DISCOURSE VIII. 158 writings of David, Isaiah, Daniel, and sòme of the prophets; But the brightest of these notices fall far short of what the gos- pel of our Lord Jesus Christ has set before us. The Son of God, who came down from heaven,, where he had lived from before the creation of this world, has revealed to us infinitely more of the invisible state than all that went before him : He tells us of the pure in heart enjoying the sight of God, and con- versing with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the ancient saints: He assures 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 the gospel; 2 Tim. i. 10. It is only the New Testament that gives us so bright and satisfactory an account what our future heaven is : The righte- ous 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 sorroiv, no death, nor any .more pain; Rev. xxi. 4. they shall have such satisfactions and employments as are worthy of a rational nature, and a soul refined from sense and.sin. St. Paul, one of his disciples, was transported 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 publish- ed the glories of that future world, which they learned from Jesus, their Lord, and cónfirmed 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 conviction and assurance of the truth of all these divine discoveries ;. he im- presses them upon their heart with power, 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 assu- red 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 beholds these glories in the light of a divine faith, which is to him, the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not yet seen; Heb. vi. 1. 2. God works up the souls of his people to a preparation for the heavenly state, by " purifying them from every defilement, that might unfit them for the blessedness of heaven." The re- moval of the guilt of sin, by his pardoning mercy, I have men-
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