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the defcription feem to me to favour thofe moft, who point us to the other world for it.) The faints fhall reign in that city, whofe wall is of jafper, (ver. 16.) and the foundations of the wall garnished with all manner of precious stones, (ver. 19.) and the streets of pure gold, (ver. 2.) fo that their feet fhall be fet on that, which the men of this world fet their hearts upon. This is the city God hath prepared for them, Heb. xi. 16. A city that hath foundations, (ver. 10) A continuing city, (chap. xiii. 14.) which fhall ftand and flourish, when all the cities of the world are laid in afhes; and which thall not be moved, when the foundations of the world are overturned." It is a city that never changeth its inhabitantst none of them fhall ever be removed out of it: for lite and immortality reign there, and no death can enter into it. It is bleffed with a perfect and perpetual peace, and can never be in the leaft difturbed. Nothing from without can annoy it; the gates therefore are not fout at all by day, and there is no night there, Rev. xxi. 25. There can nothing from within trouble it. No want of provifion there; no fcarcity no difcord amongst the inhabitants. Whatever contentions are amongst the faints now; no veftige of their former jarrings fhall remain there. Love to God, and to one another, fhall be perfected: and thefe of them, who ftood at greater diftance here, will joyfully embrace and delight in one another there.

V. The royal palace is Chrift's Father's houfe, in which are many manfions, John xiv. 2. There hall the faints dwell for ever. That is the house prepared for all the heirs of glory, even thefe of them who dwell in the meaneft cottage now, or have not where to lay their heads. As our Lord calls his faints to a kingdom, he will provide them a houfe fuitable to the dignity he puts upon them. Heaven will be a convenient, fpacious,, and glorious houfe, for thofe whom the King delighteth to honour. Never was a house purchaled, at fo dear a rate as this, being the purchase of the Me. diator's blood; and np lefs could it be afforded for to them: never was there fo much ado, to fit inhabitants for a house. The faints were, by nature, utterly unfit for this houfe, and human art and industry could not make them meet for it. But the Father gives the defigned inhabitants to his Son, to be by him redeemed: the Son pays the price of their redemption, even his own precious blood; that, with the allowance of juftice, they may have access to the houfe: and the holy Spirit fanétifies them by his grace; that they may be meet to come in thither, where no unclean thing can enter. And no marvel, for it is the King's palace, they enter into, (Pfal. xlv. 15.) The houfe of the kingdom, where the great King keeps his court, where he has his throne, and fhews forth his glory, in a fingular manner beyond what mortals can conceive."

VI. Paradife is their Palace-garden. This day shalt thou be with me in paradife, faid our Saviour to the penitent thief on the crofs, Luke xxii. 43 Heaven is paradife for pleafure and delight,

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where there is both wood and water; "A pure river, of water "of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, "and of the Lamb; and of either file of the river, the tree of "life, which bears twelve manner of fruits, and yields her fruit "every month," Rev. xxii, 2. How happy might innocent Adam have been in the earthly paradife, where there was nothing wanting for neceffity, nor delight! Eden was the moft pleasant spot of the uncorrupted earth, and paradife the moft pleasant spot of Eden; but what is earth in comparison of heaven? The glorified faints are advanced to the heavenly paradife. There they shall not only fee, but eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradife of God, Rev. ii. 7. They fhall behold the Mediator's glory, and be fatisfied with his goodnefs. No flaming fword will be there, to keep the way of that tree of life; but they fhall freely eat of it, and live for ever. And they fhall drink of the river of pleafures, (Pfal. xxxvi. 8.) thefe fweetest and pureft pleafures, the which Immanual's land doth afford; and fhall fwim in an ocean of unmixed delight for

evermore.

VII. They fhall have royal treasures, fufficient to fupport the dignity they are advanced unto. Since the ftreet of the royal city is pure gold, and the twelve gates thereof are twelve pearls; their treasure must be of that which is better than gold or pearl. It is an eternal weight of glory, 2 Cor. iv. 17. O precious treasure! a treafure not liable to infenfible corruption, by moths or ruft; a treasure which none can feel from them, Matth. vi. 20. Never did any kingdom afford fuch a precious treafure, nor a treasure of fuch variety: for he that overcometh fhall inherit all things, Rev. xxi. 7. No treasures on earth are ftored with all things: if they were all put together in one, there would be far more valuable things wanting in that one, than found in it. This then is the peculiar treafure of thefe kings, who inherit the kingdom of heaven. They thall want nothing, that may contribute to their full fatisfaction. Now they are rich in hope: but then they will have their riches in hand, Now all things are theirs in respect of right: then all fhall be theirs in poffeffion. They may go for ever through Immanuel's land, and behold the glory and riches thereof, with the fatisfying thought, that all they fee is their own. It is pity thefe fhould ever be uneafy under the want of earthly good things, who may be fure, they fhall inherit all things at length.

