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464

A

SOUL

PREPARED FOR

ilEAVEN.

CDISC.

yirr.

sures

us

there

are

many mansions

in his

Father's

house,

and

that

he

went

to

prepare

a

place

there

for

his

followers,

"

I

tell you,"

says he,

John

viii. 38.

" I

tell you the

things

which

I

have

seen

with

my

Father."

And when

he came again from

the

dead,

he

made

it appear

to his

disciples,

that

he had

"

brought

life

and immortality

to

light

by

his gospel

;"

2

Tint.

i.

10.

It

is

only

the New

Testament

that

gives us

so

bright

and satisfactory an

account

what

our future heaven

is

:

"

The righteous

shall

be

with

God,

shall

behold

him,

shall

dwell with

Christ, and

see his

glory

;

"

they shall

worship day

and night

in his

temple, and

sing

the

praises

of

him

that

sits

upon

the

throne, and

of

the Lamb

that

'has

redeemed

them

by

his

blood

;

there

shall

be

no

sin,

no

sorrow,

no

death, nor

any more

pain

;"

Rev.

xxi.

4.

they

shall bave such

satisfactions and employments

as

are

worthy

of

a rational nature,

and

a

soul

refined from

sense

and

sig. St.

Paul,

one

of

his

disciples,

was

trans-

ported

into the third heaven before

he

died, and

there

learned

"

unspeakable

things

;" 2

Cor. xii.

2, 4.

and

he,

together

with the

other

apostles, have published the

glo-

ries

of that future

world, which they

learned

from

Jesus,

their

Lord, and confirmed these things

to

our

faith,

by

prophecies

and miracles

without

number.

Now the

blessed

God himself prepares

his

own people

for this heaven of happiness,

by giving

them

a

full

con-

viction

and assurance

of

the

truth of

all

these divine dis-

coveries;

he

impresses them upon

their

heart

with pow-

er, and

makes them

attend

to those divine impressions.

Every true christian

has

learned

to

say

within

himself,

"

This celestial blessedness

is

no

dream,

is

no

painted

vision, no gay scene

of

flattering

fancy,

nor

is

it

a

matter

of

doubtful dispute, or

of

uncertain

opinion.

I

am

assured

of it

from the words

of

Christ, the

Son

of God,

and

from

his

blessed followers, whom he

authorized to

teach

me

the things

of

a

future

world;"

He

that

is

taught

of God,

behold

these

glories. in

the

light of

a divine

faith,

which

is to

him;

"

the substance

of

things hoped for,

and

the

evidente

of

things

not

yet

seen

;"

lIeb.

xi.

1.

2.

God

works

up the souls

of

his

people

to

a

prepa-

ration

for the heavenly

estate,

by.

"

purifying

them

from

every defilement,

that

might unfit them for the blessed-

ness

of

heaven."

The

removal

of

the

-guilt

of

sin,

-by

his

pardoning

mercy,

I

have mentioned

before,

as

necessary