There's a house, God's dwelling-place: our Sa viour calls it, his Father's houfe: the court and refort of the eternal heavenly King. For royal state, O how far furpaffing all the moft fplendid palaces of princes! a houfe as large as the whole heavens: in which are many manfions and apartments: though no eating, drinking, fleeping, or troublefome watching: yet ftill all the pleasure of feafting, without any the hurt or pains: the sweeteft repofe, without dofing: and perpetual feeing, and enjoying the King of heaven, with all raptures of rejoicing and triumph.

There's a paradife of delights: the garden of God; feated and fitted all for pleasure: his own plan and preparation; to entertain and surprise his beloved. And O what cannot the creating power of God do; to exceed all that ever can be modelled or fancied in the world! now what is this paradife, my foul, but the joy of our Lord, which will pleasure us wholly; and that every way, both in foul and body? there fhalt thou be pleasured in thy understanding, will, and memory. Thy mind fhall fee him face to face; whom no man here hath feen, or can fee. Then fhalt thou be fortified for it; and take a delight, more than can be told, in it: to fee the most amiable glorious God; and in him, all that ever thou canft defire to behold. The whole world, and infinitely more than it contains, will there be the theatre, lying open to thy view: and thou fhalt know nothing to fadden thee; but every thing, that may contribute to please thee. Thy will (that now reftlefs, and infatiable faculty) fhall there be fatisfied, if love will please thee, if innocence will make thee eafy, and if fatisfaction itself will content thee. For there will be nothing but reciprocation of deareft love, between thee and thy God, and all the bleffed. There will be innocence, without fpot or blemish; and nothing that thy

heart

heart can condemn thee for. But thou wilt be extremely pleased, to find, that thou art in all refpects, as thou fhouldeft be; and that God himself takes pleasure in thee, and has nothing against thee. Thy memory will give no fmall addition to the joy: to record the history of all God's mercies and favours throughout thy life; the dangers thou haft got over; the hell thou haft efcaped; the changes thou haft feen; the ftrange turns of Providence, that puzzled thee; and now to fee the meaning and reasons of all! what a pleasure all this will give thee, thou must wait, even for a whole eternity to teach thee.

Nor fhall the body go without its share in the pleasures of this paradife: but be glorious and immortal, vivacious, fprightly, and always eafy; yea, experience a sweeter pleasure every moment, than ever it did in any feftivity, or the moft exalted fruitions of this life. There fhall the eyes fee that incarnate Saviour (above all the angels of God) to whom Solomon, in all his glory, would make but a very dull figure: and together with him, all that have been excellent in the earth, and (indeed) the worthies of the world; the glorified faints, illuftrious, as fo many glorious funs; and that infinite variety of beauties and wonders, which fuch a place, and fuch a company muft needs afford; to ravifh the beholders fight, which way foever they look. There fhall the ears alfo be filled with fuch harmony, to which the moft admired mufic on earth, was but a harsh jarring. The harps, and the new fongs upon mount Sion, the warbling notes of the whole heavenly chorus; and the fweet accents, and charming melody flowing there from every tongue, are not to be attempted now by any expreffion, where they tranfcend even the loftieft flights of imagination.

There

There fhall we indeed enjoy our friends; and find fociety, to the wishes of our hearts: fuch as we fhall prize and love above any, that ever were deareft to us in our lives. The bleffed God himself, who cheers all heaven, with the light of his countenance, and makes every face there fhine, and every heart leap for joy, with the communication of him. felf; will give no check to this pleasure, by his fupremacy, or his purity. Because he will be as wonderfully condescending to his creatures, as he is fuperlatively tranfcendent above them and will put on those endearing relations of a father and a huf band; to take off all fervile dread: and turn it into ingenious confidence, and the fweeteft delight, And there the guilty conscioufnefs, which makes us hang back from the holy God, will all be cashiered; when we fhall find ourselves completely conformable to him, and fitted for the clofeft communion with him and then fhall we be moft joyful; and no where else in the world fo pleased, as in him: when we can fay, My beloved is mine, and I am his : O this bleffed JESUS, whom I have fo longed to fee! now to fee him, and be fo nigh him, and dwell with him, and be welcomed to him, and dearly loved by him! how does it fill my heart with joy unfpeakable, and full of glory? to find the kindness, which firft he opened, and ever fince, has been fhewing to me, now perfected, and crowned in me! to hear him tell his very heart, and all the hiftory of his love; and fweetly to experience his warm inclinations; how he fets himself to delight and comfort me! it makes my heart rejoice, and my bones flourish, like an herb. Lo, this is my God; I have waited for him; and he will fave me. This is the Lord? I have waited for him: I will rejoice and be glad in his falvation.

