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members of the same Church; as fellow-travellers in the same journey towards Heaven; as ruined by the same apostacy, recov ered by the same mercy, and heirs of the same glorious inheritance. How many bonds of endearment, and union, are here presented to our view! How intimate are these relations! How important in their nature! What sources of attachment! What indissoluble ligaments do they form for the heart! What intense endearment must they awaken! What delightful offices of love must they inspire!

They are also Companions of Angels. Ye are come, says St. Paul, with the anticipating spirit of prophecy, Ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; and to an innumerable company of Angels. And round about the Throne, says St. John, were four and twenty seats, and upon the seats I saw four and twenty Elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And before the Throne, there was a sea of glass, like unto crystal. And in the midst of the Throne, and round about the throne, were four living Ones, full of eyes, both before and behind. In this passage the same station is allotted to the Representatives of the Church, and the Representatives of the Angelic host.

Throughout every part of the same book, Angels and glorified ⚫ saints are exhibited as dwelling together in the same glorious mansions, occupied in the same employments, and united in the same praise. When the four Living Ones cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! who wast, and who art, and who art to come; the four and twenty Elders fall down before Him, that sitteth on the Throne, and worship him, that liveth for ever and ever; and cast their crowns before the Throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created.

The Angel Interpreter also, whom St. John, astonished, and bewildered, by the vision of the New Jerusalem, attempted to wor ship, replied to him in these remarkable words: See thou do it not. I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the Prophets, and of them who keep the sayings of this book. No words could more completely evince the truth of the doctrine under consideration.

Angels, as I have formerly shown, are the first of all created beings in worth, dignity, and glory. To be the companions of these exalted Intelligences, these most favoured creatures of God, must plainly be a privilege, which words will in vain labour to describe, and imagination, to conceive.

Finally. They are Kings, and Priests, unto God. In the discourses, just now alluded to, I have exhibited, very imperfectly indeed, the dignity and glory of the stations, which Angels occupy in the Divine Kingdom. The saints, who will hereafter be their companions, will occupy similar stations. The name, Priest, in this declaration, indicates the distinguished purity of their charac

ter; and teaches us, that their thoughts, affections, and purposes, will be an unceasing and eternal offering of sweet incense in the Sanctuary of Heaven. The name, King, denotes their distinguished honour; and informs us, that they will hereafter be elevated to princely employments, and peculiar dignities, in the Empire of JEHOVAH. To him that overcometh, says our Saviour, will I grant to sit with me in my Throne; even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his Throne. Rev. iii. 21. They shall reign, said the interpreting Angel to John, when describing the future happiness of the Righteous. They shall reign for ever and

ever.

REMARKS.

1. These considerations illustrate in the strongest manner the Goodness of God.

The blessings, which have been summarily mentioned in this discourse, are all created, and bestowed, by the Infinite Hand, and contrived by the Infinite Mind. They are the best of all blessings; immeasurable in their value, in their multitude numberless; in their duration eternal. To give such blessings, as these, to any beings, even the greatest and most excellent, would be an exertion of bounty, which could not fail to claim our high admiration. Here they are given to the humblest class of Intelligent Creatures : a great part of whom have held their earthly course along the line, which forms the lowest limit of moral agency; and, during their residence in this world, have always travelled along the verge of animal nature. Nor is this all, they are given to apostates; excommunicated by themselves from the assembly of virtuous beings, voluntary aliens from the Divine Kingdom; useless to their Creator; and nuisances to his creation.

Why are they given at all? To this question no answer can be returned, but that they are the mere overflowings of unlimited goodness. Why, above all, are they given to such beings, as have been here described? To give in this glorious manner to those, who are possessed of the highest created worth, between whose character and rewards there is a perceptible degree of congruity, evidences a bountiful disposition, whose extent and excellence are plainly imcomprehensible. But our conceptions of the glory of this disposition are mightily enhanced, when we behold these blessings flowing in uninterrupted and eternal streams to beings, who have forfeited all good, and who were destined to drink the cup of bitterness for ever. Oh give thanks unto the Lord, said David, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever! Who remembered us in our low estate, and hath redeemed us from our enemies; for his mercy endureth for ever! Oh give thanks unto the God of Heaven, for his mercy endureth for ever.

