. 4.8. That he may know their state, and comfort their heart.  
We have a generation that comfort others, without knowing their spiritual estate; which is to clap on a plaster without searching the wound; a way to lead men to hell hoodwinked; the spiritual estate must be known before comfort can be well applied. Examine therefore, and suffer others to examine and search how it is with your souls in relation to Christ and Grace, what knowledge, what repentance, what faith, what mortification, what contempt of the world, what love to Christ, what thoughts of the world to come?  If these things be in you and abound, then comfort your hearts; For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly, into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
In the tenth and last place: 
10. Branch of Information.  Hence we are informed how much it concerns every man and woman, that would comfortably observe this blessed Command, of administering comfort to himself, or others who are in tribulation; I say, how much it concerns them to search the Scriptures: O study the Scriptures, that Magazine and Storehouse of all divine comfort! especially, in the reading of Scriptures, to make a Collection of the Promises, which are the nests and boxes of Christ's Cordials and Antidotes against the fainting Fits to which Believers themselves are subjects there are the soul-refreshing water-brooks, the wells of salvation, ever sending forth streams of consolation, to make glad the City of God Here is Christ's Wine cellar, and Banqueting-house, 
Cant. 2.4.  to which he doth invite his disconsolate Spouse, and where he doth revive her fainting soul, according to her longing desire: Stay me with apples, and comfort me with flagons, for I am sick of love.  
What though the Scripture and the Promises do abound with consolation, if we be ignorant and unacquainted with the variety, nature and use of these heavenly Ingredients? they signify no more to us, than for a man to be in an Apothecary's shop, fraught with the richest Drugs, but he knows not the boxes where they are laid, nor the virtue of them; he and his friends may die in a Fit, and miscarry in the midst of all those Preservatives; or if he venture on them, he may (peradventure) take poison instead of Cordials. Wherefore study the Promises, and in studying of them, be careful to refer them to their distinct heads: Make yourselves Catalogues of Promises, that refer to several soul distresses and exigencies; and do as Apothecaries, 
Collect the Promises of Scripture into distinct heads.  writ their titles over their Heads: Promises for pardon; Promises for power against corruption; Promises for comfort; prison Promises; sickbed Promises; Promises relating to the loss of gracious Relations, etc. I say, be careful skilfully to sort your Promises, that you may know whither to go, when you repair to the Scriptures, and may not administer mistaken Ingredients, corrosives instead of Cordials, as Job's friends did; nor Cordials instead of corrosives, as the generality of ignorant Christians do.  
2. Study the great art of officing the Promises; labour to know to which of the Offices of Christ every Promise doth relate; which to his Kingly Office, as the Promises of grace, and increase of grace, and power against temptation, the conquering of death, and the fear of death: which, belong to his Prophetical office, as promises of knowing God, and Christ, and the Spirit, promises of being taught of God; inward, powerful, experimental knowledge: what Promises belong to his Sacerdotal office, as promises of reconciliation to God, peace with God, acceptance of person, and performances, peace of Conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, comfort in the loss of sweetest Relations: and this will be of great use to enable you in prayer to plead the Promises, and to put them in suit in the proper office; a great honour to Christ, and a mighty help and encouragement to faith.  
3, Pray for the Spirit, whose Office is to make good the Promises to the Children of Promise, and upon that very account called, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Comforter, The Promises are never comfort, until the Spirit apply them to the Conscience, and then they are Cordials indeed, whether to ourselves or others; then they are full of life and power, and can with one taste comfort more than all the Arguments of Philosophy in the world.  
And verily, Christians, as all the Cordials in Scripture are no Cordials, until they are applied to the Conscience by a powerful hand, and breathed into the soul, by the warm vital animation of the Spirit of God to know it; yourselves be Physicians of no value, in this great work of comforting one another, until ye learn to join the words of prayer with the words of comfort; until by prayer you call in the presence and power of the Comforter, who only is able to make these words to be so many real consolations. Amen.   
Soli Deo Gloria.  
FINIS.   

A TABLE Of the principal things contained in this TREATISE. The first Figure notes the Part, The second the Page.  

A  
A Basement of Christ, 3.20 

Christ his abasement and exaltation compared together, 3.21    
Absolution, the Saints shall be absolved in the last day from all guilt and punishment, 2.134 

And in what sense, 2.136  
Not sufficient to capacitate the Saints for glory. 2.139    
Accusation: the Saints shall not be accused by Christ, 2.131  
Adam most probably saved, 3.78  
Affections, the Saints shall be like God in their affections, 3.80 

They may be moderately exercised, 3.144    
Air, the place where Christ will stay to meet his Saints, and why, 

1. Because of the capacity of the place, 2.125  
2. Because of the conspicuity of the judgement, 2.126    
Angels instruments of the Saints ascension divers ways, 2.106 

They separate the sheep from the goats ministerially, 2.114.  
They shall present the elect before Christ in the air, 2.127  
They shall drag the wicked to the Tribunal to receive their sentence, 2.164  
The reprobate Angels shall be judged for their first Apostasy, and for all their malice against the Saints ever since. 2.164  
How Saints shall hereafter converse with them, 3.15  
How they converse among themselves, 3.16  
How they will be interpreters of God to the Saints in Heaven, 3.18  
Communion with them in heaven will be a great increase of our happiness, 3.16  
They will communicate excellent notions to the Saints in heaven, 3.17    
Antinomians notion about Christ his being in us. 1.29  
Apology, the sinner shall not make any Apology for himself at the great Assize, 2.172  
Apostles, how they shall judge the twelve tribes, 1.49  
Appeal, there will be no appeal from the great Tribunal, 2.169  
An appeal from Moses to Christ, 2.169  
Arrians in denying the deity of Christ discover a double ignorance, 1.25  
Ascension of the Saints one consequent of Christ his Resurrection; It will be effected, 