VIII Albiet there is no (material) temple therein, no mediate ferving of God in the ufe of ordinances, as here on earth; yet, as for this kingdom, "The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the

temple of it," Rev. xxi. 22. As the temple was the glory of Canaan, fo will the celeit al temple be the glory of heaven. The faints, fhall be brought in thither as a Royal priesthood, to dwell in the house of the Lord for ever; for Jefus Chrift will then make every faint a pillar in the temple of God, and he fall go no more

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66 out," (Rev.iii. 12.) as the Priests and Levites did, in their courfes, go out of the material temple. There the faints fhall have the cloud of glory, the divine prefence, with most intimate, uninterrupted communion with God; there they fhall have Jefus Chrift as the true ark, wherein the fiery law fhall be for ever hid from their eyes; and the mercy-feat, from which nothing fhall be breath'ed, but everlasting peace and good-will towards them: the cherubims, the fociety of holy angels, who shall join with them in eternal admiration of the mystery of Chrift: the golden candlestick, with its feven lamps, for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof, Rev. xxi. 23. The incenfe-altar, in the interceffion of Chrift, who ever liveth to make interceffion for them, (Heb. vii. 25.) eternally exhibiting the merits of his death and fufferings, and efficaciously willing for ever, that thefe, whom the Father hath given him, be with him and the fhew-bread table, in the perpetual feaft, they fhall have together, in the enjoyment of God. This leads me more particularly to confider,

IX. The Society in this kingdom. What would royal power and authority, enfigns of royalty, richeft treasures, and all other advantages of a kingdom, avail without comfortable fociety? Some crowned heads have had but a forry life through the want of it: their palaces have been but unto them as prifons, and their badges of honour as chains on a prifoner: while hated of all, they had none they could truft in, or whom they could have comfortable fellowship with. But the chief part of heaven's happiness lies in the blefied fociety the faints shall have there. For clearing of which, confider these few things:

:

First, The fociety of the faints, among themselves, will be no fmall part of heaven's happinefs. The communion of faints on earth is highly prized by all thefe who are travelling through the world unto Zion; and companions in fin can never have fuch true pleafure and delight in one another, as fometime the Lord's people have in praying together, and converfing about these things which the world is a franger to. Here the faints are but few in company, at belt: and some of them are fo pofted, as they seem to theinfelves to dwell alone having no access to fuch, as they could freely unbofom themselves to, in the matter of their fpiritual cafe. They figh and fay, "Wois me, for I am as when they have gathered the "fummer fruits-there is no cluster to eat-the good man is peri❝shed out of the earth," Mic. vii. 1, 2. But in the general affembly of the firft-born in heaven, none of all the faints, who ever were, or will be on the earth, fhall be miffing. They will be all of them together in one place, all poffefs one kingdom, and all fit down together to the marriage-fupper of the Lamb. Here the beft of the faints want not their finful imperfections, making their fociety lefs comfortable: but there they fhall be perfect, without spot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing, Eph. v, 27. And all natural, as well as finful im

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priefts. This feems to be alluded to, Rev. iii. 5. "He that over"cometh-the faints fhall be clothed in white raiment, and I will "not blot out his name out of the book of life." So the faints hall not be kings only, but priefts withal; for they are a Royal Priesthood, 1 Pet ii. 9. They will be priests upon their thrones. They are judicially found defcended from the great High-Prieft of their profeflion, begotten of him by his Spirit, of the incorruptible feed of the word, and without blemish: fo the trial being over, they are admitted to be priests in the temple above, that they may dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. There is nothing upon earth more glorious than a kingdom, nothing more venerable than the priesthood: and both meet together in the glorified state of the faints. The general affembly of the firft-born, (Heb. xii. 23.) whose is the priesthood and the doubl- portion, appearing in their white robes of glory, will be a reverend and glori ous company. That day will fhew them to be the perfons, whom the Lord has chofen out of all the tribes of the earth, to be near unto him, and to enter into his temple, even into his holy place. Their priesthood, begun on earth, fhall be brought to its perfection, while they fhall be employed in offering the facrifice of praife to God and the Lamb, for ever and ever. They got not their portion, in the earth, with the reft of the tribes: but the Lord himself was their portion, and will be their double portion, through the ages of eternity.

