Section 14
14. A godly man is a heavenly man; Heaven is in him, before he is in Heaven; the Greek word for Saint, [in non-Latin alphabet], signifies a man taken off from the earth: a person may live in one place, yet belong to another; he may live in Spain, yet be a free Denizen of England; Pomponius dwelt at Athens, yet was a Citizen of Rome: So a godly man is a while in the world, but he belongs to the Jerusalem above; that is the place to which he aspires; every day is Ascension Day with a Believer: The Saints are called Stars, for their sublimeness; they are gotten above into the upper Region, Proverbs 15. 24. The way of life is above to the wise: A godly man is Heavenly six ways.
- 1. In his Election. - 2. In his Disposition. - 3. In his Communication. - 4. In his Operation. - 5. In his Expectation. - 6. In his Conversation.
1. A godly man is heavenly in his Election; he chooses heavenly objects: David did choose to be a Residentiary in God's house, Psalm 84. 10. A godly person chooses Christ and grace, before the most illustrious things under the Sun: That a man is that his choice is; and this choosing of God is best seen in a critical hour: When Christ and the World come in competition, and we part with the world to keep Christ and a good Conscience, a sign we have chosen the better part.
2. A godly man is heavenly in his Disposition; he sets his affections on things above, Colossians 3. 2. He sends his heart to heaven before he comes there; he looks upon the world, but as a beautiful prison, and he cannot be much in love with his Fetters, though they are made of gold: An holy person contemplates glory and Eternity; his desires have gotten wings, and are fled to heaven: Grace is in the heart like fire, which makes it sparkle upwards in Divine breathings and ejaculations.
3. A godly man is heavenly in his Communication, his words are powdered with salt to season others, Colossians 4. 6. As soon as Christ was risen from the grave, he was speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God, Acts 1. 3. No sooner is a man risen out of the grave of Unregeneracy, but he is speaking of heaven, Ecclesiastes 10. 12. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious: He speaks so heavenly, as if he had been already in heaven; the love he bears to God, will not suffer him to be silent; the Spouse being sick of love, her tongue was as the pen of a ready writer, Canticles 5. 10. My beloved is white and ruddy, his head is of fine gold, etc. If Wine be in the house, the Bush will be hung forth, and where there is a principle of godliness in the heart, it will vent itself at the lips; the Bush will be hung forth.
How can they be termed godly, 1. Who are possessed with a dumb devil? They never have any good discourse; they are fluent and discursive enough in secular things; they can speak of their wares and drugs, they can tell what a good crop they have, but in matters of Religion they are as if their tongue did cleave to the roof of their mouth: There are many persons, if you come into their company, you cannot tell what to make of them, whether they are Turks or Atheists, for they never speak a word of Christ.
2. Whose tongues are set on fire of Hell: Their lips do not drop honey but poison, to the defiling of others. Plutarch says, speech ought to be like gold, which is then of most value, when it has least dross in it: O the unclean malicious words that some persons utter! What an unsavory stench comes from these dunghills; those lips had need have David's Bridle, that gallop so fast in sin: Can the body be healthful when the tongue is black? Can the heart be holy when the devil is in the lips? A godly man speaks the language of Canaan, Malachi 3. 16. They that feared the Lord, spoke often one to another.
4. A godly man is heavenly in his Operation. The motions of the Planets are Celestial: A godly man is sublime and sacred in his motions, he works out salvation, he puts forth all his strength, as they did in the Olympics, that he may obtain the Garland made of the Flowers of Paradise; he prays, fasts, watches, he offers violence to heaven, he is divinely actuated, he carries on God's Interest in the world, he does Angels' work, he is in his Operations Seraphical.
5. A godly man is heavenly in his Expectation; his hopes are above the world, Titus 1. 2. In hope of eternal life: A godly man casts Anchor within the veil; he hopes to have his fetters of sin filed off; he hopes for such things as eye has not seen; he hopes for a Kingdom when he dies; a Kingdom promised by the Father, purchased by the Son, assured by the Holy Ghost; as an Heir lives in hope when such a great Estate shall befall him, so a Child of God, who is a Co-heir with Christ, hopes for glory: This hope comforts him in all varieties of condition, Romans 5. 2. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
1. This hope comforts a godly man in affliction; hope does lighten and sweeten the most severe Dispensations: A Child of God can laugh with tears in his eyes; the time is shortly coming, when the Cross shall be taken off his shoulders, and a Crown set upon his head: A Saint at present is miserable, with a thousand troubles, in an instant, clothed with Robes of Immortality, and advanced above Seraphims.
