The blessedness of the righteous discoursed from Psal. 17, 15 /The blessednesse of the righteous discoursed from Psal. 17, 15 /

Christian Reader.

You whose hearts are set on Heaven, who are daily laying up a treasure there, here is a welcome messenger, to tell you more th•n perhaps you have well considered, of the nature of your future Blessedness, and to illustrate •he Map of the Land of promise, and to bring you another cluster of its grapes: Here is a useful help to make you know that Holiness doth participate of Glory, and that Heaven is at least Virtually in •he Seed of Grace: Though this life be properly called a life of Faith, as contradistinct from the intuition and fruition hereafter, as well as from the lower life of sense; yet is it a great truth, and not sufficiently considered and improved, that we have here more than Faith, to acquaint us with the Blessedness expected: Between Faith and Glory, there is the Spirit of Holiness, the love of God, the heavenly desires, which are kindled by Faith and are th•se branches on which the happy flower and fruit must grow: They are the name and mark of God upon us: They are our Earnest, our Pledge, and the first fruits; And is not this more than a word of pr•mise only? Therefore though all Christians must lively Faith, marvel not that I tell you, that you may, you must have more than Faith. Is not a Pledge, and Earnest, a first Fruits more? Therefore have Christians, not only a Spirit to evidence their Title, but also some foretaste •f Heaven it ⟨image 8⟩self: for Faith in Christ is to recover us to God and so much as we have of God, so much of fruition And so much as Faith hath kindled in you of • love of God, so much foretaste you have of He• ven: for you are deceived if you think that any • Notion speaketh more to you of Heaven and of y Ultimate end, than THE LOVE OF GOD And though no unsound ill-grounded Faith, serve to cause this sacred Love, yet when it caused, it over-tops this cause, and he that pe ceiveth the operations of a strong effectual Lov hath an acquaintance with God and Heaven whi is above that of believing: Faith seeth the Fea but Love is the tasting of it. And therefore it that the Holiest souls sticks closest unto God, because (though their reasoning faculty may be d fective) they know him by the highest and m Tenacious kind of knowledge, which this Wor ffrdeth, (as I have lately showed elsewhere; Here you have described to you, the true witness the spirit;