44$ 11HE HAPFINESS OF SE?ARATli sP'tRITS. CDiSe.ÌI. sense, with him. There Enoch and Elijah are in their immortal bodies, and other saints who rose at the resur- rection of Christ. They may be, for ought we know, in or among some of the planets, or amongst the stars, though the distance of the stars is so prodigious and amazing, according to the exactest calculations of the new philosophy, that if the motion of a spirit or glorified body were no swifter than that of a cannon bullet, they would not get so far as the stars in a thousand ages ; nor would the journey of so swift a traveller to any of the planets, except the moon, cost less than the labour of se- veral years. 7. These things are so puzzling to our reason, so con- found our imagination, and so far transcend the reach of our present faculties to enquire and determine, that it is sufficient for us to know and believe, that the spirits of the just made perfect have an existence under the bliss- ful influences of the grace and glory of God. And though we freely speak of them, and the scripture leads us to conceive of them, as dwelling in a world of light, and in some special place of magnificence and apartments of glory, or as moving from one place to another ; yet perhaps it is to be understood chiefly in condescension to the weakness of our present capacities, or in relation to vehicles to which they may be united. But our igno- rance in these matters shall be no hindrance to our ar- rival at heaven, if we tread the paths of faith and holi- ness, though we know not in what part of the creation it lies. I proceed to the second remark. REMARK II. If all the spirits of the just that depart from this world are made perfect, then there is much better company above than there is below. The society in heaven is much more agreeable than the best society on earth. Here we meet with a multitude of sinners ; they are ready to mingle in all the affairs of life, and sometimes hypocrites join with us in the sacred ordinances of the sanctuary. The apostle himself hath told us, that in the civil concerns of this life we cannot avoid them ; for if we will keep no company with sinners, we must have no- thing to do in this world, " we must needs go out of it;" 1 Cor.v.1O. But in the world above there are nothing but saints; no inhabitant there but what is holy. There are
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