Chapter 18: The First Inference Drawn from the Proposition

This shows us what a high valuation and esteem we should set upon the godly. They are, we see, men greatly in favor with God, as the angel once proclaimed to Daniel (Daniel 9:23), and they are invested with glorious privileges; they are of a heavenly descent, born of the Spirit; and they are very [illegible], for they are heirs of the kingdom. God has not only laid out some parcels of land, or divided heaven to them, as Canaan was divided to Israel by lot. The tribe of Judah to inhabit in one country, the tribe of Reuben, another, etc. God, I say, does not parcel out heaven thus to the saints, no; heaven is theirs with all its perquisites, with all its royalties. There are no enclosures or landmarks in heaven: there can be no confinement, where every thing is infinite: Oh what a high value and estimate then should be put upon the saints! They are heirs! How does the world respect great heirs? What honor then should we give to the godly! [illegible]. They are adopted into all the stately privileges of heaven! It is true, an heir in his young age may be kept short, but how rich is he when he is possessed of the inheritance? How rich shall the saints be, when God shall pour out of his love, and shall empty all the treasures of glory into them! The saints are jewels, but their worth and riches is not known; therefore they are trampled upon by the world (James 2:5). It does not yet appear what they shall be: all things are theirs.