BEING For ever with the Lord, THE Great Hope, End and Comfort of BELIEVERS: What it is, and how to be obtained and forethought of.  
Preached by MATTHEW SYLVESTER, And Published at the public Request of Mr. Ri. Baxter, at the hearing of it.  
LONDON, Printed for J. Robinson, at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Churchyard. M.DC.LXXXVIII.   

TO Mr. M. SYLVESTER'S HEARERS.  
IF you know not the Reasons of my desiring Mr. S. at the hearing of it, to publish this Sermon, I now tell you, they were these.  
1. I was affected with it, as suitable to my own Condition; who have little Comfort to live on, but my hopes of being for ever with the Lord, and no Motive so powerful to engage me to my great Duty, and to overcome all Temptations.  
2. And that which is so suitable to me, is not unsuitable to you: I am not the only Man that must die, and that hath another Life to live.  
3. Mr. Sylvester's Style is so concise, and naturally elegant, that neither I nor you can sufficiently digest his Sermons upon a transient hearing: A full and frequent review may make them more our own: Of-times four or five Names, or Epithets, signify as much as so many distinct Sentences; and his Phrases are not always vulgar: And therefore they are like strong Meat, that must have longer time, than lighter, for digestion.  
4. The Subject is such as you must daily live upon, and therefore should be glad of a daily Help for your practical Meditations on it. Being for ever with Christ in Glory, is that which you pray for, hope for, labour for, suffer and wait for, deny the Flesh and the World for, and which you must fetch your supporting comforts from, or else you must have neither Hope nor Comfort, which sound awakened Reason can own.  
5. As it is a discouragement to Preachers, when the best studied Sermons, are forgotten at the Church-door; so it is a great mercy to Hearers when they may carry home, and keep, and daily use, such excellent and powerful Helps. If the Devil knew what Printing was like to do against his Kingdom, I wonder that he did no more to hinder the inventing of it: It was because the Father of Lights restrained him. You Printers and Booksellers look well to yourselves, for next to Magistrates and Ministers, there are few that Devils have more malignant designs upon than you, either to silence your Presses and Shops as to Good, or to open them to Evil. You speak more publicly than Pulpits do. To many Thousands you either preach wholesome saving Truth, or vend flagitious and pernicious Evil. If you vend the best Books only for Money, you have your Reward; yet thousands may have a greater gain; as carnal Preachers may perish themselves while their Hearers are saved.  
Lastly, I would have those Men that have thought our silencing these 28 Years to be the Church's Interest, and have called on their Rulers to strike home, to see what Doctrine it is that we preach, and whether it deserve Hatred and Destruction. If many such Sermons tell them not, they may see it in the larger Writings, of Mr. Ant. Burges, Mr. Richard and Joseph Allen, Dr. Manton, Mr. Charnock, and many more, (to pass by the yet living).  
Your Servant, RI. BAXTER.   
1 Thess. iv. 17. latter Part. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.— And so shall we ever be with the Lord. 
THese words are a part of those cheering Passages which were written to this excellent and much-commended Church, by way of Antidote against immoderate Sorrows for such as sleep in Jesus. And indeed the provident Care and ministerial Faithfulness of this great Apostle, clearly appears in the Matter, Order, and Vigour of Expression that this Epistle entertains its Reader with. He first acknowledges what effectual Grace had brought them to, 1 Thess. 1. 2-10. Hethen appeals to God and them, as to his Sufferings, Doctrines, and deportment in both their genuine, designed, and successful references to their Good, 1. Thess. two. 1-20. Then (when he was to stay alone at Athens; for which no doubt he saw great cause) he sends Timotheus to them for their Establishment and Consolation in the Faith; and to obviate all Discouragements and Snares which otherwise might make them droop or stumble. And Timothy returns with a very good account concerning them; which sends our Apostle to his Knees again, with Thanks and Joys, and further Supplications for them, 1 Thess. iii. 1-13. And then he presses them to walk according to his Doctrine, and abundantly to improve that Christian Directory which they had received from him for pleasing God: to avoid all polluting Sins (all Sins are such, but some incomparably more so than others) as inconsistent with their Heavenly Interests and Hopes, or prejudicial thereto, and destructive thereof, 1 Thess. iv. 1-12. And then when they are under providential Pressures, let them repair unto the Hopes & Comforts of their returning Lord from Heaven, and of their abode with him and his whole Family for ever, 1 Thess. iv. 13-18. and let them also make their highest practical Improvements hereof, as being under better Circumstances so to do, than others are, 1 Thess. v. 1-22. All which he closes with a solemn Prayer and Benediction, with testified assurance of success herein, 1 Thess. 5.23, 24. and hereupon he charges them by the Lord, that this Epistle be read to all the Holy Brethren, vers. 27. as being of such consequence and concernment to them all. And hence you may see how this great Apostle guards his Consolations; in first securing Christianity in the Spirit and Practice of it, and then proceeding to encourage and refresh the Hearts of Mourners. Hence then consider the Text itself, in its, 

I. Sense.  
II. Evidence.  
III. Usefulness.    

I. The Sense of the Text.  
And here these things occurred to be considered (though briefly) in their order. 1. The Persons determined to this Privilege. We who are found alive, and the Dead in Christ that rise first, vers. 16, 17. and all of them Children of the Light and Day, 1 Thess. v. 5, 8, 9 The living Members and true Favourites of Christ, distinguished from mere Pretenders, Enemies and Strangers, by their true conformity to Christ himself, in Spirit, Purpose, and Behaviour. 2. The Privilege and State whereto they are determined, to be for ever with the Lord. 3. The Time and Manner of their entrance into the full possession of this State. Christ comes descending with a shout from Heaven, the Voice of the Archangel, and with the Trump of God. The Dead in Christ rise first: They with the Living are caught up to meet Christ in the Air, and so they are for ever with him, ver. 16, 17.  
1. The Persons here intended for this blessed State, and reckoning duly thereupon; We. How careful was this Eagle-eyed Apostle to prevent a Rape upon a thing so chaste and sacred as this our Christian Hope! You turned to God from Idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from Heaven, 1 Thess. 1.9, 10. Your Work of Faith, Labour of Love, and Patience of Hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father: knowing— your Election of God, vers. 3, 4. It is not every one that is to be with Christ for ever. The Subject must be suited to this State and Privilege; and that, not by mere Miracle, but by the fit improvements of those Means and Helps which God affords us for our preparation-work. Means suited to their Ends are to be adhered to, and used accordingly. Nor can it be expected that God's Institutions will ordinarily be neglected by himself, and that our neglect thereof should be to us as prosperous, as our fit observations 〈…〉 And yet, mistake me not, I do not say, that outward Means, and moral Swasions, are all that Christian Converts are brought home by. There is a powerful quickening Divine touch upon the Soul, needful to make it throughly Christian; and without this no Man becomes a real Christian. And none can live with Christ for ever, but he that is wrought and kept thereto by special Grace and Providence. And excellent Persons must such be that are thus changed and kept for such a blissful State as this here in the Text: The Apostle calls them, the Children of the Light and Day, 1 Thess. v. 5. such as derive a new Nature from it, 2 Cor. three 3, 18. walk under the Government and Conduct of it, Ephes. v. 8. and are entitled to great Privileges by it, Acts xx. 32. & xxvi. 18. John xii. 35, 36. Let me then close this Head with this; 1. Consider who expressly are to be excluded, and upon what accounts, 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. Galat. v. 19-21. Ephes. v. 5. Mat. xxv. 41-46. Rev. xxi. 8, 27. Hence than this We can take in no such Persons. They that make nothing of discovering directive, encouraging, and transforming Gospel-Light; that have not fetched their Principles therefrom, and form their Lives, and Practices, and Tempers thereunto, nor made the greatest reckoning of these Privileges which are to be obtained thereby, are no ways fitted, and therefore not determined (whilst such) unto this blessed State. Consider, 2. whom Christ expressly hath consigned and promised this Privilege unto; John xii. 26. Luk. xii. 31-37. & xiv. 26, 27. & xxii. 28-30. 2 Tim. two. 11, 12. Luke xxi. 36. 1 John iii. 13. & Judas 20, 21. 2 Pet. i. 5-11. & three 14. 'Tis not the Form, but Power of Godliness, that can entitle and adopt us to that State: resolute Promoters of Christ's Interests, patiented Sufferers for it, prudent Contrivers, fruitful Walkers, such as are observant of his Conduct, obedient to his Laws, submissive to his Providence, and satisfied in and with his Care and Grace, and that joyfully prepare and wait for his appearance and presence, and duly represented him to themselves and others, so as to value nothing like him; no nor themselves but as in him and for him. These are to be with him for ever; see 2 Tim. iv. 6-8.  
