A Praeliaa! Expojition and reftored to a.far betrer Condidon than wbar they lofl. This istbti moft ·GJo. !io_us Pan of ~ad's K~ngdo~ ; here is his Thron~ efpecially efiablifhed, and here 1t IS that .he dtfplays htmfelf tn the Splendor of hiS Majefty; being fuaounded by ihnumetable Ho!ls ofHoly Angels~ and the Spirirs of Juit Meo made PerteEl, who contmually Worfb1p hefore hun wuh a moft proftrare Yeoeranon, and give HonoHr and Glory, and Praifc, to him that fits upon the Throne, and to tbc Ldmbfor wer and ever. · .Now this Kingdom is altogether free from thofe former lmperft:8:ions ;~nd Mixtures. Th.ere is no Mixture ofGood and Bad together; neither is there any Mixture of Bad in the ·Good, but all are Holy, and all ascomplearly- Holy ·as Creatures can be. for into the New Jerufalem fhall no unclean Thing ever enter. There are neirhe; Temp,ations to Try us, nor Sins ro Ddlle us, nor Sorrows to AfRifc us, bur per tea Joy, and perfeEl Purity ; where all Tears !hall be wiped from ou r Eyes, and all Sin, the Caufe of thofe tears, roored out of our Heans. And yet if Heaven itfdf may be liable to any Defeas, or capable of any Additions, there feems ar preftmr robe wanting in it thefe Two Things.. Fir}l, The Kingdom ofG/,ry is nor yet full, nor !hall it be till the whole Numbtr of the Eldl lhall be called, and the whole Number of the called glorified. Many as yet are conflitl:ing here below, and fining rhernfelves for their Eternal Re· ward; many yet lye ileeping in tbeir Caufes unborn, whom Got! ha rh Foreknown ar.d Predejlinaud unto Eternal Life, all of whom he will in his due Time bring unro the , Polfeffioo of his Heavenly Kingdom, ro cornpleat the Number of his Glorious Subje&. And therefore it is faid concerning rhe Saiius that are already in Heaven, that White Robes wtre given to every one q( them~ and it was fa id· unro them, that they (hould refl yet for a liule Srafon, until their Fellow·Servant.t a(fo and tbeir Bretbren 'rbat jhould be Killed as tbcy, were, foould be fu!fiiied, Rev. 6. t '· · ' Secondly, Thofe glorified Saints thar are now in He;:ven, though their Joys be per-' feEt, y!::t their Perfons are nor; but o!_le part of them, their Sodies, continue fiill under the Jlrreft ofDeatb, and the Power of the Grave; but yet they fleep in Hope and through that iJilyfiical Union that· there is between Jefus <!:htifl: and every fcaner~ ed Dull of a Believer, they fhall obtain a GloJious .and Joyful RefurreElion· and rhen fball this Heavenly Kingdom be every Way. perfeEl; perfeEl: in the full Nu'mber of its Subjetls, and ev~ry SubjeEl perfea in his ent~re and compleat Reward: His Soul made fOr ever Bleffed in rhe Beatifical Vi./idn ofGod, and his Body made uncon· ceivably Glotious by t~e redundancy of that Glory that fills his Soul, and both !hall remain 10r ever with rhe Lord. . , .. And thus you fee what the Kingdom of God is, both Univetj'al and Per.xlit~r, the Kingdom of his Power, and the Kingdom. of his Grace; and that as it is Militant here on Eatth, both Vijible and lnvi./ible, and -as it is Triu11Jpbant in Heaven. The next Thing in order is, to fhew how this Kingdom of God is fa id to coma. This Word, Come, implies that we pray for a Kingdom. that is yet in its Progrefs, and bath not yet attained the higheR Pitch of that PerfeElion which is expeEl:ed and defired; for that which is yet 10 come, .is- not as yet arrived to that State in which it is to he: And therefore we do not fa properly pray that the Univcrfal Kingd'om ofGvd fhocld come; for his Dominion over. the Crearnres is aaually the fame, and.fhall be fo fore-vet;: Bur more efpecially we pray that the Pet;u/iar Kingdom of God !hould come) ana that as to ,both Parts ofir_, . Militant and Triumpbanr. Now this Pec11har Kingdom is _fa id to come in Three R.efpeas. • Fir }I, In refpeEl of'the Mean• ofGrace and Salvation; ~or wher: !hefe are rightly dtfpenfed, (!mean the Holy Word and Sacraments,) there IS the KmgdomofGod begun·and eretled; and therefOre we find it called the Word oftbe Kingdom, Mar. I 3· 19. _ Seco~d/y, In refp<El: of the Efficacy ofthofe.Means; when all Ready and Cordial 0- \>e!iliepce is yielded .w the Laws of God, then doth this Kingdom co?!ltj .arid the Glory ofir i~ aj:lvanced and increafed. . Tbirdly) In refpt:a ofPerfeEl:ion, and fa. it comes when the Graces of the S.1 ints are ftrengthened and increafc..cj. ; when the Souls of the Godly departing this Lite are receive'd into'Heaven; and when the whole Number of them fhall have their perf~Et Confun1mari6n and Blifs in the Glorification both of Soul and Body) afrer the general ·RetiirreS:ion.. And !hus we have feen how the Ki11gdom of 6od may come. · In the next Place we inu!l enquire what it is we Pray for when we fay, Thy King· dom come.
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