Christs Certain and Sudden Appearance to Judgment, Chapter 10
CHAP. X.
2. THe second thing is to speak of the execution of the sentence pronounced by Christ upon the righteous. Matth. 25. 46. These shall go away into everlasting punishment, There is the execution of the sentence on the wicked. But the righteous into life eternal, there is the execution of the sentence on the righteous. And hear I shall speak,
1. Of the righteous going away.
2. Of the righteous going into life eternal.
1. Concerning the righteous going away, The wicked shall go away, and the righteous shall go away too; the wicked shall go away from Christ and Saints, and the happiness of Heaven; and the righteous shall go away from Devils and wicked Persons, and the misery of Hell, which with some considerations will be unspeakably comfortable unto them.
1. The righteous shall go away from Devils; Christ doth here redeem them and deliver them from that tyrannical power which the Devil had over them before conversion, yet they are not wholly freed in this life from all his assaults and baits and snares; some of them are much buffeted and oppressed by him most part, if not all their dayes; but at the last day they shall all go away from Sathan; the Devil and all his Angels will be lockt up in the bottomless Pit, and the righteous will never be molested with any of them any more, however the righteous sometimes are foiled by Sathan here, and receive some wounds in their spiritual combat; yet then they will be victorious, and triumph over principalities and powers, and leave them bound in Chains behind them; they shall go away from Devils.
2. The righteous shall go away from all the wicked Persons; some of the wicked separated them from their company when they lived on Earth; now God will separate them from the company of all the wicked; they were hated by the wicked and troubled by them, and some of them suffered much under their reproaches and persecutions; then the wicked will cease from troubling them any more: their hearts were grieved with their oaths and filthy lewdness and ungodly conversation in the World; but now they shall go away from the wicked, no Devil, nor wicked Persons shall be admitted into their society, or have any room in the place whether they are going.
3. The righteous shall go away, from that place and state of misery which the wicked shall go into; they shall be delivered from the damnation, and punishment of Hell, and all fears of it for ever: and herein their joyes will be unconceivable, in that,
1. They shall have deeper apprehensions of the punishment of Hell, than ever did here enter into their hearts to imagine; they were told by the Word and Ministers what a dreadful punishment was preparing for the damned; and they did believe it, and fear it, and flee from it; but the one half was not told them; the Fire which they conceived, was but as it were a painted Fire in comparison with that which they will see the wicked cast into; the pains they fancied were but fleabitings, in comparison with those which they will see the wicked undergo: they guessed something at the wrath of God, by the little scortchings thereof in their first conviction of, and contrition for sin; by the sweetness of Gods smiles of love afterwards, they judged that his displeasure and fury would be unsupportable; but their thoughts were mean, and short of that fiery vengeance and dreadful wrath which then will break forth into a flame to consume the ungodly: as the wicked wil have high apprehensions of the glory and happiness of the righteous beyond whatever entred into their hearts to conceive here in this World, and it will be their unutterable grief to be deprived thereof, and shut out for ever from the Kingdome of Heaven, which the righteous with joy and triumph shall go into: so the righteous shall have deep apprehensions of the sufferings and misery of the wicked, beyond whatever they did imagine here; and it will be no small part of their joy that they are delivered from this misery, and saved from the torments of Hell, into which they shall see the wicked go into, with such dread and horrour. Lazarus will then see Dives tormented; the other Apostles will see Iudas thrust into Hell, and all the righteous will be Spectators of the vengeance which the Lord Jesus will execute upon the ungodly World; and O how will they then adore Gods electing love? how will they value the blood of Christ, which was shed for the redemption of them? how will they bless God for pardoning mercy? how will they hugg the feet of their Saviour, who hath delivered them from this so dreadful wrath, and fearful torments which they will see inflicted then upon the damned? especially,
2. When they consider in their going away, that they were by nature Children of wrath, even as others; Eph. 2. 3. That they had as soul natures as the vilest; that they had as leprous, poisonous, odious hearts, until they were renewed and sanctified, as those which they shall see condemned and tormented; that they were sometimes foolish and disobedient, serving divers lusts, and pleasures, hateful and hating one another, until the kindness and free love of God was manifested in the regeneration and renovation of them by the holy Ghost. Tit. 3. 3, 4, 5. That they were dead in sin with others, and walked according to the course of the World, according to the Prince of the power of the Aire, who wrought in them, as in other Children of disobedience, so that they were as forward as others to fulfill the desires of the flesh and of the minde, and ran with others to the same excess of riot; until God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved them, had quickned them and saved them by his grace, and hereby put a difference between them and the wicked, who went on to the end of the sinful course in which sometimes they were running with them in company. Eph. 2. 