THE framing a Discourse of Heaven , that Place of inexpressible Bliss and Happiness , the Portion of Holy and Righteous Persons to Eternity , is a Work fitter for an Angel , one of those Heavenly Courtiers , who have ever since their Creation , and for many Ages and Generations now past , been happy partakers of that blissful State ; than the lisping and stammering of any mortal Tongue : Sense here being the best Orator , and they fittest to describe Heaven unto others , who live in the fruition of it themselves . And indeed all Discourses of this nature , by poor frail Creatures , are rather a darkning and diminution of that Glory and Happiness , than an ample Illustration or Discovery what it is . And when the People of God shall come to the enjoyment thereof , they will soon find themselves wonderfully , but happily deceived by the most glorious Descriptions that ever were laid before them . What the Prophet saith in Hab. 3. where , after he had given us a short description of some of the glorious Excellencies and Perfections of God , he tells us in the 4th . Verse , His Brightness was as the Light ; that he had Horns coming out of his hands ; which usually are a signification of Strength and Might ; but says the Prophet , There was the hiding of his Power : As if he had said , Whatever Strength and Might God had thereby put forth , it was so far from manifesting the fulness and greatness thereof , that it was rather a Hiding , than a Revelation of his Power ; there being infinitely more Power in him , than was ever yet put forth by him . The like may truly be said concerning Heaven and its Glory and Excellency . Take all the Descriptions that since the Creation of the World have been made of the Glory and Happiness thereof , and put them all together , and we may say of them all , that they rather hide and eclipse the Glory of Heaven , than any way come near to a manifestation of the Fulness and Excellency thereof ; still is there infinitely more hid from us , than can possibly thereby be made known to us . Heaven is like God himself , an infinite Good and Happiness ; and so cannot be fully known or enjoyed by any who are but of finite Capacities and Understanding . And therefore after all that we have heard thereof from Men , or received from God himself , either by what he hath revealed to us in his Word , or secretly elapsed down immediately into our Souls by his Spirit ; yet what holy Job saith of God , we may say of the Heaven of God ; Oh how little a Portion of it is known ! And therefore those Words of St. Paul need not be looked upon with admiration , when he tells us , Phil. 1.23 . he desired to be dissolved , and to be with Christ ; that is , in Heaven , where God and Christ are known and enjoyed ; for that is it which makes Heaven so desirable ; yea , to be best of all , as the same Apostle speaks . For why should any think it strange , that the blessed Apostle , who had been wrapt up into the Third Heaven by extraordinary priviledge , as well as in an extraordinary manner , and there heard and saw so much of that Glory and Happiness that was there enjoyed , as that himself said was unutterable , that he should long after a fuller enjoyment of it ? Christians who profess their Hopes and Happiness is laid up in Heaven , should rather wonder at his willingness to abide here any longer in the Flesh . And certainly , had not Love ; yea , great Love to him , who had prepared and purchased so great and inexpressible a Happiness for him , wrought very powerfully in him ; it may seem almost impossible that Heaven and St. Paul should have been kept longer asunder , if any thing in him , or to be done or suffered by him , could have brought him thither sooner than his appointed time .

