The Heavenly Joys of the Body.

HE Commodities and Priviledges of the Body, alfo thus united to the Soul fhall be many: And first to begin with that which I find fet down in the Tex, And the City had no need of the Sun, or of the Moon 10 shine in it; that is, there fhall be feen no Earthly wants. For, what a great temporal Bleffing is the heat of the Sun? moft comfortable to Man and Beaft, which bringeth forth the Fruits of the Earth for Man's Food, and without which all things feem to be fad and lowering, but then shall we not need this Benefit; for the prefence of God fhall be more comfortable, and the Glory of God fhall fupply the Want of the Sun and Moon,

All things then shall be miniftred unto us a bundantly, that we fhall not once think of any Want, whether it be Food or Cloathing, or any Comfort of this Life whatever, as the Prophet Ifaiah doth worthily exprefs ir, Chap. 49. 10. They shell not hunger nor thirst, neither fhall the heat nor Sun Smite them, for be that bath mercy on them fhall lead them, even by the Springs of Waters.

Here the Body hath need of reft, but there fhall be no Night, neither any need of reft: Here for fear of Thieves and Enemies, our Houses, and the Gates of our Cities are fhur, but there the Gates fhall not be thut, but always open; because there fhall be no fear of Enemies, no fear of future hurts and dangers. They that are oppreffed here, had need of de-. fence

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fence, of help and comfort, which hardly is to be had in this World. But there fhall violence no more be heard of, There fhall every ones caufe be heard, and every wrong fhall be righted: For there fhall be no Curfe. For not only the Curfe of fin fhall be cut off, but all occafions of fin fhall be far removed from us, and we fhall be throughly reconciled to God, and enjoy per fect peace. As no grief of Mind, fo no difeafe of Body fhall moleft us, neither shall there be any ufe of Phyfick. All Infirmities fhall be turned into perfections; and all deformities fhill have an end. That which is now the mighty Conqueror of Mankind, that is Death, fhall then be trodden under foot: For Death fhall be fwallowed up into Victory, that with comfort we may fay, O Death, where is thy fting? 0 Grave, where is thy victory? And that which our first Parents could not tafie of, nor fo much as touch, that is, of the Tree of Life: For tho' they tafted of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, yet they were foon caft our of Paradife, left they should put forth their hands, and take of the Tree of Life alfo and eat, and live for ever, Gen. 3. 22. In this Jerufalem, even in the midst of the Streets of it, fhall be the Tree of Life, and a common paffage unto it. 1 Cor. 15. 53. For this corruption fball put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality. Thus fhall there be mirch, without fadnefs, health, without fickness, ftiength, without weaknefs, light, without darkness, felicity and all goodness, without any evil,

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where Youth flourisheth that never waxeth old, Life that knoweth no end, Beauty that never fadeth, Love that never cooleth, Health that never diminisheth, Joy that never ceases; there fhall be pleafure without pain, and all happiness without any change, and Life without the reach of Death; for there fhall be Life everlafting. Now Man grieves for the lofs of his Body, and Delights of the World, which Faith alone doth eafe, that promifeth an undoubted reftitution of the Body, to a better condition, and affures him of an everlasting Life, in which shall be everlasting Bleff.dness. Then (as I formerly faid) fhall the Body be free from all Corruption and Mortality, and all other cafualty, malady, pain or grief: Men fhall then be like Angels free from want and -full of all felicity: They fhall hunger no more, neither thift, neither thill the Sun light on. them, nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midft of the Throne fhall feed them, and lead them unto the living Fountain of Waters. And God fhall wipe away all tears from their eyes, Rev 21. 4. 1 Saw no Temple therein, that was made with hands, ain St. John, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb, are the Temple of it: Rev. 21. 22, 23. And the City had no need of the Sun, neither of the M on to fhine in it, for the Glory of God did lighten it. and the Lamb is the light thereof. And there fhill be no more curfe, but the Tarone of God and of the Lamb fhall be in it; and his Servants fhall ferve him, they fhall fee his face, and H 3

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his Name (hall be in their Fore-heads. Oh the Joy! Oh the fweet Harmony and Melody! Oh the Heavenly Mufick which is fung by the Quire of Angels in the Church Triumphant, would ravifh a Soul on Earth, if he heard it! we know that here on Earth we have Mufick that delighteth the Ear of Man very much, but the Mufick which is above, no Ear hath heard. St. Bafil faith, It is more fweet than Devotion; nay, more fweet than Contemplation, and far fweeter than all things in this World can be.

Let us therefore be converted to God with all our hearts, and fay, Oh how great is thy goodness which thou haft laid up for them that fear thee, which thou haft wrought for them that truft in thee, before the Sons of Men. And let us with joy exalt ourfelves: Pfal. 42. 1. Even as the Hart panteth after the Water-Brooks, fo panteth my Soul after thee, O God: My Soul Thirfteth for God, for the living God; O when fball I come and appear before God? There is nothing fo bitter or fharp in this Life, but will be fweetned in Contemplation of the Joys of Heaven, and of eternal Life; for in Heaven there is neither Death, nor Mourning, Wearinefs nor Weakness, Famine nor Thirst, Corruption nor Want, nor Sadnefs at all; fo as we may rather be able to fay, What is not there, than, What is there? As it is written, Eye hath not feen, nor Ear heard, neither bath it entred into the Heart of Man, the Things which God hath prepared for them that love and fear him.

Therefore

Therefore let no man that hath lived uprightly fear to dye, or doubt of the joys of Heaven;" for as we are all born, fo we must all die: And hall any man think to get that by Favour, which God only bath himself by Nature, mmortality? No, we muft change this Life, and for this mortal Habit, put an immortal Ha bir, which never fadeth.

The Godly in this Life are as Warriours, then they fhill come to their own Puff.ffion; now they are in the Skirmish, then shall they be crowned Conquerors; now they are in the Tempefteous Sea, then fhall they be in the quiet Haven; now in the Heat of the Day, then fhall they be in the reft of the Evening: Now they are abfent from Chrift tho' in affect ion they are prefent with him, then shall they follow him whither foever he goeth; now they Suffer trouble tho' their Life be hid with Chrift in God, but when Chrift fhall appear, they shall also appear with him in glory; And then alfo they thill receive an incorruptible Crown of glory, according to that which was pronounced by a Voice from Heaven, Rev. 14. 13. Write, BeJed are the dead which die in the Lord. Even fo faith the Spirit, for they reft from their labours, and their works follow them: And what joy will thy Soul receive in that day, when we fhall be prefented before fo honourable and infinite a multitude, before the feat and Majefty of the holy and bleffed Trinity, with recital and declaration of all the good Works and Travels fuffered for the love and fervice of God, when H 4 there