2. The State and Privilege whereto they are determined, to be for ever with the Lord, John xiv. 2, 3. Hence we are exhorted to seek those things above where Christ is, Col. iii. 1. Hence, Come, ye Blessed— and depart from me, ye Cursed, Mat. xxv. 34, 41. Present with the Lord, 2 Cor. v. 8. They shall walk with me in White, for they are worthy, Rev. three 4. When Christ who is our Life shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in Glory, Col. iii. 4. When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and admired at in all them that shall believe— in that Day, 2 Thess. i. 10. Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold the Glory which thou hast given me, John xvii. 24. Christ with his Father are the only Temple of that Blessed State where all the Favourites of Christ must be, Rev. xxi. 23. Christ is our Life in Heaven, Col. iii. 3, 4. Our Hope from Heaven, Tit. two. 13. Phil. iii. 20. Our Plea for Heaven, Heb. ix. 15. Our Way to Heaven, John xiv. 6. Our Head and all in Heaven, Ephes. i 20-23. We are to be with him who is the greatest Friend, Isa. ix. 6, 7. Heb. i 2-14. & iv. 14-16. Rev. i 5, 18. Col. i. 15-19. & two. 9, 10. The dearest Friend, Gal. two. 20. Ephes. iii. 18, 19 Tit. two. 14. His aim at this our Exaltation and Advancement; his sharp and costly Agonies and Engagements to effect it, and the delight he took therein, prove this. And the fastest and most faithful Friend, in Isa. xi. 5. Heb. iii. 1, 2. & x. 23. & xiii. 8. But now what it is to be with Christ none yet fully know, 1 Cor. xiii. 9-12. Christ himself tells us, We shall behold his Glory, John xvii. 22. Now what is Glory, but the lustre of discovered Excellency and Perfection? And O the excellence of the Lord-Redeemer, in his exalted State! his Transfiguration amazed Beholders! When he appeared to Saul, he struck him blind, the distant sight or glance which Stephen got, impressed no ordinary Majesty and Glory on his Countenance. But Christ acquaints us with his threefold Glory, wherein every Eye shall see him, Luke ix. 26. There is his personal Glory as to his humane Nature, a glorious Body; Spiritual, Immortal, incapable of Sufferings; lively, and of the nearest alliance and approach to Spirit, and every way fitted to subserve the Function of his completed Soul; and (like a Crystal Mirror) to have his inward Glory transmitted through it to all Spectators. A glorious Soul, exerting all its vigours in and through this Body, wherein every Gesture, Look, and Motion, and Expression, shall show the excellent Temper, Furniture, and Beauty of his Soul. O the Wisdom, Majesty, Holiness and Vivacity of his Soul, which then will have their fullest Explications and Appearances! And then the fullness of the Godhead which dwells bodily in him, shall have such great and clear Discoveries and Effects, as shall delightfully entertain his Favourites with great varieties of discoveries for evermore. What emblemmatical Glory may attend his Person, as the Symbol and Signal of the extraordinary presence of his Father with him, and complacency in him, I dare not guests at, nor am I wise or good enough to know, nor arrogant and bold enough to determine: but sure I am, the physical Changes, and the judicial Process and Conclusions of that Day, with the evident yield and submissions of the whole Frame of Nature to his Will, and the effectual bowing of every Knee, and the confession of every Tongue to him, will deservedly bear the Character of the Father's Glory, Phil. two. 9-11. And all this shall we behold to everlasting Satisfaction. And we shall see his Glory further in all his Rectoral Excellencies. The Constitution and Administration of his everlasting Kingdom will declare his Eminencies; How much he is above them in Excellencies and Prerogatives. How excellently he governs them, with such extraordinary Light and Love, suited so accurately to their Capacities, Tempers, and Concerns, and every way preserving all his Subjects, and all their Entertainments and Employments, in all the harmony and decencies of a Divine Kingdom; and then how very kind he ever is and will be to them. Witness their conformity to his glorious Self, their intimate conversation with him, and the inundations of Delights that ever flow from him upon them; such a Prince! such Subjects! under such Laws and circumstances, and in such order!  
3. The Time and Manner of its Commencement. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Christ descends, and we ascend to meet him in the Air, and then we part no more: peruse the Account hereof as given by inspired Persons; see Mat. xxv. 31-34. 1 Cor. xv. 50-54. 1 Thess. iv. 15-17. Then come those Visions, Dispensations, and Employments, and those reciprocal Satisfactions, which cannot be but where Christ and his Favourites are gotten and kept together.   

II. The Evidence of this Truth.  
1. Why else was Jesus Christ Incarnate? Heb. 2.14. He took not hold of Angels, but of the Seed of Abraham, Verse. v. ib. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is there the word: and it is used of Christ when he took hold of timorous and sinking Peter on the Waves, Mat. xiv. 31. No doubt but Christ's assuming to himself our Nature, was a great hold thereon. Such an alliance and approach to Man as intimated, yea demonstrated, Christ's fitness and resolution to be both visible and delightfully conversible to all his Saints for ever, even in their own Nature. Became Christ visible that he might not be seen? Would he be Man to be eternally retired from humane view? We are told, that the Word was made Flesh, and dwelled amongst us, full of Grace and Truth; and that there were Eye-witnesses of his Glory, the Glory as of the only begotten of the Father, John i 14. And O how ample and emphatical is this Passage, if well considered by us! and how pertinent and cogent as to the Case in hand! The Word; that living quickening Word, by whom God made the World and us, Ephes. iii. 9 John v. 26. and whom God promised to be the Root and Prince of Life, 1 Joh. v. 11. by whom, and for whose pleasure all Things both are and were created, Rev. iv. 11. and upheld, Heb. i 2, 3. Who is the Image of the Invisible God, the firstborn of every Creature. See further, Col. i. 15-19. That Word which was to be, and was, and is his Father's Oracle to tell us fully what we are to know, be, do, avoid, and trust to, Heb. i 12. Acts three 22. Mat. xvii. 5. 2 Pet. i. 16-18. Yea, and with whom, and what, and where we are to be for ever, 2 Tim. i 10. Whatever then this Word shall say, may we expect, and rest upon, John i 17, 18. Rev. three 7, 12, 14. Think here then upon that insinuating charm of Speech; In my Father's House are many Mansions— were it not so I would have told you— John xiv. 2, 3. This Word made Flesh. See Heb. two. 16-18. Rom. viij. 3, 4. and in that Tabernacle dwelling amongst Men: And why? that he might be our Kinsman, Surety, Brother, Heb. two. 11-13. that he might thus be conversant and sympathising with us, and strike our very Hearts even through our very Senses; and thereby make us fervently desirous to be with him for ever. Good to be here, said the Apostle Peter, when he had seen his Master's Glory in but a transient glimpse, Mat. xvii. 4. And we saw his Glory— full of Grace and Truth. Grace poured into his Lips; and prosperous Majesty, because of Meekness, Truth, and Righteousness, Psal. xlv. 2-4, 6, 7. Isa. xi. 2-5. And now, can we imagine that Christ should meet us in our Nature, and transmit such Glory to us through his very Flesh; and thus allure us and conform us to himself, and so make us fit and long to be with him, and all to drop and leave us here?  
2. Why else was Christ incarnate, so spirited, employed, and exercised, towards and for us, whilst in this outward Court, Acts x. 36-40. 1 Pet. two. 21-27. Heb. xii. 2, 3. As to his personal Accomplishments and Deportments, he was the Pattern of our Duty, and the Mirror of our Glory in his Presence, Phil. two. 5. 1 John two. 6. with Phil. iii. 21. 1 John iii. 2. And as to his Sufferings he was the purchaser of our Persons and our Glory, that his own Grace and Name might thus be glorified in us, 2 Thess. i. 12. 1 Cor. vi. 20. 1 Pet. i. 17-21. And wherefore all this waste, if Christ and we must part at last? The Soul and Spirit is the Man; and if that be not right, the Joys and Treasures of the Heavenly Kingdom cannot relish well, nor be esteemed of to purpose. Hence, O the visible Beauties of Christ's Soul! Such Wisdom in Self-conduct! such Purity, Vigour, Tenderness, Sweetness, Constancy, Sincerity, Fervour, and Impartiality! How inwardly, evenly, readily, and cheerfully was his Soul kept for God and how entirely were his Thoughts taken up with God And all to let us see what frame we must be in, for an eternal Fellowship with himself in God: In him we see what Spirit we must be of in Heaven. All his Conversation in this World was but the genuine Efforts of the devotedness and resignedness of his Soul to God, and to the good of others by his Will. And all the Excellencies of humane Nature, that a right Spirit and Behaviour towards God and Man could reach and show, were so advanced and conspicuous in Christ, as that they challenged all men's Observation, and bad defiance unto all Impeachments and Arraignments, Joh. 7.18. & 8.29, 46. 1 Pet. two. 22. His Aim and Business was our conformity to him in Sentiment, in Heart and Life, in this World, that he might thus present us to his Father, as fitted for the Work and Joys of Heaven, and for the Freedoms and Delights of his own eternal Pretence. Never was humane Nature seen before, nor since, as it was in him. Such Knowledge of God such Wisdom in the conduct of Affairs for God such Obedience and Submission to the Will of God such Dependence on God, Delight and Acquiescence in him! such Expectations from him! and such fulfilings after him! John xvii. 4. these show what Christ will bring us to, and so meet us in at last. And in this holy Course God met him with a sweet Prelusion to his exalted State, and ordered Peter, James, and John to be Eye-witnesses of his Glory in the Mount; and Moses and Elias to attend him, and to be clouded whilst his Glory shone, Mat. xvii. 13. 2 Pet. i 16-18. Which Christ liked well, in that hereby it might appear, with whom we are to be for ever, and unto whom we shall be like. And as to his Sufferings and Death, they were the purchase of this State, Ephes. i. 14. Heb. v. 9 & ix. 15. & two. 9, 10. & x. 20. The Expiation of our Crimes, the Ransom of our Souls, and the Blood whereby we are consecrated to this so glorious and delightful State; compare Luke xxiv. 26. with Heb. x. 19-22. & xii. 24. If Christ then taught, did, suffered so much, that we might be both fit and sure to be together: How can we doubt thereof, or miss it? He knew what was in Man, what most affected him, and best became him: and what was the likeliest way to suit Men to himself, and to the Visions, Services, and Entertainments of that most glorious State and Kingdom where he himself now is, and will abide enthroned for ever. What Constitution & Complexion their Souls and Persons were to be brought unto: What Means and Helps would be most expedient hereunto. What Doctrines, Laws, and Privileges; what Ordinances and providential Dispensations would best accommodate them in this Affair: In what Ways and Seasons, and to what Degrees they should be furnished and tried; and what would most effectually engage and keep them for his Father and himself. And hence we find his Name to be Wonderful Counsellor, Isa. ix. 6. That in him are all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge hidden, Col. two. 3. That all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in him, vers. 9 And that he is made of God Wisdom to us, 1 Cor. i 30. Under the conduct of this Wisdom, he acquaints them with himself, John xvii. 7, 8. He shows them his Commission and Design, John vi. 38-40. Wither he was to go, and their way to follow him, Joh. xiv. 4-6. with all that might help or hinder them in their proficiency and advances towards his exalted Self, with all their needful Preparations for that State and Day wherein they should behold him, and be with him, in his Meridian Glory, Luk. ix. 23-26. & xii. 33-38. yea, and the cost and gain of Christian Godliness, Luk. xiv. 33. & xviii. 29, 30. His evidently great Love to them (with all Expressions and Avouchments of it); this seasons all his Doctrines and Instructions, Joh. xiii. 1-15, 34, 35. & xv. 8-17. He suffered long, was kind, vaunted not himself, was not puffed up, envied not, never behaved himself unseemly, sought not his own, was not easily provoked, thought no Evil, rejoiced not in Iniquity, but in the Truth, and in the welfare and advancement of his own unto himself. He bore all things, believed, hoped, and endured all things: (for thus doth Love, 1 Cor. xiii. 4-7.) Thus having showed them what Spirit he was of, who was the brightness of his Father's Glory: and how this Spirit stood and wrought towards them: and thus, how safely they might trust him, and wherein their Tempers were to harmonise and accord with his, that so his Presence might be their felicity and delight; then is he frequently discoursing with them about the Jubilee which they and he must keep together in the Heavens. Peter, thou shalt follow me hereafter, John xiii. 36. Because I live, ye shall live also: and, than you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you, Joh. xiv. 19, 20, 28. And because I go to the Father, you shall see me, Joh. xuj. 16, 22. and I will come and fetch you to myself, Joh. xiv. 3. And having lived as bound for Heaven, practically showing His their way thereto, he dies, a Sacrifice for Sin, a Ransomer of Souls, a Purchaser of Heaven, a Conqueror of Death and Hell, a Martyr for the Christian Cause and Hope, a Pattern and Exempler of Patience, Fortitude, Holiness and Hope, and Love to his; and can Christ lose or leave us after all this?  
