The FUTURE STATE OR, A DISCOURSE Attempting some Display of the Souls Happiness, in regard to that Eternally Progressive Knowledge, or Eternal Increase of Knowledge, and the Consequences of it, which is amongst the Blessed in Heaven.  
By a Country Gentleman, a Worshipper of God in the Way of the Church of England.  
The Light of our Understandings [in the Kingdom of God] will find nothing so difficult, dark, and intricate, which they cannot disentangle; and make plain; and the Facility that we shall have in our Ratiocinations, (which will be such, that we shall be able to attempt all sorts of Objects, without any Pain) will cause that we shall use this Contemplation, as with a Success Eternally Happy, so with Content wholly Incomprehensible.  Amyrald. 
God himself hath Infinite Goodness in him, which the Creature cannot take in at once; they are taking of it in Eternally. The Saints see in God still Things Fresh, which they saw not in the Beginning of their Blessedness.  Dr. Thomas Goodwin. 
LONDON, Printed for J. Greenwood, at the Crown in the Poultry, 1683.   
THE Future STATE, &  

CHAP. I. The Introduction, and State of the Problem.  
1. I Would not be thought Peremptory and Dogmatical, in what I shall discourse on this Subject: For though the Reality of the Future State have the Suffrage of all Mankind, and be Evident both by Natural and Supernatural Light; yet the Particularities thereof are much in the Dark, and we know but little Concerning them.  
2. In a Case so Obscure, to be Positive and Assertory, would savour of Greater Arrogance, than I am willing to harbour. Modesty and Suspicion in Things obscure, is more Decorous, and more Acceptable, than Bold and Confident Assertions and Determinations.  
3. If Any Thing should drop from my Pen in the Progress of this Discourse, which may Seem too Affirmative, and Hardly reconcilable with a Becoming Modesty and Jealousy, I desire Those Luxuriancies of Expressions may receive Some Abatements, and be made Fairly agreeable thereunto.  
4. For although I may possibly be indifferently Well persuaded of the Truth of what I shall discourse; yet I am not Certain: 'Tis not improbable, that I should be Mistaken: I am of Humane Race, and have no Privilege of Exemption from Humane Infirmities and Errors.  
5. Therefore what I shall say on this Point, shall be Problematical and Disquisitive; for indeed, by this Discourse I have as Much Inclination to inquire, what Others think therein, as to deliver my Own Apprehensions concerning it: For although I should not Demonstrate the Problem, (to which I do not indeed pretend) I think it not Impossible, but that some other Person may Do it.  
6. What Other Men may have said already concerning it, I cannot tell; 'tis not impossible, but that the Schoolmen may have largely discoursed it; for they are a Bold and Daring sort of Men, and there is almost Nothing that escapes their Inquiries and Disquisitions.  
7. Yet I must Say, That those Few that I have had the Opportunity to Converse in, or Consult withal, say Nothing at all concerning it: Other Questions (in my opinion) of far less Use and Importance they debate at large; but of This I find nothing, but a Most deep and Profound Silence.  
8. Some very Brief and Transient Passages I do nevertheless acknowledge to have read of this Subject, in some other Authors; which were the first Occasions of applying myself to the Consideration of it. Had not those Passages a little Moved and Engaged my Thoughts in the Contemplation thereof, I had probably remained Satisfied in a general Belief of the Transcendent Happiness of the Future Life. without making any Particular Inquiries into the Nature of it: Peradventure I might never have Debated, whether our Knowledge (in which, by the Confession of all Divines, it doth much lie, though not wholly consist) be Complete and Perfect Immediately upon our Admission into the Divine Presence, or at least at the Resurrection of the Dead; or whether it be Eternally Progressive and Increasing for evermore.  
9 Nevertheless it is my Opinion, that it may be Useful, to form to ourselves as Positive, Particular, and Determinate Notions of the Nature of Future Happiness, as we possibly can; provided they be not inconsistent with the Inspired Writings, or disagreeable with the Revelations that God hath made concerning it.  
10. For General Accounts of things are not anear so affecting, as a Plain and Particular Narrative and Description of them. To say, That the Future State is Illustrious and Full of Glory; That those that shall be deemed worthy of it, shall See God, and partake in the Glory, that Christ Jesus enjoys in the Presence of his Father, is to speak very Great Things, and such as should Exceedingly ravish and affect our Souls.  
11. But such is the Constitution of Humane Minds, that Great Things do rather amaze, and induce a kind of Stupor upon them, than affect with a Grateful pleasure and Joy. Some Objects are too Big for our Senses; our Eye cannot bear the Light of the Sun, in its Highest Altitude and Splendour. Some Sounds are so Great, that they are Ungrateful and Offensive to our Ears: And there are some Objects too Great for our Minds; and when they are proposed unto them, they do rather excite and awaken in them a Kind of Wonder and Admiration, than a Delightful Taste, Savour, and Consolation.  
12. The Main Doctrine of the Christian Religion, is contained in a Few Propositions; 'tis briefly contained in that Form of Words, that is usually called the Apostle's Creed; and more briefly in the Words used at our Baptism: But all know, and must confess, that till those Things are Particularly, and at Large explained, they make Little Impression upon the Minds of Men; they are Very little Moved or Affected by them.  
13. It may be therefore Reasonably hoped, that an Explication of the Nature of Future Happiness may be acceptable to Pious and Considering Minds: Those Texts of Scripture that describe it, are too Big for our Understandings. If the Meaning of them can by Division be explained, it may be More suitable to our Capacities, and More affecting to our Hearts.  
14. That the Happiness of the Blessed in the Other World will be Very Great, is the Common Confession of all Christians; what ever be their Differences in Other Things, in This they are at Perfect Agreement: They all acknowledge the Future State, (called in the Scripture, the Kingdom of Heaven) Transcendently Happy and Glorious; and that there is nothing in This World, that can be an Apt or Proper Resemblance of it; they are all Beneath it, as far as Darkness is Beneath Light; or the faint Shining of a Sorry Glow-Worm, is inferior to the Lustre of the Sun in its Meridian Splendour.  
15. 'Tis also confessed, that very Much of the Happiness of that State consists in Greatness of Knowledge, and Largeness of Understanding. In This World, those that know Most, know very Little; those that have the Greatest Reputation for Wisdom and Understanding, are Ignorant and Blind; and what they do see, is Very darkly, and with much Imperfections: Their Capacities are very Narrow, their Faculties are Weak; and can neither Discern, nor Comprehend much, by the Most diligent Endeavours and Applications: But in the Other World their Capacities will be enlarged, and their Faculties strengthened; and Light and Knowledge will be Increased, beyond our present Conceptions and Imaginations.  
16. The Knowledge of God is the Most excellent Knowledge; He is the Most excellent Object; and therefore, the Knowledge of Him must needs be so. All Science is valuable according to the Objects thereof: Where the One is Worthy and Excellent, the Other is so; where the One is Mean and Worthless, the Other is not Valuable or Regardable. And hence it is, that even in this World, the Knowledge of God surpasses all other Knowledge, whatsoever it be.  
17. Whatsoever Constitutes Man happy, must be Analogous, and suitable to his Faculties: There must be an Agreeableness between the Subject, and the Object, or Man cannot be Happy. Light, Beauty, and Proportion Pleases the Eye; Music, and Harmonious Sounds Delight the Ears; and Fragrant, and Odoriferous Scents and Perfumes the Smell: And the Reason is, they are Congruous to these Faculties; there is a Proportion between them.  
18. Man is endued with a Reasonable Soul, and the Knowledge of Things, is very Suitable and Pleasant to it: Music is not more Pleasant to the Ear, nor Beauty and Proportion to the Eye, than Knowledge to the Mind of Man. The Pleasures of Contemplation, and the Delights of Knowledge, vastly excel all the Pleasures of Sense, be they never so exquisite or perfect. The Delights of the Sensual and Voluptuous, are Mean and Brutish; the Delights of Wise and Knowing Men, are Raised, Sublime, and Angelical.  
19 The Rational Faculty is not only delighted in Knowledge, but 'tis very much Perfected and Advanced by it. The greater any Man's Knowledge is, the greater and More Perfect is his Mind; the less any Man is possessed withal, the less and the More imperfect and defective is his Sense. Those that have least Understanding, have the Narrowest and most contracted Spirits.  
20. Nothing so much delights and perfects the Minds of Men, as the Knowledge of God; that's most pleasant, and ministers greatest Satisfaction to them: Th●● quiets, and lays to rest the Motions, and Satisfies the Appetites of them: It also perfects, and completes them. The Knowledge of God, and the consequent Effects thereof, is the Greatest Perfection that they are capable of attaining, possessing, and enjoying either in This, or in the Other World.  
21. In this World, God is known by his Word, and by his Works: All that we know of Him, is either by Contemplating the Works of his Hands, or by Reading and Considering the Revelations that he hath made of himself, in the Sacred Volumes. From the Effects of his Power, Wisdom, and Goodness, visible and discernible in his Word and Works, we come to the Knowledge of Those Perfections, and do form Those Notions that we have concerning them.  
22. It seems Probable, that we shall know God in the Other State, after the Same manner that we know Him in This. God is the same Immutably; in Him is no Variableness, nor Shadow of Turning: His Nature, Attributes, Excellencies, and Perfections, suffer no Alteration. What He Is, He Was, and Will Be Eternally.  
23. The Nature of our Faculties will remain the Same There, that they are Here. Gradual Advantages and Perfections I do acknowledge they will receive, and those Very Great immediately upon their Admission thither: But Gradual Advantages will not alter the Specific Nature of our Souls. If their Specific Nature were changed, we should cease to be Men; and than it would follow, that Men obeyed and disobeyed the Laws of God, and another Species, or kind of Creatures will be Saved and Damned. Which seems to me very Absurd and Incongruous. Whether God may awaken any New Powers, or Faculties in the Soul of Man, after its Departure hence, I know not; nor will I deny the Possibility of it; for I think it consistent with the Preservation of our Specific Natures: Which is all that I affirm.  
24. If God be the Same in the Other State, and This, (as 'tis certain, He is) and if our Essential Faculties continue the Same, I see no reason, why we may not think it (at least probable) that the Blessed shall know God by his Works, and such other Revelations, as he shall make of himself there.  
25. And indeed, I cannot tell of what Use the Various and Illustrious Objects in that State will be, unless they discover to us the Excellencies and Perfections of God. Of what Use will the Pomp and Splendour, the Glory and Lustre of the House of God be, if it learn us nothing of his Nature and Admirable Attributes and Perfections? This is the Great, though not the Only, Use of all things in This World; and such I conceive will be the Use of them, in That which is to come.  
26. Whether God will make Use of any Second Causes, for the Maintenance and Support of our Being's, (though it seem to me probable) yet I will not affirm, but if that should be granted, yet it cannot with any Reason be imagined, that That is the Only Use of them: 'Tis not the Only Use of them Here; nor is it in any measure probable, 'twill be the Only Use of them There. The Heavens declare the Glory of God; and so do all the Being's that are contained in it, and encompassed by it: And I make no doubt, the Heaven of Heavens, and all the Illustrious Objects there, are of the Same Use, and designed to the Same Intent and Purpose.  
27. That the Objects in the Other World will contribute towards the Happiness of the Blessed, I shall affirm: But yet 'tis (I conceive) by acquainting us with the Excellencies and Perfections of God, and demonstrating the Transcendency, and Riches of his Love, his Bounty, and his Grace. 'Tis God is the great Object of Humane Happiness; and in the Knowledge of Him, and the consequent Fruits and Effects thereof, is the Supreme Felicity of Men. Created Being's promote our Happiness only by revealing the Excellencies of God, and giving us a Knowledge and Perception of them.  
28. Some Schoolmen (I do easily grant) do assert an Immediate Knowledge of the Essence and Perfections of God, in the World to come: But I am not satisfied in the Proofs and Evidences, that they bring in favour of it; and many (if not most) Protestant's reject the Opinion; and with very Considerable Reasons, Confute what they Affirm, and lay down for the Support of it. Vid. Voet. disput. select. Pag. 1193. Vol. 2ᵒ. Cum multis aliis.  
29. But though it be granted, That the Happiness of the Blessed will consist very Much in the Knowledge of God; yet peradventure, it may be doubted, whether This Knowledge be Perpetually Increasing, or whether it be Instantaneous, and present itself to the Eye of the Mind, as Light to the Bodily Eye, which no sooner appears above the Horizon, than all Eyes are enlightened thereby in a moment.  
30. I am prone to think This Knowledge Progressive and Increasing; and that Mary Ages spent in the House of God, will furnish the Blessed with More of the Knowledge of Him, than they were endowed withal upon their first Admission and Entrance there. I cannot think, that the Millions of Ages (pardon the Expression) that do compound an Everlasting Duration, will make no Increase in the Knowledge of the Blessed, nor add no Perfection to their Understandings.  
31. Whether the Proofs that I shall make of this Problem be Valid or Invalid, the Reader must determine, when he hath Weighed and Considered them. I am content, that they be esteemed as they are. 'Tis no part of our Creed, that I am defending. If my Arguments be thought invalid, and my Opinion rejected, 'twill be no matter of Provocation to me: If They be thought cogent, and my Opinion worthy of Acceptation with Pious and Ingenious Men, perchance I may be a little pleased therein: But if it may advance the Love of God, and make Heaven any whit the more acceptable to the Thoughts and Meditations of Christians, I am sure I shall greatly rejoice.  
32. These Things being premised, 'twill be adviseable to propose the Problem, [Knowledge Eternally Progressive] and give the Sense wherein I understand it.  
33. The word Knowledge I take in the largest Meaning and Signification; I understand it not in the Strict Sense of Aristotle, for the Knowledge of Things by their proper Efficient, and Constitutive Causes; but in a General and Unlimited Sense, for All Kind's of Knowledge, by whatsoever means, or after whatsoever manner it be obtained.  
34. By Eternally Progressive, I mean Everlastingly Increasing; it will Advance for Ever; it will never arrive at that Perfection, beyond which it can proceed no further. The Visible World is Finite, the Extension thereof is Limited and Determined: The Waves of the Sea have their Bounds prefixed, and set unto them: Hitherto, says God, shall they come, and no farther; and here shall their Rage be stopped: But Humane Knowledge hath No Bounds affixed unto it; it may Increase to all Durations.  
35. By the Future State, I mean the State of the Blessed, after their Departure hence. There is Another World and State, Consequent and Future to This. Humane Souls do not perish, when they leave their Bodies; they subsist in Another State, and do Advance in Knowledge There, as well as Here: Here 'tis obviously Progressive; and I see no reason, why it may not be so There. Here we proceed gradually in the Knowledge of Things; and such is the Constitution and Nature of our Faculties, that 'tis in my Apprehension Impossible it should be otherwise: And I cannot imagine, that Death should make so great an Alteration in them, that what was before naturally Impossible, should become not only Possible, but Necessary and unavoidable; for such must our Knowledge be, if it be Perfect, Immediately upon our Dissolution and Departure hence.  
36. By the Blessed, I mean such as God shall deem Worthy and Meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light; such as having done his Commandments, and performed the Terms of the Gospel-Covenant, have Right to the Tree of Life, and Admission Through the Gates into the City.   

CHAP. II. The Probability of the Question argued from the Consideration of the Nature of God and Man.  
THe Question being thus briefly stated, I shall lay down such Propositions, as shall render it fairly Probable to Persons of Free and unprejudiced Minds, and will give themselves Liberty to consider Things, without Byass and Partiality.  
1. God's Perfections are Infinite; his Power hath No Limits of Extension: He can effect all things, that are the Effects of Power. There is nothing Impossible unto Him: His Wisdom is of Vast Extent, and reaches all things. There is nothing can escape the Cognizance of his Infinite Understanding: His Goodness is of Equal Extent with his Power and Wisdom; it touches all things that are the Proper and Congruous Objects thereof.  
2. Though Man receive Great Advantages immediately upon his Admission into the Kingdom of Heaven; yet he still remains a Finite Creature: His removal from this Howling Wilderness, doth not make him a God, nor endow him with Divine Perfections: He remains There a Finite Essence, and of Limited Powers. Though he be Mightily Advanced, and his Capacities Enlarged beyond our present Conceptions; yet he is still a Creature, and his Nature remains the Same invariably.  
3. A Finite Creature can never comprehend an Infinite Creator: The Globe of the Earth cannot be contained in a Nutshell, nor the Waters of the Ocean in a Bottle or Tankard: The Hills cannot be crowded into a Cottage, nor the Mountains into a Shepherds Tent. There is no Congruous Proportion between the One, and the Other; And there is far less Proportion between the Understanding of Man, and the Perfections of God: The One is Finite, the Other is Infinite; and between them there can be no Analogy: Whereas there is some betwixt all Created Being's, (though sometimes very small) forasmuch as they are all Limited and Circumscribed.  
4. Man must Know (though not Comprehend) the Excellencies and Perfections of God, or he cannot be Happy. All Appetites have their Proper Objects, and in the Knowledge and Fruition of them, they find their Content and Satisfaction; and in the Absence of them, they find Misery and Torment. This we find true, in the Experience of every Day. Men have Appetite and Inclination to a Sociable Life; and therefore, in the Company and Society of Seconds, they find Pleasure and Repose; and Solitude is Irksome and Ungrateful to them. They have Appetites and Inclinations to Eat, and Drink, and Rest; and in the Enjoyment of the Objects of those Appetites, they are Pleased and Satisfied; and if they be deprived of them in their Proper Seasons, they are Troubled and Uneasy.  
5. Man hath an Inclination and Desire to know God: 'Tis Natural to him, to proceed from the Effect to the Nearest Cause, and from That to the Next; and so in an Orderly and Regular Gradation, till it ascend to God, the Prime Cause of all Things; and there it Rests, and is Satisfied. That's the Proper and Terminating Object of all Humane Knowledge and Disquisition: When we have pursued things thither, were we sit down in Complacency, and solace ourselves in our Acqusitions.  
6. What the Mind of Man cannot receive of the Divine Perfections at Once, it may receive at Many times, and by Succession: The Soul being a Limited Essence, it cannot receive or know much of the Excellencies of God, at one Single Grasp or Fathom; but at several times, and Successively, it may know much; and how much, is not safe to say or determine. Ten Thousand Men cannot pass the Gates of a City at once; but in succession of Time, Many Millions may do it. All the Water in the Ocean could not pass the Mouth of the straits of Gibraltar, at one Point of Time; but in a Continued space of Time, it might certainly do it, supposing nothing else did hinder it. There is no Mathematician, that at one view of his Mind, beholds all the Propositions in Euclid, Apollonius, and Archimedes, with their several Demonstrations; but many have done it Successively; and indeed all that are Masters in that Pleasant and Ingenious Science.  
7. Infinite Perfections (and such are those of God) can never be exhausted: As Infinite Duration cannot be measured, so Infinite Perfections cannot be drained: Whatsoever is exhaustible, is Finite; whatsoever may be sathomed by Humane Understandings, is of Limited Nature and Perfection: That which is Infinite, contains those Depths that can Never be sounded. And such are the Properties and Excellencies of God: The Days of Eternity will never Fully and Perfectly reveal and expose them. After all our Search into them, we shall never Find them out unto Perfection.  
