466 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. "[DISC:VIM tien, and alters our state from the condemnation of hell, to the favour and love of God : But this latter prepara- tion implies a real change of our natureby sanctifying .grace, and gives .us a temper of soul suited to the busi- ness and blessedness of the heavenly world. This is the preparationwhich my text speaks of. The great enquiry therefore at present is, " What are those steps, or gradual operations, by which the blessed God works us up to this fitness for heaven ?" And here I shall not run over all the parts and linea- ments of the new creature, which is formed by regenera- tion, nor the particular operations of converting grace, whereby we are convinced of sin, and led to faith and re- pentance, and new obedience, though theseare all neces- sary to this end ; but I shall confine myself only to those- things which have a more immediate reference to the hea- venly blessedness, and they are such as follow : 1. " God works us up to a preparation for the hea- venly felicity, by establishing and confirming our belief, that there is a heaven provided for the saints, and by giving us some clearer acquaintance with the nature, the business, and the blessedness of this heaven." All this is done by the gospel of Christ, and by the secret opera tion of the blessed God, teaching us to Understand his gospel. Alas ! how ignorant were the heathen sages, about any future state for the righteous ? How bewildered were the best of them in all their imaginations ? How vain were all their reasonings upon this subject; and howlittle satisfaction could they give to an honest enquirer, whe- ther . there was any reward provided for good men be- yond this life ? The light of nature was their guide ; and those in whom this feeble taper burned with the fairest lustre, were still left in greatdarkness about futurity. As the gentile philosophers were left in great uncertainties whether there was any heaven or no, so were their conceptions of heavenly things very absurd and ridicu- lous; and their various fancies about the nature and enjoyments of it, were all impertinence. And how little knowledge had the patriarchs them- selves, if we may judge of their knowledge by the five booksofMoses, which give no plain and express promise of future happiness inanother. world, neither to Abel nor
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