be for ever happy; and the souls of the wicked, being so likewise, shall be always miserable: he that is unjust and filthy now, will be after death unjust and filthy still, and ever remain so, and therefore always unhappy and miserable, Rev. xxii. 21.-7. From the parts of future punishment; the punishment of loss, and the punishment of sense. The loss of all good sustained will be irretrievable; and the sense of pain and torment will be constant, and without intermission; there will be no rest day nor night; the soul being immortal, the worm of conscience dieth not, but will be always gnawing, stinging, accusing and upbraiding, and therefore the punishment will always endure.8. From an incapacity of ever being relieved, through the use of means, the ministry of the word; or by a being brought to repentance; or by having sin pardoned, and satisfaction made for it; all which will be out of the question: the ministry of the word of peace and reconciliation will be no more; the door of the gospel will be shut; no place will be found for repentance; men will blaspheme God because of their pains, but not repent of their sins; there will be no remission of sin in the world to come, nor satisfaction to be made for sins; sinners cannot satisfy for them themselves by all that they endure; and there will be none to satisfy for them, for there will be no more offering for sin.9. From the impossibility of an escape, or a remove out of it. The place of torment is bounded by a great gulf, so that there is no passing from that to a state of happiness; which gulf is no other than the eternal and immutable decree of God, which can never be disannulled, but will remain fixed and unalterable. The heathens themselves represent Hades and Tartarus, by which they mean the same as hell, as so closely locked and shut up, that there is no return from thence *, and as strongly fortified with iron towers and gates, with walls and adamantine pillars, as impregnable, and never to be broken through.-10. From the perfections of God: The veracity of God makes eternal punishment for sin necessary. He has threatened sin, the breach of his law, with eternal death; for such is the demerit of it; and his truth and faithfulness are engaged to fulfil the threatening, unless a compensation is made for sin committed. Let God be true, and every man a liar! The justice of God also requires it; not to punish sin, would not be doing justice to himself, and to the glory of his Majesty; it would be a denying himself, a concealing his perfections, and suffering his supreme authority over his creatures to be subject to contempt; his justice, and the honour of it, make it necessary that sin should be punished, either in the sinner, or in a surety for him; wherefore no satisfaction being made to justice, nor can there be any made in a future state, the punishment must continue for ever. It is pretended by some, as if it was contrary to the justice of God, that a transient, temporary action, as sin is, should be everlastingly punished. To which it may be replied, that though sin, as an action, is a transient one, yet the evil, the guilt, the demerit of sin continue, unless purged by the blood of Christ, and atoned for by his sacrifice. Besides, sin is continued to be committed * Pausania Eliac. sive 1. 5, p. 325; Plato in Phædone, p. 84. y Homer. Iliad, 8, v. 15; Virgil. Æneid. 6, v. 548, &c. in a future state, though not the same sorts of sins, some of them, as murders, adulteries, &c., yet blasphemy, malice, envy, and the like; and therefore as they continue to be committed, it is but just that the wrath of God should remain upon them: moreover, though sin is a finite action, as an action, for nothing else can be done by a finite creature; yet it is, objectively, infinite, as committed against an infinite Being; and therefore is justly punished with the loss of an infinite good. And as the demerit of sin, as to the punishment of sense, cannot be inflicted intensively on a finite creature, that not being able to bear it; it is inflicted extensively; or is continued, ad infinitum, for ever. Nor is this contrary to the mercy and goodness of God; God is just, as well as merciful and good: and these attributes are not to be opposed to another; justice must be satisfied, as well as grace, mercy, and goodness displayed; and besides, the displays of those, or the actings thereof, are according to the sovereign will and pleasure of God; and when men have despised his goodness in providence, and his grace and mercy held forth in the gospel, and in salvation by Christ; it can be no reproach to his mercy and goodness thus despised, to punish such with everlasting destruction, 2 Thess. i. 9. OF THE FINAL STATE OF THE SAINTS. THERE is a state of happiness, which the spirits, or souls, of just men enter into immediately after the separation of them from the body; of which we have treated in a preceding chapter. But after the resurrection, which is of the saints unto everlasting life, and therefore is called the resurrection of life; and when the general judgment is over, and the invitation is given, Come ye blessed, &c., then the righteous shall go into life eternal, soul and body, Matt. xxv. 34, 46, which is the state now to be considered. And, first, the state of happiness itself, and then the eternity of it. The state of happiness the saints are possessed of after the resurrection, and general judgment, in soul and body, is expressed in the passage above quoted, by eternal