there fhall be laid down in that honourable Confiftory, all thy Virtuous Deeds, all the Labour thou haft taken in thy calling, all thy Alms and Prayers, all-thy Fafting, all thy Innocency of Life, all thy Patience in Injuries, all thy Conftancy in Adverficies; and for their further comfort, and in a manner wonderful aftonishment; as the wicked fhall be vexed with horrible fear, when they fhall fee the righte ous ftand in great boldnefs, and they thill curfe their foolishness and madness, for tormenting fuch unjustly whom they thought no thing worthy of honour, ard yet now fee them amongst the Saints of God. So fhall the Righte ous in their place go forth, and look upon the carca caffes of the men that have tranfgreffed God's will and holy Law, Isaiah 66. 24. And looking back upon the dangers which they have paffed, and wherein other men are yet in hazard, their joy fhall be fo much the more encreased; for they fhall evidently fee how infinite times they were ready to perifh in this mortal life, if God had not held his fpecial hand over them. They fhall fee the dangers wherein other men are plunged, and the death and damnation that many of their friends and acquaintance have faln into; the eternal pains of Hell is incurred by many that ufed to laugh and be merry with them in the World, when as they fhall fhine as Stars which have converted many unto God, Dan. 11. As on the contrary, they that by evil example and manifold offences have been the caufe of the downfall of many, fhall fuffer intolerable grief.

In

In earth no joy, pleasure, or comfort fo furpaffing, ftrange, and wonderful, but will breed a fatiety, and we shall after a while wax weary thereof, either defiring a greater or elfe longing after variety, for man's Nature is gi ven to nothing fo much as to newness and novelty: But,behold the joys of this new Jerufalem fhall be fo diverfe, fo ftrange and incredible, that we fhall never be fatisfied therewith. We fee in Rev. 21. The Tree of Life bears twelve manner of Fruits, and gave fruit every month; twelve manner of Fruits. There is the diverfity of their joy; giving fruits every month, there is the continual change, ftill pleafing thy mind with variety, and ravishing thy fenses with infinite delight.

And this may make us more eager after those joys, because we fhall not be long without them. For the time of this Life is but fhort, and the time of thy Tryal in this World, is but in a manner a moment. H our time here fhould be a thousand years, what is it to one day there which hath no night; which, be it that it hath a Sun-rifing, yet it fhall never have a fetting; an entrance and a beginning there is unto thofe Joys, but the terms and date thereof cannot be told. And as the Torments of Hell, already fpoken of, are endless; fo are the Joys of Heaven beyond all time; as they are remedilefs (for out of Hell there is no redemption) fo are thefe Joys without all change or alteration; as they are comfortless, fo thefe exceed in all manner of comforts; all with

HS

Out

our end, without number, without measure. Thus have I fhewed you the Joys of the King dom of Heaven, in part, but their fulness I cannot utter, nor you conceive, we can only guefs at them: But that which I have already fpoken is fufficient, for the fatisfying of our infinite Defires, Edification, Comfort and Inftruction. And if I fhould fill your Heads with my own Devices and Imaginations, I fhould but delude, you. Again, be not defirous to know more than is fit and convenient: For when we have fpoken all, or the learnedeft in the World expreffed all, yet none can fully ut ter the truth of thefe Joys. For if no Eye hath even feen them, or Heart of Man can conceive them, how is it poffible for me to declare them? But that which we do know, let it be inftructive, and let us leave off to fearch where God will give no Understanding. Hidden they are and unknown, that we might the more earnestly de fire them, for known things grow out of love.

The confideration of thefe joys already recited, may be fufficient to eftablish and confirm us that there be not in any of us an unfaithful Heart, to depart from the living God. And who would deprive himfelf of thofe Joys,if they were no other, but fuch as our own Minds might imagine, or our own Hearts conceive? In this Cafe, let us be content there to make a ftop where Gods Word hath fet a full point. And bleffed be God, who to encourage us in a wy of Godlinef, hath given us a taste of the fe unutterable Joys, tho it be but as it were nder a Veil. Now

Now to thew you all thefe Joys and not apply them, feemeth altogether without ufe, and life. The profitable inftructions therefore that hence may arife, are more than I can utter; yet give me leave to recite fome; and be not uneafy tho' I ftay you a little longer, for to hear the difcourfe of those things which pertain to the Kingdom Heaven. I myself which have fearched more perhaps than any of you, (hould..

be at a lofs.

Suppofe we are now bufie in the Field at Harvelt, unmindful to come even to our own Houfes, and furely this is a far better Harveft, and a better Grain and Commodity than we can gather in. When it pleafed God I wrote this for your good, it was with comfort; and therefore I doubt not but that you that hear it, bear it alfo with comfort.

The first inftruction tor our ufe, may be this, to learn to grow out of love with the present World, and with the tranfitory Pleasure and Profits of the fame; fo that we may prepare our journey to our long and wifhed home, and to thofe Houfes and Heavenly Habitations, whofe Leafes fhall never expire; to our Hea venly Canaan; and to this new and moft beautiful Jerufalem. Howbeit for the most part we are fo bewitched with the gliftering Joys of this prefent fading World, that no exhortation or perfuafion will lightly prevail to withdraw our minds from thence; which thing may lively be fet forth to your view, by reciting of a parable of the cuftom of a certain Common

wealth

wealth, People and Nation, which were wont to choose their King from amongst the poorelt fort of people to advance him to great honour, wealth and pleasures for a time. But after a while when they were weary of him, their custom was to dif poil him of all his Felicity; yea, he very cloaths of his Back, and banish him naked into an Island of a far Country, where bringing nothing with tin, he lived in great mifery, and ivery for ever. Which practice one King cor fidering (for all other tho' they knew it yet thro' negligence and pleasures of their prefert felicity, minded it not) took care to prevent this mifery, which was by this m ans: He faved every day great fums of money from his Superfluities and idle expences, and fecret'y made over before hand a great Treasure into that Ifland, whereunto he was in danger daily to be fent.

And when the time came, that indeed they depofed him from his Kingdom, and turned him away naked, as they had done others before, he went to that Ifland with joy and confidence where his Treafure lay, and was received with great Triumph, and placed prefently in greater glory than he was before.

Tais City or Common-wealth, is this prefert Wold, which advanceth to Authority poor Men, that is, fuch as come naked into this World, and on a sudden, when they look leaft for it, it pulls them down again, and turns them naked into their Graves, and fo fende h them into another World, where bringing no Treasure with them they are like