Chapter III

That the souls of believers, immediately after their separation from the body, live an happy life in the enjoyment of God, proved from the account which

ice have of the state of dying saints both in the Old and New Testament.

Of the glory of the body after the resurrection, I have discoursed largely in another treatise.* The design of my present discourse is to prove that the souls of dying saints do live a life of perfect holiness and blessedness in the enjoyment of God and Christ in the heavens, until the resurrection.

1. It is a life.

2. It is a life of perfect holiness.

3. It is a life of blessedness in the enjoyment of God.

4. It is a life of the saints living in a company together. 5. As for the place, it is in the heavens. No one proof will comprehend all and each ; but one will arise out of one proof, another out of another. Neither will I range the proofs to the method of these particulars as heads, but rather go over the Scriptures from first to last; which opened, you will sometimes see one of these par- * Discourse of the Creatures, and the Condition of their State by Creation, Book II. Chap. xi. in Vol. II. of his works. [See this volume, supra. ED.]

CHAP. III.] OP THE SAINTS IN GLORY. 847

ticulars arise, sometimes another, and out of the whole each and all of

these.

1. I shall, concerning this estate, produce proofs out of the Old Testa

ment.

2. Out of the New. In the Old Testament I shall instance only in Abraham, because it will

carry the condition of all other believers of the Old Testament with it ; he

* of all the faithful.

being the father, and so the pattern,

I observe, that Christ and the apostles affected (if I may so speak) to

use the instance of him to prove the greatest foundations of religion. Christ used it to prove the resurrection and the soul s immortality against the Sadducees, who denied both : Mat. xxii. 32, Have you not read that which was spoken by God to you, I am the God of Abraham, and the God

of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? God is not the God of the dead, but of

the living. And the instance of Abraham is also alleged by Paul in the

point of justification, by James for sanctification. In like manner our

divines have had their first recourse to Abraham s case, to prove this state

of blessedness to the souls of men that die in the faith, immediately after

their death. It is evident that God preached to him the foundations of

the gospel in plain and real terms ; and so it falls out, that in one and the same chapter (namely, Gen. xv.) God delivers to him,

1. The great and fundamental point of justification by faith, and that

by imputation, than which the gospel knows no higher. So ver. 6, And

he believed in the Lord, and it was counted or imputed to him for right eousness ; which Paul invincibly urgeth in two epistles. 2. And, secondly, what heaven is, and wherein man s happiness con

sists. He declares it plainly, Gen. xv. 1, I myself am thy shield, that

is, in this life, and thy exceeding great reward, after this life ended. For

reward is after the finishing of work ; and therefore, having said before, rWalk before me, and be upright, what is this reward but the blessedness

of heaven without types or metaphors, nakedly, and in the substance and

quintessence of it expressed ? Christ himself (of whom, and for whom the

16th Psalm was professedly penned) says no other, nor no more of it :

* The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, &c. For the

Ps. xvi. 5, 6,

joy of which was set afore him it was that he "laid down his life, endured

* heart was glad, and his flesh did rest in hope, as in

his cross, and his

the psalm it suitably follows : ver. 9, For in thy presence is fulness of

joy ; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore, ver. 11, all in God alone.

3. Thirdly, God takes in the same chapter a fit occasion to acquaint him for his comfort what the condition of his soul should be : Thou shalt

go to thy fathers in peace, thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

Now the making forth of the happy state of his soul after death (then to have God his exceeding great reward), as also of the rest of the souls of

just men, in the whole Old Testament, is absolved in these four particulars

1. By a more narrow consideration of the coherence of these words, as

here they stand circumstantiated with those observations, which the New Testament makes upon these words afore and after. The promise to Abraham was made in a vision given him, and is circumstantiated afore and after with the promises of Canaan to his seed after the fourth genera

tion. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge ; and

afterwards they shall come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace ; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in

343 OF THE BLESSED STATE [CHAP. III.

the fourth generation they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Ainorites is not yet full. And Stephen plainly commenting on these very words, Acts vii. 5-7, takes notice, that as for Abraham himself, God gave him none inheritance in it, no, not to set his foot on ; yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land ; and that they should bring them into

bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years, verses 5, 6. "Which

is the sum of these very verses in Genesis. And Paul, afterwards further

opening the mystery of this, shews, that God would thereby signify, that he meant and intended him, and those succeeding patriarchs Isaac and