life, and very frequently elsewhere. But it is not animal life, which lies in the conjunction of soul and body, and a continuance of that for ever, which is meant by eternal life; for the wicked will live such a life upon the resurrection; for as there will be a resurrection of the just, so of the unjust; they will live again, and live for evermore; though their living will be no other than the second and eternal death; for they will be destroyed, both body and soul, in hell; not as to the substance of either, but as to the comfort and happiness of both for it is not barely living, but living well, comfortably and happily, that is properly life; in which sense the word is used, Psalm xxii. 26, and such is the life the saints will live in heaven, in soul and body, in the enjoyment of God, as their covenant-God; and thrice happy are they that are in such a case; and in being with Christ! which is far better than to live in this world: and in having the communion of the holy Spirit, than which nothing can be more : comfortable; and in the society of angels and saints: all which is most eligible and desirable. In treating on this state, I shall take much the same method as in the preceding chapter. I shall, I. Prove that there will be a state of happiness of good men in the world to come; for godliness has the promise of that life which is to come; that is, of happiness in it. And this may be made to appear, in some respect, : 1. From the light of nature and reason; for though the kind of happiness is not to be discovered and demonstrated by it; yet some general notion of future happiness may be evinced from it.-1. A general notion of happiness after death has obtained among the wiser sort of heathens, who have had only the light of nature to guide them; unless some general traditions transmitted to them, especially among those who have given any credit to the immortality of the soul. Hence they speak of the Elysian fields, and islands of the blessed, as the seat and habitation of pious persons after death; and which they describe after a carnal and earthly manner; as grassy plains, and flowery meads; and as abounding with all manner of delicious fruits; and as in a most temperate climate, free of all wintry weather and blustering storms, and of scorching heat; and where they are fanned with gentle zephyrs, and delighted with flowing fountains and purple streams; and are continually regaling themselves with nectar and ambrosia. Though even their images of those things, Tertullian thinks they have borrowed from the sacred writings and the description of the heavenly state therein "If," says he, "we speak of paradise as a place of divine pleasantness, appointed for the reception of holy spirits-the Elysian fields seize upon and engross their faith." But those things are not only said by their poets, but by their wise and grave philosophers; as Plato', Plutarch, Seneca, and others.-2. From a natural desire in mankind after happiness, and which is universal; and yet it is certain it is not attained in this present life, though eagerly sought for, in one way or another. Some seek for it in natural wisdom and knowledge; some in wealth and riches; others in the honours of the world, in fame, and in popular applause; and others in the gratification of sensual appetites and lusts; but is never found to satisfaction in either; and as abundantly appears from the first and second chapters of the book of Ecclesiastes. This is only found in God, the chiefest good; and that not to perfection in this life. Now either this desire of happiness is implanted in vain, which is not reasonable to suppose; or there must be a future state, in which this happiness will be enjoyed, at least by some of the individuals of human nature, even by all good men; who, at the resurrection, and not before, will be completely happy, to full satisfaction, even when they shall awake in the likeness of God.-3. From the unequal distribution of things in the present state; which makes the providences of God very intricate and per z These have their name from by, to rejoice, hence called læta arva et læti loci, in Virgil.— Bochart. Canaan, 1. 1, c. 34, col. 600. a Tertull. Apolog. c. 47. e De facie in ore lunæ, p. 942. In Gorgia, p. 356,357; et in Axiocho, p. 1308. plexed, with difficulties not easy to be solved; and which cannot be solved without supposing a future estate; here wicked men have a large portion of good things; and good men have a large share of evil things, afflictions, and distresses; and if their hope of happiness was bounded by this life, they would be of all men most miserable; especially such who are called to endure sharp and severe sufferings: but their hope extends beyond it; as it is reasonable it should; when, as they have suffered in the cause of goodness, truth, and righteousness, that they should be glorified together; and that their present momentary afflictions should work for them, as they do, an eternal weight of glory. But this more abundantly appears, II. From divine revelation; by which life and immortality are brought to light; or an immortal life of happiness is set in the clearest light; and which may be strongly concluded, -1. From the promise of God concerning it. This is the promise, the grand and principal promise; and which includes and secures all the rest; He, that is, God, hath promised us, in the covenant of grace, and which lies in his word, even eternal life, 1 John ii. 25, which gives hope and assurance of