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. yea some of them will remember, how they out-stripped others in sin, and were guilty of more gross breaches of the Law than many millions of the wicked, whom they will see condemned; and that they should escape, and be awakened to repent, and enabled to believe and reform; and that they should obtain pardon and salvation thorow Christ, when others were passed by, and let alone to perish under smaller sins; this will fill them with astonishing admiration, and wondering joy: when they see some of their neer Relations going to Hel, their Fathers, their Mothers, their Children, their Husbands, their Wives, their Brethren, their Sisters, their intimate Friends, and Companions; however they are grieved now to see them take such courses, and walk in the way to Hell, and they labour to pull them out of that way, and would fain perswade them to walk with them in Heavens way; and are troubled to forethink of the torment which they must endure, if they go on; yet hereafter relative tyes, and those affections which now they have to relations out of Christ, wil cease; and they wil not have the least trouble to see them sentenced to hel, and thrust into the fiery furnace; but rejoyce in the glory of God which wil be manifested upon them in their destruction; and, O the joy that they wil be filled withal to think that they were not passed by with the rest of their relations; that they are not under the same deserved-condemnation with them; that God should chuse but one or two in many families, and they should be in the number of the chosen ones; that when his chosen were comparatively so few, and the reprobates so many, that they should be elected; when there was no motive in them to encline God to the choice of them, that he should chuse them freely; if he had not chosen them, if they were now to change places with some of their wicked relations going to Hel; this would be dreadful; but that they are going from Hel, when their relations are going into it, this wil fil them with joy unspeakable. Especially,
3. When they consider in their going away, that they were sometime so neer to Hell; that whilst they were in a state of nature, and under the guilt of sin, that some of them were neer to death; that they were brought to the sides of the pit, to the doors of the grave, to the very brink of Hell, before they had repented, and accepted of Jesus Christ; some of them will remember how neer they were to death when they were young; how neer they were to death by some casualties: how neer by some diseases; some of them will remember the great Plague in London, which swept away so many thousands▪ how ill they were provided for death at the beginning thereof; how neerly they escaped the disease; and some which had the disease, how neerly they escaped death by it; and if they had died then, that they should certainly have gone to Hell: O how will they admire the Providence of God in keeping them alive, notwithstanding the many dangers they were in of death, all the daies of their unregeneracy; and when they moreover consider how they tried Gods patience, and trampled upon it, by their hainous provocations; how they abused his goodness, and turned his grace into wantonness; how they did hasten in the waies of sin towards hell, and were come even to the end of the line; that some of them were Drunkards, and Sabbath-breakers, and profane persons, and swearers, and unclean persons, and persecutors of the people of God, and were arrived even to the heighth of wickedness, and wan…ed but a step or two of falling into Hell; and yet that the Lord should meet with them, with a flaming sword in the way of sin, they were driving on so fast and furiously in, and stop them, and turn them; and change them, and bring them home to himself; yea, when they had deafned their ears against many calls, and stifled many convictions, and often quenched the motions of his spirit, and were so unwilling to leave their sins, and to come out of the way of destruction, & were so desperately bent upon their ruine; that yet he should knock, and call again and again, and follow them still by his Spirit; that he should lay hold on them as the Angels did on Lot, and bring them out of Sodom, even by force; and over-power the contranitency of their stubborn wills, and break open the door of their hearts, and overturn the strong holds of sin and sathan, and set up the throne of his Son within them; that he should snatch them like fire-brands out of the fire; and pluck them out of the snare of the devil, that had almost drag'd them into Hell; O how will they be astonished to remember Gods infinite pitty and love, and the power of his rich grace that did work salvation for them? especially when they perceive how dreadful the misery is which they were hastning unto? I have heard of a man who in the night galloped over a high bridge which was broken down all but a narrow plank, which Gods providence directed his horses feet upon; which if they had slipt never so little on the one side or the other, horse and man had fallen into the deep stream, and been drowned; which the man did not know till the next morning; but then, viewing the place, and considering the danger he had so narrowly escaped, was struck with such astonishment at it, that he fell down dead in the place. When some of Gods people shall go away from Hell at the last day, and look behind them into the bottomless-pit, and take a view of the streams of fire and brimstone, which are running in the burning lake; and remember how they have galloped over those streams, when they were in the carreer of their sins; and by how narro… a planke they passed over them; that if they had slipped but a little aside, they had fallen into the lake, from whence they could never have got out; when they shall remember how neer they were to Hell, and how narrowly they have escaped such horrible torments; …urely they will be struck with such admiration and joy which now they could not bear, but would over-whelm their spirits, and bring immediate death upon them; but then their nature will be strengthned to bear this joy, which might be enough to sweeten an eternity, if they had no other happiness than the consideration of the misery from which they have been so wonderfully delivered. Thus concerning the going away of the righteous from the wicked, and the miseries which they shall endu…e.
