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2. The fecond part of it is likeness, which follows upon the former; "We fhall be like him, for we fhall fee him as he is," 1 John iii. 2. This is the native fruit of beholding Chrift, to be thereby brought to conformity to him, 2 Cor. iii. 18.

3. The third part of it is love: this follows upon the former. Likenefs breeds love, even upon earth: then will the faints be made perfect in love, 1 John iv. 18. O what flames of love will burn in heaven! Every faint will be a flame.

4. The fourth part of it is satisfaction, which proceeds from the reft; Pfalm xvii. 15. "I will behold thy face in righteoufnefs; when I awake, I fhall be fatisfied with thy likenefs."--All this is begun on earth in the heirs of glory. The brighter view a believer gets of Christ, the more likenefs; the more likenefs, the more love; and the more love, the more fatisfaction. But, O when there fhall be perfect feeing, there will be perfect likenefs; when perfect likenefs, perfect love; and when perfect love, perfect fatisfaction and joy : "Then the ranfomed of the Lord fhall return, and come unto Zion with fongs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they fhall obtain joy and gladnefs, and forrow and fighing fhall flee away," Ifa. xxxv. 10.

4thly, We might confider this heavenly Canaan in its properties. It is another fort of inheritance than the earthly Canaan.

1. It is a glorious inheritance: it is glory itfelf; yea, an exceeding great and eternal weight of glory, 2 Cor. iv. 17. God, who is every-where prefent, is there glorioufly. To make a weak allufion: The fun in the firmament, is in this or that place, by his rays and beams; but in the firmament, in a glorious manner: fo God is here on earth, in his grace, and the rays of his countenance; but in heaven, in a glorious way. O Sirs, there the faints are, indeed, all glorious within, and without both; their bodies glorious, like unto Chrift's glorious body, when once they are raised; their fouls glorious, because perfect in holiness.

2. It is an heavenly inheritance; therefore called a heavenly kingdom, as I faid, in oppofition to earthly

kingdoms. There the great King is heavenly, the fubjects are heavenly, the work is heavenly, the reward heavenly, the company heavenly, the converse heavenly, all heavenly.

3. It is a purchased and promifed inheritance; called a purchased poffeffion, Eph. i. 14. The crown is purchafed, the throne purchased, the robes purchased, and all purchased by the blood of the Lamb; which makes them fing that melodious fong, Worthy is the Lamb that was flain. And as it is purchased, fo it is promised in Chrift before the world began, 2 Tim. i. 9. and Titus i. 2. The earthly Canaan was a promifed land; they had it by promife made to Abraham firft, and in him to them: fo is heaven promised to Christ, and in him to all the fpiritual Ifrael.

4. It is an eternal inheritance; 1 Pet. i. 4. "An inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." The earthly Canaan was but temporary, fubject to be laid defolate for the fins of the inhabitants thereof; and accordingly it was laid wafte, and remains fo to this day but the heavenly Canaan is an inheritance that is not liable to corruption nor defilement, and therefore it fades not away. It cannot, like the former, be infefted with enemies or ill neighbours, nor with any plague or malady: The inhabitants of that land shall not fay, I am fick. It is a place of perfect health, without any ficknefs; and a happy immortality, without any death, or fear of death: a bleft eternity; for, when thousands, thoufands, thoufands of years are gone, their happiness is but beginning. Earthly kingdoms fade, and this world's monarchs die; but, in that everlasting kingdom, death is fwallowed up in victory. If it were to have an end after millions of years, it were enough to make them live in perplexity and trouble; but it is eternal and everlafting. There is a fhort defcription, from the word, of that heavenly Canaan.

III. The third thing is, To fhow what nations of enemies and oppofitions are in the way to this heavenly Zion. See how many and mighty nations. ftood in the way of Ifrael's poffeffing the earthly Canaan, verfe first

of

of this chapter where our text lies: Seven nations, greater and mightier than they. And after they came to that land of promife, fome of thefe nations were füffered to dwell among them, particularly the Jebufites, that were prickles in their eyes, and thorns in their fides. And, in procefs of time, God ftirred up cther nations against them, for just and holy causes; as the Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites, that coafted near their dwelling; befides the Affyrians and Babylonians, from remoter countries, that led them captive. And, befides outward enemies and foreign invafions, they were not a little vexed and difquieted with civil and intestine diffentions: there was Saul's houfe against David's, and David's againft Saul's; Ifrael against Judah, and Judah against Ifrael; Manaffes against Ephraim, and Ephraim againft Manaffes: nations thus both without and within, and enemies on every fide. Now, in like manner, there are great and mighty nations that oppose the true Ifrael of God in their way to the heavenly Canaan above, and that hinder their peaceable poffeffion of any part of heaven that, through grace, they poffefs on earth. In allufion, therefore, to the feven nations here, that God caft out before Ifrael of old; I fhall fhow seven of these nations of fpiritual enemies and oppofitions that are in the way to the heavenly Canaan, and that disturb the Ifrael of God in any begun poffeffion that they may have here, through grace.

