Meditations on the glory of the heavenly world. I. On the happiness of the…

Name: Meditations on the glory of the heavenly world. I. On the happiness of the…
Author: Increase Mather

Meditations on the glory of the heavenly world. I. On the happiness of the soul of believers, at the instant of their separation from their bodies. II. On the glory of the bodies of God's children, in the resurrection world, when they shall be as the angels of heaven. III. On the glory of both soul and body in the heaven of heavens, after the day of judgment, to all eternity. / By Increase Mather, D.D. ; [Six lines of quotations]

Increase Mather 1639–1723Boston in N.E. printed: : Sold by Benjamin Eliot, at his shop in King Street., 1711

[2], v, [1], 276, [4] p. ; 16 cm. (8vo) · 54k words · Evans 1516

Title page typeset from the transcription.

Believers HAVE A Well grounded HOPE, OF Perfect Blessedness in Heaven. › Proposition 3: PROPOSITION III.

Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.

[ Earlier:249–264 of 300

:249p. 224¶2

II. To show that Saints in heaven will be happy in the Blessed Society which there they shall have Communion with. That will add to the happiness of the Place. And with whom will their Fellowship there be?

II. To shew that Saints in heaven will be happy in the Blessed Society which there they shall have Communion with. That will add to the happiness of the Place. And with whom will their Fellowship there be?

:250p. 225–227

Answ. 1. The most Perfect and Blessed Communion of Saints, is in Heaven. This Evil World has but Few Real Saints in it. They are the Excellent Ones of the Earth. But, alas! They are thin sown: Psal. 12. 1. The Godly man ceaseth, the Faithful fail from among the Children of men. But this world abounds with Sinners, which makes it a woeful and undesirable World. Psal. 120. 5. Woe is me, that I dwell in Mesech: that I sojourn in the tents of Kedar. This Earth is a Mesech; it is Over-spread with the tents of Kedar. It generally lieth in Wickedness. And in the Visible Church, there are many who are not Real Saints. There are Tares mixed with the Wheat; and will be so to the End of the world. Yea, in the Purest Churches in the world, there are Hypocrites. There are not only Wise, but Foolish Virgins there, Mat. 25. 2. Who are those Foolish Virgins? Are they not Hypocrites in Pure Gospel Churches? For men to think they can Deceive GOD, with giving their Names and not their Hearts to Him; and to put a Cheat upon their own Souls, is Egregious Folly: But ⟨p. 226⟩thus do Hypocrites. Whereas in the Church Triumphant in Heaven, they are all Real Saints; there is not One Hypocrite among them, nor ever shall be: Job 13. 16. An hypocrite shall not come before him: He shall never come into the Gracious and Glorious Presence of GOD in the heavenly world. And not only Real Saints, but Perfect Ones: Sinless ones are in Heaven. What an Heaven upon Earth would this world be, if there were none but Saints in it; and those altogether Free from sinful Infirmities? But alas! there is no such People, no such Country to be found on the face of the Earth. It has been Related, That when holy Churches were first Planted in New-England, some in other parts of the world Reported, That New England was New-Jerusalem; a Pious man who Loved to be among the Saints of God, was thereby induced to come hither: But after he had been here a while, he sighed and said, I see that New England is not Heaven! Men here have their sinful Infirmities, as well as in other places. But in Heaven they have not so. There that

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