Jacob, a far better state and condition, expressed by country or city filled with inhabitants, which in the mean time was to be enjoyed by them,

seeing that they to whom the promises were first made did not yet possess Canaan, but their seed. So Heb. xi. 9, 10, By faith Abraham sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, observe that, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same pro mise : for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. And verse 13,

* These all died in faith, not having received the promises, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they which say such things declare plainly observe that

* that

they seek a country. It is evidenced by this, that they to whom the

promise of Canaan was first made fell short thereof, verse 16. But now, that is, upon this declaration of God s that they should not possess Canaan,

it was that they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly. The meaning

is, it was shewed hereby, that their expectations were diverted and pitched by God on a state of blessedness in heaven in the enjoyment of God. For

it follows, God is not ashamed to be called their God, according to that

elsewhere, I am the God of Abraham, &c. And here it is said,

* I am

thy exceeding great reward ; which speeches of God were greater words than the promise of Canaan, and God should have been ashamed to have

spoken these things, if he should have disappointed them of the promise of Canaan, and given that to their seed after them, and if he had not reserved some greater and more excellent thing in the mean time to be possessed^ by them, which was worthy of that title, I am the God of Abraham, &c. Yea, their seed should have been in afar better condition than they, if

they must have stayed for that heavenly country till the general resurrec tion ; for then these to whom the promises were first and chiefly given, would have had far the worst of it in comparison of their seed. For their seed should have possessed the land, and yet have as soon been possessed of the glory of the resurrection as Abraham and Isaac were. Then observe, how in the entrance to this paragraph, Heb. xi. verse 13, there is this

clause, These all died in faith. Why is that so specially put in ? For it had been said, that whilst they lived, they had professed that they sought another country, and desired an heavenly, verses 14, 16. But over and above, you see, it is added, they died in the faith ; because, upon their deaths it was, that God promised their entrance into that heavenly country, and they accordingly in dying believed to enjoy it, which they had here seen afar off, but by faith, and pursued after but by desires.

Now to return again to Gen. xv. 15. After God had declared himself

his exceeding reward, and declared him justified from all sins, and gave

forth, that not he but his seed should possess Canaan, then to quiet him, he declares what should be his state after death, that so he might die in

CHAP. III.] OF THE SAINTS IN GLORY. 349

the faith thereof. For thy bodily estate thoti shalt live long, and to a gtod

age, and be buried : this was an outward blessing. 2. Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, or as some read it into peace

: this for thy soul. And,

3, thou shalt pass into a country and city already better inhabited ; namely, with all thy godly forefathers. And this God mentions, first, because the

height of his comfort and expectation lay in that. And this, says God,

shall be thy condition in the mean time, whilst thy seed are possessing the

earthly Canaan, instead of thine own personal possessing of it.

This, by comparing all these things together, serves to illustrate in the

general the scope of these words, and this assertion out of it. More par

ticularly, there are two phrases to be attended to : 1. Thou shalt go to

* in peace, or, as some read it, into peace/ And both

thy Fathers ; 2,

these phrases were first used of Abraham about his dying, by way of pro mise ; they are the first in all the book of God. So then the second thing for the making forth of this will be the open

* Thou shalt go to thy fathers. By which some would have no more meant than this, thou shalt die ; so Vatablus and others. And it is certain death is always thereby meant ; and whenever it is said,

ing this phrase,

they slept with their fathers (which is up and down in the books of Kings and Chronicles), it certainly doth signify death only ; the sleep, namely, of

their bodies in the common receptacle of the earth. But when it is said,

they go to their fathers, or are gathered to their fathers, the just query will be, whether further what concerns the soul and the state thereof is not

thereby principally intended ? Now, so it falls out, that when Abraham s

dying itself cometh to be recorded, this here promised, of being gathered to his fathers, is distinctly and apart, and over and above his dying, men

tioned, as importing some further thing after deatti, and that besides his

burial also. And this being the promise beforehand, must be supposed to intend one of the greatest comforts God could give him against his dying,

and his not possessing personally that land ; and so it is to be interpreted by what we find in the records of his death. Now, chap. xxv. 8, it is" thus