Then fhall we find, my foul, how much better it is, to be with Chrift: and to be ever with the

Lord,

Lord, than to be any where else in the world. Yea, then, the angels, though of a nature superior to ours, if they rejoiced over a finner, repenting on on earth: how will they rejoice, to fee that finner, brought home to them in heaven! to fee the gap made by the fall of angels, filled up again, by the acceffion of as many glorified faints. But angels and faints together make up but one family, and the fame houfhold of God: in whofe fellowship we shall be eafy and happy. Though they be fo great and noble, above the biggest of earthly princes; yet fhall we have large fouls, to qualify us for fuch high converfation. And then it will not put us upon the ftretch, as a thing above our reach; but be even connatural with us, as a thing moft agreeable to us.

There all will be moft happy and not an ag grieved or complaining perfon; to make us in pain for them: no, but all ftill heal and gay, profperous and flourishing, pleafed and tranfported; all over eafy, and at the very top of their utmost wishes. And to fee all fo well, and hear all fo glad: to rejoice evermore, with them that do rejoice: and to have none about us, but fuch as will make us glad, to see them as happy and chearful as ourfelves! O how different is this from the present world? and how worthy of that heavenly country, which is replenished with fuch most defirable company! there all are wife, and well acquainted with the ways of addrefs, and acceptable carriage: all full of light, to understand us, and inftruct us. And yet the greatest parts, without any pride: learning, without affuming: fharpness, without fhrewdnefs: and depth, without fetches: to teach, without upbraiding us; and helpful to us, without putting upon us. And there is the good company indeed: without any the guile or defects, that now, in fome measure, cleave even to the best. Company, for

which we fhall really be the better: and joyfully experience, what they are good for: and find abundant cause to boaft their goodness. Yea, there is the company, that is fair, without any offence; or any rugged manners, to give the leaft difturbance: all holding together, as the fafteft friends; and free and open, without any clofeness, or referves. Among whom, we shall know all; and dare tell all: and not go in fear of any: but be bold every where; and take fweet counfel with all. Because there is no fuch thing, as a dangerous temper; nor any ever out of humour: but all free, and candid, plain and hearty; acting ftill with the greatest fincerity. And whether or not, there may be any peculiar leagues and friendships there, upon fome peculiar fuitableness and likenefs, between fome particular perfons; (where the gifts and accomplishments are fo various:) whether there will be the Jonathans and the Johns, especial favourites and darlings; and fome confederations and correfpondencies more than ordinary it is enough for us to know, that no combinations or intimacies there fhall be carried on by any, to the prejudice or diftafte of the reft: but friendship there fhall be in its highest acme, and very utmost perfection: having all the benefits and pleafures, without any the blemishes or inconve niencies, that here do attend it. There that love, which is the moft delicious condiment and fauce of our lives, will be, as the very pulfe of their fouls; and the perfumed air, in which they all breathe: even a love pure, without any filth of luft: difcreet, without any dotage: cordial, without any bye-refpects intenfe, without any ftrangenefs: and conftant, without any pets or unkindness. There shall we every one love much; and be loved as much again. Every one fhall be sweet and obliging; and even wholly bent upon all that is pleafing. There is the land of the truly loving, as well as the land

of