it, and in which it issues; and this promise was made very early, even before the world began, and by God that cannot lie, and therefore to be depended on as sure and certain; and besides, it is in Christ; and not the promise only, but the thing itself, Tit. i. 2, 1 John v. 11; and in this lies the happiness of the saints, James i. 12. — 2. From the predestination of men unto it; there are vessels of mercy afore prepared in the mind, and by the will of God, for this future glory and happiness; who are chosen to the obtaining, or to the enjoyment, of the glory of Christ; to behold his glory, and appear with him in glory who are ordained to eternal life, and therefore believe to the saving of their souls; and which act of the grace, and will of God, can never be frustrated and made void; for whom he did predestinate-them he also glorified, Rom. viii. 30.-3. From the preparation of this happiness for them; this consists of things unseen and unheard of, and not to be conceived of by carnal minds, which God has prepared for them that love him, fear him, and wait for him; and which preparation was made in eternity; for it is a kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world; and which will only be given to, and will most certainly be given to, those for whom it is prepared of God. - 4. From Christ's actual possession of it for his people, in their name; and from the preparation he is making of it for them; he is entered into heaven as the forerunner for them, and has taken possession of it in their name, as their head and representative; and in whom, as so considered, they are already set down in heavenly places, and shall be in person, most certainly, ere long; for he is gone before to prepare a place for them, in his Father's house in heaven, where are many mansions, by his intercession for them, which is always prevalent; and therefore he assures them, he will come again, and receive them to himself, that where he is, they may be also, partakers of his glory and happiness, John xiv. 2, 3.-5. From the effectual vocation of men to eternal life and happiness: Lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, says the apostle Paul to Timothy; and to which happiness every man is called, who is called by grace: hence we read of the saints being called of God to his kingdom and glory; and of their being called unto his eternal glory, by Jesus Christ. Now between vocation, and glorification, there is an inseparable connexion; Whom he called them he also glorified, Rom. viii. 30.-6. From the grace of God implanted in the heart, and the earnest of the Spirit there. The grace of God, which is wrought in the heart in regeneration, is a well of living water, springing up into everlasting life, and issues in it; and the Spirit of God, in his operations on the souls of men, works them up for that self-same thing, eternal glory and happiness; and of which his indwelling also in them, is the earnest and pledge; for he is said to be given as an earnest, and to be the earnest of the inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession; that is, until the purchased ones are redeemed from mortality, death, and the grave; and, therefore, as sure as they have the earnest, they shall enjoy the inheritance, which is eternal life, John iv. 14, 2. Cor. v. 5, Eph. ii. 14. 7. From the present experiences of the saints, from those foretastes they sometimes have of future glory and happiness; like the Israelites, they have some clusters of Canaan's grapes, some of the fruits of the good land by the way, as a specimen and pledge of what they shall enjoy when they come into that better country; they now receive the first fruits of the Spirit, which encourage them to hope for the glorious harvest of the adoption of children: they now, at times, have communion with God in private, and also in public, in his house and ordinances, when they are as the gate and suburbs of heaven to them; and so, by inward felt experience know, from what they find in themselves, that there is something better, and more excellent for them in heaven.-8. From the desires of the saints after future happiness. They choose to be with Christ, as more eligible than to be here; they desire to be clothed upon, with their house from heaven, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, that they may be present with the Lord, and press towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ, Phil. i. 23, and iii. 14, 2. Cor. v. 2. And now those desires in the hearts of the saints, are not formed by the Spirit of God in vain. 9. From the assurance of it some of the saints have had, both of the Old and of the New Testament; the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and others, all died in the faith of the better country they were seeking, and were desirous of: the psalmist, Asaph, expresses his strong faith of it, that God would receive him to glory; and the apostle Paul, in his own name, and in the name of other Christians, says, we know, we are well assured, that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, Psalm Ixxiii. 24, 2 Cor. v. 1.-10. This happiness is begun already in this life; in regeneration men pass from the death of sin, into a life of grace; and a life of grace, is the life of glory begun; he that believes in Christ hath everlasting life; is possessed of it in part, and has the earnest and the beginning of it; eternal life is founded in, and begins with the knowledge of God and Christ, John v. 24. Lastly, There |