* Then Abraham gave up the ghost, as of Christ it is said, and died, and was gathered to his people, which inteprets this here of going to his

said,

fathers, and his sons buried him. Here are enumerated (as I take it) all that concerns death distinctly or apart: 1, a giving up the soul into

the hands of God ; 2, the death of the man, or dissolution of the personal union between soul and body, namely, that he died ancj ceas.ed to be a man

as before ; 3, and was gathered to his people, and this is, a thing dis

tinct from death, for he mentioned that before, and it follows after his dying, and is distinct from his burial also, for that follows after this : y.er. 9,

* His sons buried him. So then that gathering to his people, which is distinct from giving up the ghost, from death and burial, imports something besides

all those other.

Again, as this was then first promised and -spoken of Abraham s death, so we find all these four things in the same words and in the same order, even the very same said of Isaac : Gen xxxv. 29, And Isaac gave up the

ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of

: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. The like is said of Moses and Aaron in Deut. xxxii. 50, Die and be gathered unto thy people; even as thy brother Aaron died, and was gathered to his people. So that

days

to be gathered to his people in Abraham and the rest of these holy ones, was a distinct thing from death, and the consequent of it.

If next the inquiry be what more especially this means, to go to his

350 OF THE BLESSED STATE [CHAP. III.

fathers, and to be gathered to his people, taken thus, distinct from dying,

burial, &c., the account lies fair that it respected the soul and the state

thereof after his death. For to be gathered to his fathers and people,

imports a company of people not only extant, but selected and gathered

together already, to whom he goes and is gathered. Our Saviour Christ,

speaking of this our Abraham and all the godly departed, says, that now

they live unto God, Luke xx. 28, whenas to the world s eye they are not. There is then a people, a company of souls that live unto God, whom when

an holy man gives up the ghost his soul is gathered unto, whilst the body

lies buried in the grave.

1. Gathering imports a careful sorting or collection of things that were

confusedly dispersed, as Isa. Ivii. 8 ; * and so that, though all sorts are in

this world mingled, both good and bad together, as tares and the wheat,

yet now the good are gathered, sorted, and reserved, and kept safe together. The same phrase is indeed used in common of bad as well as good, as of

Ishmacl in the very same chapter the phrase is used as well as of Abraham

(of which Ishmael, where you will rank him I will not dispute, you know he

persecuted Isaac, and is made a type of the covenant of works, if supposed

wicked). In the same Gen. xxv. 17 it is said, And he gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered to his people. But though the phrase is in common use of good and bad,f both having immortal souls to be gathered,

yet each is to be understood in their respective sense. The one went to

his people, the other to theirs, according as their condition was when they died.

2. More especially the souls of God s saints may well be said to be

gathered to their people and their fathers when they die, because they go to that peculiar place where all their godly countrymen and ancestors are. Nor doth it hinder to be understood of Abraham, albeit the most of his

countrymen and many of his fathers might be idolaters, seeing many of

both ranks were pious, and went to God when they died, and might be

styled his people, though little of kin to him, that were the people of that God whom he served. Yea, as well might all the faithful that were before him be termed his fathers, whether carnally he were descended of them or

no, as all the faithful that came after him be termed his sons.!

And indeed, if there were such a gathering of souls into a company in

the other world, that they all went to one and the same place, and to one and the same company, this would destroy what is here first spoken of Abraham as a promise and a blessing, as also of the rest, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron. It had been a loss and a disadvantage to have gone into the popish limbus, which differs little from hell with them for place ;

it having also the punishment of loss accompanying it, which is the worst

part of hell s punishments.

Abraham had a great company of holy and godly fathers, Adam, Enoch,

Noah, &c., forerunners in holiness (which are termed our fathers), Abel

and of the seed of Seth, which had been gathered afore him in the other

world, whom God promiseth him here, that when he died he should go unto.

* Probably Isa. Iviii. 8, where the marginal reading is, The glory of the Lord

shall gather them up. ED.

t Gataker s Sermon on that text, Gen. xv. 15.

