The Saint's Everlasting Rest: A Treatise of the Blessed State of the Saints in Their Enjoyment of God in HeavenBaxter, Richard
Religion
The Saint's Everlasting Rest: A Treatise of the Blessed State of the Saints in Their Enjoyment of God in Heaven
Baxter, Richard
Devotional literature
§ 4. (2.) The other way in which our senses may promote this heavenly
work, is by comparing the objects of sense with the objects of faith. As
for instance:—You may strongly argue with your hearts from the corrupt
delights of sensual men, to the joys above. Think with yourselves; "Is
it such a delight to a sinner to do wickedly? And will it not be
delightful indeed to live with God? Hath the drunkard such delight in
his cups, that the fears of damnation will not make him forsake them?
Will the whore-master rather part with his credit, estate, and
salvation, than with his brutish delight? If the way to hell can afford
such pleasure, what then are the pleasures of the saints in heaven? if
the covetous man hath so much pleasure in his wealth, and the ambitious
man in places of power and titles of honor; what then have the saints in
everlasting treasures, and in heavenly honors, where we shall be set
above principalities and powers, and be made the glorious spouse of
Christ? How delightfully will the voluptuous follow their recreations
from morning to night, or sit at their cards and dice, nights and days
together? O the delight we shall have, when we come to our rest, in
beholding the face of the living God, and in singing forth praises to
him and the Lamb!"—Compare also the delights above, with the lawful and
moderate delights of sense. Think with thyself, "How sweet is food to my
taste when I am hungry; especially if it be, as Isaac said, _such as I
love_, which my temperance and appetite incline to? What delight then
must my soul have in feeding upon _Christ, the living bread_, and in
_eating with him at his table in his kingdom_? Was a _mess of pottage_
so sweet to Esau in his hunger, that he would buy it at so dear a rate
as his _birth-right_? How highly then should I value this
never-perishing food? How pleasant is drink in the extremity of thirst,
scarcely to be expressed; enough to make the _strength of Sampson
revive_? O how delightful will it be to my soul to drink of that
_fountain of living water, which whoso drinketh it shall thirst no
more_? How delightful are grateful odors to the smell; or music to the
ear; or beautiful sights to the eye? What fragrance then hath _the
precious ointment which is poured on the head_ of our glorified Savior,
and which must be poured on the head of all his saints, and will fill
all heaven with its odor? How delightful is the music _of the heavenly
host_? How pleasing will be those real beauties above? How glorious the
_building not made with hands_, the house that God himself dwells in,
the walks and prospects in _the city of God_; and the celestial
paradise!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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