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be yet hope for? but if we hope for that we fee not, then do we with patience wait for it. This glory is also future; nothing as yet enjoyed is that; it is fomething to come, greater than ever has been poffeffed in this world; it is a glory that shall be revealed; it is grace, or that glory which is the perfection of grace, that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Chrift, when the faints shall appear with him in glory; at prefent it does not appear what they shall be, but when be Shall appear, they shall be like him, and fee him as he is. Moreover, this glory is an incomparable one; there is nothing in this world to be compared to it. All the wealth, riches, and grandeur of it are trifling and empty things in comparifon of it. The apostle has a strange expression at first fight upon this subject: I reckon, fays he, that the fufferings of this prefent time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. One would rather have thought he fhould have faid, that all that can be defired and enjoyed in the present state, are not to be compared or made mention of with the glory of the other world; but he instances in the sufferings of the faints, the pureft part of their services, if they may be called fo; and afferts that these are far from being meritorious of this glory, fall infinitely fhort of it, there being no proportion between them and that; they are light afflictions, this a weight of glory; they are for a moment, this eternal; and this is what fupports the faints in their fuffering circumstances, · and makes them choose affliction with the people of God, and to esteem reproach for Chrift's fake greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, having respect to the recompence of reward'; which is of grace, and not of works; and causes them to take joyfully the fpoiling of their goods, for the fake of Chrift, knowing that they have in heaven a better and an enduring fubftance'. Likewise, this glory is always the fame; the glory of this world paffes away, but the glory of the world to come never will: is it a crown of glory? it is a never-fading one; is it an inheritance? it is an inheritance that fadeth not away. When kingdoms, crowns and scepters are no more, and all that is great and glorious in this world, this will endure; for it is eternal glory, the God of all grace calls his people to, and will put them in the poffeffion of. This epithet is joined to all the images by which it is expreffed; Is it an house? it is eternal in the heavens; is it an inheritance? it is an eternal one; is it a city? it is what continues for ever; is it a kingdom? it is an everlasting one; it is a being for ever with the Lord, and which raises and aggrandizes the idea of it.

Thirdly, We may obtain fome further knowledge of the glory of heaven, by confidering what will be the enjoyment of the faints, both in the separate state of the foul before the resurrection, and in its conjunct state with the body after it. ft, In its feparate state before the refurrection. The foul of a faint as foon as separated from the body, as has been obferved, will be immediately with

• Rom. viii. 24, 25. Rom. viii. 18.

P Rom. viii. 18. Colofs. iii. 4. 1 John iii. 2.
• Heb. x. 34.

Heb. xi. 25, 26.

Chrift,

t1 Peter v. 10.

Christ, and happy; it will enter into, and enjoy the prefence of God and Chrift. And if the gracious prefence of God is fo defirable by his people now, that they choose not to go any where without it, but fay with Mofes, if thy prefence go not with me, carry us not up bence; if this gives more joy and gladness than the increase of all worldly enjoyments; what will the glorious presence of the Lord be, in which prefence is fulness of joy, and at whofe right hand are pleasures for evermore, not to be conceived of? If the presence of Chrift in his church is such as makes his tabernacles amiable, and a day in his courts better than a thousand elsewhere; if the enjoyment of him by his difciples at his transfiguration upon the mount, was fuch as caufed them to fay, it is good for us to be here"; how glorious and happy must it be, to be for ever with him in a state where there will be no more a separation from him, nor interruption of communion with him? for in this ftate the separate soul shall enjoy uninterrupted communion with Father, Son, and Spirit. If fellowship with the Father and with the Son caufes faints now to exult and glory when they enjoy it; and if the communion of the Holy Ghost is so desirable, and is prayed and wifhed for now, what will all this be in a state of perfection? If to fit with Chrift at his table, when our spikenard fends forth the fmell thereof, and to be brought into Chrift's banqueting house, where his banner over us is love, under which we fup with him, and he with us, are so exceeding delightful and entertaining now; what will it be to fit down with him at his table in his kingdom and glory! To which may be added, that there will be in this ftate not only communion with God, but conformity to him; faints will be like him, as well as see him: if every view of the glory of Chrift by faith is assimilating now, and changes into the fame image from glory to glory ; what will a full view of him, a clear fight of him, do? Then will the great end of predestination, to be conformed to the image of the Son of God', be compleatly answered with refpect to the foul; which in all its powers and faculties will bear a refemblance to Chrift, and be wholly fwallowed up in him; its understanding will have a clear and unbeclouded difcernment of him; the bias of the mind will be wholly towards him; the will will be entirely fubmitted to him; the affections will be in the strongest manner fet upon him, and things above; and the memory will be fully stored with divine and heavenly things; there will be nothing irregular and disagreeable in the foul in its motions, thoughts, and actions. Befides all this, there will be a converfe in this separate state with angels, and the fpirits of just men made perfect. How angels communicate their thoughts to, and converfe with each other, we know not; but no doubt they have ways and means by which they do, and in the fame way can communicate and converfe with the fouls of men, fpirits like themselves; and these alfo one with ano