1. By the power of Christ, 2.104  
2. By the ministry of the Angels, 2.106  
3. By the spirituality of the Saints own bodies, 2.107  
It is a continued resurrection. 2.104.  
How the Saints ascension holds due proportion with their Lord, 2.108  
The Saints shall meet together before their ascension, 2.112    
Assessor, the Saints shall be assessors with Christ at the judgement, 2.164  
Assurance, some Saints have it, but not all. 2.136 

Motives to it, 3.111  
It hath been obtained, 3.112  
A work never unseasonable, and most seasonable in times of danger, 3.114  
It will make Christians fruitful, 3.117  
To endeavour after it an evidence of heaven, 3.119  
It brings divers privileges, 3.114  
Whether every one that hath a right to heaven hath an assurance of it, Neg. 3.121  
What are the mediums to attain assurance, 3.123  
A twofold Office of the Spirit in attaining assurance, 3.123  
It is much hindered by our unkindness to Christ, 3.128    
Atheists, and divers other sorts of sinners, will be convinced at the day of judgement, 2.165  
Attributes of God a foundation of the Saints eternity, 3.87   

B  
Believers, how said to be in Christ, and Christ how said to be in believers, 1.22 

They are Kings, Prophets & Priests, 1.31  
They are the sons of God, 1.31  
They are united to the whole divine nature in the Deity, and to each Person of the Trinity, 1.35    
Blessedness, the blessedness of the Saints in heaven is everlasting, 3.84 

The reasons of it, 

1. Christ's merit, 3.85  
2. The Saints immortal souls, 3.86  
3. The Saints graces eternal, Ib.  
4. The attributes of God, 3.87 

1. His wisdom, ibid.  
2. His veracity and truth, 3.88  
3. His immutability, 3.91  
4. His mercy, 3.92  
5. His omnipotency, ibid.  
6. His eternity, ibid.  
7. His love, 3.96  
8. His justice, 3, 92        
Blood, the blood of Christ is the fountain of merit, but the spirit of Christ the fountain of efficacy, 1.122  
Body, the body shall be incorruptible, 2.89 

It shall be glorious, 2.90 

1. By virtue of a Principle within, 2.90  
2. By virtue of an external irradiation, ibid.    
It will depend wholly on the soul at the resurrection, 2.95  
It is a vile body, 2.97  
The bodies of the saints shall be like unto God, 3.82    
Book, the book of God's remembrance, and the book of conscience will agree exactly together, 2, 267   

C  
Children of believers when they die are not to be looked upon as a lost generation, 1.8  
Christ accounts not himself full without his members, 1.17 

His resurrection why called his youth, 1.16  
He risen as a public head, on which account  
1. The saints are said to be risen already, 1.14  
2. They are assured they shall arise, 1.15  
He arose by his own strength, 1.12  
He is risen as our first fruits, 1.19  
How he is said to be in a believer, and a believer said to be in Christ, 1.22  
How he is the hope of salvation, 1.43  
His own words more authentic than tradition or revelation, 2.63  
Whether he shall sit on a visible throne, 2.70  
He will appear in the same humane nature he assumed of the Virgin, and why, 2.71  
He will appear personally for three reasons, 2.70  
His first and second coming compared, 2.71  
His being Judge great terror to the wicked, 2.73  
Great comfort to the godly, 2.75  
Two reasons of the certainty of his coming, 

1. Reason saith he may come, 2.78  
2. Faith saith he must come, ibid. Witness 

1. His purchase, ibid.  
2. His promise, 2.79  
3. Sacrament of the Supper, ibid.  
4. His Resurrection. ibid.      
The manner of his coming it will be by a threefold summons 

1 A shout, 2.80  
2 A voice of Archangel, 2.81  
3 The Trump of God, ibid.    
His coming to give the Law, and his coming to judgement compared, 2.82  
Separation from him the worst part of hell. 2.105  
His blood the fountain of merit, but his spirit the fountain of efficacy, 1.122  
The benefit of his subjecting of himself to the Law, redoundeth not unto himself but to the saints, 2.145  
He solemnly espoused the saints to himself, 2.162  
He had a twofold right to the Kingdom of glory, 

1 Natural, 3.19.  
2 Constitutive, ib.    
A superlative love to him an evidence of heaven, 3.120    
Christians must reject no doctrine warranted by the word, 2.67  
Church, it is Christ's outward, not inward fullness, 1.17 

Comfort for them that are unjustly excluded, 2.117    
Closet, closet duties shall be remembered at the last day, 2.128  
Cohabitation with Christ containeth four privileges, 

1 Presence, 3.2.  
2 Vision, ibid.  
3 Fruition, 3.50  
4 Confomity, 3.77    
Commendation, Saints shall be praised and commended at the last day, for their graces, though wrought in them, etc. 2.132  
Comfort, we should administer comfort to mourning friends, 3.150 