I only premife, that as, in an outward fenfe, all nations of the earth proceed from one root and original, namely, the first man Adam; fo, in a spiritual fenfe, moft part of all the nations that oppofe our happiness do fpring from one root; and the grand root is original fin, and natural corruption: here is the great commander, that leads forth multitudes of nations of actual oppofitions against God, and the Ifrael of God, that are bound for the heavenly Canaan. A body of fin and death is the fertile womb that brings forth fwarms in one day; yea, there, as it were, whole nations are born at once. But more particularly, there are these seven nations that oppofe and vex the Ifrael of God in their way to Canaan.

1. A nation of vain thoughts. We are by nature vain

395 in our imaginations, Rom. i. 21.: and thefe vain thoughts lodge within the walls of Jerufalem; "O Jerufalem, wath thine heart from wickednefs; how long fhall vain thoughts lodge within thee?" Jer. iv. 14. Thefe nations lodge within, take bed and board with you, and eat up the very fap of your fouls; therefore, when David fays, Pfal. cxix. 113. I bate vain thoughts, he expreffes them with a word that fignifies the Sprig and branch that grows in a tree, which draws the fap cut of it, and makes it fruitlefs. Do you not find a nation of this fort fwarming about your heart every day, and every hour of the day? Yea, I am miftaken if thefe Philiftines have not been upon you, and if thefe nations have not been befetting you, and befieging your fouls in time of hearing, praying, communicating at this occafion; and, I imagine, they who are exercifed and bound for heaven, will find a need of almighty power, to put out this nation before them, though there were no more. And, indeed, these vain thoughts are like the flying pofts to the reft of the nations that may be named. But then,

2. There is a nation of worldly cares, which Chrift compares to briars and thorns, that choke the feed of the word, Mark iv.9. and Luke viii. 14. This nation goes under the name of Frugality; but, if you look narrowly to its armour, you will find the motto thereof to be, "Careful about many things, but neglecting the one thing neceffary:" and yet this is fuch a powerful nation, that many people are fubdued by it, fo as they can do nothing but mind earthly things, and fo lofe heaven, and come fhort of falvation; yea, fuch is the power of this nation even over the Ifrael of God, that he is obliged, in a manner, to fmite them, and extirpate the world out of their heart with a rod of correction; "For the iniquity of his covetoufnefs was I wroth, and fmote him," Ifa. Ivii. 17.: yea, the rod of God will not do it, till the grace of God efficacioufly be exerted; "I hid me, and was wroth; and yet he went on frowardly in the way of his heart:" but fovereign powerful grace fteps in; "I have feen his ways, and will heal him."

3. There is a nation of doubts and fears, and finful difcouragements, and unbelieving objections, Pf. xlii. 6, 7.

The

The foul is overfet and overwhelmed oft-times with them. They may well be compared unto a nation; they are fo many, that no fooner does a minifter begin to answer objections, but the unbelieving heart will raife a thoufand more; and fo mighty, that there is no fubduing of them, till Chrift himself rebuke them, as he did the raging waves of the fea, with a word of power, and so create a calm in the foul. This is a nation that rages, like the heathen fpoken of, Pfal. ii. and imagines many vain things against the Lord, and his Anointed; but the Lord ftills the rage with the rod of his ftrength, that he fends out of Zion, when he makes a people willing in the day of his power. He anfwers the doubts and objections of unbelief, and ftills the fears and difcouragements of his people, either by a word of power let into the heart, fuch as that, "Fear not, it is I; be not afraid: Othou of little faith, wherefore didft thou doubt?" Or by a breathing of his Spirit, accompanying a word that is fpoken to the ear.

4. There is a nation of ungodly men from without, that alfo vex and oppofe the Ifrael of God in their way to the heavenly Canaan; "Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation," Pfal. xliii. 1. This is a nation that many times fupprefs and bears down the work of God in the foul. The company and influence of the ungodly, that mock at religion, and laugh at facred things, is a great let and impediment to the falvation of a foul. And as it was with Ifrael of old, fo it is with the church in all ages; fhe is never without enemies that annoy her: there are four forts of ungodly men, that the church of God generally complain of; the tyrant, the Atheist, the heretic, and the hypocrite: fome of these would fubvert, and others pervert her. The tyrant, by heart-hatred and open perfecution; the Atheist, by profanity of life; the heretic, by corruption of doctrine; and the hypocrite, by pretences of holiness. These nations of ungodly men do oppofe the Ifrael of God, partly by force, and partly by fraud: and, indeed, the fecret enemies are ufually the moft dangerous of the two; they that ufe fraud, more dangerous than thefe that ufe force: for thefe, being feen and known,

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