2. These considerations very forcibly impress upon the mind the Glory of Christ in the work of Redemption.

tions according to the dictates, either of our feelings, or our philosophy. It is undoubtedly to be admitted, that the rewards of the Righteous, in the future state, are wonderfully disproportioned to any worth, of which they can boast. But this ought to occasion no surprise, when we remember, that the reward is not of debt, but of grace; that we are not only justified, but glorified also, solely on account of the obedience of the Redeemer. If this consideration be kept in view; we cannot, I think, hesitate to admit, that all, which is declared in the Gospel concerning this subject, may be strictly just without exaggeration. St. Paul has certainly removed every difficulty, which might have hung upon it; and every perplexity, with which our considerations of it are attended. He, says this Apostle, triumphantly discussing it in the eighth chapter of Romans, He, that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not, with him also, freely give us all things? The Righteous, the virtue which constitutes their character, and the happiness to which it is entitled, are all given to Christ in the covenant of Redemption, because He made his soul an offering for sin. They are the seed, which, it is promised, should prolong their days; or be happy for ever. In them he sees the fruit of the trav ail of his soul, and is satisfied therewith. Here the gracious purpose of JEHOVAH prospers in his hands* perfectly and for ever.

When we consider the subject in this manner; the difficulties, which seem to attend it, vanish. He, who believes, that in consequence of the obedience of Adam, his Posterity would have enjoyed immortal life in a paradisiacal world, cannot rationally doubt, that in consequence of the obedience of Christ, his followers will enjoy all the blessings, promised in the Heaven of the Scriptures. He will cease to be surprised, when he hears the Saviour say, Father, I will that they, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory. And the glory, which thou gavest me, have I given them: or to hear him say, He, that overcometh, shall inherit all things: or to hear him say, To him, that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He will no more wonder to find St. Paul declaring to the Corinthians, All things are yours: Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours. However strange this sublime declaration may seem, its mysteriousness will cease to perplex him, when he reads, and considers, the following verse: And ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's

But, while these magnificent promises are thus explained by the mediation of Christ, they in return reflect the highest glory on that wonderful work. With what splendour, and excellence, must that obedience appear to the eye of God, which his wisdom

Isaiah liii. 10, 11. Lowth.

thinks it proper to reward with the creation of new heavens and a new earth; the everlasting residence of righteousness, truth, happiness, and glory; with all the magnificence, and all the enjoyments, of the New Jerusalem; with the endless multitude of the first-born, given to him as his everlasting possession, arrayed in the splendour of knowledge and virtue, quickened by the smile of infinite complacency, and elevated to the summit of created glory. Even this is not all. Of the increase of his government and peace, that is, of the glory of his providence, and the prosperity of his subjects, there shall be no end. All things here, fair, great, and exalted, at first, will soften, refine, and harmonize, with everimproving beauty, enlarge with perpetually increasing grandeur, and rise with a sublimity ascending for ever. With this prospect in full view, who will not exclaim, How great, how good, how glorious must He be, of whose wisdom and excellence all these things are only the proper reward!

SERMON CLXXI.

THE REMOTER CONSEQUENCES OF DEATH.-THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN.

REVELATION XXi. 1—3.—And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying; Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

IN the preceding discourse, derived from these words, I proposed to consider,

I. The Residence ;

II. The Character;

III. The Employments; and,

IV. The Enjoyments; of the Redeemed.

The two first of these I examined in that discourse. The two last I shall now make the subject of consideration.

Heaven is exhibited in the Scriptures as the world of joy, and praise. The account, here given, is both rational and sublime. Still, if I mistake not, it is often made the foundation of views concerning Heaven, which are erroneous, and unhappy. Unless I am deceived, it is a very common opinion, that to receive enjoyment, and to praise the Author of it, constitute chiefly, if not wholly, the state of existence allotted to the Righteous in the future world. This opinion I suppose, indeed, to exist indefinitely and loosely; and without any known decision of the mind, either that such will be the fact, or that such is its own opinion. Yet I suspect, that, if many persons, and those not of inferior understanding, were to be asked in what the happiness of Heaven consists; the two particulars above mentioned would make up their answer. This I suspect, because I find these objects mentioned alone, almost always, when Heaven becomes the theme of dis

course.

To praise God for the perfections of his nature is unquestionably an universal, and eternal duty, as well as a delightful employment, of Intelligent creatures. Far be it from me to undervalue the importanee, or the excellence, of this duty. To receive enjoyment, also, is unquestionably one great end, for which Intelligent creatures are made; and an end, clearly worthy of their Maker. But the mode, in which this enjoyment is attained, and the means of

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