All comfort is in God, 3.153  
Ministers must see that the comforts they administer be Gods comforts, 3.154  
Much pride in refusing comfort, 3.157  
It is as great an indignity to God, to slight his comforts as to scorn his counsels, 3.156  
No comfort belongs to wicked men when they die, 3.158  
We should labour for comfort in our own death, and leave matter of comfort to our surviving friends, 3.160  
Words of prayer to be joined with words of comfort, 3.165    
Compassion, compassions of God are great, and therefore so are his consolations, 3.148  
Confidence, many confident of heaven, that have least right to it, 3.117  
Conformity of the saints to Christ in the resurrection hath its beginning in regeneration, 2.101 

Study soul-conformity to Christ, 2.102  
It is the fountain of complacency, 3.42    
Conscience, the book of conscience and the book of God's remembrance will agree exactly together, 2.172 

Whispers of conscience to be harkened unto, 2.172    
Conversion, in conversion how sins past, present, and to come, are pardoned, and how not, 2.134 

Righteousness imputed to the saints the first moment of their conversion, 2.160    
Converse, knowledge of one another in heaven a great motive to converse one with another on earth, 3.11  
Covenant, a comparison between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace, 3.81  
Creature, we should sit lose from it, 3.113  
Cross, the merit of Christ's cross is for justification, and the power of his cross for mortification, 2.156  
Cup, the cup that Christ drank was bitter, but it was sweetened with three ingredients, 

1 But a cup, not a sea, 2.151  
2 His Father's cup, not the Devils, ibid.  
3 A gift, not a curse, ibid.     

D  
Dead, how to behold dead friends, 2.103 

Relations that die only fallen asleep, 1.2    
Death, our Relations not alone in it, 1.9 

Our wages, 1.10  
Every person subject to it, 2.65  
At the hour of death the Saints are fully pardoned, 2, 134  
Not terrible to a child of God, 3.140    
Death of some persons dreadful to themselves, and to standers by, 3.160 

It is but a sleep, 1.2  
Resembled to it in two respects, 1.3  
Not a total privation of the habit, 1.4  
The godly infinite gainers by it, 1.6    
Degree, different degrees of the Saints glory, 3.5  
Delusion, how are the whispers of God distinguished from the delusions of Satan, 3.129  
Denial, there will be no denying of sin at the great day, 2.167  
Desertion, Saints under desertion often belly themselves, 2.131  
Devised, the world have counterfeit cordials, 3.154  
Disappointment, a most afflicting evil, and admits of three aggravations, 3.115  
Divine essence, we shall not have an intuitive vision of it, 3.27 

How far we shall have a vision of it, 3.30    
Do this and live, not a commandment only, but a covenant, 2.144  
Draw all men to me, how to be understood, 2.105  
Duties, all the Saints duties performed, public or private, shall be owned at the last day, 2.128  
Duty of Christians to imitate Christ universally, 2.101   

E  
Earth, the place where the wicked will receive their sentence, 2.124 

It cannot be made sure, 3.112    
Election, and purchase both perfected by the sanctification of the Spirit, 2.123 

Holiness not the cause of election, but the end of it, 3.43    
Elect, the future estate of the elect and reprobate set forth by eternity, 3.89  
Endeavour after assurance, an evidence heaven, 3.119  
Enjoyments, worldly enjoyments not what we fancy them, 3.70  
Eternity, a description of it, 3.84, 97 

Souls not eternal a part ante, and why, 3.86  
The future estate both of the elect, and reprobate, set forth by eternity, 3.88    
Eternity of God, is an assurance of heaven being eternal, 3.92  
Evidences of heaven, 3.119 

A good evidence to be solicitous about evidences, 3.123    
Exaltation, Christ his exaltation and abasement compared together, 3.21  
Examination we should examine ourselves, and suffer others to examine us, 3.162  
Excuse, no excuse for sin at the great day, 2.167, 172  
Eye, God's essence cannot be seen by the bodily eye, though glorified, but by the eye of the understanding, 3.23   

F  
Faith, the great saving office of it is to unite the soul to Jesus Christ. 1.43 

It is an hand to apply the righteousness of the first covenant, as fulfilled by our Surety, 2.146  
Many do believe, and yet do not believe, that they do believe, 3.71    
Fear, there is never a fear in a Christian, but there is a fear not in the Scripture as an Antidote, 3.147  
Fidelity, the faithfulness of the Saints will be owned at the last day, 2.128  
Fruition, whatever the Saints see they enjoy in heaven, 3.58 

It consists of a tenfold Ingredient, 

1 Propriety, 3.58  
2 Possession, 3.61  
3 Intimacy, 3.63  
4 Fullness, 3.65  
5 Suitableness, 3.67  
6 Fixedness, 3.70  
7 Reflection, 3.71  
8 Freshness, 3.73  
9 Present, 3.75  
10 Complacency, ibid.       

G  
Glory, different degrees of the Saints glory, 3.5. 