8. Therefore they may furnish Matter and Subject for Eternal Contemplation: They may Perpetually exercise our Minds, and minister new Occasion for our Speculations. There will be no defect of Matter for our Thoughts, nor Subject for our Meditations. An Object of Unlimited Excellency may well afford Reason, Occasion, and Foundation, for everlasting Thoughts and Considerations. Where the Object is Inexhaustible in its Virtues, the Thoughts may be Eternal in their Inquiries and Search concerning them.  
9 Whatsoever is known of God in the Future State, will be either by Natural or Supernatural Revelation. God will be known by the Illustrious Works of his Hands. The Objects that adorn the New Jerusalem, will declare the Glorious Perfections of their Maker; every thing There, will speak forth his Praise, unveil his Glory, and render it Conspicuous to those that shall be admitted to behold it There: And peradventure, there may be some Supernatural Ways of Revelation, which may uncover something of the Divine Excellencies even There, as well as Here.  
10. The Objects or Works that reveal and discover the Attributes and Perfections of God to the Blessed, in the World to come, will be Very great and Many; and how great and Many they may be, can neither be determined, nor imagined. Those that reveal him Here, are Many, and some of them Very great and magnificent. And surely, it cannot be justly thought, but that the Things that shall reveal God in the Other State, will be as numerous, and much More great and Glorious; it being designed to illustrate and set forth the Glory of God in a most Resplendent manner. He will there be Glorified in his Saints, and admired in those that believe. And he cannot attain this Glory, unless there be something Very great to reveal, and lay him open before us.  
11. The Mind of Man is Fitted and Adapted to the Use of Knowing; and 'tis pleased therein. This is true in the Experience of Most, if not of All Men. There are very Few, if Any, that are not delighted in Knowledge and Understanding. Some Brutish Sensualists, and Covetous Earthworms, may be so swallowed up among Secular and Sensual Things, that they may have lost almost All Desire of Knowledge, and all Taste and Sense of Pleasure in it: But 'tis Apparently otherwise in Multitudes of others, and in all of Free and Ingenuous Minds; and in the most Profligate and Brutish at sometimes.  
12. God employs all things to their Proper Ends and Uses in This World; and I see no cause to doubt, but he will do so in the Other. He Made the Sun to heat, warm, and enlighten the World; and so he Uses and Employs it. He Made the Earth, that it might bring forth Grass, and Trees, and Fruits, for the Use of Man and Beast: And to that end, he Hath and Doth employ it. And the like may be said, and is Abundantly visible in All the Works of his Hands; they All serve the Ends and Purposes, to which by their Nature and Constitution they are fitted and prepared.  
13. The Humane Soul is not only adapted to the Use of Knowing, but it hath a very Vigorous and Passionate Desire after it; and that Desire is Natural and Essential to it. Hunger and Thirst are not More Natural to our Bodies, in their present State and Constitution, than the Desire of Knowledge is unto our Minds; and they can no more put off the One, than the Other.  
14. This Desire will not only be Continued, but Perfected, Enlarged, and Increased in the Paradise of God. It will receive no Abatement, much less an Annihilation There; but it will become much more eager, sharp, and earnest. 'Tis very much dead in all Men (though not equally) here Below: But it proceeds from the Sinful Depravations and Diseases of the Soul, when it shall return to Health and Soundness, that Dsiere will Revive, and become Vigorous, Brisk, and Active. In Bodily Diseases, the Appetites of Hunger and Thirst do sometimes Languish, and almost Dye; but when Health returns, those Appetites return with it, and become as Quick and Pressing as ever.  
15. This Inclination must have Satisfaction, or else Heaven will be Man's Torment, not his Happiness. Eager Appetites, without Suitable Objects for their Satisfaction, are an Insupportable Misery; and peradventure, they may be much of the Torment of the Damned: Whether that be so, yea or no, I will not determine: But sure I am, and the Experience of all Mankind confirms it, that Unsatisfied Desires are a great Vexation and Anguish: They are like Hunger and Thirst, where there is no Bread or Water, or any Congruous Object to Quiet, or take off their Fury, and their Rage.  
16. Nothing can satisfy This Appetite and Desire, but such things as are Agreeable unto it. Desires of Knowledge must be satisfied by Intelligible Objects; as that of Seeing is quieted with things Visible and Congruous to the Visive Faculty; and that of Hearing, with things Audible and Analogous to that Sense: So that of Knowing is appeased by Objects Agreeable thereunto.  
17. The Soul of Man is an Active Essence: We find it so Here; and 'tis more than probable, 'twill be so Hereafter: When 'tis loosened from this gross and heavy Body, 'twill be More active, and and not Less: And yet even Here, some think 'tis Never Idle; when the Body Rests, the Mind is Employed; as is Obvious in our Dreams: And though we have no Memory of them, yet it may well be thought, that we never sleep without them.  
18. An Active Essence, without Objects whereon to employ its Faculties and Powers, must needs be a very Great Burden to itself. Hence it is, that Here below, we are so Impatient of Idleness, and that 'tis so burdensome to Men, to have Nothing to do; nothing almost being more Irksome and Intolerable. And thence Men. that are not pressed by Necessity to use Bodily Labours, nor have no great Taste or Savour in Reading and Meditation, have invented Play and Divertisements, to exercise the Active Powers of their Souls, and to avoid the Insupportable Burden of Doing nothing.  
19 New Objects, and New Discoveries, do most affect our Minds, and make the most Grateful Impressions on them in Time: And 'tis not unlikely, but they will do so in Eternity. Those that Converse in Books, and Contemplate and Inquire into the Nature of Things, do find themselves Sensibly affected with new things. Thence 'tis said, That Pythagoras sacrificed a Hecatomb to the Gods, upon his finding out the Demonstration of the Forty-seventh Proposition of the First Book of Euclid. He was so ravished with that New Discovery, that he knew not how Sufficiently to testify his Gratitude unto them. 'Tis not to be doubted, but that he knew many things in Geometry, and had skill in Demonstration, before he found the Artifice of Demonstrating that Proposition: But this was New, and made more Pleasant Sensations upon him, than all his Other Knowledge.  
20. As in Numbers, there is, nor can be none so great, to which some Increase may not be made by Addition; and yet Number will never be Infinite: So in Being's, I conceive, they neither are, nor can be so Many, to which no Addition can be made by an Infinite Power; and yet they will still remain Finite: For Infinity is an Incommunicable Attribute and Property of God, and nothing is capable of it besides Him.  
21. If Being's may Everlastingly increase, there is no reason to doubt, but Knowledge may increase in Proportion with them: If the One may receive Advantage, and be multiplied, the Other may do so likewise. For Being's, and the several Properties and Affections of them, are the Objects of Humane Understanding; and Men's Science is Greater or Less, according to the Greater or Less variety of Objects that they are acquainted withal.  
22. But of the Variety of Objects, that will be proposed to the Contemplation of the Blessed, in the Kingdom of God, and of the Probability or Possibility of an Eternal Increase of Knowledge thence, I intent to discourse in the Next Chapter; and therefore, I'll here Conclude This.   

CHAP. III. Of the Objective Evidences and Probabilities of the Question.  
1. HAving said something in the Preceding Chapter, from the Consideration of the Nature of God, and his Perfections compared with the Nature, Faculties, and Inclinations of Man, to Prove, or at least make Probable the Doctrine that I have asserted; I shall now proceed to propose some Objective Reasons and Evidences for the farther Establishment and Proof of it.  
2. The Visible World is of very Vast Extent; and no Man can determine the Limits of it. Who can with any Certainty say, This is the Compass, and These are the Extensions of the Earth and Heaven? Who can tell me the Diameter of the Glorious Fabric, that presents itself to our Eyes? Where is the Mathematician, that will describe the Measure of its Circumference? They have pretended to give us the Diameter and Circumference of the Earth, the Distance of the Planetary Bodies from it, and from each other; together with their Peripheries and Magnitudes: But none ever dared to determine the Magnitude of the Whole World, or so much as to guests at its Extensions.  
3. This Earth on which we dwell (and which, in comparison with the Whole World, is but a Point, by the Confession of the greatest Mathematicians) furnishes an almost Infinite Number of Objects to our Contemplation. How numerous are the Kind's of Being's on the Earth, and in the Sea? What Naturalist hath ever pretended to give us an Exact History of them? The Kind's of Birds, and Beasts, and Fishes, and Infects, are to us Incomputable; and so are the Kind's of Herbs, and Flowers, and Earth's, and Minerals, with many others.  
4. What Kind's of Being's, and how Numerous they may be in the Superior Parts of This World, we cannot say; but 'tis not Improbable, but they may be Replenished with Being's Suitable to their Quality and Condition. The higher Parts of this Illustrious Fabric are much more Pure, Clean, and Splendid, than this Howling Wilderness, and the Caliginous Air that doth encompass, and surround it; and it may be, the Being's that inhabit them, may as much Transcend those Here, as the Place of the One doth Transcend that of the Other. This Earth seems to be one of the meanest Parts of the Universe; and perhaps, the Being's in it, may be the Meanest in their Kind's of all the Works of God's Hands.  
5. There may be Other Worlds now Existing, besides that which falls under our Knowledge and Observation. Some Philosophers have discoursed of an Infinity of Worlds; and thought such an Opinion Worthy of God, whose Power is Infinite, and Goodness Inexhaustible. I like not the Notion of Infinite Worlds; but I think it not impossible, but that there may be Many Others, besides This, of which we are a Part, and which is offered to our View and Contemplation.  
6. There may have been Other World's Pre-existent to This. The Holy Scriptures do assure us, that This World was made Five Thousand, and Some Hundreds of Years since: But it no where says, That there never was Any World before it; it no where affirms, That God Never produced any Created Being, or Systeme of Being's, till he gave Existence to the Heavens, and the Earth, and all the Host of them: Of which Moses discourses in the First and Second Chapters of Genesis.  
7. And truly, he that considers the Activity, Goodness, and Fecundity of the Divine Nature, will hardly be able to think, that God Never gave Being to any Creatures, will a Few Years since; a Thousand Years with Him, are but as One Day: And is it imaginable, that he should purpose to have such Essences, as should partake with Him in his Happiness, and Glory, to all Eternity, a Parte post; and yet a Parte ante, should never produce Any, till about Five or Six Days ago? This will seem very Improbable to a Considering or Enquiring Man.  
8. There may be a Succession of Worlds, after the Conflagration of This; and to how long Continuance this Succession may be extended, I will not pretend to judge. 'Twere great Temerity and Presumption, for any Mortal to say, Hitherunto will it proceed, and no Farther; and here will God rest, and put a Period to the Exercise of his Creative Power and Virtue.  
9 In those Other World's past, present, and to come, there may have been, and there may be Various Kind's of Being's; of which we have no Knowledge or Cognizance in This. The Kind's of Being's here Below, are exceeding Numerous, as I have observed already; and differing Countries do produce differing Species and Kind's of Creatures: America will furnish us with Herbs and Trees, Fruits and Minerals, with Fish and Fowls of Other Natures and Qualities, than any that are found in Europe. Africa, and the Southern Islands do abound with many things, that Asia and the Northern countries' are utter Strangers unto.  
10. And if Several Countries, on the Surface of the same Earth, do furnish to us Various and Differing Being's; we may reasonably judge, that Several Worlds in the same Universe or Creation, will supply us with very great Variety and Difference of Creatures.  
11. There may be Sundry Gradual Differences among the Same Kind's of Being's: Thus 'tis on Earth; and so it may be in Other Parts of God's Creation, amongst Men that are of the same Specific Nature. Gradual Varieties are almost Infinite; some have the Perfections of Angels almost, and others are raised but little above the Craftier sort of Brutes: And the Intermediate Differences between these Extremes, are innumerable. And the same may be observed in other Kind's of Being's. And this Variety, together with the several Causes, Reasons, and Ends thereof, will afford Great Subject and Matter for Speculation.  
12. The Supreme Heavens (there is no doubt) will afford and minister great Variety of Wonders to our Meditation. 'Tis the Palace of the Great King; 'tis the House of God; the Place wherein he gives the greatest Demonstrations of his Glorious Perfections, and especially of his Kindness, and remunerating Bounty and Grate: And certainly, such a Place must needs be very Illustrious; it must be adorned with things Great and Wonderful; it must be embellished with what will create Ecstasy and Admiration. Nothing Mean is seen in the Courts of Great Kings; all things There are full of Splendour, Stately, Magnificenct, and becoming Their Grandeur and Greatness: And it cannot be supposed, but that the Court of Heaven will be as Worthy of God, and as Suitable to his Greatness, as are the Courts of Mortal Kings.  
13. The Distance betwixt God, and the Greatest Monarches upon Earth, is Infinite; there is no Analogy or Proportion between their Greatness. What Proportion is there between the Waters of the Sea, and the Hollow of a Man's Hands? What Proportion is there between the Dust of the Earth, and a Measure? Some Proportion there is between them, because they are all Finite: But between God, and his Creatures, even the Greatest and most Sublime amongst them, there is no Proportion: God being of Boundless and Infinite Perfections; and they being all of Limited Nature and Qualities.  
14. If we may guests at the Glory of the Court of God, by the Transcendent Greatness of his Essence and Perfections, (and I know not by what else we may make our Conjectures concerning it) we must say, That the Splendour of it, surpasses that of the Courts of Mortal Kings, almost as much as God surpasses Them. The Fabric of Heaven, that House not made with Hands, transcends the most Pompous Palaces of Princes, almost as much as God Transcends Them in Power, State, and Glory.  
15. In the Kingdom of God, (at least, after the Resurrection) Man will be Compounded of a Body and a Soul: And this Glorious Fabric will contribute much towards the Happiness of both. 'Twill be an Object, and a State suitable to the Senses and Appetites of the Glorious and Spiritual Bodies, where-withal they will be endowed. What those Senses and Appetites will be, I cannot define; nor how Great the Changes and Advantages will be, that they will receive with the Change and Alteration of the Body, on that Great Day: But all confess, (and there is no doubt of it) That the One will be the Rule, and the Measure of the Other; the Change of the Body will give Law (as it were) to the Change of the Senses, and Bodily Appetites that shall be continued unto it.  
16. But 'tis the Soul, that will receive the Greatest Advantage, and Happiness, by the Enjoyment and Possession of this House of God: Thereby it will learn much of the Divine Excellencies and Perfections; much of his Power, Wisdom, and Goodness; much of his Love and Kindness; much of the Vnfathomable Riches of his Grace. And 'tis therein, that the Happiness of Man doth consist; that I conceive, is the Vision of God, in which almost all Divines do place the Supreme Felicity and Happiness.  
17. Yet either Voluntarily, or by Command, the Blessed Inhabitants of Heaven may leave those Happy Mansions, and traverse and view the Whole Creation of God Here we may observe Men travelling from One Kingdom to Another, to observe the Manners, and Customs, the Laws, Government, and Institutions, by which they are Governed, and under which they Live; as also, to take Knowledge of whatsoever is Rare and Peculiar, Stupendious and Worthy of Observation. And I do not know, but the Blessed may pass from One Part of the World to Another, and behold  is Curious and Admirable in them: And what Wonders of Power, Wisdom, and Goodness may be found in every of them, who can imagine? And how much of the Glory of the Divine Attributes may be Illustrated by them, who can determine?  
18. The Scriptures do assure us, That the Holy Angels do sometimes converse, and are employed here Below. ' Though Heaven be their Home and Country, and they be therefore called the Angels of Heaven; yet sometimes they spend a little time on Earth; and many things do they observe and learn Here. What they know of the Redemption of the World by a Saviour, and of the Warfare that is betwixt the Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent, they know by the Church, and the Revelations that are made unto it; together with the Experience that they have of the Conduct and Success thereof. And if the Holy Angels of Heaven learn many things from This Earth, the Blessed may learn many things from This and Other Worlds, and Parts of God's Creation.  
19 For something may be known of God, which the Heaven of Heavens doth not reveal or discover; though they be a most Illustrious Glass, in which the Face of God may be seen; yet I am not sure, that they do reveal all that the Blessed are capable of Knowing concerning him. Something the Blessed may learn in Other Parts of the Universe, which they cannot learn in the Paradise of God: Not that God could not make it known unto them There; but he chooses Several Creatures, and Several Parts of the Creation; upon which to impress the Image and Footsteps of his Perfections, and by them to propose them to the View and Knowledge of Rational Being's; for 'tis they alone, that are capable of seeing and beholding them.  
20. All God's Works do manifest, and show forth his Glorious Attributes and Perfections: The Firmament showeth his handy Work: The Sun, Moon, and Stars, in their Essence, Regular Motions, Influences, and Effects, do declare his Infinite Power, Wisdom, and Goodness. There is not a Creature in the Heavens, or in the Earth, which doth not teach and reveal something of the Admirable Excellency of their Maker. And if This World, and all the Being's in it, do speak forth the Glory and Perfections of the Great God, it cannot be doubted, but that whatever Other Worlds there be, have been, or may be, will speak the Same Language. God makes all things for Himself; that is, for the Discovery of Himself, and Illustration of his Boundless Perfections.  
21. God knows his Own Excellencies, and needs no Effects for the Discovery of them: He needs not This, or any Other World, to acquaint himself with the Extent of his Power, his Wisdom, or his Goodness. These, and all his other Attributes, are Perfectly understood by him. He Doth not, nor Cannot learn any thing concerning them, from the Works of his Hands. His Creatures do not teach him Knowledge, nor doth he gain any Understanding by the Effects of his Creative Power and Virtue.  
22. Therefore Reasonable Creatures must contemplate, and behold them; or 'twill be Very hard, in my Apprehension, to give any fair Account of them. Of what Use were the Heavens, and the Earth, the Sea, and the Dry Ground, with those various, and almost innumerable sorts and kinds of Being's, that are in it, if there were no Intelligent Being's, to Behold, View, and Consider them? Why were they Made? and why did God engrave his Own Image, and impress the Characters of his Own Perfections on them, if there were no Intellectual Essences to observe them? And if this Fabric that our Eyes behold, were made to be a Glass, in which Men and Angels might see, and contemplate the Glory of its Maker; such will be the Use of all Other Worlds, that have been, are, or may be: They will be also Mirrors, in which understanding and intelligent Being's will behold the Glory of God, and among them the Blessed-Inhabitants of Heaven.  
23. 'Tis true, in the Present State, and by reason of the Darkness and Impotence that Sin hath introduced upon the Soul of Man, this World is in great degree useless, with regard to the Principal and Main end of it: 'Twas Built, Framed, and Fashioned, to Reveal God unto them; and it bears very Apparent Characters of a Deity upon it. But Man is Blind, and cannot See them; or Lazy and Negligent, and will not observe them; or engaged in the Prosecution of Pleasures, Profits, and Honours, and cannot attend to consider them. But, in my Opinion, this only proves, That there are other Intellectual Being's, that do contemplate God in the Several Creatures, and Sorts of Essences, that are here below: And that though the World were made chief to reveal God to Man, yet that was not the Only Use of it; but that Angels might therein see and behold the Glory of God. And if This World were made partly for the Use and Contemplation of Angels; 'tis not improbable, but that This, and Other Worlds, may be also made, partly for the Use and Contemplation of the Blessed and Glorified Saints of Heaven.  
