An Expo(ition of the Epifrle ~ ouly SpirJtuat detigbts to come from Htavmfortbem, it is a11 0piuio11 (faith he) Sermo1l that may be tollerated. And Terwllia11_ faith the like in his Third Book againfl XXXIV. Marcza!t, wluch he wrote m •h1s befi t1me before he turned Mo111a11ifl ; and he ~ calleth 11, An Heaven!)• Kmgdom upon Eartb, i11 abunda11ce of Spiritual good tbi11gs. I have told you'what they do not; I will tell you what they do, and take off the abfutdity of that Jikewife, He faith, They/hall be Ki11gs tmdPriefls, fo Reve/.5,10, AndChap. 10.6, Bteffed and holy is he that bath part in the jirfl Re{m-reaiou, on jitch the SecondVeath hath 110 powtr, (they arc out of the dan– ger of it, both Body and Soul being raifed and in a Celeflial eflate,) 6111 they Jballbe'Priejlsof God a11doj' Chnfl, and/halt reiguwithhima Thoujimdyears. To open this a little to you. Firfl, To be Kings You heard this in He/;. 2. 5• that he bath not put this \Vorld to come in jit6je8iolt to the A11gtls. The Angels now, they arc the Thrones and Pri11cipalities,and the Kings and the Great ones that rule thisWorld that is now. But the truth is, he faith, they fhall be Kings then; he hath not put this New world in fubjed:ion unto the Angels, but unto them. And for ·them to take the Aogels office, to be as Angels after this Refu~red:ion, is no abfurdity. They/halt 6ePrufls. I fhall take off that abfurd1ty by thts: Our Saviour Chrifl, when he took up his Body here out of the Grave, he continued forty daies upon Earth; what did Chrifi Jefus all that while? He did perform the part of a Priefl and of a Prophet, he did inflrud: them in the worfhip of God, {o you read exprefly A{fs 1. The Apofllrs (my Brethren) had a brave Teacher, Cbrifl rifm from th! dead; he began this New world , and he remained Forty daies on Earth, afore he afcend\:d on purpofe, Now think with your ftlves, for the Saints to be conformed unto Jefus Chrifl their Lord and King, to run through but the fame flare he cloth. He ran through this World, he was poor and miferable, fo are you. When he died, !llto thy hands Father I commmd my Spirit; whither his Soul went, ours go. Wheo be rofe again, and · took up ~is Body, and remained Fort~ daies upon the Earth, be in~rud:ed his Difciples m the great things of the Kmgdom of God. If the Satnts do fo, when they firfl take their Bodies, here is but a conlormity unto Chrifl. He then afcended, fo fhall they, and for ever be witlrthe Lord, My Brethren, Confider this further (for I fhall mention all that dotb alleviate · it,) the great ObjeCtion lies in this:, That the Souls of men that now are in Heaven, and fee the Face of God, fhould come down and do fuch a fervice as this, to Reign on Earth here below, in fuch a glorious Church as I have told you; here lieth the abfurdity, To take this off confider this, That even this eflate will be a better eflate than what their Souls now have. I will give you reafon for it; for otherwife our Lord and Saviour Chrifl, when his Body and Soul was here alfo below, after his Refurred:ion, was not in a better eflate than his Soul was before his Refurredion,which certainly it was. You will fay ,They art ttow i>J Heavm.Yes,As the Angels are; but as the Angels come down here below, and yet alwaies fee the Face of their Father,(fo faith the Gofpel,Mat.t8,zo.Their A11gels do alwairs bebold tht face ofmyFathrr,wbich is i11Heavm,)fomay thefe fi11l be in Heaven and behold the Face of God. Strphm you know beheld the Face of God, and the glory of God,and Chrifl flanding on his right hand, though he was a Mortal man, and here below. In one word let me fay this: God hath eternity of time to reveal himfelf in, be cloth advance his Favourites by degrees; firfl glorifieth their Souls apart, takes Soul and Body, when they are united they have a better condition than the glorifying of their Souls limply. How many of thefe waies God bath to manifefl himfelf by degrees; how many Worlds to come he hath to do all, the more the be~ter; for you will fay, You are fo happy in every one, that you know not how to be happier; if he leadeth us by a ktnd of wonderment f~om one glory to ano• ther: as in Mafques you draw away one board, and a glonous fight appeareth; you draw away another,and another is prefented to you: !o cloth God with his Children,becaufe he bath an eternity of Time to make all thefe Shews and Repr~· fentations to them,and in doing this, he cloth not leffen, but mcreafc thetr happ1· nefs.
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