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ther, which will be a confiderable branch of the happiness of this separate state : in which also there will be perfect knowledge in the foul; perfect knowledge of God in his attributes, perfons, and works, fo far as a creature is capable of; perfect knowledge of the Son of God in his person, offices, and grace; perfect knowledge of the bleffed Spirit; perfect knowledge of angels; perfect knowledge of one another, of which more hereafter; perfect knowledge of the providences of God, which have been intricate and obfcure here, but now will be manifeft; perfect knowledge of the doctrines of the gospel, of the mysteries of grace: now we know and prophesy but in part, but then fhall we know as we are known". There will be also perfect holiness; the foul will be entirely free from the being of fin, as well as from the guilt and pollution of it; it will be wholly delivered from the body of fin and death, under which it now groans, and be without spot, or blemish, or any fuch thing; no finful thought, no impure defire, nor any evil inclination or bias in it. And so there will be perfect peace of mind if perfect peace is given to fuch as believe now, much more hereafter the end of fuch will be peace; when they die they enter into it, even into the joy of their Lord", which will be full, everlasting, and without interruption.

2dly, At the refurrection there will be a glory upon the body, as well as upon the foul; a glory equal to that of the fun, moon, and ftars: the body, which is sown in the earth in corruption; a vile body, corrupted by fin, and now by death, and laid in corruption and dust, shall be raised in incorruptiono; no more to be corrupted by fin, or by diseases, or by death; this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, and death shall be swallowed up in victory; an entire conqueft being obtained over it: and what is fown in difhonour, and has loft all its beauty and glory, and become naufeous and fit only to be the companion of worms, fhall be raised in glory; in the utmost perfection, beauty, and comeliness, fashioned like to the glorious body of Chrift, and shine like the fun in the firmament of heaven: and what is fown in weakness, having loft all its ftrength, and carried by others to the grave, fhall be raised in power; ftrong and hale, able to fubfift without food, and to move itself from place to place, and will attend the service of God and the Lamb without weakness and weariness; there will be no more complaint of this kind, the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak: and what is sown a natural body, or an animal one, which while it lived was fupported with animal food, and when it died, died as animals do, fhall be raised a spiritual body; not turned into a spirit, for then it would not have flesh and bones, as it will have; but it will fubfift as spirits do, without food, and the like, and no more die; then it will be no incumbrance to the foul, as now, in fpiritual fervices, but aiding and affifting to it in them, and

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and be fitted for spiritual employments, and to converse with spiritual objects; and thus will it continue for ever. Wherefore,

3dly, In this conjunct ftate, when foul and body will be united together, there will be a fresh acceffion of glory to the whole man, and new enjoyments poffeffed, or the fame in a more large and fenfible manner. As,

1. There will be what is commonly called the beatific vifion; which though in part enjoyed before, will be now enlarged, and will be both intellectual and corporal, according to the diverfity of objects it will be concerned with.