24. Yet I must add, That This World is of Use to Mankind. Some among them do See and Discern a God If Infinite Excellency and Perfection therein; and More might do so, if they would apply themselves to Consider it. Thought Sin hath darkened the Eye of the Mind, it hath not Utterly extinguished, and put it out. Something it may still See of God, in the Creation, if it would put itself on the Meditation of them. But if it were granted, That Mankind were utterly disabled from Seeing or Learning any thing of God, from the Things that are seen; yet it would not follow, that it were useless to him. Things may be in their own Nature Useful, to certain Ends and Purposes; though Men may have Voluntarily made themselves incapable of Using them. Wholesome Meat and Drink may be Useful for the nourishing of Humane Bodies; though Some Persons may have so injured their Constitution, and destroyed their Stomaches and Digestive Faculties by Intemperance, that they are uncapable of making that Use of it. And 'tis certain, that the World were of Use to teach Men God, though Man were Utterly disabled so to Use and Employ it.  
25. The Sum of what I have said in this Chapter, is this: The World in which we Live, and do Behold, is of very Large and Great Extent; the Species, and Kind's of Being's in it, are Very greatly Numerous. There may have been Other World's Pre-existent to This; there may be Others Co-existent with it, and Others may Succeed it, to an Indefinite and Unlimited Period. All God's Works Show forth his Glory; they are useless to their main End and Intention, if there be no Intelligent Natures to Behold and Consider them. Angels do Behold and Consider the Works of God in This Sublunary World: And 'tis not improbable, in my Judgement, that the Glorious Saints of Heaven may see and behold the Glory of God, in the Works that he hath made and done in This, and many Other Worlds: And so Great, and almost Infinitely various may they be, as to minister Eternal Matter of Contemplation, and an Increase of Knowledge for evermore.   

CHAP. IU. Of the Several Ways and Means of obtaining Knowledge; and, first, of Knowledge by Intuition.  
1. THe Ways and Means of Obtaining and Increasing Knowledge, are Various: I shall reduce them to these Heads; 1. Intuition. 2. Historical Narration. 3. Revelation. 4. Discursive Argumentation. That I be not misunderstood, I shall here premise, That I do not Positively affirm, that the Knowledge of the Blessed will increase by all These Ways in the World to come, nor that there are no Other Ways of making Addition to it. All that I shall affirm, is, That 'tis Possible, yea, and Probable, that it may be augmented by them.  
2. By Intuition, I mean a present Inspection of Things; or a View of them, as they are presented to us, and set before us. Knowledge of things by present Intuition, is distinguished from that Knowledge of things that we have by considering the Signs, Images, and Representations of them. The Knowledge that I have of Persons, Cities, Villages, and Countries, by ocular and present Inspection, differs from the Knowledge that I have of them by viewing their Pictures and Statues, or inspecting the Maps and Delineations of them. The Knowledge that we have of the Glory of the Kingdom of God, and the Person of our Saviour in it, differs much from that which the Blessed Saints and Angels have concerning them. Theirs is Present and Intuitive, Ours is Absent and Abstractive. We obtain it by considering the Reports that are made, and the Descriptions that are given of them in the Book of God: Whereas Theirs is attained by the Vision, Presence, and Inspection of those things themselves.  
3. In this World, 'tis but very little that we know by Intuition; and the Reasons are, our Presence is Limited and Confined: We are fixed to a Little Spot of God's Creation; and can View, at once, but few of the Creatures of God. And though by Local Motion, we are able to remove ourselves from Place to Place, and view Many things Successively, by present Intuition, which at Once we cannot do; yet the Sphere of our Activity is small; and 'tis with Difficulty and Slow Motions, that we do pass through it. It takes up a Great deal of time, to inspect the Being's that may be seen in a Circumference of a few Miles Diameter; and 'tis not done without some Toil and Labour: And much more must be employed to view a Circumference, or Space, whose Diameter is Many Miles, and of Large Extension.  
4. Two things will very much augment and increase the Intuitive Knowledge of the Blessed; and those are the Extension of their Presence, and a Facility of moving from Place to Place: These, I do humbly, conceive, will be very Great Advantages unto them therein. Peradventure, their Presence may be so Extensive, that by Means thereof they may inspect and behold more things at One View, than we can Successively, and one after another, in Many Years: And, it may be, their Motion may be almost as quick, as the Beams of Light; and they may pass the Immense Spaces of the Universe, in the Twinkling of an Eye, or at least with Incredible Swiftness, and in a Very Small Space of time. But these things must be spoken to something More at large, and something More particularly, that they may appear a Little Probable, if not Undoubtedly Certain.  
5. Tho' the Presence of the Blessed in the Future World, will be certainly Definite and Limited; for their Advancement to Bliss and Glory, will not make them so Many Gods; their proper Natures will still remain: They will be Men in Heaven, as truly as they were on Earth. But tho' they continue Men, yet I do (with Submission) conceive, that their Presence will be much more Extensive, and Large, than now it is: And in all likelihood, the Extension of their Presence may be Varied There, according to the Variety of their Graces and Virtues, their Faith and their Obedience, Here.  
6. Our Lord Jesus remains a True Man in his Glorified Estate; and yet, certainly, his Presence is much More Extensive, than when he dwelled upon Earth: When he was upon Earth, 'twas as much Limited, and Confined, as that of Other Men: But it seems to me utterly Improbable, that it should continue or remain so, now he is in Heaven. Then he was able to inspect, and view by Intuition, no more than others that were of Humane Race; for He was in all things made like unto them, Sin only excepted: But now, perhaps, he may as easily inspect the Whole Globe of this Earth, and the Heavens that Encompass and Surround it, as any of us can view a Globe or Circumference of an Inch Diameter.  
7. For he is the Sovereign of Mankind: He is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth: He is the Governor of the World: The Laws by which they ought to Live, and by which they must be Judged, are his Laws. Sentence will pass upon all Men, at the Great Day of Accounts, according to their Obedience or Disobedience to them.  
8. Besides, He is our Great Intercessor with God Almighty: But how can he Hear our Prayers, and Understand our Needs and Wants, unless he be Present with us, and do Inspect and Observe them? Can he Intercede for what he Knows not? Or can he Know what he doth not Hear? Or can he Hear where he is not Present? Or can he be Present with all those that call upon him, unless his Presence be of Large and Extensive Nature? Is not his Name called upon, from the Rising of the Sun, to the Going down of the same? And can all those Prayers come before him, unless his Presence be very Diffusive, and extended with the Fabric of Earth and Heaven?  
9 In the mean time, I am not about to affirm the ubiquity of Christ's Bodily Presence, nor to determine the Manner of it. I suppose his Presence of no greater Extension, than his Government; and his Government, no larger than the Extent of his Redemption; and what else may be Necessary for the Protection and Preservation of his Church and People. And as to what concerns the Manner of his Presence, I determine nothing: 'Tis but little that we know of the Nature of our Own Souls, whilst they are in the Body; and therefore, can pretend to know little of the Soul of our Saviour, since it is clothed with a Glorious Body What is the Nature of that Body, and what are its Extensions, how the Soul is Joined to it, and doth Actuate and Enliven it, and by what Tubes and Optics it doth View and take Cognizance of the Affairs of Men, I cannot tell, but that Jesus Christ, even in his Humane Nature, hath some Knowledge of them, I think cannot be doubted.  
10. To say of Christ, as the Papists do of the Saints and Angels, to whom they address their Prayers, gives me no Satisfaction: They tell us, That God Hears the Prayers that they present unto them, and acquaints them with them, that they may Again Offer and Present them to him. This, and some other Improbable Accounts do they give of their Praying to Saints and Angels, when Protestants do tell them, That they cannot possibly take Cognizance of them, by reason that their Presence is of Limited and Determinate Nature.  
11. For what is the Advantage of the Man Christ Jesus, above Angels and Saints, if he Possess and enjoy no Greater Perfections, than they do? It cannot be doubted, but that They may understand the Needs and Wants of Men, if God will Reveal them unto them: And if Christ Jesus come no otherwise by the Knowledge of them, what is his Excellency, and what are his Advantages (at least, in that Kind) greater than Theirs? And how hath he a Name above every Name, not only in This World, but also in That which is To come? And how hath He in all things the Pre-eminence? Surely, these Expressions of Scripture do import Some Excellencies and Advantages Peculiar to the Human Nature of Christ Jesus, which Saints and Angels are uncapable of.  
12. Moreover, Christ Jesus is the Head of his Church, even in his Humane Nature; and from Him the Holy Spirit is communicated, by the Means of his Ordinances, to all the Members of it: But how can this be, without Knowledge? Or how can he know the usefulness and Necessity of it to the Several and Single Members of His Body, without Largeness of Presence? The Reason of the Divine Omniscience, is derived from his Omnipresence. God knows all things, because he is Present Every Where: And I do humbly think, that the Extensiveness of our Saviour's Knowledge, bears proportion with the Extent of his Presence.  
13. In brief, Christ Jesus considered as Man, and as Mediator, is the great and general Administrator of all the Affairs of this Humane World. Whatsoever is done in it, he does it; for all Power in Heaven and Earth, is given to him: and God hath given him Power Over all Flesh; all things are made Subject to Him; and he is the Head over all things to the Church. These things, with many more of like importance, the Holy Scriptures do assert concerning Him: But how the Power thus given to Christ, can be exercised without Knowledge of the Affairs of the World, and of the Church, (I mean, an Intuitive Knowledge of them) nor how he can have any Knowledge of them, without great Extension of Presence, is beyond all Imagination, or possibility of Conception.  
14. Great is the Mystery of Godliness; and certainly, even the Man Christ Jesus, is a far more Glorious Person, than the most of Christians, yea, or of Christian Divines, do conceive or apprehend. He is called the Sun of Righteousness, and compared to Light; snd doth Enlighten all the Intellectual World. He is the Express Image of his Father's Person: That is, perhaps, the most Lively Character and Expression of the Deity, that is among Created Being's. He is Sat down on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High: That is, He is next the Pure Godhead, the most Illustrious Essence in the World. His Power, Wisdom, Goodness, Presence, and other Attributes, are far Superior to those of any other Creatures; and they approach so near those of God himself, as to be an Apt and Fair Resemblance of them.  
15. Let no Man misunderstand me in what I have said concerning the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus. I do not assert the ubiquity of it; nor do I deny his Divine; or the Union thereof to the Humane. I Extend the Presence of his Humane Nature no farther, than the Nature of his Mediatory Office doth require it. He is the Great Prophet, Priest, and King of Humane Race: And as far as the Exercise of these several Offices do require his Presence, so far I Extend it, and no farther: Though I will not determine, that these are the Bounds or Limits of it. And touching the Doctrine of the Trinity, and the Vmon of the Eternal Word with the Humane Nature, I esteem it the Great Essential, as well as the Great Mystery, of the Christian Religion; and do very hearty believe it.  
16. If any Man shall doubt the Truth of what I have said, concerning the Presence of Christ's Humane Nature, because he is not able to comprehend or imagine the Manner of it: I answer; The Existence of Multitudes of things, is Certain; though the manner thereof may be Incomprehensible: The Existence of the Humane Soul in the Body, is Certain, and that it gives Life and Motion to it; but how 'tis United, and by what Ties and Ligaments 'tis fastened there, and how it gives Life and Motion to it, no Man can tell. That Children are Form in their Mother's Wombs, and that Birds and Fouls are Form of Eggs, is Vndenyable; but how these things are done, no Man is able to inform us.  
17. Besides, we are ignorant of the Nature of Humane Minds, and what Improvements they are capable of being advanced unto, aster they are freed from their Gross and Heavy Bodies: And we know as little of the Nature of those Spiritual Bodies, where-withal we shall be invested at the Resurrection, and which Christ Jesus is already clothed withal in the Heavens. Peradventure, the Soul of our Saviour may be so far advanced and perfected, as to be able to actuate a Spiritual Body of very vast Dimensions: And this Body may penetrate all Gross and Material Bodies, even as Light doth the Purest Crystal. So that, to deny the Presence of Christ's Humane Nature, because we cannot comprehend the manner of it, (especially since we know so little of the Capacity of a Humane Mind, and such was that of Christ Jesus) or of the Nature of that Spiritual and Glorious Body, which is the Tabernacle and Habitation of it) is I think, Unreasonable.  
18. But, after all that I have said on this Subject, I shall add thus much. I do not confidently affirm it; I only propose it to the Consideration of Free and unprejudiced Minds; and leave them fully the Liberty to Embrace or Reject it, as they see ca●se: Only I would desire them well to consider, how many and great things the Scripture speaks of the Man Christ Jesus: In Him Dwells al● the Fullness of the Godbead: He is filled with the Holy Spirit, that he may be a Head of Vital Influence to all his Members. He is the Universal Lawgiver, and Light of all Men; and will be the Universal Judge of all the World: Which doth imply great Largeness of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Power; and by consequence, a very Extensive Presence.  
19 But what means all this long Discourse? Why this? If Extension of Presence be Reconcileable, and Consistent with the Humane Nature of our Saviour, in his Glorified Estate; it may be Reconcileable with it in the Blessed. If he be a True Man, notwithstanding, his Presence is Extended to very vast Distances: The Blessed may be so, though their Presence be Extended in some Good Degree and Measure. And if the Humane Nature in the Holy Jesus be capable of these Extensions, and this Amplitude, the same Nature is capable of it in the Blessed, in their Degree and Proportion.  
20. And this Extension of Presence will very much increase their Intuitive Knowledge; they will be able to see and observe, at one View, much of the Works of God, and many of the Productions of his Infinite Power, Wisdom, and Goodness. By it they will be able to observe the Connexion and Dependence of things on each other; and consequently, the Beauty and Harmony of them, which will very much Affect & Delight them. He that beholds one Piece, or Part of a Curious Picture or Statue, is not Moved or Delighted by it; but he that beholds it altogether, and observes the Relation and Symmetry of its Parts to, and with each other, is even transported with the Admiration of it. He that Views only one Part of a Landscape, finds peradventure but little Pleasure in the Prospect of it; but he that Sees it altogether, and in its whole Extent and Dimensions, finds a Marvellous Complaisance therein.  
21. Though this Extension of Presence in the Future State should be doubted, and consequently, the Increase of Intuitive Knowledge thereby; yet it may be very much increased, by Facility of Motion, from Place to Place; which almost all Divines and Christians do acknowledge a Power of Property Inherent in the Blessed. All confess a Power of removing themselves from one determinate Spot of the Universe, to another, with Incredible Swiftness. For amongst other Properties of the Glorious Bodies, wherewith they will be invested at the Resurrection, they reckon Quickness and Agility for Motion and Action. And surely, Spiritual Bodies are, in their own Nature, more Agile, and Fit for Motion, than these Gross and Earthly Bodies, that we now bear about with us.  
22. The Blessed being thus Agile, and Fit for Motion, they may as easily pass from World to World, or from One part of the Universe, to Another; as we do from Village to Village in the Country, or from Street to Street in a vast and populous City. Some Philosophers have imagined the Sun, Moon, and Stars, with other Planetary Bodies, to be so many Habitable Worlds; and the Learned Hevelius hath lately given us a Map of the Moon, in which he hath described and distinguished the several Seas and Countries in it.  
23. And if the Moon be an Habitable World, (as it is not altogether Improbable) I see no reason, why we may not think the same of all the other Luminous Bodies, that are placed in the Expanded Heavens: If that Planet be a World much like our Earth, the Sun may be a World something advanced above it, in Lustre, and in Glory: And the Inhabitants thereof may be Illustrious in proportion to their Country, and excel Us who live upon This Earth, as much as the Lustre and Brightness of the One, surmounts the Shadows and Darkness of the Other.  
24. And the Blessed being of a Very Active Nature, and capable of moving with Velocity and Swiftness, may step from Star to Star, and Intuitively observe  is Wonderful, and Worthy of Observation there. They may observe  in them is fit to Exalt the Honour, and Advance the Pra●●ens of their Great Creator: And it needs not to be doubted, but they will find Sufficient Reasons and Occasions for it. There is something Great in all the Works of God upon the Surface of this Earth, and in the Seas and Rivers, that run within the Banks and Shores thereof. And surely, the more Illustrious Worlds, and Parts of the Creation, will produce things vastly Greater than any that are found Here below, and more Worthy of Admiration.  
25. But no Part of the Universe will produce things so Great, as will the Court of Heaven: There shall we see and behold the Bravest, the most Stately, and most Magnificent Effects of the Divine Power, Wisdom, and Goodness. And how Great is the Extent of that Glorious Palace, and what great Variety of Being's may be found There, who can determine? If the Earth, compared with the Heavens, be but a Point; the Heavens, compared with the Heaven of Heavens, may be much more so; the Extent thereof, may be almost Infinite. And though there should be no Other Worlds, either Past, Present, or to Come; yet even That alone might employ Eternal Ages, to view and behold the Wonders, and the Glories of it.  
26. There may be various Kind's of Rational and Intellectual Essences or Being's. There may be Pure Minds, and such as are utterly Immaterial; and there may be Several Gradual Differences amongst them. There may be Angels Incorporate, and furnished with Material Organs; much of the same Nature with those, wherewith the Blessed will be endued at the Resurrection: And among these, there may be very many Gradations, and Modal Differences and Distinctions; and among the Saints, the Gradual Differences may be very great and many; and so may be the Reasons of them. And all these will lie open to our View and Meditation.  
27. What Kind's of Being's may be designed and prepared for the Ornament of the New Jerusalem, that City of the Living God, I cannot say or determine: But forasmuch as there are many things Here below, which (besides the Illustration of the Divine Perfections) seem to be of little or no use, unless it be to Embellish and Adorn the World, and render it Pleasant to our View; so 'tis probable, that in the House and Kingdom of God, many things may be placed There, to make it Beautiful and Pleasant to those that shall be thought Worthy of Admission Thither. And these Being's may be of Several Kind's and Nature's, and may minister Matter to our Contemplation, as well as Pleasure to the Bodily Senses, wherewithal we shall be endued There.  
28. But the most Amazing Wonder, that will be proposed to the Intuition and Contemplation of the Blessed, will be our Lord Christ Jesus. He that was sometimes the most Despised of Mortal Men, is There the Prince of the Kings of the Earth: He that was the Contempt of Men, is the Object even of Angel's Admiration: He that sometimes stood before the Tribunal of Pontius Pilate, is already Appointed Judge of the Living, and the Dead; and all must come before his Judgment-Seat, and receive their Sentence from Him. And how great the Excellencies and Perfections of this Jesus are, who will undertake to  or Describe?  
29. A God indeed, in the Humane Nature, He cannot be; but certainly, He is, and will remain, the most Glorious and Resplendent Image of God, in the Whole Creation. He had never been Exalted far above all Principalities and Powers; Angels and Authorities had never been made Subject to Him, if He had not greatly surpassed them in his Personal and Essential Perfections and Advantages. His Power, Wisdom, and Goodness, his Presence, his Providence, his Government, and Empire, is much more Large and Perfect, than that of any other Created Essence: And therefore, He hath obtained a more Excellent Name, than any of them; and is advanced, and set before them  
30. Of this Jesus, the Blessed will have a present Intuition; not only in his Personal, but Politic Capacity: They will behold him as Head of Saints and Angels; the Captain-General of all the Hosts of Heaven; the most Illustrious Being that presides over them; and under the Pure Deity, Directs and Governs them, and Communicates Vital Influences unto them: For although the Scripture doth assure us, That (the Work of Man's Restauration and Salvation beign accomplished) He shall Give up the Kingdom to God the Father, yet I do conceive, that He will always retain the Honour and Title of the Saviour and Redeemer of Men; and that as the Sun doth Illustrate this Inferior World, so that Son of Righteousness will Illustrate the Supreme and Heavenly Jerusalem; The Lamb is the Light of it: And the Blessed shall Eternally Behold and Dwell in his Light, to their incredible Pleasure and Satisfaction. But of the ●ncrease of Knowledge by Intuition, I have said enough; and therefore, here I'll put a Period to This Chapter.   