J Smith on the Creed, p. 600, on this text : It could not be meant of the bodies

of his fathers, for they were buried in another country ; nor of their souls, for they were idolaters ; but it was meant of the fathers of his faith, to such as he was, holy and good men. For such as a man is, and converses with in life, he shall be

gathered to.

CHAP. III.] OF THE SAINTS IN GLORY. 351

And the consideration of its opposite may greatly conduce to confirm and

illustrate this different respective gathering of souls to their several com

panies, as intended in that phrase, though common to both, Judges ii. 10. For this serves that notion of Mr Mede,* that in the Old Testament, the

first and most ancient phrase to express going to hell was to go to the company of the giants ; so he renders it of many places of the Proverbs : Prov. ix. 18, He that goes into the strange woman knows not (or considers

not) that the giants are there ; and that her guests are in the depths of

hell; and Prov. xxi. 16, The man that wandereth out of his way shall remain in the congregation of the dead. The original is rephaim, of the

giants. This Alapide and others have taken notice of also. The giants were those men eminently wicked, that lived afore the flood, upon whom the flood came and swept them to hell ; for by reason of them the iniquity of the earth was great, Gen. vi. And because hell had a flush of them, and was replenished at once with such a numerous addition, hence from

their company it bore the name of the place of the giants. Yea, and they were those of whom Peter instanceth in, when he speaks of the spirits in

prison, or in hell, to whom in the ministry of Noah Christ preached, 1 Pet.

iii. 20. So then, for wicked men to be gathered to their fathers (namely, in wickedness), was all one as to go to the giants; that is, eminently wicked,

who were men of renown for wickedness.

Now then, if wicked men are gathered to the congregation and company of wicked men as severed from the godly; then answerably, when Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob died, and are said to be gathered to their fathers, it

is meant of their predecessors in holiness. And that it is said of Abraham

first, was because he was the father of all the faithful to come, and because by this time heaven had a considerable company of the spirits of just men made perfect, from Abel s time, even the godly out of many generations. And truly if we consider the importance of that, which in the first intro duction unto this discourse was asserted, that Abraham and these fathers whilst they lived are said to have sought and desired a better country and

city made by God, it comes all to one, for that was to go to a city and

country plentifully inhabited and replenished with those of their own kind,

tribe, and affinity. This a country or city speaketh and supposeth, and so diners not from going to his fathers, or being gathered to his people, that

is, to his countrymen and kindred.

And which yet more adds to the confirmation of this, our Saviour, when he would express the Gentiles being gathered and going to heaven, he doth it thus : Mat. viii. 11, They shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Their going to heaven is set out by their going to these renowned fathers, to their company, to their place and enjoyments, to whom the promises of heaven more eminently were made, and therefore it is in effect to say that they should go to their

fathers, even as wicked men do to theirs.

3. It was promised to Abraham that he should go to his fathers in

peace, or into peace, Gen. xv. 15. By peace you know the Jews

expressed the whole of blessedness, the affluence of all happiness. Answer-

ably in the New Testament peace is wished as the effect, and the total effect

of grace, or the utmost that grace in the heart of God hath designed to us. The Jewish ordinary wish at parting was, Go in peace, which is all one with that usual phrase, I wish you all happiness. When therefore God

promiseth this to Abraham at his death, look as God s well-wishes and * Diatribe, Part I. on Prov. xxi. 16.

352 OF THE BLESSED STATE [CHAP. III.

promises must be supposed of greater good things than man can wish or

give, so far doth this promise made by God exceed all that man can be

supposed to desire of happiness unto another his friend, as Abraham was

to God. And so this phrase also intends a future happiness after death unto his soul, when his body should be laid in the ground, as the next words shew.

I know the phrase of dying in peace is sometimes used in Scripture to

express such a death or departure hence, as in a man, the great desires of

a man s heart are accomplished, so as there is nothing left to detain him. As when Jacob saw Joseph,

* Now let me die, says be, Gen. xlvi. 30; and

* It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord s

as, Luke ii. 26, 29, in the case of Simeon,

f Lord^ now lettest thou thy servant depart in

Christ : ver. 29, says he,

peace, "according to thy word ; whose speech may yet be well supposed to have this meaning, Now let me depart hence into that peace in heaven, which thou hast provided for those that wait upon thee, from which I have

hitherto been detained to see this sight of my Saviour, and according to

thy word. For else his soul may well be thought to have desired still to

live and to see his works, and hear his gracious words, which kings and

prophets, Christ said, did desire to hear and see ; whereas he now leaves him in his swaddling clothes to go into this peace we speak of, on which

his hopes were fixed.