Great and glorious things doth the Scripture speak concerning Heaven , the Palace , or City rather of the great God ; but how great the Glory and Happiness of the Blessed shall there be , none are able now to express : The blessed Apostle therefore , in 2 Cor. 12.3 , 4. when he sets himself purposely to relate his Journey into the other World , all that he tells us of it , is only this , That there he heard those Words that were unspeakable ; and saw those Things that were not lawful , or not possible to be uttered . And other-where he tells us , Eye hath not seen , Ear hath not heard , neither is it possible for the heart of Man to conceive , what God hath prepared for them that love him . The Eye hath seen great and glorious . Things , and the Ear hath heard much greater ; but the Heart of Man is able to imagine much more than either of them : But whatever the Eye hath seen , or the Ear hath heard , or the Heart can imagine ; yet neither of them can reach to apprehend or conceive the great things that God hath prepared for them that love him Hence therefore it is that the same Apostle , 2 Cor. 4.17 . calls Heaven a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory The Happiness that a Believer attains to even on this side Glory , when he hath received an Earnest , or Beginning of Heaven in some glorious work of Sanctification upon his Soul , Oh how doth the Joy of the Knowledge and Assurance thereof pass all understanding ; as the same Apostle speaks , Phil. 4.7 . Who is able to utter the sweetness of that Peace of Conscience , and the spiritual Joy and Rejoycing of a Soul , on whom the Love of God is shed abroad by the Hory Ghost ! Such a ravishing , overcoming Joy and Delight flows in upon the Soul , as it cannot express ; no , nor sometimes is it able to bear up under it . And if there be so much sweetness in a Taste of Heaven , what is there then in a full enjoyment of Heaven . The Beloved Apostle St. John tells us , in 1 John 3.2 . It doth not yet appear what we shall be ; no , nor indeed can it appear now , for in our present state we are not able to bear it . Should but a little of the Glory of Heaven be revealed to us now , Oh how would it amaze and confound us ! That weight of Glory would be so great , that it would overwhelm us . We read in Exod. 34.34 . That when Moses had been conversing with God in the Mount , and came down to the People again , that his Face did so shine , that the Children of Israel could not behold him , until he put a Vail upon his Face . And did a a small Ray of the Glory of God reflected upon Moses's Face , shine so gloriously , that the Israe lites could not look upon him ? Oh what a dazling , confounding Brightness and Glory would Heaven it self break forth upon us with , if the Vail between us and it , were removed out of the way ; surely Flesh and Blood could not be able to bear it . When the same Moses therefore , in Exod 33.18 . besought God to shew him his Face , or , his Glory , which is all one ; what Answer doth God return him ? Not a positive Denial of his Request ; for he doth not say , I will not shew it thee : No , but he tells him , Thou canst not see my face and live . It is that thou canst not bear ; it is an Object too glorious for thee to behold : As if God had said , Moses , thou hast had some discoveries of my self unto thee ; and they have begotten farther desires in thee after more and greater manifestations thereof : What thou askest at my hands , is not a thing too great for me to bestow ; but it is too great for thee to receive : a happiness it is too great to be enjoyed in this Life ; and therefore though I do not , nor will not for ever deny thy Request , yet I must defer it till it may be a Happiness unto thee ; and that is , till thou come to Heaven , where thou shalt for ever see my face , and enjoy my Presence in as large and ample a manner as thou canst possibly desire ; but now thou canst not bear it ; for no man can see my face and live . And as no man can take in the Happiness of Heaven here , so no man can understand the greatness of it : So true are the Words of the Apostle , The things that God hath prepared for them that love him , are so many , and so great , that they cannot enter into the heart of man to conceive . The Psalmist therefore , upon this Consideration , cries out with Admiration , Psal. 31.19 . Oh how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee ; great it was , but how great he could not express . And thus truly must we do ; when we have said all we can concerning Heaven , we must sit down and admire the Greatness and Excellency of it ; but the Fulness , Riches and Glory of it , we shall never understand till we come for ever to enjoy it .

But though we cannot fully understand the Happiness of Heaven ; yet for the raising of the Hearts , and exciting and quickning the Affections and Desires of Christians towards it ; and that their pursuits after the obtaining of it , may be more diligent and servent , I shall endeavour to represent something of the Glory and Excellency of that Blessed State , that is to be enjoyed there , according to what God hath been pleased to discover to us thereof in his holy Word ; though still when all that hath or can be said , it is the Enjoyment of Heaven only that can make known to us what the Happiness of Heaven shall be .

But before I proceed unto a particular and distinct Explication of the Happiness of . Heaven , it will be necessary by some convincing Arguments to prove the Reality and Certainty of that Glory and Happiness that shall be enjoyed by the Godly there . Now this I shall demonstrate by these following Arguments .