CHAP. V Of the Increase of Knowledge by Revelation.  
1. WHen God made Man, he endued him with Reasonable Faculties, and made him capable of Moral Government: He was able to understand his Duty; and by the Prospect of Rewards and Punishments, he could choose the Observance, and refuse the Neglect and Contempt thereof. He was able to See and Discern the Meaning and Importance of the Divine Commandments; and he could, upon consideration of its Advantages, choose Obedience; and on the Prevision of its Mischiefs, refuse Disobedience and Sin.  
2. The Laws, by which God intended to Govern Mankind, were written in the Nature of Things; and from thence they were to derive the Knowledge of them. The several Being's in the World, considered with Relation to God, and one Another, are the Signs of the Divine Will; and Divine Laws are nothing else, but the Significations of God's Will, concerning Man's Duty, Reward, and Punishment; and the Whole Creation (at least, as far as Man is capable of observing it) are the Revealing Signs thereof.  
3. God did not Reveal all his Will concerning Man's Duty, (even whilst Innocent) in the Nature of Things, but some Part of it: He made known even then, by Supernatural Revelation. Such was the Prohibition of Eating of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: And such (according to the Opinion of Some Divines) was the Precept of Sacrificing Beasts: For that Sacrifices of that Kind were offered to God, whilst Man continued Incocent, they think probable; because God clothed our First Parents with Skins immediately after the Fall; which (they think) were the Skins of those Beasts that had been offered in Sacrifice to God. Of the First of these Precepts, there is no doubt, but that it was made known by Supernatural Revelation: But whether Beasts were offered in Sacrifice before the Fall, seems very Uncertain, if not Improbable; and consequently, whether there were any Precept concerning it, till afterwards. For the Reason of This Opinion, I conceive, is not Valid; and other Accounts are given of the Skins, wherewith our First Parents were clothed, by Learned Divines and Expositors.  
4. Since the Fall of Man, 'tis Apparent, that much of God's Will hath been made known to them by Revelation. This no Man doth, or can doubt, that Reads and Believes the Holy Scriptures. That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpent's Head, was made known to Adam by Revelation; and, peradventure, some other things, not Recorded in the Book of God. That the World was to perish by a Deluge, if they continued in their Impenitency: That God would no more Drown the World for its Wickedness, was Revealed to Noah after the same manner. Many things were so made known to Abraham, and the other Patriarches; to Moses, and the Prophets, in succeeding Generations; and after them to the Apostles of Christ Jesus.  
5. The History of the Creation was known to Moses, either by Immediate Revelation, or by Tradition from those that at first received it by Revelation: For though the Creation of the World might be Collected and Gathered from the Things that do appear; yet the manner of it could not possibly be Collected thence. How could it be known, that God Created the Heavens, and the Earth; and that the Earth was without Form and Void; and that he said, Let there be Light, and there was Light; and that he Divided the Light from the Darkness; and called the One Day, and the Other Night; and that The Evening, and the Morning were the First Day? And so on, according to the History and Account that Moses gives of it. This could not be known otherwise, than by Revelation. There is nothing in the Frame and Fabric of Heaven and Earth, and the several Creatures in them, that give us any notice of the Manner and Order of their Creation.  
6. To pass by many other things; The Government and Policy of the Jewish Nation, both Ecclesiastical and Civil, was Established by Immediate Revelation from Above: All their Laws were appointed by God himself: He was their Legislator. Their Government was a Theocracy. God was their Supreme Prince, and Ruled over them. Whatever he required of them as a Commonwealth, or a Church separate from all the Nations upon Earth, to his peculiar Worship and Service, was made known to them by Inspiration. Their Laws, and Methods of Government, were not the Products and Effects of Reason upon the Consideration of the Nature of Things; but of Divine, and (in many things) of Arbitrary Will, by Revelation.  
7. The Christian Church is also thus Established: The great Author and Founder of it came out of the Bosom of God the Father, and appointed the Laws by which 'tis Constituted, Ruled, and Governed. Tho' many of those Laws be of Natural Revelation, yet even they were anew Revealed from Heaven; and other Laws, both for its Constitution and Administration, were purely of Supernatural Appointment and Institution.  
8. The Angelical Host know much of the Will, Nature, Attributes, and Perfections of God by Supernatural Revelation. Thus they understand the Will of God, concerning Man's Salvation; thus they become acquainted with the Grace, Mercy, Pity, and Compassion of God to wards Fallen Man. All that they know of these things, is by the Revelations that God hath made to the Church, and World, concerning it. Nothing thereof was, or could be learned from the Book of Nature: All the Knowledge they have concerning it, is by Extraordinary Methods of Discovery.  
9 That God was Placable, they might perhaps infer from the Consideration of his Nature, and his Works; but that he would be Reconciled unto them, they could not know, till he Himself had declared it by Revelation. The Will of God is secret; and no Man or Angel can know, or understand it, till he hath by some Overt-Act discovered and revealed it. That God would be reconciled to Sinful, Lapsed, and Fallen Man, was not discovered by Natural Revelation: Therefore, all that Angels know about it, is from God, and that by Supernatural Manifestation.  
10. If Man, whilst Innocent, knew at least some Part of God's Will, by Supernatural and Extraordinary Revelations; if after the Fall, God hath continued to make known his Will to the Patriarches, Prophets, and Apostles, after the same manner; yea, if the Angels know much by the same Method and Means of Discovery; I see no reason, why it may not be at least Probable, that the Blessed may Increase and Advance their Knowledge in the Future State, by the same Way and Method. Though I doubt not, but that very much of the Nature, Will, and Attributes of God, will be exposed, and laid before their Eyes, in the Glorious Works of his Hands; yet I am not sure, that Supernatural Revelation will be of No Use There. 'Tis not Improbable; but something, that may and shall be known of God, may be Excepted from Natural, and Reserved for Supernatural Revelation.  
11. As the History of This World's Generation was made known to Man by Extraordinary Revelation, as I have observed already; so 'tis possible, the History of the Generation of many Other Worlds may, by the same Means, be made known to the Blessed: For although it will be abundantly obvious, by Natural Evidence and Light, that all Being's do proceed from the First Being, and all Effects from the First Cause; yet the Time and Manner of their Production, is not obvious thereby. If it may be supposed, that there are Angels, or Intelligences, Younger than this World; I think it may be said, That they could not know the Time or Manner of its Generation; unless it be by Revelation, or the Tradition of such Intelligent Being's, as were Pre-existent to it. There is no Evidence in the Nature of Things, that This World was made between Five and Six thousand Years ago; nor that Light was one of the First Things that was made; and other Things in that order, in which they are described in the History of the Creation.  
12. As many of the Laws, and much of the Policy and Government of the Church of God in This World, is known both to Men and Angels by Revelation; so 'tis not impossible, but some part of the Laws, Government, and Policy of Other Worlds, may be known to the Blessed after the Same manner. They may obtain the Knowledge of it, just as the Angels obtain the Knowledge of Our Laws and Government here below: And 'tis affirmed by St. Paul, That 'tis by the Church that they attain it: That is, as I conceive, by the Revelations made to the Church, and by the Experience that they have of the Obedience that they pay unto them, and the Rewards that are consequent thereunto; together with the Punishments that attend the Neglect and Contempt of them; in which, many times, they are the Instruments and Executioners.  
13. And who knows, whether many of the Obscure Prophecies in the Old and New-Testament, and some other Difficulties in the Inspired Writings, may not be Explained, Opened, and Unfolded, after the Same Manner that they were delivered to Men? They were spoken by the Prophets, according as they were thereunto moved by the Holy Ghost; and perchance, the Same Spirit that was the Author of them, may be the Interpreter and Explainer of them: The same Divine Spirit that revealed the Matter of them to the Prophets, may open and unfold the Meaning of them to the Blessed.  
14. The Holy Apostle, St. Paul, observes some Analogies and Similitudes between the First and Second Creation, as is apparent in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians. As in the Old Creation, God commanded Light to shine out of Darkness; so in the New Creation, he causes Light to arise upon those that sit in Darkness, and in the Valley and Shadow of Death. As a Dark and Confused Chaos did precede Light, and a Well-ordered World, and State of things, in the First Creation; so a State of Ignorance, and Darkness, doth precede a State of Light and Knowledge, Rectitude and Order, in the Second.  
15. The Analogies, Likenesses, and Proportions, that are observed between these Two Creations, by the Sacred Writers, are but few: But 'tis not improbable, in my Apprehension, but that there may be Very many more, than those observed by them; and perhaps, there may be almost nothing in the History of the First Creation of things, which hath not its Likeness, Shadow, and Resemblance in the Second. And who dares to deny, that they may be discovered to the Blessed, by Extraordinary Revelation?  
16. The Frame and Fabric of the Tabernacle, and the several Vessels and Utensils thereof, had certainly their Meaning and Signification: The Epistle to the Hebrews, puts that past all doubt and controversy; yet, I think, that there is very little of the Import and Signification of them expounded unto us, and set before us in the Holy Scriptures. What is meant by the Shewbread, and by the Candlestick with its several Lamps, by the Cherubims covering the Mercy-Seat with their Wings; who is able to determine. Something the New-Testament hath said for the Explication of Some of them, and something other Authors have said to unriddle the Meaning of them: But besides what the Scripture hath said thereof, we have no security of its Truth. All Accounts of the Signification of those things, unless such as we find in the Bible, are but Conjectures; and as they may be True, so they may be False; for we have no Certain Assurance of their Verity: And 'tis not impossible, but that the Full and Certain Knowledge of them may be reserved for Another World; and that the Blessed may know them by Peculiar and Special Revelation.  
17. Besides what I have said, there were many Typical Persons, Things, and Actions, under the Old-Testament; and I do believe, that no Mere Man, either did, doth, or shall, in This World, understand them. Surely the Highpriest was a Typical Person; and very many of those Actions, which (as a Priest) he did perform, were also Typical: And so I think of many things, of which we read in the Old-Testament; and particularly, the Holy of Holies, and the Veil that separated it from the Holy Place. David also, and Solomon, and Isaiah, were Typical Persons; and something of the Antitypes of them, the New-Testament doth inform us of; but, I think, Very little, and that Darkly and Imperfectly too. And, perhaps, the full Knowledge of them may be kept in Reserve for the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Blessed shall There know it by Inspiration.  
18. To which I may add the Meaning and Importance of many of the Ceremonial Laws, of which we read in the Books of Moses. What is the Meaning and Reason of their Institution, is not easy to tell: It may be reasonably supposed, that the Hebrews, for whom those Laws were appointed, understood the Meaning and Reasons of them, better than we do at This Distance of Years; especially if we Remember, and Consider, that we are under no Obligation to Observe them. Yet I am much inclined to think, that even they themselves never fully understood either the Meaning, Ends, or Reasons of their Institution.  
19 Who knows the Meaning or Reason of their several Sorts and Kind's of Sacrifices; or can give us any Evidence, that the Jews themselves understood them? Why were some of them Wholly consumed upon the Altar, others only in Part? Why was Some Part of some of them eaten by the Priests, and Others by the People themselves that made the Sacrifice and Oblation? There were many Particularities in the most of their Sacrifices, which can hardly be accounted for; and I do much believe, that the Jews themselves never well understood them. And what I have said of their Sacrifices, is applicable to Many other of their Laws. Some Knowledge of the Nature and Reason of them, was to be found among the more Enlightened of them; but a full and perfect Knowledge of them, I do believe they were Strangers to; and possibly, may be known by no Means, but that of Revelation; no in no Place, but in the Future State; and by the Blessed There.  
20. In most Ages, since the Creation of This World, God hath on Sundry Reasons, and at Sundry Times, made known his Will and Purpose concerning Future Events. Thus he made known to Abraham the Servitude and Bondage of his Posterity, in a Strange Country, for the space of Four Hundred Years, and their After Deliverance and Prosperity. Thus he made known to the Jews their Captivity in Babylon, for the space of Seventy Years; and their Deliverance by Cyrus, and Restauration to their Own Country. And many other things, which those that read the Holy Scriptures cannot be ignorant of.  
21. It may reasonably be conjectured, that the Blessed Saints and Angels, had the Knowledge of all these Future Events, by the Revelations that God made concerning them: And I see no reason, why many things may not be known by the Blessed, in the Heavenly Jerusalem, after the Same Manner, and that in a Succession of Times and Ages, Without End, or Period of Duration.  
22. For whether there may not be a Succession of Worlds, to an Indefinite Period of Time, & whether God may not govern them Much after the Manner of This, partly by Natural, and partly by Supernatural Laws, who can define? I know nothing in the Christian Religion, that forbids such Opinions or Apprehensions: Though it Teaches no such Doctrine, (nor do I affirm it Certainly True or Necessary) yet I find not any thing in the Contents thereof, which is Opposite unto it, or Inconsistent with it. I do not affirm, There shall be a Succession of Worlds equally Wicked with This, and consequently such as shall need a Saviour and Redeemer: But what hinders, that there may not be a World, yea, Many Worlds, that may retain Their Primitive Integrity and State, and that God may Govern them by Natural and Revealed Laws, (since Adam, whilst Innocent, was so Governed) and after such a Part of Time, as shall seem good to the Pleasure of his Will, remove the Inhabitants thereof, to Better and more Glorious Habitations.  
23. Yea, let me add, That I am not very sure, that God Governs the Saints and Angels in Heaven, by no other but Natural Laws. The Service the they do to God Almighty, either in the Protecting of Kingdoms, Churches, and Particular Persons, or in Punishing his Enemies, may (in my Apprehension) by performed in Obedience to some Positive and Particular Commands and Revelations. For although Rewards and Punishments be of the Law of Nature, yet the Time and of Measure them is not so. What Law of Nature doth determine, when, and in what Degree and Measure the Enemies of God, and of his People, shall be Punished and Chastised? What Law of Nature doth appoint, when Kingdoms and Churches shall be protected, or delivered out of the Hands of their Oppressors, and such as seek their Ruin? These things seem to me to depend on the Wisdom and Will of God; and that there is no Possibility of coming to the Knowledge of them, but by Immediate Revelation.  
24. And if in Particular Instantaneous Cases, they are Governed by Revealed Laws, what hinders, but that in some other Cases they may be Governed by them, through the vast Durations of Eternity? Who knows, but that there may be some Positive Institutions, by which they may worship God, and exalt his Praise? And who ean tell, how Various and Great may be the Number of them? Or whether some of them may not be Temporary, and Expire, and others Succeed them of new Appointment and Command.  
25. If Innocent Adam were Governed by both Natural and Revealed Laws; if it be not altogether improbable, that the Blessed Saints and Angels are so Governed; it cannot fairly be doubted, but that the Inhabitants of Other Worlds may receive from God, Both sorts of Laws for their Direction and Conduct; and that the Knowledge of them that are Supernatural, may Increase and Advance the Understandings of the Blessed: It being altogether as possible, that they may arrive at the Knowledge of them, as it is that the Angels of Heaven should partake in the Knowledge of the Christian Mysteries and Laws; of which we are assured from the Sacred Volumes.  
26. Whether all that I have said on this Subject, will render it probable, that the Knowledge of the Blessed may Increase Eternally by Revelation, I leave to the Judgement of the Reader. I have suggested such Probabilities, as occurred to my Thoughts. Those that shall peruse them, may Accept or Refuse them, as they shall judge convenient, or as they please.   

CHAP. VI Of the Increase of Knowledge by Historical Narration, or Tradition.  
1. THat the Holy Saints and Angels are capable of Communicating their Thoughts and Sentiments to each other, is not doubted by Divines; nor is there any reason for it. Man is a Sociable Creature: 'Tis a Property that seems to be Essential unto him: And we have reason to think the like of the Holy Angels. They are Understanding Being's, as well as Men; and, I believe, they are endowed with the same Essential Properties with them. And that Sociableness is as agreeable to the Angelical, as to the Humane Nature; and from both Equally inseparable.  
2. How they do Communicate with each other, I do not Understand, nor peradventure, Any Man living on the Face of this Earth. He that will tell you how they do it, must intimately understand the Nature of Spirits, and whether they be Embodied, yea or no, and what is the Nature of those Bodies, and Vehicles, in which they lodge or dwell. But these are such things, that no Man of Sound Sense can pretend unto: And, by certain Consequence, no Man doth know the Manner how Saints and Angels do mutually Converse together, and Entertain each other. For whilst we are ignorant of the Nature of things, we must needs be ignorant How they produce their Effects. We are very much ignorant of the Nature of our Food and Physic; and therefore, can't tell how they do perform their Operations on our Bodies. Physicians are not yet agreed, whether Purgatives do operate by Pulsion or Traction, or merely by Provoking Nature; and they are as little agreed how our Meat and Drink are Digested, Distributed, and Turned into Blood and Humours, and also into Flesh and Bones.  
3. Though we know not How very many things are done; yet we are much assured, that they Are. We know not How a Tree grows from a Seed, nor a Curious Variegated Flower from a Slip, that seems Simple, and without any Diversity. We can't tell How Beasts and Fishes are Form, nor how Vermin are Bred in a Carcase, nor how Frogs are made of Spawn, or the Mudd and Slime of the River Nile. The Truth and Existence of these things, is undeniable; but How they are Made and Generated, no Man is able to explain.  
4. If many things be Really Existent, the Manner of whose Existence we can give no Fair Account of. I see nothing that can reasonably hinder us from granting, that Saints and Angels do Converse together and Communicate their Knowledge and Conceptions to each other. ' This certain, that They do many other things, which we cannot Understand or Comprehend. They do, or at least have, often Appeared in Humane Shape, and Conversed with Men. Whether they have become Visible, by forming unto themselves Extemporate Bodies, of the Matter of the Air, and other Elements; or whether they have condensed their Own Proper Bodies, and made them Visible by Conspissating the Matter of them, who can inform us? Granting either of these Suppositions, who can teach us how they do effect it? These are Inquiries, that the Wisest cannot Answer; these are Problems, that they cannot reach or fathom.  
5. Supposing then that Saints and Angels can Communicate their Knowledge, I do affirm, That the Knowledge of the Blessed may be very greatly Increased thereby. For if there be, or have been, Other World's Existent besides This in which we live, the Blessed may receive Information concerning them, by and from the Angels of Heaven, that have superintended them, and by the Appointment of God, taken Cognizance of their Affairs: For it must not be doubted, but that God exercises a particular Care, and Providence over all the Works of his Hands; and 'tis as likely, that he should make the Holy Angels the Instruments and Administrators of it, in those Other Worlds, as well as in This; of which there is no doubt, or the least scruple or peradventure, among those that bear the Name of Christians.  
6. By this means, the Blessed may be informed of the Nature of the several Being's Existent there; and what was the Use, the Virtue, and Perfections of them; and especially, what Reasonable Creatures did inhabit There; as also, what was the Government and Laws that God prescribed unto, and imposed upon them; and what the Obedience they gave unto them: To which I might add many other things; as, what was the Period of their Existence, and by what Subordinat Means and Causes their Being's were preserved and continued; what and where they do receive Rewards and Punishments.  
