3. We shall in the kingdom of he.iven, enjoy the society of ' an innumerable com- pany of angels,' Ileb. xii. 22.
Quest. But is there not enough in God to fill the soul with delight ? Can the sight (if angels add to the soid's happiness ? What need IS tliere of the light of torches^ uhen the nun shines ?
Ans. Because the divine essence, the sight
rious workmansliip sliines in the angels ; the angels are beautiful glorious creatures : and as the several strings in a lute make the harmony sweeter, and the several stars make the firmament brighter, so the society with angels will make the delight of heaven the greater ; and we shall not only see the angels with the glorified eye of our under- standing, but converse with them.
4. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, have sweet society witli glorified saints ; then the communion of saints will be illus- trious. O what a blessed time will it be when those who have prayed, wept, suffer- ed together, shall rejoice togetiier ! We shall see the saints in their white linen of j)urity, and see them as so many crowned kings ; in beholding the saints glorified, we shall behold an heaven full of suns. Some move the question, whether we shall know one another in heaven ? Surely our knowledge shall not be diminished, but increased. It is the judgment of Luther and Anselm, and many other divines, that we shall know one another, — yea, the saints of all ages, whose faces we never saw ; and, when we shall see the saints in glory without their spots, viz. their infirmities, pride and passion, this will be a glorious sight. We see how Peter wa8 transported when he saw but two proj)liet8 in the trsnsfiguration, Mat. xvii. 3. ; but, what a blessed sight will it be when we shall see sucli a glorious company of pro- |)hets, and martyrs, and holy men of God ! Mow sweet will the music bo, when they shall all sing together in concert, in the heavenly choir ! And though, in this great assembly of saints and angels, " one star may differ from another in glory," yet no sucii weed as envy shall ever grow in the paradise of God ; then there shall be perJ'ect love, which, as it casts out fear, so also en- vy ; though one vessel of glory may hold more than another, yet every vessel shall bo full.
5. In the kingdom of heaven there shall be incomprehensible joy. Aristotle saith, " j*'y proceeds from union." AVhen the saints' union with Christ is perfected in heaven, then their joy shall be full ; all the birds of the heavenly paradise sing for joy. What joy when the saints shah see the great
of angels is desirable ; much of God's cu- \ gulf shot, and know that they are passed
OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER.
from (leatli to life ! What joy, when they are as holy Jis they would he, and as God would have them to be ! What joy to liear tlie music of anj^els, — to see the golden ban- iiei' of Christ's love displayed over tiie soul, — to be drinkinjij that water of life which is quintessential, and is sweeter than all nectar and ambrosia ! What joy when the saints shall see Christ clothed in their flesh, sittiiifj- in glory above the angels ! Then they shall enter into the joy of their Lord, Mat. xxv. 21. Here joy enters into the saints, in heaven, ' they enter into joy.' O thou saint of God, who now hangest thy harj) upon the willows, and minglest thy drink with weeping, in the kingdom of heaven thy wa- ter shall be turned into wine ; you shall have so much felicity, that your souls cannot wish for more ! The sea is not so full of Avater, as the heart of a glorified saint is of joy ; there can be no more sorrow in heaven than there is joy in hell.
6. In heaven there is honour and digni- ty put upon the saints. A kingdom im- ports honour. All that come into heaven are kings ; they have, 1. A crown. Rev. ii. 10 Dabi tibi the crown of life ; corona est insigne regies potestatis. This crown is not lined with thorns, but hung with jewels ; it is a never-fading crown, 1 Pet. v. 4. — 2. The saints in heaven have their robes ; they exchange their sackcloth for white robes. Rev. vii. 9., " I beheld, and lo, a great mul- titude, which no man could number, cloth- ed in white robes !" Robes signify their glory, white their sanctity. — And, 3. Tliey sit with Christ upon the throne. Rev. iii. 21. We read, 1 Kings vi. 32., the doors of the holy of holies were made of palm-trees and open flowers covered with gold : an emblem of that victory and that garland of glory which the saints shall wear in the kingdom of heaven. Wlicn all the titles and ensigns of worldly honour shall lie in the dust, — the mace, the silver star, the garter, — then sliall the saints' honour re- main.
7. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, have a blessed rest. Rest is the end of mo- tion ; heaven is centrnm (piictatiminn miinice, the blessed centre where the soul doth ac- quiesce and rest. In this life we are sub- ject to unquiet motions and fluctuations.