Chap. VII. Of HEAVEN. Heat in their Thankfgivings to their viaorious Deliverer. And thus their .Happioefs is always the fame, and always new. Thetr Pleafure ts contmued tn tts Perfeaion. CHAP. VII. 1he ntllnber of Po/fejfors of HealJen cannot lejfen its Felicity. The '13/cjfednifs of the Saints is soithout End. In the firfl Creatson, the happmefs of Angels •nd Men soas mt1table. Tbe happine/s in HealJen M unc/,angeable M the LoW of God to the Saints, and the LoJJe of the Saints to /,im. Tbe woful folly of Mm in refujing fuch a Happinefs. An exci!ation to feek. tins Elappinefs. The original mo1>ing catife of conferring this Happinefs, i< the mercy of God: the meritoriom cauje, u the obedience and paf(ion of Chrijl. 'Tis impoffible for an imwcent Creatnre, mnch more for the fallen Creature, to de{er1>e atry good thing from God. Our Sal!iour expiated the 'guilt of Sm, and by the ments of hiS Obedtence purchafed the l\!ngdom of lilea1>mfor 'Beliel!ers. . 493 THE number of PoffeJfors cannot le!fen their Felicity. The Divine Prefence is an unwalled S~ring of Pleafure,. equally full and open to ~11, a~d abundantly fufficient to fatisfy the. tmmenfity of tbetr Defires. Envy retgns .'" thiS World, becauf<> earthly things are fo tmperfea m thetr Nature, and fo pecuhar m thetr po!feffion, that they cannot fuffice nor be enJoyed by all. But in Heaven none is touch'd with that bafe, low Paffion : for God contains all that is precious and delirable in the higheft degrees o£ Perfeaion, and all partake of his U_niverfal Goodnels, without intercepting one another. In the Kingdom of Heaven there IS no caufe for the elder Brother to repme at the Father's Bounty to the Younger, nor for the Younger to fupplant the Elder to obtain the Birthright. The Heirs of God are a~l rais'd to Sover~ign Glory; and ~very one injoys him as entirely and fully as tf folely h!S Fehctty. God ts a Good as mdwifible as infinite, and not diminilhed by the moft liberal communications of Himfelf. We may illuftrate this by comparing the Price of our redemption, and the Reward. The Death of Chrift ~:d~~~~:~~,~~r~~~~~i~~~ T~~~:shi;~;~~ie~0a~a~1~~r~~g~vh~~ ~~~~t~~r f~rh~;k~~~~~ . Heart, as if all his Prayers,hJS Tears, htSBiood were offer:d up to his Father only for that Perfon. The common refpect of tt the Apollle declares m thofe admlfable words, that 'E«otum fe 1i~sify fuch an excefs of God's L~ve t? us; Ht that [pared not l~is own Son, but deliver'd dedit univer- ~h~:~~;:;:,;~~/'~~f:;~!!i:~~;%ht~':et,f/r~r:~£~~: ~: ~~:h~~f; ;al~e~t ~~;~~~;~a~f; ~~~:·~~~· injurious to the Merit and Di.gnity! and to the infinite Love of Chrift. ~hereforc the paffione fua fanie Apoftle tdls us~ The Life wkzch I now live in tke Flejh, I #ve by the F_atth of the Son ~~~i~cfi~~~~-· of God, JVho loved me, and gave hrmfeif for me; as tf he were the foie Objea of Chrift's mm oi deb<"' Love, the End and Reward of his Sufferings. And this appropriating of it to himfelf, is ~"~"~"· "·fi no prejudice to the Rights of all others. St. 'John defcribes himfelf by that truly glori- ~~~hJco~ ous Title, the Difcrple JVhom 'Jefiu loved. Could he fpeak this of himfelf, without the hoc piu. fi,. injury and indignation of the other Difciples? Certainly he might. For if we confider ~li'\;u•m ::d that mcomprehenfible Love of Chrill, exprell to them all at his laft Supper, after 'Judas ~~;:~·;~!'<· fi~9,0~h:~r!~:r:~::•:r·:~~;·~~~e1till'i/befi:V~v:~:;''~/:1s fi:g~~;.lyea[~f'o~~ge~f ;~:?,~~;~;. Chrift. They were all received in the Heart, tho (with 'John~ they did not all lean tSi •udi" on the Breaft of their DJVme Mafier. Thus m Heaven God JS the univerfal Trea· ~ulurudo_ fifure of all the s.ai~ts~ and the peculia: Portion of every one, not engrofs'd by polfeffing, r~~r~i:~~~~ nor wafted by tn)Oytng. 1' As by hiS Effence he equally fills the whole World and e. commmuu"' vety part of it; a_nd by his Pra~idence eq~a11y regards all and every particular c:cature': r~r:; c~: fo m Heaven he dtfpenfes the R1ches of htS Love to all, that they cannot defire more, iffedom"'quoo ~::?v!~eof. them were the foie Hetrof all thcMems of htS·Son, and enjoyed him alone ~~;.~:fum~~; 2. The Bleffednefs of the Saints, as 'tis without diminution, fo 'tis without end: 'tis f~~P.:%g~. com·t 11[ 411 •
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