First , From the infallible Promises of the Truth-speaking God . Now so many are the Promises scattered up and down in sacred Writ concerning the Certainty , Futurity , and Eternity of the Saints Happiness , that I cannot number them ; and surely Believers , who have by those Promises an everlasting Inheritance of Glory and Happiness conveyed to , and setled upon them as their Portion , cannot be supposed to be Strangers unto them ; upon the supposition whereof , I shall instance only in a few Fear not little Flock , says our Lord , for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you a Kingdom , Luke 12.33 . Blessed are the pure in heart , for they shall see God , Matt. 5.8 . My sheep hear my voice , and I give unto them eternal life , John 10.28 . This is his Promise that he hath given unto us , even eternal life , 1 John 2.25 . Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , who hath begotten us again unto a lively hope , by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead , to an inheritance incorruptible , undefiled , and that fadeth not away , reserved in Heaven for us , says the Apostle , 1 Pet. 1.3 , 4. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life that is in the midst of the Paradise of God , Rev. 2.7 . To him that overcometh , will I give to sit with me on my Throne , even a : I have overcome , and am set down with my Father on his Throne , Rev. 3.21 . Believers are the greatest Heirs in all the World ; for , as the Apostle speaks , They have the Promise of the Life that now is , and of that which is to come . And says the same Apostle , All things are yours , whether Paul , or Apollos , or Cephas , or Life , or Death , or things present , or things to come ; all is yours , and you are Christ's , and Christ is Gods , 1 Cor. 3.22 .

Secondly , The Certainty of a future state of Glory and Happiness , may be demonstrated from the great Undertaking of the Lord Jesus Christ . And indeed this was a Work fit for none but him to undertake ; for none else were able to accomplish it . Whatever worth or excellency there is either in all the Men on Earth , or in all the Saints , and Angels in Heaven should they have proffered to have done and suftered all that their Natures are capable of , to have purchased the Love and Favoun of God , to have been enjoyed , though but by one Soul , and that but for one moment of time in Heaven ; it would have been rejected and despised by God . But now the Death and Sufferings of Jesus Christ were of equal worth and value with Heaven , and the Enjoyment of God to eternity ; for his Blood was the Blood of God , and therefore the shedding of it deserved the Presence , Love and Favour of God to be bestowed upon Believers , as their Portion for ever . This Jesus Christ hath done , for this he hath both suffered and died ; and because he hath made a Purchase of these things with his Blood , Believers shall therefore enjoy them ; for Christ will not lose his Purchase , nor shall Believers therefore lose their Happiness . The bringing many Sons unto Glory , was the End which Christ designed in the laying down of his Life , and therefore he willingly submitted unto the Way by which he was to accomplish it ; and that was by his suffering Death ; and from hence therefore the People of God are said to obtain an inheritance among them that are sanctified by Faith in him .

Thirdly , Another Ground or Reason we have to believe a state of Glory and Happiness hereafter , may be taken from the Spirit's introductory or preparatory working in the Hearts of Believers here in this Life . By this now I mean , the Beginning of Grace wrought in the Soul ; for Grace and Glory are one and the same thing ; Grace is Glory , and Glory is Grace ; all the Difference between them , is only in the degree ; Grace is Glory begun , and Glory is Grace perfected . And when the Spirit of God works Grace in any Soul , he then gives the first Fruits , the Earnest , or Fore-taste of Glory . Grace therefore is sometimes called Glory in Scripture ; so we read , 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 unto Glory ; that is , from one degree and measure of Grace unto another . And Grace there is called Glory , because , when Grace is advanced unto its highest degree of perfection , it is Glory . Now where ever any receive the first fruits of Heaven in Grace and Holiness , they shall receive the full Harvest of Glory it self . Grace therefore is called the Spirit's forming , or fitting of the Soul for Glory . Hence the Apostie speaking of himself and others , as groaning and longing to be cloathed with their House which is frown Heaven , that Mortality might be swallowed up of Life . In 2 Cor. 5.3 , & 4. he adds in the 5th . verse , He that hath wrought us for the self same thing , is God ; who hath also given us the Earnest of the Spirit ; which , in Ephes. 1.14 . is called the Earnest of our inheritance , until the redemption of the purchased Possession . Where ever Grace is in truth , it is always in Growth , and it shall be in perfection : So saith the Apostle , Phil. 1.6 . He that hath begun a good work in you , will perform it unto the Day of Jesus Christ . Where the Spirit gives unto any the Nature and Disposition of the Children of God , he thereby gives them an undoubted Right and Title unto Heaven and Glory ; yea , such a Right and Title as shall never be lost or broken off : So saith the Apostle , Rom. 8.16 , 17. For the Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirits , that we are the Children of God ; and if Children , then Heirs , Heirs of God , and joint-Heirs with Jesus Christ ; and if we suffer with him , we shall also be glorified together .