The glory of God will swallow up all private and personal considerations, 3.14    
God, he can do what he will. 2.100 

His essence cannot be seen by the glorified corporeal eye, but by the eye of the understanding, 3.26    
Godly, Christ his being Judge great comfort to them, 2.75  
Good, the good of the Saints will be mentioned, not their evil, at the great day, 2.130 

None of the good that ever the wicked did shall be mentioned to their honour, 2.170    
Gospel and Law reconciled in the mystery of justification. 2.153 

Trial by the Gospel will be the most severe of any, 2.166    
Grace in the Saints is under a covenant, 1.39 

A comparison between the covenant of grace, and the covenant of works, 3.81    
Graves, the wicked raked out of them in their ugliness, 2.102 

They are beds, wherein the bodies of the Saints are laid to rest, 1.4    
Guilty, to be not guilty, and to be righteous, are two different capacities, 2.139   

H  
Happiness, looking more after holiness than happiness, is an evidence of heaven, 3.120  
Heaven, it belongs to the Saints, 

1 By inheritance, 3.60  
2 By purchase, ibid.  
In heaven none have the less for what others do enjoy, but every one an whole God, 3.65  
It is a place of unmixed joy, 3.69  
It may be made sure, 3.111  
To look after an interest in heaven is an argument of wisdom, 3.115  
Evidences of it, 3.119    
Heavenly— mindedness the evidence of 〈◊〉 heavenly blessedness, 2.112  
Hell, separation from Christ the worst part of it, 2.105 

It is a place of unmixed sorrow, 3.69    
Holy Ghost, why so called, 2.122  
Holiness, by the Spirit of holiness, Rom. 1.4. what meant, 1.12 

It doth best capacitate the soul for the Vision of God, 3.39, 41  
In the Saints it is the divine nature, not the divine being, 3.42  
God loveth it more than the creature; how it is true? and how in Arminius his sense not true, 3.42  
It is not the cause, but the end of election, 3.43  
What holiness that must be that can capacitate us to see God's face, 3.44  
Looking more after holiness than happiness an evidence of heaven, 3.120    
Humane nature of Christ the highest beatifical object in heaven next to the divine Essence, 3.18 

The glorifying of Christ's humane nature is the reward of his passion, 3.19    
Hypocrite, no hypocrite in heaven, 3.8   

I  
Image, that the Image of God suffered a miscarriage, was not of improvidence, but of ordination, 3.80  
Imitation, it is the duty of Christians to imitate Christ universally, 2.101  
Immutability, the immutability of God giveth assurance of the eternity of heaven, 3.91  
Imputation, of righteousness is the positive part of justisication, 2.133 

Imputed righteousness is the same materially that the Law requireth, 2.149    
Indictment, the sinner's indictment and plea, 2.147  
Innocence is no security against oppression and cruelty, 1.51  
Intercessor, there is no Intercessor at the great assize, 2.171  
Interest, to look after an interest in heaven an argument of wisdom, 3.115  
Justice of God an assurance of the eternity of heaven, 3.95  
Judge, Christ must be the Judge of great terror to the wicked, 2.73 

Of great comfort to the godly, 2.75    
Judgment-day, whether the Saints, that are then alive, must die literally, or analogically only, 2.65 

Why concealed, 2.68  
Whether Christ will sit upon a visible throne, 2.70  
Christ will appear in the same humane nature, which he assumed of the Virgin, and why? 2.71  
Christ will appear personally for three reasons, 

1 The judgement must be personal, 2.70  
2 A recompense to his abasement, 2.71  
3 To perfect his mediatory office, 2.72      
Justification, the Saints shall be fully and finally justified at the last day, which consists 

1 In their public absolution, 2.133  
2 In the Judge his pronouncing them perfectly righteous, 2.138  
God▪ justifieth a sinner in that way wherein he may justify himself, 2.141  
It is not by any intrinsic merit in faith, but extrinsic object, that faith layeth hold on, 2.148  
It is variously denominated according to its causes, 2.153  
Legal and evangelical what it is, 2.154  
Law and Gospel reconciled in the mystery of justification, 2.153     

K  
Kindness, all kindnesses done to Christ or his members will be owned at the day of judgement, 2.129  
Knowledge, whether the Saints shall know one another with a distinguishing knowledge in heaven? affirm. 3.8  
Knowledge of one another in heaven a great motive to converse one with another on earth, 3.11 

Whether the knowledge of our elect relations in heaven, do not infer a distinct knowledge of our relations in hell, and whether that may not be terrible, Neg. 3.13  
How many ways we shall have knowledge of God set forth by several steps, 3.31     

L  
Law, pardon is not the qualification that the Law requireth but perfection, 2.139 

That which God at first wrote in man's heart, and afterwards in two tables of stone was a law of a most holy and absolute perfection, 2.143  
The law the image of God's nature and will, 2.143  
It was given to be  
1 A rule and pattern of an holy life, 2.144  
2 A condition of eternal life, ibid.  
It is of perpetual necessity, 2.144  
It is not to be dispensed withal, 2.144  
Christ did not bring in another law, but another medium to fulfil the former, 2.144  
Christ as Mediator was born under the law, 2.145  
Christ his fulfilling the law was performed in and by the humane nature, 2.149    
Law and Gospel reconciled in the great mystery of justification, 2.153  
Likeness, we shall be like God in 

1 Our understanding, 3.78  
2 Our will, 3.80  
3 Our affections, 3.80  
4 Our memories,  
5 the whole image. 

1 The soul, 3.81  
2 the body 3.82      
Loss, fear of losing of heaven would make it worse than hell, 3.96  
Love of God a great assurance of the eternity of heaven, 3.94 

