sorrow, and grief, and tears, shall be for ever banished away.

These, while men have continued in this world, have been very afflictive, grievous, and troublesome, even to good men themselves to bear. They have filled their lives with many uneasy hours, and have been the causes of many real vexations, miseries, and sorrows to them. But when this life is once at an end, and they shall be thought worthy to be admitted into the happy regions above, then shall they rest from all their labours; and peace, and quietness, and tranquillity, shall be the constant entertainment and delight of their souls.

They shall then rest from sinning and offending against GOD, which is now one of the greatest troubles of every good man's life. For here, the best of men do offend in many things, and are forced to pass bitter reflections upon themselves for those offences. We are always engaged here with the three great enemies of our souls, the world, the flesh, and the devil, who are ever throwing in our way temptations and allurements to sin; and do continually give us great uneasiness and trouble in watching against their assaults, lest we should be surprised by them, and do any thing that may be displeasing to GOD, deprive us of his favour, and provoke him to punish us.

'But these good men (who, out of a sense of their duty and obligations to GOD, heartily intend to serve him, and make it the chief care and business of their lives to do so) do yet find, through the infirmity and corruption of their nature, that notwithstanding all their best resolutions and endeavours, they are still, at some times, too apt to be surprised into sin, and sometimes to be even wilfully guilty of it. The remembrance of which gives them great uneasiness in their minds afterwards, and fills them with doubt about their own sincerity, and with fears lest GOD should withdraw his grace from them; and

that then they should never be able to arrive at that degree of virtue and holiness, which God requires of them, in order to fit them for eternal salvation; and these are the occasions of many sad heart-breaking sorrows to them.

But when through the infinite mercy of GOD, and the merits of their dear Saviour, they find all their sins to be pardoned, and themselves to be happily placed in the mansions of the blessed : When their own perceptions shall convince them, to their unspeakable joy and comfort, that their warfare is safely over, and that all their jealousies of their own condition are vain, and their fears removed; and that they may from thenceforth freely join with all the blessed company they meet there, in singing eternal praises to their GoD and Saviour for making them happy with them for ever: O! what tongue is able to express the joy, which their souls shall feel themselves possessed with, at that happy change!' Then again, there are many other things, which do oftentimes give great occasions of sorrow and trouble, to all sorts of persons, which are not wholly to be prevented or avoided in this life, by the utmost care and prudence; such as our own and others' misfortunes in the world. Thus to see and hear of the miseries, which our best and dearest friends, or our near relations, are oftentimes entangled in, and are yet beyond our power to relieve them from; to behold the dismal spectacles that are every day presented to our eyes, of some poor creatures ready to starve for want of bread, and of others languishing. under great pains of body; to see one near relation ruined by cross and sad accidents, and another taking such bad courses, as we have reason to fear will prove his utter ruin hereafter; these are such things as any one who has any bowels of humanity, cannot but be grievously afflicted at.

Then again the sicknesses and diseases of ourselves, our friends, and relations, and the loss of

them by death: and the anxiety and solicitude, which we are forced sometimes to submit to in the management of our worldly affairs; the crosses and losses, the troubles and inconveniences which we often meet with in relation to them; do all of them, at some time or other, prove the causes of great uneasiness and vexations to us, and will assuredly do so, while we continue in this changeable and uncertain world, but are all immediately at an end when we leave it.'

When God shall have been pleased to remove us from this mortal state, to that immortal one which is above with him in Heaven, there we shall enjoy a perfect rest; free from all manner of discontents, from every thing that can render our condition in the least troublesome to us. All our past sufferings and uneasinesses will then be no further remembered by us, than only as the remembrance of them will contribute to the increase of our joy and delight, in our being delivered from them. No affliction or sorrow upon any account, shall ever be experienced in those blessed regions above. Thus St. John describes the felicity of the future state, Rev. xxi. 4, "GOD shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Every thing that causeth grief shall be expelled from thence for

ever.

O! how unspeakably happy then shall all these holy and righteous souls be, that shall find admission there!" Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isa. xxxv. 10.

And is not then such a state of life as this infinitely desirable? Can all the little pitiful, mean, transient delights, and vain glories of this world, which are always changing, and never certain, stand in any competition with this, when they come to be

compared with it? Oh! how should we then long to be partakers of it! how should we despise all the pains and labours we can possibly be at for the acquisition of it, when we consider (as we all ought to do daily) that the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us?" Rom. viii. 18.

And yet all this is but the least part of the happiness of the future state, only the negative part of it. There are, besides, many solid, and substantial, and positive blessings to be enjoyed there, far greater than any that ever were known in this world, which the infinitely good and gracious lover of souls has prepared and appointed for the entertainment and pleasure of all his faithful servants there to all eternity.

CA

BOD

Of the Positive Happiness of Heaven.

I COME now to consider, in the second place, wherein this does consist.

And the first of the positive blessings which I shall take notice of, is this: Good men shall find there a vast improvement in their persons: both their souls and bodies shall then be advanced to the highest perfection they are capable of.

As our souls now are, they are not capable of perceiving the perfect happiness of that blessed and immortal state, which will chiefly consist in the vision of GOD; that is, in the perfect knowledge, and perpetual enjoyment of him. The imperfection of our present state, and the weakness of our faculties, cannot bear the sight of so glorious and resplendent an object, as the divine nature and perfections We cannot (now) see GoD and live.' St. John has told us, "That we shall see him as he is," 1 John iii. 2. And our Saviour has plainly

are.

But

revealed to us Christians, that the blessedness of the saints shall consist in the vision of GoD, Matt. v. 8. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see GOD."

'But then we are not to imagine, that we shall see him with our bodily eyes; for being a pure spirit, he cannot be the object of our corporeal sense. And besides, so transcendent and glorious a sight would quite overwhelm and overcome our faculties; as the light of the sun, if we look stedfastly and directly upon it, will dazzle and blind the strongest eye: so the sight of so glorious a being as GoD is, of so much excellency, and happiness, and perfection, would fill us with wonder too great for our limited nature to bear. But we shall have such a sight of him, as a pure spirit is capable of. We shall see him with the eyes of our minds and understandings. For in such a spiritual and intellectual sense, must sight of necessity be taken, when we speak of seeing GOD. The meaning of which therefore is, that when we come to Heaven, our understandings shall be raised and cleared to such a degree of strength and perfection, that we shall know GOD after a more perfect manner than we are capable of knowing him in this state of mortality.

Our minds shall then be raised to a strength and activity, as much above that of the most knowing persons in this world, as the thoughts of the greatest philosopher, and wisest man upon earth, are above the thoughts of a child or a fool. Our understandings shall then be much better fitted for the knowledge of GOD, and of the things that belong to that state; than the mind of any man whatsoever is framed to understand any thing in this world.

For by this means we shall then have a more perfect, that is, a more immediate, clear, full, and certain knowledge of the divine nature and perfections, than we can now have, or even bear in this mortal state.