3. Why else should he in his raised and exalted State, aim so directly at this thing? for all that he hath spoken and done, and is still doing, looks this way, Joh. xx. 17. How pertinently and copiously might we improve that Paragraph! Ephes. iv. 1-16. as the enforcement of this Truth and Hope, did not the stated Limits of a single Sermon forbidden it? Was Life and Immortality brought to Light by him, only to tantalise our Souls? 2 Tim. i 10. Is it illustrated by the Gospel to us as a State separate from Christ himself? Must he, as Man, have it without us, or we without him? or must both have it in a State of Separation each from other? Was not Christ raised by his Father, that our Faith and Hope might be in God? 1 Pet. i 21. And what is the Hope, that Christ and we should see each other's Face no more! Christ risen not to continue here, for he was not suited to this gross animal fading state and frame of Things and Persons: And would Christ show himself on Earth alive, only to show us what, and with whom we never are to be? as if he only came to raise our Expectations to our shame and horror? What was the sense of that great Message which he sent by Mary to his Brethren? Go tell my Brethren I ascend to my Father, and your Father; to my God, and your God, John xx. 17. What! Sons of God, and Brethren to Christ, and not live together with the same Father, and in the same Inheritance and State! Heb. xi. 16. If Children, than Heirs: Heirs of God, and joint-Heirs with Christ; and to be glorified together, Rom. viij. 17. What meant his entrance into Heaven as our Forerunner? Heb. vi. 20. Was it to tell the glorious Inhabitants of that blessed World, in all their heights of Wonderment and Expectation, that he repent of this his glorious Enterprise, or that he was baffled in it, and that he cared not for having his Favourites and redeemed Ones in his sight? What means his Intercession there? Heb. seven. 25. & ix. 24. whereby our Prayers, and Pains, and Hopes are so emboldened? Heb. x. 19-25, 35. & ix. 12. Prays he against what he appeared, endeavoured and suffered for? or can he not prevail with God for us? or doth he trifle with his Father within the Veil, or sport himself before his Courtiers there, with our deceiving and deluded Hopes? O such Blasphemy and Soloecism is there in these Thoughts, when they are matter of suspicion and belief, as that no sober thinking Mind can entertain them! Why is he there enthroned? Heb. viij. 1. Mat. xxviii. 19, 20. Why made Head over all things to his Church? see Ephes. i 17-23. Addressed unto by a dying Martyr for this thing, and he too owned signally, yea, miraculously in this his Martyrdom and Address? Act. vi. 15. & seven. 55-59. And why commemorated by his own special Order at the Table of the Lord, as one with whom we are to meet again as our Redeemer? 1 Cor. xi. 23-26. Is not this privilege sealed and secured to us by the Covenant of Grace? How can the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, cherish and seal to deceitful Expectations? Heb. x. 23. 2 Tim. two. 10-13. What doth the Spirit of Jesus form and seal us to but this? 2 Cor. v. 5. & i 21, 22. Ephes. i. 14. & iv. 30. The Notions which he forms, the Faith which he works, the Tempers which he frames, the Desires which he kindles, the Prayers and Labours which he animates, are all for this, 2 Thess. two. 13, 14. How can it be the dreadful doom of all his Enemies to departed from him, if it be not our determined privilege to be with him? Mat. xxv. 41. 2 Thess. i. 9 Luk. xiii. 25-27. Did not Christ know that his most glorious Presence would be a great Ingredient into the felicity of his Servants, as Judas 24, 25. assures us, and that our assimilation to him would be completed (and continued) by the Visions of his State and Day, as his inspired Servant hath informed us 〈…〉 Joh. iii. 2. and that our reckoning 〈…〉 ●nd longing after it, are the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ory Fruits of his own sanctifying and sealing Spirit, as we are told 2 Cor. v. 5-9. & Rom. viij. 16-23. we had never been informed of such a discriminating Accent in his final Sentence, as he hath told us of. Whence was it made the Charge and Business of his commissionated and inspired Officers, to teach and enforce this grateful Truth upon us, were it not certainly decreed by God and Christ? 1 Cor. xv. 15. Col. iii. 4. 1 Thess. two. 19 & three 13. Would he enjoin such special Officers, so miraculously qualified and owned, to inform us of, prepare us for, and comfort us with so great a Blessing, and to represent it to us as the alluring and refreshing aggravation of that State to come, that we should be with Christ for ever? Did they preach falsehood by special Order, and with such Attestations to their Message, and such assistance in their Enterprise from the God of Truth, and from his eminently faithful and true Witnesses? 2 Cor. xi. 2. Why is this statedly to influence all our practical Christianity, if no such Matter be designed for us? Joh. xii. 26. Tit. two. 12, 14. 2 Pet. iii. 14. 2 Cor. v. 9 Our pressing Pleas and Motives that are to animate and enforce our Duties, Sufferings, and Consolations, with all those exercised Graces which are to spirit such Performances, Submissions, and dutiful Rejoices by the way, do evidently bear themselves upon this Hope, 2 Pet. i 5-11. 2 Thess. two. 13-17. Heb. x. 32-37. How copiously and strongly might I improve these Scriptural Hints to prove this comfortable Truth, had I but a better Head and Heart! But (to conclude this Demonstration) last; How could the Son of God himself obtain that Glory and Delight which he so reckons on, in the success of what he undertook, were not his purchased and redeemed Ones to be with him? John xvii. 22, 24. 2 Thess. i. 10, 12. We find that Christ and his must go together in unto the Marriage, Mat. xxv. 10. And what is this going in together, but the joint entrance and admission of Head and Members into that State of Royal Entertainments within the Veil? Would Christ have begged of God, both the discovery and impartment of his Glory to his Members, had not both these been highly valued by him? Joh. xvii. 22, 24. Will not Christ (think we) count it his Honour, to have his own produced in open Court as Signs and Wonders? Heb. two. 13. to bring his Sons to Glory? vers. 10. and to have that Church for which he gave himself, and which he loved so dearly, presented to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but holy and without blemish? Ephes. v. 25-27. And to see us fixed in his own Presence, as the eternal stately Monuments of his magnificent and victorious Grace & Love? What was the Plea wherewith he accented his dying Prayer for his, that God would charge his special Providence with them, but this, that I am glorified in them? John xvii. 10. And will the Head be glorified by being eternally parted from his Members? Where lies the Glory of a Teacher, but in the Wisdom of his Scholars? and could Christ be glorified in making his expert in the Doctrine of Lies and Forgeries? What! bring Men to discern and credit & rely upon what only was delusive! How can we learn this as a Truth in Jesus, that we shall live with him for ever, when no such thing shall come to pass? I have told you— that when it comes to pass, ye might believe, Joh. xiv. 29. The Signs which God gave of a false Prophet under the Law, were either speaking what was absolutely false; or Truth, to countenance Irreligion or Idolatry. And can either of these be charged on Christ, and judged to be his Glory? Wherein consists the Glory of a Priest, but in the acceptance and success of what he regularly offereth to the determined Ends thereof? And can Christ our great High Priest be glorified as a Priest for ever, whose Sacerdotal Faithfulness could never bring up those unto himself in Heaven, for whom, and to which End he did declaredly offer up himself? Heb. ix. 12, 15, 24, 28. And wherein is Christ glorified as a King, if his Loyal Subjects must not abide with him for ever? John xv. 10, 11. Heb. v. 9 2 Tim. iv. 6, 8. When he delivereth up the Kingdom to the Father, hath he no Subjects to produce, fitted unto the Felicities and Employments of his own Glorious Presence? And can he be glorified that hath no Subjects to adore him for his governing them so well? And how can he be glorified as the Captain of the Hosts of God in the great War with Satan, if he must sit in Heaven alone, and have no victorious Followers to produce and show therein, as proofs of his heroic, skilful, faithful Conduct and Achievements? 1 Joh. three 8. Rom. viij. 18, 35-39. And how can Christ be glorified in and by his Saints, unless they see what God hath done for him, and in what Royal State he sits, inhabiting the Praises, and (perhaps) ordering the Affairs, and darting forth that Glory which must diffuse itself through all the Regions and Inhabitants of that blessed World above? He must be glorified and admired at, and will be so when we are brought to see his Face, to bear his Image, to share in the Visions, Services, and Fruitions of that State, all which shall to the Life express his Interest in God's Heart, and ours in his Heart; and what a Friend God is to him, and he to us: So that with Christ we are sure to be.   