A superlative love to Christ an evidence of heaven, 3.120     

M  
Marriage of the Lamb consummated at the last day, and the solemnity of it, 2.162  
Marriage, its happiness consists in suitableness, 3.67  
Maityrdom like Elijah 's Chariot, 3.139  
Means, God not tied to them, 3.48  
Memory, the Saints shall be like God in their memories, 3.80 

Of the Saints shall be like the ark of the covenant, 3.80    
Mercy, the mercy of God an assurance of heaven's eternity, 3.92  
Ministers must preach nothing but what is warranted by the word, 2.67 

They may preach with success, and yet be cast out, 2.171  
They must see that the comforts they administer be Gods comforts, 3.154    
Miscarriage of the image of God in Adam, not of improvidence, but ordination, 3.80  
Mistake, no mistake of one another's condition in heaven, 3.7  
Mixture of Saints and sinners will be here, 2.116  
Mortification, exercise the duties of it, 3, 130  
Motives to assurance, 3.111  
Mourners are to open their ears and hearts to words of comfort, 3.156  
Mystery, divers mysteries mentioned, namely, 

1 Of the Trinity.  
2 Of the Incarnation.  
3 Of Election, and Reprobation.  
4 Of the Creation of the World.  
5 Of the Resurrection.  
6 Of all the Arcana Naturae, 3.51  
We must not pry too much into them, 3.55     

N  
Nature, the fulfilling of the Law was performed in and by the humane nature, 2.149  
Negatives cannot fill a dying man with comfort, 3.160   

O  
Omnipotence, all things are alike to it, 2.100 

It supports the Saints under their happiness, as well as the wicked under their misery, 3.90, 92  
It is omnipotence in God that he cannot sin, 3 90    
Ordinances, a dangerous notion of being above them, 3.48 

In what sense it is good to live above them, ibid.  
Not to rest in, or contented with them, 3.49     

P  
Pardon, pardon of sin is the privative part of justification, 2.133 

How sins past, present and to come, are pardoned in conversion, and how not, 2.134    
Sin fully pardoned at death, ibid. 

It makes sin as if it had never been, 2.135  
It is not sufficient to capacitate the Saints for glory, 2.139  
It looks backward, Righteousness forward, 2.142  
It is not the qualification which the Law requireth, but perfection, 2 139  
If God should only pardon, and not justify, it would seem to reflect upon, 

1 Gods Wisdom, 2 142  
2 Gods ●ll-sufficiency, ibid.  
3 God's Veracity and Justice, ibid.    
It maketh not a man righteous, 2.148  
No pardon at the Judgment-seat, 2.169    
Perseverance stands not in the nature of grace, 1.39 

It stands not in the liberty or rectitude of the will, though regenerate, 1.39  
It stands upon, 

1 Divine compact, 140  
2 Union with Christ, ibid.      
Pleasure, sensitive pleasures have only their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 3 108  
Pra●se, Saints shall be praised for their graces at the last day, though wrought in them, etc. 2.132  
Prayer, get the faithful to pray for thee, and pray for thyself, 3.131 

Words of prayer are to be joined with words of comfort, 3.165    
Presence, the Saints shall ever be in the presence of Christ, 3.2  
Precepts in one place, are promises in another, 3.112  
Pride, there is much of pride in refusing comfort, 3.157  
Promises ought to be studied, 3.163 

Learn to which of Christ's Offices each promise relateth, 3.164  
Promises in one place are precepts in another, 3.112  
Refer them to their distinct heads, 3.163  
They then bring comfort, when they are applied by the Spirit, 3.164.    
Propriety, to enjoy heaven, and to know I do enjoy it, is the happiness of happiness, 3.71.  
Punishment shall not be mitigated at the judgement, 2.170  
Purchase and election are both perfected by the sanctification of the Spirit, 2.123   

R  
Recompense, Christ his speaking honourably of the Saints in the last day will abundantly recompense the reproaches they have here, 2.133  
Reconciliation, God is first in reconciliation, though sinners first in the transgression, 2.169  
Redeemer, he undertook two great works for the redeemed, 

1. One to make satisfaction for sin.  
2. The other to yield absolute conformity to the Law of God, 2.140    
Regeneration, Conformity of the Saints to Christ in the Resurrection hath its beginning in it, 2.101, 111  
Relations, ours not alone in their death, 1.9 

When dead they are not lost but sown, 1.19  
Though they cease in heaven, yet the remembrance of them ceaseth not, 3.12    
Remembrance, the book of God's remembrance, and book of conscience will agree exactly, 2.167  
Reproach, Reproaches for Christ better than all the applause of the world, 3.83.  
Reprobate, the future estate of the reprobate set forth by eternity, 3.89  
Resurrection, three things interest a believer in the triumph of Christ's resurrection, 

1 Power, 1.12  
2 Office, 1.13  
3 Right, 1. ibid.  
Christ arose by his own strength, 1.12  
As a public head, 1.13  
On which account, 

1 The Saints are said to be risen already, 1.14  
2 They are assured they shall arise, 1.15      
Resurrection of Christ why called his youth, 1.16 

An inseparable connexion between the resurrection of Christ, and of the Saints, 

1 Of merit, 1.15  
2 Of power and influence, 1.16  
3 Of design, 1.17  
4 Of union, ibid.    
Christ is risen as our first fruits, 1.19    
Resurrection of the Saints stands upon a surer foundation than our faith, 1.20 