7. Thus also they may be informed of all the great Emergencies that happened to them, and what were the Causes and Occasions of them; as also, what Laws, what Order and Government was observed among them; and into what Various and Different sorts these Reasonable Being's were distinguished; and how they employed and spent their Time: For Reasonable Souls must have something, upon which they may Exercise their Powers either by Action, Contemplation, or both; else their Powers are of No Use, but are made in Vain; which cannot be imagined, it being beneath the Wisdom of a Prudent Man, and much beneath that of the Alwise God, to give Being to Rational Creatures to no End or Purpose.  
8. How many and numerous the Notices may be, that the Blessed may receive after this manner is neither safe nor possible to determine; for should they descend to things minute and particular, (and who knows how low they may descend) how almost Infinite, and beyond all Computation would they be? Should there have been many World's Pre-existent to This, or Co-existent with it, what Infinite Matter of Communication and Discourse would their Affairs afford to the Holy Angels, or other Intellectual Agents, that had Knowledge and Cognizance of them? And how much of Eternity would be Employed in these kind of Histories and Narrations? And if we may judge any thing of the Agreeableness of things Then, to the Temper of our Minds, by what we may find Here below, and observe concerning them, we must say, That such things will be very Pleasant and Delightful; not barely as Histories, but as Reports and Evidences of the Infinite Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God; not as bare Narrations of such and such Events, but as Effects of the Infinite Power, Admirable and Unsearchable Wisdom, and Immense Goodness of the Creator of all things.  
9 After the Same Manner the Blessed will obtain the Knowledge of the Affairs of This World, since the Creation of it: The Holy Angels will certainly give them a large Account of the World, before the Flood; how, and by what Gradations they corrupted themselves, departed from God, and abandoned themselves to Sensuality and Profaneness. What Moses hath very briefly reported, they will discourse more at large, and give to the Blessed a Full, Clear, and Satisfactory Knowledge of them. Many things that are Dark and Obscure to us, will be set in Open Light, by their more Large and Ample Discourses: That which now ministers Matter for Many, and almost Insuperable Objections, will be totally freed from them, by their Larger Commentaries and Explications concerning them.  
10. The Holy Men of that Age, may also contribute something towards the Increase of the Knowledge of the Blessed. Adam, and Abel, and Seth, and Enoch, and Noah, knew very much of the Affairs of the World, from the Creation to the Deluge; and since their Removal to Heaven, there is no question, but that they have very much improved it: And surely, they will Communicate their Knowledge, and entertain the New-Come Saints with the Reports and Narratives of it.  
11. The Holy Angels also will acquaint them with the History of the World, after the Flood, till the Days of Abraham; they will give them Account of the Repeopling of it by the Posterity of Noah, of the Tower of Babel that they began to build, of the Confusion of their Language, and of their Dispersion into several Parts of the World thereupon: Of these things, I make no question, they will give very large and particular Accounts: Of those things, of which we now know almost nothing, then and there (I mean in the Society of the Blessed) we shall have a Clear, Full, and Perfect Knowledge.  
12. Noah himself lived four hundred and fifty Years after the Flood; and there is no doubt Saw and Knew much of the Affairs of the World: And there is as Little Doubt, in my Opinion, that he doth and will Communicate the Knowledge thereof among the Blessed: And so will other of the Pious Patriarches, and Good Men of that Age. They will all contribute to the Increase of the Knowledge of those, that in succession of Times, are admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven.  
13. And surely, the History of the Church of God, in all Ages of the World, by the Narrations of Saints and Angels, will be most perfectly delivered to the Blessed. They will acquaint them with the several Accidents that have happened to it; how it hath suffered Many and Great Calamities from its Enemies, and sometimes hath Almost perished from among Men; and then how, and by what Means it hath risen as from the Ashes, and become Illustrious again in the World.  
14. They will declare, and propose to their Knowledge, and Consideration, by what Improbable Means God hath raised and preserved it: In the First Ages of Christianity, God raised and increased His Church, by the Preaching and Discourses of a few Poor Fishermen, in despite to all the Opposition that was made against it, by all the Wisdom, Learning, Power, and Policy of the World; yea, those very Means, by which the Enemies of God's Church thought to destroy it, were by the Wise and overruling Providence of God, made instrumental of advancing it. They persecuted all that were called by the Christian Name; they despoiled them of their Estates, their Friends, their Liberties, and their Honours; they treated them as the Vilest Miscreants; they killed and murdered them by Thousands; they invented the most Cruel, Linger, and Painful Deaths, that they could imagine: And yet all this would not destroy the Church of God; the Blood of the Martyrs was the Seed thereof; and the More they mowed, and cut them down, the More they increased.  
15. As God raised his Church at first (I mean the Christian Church) by very Improbable Means; so hath he recovered it from a Lapsed and Corrupted Estate, by Means altogether as unlikely. After it had lain divers Hundreds of Years under the Papal Yoke; after it had long sat in Ignorance and Darkness, and been accustomed to Superstition and Idolatry; and all the Kings of the Earth were engaged in the Defence thereof; was it likely, that Luther, a poor mean Monk, should so Leaven the World by his Doctrine, as to cause a Separation from the Romish Falsehoods and Superstitions, and to recover a great part of the Christian World to the true Worship of God, according to the Simplicity pf the Gospel: This was a thing Totally improbable; there was no appearance or likelihood of Success therein.  
16. Of these things, we have Some Account in the Holy Scriptures, and in Ancient and Modern Histories: The Scriptures give us some brief Reports of the Raising of the Christian Church, and by what Means 'twas done: The Histories of the Antique Fathers and Writers report the Increase and Enlargement of it; and by what Instruments 'twas accomplished, and with what Opposition: And so do our latter Historians make Report of the Late Reformation, and by what Agents and Second Causes it became successful. But I do not doubt, but that the Saints and Angels do and will give more Large and Perfect Accounts of these things.  
17. And how particular they may be in it, who is able to determine: But 'tis my Opinion, that they will be very Exact and Particular. Heaven is designed for the Exaltation of the Divine Praise, and for the Celebration of the Honour of God's Persections; which cannot be done without Knowledge; and the most Exact and Perfect Knowledge, gives the Greatest and Best Capacities for it. None are so fit to admire, Praise, and adore the Attributes and Perfections of God, as those that have the Largest and Compleatest Knowledge of the Great and Stupendious Effects of them. He is best able to commend a Learned Man, that hath read his Books, and hath the most Intimate and Perfect Understanding of his Accomplishments. He is best able to speak forth the Praises of God, that hath the Fullest, and most Extensive Knowledge of his Providence, and his Works.  
18. How can any Man Praise and Adore the Wisdom of God, in the Raising, Preserving, and Defending his Church, in despite to all the Craft, Subtilty, and Malice of the Enemies thereof, without the Knowledge of the Divine Conduct, in all its Affairs and Concernments? How can the Blessed praise the Power, the Wisdom, the Justice, and Goodness of God, in the Government of the Church, without an Exact Knowledge of God's Deal with it? And how can they have any Cognizance of them, but by the Tradition and Discourses of Saints and Angels? 'Tis true, God may give them the Knowledge of them by Revelation; and I will not deny, but that some of the Providences of God towards his Church may be so Made known unto them. But 'tis not God's usual Method, in This World, to do those things by Supernatural Ways and Means, which may be done by those that are Natural; nor do I believe, that it will be his Ordinary Way, in That which is to come. Some Peculiarities of Dispensations, perhaps, he may make known by Revelation; but the Ordinary Way of imparting to the Blessed the Series of his Dispensations towards the Church, will be by Historical Narration, and Tradition.  
19 There hath been a perpetual War between the Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent, or (which is all alone) between the Subjects and People or Church of God, and the Subjects and Vassals of the Devil. And as the visible Contests and Battles that have been managed by these two Kingdoms, under their Heads and Chieftains, will be discoursed and related among the Blessed; so I do not doubt, but that the Invisible Wars that have been managed by Michael, and his Angels, in favour of the Church, against the Dragon, and his Angels, in prejudice unto it, will be very largely laid open there: And how Large and Extensive the Knowledge thereof may be, who can say? And if the Sevenal Smaller Instances and Particulars thereof be made known, (as 'tis probable they will) how Numerous, and almost Infinite will they be? And how many Ages may be spent in the Communication of the Knowledge of them?  
20. Multitudes of very strange Events do happen and occur to Kingdoms, Nations, and Churches, and particular Families and Persons, of which we are able to give no Account, because we have No Knowledge (or at least, very Little) of them, or their Affairs: We know not what their Mercies have been, nor what are their Sins and Provocations. We know not what are their Qualities and Dispositions, nor what are their Temptations; and therefore can't reckon for the Various and Strange Providences, that do betid them. But in the Other World, when we shall have an Historical Narrative of all those things, 'twill be easy to give a reason of all the Strange Events that did betid them. If a Person should be taken out of a Cave, or some Place of Secrecy and Silence, after many Years Retirement and Abode there, and brought to a Place where Public Executions are done, and there see Men Hung by the Neck, cut down ere they were Dead, their Bowels taken out, their Members cut off, and burnt before their Faces, and their Bodies cut into Quarters after the manner of Beasts; 'tis not to be doubted, but that he would be Strangely Amazed at such a Procedure: But when he should afterward be acquainted with their Natures and Dispositions, their Actions and their Designs, and receive a full History and Narrative of them, he would be able to give himself a Reason of all these Severities, and be abundantly Satisfied in the Wisdom and Equity of them.  
21. The Affairs of the World, and the Church, are so much Mingled and Confounded, that the One cannot be known without the Other: The Victories and Triumphs of the Church, can't be mentioned, or proposed to Consideration, without remembering the Attempts and Assaults that were made upon them by the Men of the World. The Triumphs of the Church over Judaisme and Paganism, can't be reported, without mention of the Great and Furious Opposition that was made by the Jews and Pagans. The Success and Conquests of the True Church of God, upon the Apostate Romish Synagogue, cannot be called to mind, without a Rehearsal of its Great and Enraged Opposition unto it.  
22. And truly, This World being a Stage or Theatre, and the several Revolutions and Changes in it, being only so many Scenes and Parts of the Comedy, or rather of the Tragedy; and the Glorious Saints and Angels being the Spectators, and they all being to give to God the Praise after the great Catastrophe and Conclusion of all things; It seems to me very probable, that they shall have a Very Perfect Knowledge of all the Affairs of it. No Man can judge of the Skill and Contrivance, the Wit and Ingeny of a Comedian, that hath not a full and clear Knowledge of all the Parts of the Comedy. And sure it is, that no Man can reasonably, and as it becomes a Man, judge of the Infinite Wisdom, and Curious Skill of God, in the Various Changes and Mutations that are seen in the World, unless he hath a Large and Comprehensive Knowledge of them. No Man can give that Applause to the Wisdom, Justice, and Goodness of God, as is Suitable to those Attributes, that hath not a Very Great and Perspicuous Knowledge of the several Events and Contingencies, that have happened in the World.  
23. And forasmuch as the meanest Saints that formerly lived on Earth, had a Part to act upon the Stage of This World, and did perform it; perhaps, even Each of Them, as well as the Holy Angels, may contribute something to the mutual Increase of Knowledge amongst the Blessed. The Lest of all Saints will be able to say Something of the Attributes and Perfections of God. Some of the Effects of his Power, Wisdom, and Goodness, they have observed, and will be able to mention to his Praise.  
24. How many of the Days of Eternity may be spent in learning the History of the World, and the Church of God in it, I must not pretend to Discourse, much less Define. But surely, it being so Exceeding large, and the Parts and Instances of it being so Numerous, it may Justly be thought, that a very Considerable Part thereof, will be therein employed. 'Tis certain, that in the Future State, the Blessed will retain their own proper Essences; which being Finite, I am not able to conceive, how they can receive the Knowledge of things any other way, but Successively; and what is received Successively, doth exhausted more or less of Time; according as that Knowledge, or those Notices of things are more or less numerous and increased.  
25. Let no Man hence infer, that the Days of Eternity will be spent in Ineffective Discourses, Histories, and Narrations: To entertain Such Thoughts of it, were to Defame and Blaspheme it. The Discourses of the Blessed, will not be Ineffective, Idle, and Unprofitable; they will Affect the Hearts both of those that Speak, and those that Hear; they will produce Affections suitable to their Nature. Some of the Histories that will be reported There, will produce Amazements and Wonder; others will awaken, and actuate Love to God; others Joy, Delight, and Pleasure in Him: And all of them Praise and Confessions to the Honour of his Transcendent Excellencies, and Glorious Attributes and Virtues. The Minds of the Blessed will be so Set and Tuned, that every mention of the Works and Providences of God, will make Impressions on them Acceptable to God, and to the Advantage of their own Felicity.  
26. And certainly, such Discourses are an Employment worthy of the Blessed, and very suitable to the Estate and Condition to which they are advanced. They are advanced to a High and Happy State; and what is more comely and decorous, than to speak of the Wonders of his Power, Wisdom, and Goodness, that hath Raised them to it; and thereby excite and actuate their own Love, Thanks, and Praise? Nothing can be more Congruous and Agreeable to Rational Natures, in their Circumstances, and under their Obligations, than such kind of Exercises: Nothing can be more worthy of God, nor nothing more agreeable to Understanding Being's.  
27. We may observe, that the Holy Psalmist very frequently calls to mind, and reports the Mighty Works, and Stupendious Providences of God towards the Jewish Nation: He remembers God's Covenant with Abraham, their Captivity in Egypt, and miraculous Deliverance thence: He reports their many Provocations in the Wilderness; the Judgements that he executed upon them; their Feigned Repentance, and Flattering him with Their Lips, when Their Hearts were not Upright with him. And why did he remember these things? 'Twas to exalt the Honour of God's Kindness, Grace, and Mercy towards the Jews, and his Steadfastness in his Covenant. He had sworn unto Abraham, to give the Land of Canaan for an Inheritance to his Seed; and he would not fail to Verify his Oath, notwithstanding all their Provocations.  
28. And truly, I see no reason, why the Blessed, in the Kingdom of Heaven, may not report the Works and Providences of God, and make mention of them to His Praise. If Praise be comely for the Righteous in this World, it will be altogether as comely for them in the Other: And if the making mention of the Mighty Acts of the Lord, be a proper means of exciting and awakening it in This, it may be so also in That which is to come. If it be a Great and Pleasant Duty on Earth, 'tis Much more so in Heaven. Though Pious Men on Earth have received Many and Great Blessings from God, and such as do very much oblige them to Laud and Praise Him; yet sure it is, that those that are in Heaven, have received Many More, and those that are of More Raised, and Excellent Nature; and therefore, are under Greater Obligations thereunto. And if we may conjecture any thing of the Nature and Constitution of Humane Minds There, by what we have experience of Here, nothing will more enlarge and excite their Gratitude, and their Praise, than the Reports of his kind Providences, and Mighty Works done in the World.  
29. Some more things I might suggest, to make the Increase of Knowledge by Tradition Probable, and that Eternally; as the Nature and Constitution of the Kingdom of Darkness, the Order and Government, the Laws and Constitutions, the Rewards and Punishments, that are observed and found among them. For without some Order and Government, they cannot manage their Opposition to the Kingdom of God, and his Christ; and without Rewards and Punishments, Laws are Insignificant, and Toothless things. These things (I doubt not) are well known by the Holy Angels, and by Them communicated to the Blessed: As also, what are the Punishments that God inflicts upon Them, and Condemned Souls, for their Wickedness; and the several Measures, and Gradual Differences of them; with other things of like nature. But, perhaps, the Reader may think, I have been too Prolix already; therefore, this Chapter shall here receive its Conclusion.   

CHAP. VII. Of the Increase of Knowledge by Ratiocination.  
1. RAtiocination is an Inferring of One thing from Another, or a Proceeding from Things Known, to those that are Unknown; and a Concluding of One from the Other. Thus we conclude, that the Sun is near the Summer-Solstice, because the Days are at their Greatest Length; and that it is near the Winter-Solstice, because they are of the Greatest Shortness. Thus we conclude, that the Sun approaches the Equator, when we see the Grass grow Green and Flourishing, and the Trees put forth their Buds and Leaves.  
2. The reasoning Power, and discursive Faculty, will be of use in the World to come. From the Consideration of what God is, from the Memory of what He hath done, and from the Knowledge of what He doth do, the Blessed will Certainly conclude, the Necessity of Love and Obedience to Him. When they consider, that He is the First Cause, and giveth Being to all Creatures, and to Men Life and Breath, and All Things: When they remember, that He Made them after his Own Image; and when they had lost it by sinning against Him, He sent his Son into the World, to Take away their Gild, to Renew and Sanctify their Natures, and to Restore his Image to them again: When they call to mind, that He Supports their Being's and Faculties, and Furnishes them with Suitable Objects, for their Employment and Delight; They do Immediately infer, the great Necessity of Loving and Serving this Great and Good God.  
3. If the Understandings of the Blessed were Infinite, I think they would have no Use of Ratiocination: But forasmuch as they are certainly of Limited and Definite Nature, I cannot understand, how they will be able to perform that Duty, and exercise those Affections upon God, without it; which all Men confess, are the Employment and Happiness of the Blessed. Can they Love God, without Consideration of his Transcendent Excellencies, and Amiable Perfections? Can they Obey Him, without considering his Rightful Sovereignty, and many and Great Benefactions? Or is not this Consideration, and Love and Obedience consequent sequent thereunto, a manifest Ratiocination, and Use of their Discursive Faculty and Power?  
4. That some things in This World, are more Obvious, and better Known than others, cannot be denied; and, I believe, were so to Adam, whilst he remained Innocent. I doubt not, but that the First Principles of Things were more plain to his Understanding, than the numerous Conclusions deduced from them, as well as they are to Ours. 'Twas more obvious to him, that the Several Lines drawn from the Centre of a Circle, were equal among themselves; than that all the Sides of an Aequilateral Triangle, are the Radii of Equal Circles; with many others, that might be mentioned, if the thing were not plain, beyond all Reasonable Doubt or Scruple. And if it be thus on Earth, and were so even Before the Fall, why may it not be so in Heaven?  
5. If from Moral Principles the Blessed do infer Morael Conclusions, (which I think, cannot be denied) why may they not do the like from Natural? If from the Being, Goodness, and Providence of God, they do infer Love, Fear, and Obedience, why may they not infer from such things as are Natural, and Well Known, those things that are Unknown, yet Naturally consequent unto them? And indeed, (as I see no reason to deny it) so I am much Past Doubt of the Truth of it. I cannot but believe, that the Blessed will Conclude, that they are able to Move To and Fro, with Incredible Swiftness, because their Bodies are Spiritual; and many other Conclusions of like Nature, will they infer from like Premises.  
6. The Conclusions that (in this weak and imperfect State) have been made from some few Principles, in every Art and Science, are almost Infinite: Who can number the Conclusions that have been made from the Principles of Natural Philosophy, Metaphysic, and Geometry? How many vast, and almost numberless Volumes, have been written concerning them? And when will they make an end? ' Those Sciences have been studied and polished by Heathens and Chritians, for well night two Thousand Years; and yet every New Writer pretends to say something, that was not said before; and to add to the Advancement, Increase and Perfection of them.  
7. Some think, the Inferences and Deductions, that are made from the Principles of Geometry alone, may be capable of Everlasting Increase and Augmentation; and truly, he that considers the Numberless number of Propositions, that are in the several Branches and Dependencies of that Science, will find no great difficulty in believing it. How numerous are the Propositions, that are to be sound in Geometry, properly and strictly taken, in Astronomy, Algebra, Music, Optics, Dialling, and the Art of Navigation? And how Few and Simplo are the Principles, from which they have been Inferred and Deduced? What daily Additions, and Increases, are made to them by Learned Men? Every day, almost, Books are Published and Printed, in which something is added towards the Perfection of those Sciences.  