III. The usefulness of this Passage.  
1. O what Attractives have we to a Heavenly Mind and Life! Christ and a Kingdom with him! Who would not breathe and strive to reach that blessed State? 2 Cor. 5.8, 9 O let that Passage in 1 Cor. 15.58. be well considered, concocted, and digested by you, so as to make you every way greatly conformable thereto: and let not Head, Inheritance and Hearts be parted. Did not Paul bear this Truth upon his Heart, and court us all to follow him in the heavenliness of his Mind and Life? Phil. 3.14, 15. So lovely is the Lord of Glory, and so eminently doth the great God transmit his Glory even through the Humane Nature of our glorified Redeemer, as that the Comforts of the Heavenly State will be exceedingly abated, were not his glorious Presence there. And when he comes from Heaven to judge the World, the Hosts and Citizens of that blessed State will joyfully attend his motions, 1 Thess. 3.13. Mat. 25.31.  
2. If there be no Love to Christ, there would be no Joy in Heaven. Those that have stumbled at his Holiness, will be confounded at his Glory, Mark 8.34. to 38. The Crown of Life and Glory is reserved for, and shall be only given to those that are lovers of his Appearance. For who can think that the Glories of the Heavenly State, and the Pleasures of beholding Christ therein, can be their Portion, upon whom the great Sentence of Anathema Maranatha (i e. cursed till the Lord come) is past? 1 Cor. 16.22. Heaven cannot countenance and reward Contempt of Christ. The Son of Righteousness, Heaven's Glory, and the Temple of that blissful State above, must either be the Heart's Delight, or Christ and Heaven can be no Portion.  
3. No Christ! no Heaven. Heaven must needs be lost where Christ is missed of, Act. 4.12. No Christ! no entrance into Glory: for Heaven is called the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Thess. 2.14. Christ must be glorified, if ever Heaven be reached. The Lord from Heaven is Lord of Heaven, Matth 28.18, 19 And he must be Crowned and owned as Lord in Hearts, and as the only Holy One of God, by those to whom he will give the Crown of Life. The Key of Heaven is in his Hand, and he will let in none but faithful Subjects. He cannot bear the presence of the Sons of Belial there, nor hath he any Mansions for them: they are too contrary to his Holiness, to have admission into his Presence. To let in rotten Hearts, would be to patronise and crown Rebellion. And is it meet that the Cross, the Crown, and Glory of the Son of God should serve the Devil? What! shall Christ prostitute his Blood and Sceptre unto the firstborn of Apostasy and Wickedness, or to the Seed thereof?  
4. Then Christ in Heaven should be addressed unto, to lift up Hearts and Persons thither. Thus Stephen saw the Lord in Heaven, and begged his gracious help, and that not without success, Act 7.55 to 59 It is not every Arm, no nor any Arm but Christ's, that is fit to deal with such dark heavy Souls as ours, so as to lift them up, and let them into Heaven, Acts 4.12. Judas 24, 25. O then, desponding Hearts, go make your moans to Christ, look up to him with your Hearts in your Eyes, and cry, Feign would I come to thee, but cannot; Jesus thou Son of David help; and thou who rulest all things, if thou canst do any thing, who art the revealed Arm of God to bring great things to pass, O have compassion on me, and raise up Heart and Soul and all to thee. Mark 9.22. Christ cried to God, as to one able to save from Death, and he was heard, Heb. 5.7. Cry you to Jesus Christ, for he can save you to the uttermost, Heb. 7.25. Lists at the last and deadliest pinches, are the most satisfying and endearing Lifts. Remember, that a dying Christ once bore a Malefactor from the Cross to Heaven, and bravely rescued him from great destruction, and fixed him in his own Presence; This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise. O it was a Blessing won by Prayer, and that to Christ himself, Luk. 23.42, 43.  
5. Then Heaven should have no Rivals if Christ be there: to be with Christ is far better, and that abandons all Comparisons, Phil. 1.23. Christ knew the purest Mansions where they were. Below they could not be, for Sin hath changed the Glory of all lower things to shame and blackness: And little is there in them now, save Names and Shadows; and till these fly away, Christ, and our Life with him, is still hid in God, Cant. 4.6. Col. 3.2 to 4. And should not our Hearts then be gone to Heaven, and bound for those most vast and glorious Regions, where our Dear Lord will keep his Residence for ever? What! Christ on his Throne, concerned, and preparing for gathering up all his Favourites to himself! and we not courted from a Dunghill! all the World without one Christ is but a Trifle. No Christ, no worth in things; what Heart then for them! those Joys, Relations, Gifts, Possessions and Accomplishments are but vain and small; nothing but dangerous Charms and Pageantries, whose Soul and Savour the Lord of Glory is not, Phil. 3.7, 8. Prise things as they speak Christ; for all the World without him is not worth one Heart; there is neither Gain nor Glory in it.  
6. Were Heaven possessed by Christless Hearts, yet would Content be wanting. Frowns from the Master of the Feast would spoil the pleasing Relishes of the Banquet. One, Friend, how cam'st thou in hither? would make men sit at Table with little Confidence, and less Joy, Mat. 22.12.  
7. The Hopes of raised quickened Hearts are safe, and may be great. Christ, in the midst of what we hope for, may and should quiet all. Heb. 6.19, 20. It's pity such a Passage should be passed over without a considerate pause. Hath Christ broke through the Veil, and is he got within it, to leave our Souls without an Anchor of Hope, that may prove sure and steadfast? Can Christ enter Heaven for us, and then forget his Work? Can the Forerunner quite desert those lively and solicitous Members, that breath and strive so much to trace and to tread his Steps after him? He that hath lost his Blood below, what! hath he lost his Heart above? surely our Head was never crowned to shame his Members Hopes, and Joys. Our expectations of that State may be invigorated greatly by this, That Christ our Hope is set upon his Throne therein. Christ is our blessed Hope, Tit. 2.13. According to our earnest expectation and our hope in him, we cannot be ashamed, Phil. 1.20 to 23. & 3.20. It is by Christ that our Hope is laid up in Heaven, Col. 1.5. He makes the Promise sure to all the Seed, Rom. 5.10. Christ came from Heaven to be a Ransom, and so he was, Heb. 9.15. and he is in Heaven to plead his Wounds, and by his Intercession to animate and succeed the regular Claims and Expectations of all his Members, Rom. 8.34, 35. Up then with Hearts and Hopes; and bid defiance unto all Discouragements. Christ by his entrance into Heaven, and by his possessing it, as our raised and exalted Head, hath given one Lift; and surely then, his next lift will effectually bear up all. Savoury, full, and pertinent is that both witty and weighty Passage in Tertullian de Resurrectione Carnis, cap. 51. Quemadmodum enim nobis Arrhabonem reliquit, ita & à nobis Arrhabonem carnis accepit & vexit in Caelum; pignus totius summae illuc quandoque redigendae securae estote caro & sanguis. Vsurpâstis & caelum & regnum Dei in Christo. The earnest of the Spirit left, and the earnest of Flesh carried up to Heaven; a Pledge that all shall once be fetched up thither. The Kingdom of God, and Heaven possessed in Christ, makes all secure. O then let Flesh and Hearts, both rest in hope; for Christ in Heaven will fetch us all to Heaven: for there at God's right Hand stands Christ to plead and vindicate, Act. 7.55. and there he sits to hear, dispense and rule; Heb. 1.3, 13, 14. And if he fail in both, then may the lively Hopes (1 Pet. 1.3.) of quickened Hearts (Eph. 2.5). expire and die. And if so, then where is our Anchor sure and steadfast reaching to that within the Veil? Was not the Heart of our ascending Lord and Head exceeding mindful of his Friends, and warm toward them? Joh. 20.17. and cooled it by the way? Heb. 4.15. No surely, all that are truly and firmly Christ's, always lie warm upon his Heart. Let him be where he will, though in the heights of all his Glory, he is yet our High Priest, Heb. 4.14. & 8.1. Our Life, Col. 3.4. Our Head, Eph. 1.22, 23. Our Peace, Eph. 2.14. Our Hope, 1 Tim. 1.1. Our Lord, 1. Cor. 1.2. Our Saviour, Tit. 1.4. The Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls, 1 Pet. 2.25. and our Advocate, 1 John 2.1. And can Christ in Heaven, statedly and avouchedly, under such near and sure and dear Relations to us, suffer our Hopes to fall? surely his Exaltation puts no period to his Relation to us, nor to those Bowels that are proper to it; nor to those Expectations that are built upon it. It's true, his Joys are high, his Trust is great: but it is as true, that his Heart is commensurate with and answers both: nor will his Kingdom please him without his Bride: he will step once more from Heaven to fetch Her to Himself, John 14.3.  