But that which more confirms the assertion, that this great and first pro mise to Abraham (besides what hath been said, that it was made to his

soul, distinct from that made to his body), was intended not of an outward,

quiet death only, but of going to rest and happiness, is the correspondency which this holds with that promise, which, in analogy to this made to

Abraham, we find made to every believer: that walks in his uprightness, as Abraham did, Gen. xvii. 1. The state of all after death, who -walk in such

uprightness, we have expressed, Isa. Ivii. 1,2, The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart : and merciful men are taken away, none con

sidering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. Their

* He shall enter into peace, they shall -rest in their

state after death follows :

: or each one walk

beds. Whoever he be that walketh in his uprightness

ing, or that walketh, &c. ; which words are evidently spoken of the happi-

jiess of souls after death, and so do fitly interpret this promise he made to Abraham in the like case. It is their state after death is spoken of, for

their death is spoken of, ver. 1, in their perishing (as to this world) and

: and as the comfort and consequent thereof, it is said, He shall enter into peace. He, to be sure, shall be blessed. The prophet Isaiah speaks of it as of a new state or condition succeeding the former, for

being taken away

ijb is entering into it ; and it holds -correspondency with that of Christ, Enter into thy Master s joy, Mat. xxv. 23 ; and it agrees also with another

* entering into life, Mat. xriii. 8. And the words of Jsaiah are

phrase of

exactly parallel to that which was said of Abraham, and in the same order.

1. He shall enter into peace and blessedness, as to the soul. 2. They

shall rest in their beds&gt; that is, their graves ; death being the sleep of the

body, as often it is expressed in the New Testament, unto which the words

of the prophet answer in another place : Isa. xxvi. 19, Thy dead men shall

live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell indust : for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall

cast out the dead, A,ttd this entrance into peace is therefore meant of the

soul s entering into joy and peace, during that time that the body rests in

CHAP. III.] OF THE SAINTS IN GLORY. 353

its bed, namely, the grave. Nor is it spoken of martyrs only, that die m evil times by persecution, but, on the contrary, of those that die afore such times approach; yea, and universally, of every one that walks uprightly.

4. Now, fourthly, for a confirmation of all this, Christ in the New Tes tament hath termed (whilst yet the state and language of the Old Testament was in force) that state of bliss which souls then departing had, Abraham s bosom, Luke xvi. 22. And their being gathered thither, as expressed in the Old, is styled by Christ, a being carried by angels thereunto. And indeed Abraham having been set up as the father of all the faithful, as their state on earth is named a life of faith common to him and them, so the estate of their souls also in glory, until the resurrection, is expressed by the state of his soul as the chief guest, in whose bosom they all are to lie, or sit down as guests with him at the same feast. Now though that story of Lazarus and the rich man be but a parable, yet, as every parable, so that must have a principal and substantial scope, and mam drift it centres in, and from that drift we may as safely argue as from any other scripture. Now it hath no scope but what is utterly insig nificant, if this be not the scope of it ; namely, to shew the different state of

&lt; And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham s bosom : the rich man also died, and was buried. It was also, when Dives had brethren on earth, capable of being warned to avoid coming into that place. See verses 27, 28 :

&lt; Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father s house : for I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of tor ments/ It was also afore the general resurrection ; for, ver. 30, he pleads, that if one went from the dead, they would repent. Lastly, it was whilst they had Moses and the prophets to attend unto, as the means of salvation, to whom Abraham refers them : ver. 81, And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. And therefore also was it a state of souls, as supposed under the Old Testament, when Moses and the prophets were the chief means of salvation, and no scripture else extant. And that Lazarus his lying in Abraham s bosom was heaven, and an heavenly con dition, may be confirmed by these two things

: 1. That he was carried into it by angels. Now their only walk is between heaven and earth,

ascending and descending upon Christ, John i. 51. They go not to hell. It is also the place which the angels belong unto, for themselves are the inhabitants of heaven.