How Christ shall bring the Saints with him at the resurrection, 

1 Their souls from heaven, 1.47  
2 Their bodies from the grave, and how, 1.47  
3 Body and soul he shall take up into the clouds, and why, 1.48 49  
4 He shall carry them back with him into heaven, 1.50    
It shall put believers that are dead into as good a capacity as those that are alive, 2.64  
Saints, that shall then be found alive, will be no otherwise capable of it, than under the notion of the dead, 2.65  
The manner of it, 2.86  
The admirable properties of it, 

1 Incorruptible, 2.89  
2 Glorious, 2.90  
3 Powerful, 2.93  
4 Spiritual, 2.94    
Saints shall rise with the same bodies they lie down with, 2.87  
The body will depend wholly upon the soul, 2.95  
Our bodies at the resurrection shall he moved by an extrinsic power, but shall move themselves by an intrinsic principle, 2.107  
Why called the Regeneration, 2.101  
Three consequents of the resurrection, 

1 The resurrection of the Saints that are dead, 2.86  
2 The Saints triumphant ascension, 2.104  
3 The Saints joyful meeting, 

1 One with another, 2.112  
2 All with Christ, where 

1 The persons meeting, 2.120  
2 The place where, 2.124  
3 The ends of their meeting, 2.126        
Christ will welcome the Saints at the resurrection under a threefold relation, 

1 As the Father's election, 2.121  
2 As the purchase of his blood, ibid.  
3 As the depositum of the Holy Ghost, 2.122      
Reward is an encouragement to good works, e contra, 3.91  
Riches have wings, 3.105  
Righteous, to be righteous, and not guilty, are two different capacities. 2.139  
Righteousness, a positive righteousness is required to the justification of a sinner, as well as absolution from guilt and punishment, which appears on the account, 

1 Of the justice of God, 2.141  
2. Of the perfection of the Law, 2.143  
3 Of the necessity of the sinner, 2.154  
4 Of the excellency of the Redeemen, 2.157  
It looks forward: pardon backward, 2.142    
Righteousness imputed to the Saints the first moment of their conversion, 2.160 

The mediatory righteousness of Christ comes to be a believers, as the first Adam 's disobedience came to be his posterities, viz. by imputation, 2.146  
Imputed righteousness the same materially which the Law requireth, 2.149     

T  
Sacrament, attend often upon the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, 3.132  
Saints, the dignity of them, 1.41. 

They that are alive at Christ his coming shall have no advantage above those that are dead, 2.58  
They that are dead shall be first remembered at the resurrection, 2.60  
Those that are alive will be no otherwise capable of the resurrection than under the notion of the dead, 2.65  
They shall be solemnly espoused to Christ, 2.162  
They shall be assessors with him at the judgement, 2.164    
Scripture inference is Scripture, 2.67 

It concerns us to search the Scriptures, 3.163  
In reading Scripture make a collection of the Promises, 3.163.    
Secret, whatever kindness was showed to God in secret shall be openly rewarded, 2.130  
Self-denial, exercise it, 3.130  
Separation, a perfect separation from the society of sinners at the last day, 2.117  
Sin, why sometimes punished here, sometimes not, 2.78 

The Saints sins not remembered at the last day, 2.130  
And why, 2.134  
This is no encouragement to sin, 2.131  
It is fully pardoned at death, 2.134  
They will appear as they are at the day of judgement, 2.168  
A vain thing to call any sin small, 2.168  
The smallest is dangerous, 3.128  
It sets us at a great distance from heaven, 3.41  
An universal hatred of it an evidence of heaven, 3.120  
It is the Devil's image, 3.120  
Sinner, the condition of a sinner doth necessarily require an imputed righteousness, 

1 To settle solid peace in the conscience, 2.154  
2 To secure his appearance in the day of judgement, 2.157      
Sinners are mixed with Saints here, & contra, 2.116 

They will dread the society of the godly at the last day, as much, as formerly they hated it, 2.117  
They were first in transgression, but God first in reconciliation, 2.169    
Sleep, Death but a sleep, 1.2 

Death resembled to sleep in two respects, 1.3    
Socinians deceived in saying, we shall not have real, but aerial bodies at the resurrection, 2.96  
Sorrow, there is a sorrow for departed friends, which God condemns not, 3.144  
Souls, all of one size, 2.94 

Not everlasting a part ante, and why, 3.86    
Spirit, the Spirit of Christ the fountain of efficacy, but the blood of Christ the fountain of merit, 2.122  
Spirit of God hath a twofold office about attaining assurance, 3.123 

Be tender of it, 3.127  
None but friends can properly be said to grieve the Spirit, 3.128    
Sufferings of the Saints will be owned at the resurrection, 2.129   

T  
Tears of the Saints are bottled, 2.128  
Terror, it will be horrible terror to the wicked, to see the Saints sit in judgement with Christ, 2.164  
Time, no farther time will be granted at the great Assize, 2.171  
Transgression, Sinners were first in transgression, but God first in reconciliation, 2.169  
Translate, no translating of sin upon others at the great day, 2.168  
Tribunal, there will be no appeal from the great Tribunal, 2.169  
Trinity, the external works of it are undivided, 1.46 