8. O what an Antidote is this Hope against the Snares and Fears of things below! 2 Cor. 5.1. the Cross is heavy, and Hearts are soon unfixed; when Heaven, and Christ therein, and our determinate abode with him, are not our lively Hope and stated Poise. The Cross can make no breach, while Christ in Heaven thus sets his Heart upon us: and we have sent our Hearts entirely after him, & keep them there, Rom. 8.34, 35. Heb. 10.34. And Pleasures can do but little hurt, whilst this great Hope relishes duly with us. All the Delights of Pharaoh's Court could never reach the Heart of Moses. When Christ and Heaven had got his Eye and fixed it, Heb. 11.25, 26. Heart's should be under their restraint in lawful Mirth, and at enmity with sinful Mirth, during the absence of their Lord, Mat. 9.15. Mephibosheth grew careless of himself until his Lord returned in peace, 2 Sam. 19.24. No joy but in his Master's presence: And shall not Christ in Heaven correct and moderate our Joys in things below? Groans to be stripped of Earth, and Flesh, and to be gone to Christ in Heaven should be the deepest Groans. And truly, Sirs, if Christ in Heaven have not your Hearts, they will be prone to Surfeits or Distractions. You either will be turned with Wind, or drunk with Vanity, or wracked with Cares and Fears. Hearts pitched on Christ in Heaven, know where to be full and welcome, when things below have showed their best, and done their worst. They have a Glory that will pierce the darkest Cloud, and reach the greatest Deep, 2 Cor. 1.5. Their bitterest Herbs, and sharpest Agonies, may possibly be their entertainment at their last Passover: but these their short-lived Sorrows are but to usher in, and aggravate their Master's Joys. Pleasures possessed and kept by Christ for them, and to be possessed by them in his own immediate Presence, must needs be great. O Christians, remember Heaven, and Christ therein; and what he is there preparing for you; and fear neither Plots, nor Strokes, nor Rumours, 1 Pet. 1.4, to 7. Mat. 5.10, to 12. Let your exalted Head, and this your elevating Hope, distil such influences upon your exercised Hearts, as to make you valiant for your Prize, exalted in your Aims, triumphant in your Hopes and Sufferings, and evermore insulting over the Cheats and Dangers that attend you. He sells his Head and Hopes for thirty Pieces, that is entangled with or unhinged by any thing below this Head and Heritage, and these things above. Sure Christ in Heaven, so evidently intent upon your being brought to live where he is, wants neither Heart, nor Worth, nor Joys, to make you know and to acknowledge that he is a Non-such Friend; and though rough-handed Esau may be the firstborn of your Entertainments here, yet Jacob hath him by the Heel, and shall supplant him. Suffer and reign, these are the terms of Life, the Royal Law of Hope, 2 Tim. 2.12. Ought not we (as well as Christ) to suffer and so to enter into Glory? Luk. 24.26. with Rom. 8.17. Must not he follow Christ that designs to reach what he hath got? John. 12.26. Heb. 12.2. What though the Way be foul and rugged? What should discourage you in those Paths, where every step you take is an advance toward Christ in Heaven? Your Faith in Christ, and Hope of Heaven, are as the Dawnings of this Day to you: and every look at Christ in Glory, is as a Lift toward Heaven, and as a Foretaste of it. A look at Christ in Glory bore up the Spirit of that Proto-martyr Stephen above the debasements which carnal Fears produce in others, and would otherwise have brought him under.  
9 Why should not Things above make us remember and send our Hearts to Christ above? had not Christ bought the Prize of Heaven, Eph. 1.11, 14. and made our way thereto, Heb. 10.19, 20. and pierced the Veil, Heb. 9.8. and won and worn the Crown, through his own Blood, Heb. 1.3. our being with our Lord in Glory had been beyond our reach and hope, 1 Pet. 1.3, 4. An open Heaven for us cost Christ a wounded Heart. He was poor to make us rich, 2 Cor. 8.9. Our springs of Hopes and Joys came from this cloven Lehi (if I may allude to Judg. 15.19.) where the Spring that God clavae was not in the Jawbone, but in the place called Lehi, because of the miraculous execution that was done by the Jawbone of an Ass, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maxilla.  (as Lehi siggnifies); and should not Heaven in hopes enthrone our Lord in Heart? 2 Cor. 5.14. It was this made the Apostle's Heart so warm and active; Wherefore we labour, etc. Vers. 9  indeed toward Men, when such good things were purchased for them, Luk. 2.14. O then Christians, if there be either Worth or Love, Bowels or Bounty in that Heavenly State, so aggravated by our there ever being with the Lord, let all your Hearts be evermore for Christ. He walked in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, that you might fear no evil, and felt the Pangs and Strokes of Death, with all the loads and bitterness thereof consistent with the dignity, innocence, and designs of such a Person, as the Son of God was, engaged in such Mediatorial Work, and all pursuant to this great Design, That Life and Immortality might be entailed upon us, who ourselves could not live till he himself had undergone and conquered Death. Nor would he bring us to himself, but under such advantages, and upon such terms as should evidently and greatly minister to universal satisfaction and renown. So black was that thick Cloud wherein this Sun of Righteousness did set and pass into his glorious State, thus to prepare our way to himself in Heaven, as that the sight thereof made his awakened Soul to tremble and to solicit God for help; Mark 14.34. Heb. 5.8, 9 Yet through this Cloud he wrought his Way, to diffuse his Glory through the Heavenly Regions; and to make the Hosts and the Inhabitants thereof the amazed Witnesses of his triumphant Grace and Faithfulness: And thence to afford those Influences which should prepare us for, and suit us to that State. Blessed is Heaven that Christ is in it, and blessed are holy Hearts below that Christ in Heaven is theirs, and for them. Christ there enthroned, and employed for us, should loosen all our Hearts from all save what his Heart is upon. His Work and Presence in that holy Place, hath both its Voice and Force. He speaks not now to us in roaring Thunderclaps from the burning Mount; nor doth that Blood through which God brought him from the Dead, and consecrated the High Priest of our Profession to his most noble Work within the Veil, cry like the Blood of Abel for Revenges, to fill our Hearts with Enmity or Anguish; but it is an alluring grateful Whisper from betwixt the Cherubims of Grace and Glory; a Call to Pisgah thence to behold Emanuel's Land, that promised and expected State of Holiness and Joy: hence therefore let us send our Hearts to Christ as a poor Widow's Mite, only to acknowledge our Obligations to him, and to testify how much we love our Lord and Head. And, O thou Prince of Life and Glory, thou Oracle of Truth, the sealed Amen of all God's Promises, and of our glorious Expectations; thou Conqueror of Graves, of Hearts, and Hell; whom to behold is our great Hope and Joy, (for without Thee, the Prince of Life, we cannot live, and never look to know what it is indeed to live till we be got to Thee). Lend us a Beam of Light to view thee by; that every Look may melt our Hearts, and make them shine and burn. That thus our Admirations and Affections may bear some small proportion to their Object, and more effectually secure us from losing Hearts below, and throwing them away upon unworthy things. We lose Affections in mistaken worth; and thou gettest little else hereby but Slights and Stabs, and all because we know not Thee the Lord of Glory. How little is thy Love admired by us, because we feel it not! how little are we affected with thee, because we have not seen thee! how little do we bemoan our absence from thee, because we are so little apprehensive of what thy glorious Presence so liberally produces and dispenses! how easily are we courted and prevailed upon to forget thee, because we do so little think upon, and are so little affected with thy Wounds below, and thy Worth and Joys above? Eyes have not seen, Hearts cannot love. O lift, and help, and warm, and fix, and conquer all. O let our Hearts be made as fast and pure as Heaven. Let preparations be complete in Hearts, as well as in those Mansions of eternal Glory with thyself, which thou hast ordered and encouraged us to expect. O let not Grace and Love, as large as Heaven, be under our Feet any more, but upon our Hearts. Can ever Heaven be ours, or found and valued by us as Heaven indeed, without thy Sufferings, Triumph, Grace and Presence? And can we think on Heaven indeed, and yet forget the Throne of Majesty and Grace that is there, and him that sits thereon, acting pursuantly to this delightful Hope, that we shall see him in his Meridian Glory, and be with him for ever?  
10. Let nothing have or influence your Hearts below, but that which suits the Heart of Christ above. All must be like the Lord that are to live with him; and he that hath this Hope in him, must purify himself as Christ is pure, 1 Joh. 3.2, 3. Whatever Christ died to start below, he lives above to propagate, to vindicate, and complete. He hath as true a Heart for Godliness now as ever: and he was called the Holy Child after his Exaltation, Acts 4.27. Christ's Heart is pure, so are his Joys; for they are the Joys of Holiness in its utmost lustre, vigour, and extent. You must be pure, or Christ and you must part; the Constitution of the heavenly State admits of no disorder. His holy Soul abhors what seems to shake his Father's Throne. He cannot bear it, that a filthy Soul should stand before him, for God's Name is in him, Exod. 23.21. In that he lives, he lives to God, Rom. 6.10. He died with Holiness upon his Heart; and as a Martyr for it, as well as to make an atonement for us, 1 Pet. 2.22, 23. With a pure Heart he went to Heaven; and can you think that Purity can waste and rot, when faced with the most immediate Visions of God, and entertained with all things most expressive of God's complacency in it? Surely God's greatest Favours must bear the clearest Characters and Signatures of his essential Purity and Holiness. Hath Holiness lost its Interest in Heaven, since Christ went thither? Or hath Sin gotten ground by Christ's ascent to Glory? O Sinners, be no longer doting Fools, and stupid Sots. Lay by your Venom, and cleanse your Hearts and Hands, Jam. 4.8. 1 Cor. 6.9, to 11. The Heart, the Blood, the Inheritance, the Crown and Triumphs of our Lord are all engaged to revive Holiness in the World, Psal. 130.4. Dote not upon deceitful Riches; Christ is the Pearl of Price, by whom you are to be enriched in every thing. Let not the Mammon of Unrighteousness usurp the Throne of Christ, the overvalued World is a perfect Enemy to Christ, to Heaven and Heavenliness. Be not perplexed nor overcharged with Cares, be not entangled whilst you are allowed to be employed. Take heed of Delilaes', lest you lose your Locks, and be bereaved of your Christian Strength and Hopes. Fear not the Frowns, prise not the Smiles of Mortal Dust beyond Divine Allowance. Christ hates Competitors; Christ did it not below, he loves it not above. Be not buried alive in Sloth, Rom. 12.11. there is nothing in Heaven but Life and Joy in full conformity to all the Laws and Purposes of that complete Theocracy. Diligence brings in rich Delights; 'tis Sloth that makes Hell so full, and Heaven so empty. Be not highminded, neither court nor cherish Self in any dress by Pride and Rage. Haman's preferment made him but high enough to reach a Halter. Learn of Christ, Mat. 11.29. Heaven could not bear the Pride of Angels, no more can Christ endure the Pride of Man. Please not yourselves, or others, till you have answered all your Master's Claims, Rom. 15.1, 2, 3. Gal. 1.10. Be knit to nothing but to your Lord in Heaven; for why should he be made an Underling or Cipher here below? Christ ours in Heaven! a better Patrimony and Inheritance than States and Kingdoms here. Be more solicitous about the temper, tendency, and genuine Issues of your Hearts and Ways, than about the Events of Providence, 2 Cor. 5.9, 10. Your best Concernments are with Christ; if they succeed, you cannot lose Treasures above, and your exalted Head in Bonds, in Power, and in Possession to secure them, speak you too safe and rich to be undone. Be silent Prostrates at the foot of Christ; if his presence be your Happiness, he must needs be much above you every way: therefore observe the Words, the Looks, the Steps of Christ, and let them rule you: And let his Dispensations here below be all admired by you, and rested in. Christ is in Heaven about your Work; and that he be pleased by you, doth most concern you, and best become you. And when you come to be with him for ever, how deeply and quickly will he make you sensible of that great Wisdom, wonderful Grace, and mighty Power, which brought you safely to himself in Glory.  