2. Concerning their going into eternal life: and here I shall speak,
1. Of the eternal life they shall go into.
2. Of their going into eternal life.
1. Concerning the eternal life which the righteous shall go into. Eternal life is taken in Scripture frequently for the life of grace; but chiefly, and so here, for the life of glory: by eternal life we are to understand the glory and happiness which the righteous shall have in Heaven, of which happiness in Heaven I shall speak,
1. Subjectively.
2. Objectively.
3. Formally.
1. Subjectively. The subject of the happiness in Heaven, will be both the bodies and the souls of the righteous.
1. The bodies of the righteous will be subjects of the happiness of Heaven.
1. They shall be most glorious bodies, 1 Cor. 15. 43. They are sown in dishonour, when they die; they shall be raised in glory at the resurrection; some glory and Majesty is put upon the bodies of men now, in comparison with the bodies of inferiour creatures; but the bodies of the righteous shall then be made a thousand-fold more glorious; there is not so great a difference between celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; between the body of the glorious Sun, and the body of the meanest fly or worm, as then there will be between the bodies of the righteous on earth, and in heaven: they will be celestial bodies; they will shine like Stars, Dan. 12. 3. Yea, like the Sun in the Kingdom of their father, Matth. 13. 43. their bodies will be transformed, whereby their dirty hue will be changed, more than if all the stones in the street were turned into Diamonds, Phil. 3. 21. Their vile bodies will be fashi…ed like unto the glorious body of Christ: Now their bodies are vile, being so frail, especially as they are the instruments of sin; they are earthy, as they bear the image of the earthy Adam; then they shall be glorious, because they shall bear the Image of the Heavenly Adam: the bodies of some doe now shine with Gold and Pearls, and costly Apparrel which are about them, and yet under all, their bodies remain vile bodies; but hereafter the bodies of the righteous shall shine with a m…rvellous brightness and glory through the qualities which shall be in them, beyond what the richest attire can give.
2. And by consequence the bodies of the righteous shall be most beautiful bodies: they shall have a perfect beauty, beyond whatever eye did behold, in the fairest women that ever lived upon the face of the earth.
Their bodies will have the most exact symetrie of parts; those which were mis-shapen here, shall then be healed of that imperfection in their bodies; the crooked back shall then be made straight; the members which now are wanting, shall be supplied, and the parts which now are dissolved shall be put into the right place; and all joined so exactly together; especially the lineaments of the face shall have such a figure and composition, as shall render their feature most lovely, and graceful, beyond what the greatest observers, and admirers of beauty, can conceive in their fancy.
Moreover, the bodies of the righteous shall have a most sweet mixture of colours; there will be no black skin, no swarthy complexion, no pale face, no wan look; their colour will be most lovely, without change or fading; there will be no wrinkles of old age, but they will be alwaies young, fresh, and blooming; if the composition of these elements, which are so dreggish, doth give forth in some such loveliness of colour, what wil the more refined composition of the bodies of the righteous do, and when the Lord will fashion their bodies after the pattern of his Sons body: and therefore I conceive further that the bodies of the righteous shall have a most comely stature, not dwarfish not gigantick; but according to the measure of the stature of Christ: And lastly, to compleat their beauty, I doubt not but they wil have most graceful gestures and sparkling motions in their countenances; they wil have no grief to deaden their beauty, no anger or envy, or the like, to change and transform their visage; but love and joy wil continually look out at their eyes, which will marvellously add to the lustre and sweetness of their beauty; they shall have most beautiful bodies.