Fourthly , and lastly , Imight argue the Certainty of a future state of Glory and Happiness , from the constant believing Hopes and Expectations ; yea , and Sufferings also of the Saints and People of God in all Ages . If Believers had hope only in this Life , they were then , as the Apostle speaks , of all men most miserable . But it is not so ; for their Hopes and Happiness lies in those things that are to be enjoyed beyond Time , even in Eternity . And hence it is , that they have such strong Consolation as bears up their Souls above all the Sufferings that they meet with in this present Life ; because they have fled for Refuge to lay hold on the Hope that is set before them , which Hope they have as an Anchor of the Soul , that is sure and stedfast , because it entreth into that within the Vail , Heb. 6.18 , 19. It is the Nature of the New Creature , where-ever it is , to cause the Soul to look upwards ; and hence it is that the People of God are said to be begotten again unto a lively hope of an Inheritance incorruptible , undefiled , and that fadeth not away , reserved in heaven for them , 1 Pet. 1.3 , 4. From this now springs great Joy and Consolation , and therefore upon this account it is that Believers are said to rejoyce in hopes of the Glory of God , Rom. 35.2 .

Should I now attempt to lay down a Description of Heaven , that Place of perfect Bliss and Happiness , I should prevent my self in what I intend to speak more fully and largely to afterwards : Only in the General , to excite and quicken our Desires and Affections after it , take this following short Sum of it .

Heaven is a Place where there is a total and everlasting exclusion of all that is evil and imperfect , and where there is a full perfection and perpetual enjoyment of all that is Good , and that in the largest latitude and extent of it . In Heaven there is nothing to afflict or torment ; but every thing that is satisfactory and delightful . There is nothing of Sin there , and therefore nothing of Sorrow . Saint in Heaven enjoy the best Company . There is the Great and Glorious God seen and known in all his glorious Excellencies and Perfections . There is the Blessed Lord Jesus Christ , the Lord of Life and Glory , exalted in our Nature , at the Right Hand of God ; through whose meritorious Undertakings we come to be presented unto God , and to stand in his Presence with Confidence and Joy , as having neither spot nor wrinkle , nor any such thing . There are the glorious Angels , the Cherubims and Seraphims , with all the glorified Saints and Servants of God , that have lived in all Ages of the World ; as , Patriarchs , Prophets and Apostles , who are always standing round about the Throne of God , crying , Alleiuja , Praise , Honour and Glory unto him that sitteth upon the Throne , and to the Lamb for evermore . In Heaven there is not only a perfect freedom from all Sin , but from all Inclinations ; yea , from all Temptations thereunto . Grace and Holiness are there in their Fulness , in their Perfection and Glory . There it is that this corruptible shall put on incorruption , and this mortal shall put on Immortality . There it is that these vile Bodies of ours shall be made like unto the glorious Body of Jesus Christ . There it is that these Souls of ours shall be enlarged in their utmost Capacities and Desires , and yet filled and satisfied to the utmost also . There it is that there is fulness of Joy , excellency of Glory , with an Eternity of Enjoyment of both . This now is the Building of God , that House not made with hands , eternal in the Heavens , 2 Cor. 5.1 . This is that Kingdom that is to be inherited by the People of God , prepared for them from the foundation of the World , Matth. 25.46 . This is that City that hath Foundations , whose Builder and Maker is God , Heb. 11.10 . The Streets whereof are paved with Gold , and the Gates whereof are Pearl , Rev. 21.21 . In which there is no Temple ; for the Lord God Almighty , and the Lamb , are the Temple of it . Where there is no more Night no more Candle , nor any need of the Sun , or of the Moon to shine in it ; for the Lord God giveth them Light , and they shall reign for ever and ever , Rev. 22.5 . This now is Heaven , and much more than all this ; for when we have spent all our Days and Time in Hearing , in Reading , in Discoursing , in Meditating upon Heaven , and upon nothing else ; yet after we have done all we can , said all we can , thought all we can ; yet can we never set forth the Thousandth Part of that Happiness that is to be enjoyed in Heaven ; for it is that which is beyond expression , beyond imagination ; but blessed be God , it is not beyond enjoyment ; for the having and possessing of these things in their Fulness , in their Perfection , and in their Perpetuity , is that , which , as it makes the Happiness of Heaven so excellent and glorious , so doth it make it also so desirable to be enjoyed .