11. And O what a Figure will Christ then make in Heaven, when that State is completely filled, and when he hath gathered all his Family up to Glory? 2 Pet. 1.11. If in those preparatory Scenes of Providence wherein the Redeemer addressed himself to Action, and began his glorious Achievements, and was privileged to open the Sealed Book, there were such Acclamations, and solemn Congratulations of this his peculiar Privilege & Prerogative by all in Heaven & Earth; and if there were such prostrate Venerations of him, as we find in Rev. 4. 8-11. & 5. 9-14. and this conjunctly with his Father: How will his Name and Glory be aggrandized when all his Favourites shall be with him? All the Mysteries of Godliness relate to Christ, and have their undoubted Aggravations from him, 1 Tim. 3.16. and how wondrously glorious hath God represented him to us below? Col. 1. 15-19. & 2.2, 3, 9, 10. Heb. 1. 2-13. Rev. 1.5, 6. John 14.6. And if these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, these earthly things; [these shadowings forth of Christ and of his Kingdom to us, even by Schemes accommodated to our Capacities in this our dark and distant State] be looked upon as scarcely to be credited by Masters in Israel, and yet so wonderful in the Eyes of the discerning Christian: What would the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be then thought to be, were they discovered to us in words more suited to their Excellency, than to our Capacity? John 3.12. with 1 Cor. 1.23, 24. & 2. 9-14. & 2.12, 2-4. We find great notices taken of him by the Heavenly State whilst in this outward Court, ministering in the Port and posture of a Servant: For as the Spirit of Prophecy foretold him, Types represented him, and the Word of Promise entitled us to the hopes and benefits of his Appearance, and propitious Mediation: So the Spirit forms his Body, Angels declare his Birth, Miracles attest his Dignity, Doctrines, and Authority, and Ability to form us for, and bring us to Himself. Nature obeys him, Devils fly before him, Moses and Elias talk with him; Souls come in by Multitudes, and value nothing like his Person, Conduct, Government, and Grace. God owns him as his Son, as his Royal Oracle and Agent, by a Voice from Heaven, 2 Pet. 1. 16-21. 1 Joh. 5. 6-12. and all the Institutions and Transactions of the Kingdom of God amongst Men, must have the Name of Christ enstamped upon them. And when Christ had finished his Course, and Work below, God raises him from the Dead, and shows him openly; commands the Angels to worship him, and to report his Resurrection: makes this the great Base and Pillar of his Gospel-Kingdom; carries him up to Heaven, many hundreds of credible Witnesses beholding his Ascension; and sets him at his own right Hand, putting the Reigns of all Government into his Hands. And then the Father sends the Holy Spirit, in the Son's Name, to glorify him, (as Christ had said before, John 16. 13-15.) to seal this Truth, to enable Persons to declare and prove it, and to make the Gospel prosperous in its great Design. But as to Christ himself, he in the heavenly Places and Affairs (for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports both) sits far above all Principality, Power, Might, Dominion, and every Name that is named in— even the World to come, having all things under his Feet; because he is given as Head over all things to his Church, which is his Body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all, Ephes. 1. 20-23. Hence the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named of him, Eph. 3.15. The Church in the compleatness of its Triumphant State, is called his Everlasting Kingdom, 2 Pet. 1.11. And when he shall have put down all Rule, Authority and Power, he will deliver up the Kingdom to the Father, as a fit Present to the Majesty of Heaven, as a clear Proof and Monument of his own Mediatorial Faithfulness, and as fit Subjects of his own Paternal Government and Delight, or as his acquired Inheritance to possess for ever, 1 Cor. 15. 24-28. For who can any way imagine, that the delivery of these Subjects to the Father shall be the deposing of the Son from his triumphant Government, that well considers Christ as placed by God upon the same Throne with himself? Rev. 3.21. Is not Christ said to reign for ever and ever? Rev. 11.15. O what a Pleonasm (or fullness of expression) is there in that passage! Ephes. 3.21. It is a Doxology richly phrased, and that (as in the Greek, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉) whereto I never yet read or heard of any Parallel in any Greek Author. See also 2 Pet. 3.18. so vast is the reach of the inspiring Spirit, so deep the Thoughts, so full the Heart of the inspired Penman; because so great the Dignity and Prerogatives of our enthroned and glorified Redeemer in this his Day and Kingdom. What Eye so sharp and strong on Earth, as to comprehend, or tolerably to reach the sense of that great Passage, in 1 Tim. 6.14.16 〈◊〉 Timothy is charged to keep the ●●●mandment— till the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, (mind now what follows) which in his Times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; who only hath Immortality, dwelling in Light, which no Man can approach unto, whom no Man hath seen, nor can see; to whom is (as well as be) Honour and Power everlasting? Amen. And here, O that my heart was equal to wha● poor purblind I discern in this great Passage, as showing what notice must and will be taken of Jesus Christ hereafter. For though all these Attributions be made to God the Father, yet will this glorious Name appear exceedingly in the Revelation of the Son from Heaven, who is said to come in the Glory of his Father, Luk. 9.26. And we cannot think his Heavenly Glory to be less than what attends him on his Throne of Judgement. And when all Eyes shall see him upon his Throne in Heaven; what Wonders shall we then behold! the clearest Mirror, and most genuine Image of the Invisible God, shedding abroad his Glory throughout that perfect World; and by the visible Luster of his Eminencies, the boundless Dispensations of his Love, and the most accurate Government of his entire Family and Kingdom, will he manifest his Interest in God, and our Interest in him, to be so great and grateful to the whole Society, as to command and gain all Hearts, Eyes, Services and Doxologies.  
12. O what a Prize have we to make improvement of? What! live with Christ for ever! and then with such Solemnities be caught up to him to meet him in the Air, so as to go away with him to Glory, and to part no more! Is such a Truth and State only to exercise our speculative Searches, to entertain our wanton Fancies, to minister to discursive Entertainments and bold Disputes; or only by some politic Pretences thereunto, to serve our Carnal Interests thereupon! Think we that Christ, in his Descent from Heaven, his Return thither, his Exaltation there, or his determined and declared Purpose to enstate us with himself therein, only intended that we should trifle with such Matters, or make them Engines for our ambitious and selfish Aims and Purposes? No greater profanation and abuse of such a State, and Hope, and Friend in Heaven than this, that Christ himself should be dishonoured, and his great Aim and End concerning us neglected and defeated, by an ill Temper and Behaviour in and from us. Hence then suffer a word of Exhortation, and that to these following things.  