3. The bodies of the righteous shall be most strong, that they may be sutable to their great soul, and fit for such works as in heaven they must be employed in; were they weak as now they are, they would never endure such works and motions, they would tire and faint, their spirits would quickly be spent; but in Heaven there will be no lassitude and weariness; no fainting, or failure of spirits; all their motions, though never so great and continual, will be sweet and delightful; and therefore their bodies must be strong that they may be sutable hereunto: Moreover the glory of Heaven, which they shall have in their eye would sinke a weak body, and the ravishing joyes and love, the transports of their souls in the visions which they shall have, would crack a weak vessel to pieces; they must be strong to bear the glory of the place; and when besides they must endure unto all eternity; and all this without reparation, by meat, or drink, or sleep; I conceive that no bodies visible to us are made so strong, as the bodies of the righteous will be made at the last day.
4. Hence it follows, that their bodies will be most healthfull bodies, they will be free from all pain, and disease, which may in the least weaken them; the temperature of their bodies will be so exact, that there will be no fighting of contrary qualities within them, no flowing of ill humours: In Heaven there will be no plague nor ague, not feaver, nor gout, not stone, nor strangury, nor any distemper, no need of food to preserve health, nor physick to recover it.
5. The bodies of the righteous will be spiritual bodies, I Cor. 15. 44. not absolutely spiritual; for then they would cease to be bodies; but comparatively, to what they are now, they will be spiritual, that is, I conceive they will be quick and nimble in their motions, like spirits; now they are dull, and slow, and heavy, and a clog to the spirit; I conceive that hereafter they shall be like Angels for quick and nimble motion; they may be so qualified, as in a moment to move many thousand miles; why may not they move so quick then, as well as the Sun and other Stars in the Firmament do so now, which are bodies of many thousand times greater magnitude.
6. The bodies of the righteous will be incorruptible and immortal, 1 Cor. 15. 43. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. And v. 52, 53. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, the dead shall be raised incorruptible; for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortall must put on immortality. And v. 54. Then shall come to pass the saying which is written, Death is swallowed up in victory, Now death is unavoidable, and unto some is very terrible; death hath all the children of men in the chase, and shoce… his arrows at the righteous, as well as the wicked; and though they be delivered from the sting of death which is sin, yet they are not delivered from the stroke of death; but however death play the tyrant here on the earth, and spare none; yet he will have no footing in Heaven; the bodies of the righteous when raised up again will be impassible and immortal; immortality will be swallowed up of life, and the life of the body, as well as of the soul will be everlasting.
2. The souls of the righteous will be the subjects, and the chief subjects of the glory and happiness of Heaven; if their bodies shall be glorious, their souls shall be much more glorious; as being their more excellent part, and capable of more glory than their bodies will be; we read, Rom. 8. 18. Of the glory which shall be revealed in us, that is, in the soul; and the Apostle tells us, that, The sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to be compared with this glory; the greatest sufferings and calamities in this World have not that evil and misery in the least shaddow of comparison, with the happiness of the glory which shall be put into the souls of the Saints; indeed the Apostle doth compare them, and see how he makes this future glory to out-ballance. 2 Cor. 4. 17. These light offlictions, which are but for a moment, do work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. The afflictions are light, but the glory will be weighty, the afflictions are but for a moment, but the glory will be eternal; the weight of glory will be exceeding, more exceeding, far more exceeding, here the Apostle layes one high expression upon the back of another, and another upon that, like so many great Mountains upon the back one of another, and when he hath got upon the top of the highest of them, yet he is too low to look into the glory of Heaven, and his expressions and apprehensions fall short of the glory which shall be revealed in the soul, when it shall be received into the new Ierusalem, for it is yet to be revealed: and therefore as the Apostle Iohn saith, I Ioh. 3, 2. It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but when Christ shall appear, we shall be made like him; not only the body shall be made like his glorious body, but also the soul shall be made like his glorious soul, for we shall see him, as he is▪ as the eye doth receive the image of the object, which it looks upon, so the soul in its vision of Christ shall receive the Image of Christ, and have a perfect similitude and likeness unto him; the soul will be made most beautiful, the perfect lineaments of Christ will be drawn upon it: if grace makes the soul to shine here, how much more will glory, which is grace in the perfection of it, make the soul to shine in Heaven? and therefore grace is called glory, it is glory begun: 2 Cor. 3. 