&lt;

2. But secondly, and more expressly, the saints of the Old and New lestament are said

&lt; to sit down with Abraham in the kingdom of heaven, Mat. vm. 11, which is not the state of the gospel, for Abraham lived not those times, but a state of glory. For oppositely it is said, ver. 12, that the children of the kingdom shall be cast into utter darkness. So then, put altogether, Abraham s soul upon his death, went to his godly lathers, into peace ; Adam, Enoch, Noah, and the rest of the saints in the Old Testament after him, are said to enter into peace, each of them after the example of Abraham, Isa. Ivii. ; yea, in the New Testament, to be carVOL. VII. z

352 OF THE BLESSED STATE [C/HA.P. III.

promises must be supposed of greater good things than man can wish or

give, so far doth this promise made by God exceed all that man can be

supposed to desire of happiness unto another his friend, as Abraham was

to God. And so this phrase also intends a future happiness after death

unto his soul, when his body should be laid in the ground, as the next

words shew.

I know the phrase of dying in peace is sometimes used in Scripture to

express such a death or departure hence, as in a man, the great desires of

a man s heart are accomplished, so as there is nothing left to detain him. As when Jacob saw Joseph,

* Now let me die, says he, Gen. xlvi. 30; and

* It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord s

as, Luke ii. 26, 29, in the case of Simeon,

&lt; Lord,, now lettest thou thy servant depart in

Christ : ver, 29, says he,

peace, according to thy word ; whose speech may yet be well supposed

to have this meaning, Now let me depart hence into that peace in heaven, which thou hast provided far those that wait upon thee, from which I have

hitherto been detained to see this sight of my Saviour, and according to

thy word. For else his soul may well be thought to have desired still to

live and to see his works, and hear his gracious words, which kings and

prophets, Christ said, did desire to hear and see ; whereas he now leaves him in his swaddling clothes to go into this peace we speak of, on which

his hopes were fixed.

But that which more confirms the assertion, that this great and first pro mise to Abraham (besides what hath been said, that it was made to his

soul, distinct from that made to his body), was intended not of an outward,

quiet death only, but of going to rest and happiness, is the correspondency which this holds with that promise, which, in analogy to this made to

Abraham, we find made to every believer, that walks in his uprightness, as Abraham did, Gen. xvii. 1. The state of all after death, who -walk in such

uprightness, we have expressed, Isa. Ivii. 1,2,.* The righteous perisheth, and

no man layeth it to heart : and merciful men are taken away, none con

sidering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. Their

state after death follows : He shall enter into peace, they shall -rest in their

: or each one walk

beds. Whoever he be that walketh in his uprightness

ing, or that walketh, &c. ; which words are evidently spoken of the happi-

jiess of souls after death, and so do fitly interpret this promise he made to Abraham in the like case. It is their state after death is spoken of, for

their death is spoken of, ver. 1, in their perishing (as to this world) and

being taken away

it is entering into it ; and it holds -correspondency with that of Christ, Enter into thy Master s joy, Mat. xxv. 23 ; and it agrees also with another

phrase of entering into life, Mat. xviii. 8. And the words of Jsaiah are

exactly parallel to that which was said of Abraham, and in the same order.

1. He shall enter into peace and blessedness, as to the soul. 2. They

shall rest in their beds&gt; that is, their graves ; death being the sleep of the

body, as often it is expressed in the New Testament, unto which the words

of the prophet answer in another place : Isa. xxvi. 19, Thy dead men shall

live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye

that dwell indust : for thy dew is as the dew of hsrbs, and the earth shall

cast out the dead. A,nd this entrance into peace is therefore meant of the

soul s entering into joy and peace, during that time that the body rests in

CHAP. III.] OF THE SAINTS IN GLOEY. 353

its bed, namely, the grave. Nor is it spoken of martyrs only, that die m

evil^ times by persecution, but, on the contrary, of those that die afore such times approach ; yea, and universally, of every one that walks uprightly.

