The Felicity of the Life to Come, Part 1
A Description of the celestiall dwelling place.
AS to the Name and Description of the dwelling place: It is called by the spirite of God, the Heaven, an holy mountaine,Isai. 57.13. a high place, a great and holie citie, holy and newe Ierusalem, a celestiall and glorious Kingdome,Apoc. 21.2 the Tabernacle and dwelling place of the Lord.Psal. 15. These are high stiles: Whereby wee may gather,Isai. 57.15. that the situation thereof is on high, aboue the circle of the Sunne, and circumference of the starrie firmament: I dwell in the high, and holy place (saith the Lord) and the Psalmist saith:Psa. 148.1. Praise yee him in the high places. The fabrick and bewtie thereof, may be likewise vnderstood to be most exquisit: For seing it is the dwelling place of the Lord, which is most perfite; yea, which is very perfection it selfe; no question but his tabernacle, & dwelling place is accomplished with al perfections. Therefore, the Evangelist Iohn, whome our Saviour Iesus Christ loved, being about the description of that great Citie, holy Ierusalem; to expresse the fabrick, bewty, and perfection thereof, according to the capacitie of man, and as it was revealed vntounto him by the spirit of God: he saith, That the Citie is of pure gold,Rev. 21.10. like vntounto cleare glasse, that it is four square, and is twelue thousand furlongs, or fiftene hundreth miles of length, asmuch of bredth, and asmuch of height: Hee makes it to hauehave twelue gates, and every gate to be of a pretious Pearle; and hee makes the streets of the citie to be of pure gold, as shining glasse; The wall of the which citie, he makes to be a hundreth fourtie and foure cubits of height, and saith that it is made of a pretious Iasper stone: Such like, that the foundations of the wall of the Citie, are garnished with all manner of pretious stones; and there be numbers out twelue foundations, garnished & set with twelue divers sorts of most pretious stones: In such sort that he saith, the shining of the Citie is like vntounto a stone most pretious, even as a Iasper stone (which is alwaies greene and flourishing) cleare as Cristal. This is spoken according to the capacitie of the weak wit of man: But because the sense is allegorick, and is rather referred vntounto the Church of Christ, and number of the elect, nor vntounto the place it selfe, I will not insist farther therein: Alwaies to declare the extreame light, and bewtie thereof, he saith, that the Citie hath no neede of the Sunne, nor the Moone to shine in it; for the Glory of God doth make it light, and the Lambe of God Iesus Christ is the light thereof, and there shall be no night there.
But forasmuch as the bewtie and excellencie of that place, shal be most liuely set down before our eies, by making comparison of the same with bewtiful places here vponupon earth, which we may see with our eies, and conceiue by our vnderstanding: Let vsus enter in the consideration & description of a bewtiful place, which may be devised here vponupon Earth: For if there appeare any singularitie or magnificence in the one, it may be easily considered that the other is much more singular and magnifick.
I presuppose, that there is a faire Pallace situat on a pleasant greene field, on the head of a devalling banke, which is devised by most skilful Architectors, and is builded by most perfite and cunning artificers in Geometrie, in the Mecaniks and in all kinde of handicrafts: hauing at their will all kinde of fine materialls, requisite for building: as Marble, Porphyre, Alabaster, timber, yron, brasse, Ivorie, leade, glasse, gold, and azor. The which place is garnished within with all kind of pretious movables & plenishing. At the foot of the devalling bank, there is plaine, greene, and fertill haughs, and a faire portatiue River running by, replenished with divers kindes of fishes: and not far from the Pallace, there is a faire Forrest, wherein is great store of Harte, Hynde, Roe, and of fallow Dear, and of al other sorts of four footed beasts, & of fouls which are either plesant to behold, or profitable for the vse of man: There is store of faire Cedar, Firre, oak, and of pyne trees. And neer vntounto the Palace are planted faire and pleasant Gardens, distinguished with vallies, and casten with knots, and laberinths, of all sortes of odoriferant and savorie flowers: Wherein there is also cleare ponds, replenished with divers sorts of rare and delicate Fishes: Volories prepared for pleasant and well singing birds; & medalls of sattyres, and of all kind of creeping things. There is aboundance of Oliues, Oranges, a bricois, and all kinde of fruite trees, which brings forth their delicius fruits in their owne seasons: and in the Sommer season, while the weather is temperat & calme, and the bright Sun-shining in the cleare firmament, which to behold, the birds & the fowles makes a loud noyce, and naturall melodie among the greene trees; who would not think but this place were pleasant and delectable to dwell in? But if wee think that there is any bewtie or excellencie into this place, which may be devised by the wit of man: There is no doubt but that place where the Majestie of God doth remaine and dwel, is much more bewtifull and excellent: Considdering, that he is the chief Architector and artificer of all others, and hath both created all the world, and hath giuen the Exo. 31.2.spirit, and cunning vntounto all craftismen. Moreover, if this place may be imagined and devised, and appears delectable and pleasant here vponupon earth, which is not a place of pleasure but a little point, and centre situate in the midst of that ample circumference of the heaven, a vaill of miserie, wherein we are banished as strangers, to suffer paine, & to make our penitence for a time, for our sins: How much more, shal the tabernacle of the almightie Lord be delectable & pleasant, which is the place of perfit felicitie, where both the lord hath placed his glorious throne where his holy Angels doth remain, and which he hath promised as a most singular reward to his Elect and chosen Children; where hee hath also promised to bring the glory of Kings of the earth, & the glory of the Gentiles or Nations? Farthermore, the bewtie of the Sunne, Moone, starres, and of the firmament is very singular, and pleasant to beholde: The Sun is so extreame bright that with great difficultie the eies of man are able to looke vponupon it, and it giues light to all the world: The Moone at her full is of great bewtie & whitenes, and is appointed to governe the night: The glistering starres innumerable for multitude, twinkels in the firmament, like vntounto cleare diamonds; The skies being purified from the clouds, are blewe like vntounto a Saphyre stone, and are cleare as the Cristal, which wee see at sometime partie colloured, even damasked (as it were) with thinne & white clouds: and at the going downe of the Sunne, we see the west of times overfret, and painted with rednes, more plesant and bewtiful to behold, nor the Rubie or the precious Charbukle. Notwithstanding of all this, the bewtie of our heuenly dwelling place shal be much more excellent, which may be proved by these two reasons: Our eies sees, & our vnderstanding is able to conceiue their bewtie foresaide;1. Cor. 2.9. but as to the excellencie of the celestial tabernacle, which the Lord hath prepared for them that louelove him (according to the testimonie of Paul before alleadged) Our wit is not able to conceiue it in this life. The other reason is this: The Prophet Esay, the Apostle Peter, and the Evangelist Iohn doth plainly testifie,Isai. 51.6. & 65.17. & 66.22. 2. Pet. 3.13 Reve. 21.1 that the heavens and the earth which are nowe, and all that is therein, shall be dissolved and passe away, and that the Lord shal creat a new heaven, and a new earth: Which without all question shal be more bewtifull and excellent nor the heavens, and the earth that are nowe: For otherwise it is to be presupposed, that the lord would not destroy the more perfite, and creat others more vnperfit in their place and roome. Finally, that dwelling shalbe exceeding large and spatious, for there shal be no separation betwixt the heaven and the earth, betwixt the dwelling place of the Lord, and the dwelling place of Men, but conforme to his promise, hee shall dwell with vsus, and wee with him, as Citizens of a Citie. And thus much concerning the Description of the dwelling place.