18. We all with open face beholding, as in a Glass, the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the same Image, from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the Lord. The Vail, which was under the Law, is now taken away, and with open face we behold the glory of the Lord, that is, I conceive the Lord Jesus Christ who is the glory of the Father, the brightness of the Fathers glory; which glory was more dark to our view under the Law, represented by the cloud, which filled the Temple; but now there is more clear revelation of Christ without the Vail, and clouds of types and figures, whom we now see in the Glass of the Word and Ordinances, and hereby are changed into his Image, and receive fro… him impressions of grace, which is glory begun, through the operation of his spirit in his Ordinances upon us; yet stil we see him in a Glass, and therefore there is a darkness, through this interposition; and the eye of our faith which looks thorow this Glass upon Christ is weak, and therefore our Graces are imperfect, and our similitude to him is imperfect; but when the Glasse shall be removed, and instead of the sight of faith, we shall have an immediate Vision, then our souls will be changed into a perfect conformity unto his Image, and it will not be from glory to glory, from one degree unto another, but glory will be arrived unto its heighth, and the souls of the righteous will be made perfectly glorious; their souls will then have perfection of holiness without the least remainders of sin, which in this World the most holy Persons are not wholly free from.
1. Their thoughts shall be holy; no bla…phemous thoughts shall then arise in their minde, no filthy thoughts, no e…vious and malicious thoughts, yea they shall not have the least vanity or impertinency in their thoughts, all their thoughts shall then be brought into p…rfect obedience unto Jesus Christ.
2. Their understandings shall be holy; there shall not be the least Cloud or mist of ignorance or errour to darken and …ully them, when they appear before the glorious Sun of righteousness, the brightness which will issue forth from his face will dispel all clouds, and they will have a clear understanding of all things which will be needful fo… them to know, to make them happy; God will then unlock his treasures, open his Books, which …w are sealed, and open their understandings too, that they may conceive those mysteries of his word, and that manifold wisdome of God, which now do exceed their comprehensions.
3. Their memories shall be holy; they shall be strengthn…d to retain and bring forth continually out of their treasures whatever things, new or old, shall tend to feed them with love and joy, and elevate their souls in the prai…es of God.
4. Their wills shall be perfectly holy; there shall be a sweet harmony between their wills and …he will of God, a perfect compliance with the sweet Law which they shall be under, without the least contranitency, or contradiction; they shall not have any evil motion, or inclination of will in Heaven.
5. Their hearts and affections shall be perfectly holy; the inner room of their hearts shall then be swept clean of all cob-webs, there shall not the …east dust of sin-remain; the roots of bitterness will be plucked up then, and the stains which now are upon them shall be washed off; all the disorders and distempers in their affections shall be removed, yea some affections which now they have …nd are suitable to this estate of sin and imperfection, shall be removed in their state of glory; …uch as grief, anger, fear, and the like; they shall …ave no bitterness upon their spirits, no sorrow in …heir hearts, no sinking and fainting of spirit, no discouragement and dispondency, no terrour or …erplexity, no anguish or anxiety; all these shall flee away like a Cloud, yea they shall have no …ope in Heaven, nor desire as I conceive, because …hese affections suppose the chief good to be ab…ent, and imply imperfection; but there they …hall have a perfect enjoyment and rest of soul in …he chief good; which is the next thing to be spo…en of, namely the object of the Saints happiness … Heaven.