(1.) There will be the vifion of God: now we walk by faith, then by fight; we shall fee his face in righteousness, yea face to face, and even fee him as he is1; not his effence and nature, fo as to comprehend it; but fhall have a clear and unbeclouded apprehenfion of his perfections and glory: we shall fee God in all his perfons; we shall see the Father of Chrift and ours, who loved us with an everlasting love; who chose and blessed us with all spiritual bleffings in his Son; who made a covenant with him, and us in him, ordered in all things and fure; who laid help on him the mighty One, and fent him in the fulness of time, to be our Redeemer and Saviour: we shall fee the Son of God himself, who became our furety, and is the Mediator between God and man; who affumed our nature, fuffered and died in our room and ftead; who rofe again, afcended to heaven, is set down at the right hand of God, and will judge the world in righteousness: we fhall fee the glory of his divine perfon, with the eyes of our understanding fully enlightened, and his glory as mediator, of which we have little knowledge now, only believe it, but then we shall have a clear understanding and difcernment of it; yea in our flesh fhall we see God, as Job fays', and with our corporal eyes behold the glory of Chrift's human body; we shall see that beautiful face that was once befmeared with fweat and blood, shine like the fun in its full ftrength; and thofe bleffed temples that were crowned with thorns, crowned with glory and honour; and him whose hands and feet were pierced with nails, and covered with gore blood, holding the fcepter of his kingdom, or walking in stately majefty, or fitting on his throne of glory: we fhall fee the bleffed Spirit, who convinced us of fin, righteousness, and judgment, and was our quickener and comforter; who led us into truth, and took of the things of Chrift and fhewed them to us; who witneffed to our spirits that we were the children of God, and often affifted us in our prayers to him; was the earnest of our inheritance, and by whom we were fealed unto the day of redemption: we fhall fee him who began, and carried on, and perfected the work of grace in us; and that with the greatest pleasure and thankfulness.

(2.) Saints will fee all the holy angels in their fhining forms, ranks, and orders; those thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers made by Chrift, and subject.

92 Cor. v. 7. Pfal. xvii. 15. 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 1 John iii. 2.

• Job xix. 26, 27.

ject to him: we shall see those sons of God, thofe morning-stars that fung together when the foundation of the earth was laid; thofe ten thousands of holy ones that made fuch a confiderable figure in the apparatus at mount Sinai, when from the Lord's right hand went a fiery law; that multitude of the heavenly hoft that defcended at Chrift's incarnation, and fung "glory to God in the highest, "on earth peace, and good-will to men;" that numerous company of them that attended our Lord at his afcenfion, and will be with him when he comes a fecond time to judge the world in righteousness: we fhall fee them bowing their heads whilst they adore the divine being, and celebrate the perfections of his nature, and clapping their wings whilft the heavenly arches refound their praises, and those of glorified faints.

(3.) The faints will fee and know one another in this perfect state. The question was asked Luther a little before his death, whether we should know one another in the other world? to which he answered, by obferving the cafe of Adam, who knew Eve to be flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone, whom he had never seen before. How did he know this, fays he? by the Spirit of God, by revelation; so added he, fhall we know parents, wives, children, in the other world, and that more perfectly. Befides, how did the apostles know Mofes and Elias on the mount with Chrift, whom they had never seen before, no not any statue, picture, or representation of them, which were not allowed among the Jews, but by revelation? fo the faints fhall know one another in heaven; how otherwise can thofe, whom gospel-minifters have been the inftruments of their converfion and edification, be their "joy and crown of rejoicing at the "last day?" And indeed it seems neceffary to the felicity of society to know one another; we are never quite free and easy in company, when a ftranger is in it we know not: and it will undoubtedly give a pleasure not to be expreffed, to fee and know those perfonages we then fhall. There we fhall fee the first man that was in the world, the head and reprefentative of all mankind, and the figure of him that was to come, with Eve the mother of all living; we shall see this happy pair in a more exalted station than when in a ftate of innocence in Eden's garden: there we fhall fee the firft martyr whofe blood was shed in the cause of religion, who by faith in the facrifice of Chrift, at that distance from it, offered a more excellent one than his brother: there we fhall fee the man that faw two worlds, the old world that then was, and the present world that now is; who built an ark for the faving of himself and family, when the world of the ungodly was fwept away with the deluge: there we fhall fee Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, with the reft of the patriarchs, both before and after the flood; and fit down with them in the kingdom of heaven: there we fhall fee Mofes the meekest of men, by whom the Lord did fuch wonders in the land of Ham, and

• Vid. Melchior. Adam, vit. Lutheri, p. 454.

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