The order of their work, 1.46    
Trumpet, one end of the Feast of Trumpets might be to put them in mind of the last day, 2.114 

Last Trump will not be only audible, but articulate, 2.115     

V  
Vision, six things shall be the object of the Saints Vision, 

1 The seat of blessed souls, 3.3  
2 The glorified Saints, 3.4  
3 The elect Angels, 3.15  
4 The glorified body of Christ, 3.26  
5 God in the divine Essence, 3.18  
6 All things in God, 3.42  
Of glorified Saints will be wonderful glorious, 3.4  
We shall not have an intuitive Vision of the divine Essence, 3.27  
How far we shall have a Vision of the divine Essence, 3.30  
Of God in scripture is twofold, 

1 In Grace, 3.40  
2 In Glory, ibid.    
How these agree, and how they differ, 3.46    
Unbelief the spring of all our misery, 1.21  
Understanding, the glorified understanding shall have a sixfold perfection, 

1 Spirituality, 3.36  
2 Clarity, 3.37  
3 Capacity, 3.38  
4. Sanctity, ibid.  
5 Strength, 3.39  
6 Fixedness, ibid.  
Our understandings will be like unto God in heaven, 3.78    
Union between Christ and believers how expressed in scripture, 1.22 

Opened in 7. distinguishing properties, 

1 Spiritual, 1.23  
2 Real, 1.25  
3 Operative, 1.29  
4 Enriching, 1.30  
5 Intimous, 1.33  
6 Total, 1.35  
7 Indissoluble, ib.    
It is of God's 

1 Praeordination, 1.36  
2 Efficiency, ibid.  
3 Support, ibid.  
No in and out in it, 1.37  
Death dissolveth it no●● ibid.      
Unkindnesses to Christ great hindrances of assurance, 3.128   

W  
Waiting, It is good for us to wait for God, 3 133  
Wicked, great terror to such that Christ shall be Judge, 2.73 

They shall be dragged by Angels before the Tribunal, to receive their sentence, 2.164  
No good that ever they did shall, be mentioned to their honour, 2.170    
Wicked men how to be suffered, 2.117 

All they do is abomination, 2.170    
Will, our wills will be like unto God in heaven, 3.79  
Witnesses, their enemies confounded at their ascension, 2.102  
Word of Christ more authentic than tradition or revelation, 2.63 

The only foundation for our faith, 2.66    
Works, a comparison between the Covenant of Works, and the Covenant of Grace, 3.81  
Works, reward encouragement to good works, 3.91  
World compared to a stage, 3.70  
World and the Devil have counterfeit Cordials, 3.154  
Worldly enjoyments not what we fancy them, 3.70  
Worldly felicities quickly grow old, 3.74   

Y  
Young, the joys of heaven always young, 3.74  
Youth, the Saints shall rise in youth, and perfect strength and beauty 3.73    

ERRATA.  

Part I. II.  
PAge 49 marg. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 52 line 52 f. the r. these, f. the r. you, p. 53 l. 11 f. 〈◊〉 r. own, l. 9 f. tranessentied r. transossentiated, p. 56 l. 15 ●. third r. three, p. 62. l. 6. f. others r. some, p. 70 l. 27 f. twofold r. threefold, p. 77 marg. f. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 82 marg. f. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 125 l. 21 deal as it were, p. 126 l. 19 f. or r. of, p. 143 l. 9 add more. p. 144 l. 3 f. eternal life and happiness r. on holy life here, l. 6 add hereafter, p. 146 l. 15 f. but r. and, l. 31 f. obedience r. disobedience, p. 161 l. 11 deal ●●.   

Part III.  
Page 5 line 4 deal is, p. 6 l. 28. for hath r. as, p. 8 l. 5 add himself, p. 9 marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 11 l. 27 f. form r. form, p. 18 marg. f. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 21 l. 18 f. infirn●tes r. infernales, p. 34 marg. deal heat, p. 39 marg. f. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 46 marg. f. praeteritur r. judicis, l. 17 add God after but, p. 48. from thence correct the pages till 65. p. 51 l. 1 for emanate r. emanare, p. 53 l. 11 f. glasses r. visions, p. 57 l. 25 add our, l. 28 f. they r. roe, p. 59 l. 4 f. best r. lest, p. 61 l. 16 f. ascended r. ascend, p. 62 l. 9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 65 l. 15 deal of, p. 66 l. 20 f. happiness r. fullness, p. 69 l. 1 f. guest r. gust, p. 84 l. 26 f. finites r. finite, p. 89 marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 95 l. 33 f. ninthly r. fifthly, p. 98 l. 15 f. sum r. same. p. 102 l. 6 f. in r. on, l. 21 f. be r. take, p. 103 l. 19 f. opulentous r. opulent, p. 104 l. 3 f. Crowns r. counters, l. 15 add see, p. 105 l. 22 add grow, p. 107 l. 13 f. sheaves of Saffron, r. fruits of righteousness, b. 108 l. 11 add the, p. 112 marg. f. domini r. domine, p. 115 l. 17 f. care r. core, p. 118 marg. deal quere, p. 130 l. 1 f. that r. th●e, p. 143 l. 17 f. thou r. the, p. 153 l. 9 f. emanate r. ●manare, p. 155 l. 20 f. fortune r. fortitude, p. 157 l. 8 f. by r. my, p. 158 l. 10 f. and r. man, l. 12. f. trial r. sorrere, p. 160 l. 2 f. comforters r. comfort, l. 7 those evidences, r. that evidence.    