1. Clear up your Notions of this State and Hope; know with whom and where you are to be, and to what Purposes, Col. 3. 14. You are to be with Christ in his Eternal Kingdom, there to behold his Glory, in all the Heights and Accuracies of full conformity to him, that even there your raised and completed Being's may serve the Purposes, and reap the Comforts of your Stations there. God's Household is called a Building fitly framed together, here growing up (and there grown up) to be an holy Temple in the Lord; and all are built together for an Habitation of God through the Spirit, Ephes. 2.21, 22. And these Ephesians (as others are) were to be filled unto all the Fullness of God; [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉] Eph. 3.19. And what doth this insinuate? The use and lustre of the whole Temple is not to be confined and ascribed unto every Part. Nor are all the Parts to be in every thing alike; it is rather Symmetry and Harmony, than Identity or Equality, wherein the beautifulness of that Building lies. And indeed, variety of Parts, well laid and kept together, shows greatly the Skill and Wisdom of the Architect. God himself only knows what vast Numbers of Inhabitants that State contains; Ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, Rev. 5.11. and, a thousand thousands ministered to him; and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. Dan. 7.10. And these vast Multitudes are all digested into their several proper Ranks and Orders. Hence, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers, Colos. 1.16. Might, and Names named in the World to come, Ephes. 1.21. And the fallen Angels are said to have left their Principality, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Judas 6. Thus Christ assigns Authority in his Day; to some, over ten, to others, over five Cities, Luk. 19. 17-19. There is (saith the Apostle) one glory of the Sun, another of the Moon, another Glory of the Stars, which themselves also in their Glory, differ each from other. So also is the Resurrection of the Dead, 1 Cor. 15.41, 42. And will not these be placed and used according to their different degrees in Glory, in the Kingdom of God and of Christ? It seems very improbable to me, (pace aliorum) that all in Heaven are equal in their Capacities, Stations, and Circumstances; this only Obiter; and with all submission to farther Discoveries and better Judgements, But that which is mainly aimed at from the Apostle's hint, [unto all the fullness] is this, that we are here to grow up to all the Fullness of God, viz. to that degree of proficiency, and at last Perfection, which may best fill up and answer our fixed Place and Station in the living Temple of the great God. And then accordingly will God place and use us in the Heavenly Kingdom; whereinto, accordingly we are minded of an abundant Entrance, 2 Pet. 1.11. But to the main Concern. Think not that Christ will bring you to himself, to give you sensual Entertainments, or to exempt you from all further service to his Father and himself; or to feed and satisfy an arrogant and revengeful Temper in you, as if the Satisfactions and Advancements of that State only were to make you contemptuously to insult over those Enemies of yours who had vexed or wronged you in the Flesh. Nor are you there only to sit still, and gaze at the beautiful Objects of that State; nor only to sing your vocal Hallelujahs; nor only to entertain the Majesty of the great Jehovah, and the visible Beauty of that World, the Man Christ Jesus, with Commendations and Applauses, as if your Oral Panegyrics could be your delight; for the highest flights of Speech are low, the most masculine vigour of Expression is but flat and languid; and the most intimate Inspections, and vastest reaches of created Intellects, are but short and narrow as to the Objects of your Praise and Wonder in the Heavens, Neh. 9.5. Job 11. 7-9. 'Tis true, Christ Jesus is the Image of the invisible God; and the Glory of the Divine Nature (personally or bodily dwelling in him in its Fullness, Col. 2.9.) must suit its Emanations and Transmissions through the humane Nature, (and all its discoveries otherwise of itself) unto the Capacities and Concerns of that most excellent Society above; which yet, as Creatures have their Bounds, (for no Nature can be infinite that is created). Whence we may easily infer, as I conceive, an infinite residue of Perfection, (if I may call it so) which never can be known by any mere Creature. And it is more than I can prove, that God neither hath made, nor can make a sort of Being's, to whom he doth, or will, or may discover himself by a Name higher, and clothed with more lofty Attributions, than either we, or those Spirits above (called Angels, from their Ministrations to this World) can reach, or are capacitated for. But, De Deo vel vera dicere periculosum. I dread to walk in the impossible or forbidden searches of the incomprehensible Source and Abyss of Perfection, lest I should meet with that severe and awful Reprimand, Who is this that darkens Counsel by Words without Knowledge? Job 38.2. But this may show how little our Words or Thoughts can reach God's own essential Perfection. Yet is this Godhead united to the Man Christ Jesus: But how, I solemnly profess I know not, though I believe it to be true, and think it easily demonstrable from Sacred Writ: And I think it as copiously asserted, and plainly proved, as almost any Article of the Christian Faith; and I take the Gospel to have very little Mystery comparatively, if so far diluted as to lose this central Mystery, 1 Tim. 3.16. And hence it plainly follows, that to be with the Lord, is a great aggravation of the Glory and Delightfulness of the Heavenly State, it being not improbable to me that Christ himself will be the Mediator of Fruition, as he hath been of Acquisition. And therefore to proceed; we cannot think, that to be with Christ infers a Peerage with him, or Partnership in his Divine Excellencies and Prerogatives, Rev. 3.21. We are to worship him, and not to be worshipped with him, Rev. 5.13. Phil. 2.10, 11. John 5.12, 13. What is Worship, but, Obsequium alicui praestitum propter excellentiam? A reverend acknowledgement of Excellence, and fit Respects and Homage paid thereto? And if then Christ the Mediator be God-Man, hath he not therein the preeminence above all other Creatures in the Universe? and the Respects which must be paid thereto, what Worship will you call it? Names are to be suited unto things, they cannot otherwise duly represent them. Christ then as Mediator is more excellent than any mere Creature, therefore as a middle Person to be more regarded: And what then will you call this overplus of Respects? (if I may call it so) I know we may distinguish, where we cannot divide; and whether Divine Worship may fitly be distinguished upon or not, I leave to the more accurate to determine. But I conceive that God expects, that the Humane Nature, as individuated in that exalted Person Jesus Christ, shall have such Honour paid thereto, as none besides, in Heaven or Earth, shall be allowed to have. In a word, Christ as Mediator, is not so great as God, therefore the Worship must not rise so high: Yet, as Mediator, he is above all Creatures, and more than they to be respected. Consider well Heb. 1. 3-6. As Man there is Humane Excellence in its Height; as God, there is increated Excellence: As Mediator, there is a sitting at God's right Hand: and he that sits there, must and will be accordingly acknowledged, and had in reverence by all in Heaven. And now let us see a little what that State imports, that we may form right Notions of it. And here we will, 1. Premise the Excellence of the Place, as suited to all the Grandieurs of the State, Ephes. 4.10. the Inheritance of the Saints in Light, Col. 1.12. the Building made by God, 2 Cor. 5.1. Heb. 11.10, 16. & 13.14. Joh. 14.2. But where and how 'tis situated, divided and accommodated, no Pisgah high enough on Earth for us to see it from, Rev. 21. 9-23. & 22. 15. And, 2. the Perfections of the Subjects to make them receptive of that State. Defecated Souls, and Spiritual Bodies, Heb. 12.14. Mat. 5.3. & 1 John 3.3. with 1 Cor. 15. 50-54. 2 Cor. 4.14. 1 Thess. 14. 14-17. For none must go with Christ to Glory, nor live with him for ever, whose Hearts and Lives are not for him whilst here; and whose Spirits are not transformed, and so adapted or suited to the Privileges and Ministrations of the Heavenly Kingdom, Rev. 21.27. And therefore 'tis supposed and concluded, that the Constitution of the Soul be sound and sweet, and fit for its immediate entrance into Heaven, and its abode with Christ for ever, Rom. 8. 9-11. The Spirit of Christ imprinciples, Providence exercises all these heavenly Principles; our Covenant-state obliges us to the most lively exercise thereof: Habits are fixed and strengthened by Acts; and the Soul's first immediate look at Christ, completes its Transformation; and then is it admitted into the presence of its Lord. So that in strictness of Thoughts and Speech, the Temper of the Person must be distinguished from his State, as that which qualifies him for his admission thereinto. And then as to the Body, it must not be Flesh and Blood, for that will be too weak and gross for Christ his so glorious and majestic Presence, and for the Visions and Employments of the State above. Saul could not bear the Glory of Christ's personal Appearance to him, without astonishment and blindness, Acts 9. 3-12. And in his Ecstasy he knew not where and what he was, embodied or not, 2 Cor. 12.2, 3. And the appearance of an Angel made others as dead Men, Mat. 28. 2-4. And the Royal and Great Prophet, when he saw his Glory, cried out, Woe is me, I am undone, Isa. 6.5. with John 12.41. How strangely did Christ's Transfiguration confound Peter, James, and John? Mark 9. 2-6. So that the Body must itself be changed, in order to its meeting and being with the Lord, 1 Cor. 15.52, 53. These things are then to be distinguished from the State itself, as needful Preparations for it. Now therefore to the State itself; and here I shall avoid all fond Imaginations, and Conjectures, and speak hereof as God shall enable me, and doth instruct me. This State must then include these things: (and how much more I know not.) 1. The Visions of the Glory of our Lord; or, beholding Christ in all his Glory: And so our being where he is, Joh. 17.24. and that, not to astonishment and consternation, but to delightful admiration, John 16.22. Judas 24. And here both Mind and Body have their looks at Christ to feast them both for ever. The symmetry and delicate Proportions of his Humane Body, the Beauty of his Face, the Majesty of his Countenance, the Pleasingness of his Speech, the placid Aspects of his smiling Looks at us, the Glory of his Throne, the orderly Disposals, Attendances, and Ministrations of all his Favourites and Attendants; with all the awful and yet delightful decencies of his Gestures and Deportments towards all with him, and the Expressions of Divinity in all this. O what an ocular Entertainment will this amount unto! What shall our Souls say then to all his evident Prerogatives, his wise Conduct, his excellent Government, his bounteous Dispensations, his intimate Converses with us, and the delight he evidently takes in the Harmony and welfare of that State? And who knows what besides? But this I now remember was touched upon before. 2. The glorious Benefits and Pleasures that will result herefrom: There is Glory given, as well as Glory seen, John 17.22. called an Inheritance of the Saints in Light, Col. 1.12. the Crown of Life, Jam. 1.12. A Kingdom prepared to be inherited, Mat. 25.34. The Joy of our Lord, ver. 21. Fullness of Joy and Pleasures for evermore, Psal. 16.11. We shall be honourable & triumphing Members of the glorified Church in Heaven, and there and such for ever; signalised with the Name of God, and of that perfected Corporation, and of our glorified Redeemer. Whether the Deity will (or can be) the Object of our immediate Vision, I much doubt, and am prompted so to do, from 1 Tim. 1.17. & 6.16. I only say, I doubt it much, but I cannot judge myself infallible; but, when with Christ in Glory, our Knowledge of God will be more clear than now, and have more deep Impressions, and livelier Influences upon the whole Man than now it hath. We shall be like to Angels, being the Children of God, and of the Resurrection, Luk. 20.36. for then the Privileges and Prerogatives of our adopted raised State, will be in our actual and full Possession. We shall be ever under the smiles of infinite Love, and under the most invigorating Influences of the God of Life; whose constant overshadowings of us shall draw forth all the vital Energies of our Faculties, (and perhaps of some Faculties which yet are latent in us, as being fit for the Felicities and Employments of the End, than of the Way; which yet I rather offer than assert); and when exalted Faculties and Powers are placed amongst such glorious Objects, in such vast multitudes, and with such great variety; when we converse and dwell with Angels, so numerous, excellent, and endearing; when we have such glorious Entertainments and Employments with and for the Lord Redeemer; when we shall from himself receive immediately what he here promised, and hath there prepared for us; the Fruits and Harvest of all our Sufferings, Labours, Prayers, and Hopes; when all our Dangers, Snares, Fears, Griefs and Maladies are gone; when all Christ's Enemies and ours are underfoot; when the Divine Life, in its meridian Strength and Luster, shows itself; when all the Subjects of that State appear in their most accurate conformities unto their great Exemplar, each one as Christ resembling the Children of a King, (as those in a far lower sense, Judg. 8.18.) Princes to look to, (as those Ezek. 23.15. Not after the manner of the Babylonians, but) after the manner of the Sons of God: O what a State will this State be! To close this Head: He that hath a genuine Idea, and right Notion of this State, must represent it to himself as that wherein Nature is perfected as to Things and Persons, and fixed in that Perfection; and Divine Government is completed in all its Constitutions and Administrations; and all the Privileges thereof dispensed, its Services performed exactly by all the Subjects thereof; and the great Ends and Purposes thereof attained and answered to universal satisfaction, and all this in the presence of the Lord, upon his Throne, encompassed with his Redeemed Ones, who see his Glory, bear his Image, acknowledge his rich Grace and Love towards them, and serve and glorify his Name for ever, to his full satisfaction. God taking great delight in them, and they in him; and owning his Son before them all, as one that pleased his heart in bringing all these Sons to Glory, whilst all these Morning Stars together sing their Hallelujahs with great harmony and cheerfulness, and shout for joy, that God is all in all by Jesus Christ with them; and that they can with so much order, cheerfulness, and vigour, serve and please him most entirely and delightfully with his own in that August Assembly; for the presence of the Lord Redeemer there, resembled, loved, and served by all the Inheritors, Citizens, and Subjects of that State, with so much Wisdom, Holiness, and Vigour, speaks Heaven indeed. But let me not run too far.  
