Richard Baxter's dying thoughts upon Phil. I, 23 written for his own life and…

IV. I shall better (O much better) know the heavenly Jerusalem, the Triumphant Church, the Blessed Angels and glorified Saints: And as my love to them, so ⟨p. 154⟩my knowledge of them will not be the least part of my heavenly delight. As strangely as I now look upward to that World, because I cannot see it with these Eyes, it shall be my well known Everlasting habitation! O what a sight, what a joyful sight will Death show me by drawing aside the veil? Or rather the Lord of Life by turning Death to my advantage! When I am there at home, I shall no more think with confusion, fear or doubting of that blessed place or state. My fears which now come from the smallness of my Faith, will end when Faith is turned into Vision. As I now know the several Rooms in my House, and Houses in the Street, and Streets in the City, so shall I then know the many Mansions, which Christ hath said are in his Fathers House. Words now give me so poor imperfect a conception of the World and things which I never saw, as that sometimes I can scarcely tell, whether the Joy of my Faith, or the trouble of my dark apprehensions, be the greater: But when I shall see the Place, the Persons, the Glory which I heard of, that will be the delightful satisfying, and possessing kind of knowledge. If Nehemiah and the godly Jews, made so great a matter of seeing the Walls of Jerusalem repaired, and others of the imperfect reedifying of the Temple, O what a joyful sight to me, will the heavenly Jerusalem then be: The most glorious sight will be at the great Marriage day of the Lamb, when Christ shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all them that now believe: But the next to that will be the Day of my particular deliverance, when I shall come to Christ, and see the Saints admiring him in Glory.

IV. I shall better (O much better) know the heavenly Jerusalem, the Triumphant Church, the Blessed Angels and glorified Saints: And as my love to them, so ⟨p. 154⟩my knowledge of them will not be the least part of my heavenly delight. As strangely as I now look upward to that World, because I cannot see it with these Eyes, it shall be my well known Everlasting habitation! O what a sight, what a joyful sight will Death shew me by drawing aside the vail? Or rather the Lord of Life by turning Death to my advantage! When I am there at home, I shall no more think with confusion, fear or doubting of that blessed place or state. My fears which now come from the smalness of my Faith, will end when Faith is turned into Vision. As I now know the several Rooms in my House, and Houses in the Street, and Streets in the City, so shall I then know the many Mansions, which Christ hath said are in his Fathers House. Words now give me so poor imperfect a conception of the World and things which I never saw, as that somtimes I can scarcely tell, whether the Joy of my Faith, or the trouble of my dark apprehensions, be the greater: But when I shall see the Place, the Persons, the Glory which I heard of, that will be the delightful satisfying, and possessing kind of knowledge. If Nehemiah and the godly Jews, made so great a matter of seeing the Walls of Jerusalem repaired, and others of the imperfect reedifying of the Temple, O what a joyful sight to me, will the heavenly Jerusalem then be: The most glorious sight will be at the great Marriage day of the Lamb, when Christ shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all them that now believe: But the next to that will be the Day of my particular deliverance, when I shall come to Christ, and see the Saints admiring him in Glory.