2. Objectively, The object of the happiness of …e righteous in Heaven, or the chief good which …ill make them perfectly an… compleatly happy, …ill be God, who is infinitely good in himself, and infinitely blessed in the enjoyment of himself, and in him will the happiness of the righteous consist; that which fills an Ocean, surely will fill a Bucket, or nut-shell; God will be the happiness of the righteous for ever; it is but a thin and subordinate happiness which is to be found in the creature; it is but an imperfect happiness which is here to be found in God, because of our blindness and sin, and incapacity; but in Heaven God will be a perfect happiness unto the Saints: It is said 1 Cor. 15. 28. That God shall be all in all. God will be the whole happiness of the righteous, Go… in himself, God in his Son, God in the Angel… God in other Saints, God in themselves, God will be all in all, the only object of their happinesse.
3. Formally, the happiness of the righteous in Heaven will consist in the union of the subject and object together, God will be united to their mindes by Vision, and to their hearts by Love, from whence will spring unspeakable joy.
1. The mindes of the Saints, will have a perfe… vision of God, which will infinitely transcend a… the visions and sweetest discoveries of God, which they have, or ate capable of in this World; hereafter their capacity will be enlarged, their mindes will be elevated; here they see God darkly, there they shall see him clearly; here they see him af… off, there they shall see him neerly; here they see him as he is represented, there they shall see him as he is; here they see him in a Glass, there they shall see him immediatly; here they see aliquid de Deo, there they shall see Deum; here they see his foot-steps, some impresses of God upon the Creatures, especially upon his Children, chiefly they see his Image in Christ, whom they view by faith in the Glass of the Gospel, (as was said) yet the uttermost they can here attain unto, is to see his backparts, but in Heaven they shall see his face, they shall see him face to face; they shall see him as he is. This, this will be the happiness of the righteous in Heaven, to have the immediate sight, the beatifical vision of God.
2. The hearts of the righteous shall be joyned to God, who is their chief good, by love. But who can utter the love which the Saints shall have unto God in Heaven? it will exceed our now conceptions, much more will it exceed the love which those of the most intimate acquaintance with God do here at…ain unto; that it will be heightned beyond what now it is, we may apprehend, if we consider,
1. That the righteous will have an immediate vision of God, as hath been shown; now they live in a dark World, and have a Cloud upon their mindes, and see but a little of God through the perspective Glass of his Ordinances, a little in the works of his hands, and in the works of his spirit upon the hearts of his Children; and if when they see and know him so little, they can love him so dearly above the whole World, how will they love him when they behold his face, when the Clouds shall be dispelled, and the Sun break sorth? when they behold his beauty, and the transcendent excellencies which are in him, beyond whatever they could here imagine? how will their hearts be ravished with love to look God in the face▪ when they see him in himself, when they see him in his Son, when the Divinity of Christ shall appear in him, and shine so gloriously before them, when they see the Angels so full of God, and the Saints so full of God, and every thing in Heaven represent the glorious Jehovah unto them?
2. The love of God will heighten their love to him; to be loved by such an excellent Person, and with such a superlative love, O how will this enflame their hearts with love unto him? when they take a review of the past expressions of his love, and finde the love of God in many things, which they did not minde, when they were in the World and when they see a thousand fold more love i… those things which they did take notice of, but with low apprehensions, and dull affections, how will it raise their hearts? when their apprehensions of his love shal be raised; they wil admire electing love so free towards them without any prevision of merit in them; they wil admire his love in sending his Son to redeem them, and sending his spirit to convert them; his love in pardoning their sins, i… adopting them to be his Children; now they admire his love sometimes, Behold! what manner … love is this, that we should …e called the Children … God! I Ioh. 3. 1. Then they will admire it te… thousand times more; they wil see Gods love i… all his fatherly provisions, protections, yea in hi… chastisements, and corrections, and all his providences working for their good; but O what lov… wil they see in his special distinguishing mercies beyond what now they apprehend; and Gods pa… love wil have a present and deep impression upo… their hearts; further they wil see the treasures … his love open, the heart of God opened, and th… glory which in Heaven he wil confer upon them, … which they shall never be deprived; & what a demonstration of Gods love will this be unto them. Moreover then they shall have no doubtings of his love, which here do damp affections, they shall know assuredly that he hath loved them, doth love them, and will love them unchangeably, and eternally; and withal they shall have a full sense of his love upon their hearts, which will make such an impression, as to raise their hearts to an unconceivable heighth of love.
