all their afflictions and sufferings; but they have never tasted of the powers of the life to come, they have never had any assurance of future glory and happiness. The spiritual joys, and celestial comforts, God keeps for them that fear hin, and worship him in spirit and in truth.— These precious riches, and divine excellencies, are only discoverable to the faithful, chiefly since the time in which Christ our Saviour hath brought life and immortality to light, through the gospel. Hitherto I have given you a short survey of the calamities that attend upon us in this mortal state. I have essayed to present to you all the comforts that we may gather from thence, to strengthen a believing soul, and enable it to withstand and endure all the encounters with which it is assaulted in this valley of tears. At present I intend to describe its future happiness, when it is separated from the body, and introduced into heaven. I shall as far as I am able, discover to you that glory and bliss which our souls enjoy, in expectation of the great morn of the resurrection. You must not think to see here any perfect image of our celestial paradise, or any magnificent draught of the advantages reserved for us there. It would be as difficult a task as to paint the sun in its splendour, or to measure the waters of the sea. I cannot find words to express my thoughts; all my conceptions are far below a happiness so perfect, and a glory so sublime. I shall think that I have done enough, if I can but represent to you some few beams of so great a light, if I can but show some drops of that ocean of heavenly pleasures, in which we shall swim for all eternity.

I shall not deliver any thing from my own fancy, nor offer to speak of that which I have never learned from the great doctor of our souls. I shall not engage my

self in vain speculations, more fit to please and puff up the curious wits, than to comfort and rejoice the devout souls, or satisfy such as hunger and thirst after righteousness. One word from the mouth of the Lord, is better, and far more worth than all the reasonings of human wisdom, than all the subtilties of philosophy, than all the arguings and conclusions of the most refined and eloquent sages. In this description I shall not seek mine own glory, nor the applause of the world, but the glory of my God, and the instruction of souls which he hath purchased with his blood. I desire to be understood of the weakest capacities as well as of the learned. I hope that such as know the language of Canaan, such as have tasted of the good word of God, and of the powers of the life to come, will not mistake me. For others who have not been accustomed to the relish of spiritual things, to whom the language of God's Holy Spirit is insipid and unsufferable; if they are not moved nor benefitted by this treatise, I dare say it is none of my fault, but theirs.— Therefore, as the wise men, when they travelled to Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ was lying in a manger, took the star of the east for their guide; so we who are marching to our true Bethlehem, where our great God and Saviour is sitting upon the throne of his glory, will follow no other guidance, but that divine light which comes down from heaven. And as it is impossible to number all the stars that shine in the heavens, for which reason we reduce them to certain figures and constellations; thus we will not undertake to show you every particular of our private meditations, upon this rich and divine subject; but we will discourse to you of the chief heads, leaving the rest to your pious thoughts, and the information of God's Holy Spirit.

Whosoever thou art that hast embraced Christ, dead and crucified, by faith and repentance, and knowest thyself united to him, and incorporated into his mystical body. remember to praise this merciful Lord, and rejoice in his salvation. Learn to admire the super-excellent riches of the treasures of his grace, and seriously consider how magnificent and liberal he is to thee. For he intends not only to deliver thee from all the sufferings and calamities that afflict thee, but he will also raise thee up to the highest and most transcendent felicity. He will not only draw thee out of the deep abyss of death, and eternal damnation, but he will take thee up to the enjoyment of the most blessed life and immortal glory. He will not only remove thee from this wretched wilderness, where thou art tormented with hunger and thirst, and exposed to the scorching heat of a burning sun, in poisonous bitings of the fiery serpents, but he will introduce thee to the celestial Canaan, where the milk and honey of the purest joys, and most solid comforts flow in abundance, and where thou shalt for ever repose thyself, under the refreshing shadow of the tree of life. He will not only deliver thee from the captivity of this miserable world, which is a true Babylon, full of all manner of abominations; but he will lead thee into his holy Jerusalem, and carry thee thither upon his arms; not with an intent that thou should build and repair it with cost and labour, that thou shouldst behold the glorious and magnificent structures, reared up by him alone from the creation of the world, and that thou mayest be eternally satisfied with his overflowing plenty. He will not only pluck off from thee the filthy rags of sin and corruption, but he will clothe thee with a garment of light, of perfect righteousness and holiness.

He will not only wipe away all tears from thine eyes, but he will put into thy mouth songs of praise and thanksgiving. He will not only break the fetters from thy feet, but he will place upon thy head a crown of pure gold. He will not only draw thee out of a black and noisome dungeon, but he will place thee upon a throne of glory and magnificence. He will not only extinguish all the carnal lusts that war against thee, and put an end to all thy troublesome combats, but he calls thee to the fruition of eternal peace and celestial triumph. In short, God will not only separate thee from the acquaintance of sinful and debauched men, but he will cause thee to enter in amongst the thousands of angels, and admit thee to the vision of his glorious face.

When a compounded thing comes to be dissolved, every part returns to its first principle: Thus, when man dies, his body returns to dust, from whence it is taken, and the soul returns to God that gave it. As the bird, when its cage is broken, flies away into the air, to seek its liberty and pleasure; thus when this body is broken to pieces by death, the soul flies above the heavens, where it meets with rest and happiness: Or, as it is when the net is torn, the fish falls into the water, where it lives, and enjoys all its delights; so when death comes to break the strings of this wretched body, the soul enters into the river of living water, and into an ocean of heavenly delights: Finally, as the death of our Saviour Christ rent in pieces the veil of the earthly sanctuary, and discovered all its wonderful mysteries; thus the death of a believer rends the veil of this infirm and sinful flesh, and gives us a sight of the rich treasures and magnificent excellencies of the heavenly sanctuary. You christians whom God calls to his glorious rest, who may

express the greatness of your future happiness? It is impossible to form a right idea of it. When your whole lives should have been nothing else but a continuation of misery, and a chain of calamities; you have now just cause to comfort yourselves, and rejoice in God with unspeakable joy. For when all things are reckoned up, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. You can lose nothing in this life, but God will restore it to you an hundred times more in his kingdom; besides, there is no comparison between the advantages of the life to come, and of this mortal state of being. Grieve not, believing souls, to forsake an earth overspread with darkness, full of misery, and all infected with sin, since thy God proposeth to receive thee into new heavens, all enlightened with a divine light, and enriched with endless felicities, where righteousness and holiness sit upon the throne. Grieve not for thy separation from the most pious and regenerated societies, since thou art to be admitted into the companies of the glorified saints, and blessed martyrs who have washed and whitened their garments in the sacred blood of the Lamb; since thou art from henceforth to be reckoned in the number, and of the society, of the angels of light, and of the glorious cherubims. Fret not to leave behind thee the holy congregations of the militant church, for thou art going apaceto the glorious congregation of the church triumphing; and in a few moments thou shalt find thyself amongst the thousands of angels and saints that worship God day and night, and adore him who lives for ever. If God hath bestowed upon thee worldly riches, leave them without regret or displeasure; for thou art going to possess inestimable treasures, which shall never be taken