2. Comfort yourselves, and one another, with these words, 1 Thess. 4.18. Think seriously upon 1 Pet. 1. 3-9. Put on the Breastplate of Faith and Love; and for an Helmet the Hope of Salvation. For God hath not appointed us to Wrath, but to obtain Salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do, 1 Thess. 5. 8-11. The word here rendered Comfort, is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which is indeed, to play the Advocate, as the Matter shall require. To plead the Cause, the Ground and Usefulness of this our glorious Expectation, against discouraging and afflictive Providences, as they are otherwise apt to dispirit or disturb us. When we are prone to swoon or tyre, through the difficult Duties, heavy Burdens, smart Temptations, strong Corruptions, and intricating postures of Affairs below: when we have little else in humane view, but great Work, and little Stength; huge Perplexities and strange Intricacies in every Article of Concern, manifold Enemies and Hindrances assaulting us continually, and pressing most severely on us; and very little help or hope in view: O let us then ourselves (and quicken one another to) repair unto this Hope as our best Refuge, and our most sure and steadfast Anchor within the Veil, whither our Prodromus or Forerunner is for us entered, Heb. 6.18. Rom. 8.18. 2 Cor. 4. 16-18. using it as our richest Cordial, and urging it rationally and closely upon the Heart, until we are brought to our delightful and absolute repose therein.  
1. Comfort yourselves with those words, and so begin at Home, Rom. 5. 2. Phil. 3.3. For unless such grateful words come from the Speaker's Heart unto the Hearers, from Principle to Principle, they are not likely to have such invigorating Influences upon Souls, nor to have such kindly Operations and Effects in Christian Conversation, as the Case requires. Vain talk about so great an Article of Hope, is dreadful: and it is no better as to him that speaks about it, until his own Heart duly be affected with it. Great Notions, and high flights of Speech, are but as swelling Words of Vanity, to him whose Tongue is not attended and actuated with a transformed, and thereupon, concerned Soul. Nor can indeed the Speaker's End be right, whilst his Heart is naught, 2 Pet. 2.18. What God may do for the sake of Truth, and with regard to his own Interest and Institution, is one thing; and what such an heartless Talker may expect, is another thing. And he that makes no reckoning of this blessed State and Hope himself, will not be very much concerned how such things take with others, unless as it may serve those lower Interests or popular Applauses which are so much eyed and idolised by himself. But it is profaneness to the height, to prostitute such a Sacred Ordinance as Christian Communion, and such a glorious State and Hope, as being ever with the Lord, unto so mean and vile an End as ultimate selfishness. O then make thorough work within, and be what all must be, that are to be for ever with the Lord. Your Directory in this Case, you have in Tit. 2. 11-14. 2 Pet. 1. 5-11. & 3. 11-14. and when that is done, then make this State your stated and occasional Consolation and Refreshment, that so you may comfort one another with the Comforts wherewith ye yourselves are comforted of God, 2 Cor. 1. 3-5. And what now is it, think you, to comfort yourselves herewith? I will tell you, (as desiring, labouring, and hoping, through your entreated Prayer for me, and the supply of the Spirit to me, thus to do) It is, 1. by close and solemn contemplation, to represent this State unto yourselves, (according to the Gospel-Scheme or Figure) as great, sure, near, and suited every way to make those happy who obtain it; as yours, by promise and in hope, (having been purchased, and being now possessed by Christ for you; whose Spirit hath also sealed you thereunto, and is your Pledge and Earnest of it); and as of far greater consequence and concernment to you, than all which you can meet with here can countervail. And, 2. it is pertinently and prudently to accommodate this your Encouragement and Support to every Exigence, so as to make you calm and easy in yourselves, and sensibly and evidently pleased herewith, whatever this your Hope may cost you here. You must consider and apply it, and regularly enforce it upon your exercised Souls, and live upon it as your Food and Treasure, and rest herein, when little else but Toil and Sorrow here becomes your daily Entertainment. But I have more largely handled this, in my printed Sermon on Psal. 42.11. in Dr. Anneslie's Morning Exercise, and thither I refer you, (though ill printed).  
2. Comfort one another with these words, Mal. 3.16. 'tis needful, useful, and delightful thus to do; for God hath set this State, thus characterised before us, as our Directory, to show us what we are to be and do, 1 John 3.2, 3. as our Encouragement hereunto, 1 Cor. 15.58. and as the Reward hereof, Heb. 10. 35-37. We are to give our Sentiments and Notions of this State, and to represent it in its greatness each to other. We are to confer about its certainty, and so to show and settle the reasons of our belief hereof, to discourse the nearness of it, lest otherwise the Midnight-Cry surprise us; to talk about the Means and Evidence of our being entitled thereunto, and of its suitableness to all our holy Principles and Instincts, and to the Capacities and true Welfare of our Souls, and of those great and glorious Purposes which it may subserve; and to converse about the Snares which may be broken, and of the Mischiefs which may be prevented by our lively Thoughts, Belief, and Hopes, and Relishes of this blissful State; and by our warm Discourse about it. And we are to quicken one another to comparative Thoughts about it; that is, to consider it in its Transcendencies above all that rivals or opposes it. Sometimes our Mouths or Palates have lost their taste and relish; and then Discourse hereon must cure us; and the great Excellencies of our Lord, and of our abode with him for ever, must be displayed afresh. Sometimes our Hearts are out of hope, and then Christ as our Advocate and Head in Heaven, preparing all Things for our solemn meeting with him, and as the Patron of this Hope, may be the proper and fit Theme for Christian Conference about. Sometimes our Minds and Thoughts are vagrant, and like lose Garments, rather hinder us than help us; and then some warm discourse about this State may reduce our distracted Spirits to some advantageous composures. Sometimes our Hearts are cold and careless, and then some applicatory Conference about this heavenly State and Privilege, may make them burn again within us. Sometimes the frame of Spirit, and course of Life, which is most congenial with this Lord and State, is much neglected; and we are degenerating into unchristian Principles, Dispositions and Practices; and then to speak of Christ in all those Glories where he and we must dwell together, may recover us from our Decays and Lapses. Sometimes our Devotions have not their proper Life and Spirit in them, as Prayer, Praise, Thanks, Sabbath-Solemnities, and Sacramental Commemorations and Transactions, etc. and then right Words warmly delivered and enforced, may make our Altar's flame afresh. And sometimes we are in the House of Mourning; some sick, some weak, some dead, and some twice dead, all more or less lamenting the mournful State of Things, Souls, Persons, etc. and then for ever with the Lord closely discoursed, may afford very great relief. For Christ, and all his Saints with him in Glory, allays the bitterness of all such Cups, makes all Conditions easy, clears up the Brow, and warms the Heart, and adds new Life and Vigour to all our Winter and Summer-Graces, Rom. 5.2, 3. Jam. 1. 2-12. and fully reconciles us to all those Scenes of Sorrows, and to Death itself, through which we are to come to Christ. Converse then more about this thing, for no Salt like this to season Conversation with, Col. 4.5. and nothing fit to refresh the drooping Soul. And therefore, Ye Beloved, building up yourselves (and one another) on your most holy Faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the Love of God, looking for the Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto Eternal Life, Judas 20, 21. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God even our Father, who hath loved us, and given us everlasting Consolation, and good Hope through Grace, comfort your Hearts, and establish you in every good Word and Work, 2 Thess. 2.16, 17. And to him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding Joy: To the only wise God our Saviour, be Glory and Majesty, Dominion and Power, both now and ever. Amen. Judas 24, 25.   
FINIS.