These Books, with several others, are Printed for, and are to be sold by Dorman Newman at the Chirurgions-Arms in Little-Britain, near the Hospital-gate.  

Folio.  
A Description of the four parts of the World, taken from the Works of Monsieur Sanson Geographer to the French King, and other eminent Traveller's and Author's. To which is added, the Commodities, Coins, Weights and Measures of the chief places of traffic in the world: Illustrated with variety of useful and delightful Maps and Figures. By Richard Blome, Gent.  
Memoires of the Lives, Actions, Sufferings and Deaths of those excellent Personages that suffered for Allegiance to their Sovereign in our late intestine Wars, from the year 1637. to 1666. with the Life and Martyrdom of King Charles the first. By David Lloyd.  
The Exact Politician, or Complete Statesman, briefly and methodically resolved into such principles, whereby Gentlemen may be qualified for the management of any public trust, and thereby rendered useful for the Common-welfare. By Leonard Willan Esquire.  
The Jesuits Morals, collected by a Dr. of the College of Sorbon in Paris. Written in French, and exactly translated into English,  
A Relation, in form of a Journal, of the Voyage and Residence of King Charles the Second in Holland.  
The History of the Cardinals of the Roman Church, from the times of their first creation to the election of the present Pope Clem. 9 with a full account of his Conclave.  
A History of Ireland. By Edmund Spencer Esquire.   

Quarto.  
The Christian-mans' Calling, or a Treatise of making Religion one's business, wherein the Christian is directed to perform it in all religious duties, natural actions, particular vocations, family directions, and in his own recreations, in all relations, in all conditions, in his deal with all men, in the choice of his company, both of evil and good, in solitude, on a week day, from morning to night, in visiting the sick on a dying bed. By George Swinnock.  
Mr. Caryl's Exposition on the Book of Job.  
Gospel Remission, or a Treatise, showing that true blessedness consists in the pardon of sin. By Jerem. Burroughs.  
An Exposition on the Song of Solomon. By James Durham, late Minister in Glascow.  
The Real Christian, or a Treatise of Effectual Calling, wherein the work of God, in drawing the soul to Christ, being opened according to the holy Scriptures, some things required by our late Divines, as necessary to a right preparation for Christ, and true closing with Christ, which have caused, and do still cause much trouble to some serious Christians, and are, with due respects to those worthy men, brought to the balance of the Sanctuary, there weighed, and accordingly judged. To which is added, a few words concerning Socinianism. By Giles Firmin, sometime Minister at Shalford in Essex.  
The virtue and value of Baptism. By Zach. Crofton.  
The Quakers Spiritual Court proclaimed, being an exact narrative of a new High Court of Justice at the Peel in St. John street, also sundry errors and corruptions among the Quakers, which were never till now made known to the world: By Nathaniel Smith, who was conversant among them fourteen years.  
A Discourse upon Prodigious Abstinence, occasioned by the twelve months fasting of Martha Taylor, the famed Darbyshire Damosel, proving that without any miracle the texture of humane bodies may be so altered, that life may be long continued without the supplies of meat and drink. By John Reynolds.   

Octavoes and Twelves.  
Vindicta Bietatis, or a Vindication of Godliness, from the imputation of folly and fancy, with several Directions for the attaining and maintaining of a godly life. By R. Allen.  
Heaven on Earth, or the best Friend in the worst times: To which is added, a Sermon preached at the Funeral of Tho. Mosely Apothecary. By James Garreway.  
Justification only upon a satisfaction. By Rob. Firgirson.  
The Christians great Interest, or the trial of a saving Interest in Christ, with the way how to attain to it. By Will. Guthry, late Minister in Scotland.  
The virtue, vigour and efficacy of the Promises displayed in their strength and glory. By Tho. Henderson.  
The History of Moderation, or the Life, Death and Resurrection of Moderation: together with her Nativity, Country, Pedigree, Kindred, Character, Friends, and also her Enemies.  
A Guide to the true Religion, or a Discourse directing to make a wise choice of that Religion men venture their salvation upon. By J. Clapham.  
An Exposition on the Hebrews. By David Dickson.  
Rebukes for Sin by God's burning anger, by the burning of London, by the burning of the World, and by the burning the wicked in hell fire: To which is added, a discourse of Heart-fixedness. By Tho. Doolittle.  
Four select Sermons upon several Texts of Scripture, wherein the will-worship and idolatry of the Church of Rome is laid open and confuted. By Will. Fenner.  
The Life of Doctor James Usher, late Archbishop of Armagh, and Primate of Ireland.  
Spare Minutes, or resolved Meditations, or premeditated Resolutions. By Arthur Warwick.  
A most comfortable and Christian Dialogue between the Lord and the Soul. By Will. Cowper Bishop of Galloway.  
The Cannons and Constitutions of the Quakers, agreed upon at their general Assembly at their new Theatre in Gracechurch-street.  
A Synopsis of Quakerism, or a Collection of the fundamental errors of the Quakers. By Tho. Danson.  
Blood for Blood, being a true Narrative of that late horrid Muther committed by Mary Cook upon her Child. By Nath. Partridge. With a Sermon on the same occasion. By J. Sharp.