should partake of the benefits and blessings of the Messias, equally with them, who were the ancient people of GOD. It not being here intended to be intimated to us, that all good men shall hereafter be admitted to equal degrees of glory in heaven; but only to show us, that the Gentiles, who were to be called long after the Jews, should be admitted to the same privileges, and made partakers of the same blessings which were promised the Jews, with whom the covenant was first made.

It appearing thus plainly from the Holy Scriptures, that there shall be a disparity of rewards in the life to come, and that the degrees of men's happiness hereafter shall bear a proportion to the degrees of their holiness in this life; if any further proof of this were necessary, it might very well be supposed, both from the justice and equity of GOD, and from the reason of the thing itself.

From the former of these it may very well be supposed, that those' good men, who by an early piety, and an uninterrupted course of goodness all their lives long, have excelled in the works of the Lord in this world, shall hereafter be distinguished and honoured with greater degrees of glory in the next. For though our Saviour does indeed say ingeneral, Matt. xiii. 43, that "the righteous shall shine in the kingdom of their Father;" that is, that all the saints that are admitted to everlasting life, shall be glorious therein; yet, I hope, it is not at all improper to believe, but that such of them as had shewn an uncommon zeal for the glory of God, and were more eminent for sanctity; and were never in all their lives defiled by any great and enormous sins, shall be honoured above those in the heavenly mansions, who may possibly in their life-time, through the frailty of human nature, have been guilty of many such, though upon their true repentance for them afterwards, GOD had been pleased of his infinite mercy, through the merits of their Saviour, to

admit them to pardon first, and then to happiness. Will not they who have endured a great fight of afflictions, or who have gone through the fiery trial of martyrdom, have in Heaven more reason to rejoice, and be happier than others? inasmuch, as they will, according to St. Peter, 1 Epist. chap. iv. 13, be "partakers of CHRIST'S suffering, that when his glory shall be revealed," and be on that account highly exalted," Phil. ii. 9, they may "be glad also with exceeding joy."

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From the reasons of the thing indeed, it cannot well be otherwise, but that the more pure and holy men have been in this world, the more capable they will be of the happiness of the next, as being thereby the better prepared and disposed for a fuller enjoyment of GOD, wherein, no doubt, one great and substantial part of the happiness of Heaven will consist. For if a pure spiritual mind, free from all carnal lusts and passions, be absolutely necessary to put us into a fit capacity of relishing those refined joys that are above, it will from hence naturally follow, that the more spiritualized and exalted men's dispositions are, and the better prepared and fitted their souls are for the enjoyment of the heavenly pleasures, the more pleasing, delightful, and satisfactory will be their taste and perception of them; and consequently the greater, more enlarged, and comprehensive, will their happiness be.'

The emanations of happiness indeed are diffused every where from GOD, as the common fountain of celestial bliss, and perhaps do fill all the saints alike; but then, though every capacity shall be filled, yet their capacities and dispositions for them being unequal, some may receive a greater measure and proportion of them than others; and so consequently be more happy than they are. Just as the light of the sun is the same, and yet its rays are received in a greater or lesser quantity, according to the make and texture of the body it shines upon.'

I have now only this one thing more, which I think proper to take notice of on this head, and that is this, that though there shall be different degrees of glory in the life to come, yet this difference shall occasion no uneasiness among the saints above, but all shall be entirely happy: because to every saint in that blessed place, his own degree shall be to him a satisfactory beatitude.

This has been thought to be represented to us by the Israelites' gathering of manna (that food of Heaven) in the wilderness, of which we read, Exod. xvi. 18, that "he that gathered much, had nothing over; and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his own eating."

This may likewise be expressed by a common similitude, of many vessels of different sizes and capacities, some greater, and some lesser; when if all of them be filled, it is the same thing, one is not then fuller than another. So here; if the blessed saints above shall all receive their full proportion of happiness which God shall be pleased to dispense to them, according to their capacities, from those rivers of pleasure which flow from his right hand, there can be no reason to doubt, but that all will be entirely pleased and satisfied with that proportion. Even the lowest degree of happiness in those blessed mansions, being infinitely above what their utmost wishes, while here on earth, could have aspired after.

And then besides, though in this lower world indeed, such as are of meaner spirits, are more narrowhearted, are apt to repine at the promotion of others, and to envy the felicity which they see them enjoy above themselves: yet among the blessed in Heaven, there are no such peevish and ill-natured qualities, as discontent and repining, pride and disdain, grudging or envy, but all are full of contentment, of joy, and of thankfulness. They shall all there be joined in such perfect love, that they who are seated in the higher mansions of glory, shall not look down

with contempt or disdain on those that are beneath them; nor shall they that are below, lift up an envious eye towards those that are above them; ' but there shall be such a perfect harmony among them all, that each shall rejoice as much in the happiness of others, as in his own, and take as great delight therein, as if it really were so.' And so altogether shall make up, though in different notes, one sweet harmonious concert in the praises of GOD, the fountain of their bliss.'

For why may not this be so among the saints hereafter, as we are sure it is among the holy angels We know that after the resurrection, the saints shall be made like unto the angels, and enjoy the same life immortal as they do, and be incorporated into their blessed society. Now in that celestial society, archangels and angels, cherubim and seraphim, thrones and dominions, and the lower orders of those blessed spirits, do not disagree among themselves, though they differ from one another in honour and dignity; but on the contrary, they perfectly love and delight in each other, and all in their GOD, being always ready in their several stations, cheerfully to execute the will and pleasure of their great LORD and Master, whose ministers they are; and do join all together, night and day, with inexpressible pleasure, in "giving blessing, honour, and glory, unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."

What the Consideration of these Things does require from us.

AND thus having gone through the several particulars which I proposed to treat of with regard to Heaven, that blessed place, where the souls of good men shall be happy for ever and ever, I come now

in the fifth and last place, to add an application suitable to the whole, by shewing, what the consideration of these things does require from us. And,

First, Since we are certainly assured, that there is such a glorious place as Heaven, and such a state of happiness there, as is infinitely beyond whatever was seen, or known, or heard of in this world; for so the Apostle tells us, 1 Cor. ii. 9, that "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things that GoD has prepared for them that love him." This should teach us frequently to entertain our minds with the serious thoughts of it, which would then engage us to set our affections chiefly upon it. It is not enough for us to believe the happiness of the life to come, to make us heartily endeavour after the attainment of it, unless we also lay it in the balance with all the seeming felicities of this present life; and by frequent and serious consideration of the one and the other, do at last arrive at this settled judgment, that Heaven is infinitely to be preferred before this earth; its solid and eternal joys, before the empty, temporary, and transient pleasures of this world.

Men do indeed generally pretend to believe this, but then the great unhappiness is this, that the far greater part of them do not suffer their belief to have that influence upon their lives, which it ought to have. They are so taken up with the enjoyment of the temporary things of this good world, which are present and at hand (whereas the others are future, and, as they apprehend, at a distance from them) that they heedlessly let whole days, and months, and years pass away, without hardly ever so much as seriously thinking of them, and qualifying themselves to be partakers of the infinitely more valuable pleasures and joys of another life.

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Now there is nothing can be a more effectual cure of this folly and madness, in the generality of mankind, than the frequent and serious consideration I