&lt; Abraham s bosom, Luke xvi. 22. And their being gathered thither, as expressed in the Old, is styled by Christ, a being carried by angels thereunto. And indeed Abraham having been set up as the father of all the faithful, as their

state on earth is named a life of faith common to him and them, so the estate of their souls also in glory, until the resurrection, is expressed by the state of his soul as the chief guest, in whose bosom they all are to lie, or sit down as guests with him at the same feast. Now though that story of Lazarus and the rich man be but a parable, yet, as every parable, so that must have a principal and substantial scope, and main drift it centres in, and from that drift we may as safely argue as from any^other scripture. Now it hath no scope but what is utterly insig nificant, if this be not the scope of it ; namely, to shew the different state of

_ godly men and wicked men after this life. It signifies nothing, if not this ; and if so, again it is as evident, that that state of the soul afore the resurrection is there intended. For the time of the opposite rich man s torment was whilst his body lay buried, and the time of Lazarus s happy state immediately followed on his death. So ver. 22 : And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham s bosom : the rich man also died, and was buried. It was also, when Dives had brethren on earth, capable of being warned to avoid coming into that place. See verses 27, 28 : Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father s house : for I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of tor ments/ It was also afore the general resurrection ; for, ver. 30, he pleads, that if one went from the dead, they would repent. Lastly, it was whilst they had Moses and the prophets to attend unto, as the means of salvation, to whom Abraham refers them : ver. 31,

&lt; And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. And therefore also was it a state of souls, as supposed under the Old Testament, when Moses and the prophets were the chief means of salvation, and no scripture else extant. And that Lazarus his lying in Abraham s bosom was heaven, and an heavenly con dition, may be confirmed by these two things

: 1. That he was carried into it by angels. Now their only walk is between heaven and earth, ascending and descending upon Christ, John

i. 51. They go not to hell. It is also the place which the angels belong unto, for themselves are the inhabitants of heaven.

2. But secondly, and more expressly, the saints of the Old and New Testament are said

&lt; to sit down with Abraham in the kingdom of heaven, Mat. viii. 11, which is not the state of the gospel, for Abraham lived not m those times, but a state of glory. For oppositely it is said, ver. 12, that the children of the kingdom shall be cast into utter darkness. So then, put altogether, Abraham s soul upon his death, went to his godly lathers, into peace ; Adam, Enoch, Noah, and the rest of the saints in the Old Testament after him, are said to enter into peace, each of them after the example of Abraham, Isa. Ivii. ; yea, in the New Testament, to be carVOL. VII. 7

354 OF THE BLESSED STATE [CHAP. III.

ried where Abraham is, to be laid into Abraham s bosom, as the common

* gathered to their fathers, says the Old Testament, and

receptacle of souls

carried to their fathers, says the New. And this place is the kingdom of

heaven, as Mat. viii. 11. Hence, then, the argument riseth strong, that

all the godly of the New* Testament, from the first to last, from Abel to

Lazarus, were upon their deaths carried to heaven. And further, that they were all found there that were dead, when Christ hung on the cross, appears by Col. i. 20 :

* And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be

things in earth, or things in heaven. In which speech it is certain, that those of mankind in heaven are meant, however the angels may come in ; for men are properly the subjects of reconciliation (the angels but analogi

cally) ; for they are men, and not the angels, who sing, jThou hast redeemed us by thy blood, Rev. v. 9. Compare the angels song with this, ver. 12. And indeed, though the patriarchs were all in heaven already, yet Christ

* for he died for the redemption of sins, that were under the Old Testament, Heb. ix. 15. And I will say, that they must all have come down from heaven again, if his sacrifice for their

paid for their atonement,

redemption had not been offered up.

Now that which in the Old Testament was Abraham s bosom, and sitting down with Abraham, that in the New is called being with Christ, and para

dise, and the kingdom of heaven. The style, indeed, is altered. The God of Abraham, said the Old Testament. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, says the New, Eph. i. 3. So to be gathered to their

* to be with Christ, which is best of all, is the character of it in the New.