8. And as Numbers may be perpetually, and to all Durations Increased by Addition; so I am very much inclined to believe, that the Propositions in Mathematics, neither are, or ever will be so Numerous, but that they may be Increased: And those that are Skilled in them, and do observe how they Generate each other, will (I am persuaded) think as I do; and Modestly affirm, That it may be continued to Infinity.  
9 In the mean time, I will not affirm, That the Study of Geometry will be any part of the Employment of the Blessed. Perhaps, there will be NO Use of it, or Occasion for it There. Some Arts and Sciences will expire with our Dissolution, because the Use of them will then determine. All the Mechanic Artifices, by which Men support Themselves, and their Families, will receive their Period with our Lives: The Arts of Ploughing and Sowing, of Building and Planting, of Passing the Seas, and Navigating into Foreign Countries, will end with This Life, because there will be No Use of them in the Other. And, perhaps, so it may be with all Mathematical Learning and Science.  
10. But if the Principles of one Single Science, may be Productive of almost Infinite Conclusions, much more may the Principles of all Sciences: And that some Science will be of Use in the Other State, few doubt or deny. The Science of Natural Philosophy will remain There: The Blessed shall understand the Nature of their Own Bodies, and all Others, that they Converse withal, and are Presented to their View. How can they give God the Praise of them, if they do not Know them, nor cannot penetrate the Abysses of them? And how far this Knowledge may extend, who is able to divine?  
11. Besides, it is not improbable, that the Future World may furnish many Species, and Kind's of Bodies, to our Contemplation. The Earth, and Sea, and Air, have their peculiar Kind's of Corporeal Essences; yea, every Climate, almost, hath something peculiar to itself: And what hinders, but that the Highest Heavens may have multitudes of Peculiarities; the like whereunto, our Eyes have never Seen, nor our Ears Herd? Yea, give me leave to say, That I am much past doubt of it. Surely, that Blessed State will present many Glorious Objects, and Excellent Being's to our View; and our Knowledge will be much Increased and Enlarged thereby.  
12. Moreover, we cannot doubt, but the Science of Metaphysics will also be continued There. The most Glorious of all Reasonable Creatures, are of Spiritual and Metaphysical Nature: Such are all the Holy Angels, and Blessed Saints. Whether there be any thing Material in their Constitution, whether they be Embodied in Pure, and AEtherial Vehicles, I will not here dispute; but all do grant, that there is something in their Essence, that is Spiritual; and, without all doubt, the Blessed will have some Knowledge of it. They will not remain so ignorant of the Nature, Powers, and Capacities of Spirits, as now they are. Somewhat they will Understand of them, and the Manner of their Operations; as also, what Gradual Differences there are among them, and what Diversity in their Accomplishments and Perfections: For as there are very Many Differences (I mean, Gradual) among Bodies, so there may be among Spirits, for aught that I know. And from this Diversity, may proceed very great Difference in their Powers, Capacities, and Perfections; the Knowledge whereof, may Increase, perhaps, to all Durations.  
13. The Science of Theology will not only Continue, but be very much Enlarged. Much more of God will be Revealed in the Future State, than ever was Revealed in This; and our Faculties will be much more Capable of considering and understanding those Discoveries and Revelations. I do not doubt, but that Heaven will present to the Blessed, far more Illustrious Demonstrations of the Divine Perfections, than any that have been made here below. The Creation, Providence, and Word of God, I do acknowledge, have unfolded much of God; yet I do believe, that Heaven will discover Much more: For Here we See through a Glass darkly, but there Face to Face. Here we see Him very Obscurely and Imperfectly; but There we shall see Him as He is. And as the Revelations of Him will be more Clear and Full, so will our Minds be More Capable of receiving and entertaining them.  
14. And who can guests, what Abysses there may be in the Theology of the Blessed? Who can imagine, what may be the Treasures thereof? And what Time may be spent to Exhaust them? And whether, after Millions of Ages, there may not remain much Vnexhausted? The Inquiries that Job makes, (Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty to Perfection? It is as high as Heaven; What canst thou do? Deeper than Hell; What canst thou know? The Measure thereof, is longer than the Earth, and broader than the Sea) may be as truly made in the Other World, as in This: And, in my Apprehension, the Perfections of God, and the Knowledge and Theology of them, are truly Inexhaustible in both.  
15. The Mysteries of the Sacred Trinity, and Personal Union, may afford Subject and Matter for Eternal Contemplations; and, it may be, there may be those Depths in them, which the Blessed may never be able to Fathom or Comprehend. They are such things, as in This World, we cannot Understand; our Reason draws back at the Contemplation of them: And had we not some Reverence for the Holy Scriptures, that do Reveal and Propose them, we should utterly refuse All Assent unto them. They are Too Big for our Minds, in the Present State; and therefore, we live under some Temptation to reject them; and were we not awed by the Word of God, we should certainly do it. In the Other World, these things will be more Clearly revealed, and more fully Understood: But whether there be not something, which after all Search and Inquiry, will remain Unknown even to the Blessed themselves, I think very Probable, if not absolutely Certain.  
16. The Perfections of the Person of our Saviour, (I mean, of his Humane Nature) are without all scruple, exceeding Great and Large; and there is not an Essence (unless God himself) Equal with it, much less Superior to it, in the whole Universe of Being's. The shining Lustre of his Body, with the several Perfections of it, will be exceeding Great; but the Powers, Excellencies, and Capacities of his Soul will be much more Stupendious, Admirable, and Amazing. And I see no reason, why the Blessed may not obtain the Knowledge of them, and other things  by Ratiocination: Why may not much of the Knowledge that they have there, both of Bodies and Spirits, be gotten by Inference and Deduction? Why may they not argue from those things that are Plain, to those that are Dark? Why may they not argue from Causes to their Effects, and from Effects to their Causes too?  
17. Here 'tis the ordinary Method of proceeding: Men argue from the Fabric of Heaven and Earth, and the several Creatures in it, the Certainty of a First Cause, of Infinite Power, Wisdom, and Goodness; and from the Immateriality of the Divine Essence, its Incorruptibility; and from its Spirituality, its Simplicity; with sundry other Inferences of like Nature. And why the Blessed may not do the Same, I cannot Understand: if their Reasonable Faculties Continue, (as Surely they do) the Use of them may Continue. If it be consistent with the Glory and Happiness of Heaven, to Enjoy them, I see no Valid Reason, why the Use and Exercise of them may not consist with it.  
18. What hinders, but that there may be such Effects and Images of a Trinity in Unity, and of an Hypostatical Union, as may much Reveal the Nature of those Mysteries; and make the Inference as Necessary and Easy, as from an Effect to a Cause, or from a Copy to an Original. Some Images of them we do observe here. In the Humane Mind, there is a Trinity of Essential Principles, and yet but One Soul. In Man, the Body and Soul do constitute but One Person: But 'tis not improbable, but there may be more Perspicuous Images of them there; and that those that here we do observe, will be More fully understood. And in consequence thereunto, these Mysteries may be as Evident to the Blessed, as that the Whole is bigger than any Part and that all the Parts taken together, are equal to the Whole. I do not mean, they shall Fully understand them; but they shall Clearly understand them, and to the Satisfaction and Quiet of their Souls.  
19 The Reconcileableness of the Infallibility of God's Will, with the Liberty of Man's, is an Insuperable Difficulty Now; but perchance, it may be none Then. The Blessed may possibly see and understand those Principles, Premises, and Suppositions; from whence they may be easily deduced, without any Inconsistency or Opposition. The Difficulty of reconciling these things, proceeds from our Ignorance of the Nature of God and Man, and the Influence that the One, and the Other hath upon Humane Actions. Did we know, what God, and what Man is, and what are the Operations Peculiar to One, and the Other, in the producing those Effects that are ascribed to Men, probably much, or all of this Difficulty would Disappear. Now 'tis not questioned, but that the Blessed will very much Understand all these; and from them will argue, and infer an easy and obvious Agreement between them.  
20. The Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God are Infinite; they are Oceans, without either Bank or Bottom, if I may so express it. His Power is Omnipotent. God can accomplish whatsoever he pleases. No Opposition can be made to his Mighty Arm. If he will work, none can hinder it. His Wisdom is unsearchable; the Depths thereof are unfathomable; no Created Being can find them out unto Perfection. His Goodness is of very vast Extension: Who can take the just Measures of it? 'Tis wider than the Earth, larger than the great Abyss; yea, more extensive than the Poles of Heaven. And what vast Numbers of Inferences and Conclusions may be made from the Consideration of them? How far may they be Propagated? and where will they determine?  
21. From the Knowledge of the Divine Nature and Attributes, the Blessed may, 'tis like, infer and deduce the manner of the Divine Agency upon the Minds of Men. That God doth move and act upon the Souls of Men Here, is certain both in Scripture, and in Experience; and there is no doubt, but he will do so Hereafter: But how he doth it, is an Insuperable Difficulty. God is a Pure Act, of Infinite and Immense Presence; without any Accidents, properly so called. His Attributes being his Essence, according to the general Opinion of Divines; I say, how God doth influence the Minds of Men, and what that Influence is Ex parte Dei, is past the reach of Mortals to determine. 'Tis commonly said, That 'tis nothing but God himself; by God, meaning his Act; and thereby understanding his Essence as in Act: But how an Essence Equally, and Eternally Active, can produce those Various Impressions upon Various Minds, and on the Same Minds, at Sundry times, is past our present Imagination. And so it is also how they can receive the Divine Influx, if it be nothing but his Active Essence. But it may be, that the Blessed may have Knowledge of those Praecognita, from whence the Knowledge of these things may be inferred by Plain and Easy Ratiocination.  
22. That there is a Creative Power in God, is confessed by all Christians; and some sober Philosophers have said some things in favour of it. By Creative Power, I mean a Power of giving Being to things, without any Pre-existent Matter. This is such a Perfection, as we cannot Comprehend; but the Other State may furnish us with such Knowledge of the Divine Omnipotence and Fecundity, that the giving Being to Things by Creation, will be an Easy and Obvious Effect of it: And the Blessed will as easily infer it thence, as we do infer the Growth and Fructification of Herbs, and Trees, and Fruits, from a Fruitful Soil, the Warmth of the Sun, and the Dew of Heaven.  
23. The Doctrine of the Resurrection, is a thing that we believe, out of Reverence to the Holy Scriptures, and God, who is the Author of them: But how Dead Bones, and Scattered Dust can live; how those-Bodies that have been eaten by Wild Beasts and Fishes, or burnt to Ashes, and those Ashes cast into the Sea, can be Recollected, and become an Habitation for the Soul, we are not able to understand. But 'tis not improbable, but that the Blessed, may from the Knowledge that they have of the Power of God, and the several Subordinate Causes thereof, infer and conclude it, with no more Difficulty, than we infer the Building of a City, or House again, after its ruined and laid in Rubbish; from the Knowledge that we have of the Power and Skill of Men, the Advantages of the Place where it was situate, and the Plenty of Materials for the Re-edification of it.  
24. The Nature of that Influence, and Support, by which we Live, and Move, and have our Being, is a thing that we are Totally ignorant of. That there is such a thing, is generally confessed by all Considering Men; for Creatures do not become Independent, as soon as they do subsist. They depend on God in Facto esse, as well as in Fieri: They need the Divine Causation, as well when they are Made, as when they are Making. But what this Divine Influence and Causation is, we do not Understand; but 'tis not unlikely, but that the Blessed may by searching, Find it out. They may have the Knowledge of those Premises, from which the Nature of it may be easily deduced. In those Sciences that we employ Ourselves in, and exercise our Contemplations on here, there are many Propositions, that in themselves, and Irrespectively considered, are unintelligible, and past our Comprehension; which, nevertheless, are Plainly deducible from their Premises, and Evident enough to him that is Prepared for the understanding of them, by necessary Antecedent Knowledge. Thus 'tis in thousands of Mathematical Propositions. That in all plain, right-angled Triangles, the Square of the Hypotenuse should be equal to the Squares of the other two Sides, is a thing that no Man understands Absolutely and Irrespectively: But if he understands the Necessary Premises and Principles, 'tis plain enough, and the Deduction thereof is not Difficult. And if things dark and obscure, may be inferred from things more Plain and Obvious in this World, I know not why it may not be so in the Other.  
25. I have argued a Possibility of Increasing Knowledge, by Ratiocination, in the Future State; and I have mentioned several Instances, in which an Increase thereof may be so Made: But they are but a Few of those very Many that I might have Remembered. And what Thousands of Instances the Other World may present unto the Blessed, for the Augmentation of it, in that manner, who can assure us? What Bodies of Science may be raised from them, who can divine? Perhaps each single Instance, and Particular, may minister Subject for a large and ample Science. And where those Instances are innumerable, who can fix Bounds to the Increase of Knowledge thereby; or say, Thus far may it proceed, and no farther? Or, what Improbability is there in the Eternal Progress of it?  
26. 'Tis certain, the Mind of Man was made for the Knowledge of God, and that God is known by his Works; and 'tis as certain, that the several Virtues, Excellencies, and Perfections of those Works, are not equally Obvious: some are more Evident and Apparent; others lie more in the Dark, and are more secret from Observation. Thus 'tis in This State, and thus it may be in That which is to Come. Here we proceed, and Argue the Nature of things Unknown, from those that are Known; and so may the Blessed do Hereafter, for aught that I do see to the contrary. The Mind of Man takes a great deal of Pleasure in arguing One thing from Another, whilst Below; and it may be, that it may Continue so to do Above.  
27. The Other World will not Abate, much less Abolish, the Regular Inclinations of the Humane Mind; but Perfect and Enlarge them. The Inclination to Know, yea, and to know by Ratiocination, seems to me Natural and Essential to the Soul; and if so, it can no more put it off, than it can put off its Being. The Kingdom of Heaven (I humbly suppose) will very much Enlarge and Perfect its Discursive Power and Inclinations; it will make the Use and Exercise of it, more Facile, Pleasant, and Successful; but will not Abolish or Destroy it. An Intellectual Finite Being, without the Power and Use of Ratiocination, seems to me a Paradox, or rather a Contradiction. That a Limited Understanding should be able to know any thing, unless the First Principles of things, and some Objects of Sense; yea, or do any thing worthy of God, or itself, without Ratiocination; seems altogether Improbable, if not Impossible. But of This I have spoken already, as I remember.  
28. A Limited Understanding cannot Know all things at Once; it must receive the Knowledge of them Successively. And forasmuch as there is a Dependence and Connexion among Being's, and One follows upon, and oftentimes derives from Another, 'tis very probable, that such will be the Knowledge of them; and that the Manner of understanding them, will be such as is their Manner of Being; i. e. One Thing will be inferred and deduced from Another; which is an Exercise of the Discursive Faculty. Besides, if any thing be known by its Effects, (of which, I think, there is no doubt) in the Future World, there must be the Use of Ratiocination: For from the Nature and Qualities of the Effects, to determine the Nature and Properties of the Cause, is to reason and argue from what is Obvious and Easy, to that which is Dark and Difficult.  
29. Again, Is it worthy, or doth it become a Rational Creature, to act, or do any thing for which he can give no Account? Is it congruous and decorous, for Intellectual Essences to act like Natural Agents, or like Brutes? Such is their Manner of acting, if they act without Ratiocination, and Discourse. Is that Obedience and Worship Worthy of God, that is Irrational, and performed without any Previous Exercise of the Reasonable Faculty? Or is it possible, that Worship, Love, and Obedience, can be performed without it? Is that Worship or Love, is that Service or Obedience, that hath no Consideration of the Excellency, Goodness, or Authority of God, as the Cause and Foundation of it? I know not what it may Seem, or Appear to others; but I must acknowledge, I am of Contrary Apprehensions; and do think, that all Obedience and Love to God, proceeds from Ratiocination; and consequently, that 'tis of Use for the Increase of Knowledge, as well as for the producing of Love and Obedience in the Other World.  
30. I have hitherunto supposed a Multiplicity of Worlds, for the making an Eternal Increase of Knowledge among the Blessed; a thing probable, and such as hath some Appearance of Truth in it: And I do confess, I cannot possibly reconcile my Mind to an Opinion, That from all Eternity, nothing was made or produced by God, till the Present World; the Annals of whose Birth and Duration, are left us by Moses, and other Inspired Authors; and since them, by Others: and the whole Period of its Continuation, amounts not to Six Thousand Years.  
31. Nevertheless, I will here add, That I know not whether there be any Need of it. Peradventure, the History and Affairs of This World, together with the great Variety of Being's that are in it, and that of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the more Illustrious Creatures that are There, may minister Matter for Eternal Contemplation, and an Increase of Knowledge thereby: For how Many and Numerous they are, and what vast Systems of Science may be gathered from them, who is able to inform us? If the Conclusions that we make from some Few Principles, in this State of Darkness and Imperfection, be so Numerous, and almost Infinite, what may they be in that State of Light, and very Great Perfection?  
32. For as I think it Probable, that the Knowledge and Happiness of the Blessed, is Progressive; so I do easily and willingly grant, that it Receives very great Advantage and Increase immediately upon their Admission into the Kingdom of Heaven: And I do farther grant, that their Powers and Capacities will be very much Enlarged and Perfected, yea, and made more Able, and fit for Ratiocination: They will much more Easily make Inferences from Principles and Premises, than they would do as long as they were in this Weak and Imperfect State; and consequently, enlarge the Bounds and Extent of Science exceedingly. And how far they may be able to extend them, I cannot conjecture; but I think it may be done Indefinitely, if not Eternally.  
33. These things I have suggested, to make it fairly Probable, that the Knowledge of the Blessed, in the Future State, may Increase by Ratiocination: What Force or Weight there may be in them, I must leave to the Judgement of the Reader; and here Conclude This Chapter.   

CHAP. VIII. Objections against the Doctrine delivered in the Precedent Discourses, briefly Answered.  
1. I Am not ignorant, that the Opinion that I have asserted in the preceding Discourses, is liable to sundry Objections: And 'tis no wonder; for there is almost nothing in any Part of Science, either Natural or Theological, which hath not been assaulted by them. Some Men have made Objections against the Being and Providence of God; others against the Possibility of Motion, and the Certainty of Sense: And if Objections have been made against things so Plain to all the Reason and Sense of the World, it may not be expected, that a thing so much in the Dark, as what I have discoursed, should be Utterly Free from them. This Chapter therefore shall be employed in making some Answer to them.  
2. 1. Object. The Holy Scriptures speak of the Future State, as a State of Great and Present Perfection; and all Divines, when they make mention of it, represent it as a Glorious and Perfect State: To which no Addition can be made; but is at its utmost Exaltation, as soon as ever we be admitted into it. To this Objection I have sundry things to Answer.  
3. 1. I do easily grant, that some (yea, many) Divines may have spoken very much to the Sense of this Objection: But among Protestants, especially those that are of Free Judgements, 'tis not the Dogmatical Assertion of Divines, but the Evidence and Proof of what they do affirm, that doth Convince, and make their Doctrine Worthy of Credit and Belief. So that, unless they have Proved, as well as Asserted, the Doctrine of this Objection, I am not obliged to believe, or give Assent unto it.  