Fourthly, They were wont to wear white raiment, in a time of triumph; to the which alfo there feems to be an allufion, Rev. iii. 5.. "He that overcometh, the fame fhall be clothed in white raiment." And what is heaven but an everlasting triumph! None get thither, but fuch as fight, and overcome too. Though Canaan was given to the Ifraelites, an inheritance: they behoved to conquer it, ere they could be poffeffors of it. The faints, in this world, are in the field of battle; often in red garments, garments rolled in blood: but the day approacheth, in which they fhall ftand before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, (Rev. vii. 9.) having obtained a compleat victory over all their enemies. The palm was used as a fign of victory; because that tree, oppreffed with weights, yieldeth not, but rather fhooteth upwards. And palm-trees, were carved on the doors of the most holy place, (1 Kings vi. 32.) which was a fpecial type of heaven; for heaven is the place, which the faints are received into, as conquerors.

Behold the joy and peace of the faints in their white robes. The joys arifing from the view of paft dangers, and of riches and honours gained at the very door of death, do moft,fenfibly touch one's heart; and this will be an ingredient in the everlafting happiness of the faints, which could have had no place, in the heaven of innocent Adam, and his finlefs offspring, fuppofing him to have flood. Surely the glorified faints will not forget the entertainment they met with in the world a it will be for the glory of God to remember it, and alfo for the heightening of their joy. The Sicilian king, by birth the son of a potter,

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fong of the heavenly hot, when Chrift was born: but thrice happy they, who fhall join their voices with theirs, in the choir of faints and angels in heaven, when he fhall be, glorified in all, who fhall be about him there. Then fhall we be brought acquainted with the bleffed fpirits, who never finned. How bright will thefe morning-tars fhine in the holy place! they were miniftring fpirits to the heirs of Talvation, loved them for their Lord and Mafter's fake; encamped round about them, to preserve them from danger; how joyfully will they welcome them to their everlasting habitations; and rejoice to fee them come at length to their kingdom, as the tutor doth in the profperity of his pupils! The faints fhall be no more afraid of them, as fometime they were wont to be: they fhall then have put off mortality, and infirmides of the flesh, and be themfelves, as the angels of God, fit to entertain communion and fellowship with thefe fhining ones. And both being brought under one head, the Lord Jefus Chrift; they fhall join in the praifes of God, and of the Lamb, faying, with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was flain, &c. Rev. v. 11, 12. Whether the angels fhall (as fome think) affume airy bodies, that they may be feen by the bodily eyes of the faints, and be in nearer capacity to converfe with them, I know not: but as they want not ways of converfe amongst themselves, we have reason to think, that converfation, betwixt them and the faints, fhall not be for ever blocked up.

Laftly, They fhall have fociety with the Lord himself in heaven, glorious communion with God and Chrift, which is the perfection of happiness. I chufe to fpeak of communion with God, and the man Chrift together; becaufe as we derive out grace from the Lamb, fo we will derive our glory from him too; the man Chrift being (if I may be allowed the expreffion) the centre of the divine glory in heaven, from whence it is diffufed unto all the faints. This feems to be taught us by these scriptures, which exprefs heaven's happiness by being with Chrift, Luke xxiii. 43. This day fhalt thou be with me in paradife, John xxvii. 24. Father I will that thefe alfo, whom thou haft given me, be with me. (And remarkable to this purpofe is what follows, that they may behold ray glory.) 1' Theff. iv. 17. So fhall we ever be with the Lord, to wit, the Lord Chrift, whom we fall meet in the air. This alfo feems to be the import of thefe fcriptures, wherein God and the Lamb, the flain Saviour, are jointly fpoken of, in the point of the happiness of the faints in heaven, Rev. vii. 17. "For the Lamb which is in the midft "of the throne, fall feed them, and fhall lead them unto living foun"tains of waters: and God fhall wipe away all tears from their eyes," Chap.xxi.3. "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will

dwell with them," to wit, as in a tabernacle, (fo the word fignifies) that is, in the flesh of Chrift, (compare John i. 14 and ver. 22.) "The Lord God Almighty, and the Lanb are the temple of it." Here lies the chief happiness of the faints in heaven, that without which they could never be happy, though lodged in that glorious

place,

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