An Egcpojition of the €pijlle -~~---~in thi~ [n~w] World: He exprelfeth it in the iingul~r Number, and he fpeaks \,.~ tt plamly m oppofit10n to the_Wo~l~ to come, whtch. m v. ~9· we tranOate the Tum to wme, but m the Ortgmal tt ts, Ages to come ; tf he calls the one an Age he calls the other an Age of Ages. In Rom. I 6. ztlt. we tranOate it fur ever b ~ it is indeed fur Ages, ond fo yo~ ha~e. it in Epbef. 3· 21. My Brethren', the Ttme of Heaven, the Etermty there, tt IS fo va!l:, that it is reckoned by Age and by Ages of Ages. In this Life here, Time is reckoned by Days, and b; Years : The Dap of Man, they are fo and fo; and, Teach 111 to 1111mher Ollr Days; and, The Tears of ht.n are thre_efcor~ and ten,_ &c. They are eafily num– bred; for fo the Schoolmen ~fe ~o_dt!l:mgmfh the Ttme that now is, from that to come : The T tme that now ts, tt IS a Duratton that may be numbred, and that by Days, and Months, and Years, becaufe they are fo few ; few are the Days of Man, and fewer are the Years of Man, and therefore may be eafily numbred– but the Time of Heaven is reckoned by Ages, an_d by Ages •f Ages, not by O.y; and by Years ; and tt palfeth away fo ; that tho tt be Ages, it is not numbred by Ages of Years, as our Ages are, they are numbred in the Lump rather, Ages of Agu. There is alfo this difference between God's Eternity and ours. In this both of them agree, That as the Effence of ?od is the fa_me in all Ages to Eternity ; fo the Suhllance of our Souls and Bodtes wtll be !l:tll the fame, without alteration : but yet there is this difference betwixt his Eternity and ours: His Eternity is not divided into Ages, as ours is ; why ? Becaufe, as Anjelm well faith, fpeaking unto God, Thy Eternity, 0 God, is always prefcnt to thee. ' He poffelfeth the Joys of all Time in qne_In!l:ant continual ; for all things, pall:, prefent, and to come, are all preCept unto him : And as his immenfe Being incompaffeth all Beings, fo his immenfe Duration cloth all Time, and there is but one Now of Eternity to Him. But it is not fo with us: ::A(!s hahemtH de noftra Eternit•te qHod femper eft futurum, We have of our Eternity that is frill to come, for we can take in btrt as Creatures, one thing after another ; and that is the reafon why God bath appointed Ages, Eternity it felf, to manife!l: the Riches of his Grace to us, for lefs will not ferve the Turn. Obferv. 3· Thirdly ; Another Obfervation from this Interpretation is this : That all our Time fpenrin Heaven, it fuall be but pafr away eternally in Kindnefs: To jhew. forth, faith he, in the .Ages to come, the exceeding Riches of his Grace, [ in Kind– nefi.] It is not, In [his] Kind11ep, but, In Kindnefl, to let an Emphajis on it, wholly in a way of Kindnefs ; it is [his] Kindnefs too, for it is that makes Hea– ven. I gave you an account of the Addition, and the Meaning ofthole Words, when I opened them to this Sence, That God doth not only !hew his Prerogative of Grace for his own Glory in Heaven, but he cloth all, be!l:ows all, with the greatefr Heartinefs, with the greateft Kindnefs, with the greate!l: Sweemefs, (for the word implies all this) with the greatefr Communicativenefs of Hitnfelf (re– joycing over us to do us good) that can be. As a King now is gracious to his Subjefrs; but if he be of a·loving difpofition, he is kind to his Wife, and all the Grace he !hews her is in Kindnefs : So it is between God and his Saints. All the Converfe we have with God in Heaven, and all that God befiows upon us there, is with infinite Famili1tity, and Kindnefs, and Sweetnefs, and is fo carried on ; and therein doth lie, as to us, the heighth of Bleffednefs. In Pr.v. 07. 9· Solomon calls it, the Sweetnefl of a Man's Friend, for fuch the KindneG of a Friend is. You !hall obferve therefore, when Heaven is fpoken of, it is llill fpo– ken of in terms and words of Kindnefs. Our Saviour Chri!l: compares himfelf to a Wooer, and that Great ~ay to be his Marriage-Day, and the Church to be his Bride, and he to be the Bndegroom ; and all that he doth there afterwards for ever. is in the Kindncfs of a Bridegroom, in the heat, in the highe!l: affecti– on of Love. He atrs the part of a frefh Wooer all along. When th~ new Jeru– folem comes down from Heaven, the Bride is faid to be made ready, ~nd He, as a Bridegroom, rejoyceth over his B-,.de fur ever, as rhe Prophet fpeaks !n lfo. 62. 5· which indeed is a Promife of the calling of th~ Jews, when G.od wtll take that People again into his Marriage-Bed, yet fo, as to Heaven tt holdsmuch more. He continually aCts the part of a Bridegroom; !aith he, !go to prepare aPlaceforJ''"; 3j
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