4. 2. But I would distinguish of Perfection: There is an Absolute, and there is a Relative Perfection The Saints of God, under the Gospel-Dispensation, are Perfect in a Relative Sense, and compared with those that lived under the Law; and so are Grown Christians compared with those that are Weak, and (as the Apostle expresses it) Babes in Christ. And in one of these Comparative Senses, must the word Perfect be meant; 1 Cor. 2.6. Howbeit we speak Wisdom among them that are Perfect. In an absolute Sense, neither Christians compared with Jews, nor Strong Christians compared with Weak ones, are Perfect; but in a Relative Sense, they are so. And so the Blessed, as soon as they are admitted the Gates of the Kingdom of Heaven, are Perfect in a Relative Sense; and in comparison of those they have left Behind them in This World, and of what they themselves were when they dwelled Here below. And in this Relative Sense, must we understand the word Perfect; Heb. 12.23. And to the Spirits of Just Men made Perfect; and others of like importance.  
5. 3. Perfection may be considered with Respect to Sin, and it may be considered with Respect to all Attainable Excellencies, that Humane Nature or Mankind are capable of. In the first Sense, the Blessed are Perfect; as soon as they get to Heaven, they are perfectly Free from all Sin, both of Inclination, Habit, and Act; the Plague of the Heart is perfectly cured; there remains not any thing of the Old Nature upon their Souls; yea, they are freed of all Sinful Ignorance: they know all that is Their Duty to know, and all that is Necessary for the Performance of it. But whether they Know all that ever they shall Know, or are Capable of Knowing, is Another Question. God made Man upright, Eccles. 7. ult. That is, He made him without Sinful Imperfection: But that they knew as much the first Day of their Creation, as they would have Known, had they lived a Thousand Years in their Innocent State, I do not believe. Our Lord Jesus was Perfect, with respect to Sin, at his Birth; yet He had not then Attained all attainable Excellencies: for He increased in Wisdom and Stature, and in Favour with God and Men, Luk 2.52. And if our Blessed Saviour, and our First Parents were Perfect, before they had attained all the Wisdom and Knowledge they were capable of; so may the Blessed, in the Future State.  
6. 4. Those very Persons, that do assert the Perfection of the Blessed, immediately upon their Departure hence, and Admission into the Kingdom of Glory; do yet acknowledge, that the Resurrection will add something to the Increase of their Knowledge, yea, and of their Happiness also: And 'tis a thing so plain, that it cannot be denied. Will the Saints in Heaven know no more after the Resurrection, than they did before? Will those Works of Wonder add nothing to the Enlargement of their Understandings? Will their Knowledge receive no Advange thereby? This were a manifest Contradiction, in any Man that should affirm it. So then, I hope, I may conclude, That if Perfection be reconcileable with an Increase of Knowledge before the Resurrection, it may be reconcileable with it afterwards.  
7. 5. To what hath been said, I may add, That the Angels of Heaven (without doubt) were made Perfect: Yet surely, the Creation, Government, and Affairs, ot This World, hath Added much to their Knowledge: That they have been Employed in them, and consequently have had Knowledge of them, the Scriptures do assure us; and I am passed all Scruple concerning it: Yea, I am inclined to think, that this Inferior World was made for the Use of Angels, as well as Men; and in it they behold the Glory of God, and the most Illustrious Perfections of their Maker: an have Learned very many Things from the Contemplation of it: Yea, 'tis my Opinion, that they have ascribed much more of the Praise thereof to God, than ever was done by Mortals. The Creation and Providence of God, are a very Clear Glass, in which are discovered the Attributes and Perfections of God: But since the Fall, Man's Eyes have been so Impaired, that they could not discern them, nor give him the Praise of them. But that which I would infer from this Paragraph, is this: If an Increase of Knowledge be consistent with Perfection in Angels, it may be consistent with it in the Blessed Saints: If the one were Perfect before they had obtained much of that Knowledge, that now they are possessed with; the other may be Perfect in the same Sense, though they want much of that Knowledge, that they may, and certainly will obtain.  
8. 2. Object. The Future State is a State of Rest and Fruition; The Blessed are there said to rest from their Labours, and their Works to follow them, Rev. 14.13. which seems inconsistent with an Increase of Knowledge, forasmuch as Knowledge is not obtained without Labour; especially that which comes by Ratiocination, and the Exercise of our Reason on such Being's as are presented to us. To this Objection I reply as followeth.  
9 1. The Soul of Man is a very Active Being: Action is of the very Essence of it; and can no more (in my Apprehension) be Separated from it, than Heat from Fire, or Extension from Natural Bodies. If you separate Action from Humane Minds, you Destroy them: If they do Nothing, they are Nothing. Not to Act, and not to Be, are the same thing with them: The Cessation of their Being, is equipollent to the Cessation of their Action and Operation. God is a Pure Act; Souls are his Image; and in the Activity of their Nature, they are a Representation of Him.  
10. 2. The Rest of the Humane Soul therefore (as I do humbly conceive) consists very much in the Performance of such Actions, and the Use of such Employments, as are congruous and suitable to its Nature, and to the End and Intent for which it was made. Man's Inferior Faculties and Senses have their proper Ends, Actions, and Operations; and in the Exercise and Use of them, on their own peculiar Objects, they find and experience all the Content and Satisfaction that they are capable of. And surely, the Rest and Happiness of the Rational Soul, must likewise Consist in the Exercise of its Active Powers, upon Congruous and Suitable Objects. And the Philosopher some where places Humane Felicity in Action, and not in a Dull Inactive Stupor.  
11. 3. There is nothing more Suitable, and Agreeable to the Humane Soul, than the Exercise of its Intellectual Faculty on the Being, Nature, and Properties of things. This is Wonderfully Congruous, and therefore Pleasant to it: It delights to consider the Nature of things; and from those things that are more evident, to Infer those that are less; and also from the Effect, to Infer the Cause; and from the Intermediate Causes, to Ascend by several Steps and Progressions, to the First Primitive and Original Cause of all things. This Labour is its Rest, this Work is its Reward; this Use of its Powers, is their Felicity, and their Glory: This is the Employment which they do desire; in which they are pleased, and in which they will find Repose, yea, Ravishment and Ecstasies for ever.  
12. 4. Though the Mind of Man finds some Difficulty in the obtaining of Knowledge here Below, and though it costs It much Painful Study, to attain any considerable Degree or Measure of it; yet I see no Reason to conclude, or suspect any such thing in the Kingdom of Heaven. It will receive so much Enlargement, Perfection, and Advantage by its Ascent thither, that 'twill be no more Trouble to advance in Knowledge, than 'tis for us to turn Our Eyes from one Object to another, and to observe the Beauty and Proportions of them.  
13. 5. A Diseased Eye cannot behold the Light, without some Trouble and Offence; though it be the Proper Object thereof, and the Medium by which all other things become Visible; yet if it be Sore, it becomes very Offensive unto it; and if you can but cure or remove that Distemper, Light becomes Pleasant unto it again. Since Man became Sinful, his Understanding Faculty hath suffered great Diminution; 'tis Indisposed and Uncapable, in great degree, of obtaining Knowledge, (though that were the End for which it was created) and what it doth obtain, is not without Labour and Difficulty of Endeavour: But as soon as it enters the Gate of the Heavenly Jerusalem, this Indisposition and Impotence will be removed; and, with great Facility, it will Contemplate the Nature of things, and increase in Knowledge thereby.  
14. 3. Object. If Knowledge be capable of Everlasting Increase, in the World to come, than the Blessed are never Happy; for a Capacity of Increase therein, supposes Want, and a desire of Satisfaction; and where there is Want, and an Unsatisfied Appetite, there is no Perfect Happiness: all Desire being painful; and if Pressing, 'tis very Uneasy and Tormerting. To this Objection, I Answer i● the following Paragraphs.  
15. 1. This Objection presses all that believe the Resurrection, as well as me. Those that do affirm it, and some Increase of Knowledge and Happiness thereby, (as all Christians do, or aught to do) and that Separate Souls do desire that Very Happy Day, are as much Obliged to Answer this Objection, and reconcile it to their Own Doctrine; as I am bound to do it, and reconcile it to Mine. They affirm, That Souls are Happy Immediately upon their departure hence; and yet that they do desire the Resurrection of their Bodies, and are capable of Increasing Knowledge thereby. And if Desire and Want be consistent with Happiness before the Resurrection, I hope it may be Consistent with it afterwards. And if they will Answer the Objection, as it opposes their Doctrine; I will take their Arguments, (if they be good) and thereby Defend my own.  
16. 2. But I am not satisfied, that all Want, Appetite, and Desire of Satisfaction, is Painful or Tormenting. No doubt, the Blessed Desire the Continuation of the Glory, and Happiness, that they do possess and enjoy: They Desire always to see the Face of God, and His Christ, and to converse in the Choir, and Communion of Saints and Angels: They desire always to Love Him, and be Beloved of Him. Yet I do not think those Desires Troublesome or Tormenting: Their Happiness receives no Abatement or Diminution by them. They do very well agree, and dwell together: Nor is there any Quarrel or Contests between them.  
17. 3. The State to which they are Immediately advanced, is so exceeding Glorious in itself, and also in comparison of That which they Lately left, and the much Worse that they had deserved, that it Abundantly pleases and delights them. He that is taken from a Prison, or a Dungeon, and had deserved the Gallows, or the Block, and set upon a Throne of Glory, and made a Mighty Prince; hath sufficient reason of Joy, Satisfaction, and Pleasure, though he be not the Greatest Prince upon Earth: 'Tis no just Occasion of Trouble to him, if there be some that are Greater than he; especially if there be a Possibility of Increasing his Empire, and becoming Equally Great with the Greatest of them.  
18. 4. The Blessed, 'tis true, are not so Perfect in Knowledge and Happiness, as soon as they enter the Gates of the City of God, as those that have spent many Years and Ages There: But 'tis so much Better, than the Condition in which they lived upon Earth, among Sins and Sorrows, Vexations and Imperfections: 'Tis so much Better, than the State of the Damned, with whom they had Deserved to dwell, that they have Reason of great Joy and Triumph; especially when they consider, that their Knowledge and Happiness is Progressive, and will Advance for ever.  
19 5. Besides, we may not imagine, that the Appetites and Desires of the Blessed, are Fierce and Raging: Though they desire an Increase of Knowledge, Happiness, and Perfection; yet 'tis with great Modesty and Calmness. Their Desires are not Troublesome or Tormenting, for as much as they are Immediately satisfied: No sooner do they Hunger or Thirst, than they do Receive Satisfaction. Eternal Hunger is no Infelicity, where there are Perpetual Objects to Quiet and Allay it.  
20. 6. Nay, peradventure, Heaven were not a State of Happiness, if there were No Desires There: The Soul would Languish, if Desire did not Actuate and Enliven it. The Happiness of Rational Spirits consists in Action, as I have before observed; and Appetites and Desires are the Spring of Action. So that Perpetual Action, produced by Perpetual Desires, and those Desires Perpetually satisfied, perhaps may Compound much of the Happiness of Heaven.  
21. 4. Object. St. Paul says. 1 Cor. 13.9, 10, 11, 12. That whilst we are in this World, We Know but in part, and Prophecy but in part: But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. Now we see through a Glass darkly, but then Face to Face: Now I know but in part, but then shall I know as I am known. These Expressions seem to assert a Perfection of Knowledge in the Blessed, and that Immediately upon their Entrance into Heaven: For what else means that Phrase; When that which is Perfect is come; and that, But than Face to Face; and that, Then shall I know as I am known? To which may be added those words, 1 Joh. 3 2. We shall see Him as He is. To this Objection I shall not need to say much; what I have said in Answer to the First Objection, being enough to take off the Force of it: To which, nevertheless, I add as followeth.  
22. 1. The Perfection that the Apostle speaks of, is only Relative, (as I do humbly suppose) for that some Increase is made to the Knowledge of the Blessed, after their Admission into the Kingdom of Heaven, cannot be denied; and I think, I have said Enough to prove it.  
23. 2. That Expression of seeing Face to Face, is Figurative and Metaphorical; and, I think, means no more, than a Much Clearer Knowledge of things, than was attainable in This World: But a Knowledge Absolutely and Completely Perfect, and such as receives no Increase, is (I conceive) Another thing, and more than is Meant, or can be Proved from this Expression.  
24. 3. Those Expressions of Knowing as Known, and Seeing God as He is, are (I conceive) also Figurative, and not to be understood in the Proper Sense of the Words: For no Man can know God and Heaven, and the Great things There, so Fully and Perfectly as God knows them: Nor shall any Man see God as He is, if thereby be meant Fully and Perfectly; for a Limited Understanding cannot fully comprehend an Infinite Essence. All that can be Meant by it, I think, is this: In Heaven the Blessed shall have Clearer Apprehensions of God, and all Things There, than in This World they had; and shall Know God, and Them, as truly (though not so fully) as He Knows them.  
25. 4. Besides, those words of the Apostle, mentioned in the Objection, may be understood in a Transient and Progressive Sense. The Blessed are in a State, in which they Know much, and are in Progress towards a More Perfect Knowledge: There is no need of Understanding Them of Immediate Perfection, as soon as received to Glory.   

CHAP. IX. Some Corollaries deduced from the Preceding Discourses.  
HAving made some Answer to the Principal Objections, that are, or may be made to the Doctrine proposed in the foregoing Chapters; I shall add some few Inferences, or Deductions, from the Whole of what hath been said, and so conclude.  
1. The Happiness of the Blessed is Progressive and Increasing: 'Tis not a thing Fixed, Steady, and Uncapable of any Variation: It doth not change or vary indeed for the Worse, or to their Prejudice and Disadvantage; but it changes to their Benefit and Profit exceedingly. 'Tis like a Rising Sun, that shines More bright by its Motion and Alteration. 'Tis an Eternal Spring. 'Tis an Everlasting May: The Beauty and Verdure of it, Increases continually. We cannot say of the Happiness of the Saints in Glory, Hitherunto shall it Proceed, and Here shall it Determine.  
2. For Love will Increase with Knowledge; the One will make Equal Progressions with the Other: They will go Hand in Hand, and the One advance with the Other. The More the Blessed Advance in the Knowledge of God, the More will they Increase in Love to Him; the more Lively, Vigorous, Passionate, and Ravishing will it be towards Him. The More they Contemplate his Works, and Observe of his Admirable Perfections in them, the More will they be in Love with Him, and the Greater will be their Esteem for Him, and Admiration of Him.  
3. Love is Always accompanied with Joy and Delight: Thus we find it Now, and so 'twill be Hereafter. The Love that Men Bear to their Friends, their Estates and Honours, yea, to their Sins and Lusts, ministers Pleasure to them; and can the Blessed Love God, the Supreme Good, and Chiefest Excellency, and not find Consolation and Joy therein? Can they Love the God that Made them, and the Saviour that Redeemed them from Sin and Hell, and Raised and Exalted them to Heaven and Glory; and find no Transports therein? Can they Love, and that with Vigorous Affection, and have no Sense of Joy therein? Surely, That is impossible.  
4. Great Love and Joy will express itself in Enlargedness of Thanks and Praise. How will the Blessed Triumph in the Praises of God? and how Abundant will they be in Thanksgivings to Him? They will love Him Greatly, and therefore they will praise Him Much; they are full of Joy, and therefore will Express their Gratitude with utmost Continued Hallelujahs. Active Passions are incapable of Restraint or Enclosure; and therefore will Break out in Songs of Laud and Blessing.  
5. Much of the Happiness and Felicity of the Blessed, will consist in the Exercise of Love and Delight in God, and the ascribing of Honour and Gratitude to Him. Knowledge will Generate Love, and Love will Excite, Awaken, and Stir up Praise; and these will constitute Their Happiness in a Good degree. God is the Objective Happiness of the Blessed; His Excellencies do present themselves to their View and Consideration; they Know and Understand them, they Love and Delight in them, and are enlarged in the Praises of them: And in These their Subjective Happiness doth consist.  
6. The Blessed will never Want Employment. Matter for Everlasting Contemplations will be Presented to them, by which their Knowledge will be Increased; and with the Increase of Knowledge, an Increase of Affection; and Consequently, of grateful Adoration. And thus will they be Exercised for evermore: The Days of Eternity will be Thus consummate: Thus will the Inhabitants of the Heavenly Jerusalem pass their time, and Exercise themselves to all Durations. Heaven is no Inactive State; the Blessed There are Perpetually Employed; and in that Employment, they find Their Rest. Idleness is no Pleasure to Such Being's, whose Natures are Active by their Very Constitution: And such is that of our Faculties, (as I have observed before) and in Action Suitable to it. And upon the most Raised and Glorious Objects, consists Their Happiness: There it is, and There they may Find it; but no where else.  
7. There will be no Satiety in the Kingdom of Heaven: In This World, Men are Satiated, and sometimes even loathed with their Enjoyments and Fruitions: Those things which they Most earnestly, and Passionately desired, and for which they laboured with the Greatest Endeavour, they are oftentimes soon glutted withal, and sometimes grow Weary of them. But 'twill not be so in Heaven: No Man will ever be Over-filled with knowing God, or searching out His Perfections; and God is a Being which cannot be Fathomed, or Fully searched out: There will be Something New to be discovered in Him for ever. No man will ever be t●red with Loving God, or being Beloved of Him: No Man will ever be surfeited of Rejoicing and Delighting in Him, or of expressing it in Psalms and Hymns of Hallelujah. The Reason why Men are even Cloyed with their Enjoyments Here below, is because they Find not that in them they Expected: they were Deceived by them, and therefore Grow into a Displeasure Against them. But there will be No such thing Above. God will abundantly Satisfy all Expectations: Heaven will Deceive no Man; they will There find More, not Less, than they did expect.  
8. The Future State may, Perhaps, present us with New Things continually, or at least as often as there is Occasion for them. Who knows, but that  the Blessed have sufficiently Considered and Exhausted the Being's that are with Them, or presented to Them, More may be proposed, and set Before them; or that they may be Removed to some other Part of the Universe, to observe what is Worthy of Observation There? And this Vaniety of things and Objects, will take away all Possibility of an Offensive Fullness. In This State, few Men are full to Loathing, whilst they have continual Variety of things in Enjoyment, or in Hopes and Prosecution. Variety of things, keeps up their Expectations; and they do hope to find that in One or More things, which they have in vain sought after in Others. In Heaven the Blessed are Never deceived in their Expectation: In all things they seek to Know something more of God, and that they Find in them: And when they have Drained one, they go to another; and in such Variety, there can be no Nauseousness.  
9 An Inequality of Glory among the Blessed, is asserted by Many Divines: And from what hath been said, we may give some Probable Account, wherein it doth consist. Peradventure, their Minds may be of very Various Capacities; some may be More Large and Extensive, than others, if God do here Freely and Arbitrarily, as a Benefactor, give unto Men Minds of very different Capacities, I know not why he may not do it as a Judge, or as the Bountiful Rewarder of those that serve Him. I am not ignorant, that many Philosophers suppose an Equality among Souls; and that those Differences that are so Observable in them, proceed from the Various Structure, and Conformation of the Organs, and Mixture of the Elements, which constitute our Bodies. I do easily grant, that some of the Differences observed among them, may Arise from thence; but that All do so, I cannot believe. That there is no Difference between the Soul of the greatest Divine, Philosopher, or Statesman, and that of the veriest Dolt or Idiot, is to me an Improbable Paradox; and I cannot but think, that there is a Gradual Difference, at least, among Souls themselves.  