3. The righteous will have a higher capacity for love in Heaven, than here they have, and they shall be filled with love unto the heighth of their capacity; they will be able to love a thousand times more than now they can do, and they shall love unto their utmost ability; they will see perfection of loveliness in God, and all that are about him, and they shall have perfection of love; here their love is sincere and growing, but it is weak and imperfect, hereafter it will be grown up to the full heighth of it, and perfect love will cast out all tormen…; here their love is mixed, the stream is divided, …t runs and wasts it self in many small rivulets, which empty themselves upon the creatures; but then the whole stream will run forth unto God individedly; not a drop of their love shall be …p…lt on the ground; God will be the sole object …f their love: here their love is uneven and inco…stant to God; sometimes it ebbs, and some…imes it slows, sometimes they have a high and …pring-ti…e of love to God, but at other times it … low water; hereafter their love to God will be …ven and constant, and alwaies at the greatest …eighth.
3. And O what joy will there be in their hearts, through the union which the righteous shall have unto God the chief good, when their minds shall be joyned to him in immediate vision, and their hearts in perfect love! O how sweet a fruition of God will this be! what delights will spring from hence! if the Saints can now rejoyce exceedingly in God, when they see him so little, and their love is so imperfect, what will they do when they see and love him perfectly and fully? if they are now exceeding glad sometimes with the light of his countenance, though they have but a glimpse thereof, what will they be, when they shall have a constant view thereof, and live eternally under the beams of that light! their love to God is sweet now, though it be weak; but what will it be in Heaven, when the conjunction of their hearts to God by love shall be so nee… and close? if the Saints can now rejoyce in hope of the glory of God, what will they do in the possession thereof, when faith shall be changed for vision, and hope turned into fruition! O how will the Saints rejoyce and triumph, when they are sailed quite thorow the tempestuous Sea o… this world, and are landed safely in Heaven, where there is rest, and peace, without any windy storm… when they have got the victory over the devil and sin, and are now placed out of the gun-sho… of temptation, and have conquered throug… Christ, the grave, and death, and are out of fe… of his arrows; when they see that they have escaped the terrible wrath of God, and finde them selves in the arms of his love; when the… perceive that they are in Heaven now in…deed, notwithstanding all their sins, and doubts and fears, and now they have that blessed vision of God which they so much desired; and the full fruition of God in love which they hoped for; when they shall look about them, and see so much glory about them, and shall look within them, and see so much glory there revealed, beyond whatever they could imagine; O how will they be transported with joy! then they will have fulness of joy in the presence of God, and their pleasure and happiness wil be perfect without interruption or possibility of a conclusion. And the eternity of their happiness will be the Heaven of Heaven, as eternity of misery will be the Hell of Hell.
Thus concerning the happiness of the Saints, or the eternal life of glory, which they shall enter into.
2. Concerning the righteous going or entring into eternal life. The righteous after the pronouncing of their sentence, and their seeing the execution of the sentence of the wicked, shall pass away from them, and go with Christ into eternal life; they shall go with singing to the Zion which is above, and everlasting joy on their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isa. 51. 11. It wil be a most glorious train, such as eye never hath seen, which will go together unto Heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ will be in the head in shining glory, all the holy Angels will be with him, and the whole company of the righteous will be together, that ever lived in all generations; and O with what mirth and gladness will they move towards Heaven together; with what shoutings and Hosannah's will they attend upon the glorious triumph of our Saviour, unto the new Ierusalem! but when they are come to the gates of Heaven, and the everlasting doors shall be lifted up to them, and they look into the place prepared for their eternal abode; when the Lord Iesus shall bring them into the glorious presence of the Father, and they shall have the beatifical vision of his face, and see the smiles of his countenance and are received into the imbracements of his love; Then, Then they will finde themselves to be happy indeed! then their heart will be filled with joy, and their tongues with singing; then they will sing the new Song, the Song of the Lamb, which now cannot be learned▪ then they will sound forth the prayses of God and cry with a loud voice, as Rev. 7. 10, 11. Salvati…n to our God, … up…n the Throne, and to the L…mb, And worshipping God they will say, Amen, Blessing, and Glory, and Wisdom, and Than…sgiving, and Honour, and Power, and Might be unt… our God for ever and ever, Amen. And there shall they live and reign for evermore.
Thus concerning the execution of the sentence… on the righteous; and concerning the second appearance of Christ, and end thereof.