of their State byCreation. 47 ly , as Our Head. And the aforefaid Thief ar.fwerably fpoaking of Heaven, ~ fays; Remember me whm thou comejl into [thy Kingdom; J and Chri!t in his Chap.6. Anfwer unto him, owns it as his ; only he calls it P nradtf' ; for this is Chrills~ Paradife, as the other was A dam's. And therefore when Chrifi was firfi inaugurated into his Office, and his Father himfelf from Heaven firft Preached him unto Men, faying, Thu is my Son, hear him, then did the Heavens tirft open, and not till then, for Men by bearing and cbcying him, to come thither. 3· I obferve, that the Moral Law (which was the Law of Nature ) makes mention of no fuch Promife, as of Goi11g to Heaven: It fpeaks no fuch Language; but only, 'Do this, cmd thott }ball [ Livr; J that is, Live as thcu doell:, in Gods favour; but yet frill as on Earth enjoyed. And t hat is the reafon why fo little mention is made of Heaven in the Old Teftament; and but only when the Gofpel is promulgated, in that Old Teftament; never when the pure Law of Nature is taught. And there– fore Chrift in the t6th Pjal, t<lt. Verfes, fpeaks of Heaven as being the purchafe of his Death, and as beftowed only by his Righteo11ji1ejr, not that of the Law, Pjal, 16. 10, 11. For thou wzlt r.ot leave rny Sot~ I in HdJ; 11eitber wzlt thot< Juffer thi11e holy One to fee corruptioiJ. Thou w1lt /hew me the path of Lz{e, ;,, thy prefmce is jt~hufs of joy, at thy r1gbt right bttnd there are plea{11res for evermore. And therefore, Lt<ke 18. 18. when a certain Ruler aske!'l our Saviour, What he jhou!d do to i11he– rit Eternal Ltfe? fays Chrift, thou knowejl the Commmzdments; C!5c. 'and his replying, A!J theft have I kept; )'et ( f&ys Chrift) tho11 !ackefl one thiT~(; Jdlallthat tho11 hajl, .and fo!Jow me, cmdthotl}balthaveTreafitre ;, Heavm. Concerning which Place, obferve, I. That it may be , here is a diftinCl:ion intimated, between Treajitre ill Heavnz, and Erer1111l Lzfe : And that right to Treafhre in Heavm ~omes by following Chrift; but a Life Eternal, that is, a Living for ever ~n Gods favour, is promifed to keeping the Commandments : And this Life IS here fpoken of as n thing differing from Heaven. 2, If the Ruler did here, in his Q!tefiion intend Heaven, in that Pbrafe [ Eter>Jal Ltje : ] yet it may be obferved out of Matthew, 1 9· '7· that Chri£l diminifheth it yet more in his Anfwer there , if thot< wilt mter into CLtfe] ( fays he,) keep the Commandmet~ts; that is, into a State of Life ; Chrifi in that Speech dealing with him upon his own Prtnciples, who thought by the Commandments to Live. Yet he fays not, Thot~fbalt enter into Eternal Lzfe (if by that Phrafe Heaven fhould be meant) but into Lzje: For do thzs, and thou jh'alt [Live:] was the Tenour of the Covenant of Works. And the· commandment is ordained for [ L zje ] faith the Apoftle, Rom.'7, tO. ' 3. Or elfe if the Ruler in his Q!teftion lhould by (Eternal Lzfe J mean Heaven: Cbrift Anfwers him, Though thou haft kept alJ the Comm wd– mntts,yet thot< art to fe!J an, llltdfo/Jow rne,orelfe thou canflncth,tve Treafure ill Heave11. Rea[on 4- This accords with the like Law of Nature towards all th~ ~reatures befides; who by obferving their Laws, obtain not a higher Sta– tiOn than they were Created in ; only thereby they keep their own. The Moon by all the conftancy of her motion, attains not to the glory of the Sun. Nor lhould Man by the Moral Law (which was to him but the Law of Nature l. have attained the Condition of the AngeJ.s, had he fully compl~ed With It; a. neither. fhould the Angels have attained a hi~;her C?ndmon t~an their own, though tney had been exaCl: Minifters of Gods will accordmg to the Law of t beir Creation. The Fall of whom is expref– fed by their 1lot keeping their fir{l Eftate, bttt leavi11g their ow11 H tbi– tatton, Jude. 6, and for atfeCl:ing an higher Eftate, they loll all. Yea
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