10. This Diversity (I humbly conceive) is found in all the Faculties and Powers of the Soul; I mean, in the Understanding, Will, and Active or Executive Power. In all these the Difference is Various, according as Men's Love, Service, and Good Works may have been Various Here below. Those that have been most Pious, Holy, and Abundant in the Works of Righteousness, will have the Largest Understandings, the most Vigorous Affections of Love, Delight, and Joy, and the most Prompt and Ready Power and Method of Expressing them, in Such Ways, and by Such Means, as are fit and congruous thereunto. They will know most, and love and rejoice most, and express this Love and Joy most readily in the Other World, that served the Honour of God, and the Good of Men most Industriously in This. They that have been Most Holy, and lived Most to the Acceptation of God in Time, will know Him Most fully, and love Him Most passionately in Eternity: And yet their Knowledge and Love, as well as that of others, may be capable of Increase and Augmentation, as I have discoursed before.  
11. And there may be as great Diversity in the Bodies, and Bodily Organs and Senses of the Blessed, as there is in their Minds: Some may be more Pure and Spiritual than others; and consequently, more Agile and Fit for Motion: Some may have their Senses, and the several Organs and Instruments thereof, More Perfect and Complete than Others; and consequently, more Capable of apprehending their Objects, and Perceiving all the Perfections and Curiosities in them. Some may have a More Large and Extensive Presence, than others; and therefore, be capable of inspecting at One View, more of the Works of God; which renders them More affecting, and More amazing. He that stands upon a High Hill or Turret, beholds More things than he that stands in a Valley, and is much More pleased and delighted therein; yea, is much more ravished with Admiration of them.  
12. How great may be the Variety, and Gradual Difference among the Blessed, in these things, cannot be determined. Great have been the Numbers of Men, that since the Creation, have dwelled on the Face of this Earth; and yet, perhaps, there were never Two among them, in All things, and Totally alike. Some Difference in the Mixture of the Elements, of which they were Compounded, in the Shape, Figure, and Proportion of their Bodies, in the Features of their Faces, and Beauty of their Countenances, might be seen and observed upon them. And as Various may be the Difference of the Glorious Bodies of the Blessed. The Stars are Vastly numerous; and yet, perchance, the Difference of their Glory may be as Great as their Number, and that None of them are in all things Alike and Equal. And such may be the Inequalities among the Inhabitants of the Celestial Kingdom.  
13. And it may be Modestly supposed, that the Love of God to the Blessed, may be as Various as their Glory and Perfections are. The more Glorious and Perfect any Creature is, the more Like he is to God; and certainly, the More Like any Creature is to God, the More it is Beloved of Him. Why else doth God despise the Heaven, and the Earth, in comparison of an Humble, and Contrite Spirit, and one that trembleth at his Word? Isa. 66.1, 2. Is it not because there is More of his Image on such a Person, than on the Frame and Fabric of the Material Earth and Heavens? Why doth God love, and take more delight in the Man Christ Jesus, than in Men and Angels, and all the Holy Myriads that are About his Throne, (of which, I think, there is no doubt) Is it not for this Reason, that He is a far more Illustrious Image of his Attributes and Perfections, than Any or All of them?  
14. How God will manifest a Various and Different Affection to the Blessed, according to the Difference of their Perfections, I cannot affirm: Whether he will do it by Internal Effusions of Joy and Consolation, or by External Effects and Demonstrations, or by both, (which seems most probable) I know not; that's a Question, that I will leave for the Determination of the Other World. But that God can, and doth do it, is past doubt with me. He manifests a Peculiar Love to his Only Beloved Son; and can do so to All the Members of his Body, in Several Measures and Proportions.  
15. This great Variety of Love and Affection will Cause no Envy or Emulation Among the Blessed; for they are free of all Sinful Passions, Affections, and Inclinations; and do rejoice in the Effusions and Manifestations of the Love of God to Others, as well as to Themselves. Particular Advantages are Matter of Common Joy. As All the Heavenly Quires do Rejoice in the Pre-eminence of Christ Jesus; so do they in the Advantages of Each other.  
16. But though this Variety causes no Envy or Emulation in Heaven; yet methinks, the Meditation of it should be a great Spur and Incentive to Piety, Virtue, and Good Works here on Earth. Certainly, it ought to make us abound in all the Fruits of Righteousness, that so we may be capable of the Greatest Manifestations of the Love of God; since those that are most Diligent in his Service, since those that are the most Pious and Virtuous in This World, will be the most Glorious and Excellent in the Other; and those that are most Worthy, will be most Beloved of God, and receive the Greatest Evidences and Demonstrations of his Affection: The Consideration of it should put us upon vigorous Endeavours after a mighty Holiness and Virtue, that we may be the Objects of God's Choice, and Peculiar Love in Heaven.  
17. 'Tis a Question controverted among Divines, whether the Blessed have any Knowledge of each other, in the Kingdom of Heaven: And I humbly conceive, that from what I have said in the Foregoing Pages, 'twill not be Difficult to resolve it. So Long a Tract of Time as Eternity, may minister sundry Occasions and Opportunities to Friends and Relations, for the Knowing of Each other: And since 'tis not spent in Solitude and Retirements, but in Mutual Presence, Society, and Conversation; 'tis not possible Almost, that they should escape the Knowledge of one Another.  
18. The Memory and Narration of the Mighty Works and Providences of God, of which they had Knowledge in This World, will bring Men to the Cognizance of each other There. There is a Twofold Memory in Man; there is a Sensitive, and an Intellectual Memory: The First of these depends upon those Ideas and Similitudes of things, that by the Mediation of our Senses, have been Impressed upon our Minds: The Other depends of Such things, as by Reason and Discourse, are fixed and engraven upon it. The First kind of Memory, I think, will be of Little or No Use in this Case.: For though it should be granted, that it should retain the Ideas of things There; yet forasmuch as there is no Counterpart of them in the Things themselves, all being obliterated by the Death and Dissolution of the Body, and not restored by the Resurrection. I do not see, how the Blessed can thereby take any Cognizance or Knowledge of Each Other; but the Intellectual Memory will be of Great Use in this Affair. We shall There remember, that we were born of Such and Such Parents, and received Such and Such Instructions from them; and lived under the Teaching of Such and Such Preachers, and in the Neighbourhood and Society of Such Persons, Friends, and Acquaintance; with many other things: And the mention of any of them, in the Mutual Society and Conversation of the Blessed, will bring them to the Personal Knowledge of each other.  
19 But besides this Way of Knowing each other, there may be several Other Ways of obtaining it; such as the Tradition of Angels, and Blessed Spirits; they may possibly Inform such as shall come After them to the Kingdom of Heaven, who have in the times Preceding been admitted Thither; and where are their Proper Mansions and Places of Abode and Residence; and perhaps, Some Knowledge of each other may be impressed upon the Minds of the Blessed by Inspiration.  
20. But forasmuch as the Souls of the Blessed are carried hence, and by the Ministration of Angels removed to Heaven, and placed in Mansions There; peradventure, by the Will of God, those that have been allied either by Nature, Neighbourhood, or Conversation, may be placed near together, in That House of God; and then a Little Discourse may Soon bring them to the Knowledge of each other; or the Angels may openly, and in the Presence of All, declare Who they have brought Thither, and joined to their Society and Number.  
21. One thing more I will add to what I have already inferred from the Precedent Discourse: Eternity will unfold all the Mysteries and Wonders of Divine Providence. There are Many and great Labyrinths now in it; and we cannot Search them out, nor give any Account thereof: But Eternity will unveil them, and set them Open and Plain before us. The Wisdom, Holiness, Justice, Goodness, and Truth of God, will be Conspicuous in every thing He hath done: All Objections will be Satisfied; and 'twill Appear, that there was nothing of Iniquity, or unrighteousness in any of them.  
22. What Troubled us to see, and endure, will be Pleasant to remember, when we have understook the Reasons of it. 'Twas Grievous to us to have the Wicked prosper, and the Righteous suffer by their Hands. 'Twas an Affliction to us, to behold the Church of God under Persecution, and the Enemies thereof bringing their Wicked Devices to pass. But the Memory of these things will be Grateful, when we shall be gloriously instructed in the Reasons and Effects of them.  
23. And thus I have said many things in favour of the Question, that in the Beginning I undertood to defend. But I am not Dogmatical in what I have said; nor shall I be offended with any Man, that is of Other Apprehensions. In things of This Nature, I am content that Men think as they please, or according as their Reason shall direct them; which, I am sure, is Sufficiently various. I have taken the Liberty to suggest my Own Thoughts on this Subject; and I have no desire to retrench to Other Men the Liberty of Theirs. If any Man shall propose any thing Better, either in favour of this Opinion, or in Confutation of it, it shall be Equally acceptable to me.   

An Appendix.  
1. SInce what I have said in the Fourth Chapter, concerning the Extensiveness of the Presence of Christ's Humane Nature, looks like a Paradox; and 'tis possible, that those that read it, may be startled: I shall add a few Paragraphs, to a farther Explication of my Mind about it.  
2. 'Tis certain, that Prayers and Supplications have been made to Christ Jesus, in all Ages of the Christian Church. Christians have addressed themselves to Christ, both in their Private and Public Devotions. In all their Needs and Wants, they have applied themselves too Him.  
3. 'Tis undeniable, that the Holy Scriptures do give us very great Encouragement to pray before Him, and make known our Requests unto Him. They assure us, that He is a Merciful High Priest; and such a One, As is touched with the Feeling of our Infirmities, having been in all Points tempted as we are; and that therefore we may come boldly to the Throne of Grace, to obtain Mercy, and find Grace to help in time of need, Heb. 4.14, 15.  
4. He himself hath promised to hear the Prayers that we make before Him: Whatsoever you shall ask in my Name, that will I do; and if you ask any thing in my Name, I will do it, Joh. 14.13, 14.  
5. 'Twas the Humane Nature of our Lord Jesus, that was Tempted in all things, as we are; and is therefore compassionate, and hath a Sense and Feeling of our Infirmities. The Divine Nature is Merciful, but not because it was In all things Tempted as we are; for it is not capable of Temptations. 'Tis only the Humane Nature that was tempted, and in that Sense can be said to be Merciful.  
6. Therefore, the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus nath Knowledge of our Prayers, Wants, and Temptations. How else is He touched with a Feeling of our Infirmities? How else doth He Minister Grace to help in time of need? Or can these things be done, without any Knowledge of our State, our Needs, or our Supplications?  
7. Either the Humane Nature of our Saviour hath an Immediate Knowledge of these things, or else it partakes in the Knowledge of them, by a Communication from the Divine Nature. If it be said, That the Humane Nature hath an Immediate Knowledge of them; I infer from thence, the Extensiveness of Christ 's Presence: For that He should know them Immediately, without a large and diffusive Presence, is (I think) impossible, and more than is asserted of the Deity itself; the Omniscience, and Universal Providence of God, being founded in the Immensity and Vnboundedness of His Presence.  
8. If it be said, That the Knowledge of our Infirmities, and Prayers, is communicated to the Humane Nature of our Saviour, by the Divine; I do not understand, how Christ Jesus is capable of that Knowledge, unless his Essence, and consequently his Presence, be of Large and Extensive Nature. Quicquid recipitur, recipitur ad modum recipientis. The Hills cannot be weighed in Scales, nor the Mountains in a Pair of Balances; the Dust of the Earth cannot be comprehended in a Measure, nor the Waters in the Hollow of a Man's Hand: Nor can a Created Understanding, (and such is that of the Humane Nature in Christ Jesus) comprehend all the Needs, Wants, and Infirmities of Christians, by whatsoever Ways or Methods they may be Communicated unto it; unless you will suppose it of very Large and Extensive Presence and Capacity.  
9 So that, if the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus have any Knowledge of the State and Condition of the Church, which is his Body, (as I think, can't reasonably be doubted) whether Mediately or Immediately; in my Apprehension, an Extension of Presence must be granted thereunto. And if it be granted to Christ Jesus, I know nothing that will hinder the same Concession to the Blessed, though not in the same Degree; for in all things he must have a Supremacy and Advantage.  
10. But besides all this, Christ Jesus is the Head of his Church; and, as an Universal Cause under God, conveys his Grace and Spirit to all the Members of it. As the Sun is the Universal Cause of Light, Heat, and Motion in Sublunary Bodies; so is Christ of all Grace and Spiritual Influences and Virtues, to the Souls of Men; and there is no other means, or way of Conveyance, but by Him.  
11. The Humane Nature of Christ Jesus, by its being Personally united to the Divine, and exalted to God's Right Hand, is by the Office of Mediator Authorized; and by a Participation of the Fullness of the Spirit, enabled for the Communication of this Spiritual Influx, and Benediction to Humane Minds.  
12. Yet it is not to be imagined, or do I affirm, That the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus is any Cause of any Immanent Act of the Divine Spirit; but He is the Cause of the Spirits Operation, as that Operation signifies the Effect upon the Mind of Man. And of this He is no Superior, but only a Ministerial Cause, as a Prince rewards the Valour of his Soldiers, as the General doth determine it.  
13. Christ Jesus is the Political Cause of this Spiritual Influence. He, as Mediator, is authorized to determine of the Measure, Time, Conditions, and Persons, that shall partake therein. Whether He be also a Physical Head and Cause of this Influence and Grace, and by proper Efficiency do Communicate of this Spirit, and by any Physical Operation of his Humane Soul, He operate upon Our Minds; is a Controversy, that I am not obliged to determine, my Cause not requiring it: For if He be only the Political Cause of this Grace and Spirit, He must have Knowledge of the State, Case, and Condition of Mankind; and that, in my Opinion, will infer a Large and Extensive Presence; which is all that I am concerned to prove.  
AND now having annexed thus much to the Book, in regard to one Particular Point; I shall superadd no less, in regard to the General Subject, for the obviating some Objections, and preventing Misunderstandings in what I have Asserted, or rather Proposed to indifferent Consideration.  
1. I would not be thought to Place the Happiness of the Blessed, in the Knowledge of Creatures. Whoever should Thus understand me, would Very much mistake and misapprehend me. I Place the Happiness of Saints and Angels in the Knowledge and Love of God, and being Beloved by Him. The Knowledge of Creatures, is only the Medium by which we come to the Knowledge of the Creator; and by the Knowledge of Him, we become capable of Loving Him, and Rejoicing and Delighting in Him. God is ultimately the Object of Man's Felicity and Love. Delight and Joy are the Great Felicitating Acts; and both these Complete, and make it Perfect.  
2. One great Reason that inclines me to believe, that Knowledge will be Progressive in the World to come, is because I do suppose, that Man will remain a Limited and Finite Essence There; yea, and Limited to that degree, that he will not be Able at one Grasp to comprehend the Nature, Qualities, and Perfections of the Universe. A great Enlargement of Capacity Immediately upon his Departure hence, I do readily concede; and if any shall please to call it Supernatural, I will have no Contest with him about it: But this Enlargement (I conceive) will not make his Capacity of Equal Extent with the Universe; and consequently, his Knowledge of it, cannot be Simul and Semel, but Successive.  
3. How Various the Limitations of the Essences and Capacities of the Blessed will be, I will not affirm: Peradventure, they may be as Various, and Different, as their Rewards will be. Those that have Loved and Served God in This World, with the Greatest Sincerity and Vigour of Affection and Endeavour, will have the Largest Capacities in the Other; they will be capable of knowing Most of God; and consequently, of loving Him Most, and being Most beloved of Him. It seems to me (I say) probable, that the Remunerating Grace of God, will Diversify Men's Capacities in the Kingdom of Heaven, according to their Works Here on Earth.  
4. If any Man should think, that because I affirm an Alteration for the better in the Future State, that therefore there may be an Alteration for the worse, and to the Disadvantage of the Blessed. I answer, That I see Nothing in what I have Said, that may give any Reason for Such an Inference or Conclusion. For why Confirming Grace may not secure the Blessed from Any Defection, on Supposition, that Knowledge, and consequently Happiness, be Increasing and Progressive, as well as on supposition, that it be Instantaneously Complete and Perfect; I confess, I do not understand.  
5. St. Paul, I do acknowledge, doth assure us, That Eye hath not seen, nor Ear heard, nor hath it entered into the Heart of Man to conceive, what God hath laid up for those that love Him, 1 Cor. 2.9. Which words he transcribes from Isaiah the Prophet. But how they are any Prejudice to the Doctrine that I have proposed, I do not find: For (besides that the Words were spoken by the Prophet, with respect to the State of the Gospel, and the great Revelations and Discoveries that were to be made of the Divine Grace and Mercy, at That time, and in That State) I shall readily grant, that no Eye hath seen, nor Ear heard, nor hath the Heart of any Man conceived, what, and how Various, how Great and Stupendious those Objects will be, that the Future State will present unto our Thoughts and Contemplations. Who can tell, what Variety of Wonders the House of the Living God may set before us? Who can imagine the Lustre and Glory of the Heavenly Jerusalem, and what are the Being's that do Embellish and Adorn the Palace of the Great King? Who can tell, or who can conceive, what Species or Kind's of Being's may be comprehended in the Whole Universe; and of what Various and Amazing Natures, Qualifications, and Perfections?  
6. And as we cannot Understand what will be the Number, Kind's, Nature, nor Perfections of these things; so we cannot Tell what will be the Joy, Pleasure, Satisfaction, yea, Ecstasies and Ravishments, that we shall Conceive, and have Experience of in the Contemplation and Knowledge of them. Who can imagine what Joy he shall feel, at the Sight, and First Aspect of the Magnificent Structure of the Heavenly Palace? At the Vision of those Holy Myriads, that encompass the Throne of God? At the Vision of the Holy Jesus, that Prince of the Kings of the Earth? At the Sight of all the Holy Patriarches, Prophets, and Apostles? At the View of all the Holy Confessors and Martyrs, together with all the Holy and Good Men of all Generations? Who can imagine, what Pleasure and Joy every Object that is offered to our Meditation, may Raise and Awaken in our Souls? Who can Think, what Joy we shall Conceive from our Exercise of Love to God, and 〈◊〉 the Sense and Apprehension of our 〈◊〉 Beloved of Him, and of the Eternal D●●ation of it?  
7. But though we cannot Conceive, nor have not Seen, nor Herd, what are the Being's and Objects, that the Future State will furnish to our View and Consideration; and though we cannot Imagine, what will be the Joys and Pleasures, that they will introduce upon our Minds: Yet we may know, that there will be Objects of Various and Illustrious Qualities; and that the Knowledge of them will make Very Great and Pleasant Emotions and Affections upon our Souls; and that This Knowledge, and These Affections may be of Progressive Nature and Increase to All Durations: Which is all that I have Asserted, and I think Sufficiently consistent with the Words of the Apostle, in the Text .  
8. I know nothing Momentous, that may be objected against what I have Said on this Subject, which I have not Answered or Obviated in Some Place or Other of This Discourse. Nevertheless, 'tis no Article of my Faith; nor am I zealous to Proselyte any Man to the Belief of it. I will Conclude with those Words, wherewith Cartesius concludes his Principia.  At nihilominus memor meae tenuitatis, nihil affirmo: sed haec omnia tum Ecclesiae Catholicae [Anglicanae] Authoritati; tum Prudentiorum Judiciis submitto; nihilque ab ullo credi velim, nisi quod ipsi evidens & invicta ratio persuadebit. 
FINIS.