A. 4. The glory of this kingdom is con- stantly exhilarating and refreshing ; there is fulness but no surfeit. W(»rldly com- forts, though sweet, yet in time grow stale ; a down-bed pleaseth a while, but within a while we are weary, and would i ise. Too much ])leasure is a pain ; but the glory of heaven doth never surfeit or nauseate ; the reason is, because, as there are all rarities imaginable, so every moment fresh dcdights spring from God into the glorified soul.
A. 5. The glory of this kingdom is dis- tributed to every individual saint. In an earthly kingdom the crown goes but to one, a crown will fit but one head : but in that kingdom above, the crown goes to all, Rev, i. 6. All the elect are kings. The land is settled chiefly upon the heir, and the rest are ill provided for ; but, in the kingd<mi of heaven, all the saints are heirs, Rom. viii. 17., "Heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." God hath land enough to give to all his heirs.
A. 6. Lucid and transparent. This king- dom of heaven is adorned and bespangled with light, 1 Tim. vi. 16. Light is the glo- ry of the creation, Eccl. xi. 7., "The light is sweet." Hell is a dark dungeon, Mat. xxii. 13. Fire, but no light. The king- dom of heaven is a diaphaman, — all embroi- dered with light, clear as crystal. How can there want liffht where Christ the Sun of Righteousness displays his gcdden beams ? Rev. xxi. 23., " The glory of (iod did light- en it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."
A. 7. The gh>ry of this kingdom is ade- fpiate and proportionable to the desire of the soul. In creature fruitions, that which doth commend them, and set them off to us, is suitableness ; the content of marriage doth not lie either in Ix'autv or })ortion, but
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the sui(a1)l(*ncss of disposition. The exc '1- lency of a toast is when the meat is suited to tlic ])alate : this is one ingredient in the glory of heaven, it exactly suits the desires of the glorified saints. We shall not say in heaven, here is a dish I do not love ! There shall be music suits the ear, — the an- thems of angels ; and food that suits with the glorified palate, — the hidden manna of God's love.
A. 8. The giory of this kingdom will be seasonable. The seasonableness of a mercy adds to its beauty and sweetness ; it is like apples of gohl to pictures of silver. After an hard winter in this cold climate, will it not be seasonable to have the spring-flow- ers of glory appear, and the singing of the birds of ])aradise come ? When we have been wearied, and even tired out in battle with sin and Satan, will not a crown be sea- Konable ?
Quest. 3. JV/ierein the kiugdom of heaven inJiiiUelij excels all the khigdoms of the earth ?
Ans. 1. It excels in the architect ; other kingtloms have men to raise their structures, but (iod himself laid the first stone in this kingdom, lleb. xi. 10. This kingdom is of the greatest antiquity ; God was the first king and founder of it ; no angel was wor- thy to lay a stone in this building.
A. 2. This heavenly kingdom excels in altitude; it is higher situated than any kingdom ; the higher any thing is the more excellent; the fire being the most sublime element is most noble. Tiie kingdom of heaven is seated above all the visible orbs. There is, l.s/. The airy heaven, which is the gpace fiom the earth to the sphere of the moon. 2fL The starry heaven, the place where are tlie planets of an higher elevation, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars. 3cl. The calmti em- pyncuiti, the empyrean heaven, which Paul rails the third heaven ; where Christ is, there is the kingdom of glory situated. This kingdtun is so high that no scaling ladders of enemies can reach it, — so higli that the old serpent cannot shoot up his fiery darts to it. If wicked men could build their nests among the stars, yet the least believer would shortiv be above them.
A. 3. TJie kingdom of heaven excels all others in sph'n(h)ur and riches ; it is <le- scribed by precious stones, Rev. xxi. 19.
"\Miat are all the rarities of the earth to this kingdom, coasts of pearl, rocks of diamonds, islands of spices ? What are the wonders of the world to it, the Egyptian pyramids, the temple of Diana, the pillar of tlie sun of- fered to Jupiter ? What a rich kingdom is that where God will lay out all his cost ! Those who are poor in the world, yet, as soon as they come into this kingdom, grow rich, as rich as the angels ; other kingdoms are enriched with gold, this is enriched with the Deity.