* to be with Abraham, was the old description of heaven ;

fathers,

* This

day shalt thou be with me in paradise, says Christ to the dying thief. The Scriptures of the New Testament speak more punctually and abun

dantly this point, Christ having brought life and immortality (and all the

* to light. 1. There arc some which are so plain that I shall not insist on them,

gradual advances of it)

* This day shalt thou be with me. And the instance of Stephen seeing, when he was

viz., the example of the converted thief, to whom Christ said,

to die, the heavens opened, and therein the glory of God, and saying, Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit, Acts vii.

2. Another set of instances is in Luke xvi. 9, And I say unto you, make

to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail

they may receive you into everlasting habitations ; and in 2 Cor. v. from the 1st to the llth.

I shall explain that instance which we have in Luke xvi. 9. Those

everlasting habitations there mentioned manifestly are in heaven, where are many mansions, and the words are the moral part of the parable of the steward. That look as that steward, when he saw he must quit his office

* What shall I do?

of stewardship, and be put out, considered with himself,

ver. 3, and resolved to make friends of his master s debtors, ver. 5, that when he was put out of his stewardship they might receive him into their

houses, ver. 4 ; and this was wisely done, says Christ, ver. 8. And do you imitate this wisdom of his, though not the wickedness of it ; as if Christ had said, In this world ye are but for a time, the places and stations,

riches, power, &c., you must give over, and what will ye do then for the next world?

1. Christ expresseth death, and the soul s going out of this world, by our

* Qu. Old ? ED.

CHAP. III.] OF THE SAINTS IN GLORY. 355

failing; that is, either as of a steward turned out of house and means, or as a merchant that breaks, that hath a statute of bankrupt sued forth against him. Such a statute is death, statutum est omnibus semel mori. When

spirits fail, friends on earth fail, riches fail, and cannot deliver ; when a man s soul goes naked out of this world into another, even as he came naked into it, then the rich, the great, the most potent and honourable, are bank

rupts. And this time, when you fail, is not the day of the resurrection, for then we are set up again and restored. The body is sown in weakness at death there, and then is the failing, but it riseth in power.

2. Christ shews that at that time the soul is put to it what it shall do, and whither it shall go ? ver. 3 ; The steward said within himself, What shall I do ? The soul hath reason (and Christ adviseth it) to consider what it should do next upon its failing ; for the soul is immortal, and must go somewhither. Animula vagula qua alibis in loca, said the Emperor Adrian* when dying.

3. He compares the state of the other world in heaven to a city or

country, where are many inhabitants gathered, already replenishing of it, and accordingly many houses built, and all accommodations. Abraham and the other patriarchs are said in the Old Testament to be gathered to their fathers. It comes all to one with what is said in the New; Heb. xi. 10, For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. And ver. 14 it is said that they sought a country, that

is, an heavenly. As every city supposeth inhabitants there dwelling, and therein houses, &c. and suitable accommodations for inhabitants, so Christ in analogy expresseth it here, that when we fail, and are to be gathered to our fathers gone before us, they may receive us into everlasting habita tions ; that we having done good to them, or those of their kind and

country, now gone to heaven, they may receive us, and welcome us into house and home. He expresseth it after the manner of men : when one comes to a strange country, what is more desirable than that a man should have friends there, that should, as it were, welcome a naked newcomer. What kind hospitality is it in God, that he should receive a man into his house and home for the good which he did here ! And this habitation is no other than in heaven, for it is called an eternal, real habitation, first, for the soul without the body, then for soul and body too, 2 Cor. v. ; for where the souls and persons of just men live for ever, there to be sure is heaven. Now, that after the day of judgment they shall live in heaven, none ever denied ; and if, when they die and fail, they are received into the same, then they are at that present admitted into heaven, and heavenly habita

tions, as well as afterwards. If the souls of just men were admitted into any other than what is heaven afore, into heaven only after their bodies were united, then the place which first received them could not be called eternal habitations.

Use. Bo good, then, especially unto the elect and household of faith : do good to these above other, for thou wilt be gathered to them, and they will acknowledge it, or God at least on their behalf; and it will be a joy to thee then, and may be a comfort to thee now, to think that there are those in heaven to whom, or to their children or relations for their sakes, thou hast done good.

* Spartianus in ejus vita.

356 OF THE BLESSED STATE [CHAP. IV.

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