N29704:124
Meditations on the glory of the heavenly world. I. On the happiness of the…
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]
Boston in N.E. printed: : Sold by Timothy Green in Middle Street., 1711
Title page typeset from the transcription.
The Glorified SOULS OF Just Men Have attained a Blessed Perfection. › Proposition 4: PROPOSITION IV.
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.
Inf. I. Christians ought not to Mourn Immoderately, for the Death of their Godly Friends. The Consideration of their present Happiness, should Moderate our Griefs. When their Bodies are Dead; if they Die in the Lord, their Spirits, their Souls are safe and happy. A man who has an Entire Love for another, will Rejoice at his Friends gain; although' he should himself lose something by it. It is a Loss to us, when any of our Precious Praying Friends are taken from us by Death: But they are happy Gainers, & that Meditation should quiet us. For me to Die is Gain, said the Apostle. Should we not Rejoice at our Friends Gain? Especially if they have gained a great Good; if they have gained • Crown, and a Crown of Life too? This Consideration Christ set before his Disciples, ⟨p. 94⟩to Comfort and Compose their spirits, which were much Troubled and Dejected at the thoughts of his Leaving them; Joh. 14.28. If you Loved me, ye would Rejoice, because I go to the Father. So if our Friends and dear Relations who are gone from us, are gone to the Father and to Christ, at that we should Rejoice. The Death of Children is a sore Affliction, and if they Die in their Sins, without any signs of Repentance, that aggravates the Bitterness. This made David take on so, when Absalom was Dead: He was much moved, and went into his Chamber and Wept; and thus he said, O my Son Absalom, my Son, my Son Absalom: would GOD I had Died for thee, O Absalom my Son, my Son, 2 Sam. 18.33. Q D. If I had Died, I had gone to Heaven; but now thou art Dead in thy Sin and Rebellion against GOD, and against thy Father; I have no hope but thou art gone to Eternal Torments. But when there is good ground to believe, that they are gone to the Heavenly World, that marvellously alleviates the Affliction. As we see al•• ⟨p. 95⟩in David; when his Infant Child died, he said, I shall go to him; but he shall not return to me: I shall go to him into the Grave, and to him in Heaven too. And truly there is reason to believe this, concerning all Children of Godly Parents dying in their Infancy: For GOD has taken them into His Covenant; that Covenant is a Covenant of Life; they have not Violated the Covenant; therefore we may hope that GOD has given them Eternal Life in Heaven, where they attain unto that Perfection, which in this world is not attainable. Do's not our Saviour say, that of such is the Kingdom of Heaven?