2. This hope comforts a godly man in death, Proverbs 14. 32. The righteous has hope in his death: If one should ask a dying Saint, when all his earthly comforts were gone, what he had left? He would say, the Helmet of Hope. I have read of a Martyr Woman, who when the Persecutor commanded that her breasts should be cut off, she said, Tyrant do your worst, I have two breasts which you cannot touch, the one of Faith, the other of Hope. A soul that has this blessed hope, is above the desire of life, or the fear of death: Would one be troubled to exchange a sorry Lease for an Inheritance that will be for him and his Heirs? Who would care to part with life, which is a Lease will soon be run out, to be possessed of a glorious Inheritance in light?
6. A godly man is heavenly in his Conversation; he casts such a lustre of Holiness, as adorns his Profession; he lives as if he had seen the Lord with bodily eyes; what zeal, sanctity, humility, shines forth in his life: A godly person does emulate not only the Angels, but imitate Christ himself, 1 John 2. 6. The Macedonians celebrate the Birthday of Alexander, on which day they wear his picture about their necks, set with Pearl and rich Jewels; so a godly man carries the lively picture of Christ about him, in the heavenliness of his deportment, Philippians 3. 20. Our conversation is in heaven.
Use 1. They must needs be cast over the Bar for ungodly, who are eaten up with the world; godly and earthly is a contradiction, Philippians 3. 18, 19. For many walk, of whom I now tell you even weeping, that they are the Enemies of the Cross of Christ, whose god is their belly, who mind earthly things. We read the earth swallowed up Korah alive, Numbers 16. 32. This Judgment is on many, the earth swallows up their time, and thoughts, and discourse, they are buried twice; their hearts are buried in the earth before their bodies: How sad is it that the soul, that Princely thing, which is made for Communion with God and Angels, should be put to the Mill to grind, and made Mancipium terrae, a slave to the earth? How is the soul become like the Prodigal, choosing rather to converse with swine, and feed upon husks, than to aspire after Communion with the blessed Deity? Thus does Satan befool men, and keep them from heaven, by making them seek a heaven here.
Use 2. As we would evidence ourselves to be born of God, let us be of a sublime heavenly temper: We shall never go to heaven when we die, unless we are in heaven while we live: That we may be more Noble, and raised in our affections, let us seriously weigh these four considerations.
1. God himself sounds a retreat to us, to call us off the world, 1 John 2. 15. Love not the world: We may use it as a posy of flowers to smell to, but it must not lie as a bundle of myrrh between our breasts, Romans 12. 2. Be you not conformed to this world; do not hunt after the honors and profits of it, and as God's Precepts, so his Providences, are to beat us off the world: Why does he send War and Pestilence? What means the heat of this great anger? Surely dying times are to make men die to the world.
2. Consider how much below a Christian it is to be earthly-minded: We laugh sometimes at Children when we see them busying themselves about toys, blowing bubbles in the air out of a shell, kissing their dolls, etc. when in the meantime we do the same; at death what will all the world be which we so hug and kiss, but as a rag doll, it will yield us no more comfort then; and to be taken up with these things, how far is it below a heaven-born soul! Nay, for such as profess to be ennobled with a principle of Piety, and to have their hopes above, for them to have their hearts below, how do they [in non-Latin alphabet] disparage their Heavenly Calling, and spot their silver wings of Grace, by soiling them with earth?
3. Consider what a poor contemptible thing the world is, it is not worth setting the affections on, it cannot fill the heart; if Satan should take a Christian up to the Mount of Temptation, and show him all the Kingdoms and glory of the world, what could he show him but a fancy, an apparition? Nothing here can be proportionable to the immense soul of man, Job 20. 22. In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: Here is want in plenty; the creature will no more fill the soul, than a drop will fill the bucket; and that little sweet we suck from the creature, is intermixed with some bitterness, like that Cup which the Jews gave Christ, Mark 15. 23. They gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh. And this imperfect sweet will not last long, 1 John 2. 17. The world passes away. The creature does but salute us, and is presently upon the wing. The world rings Changes, it is never constant but in its disappointments; how quickly may we remove our lodgings, and make our pillow in the dust? The world is but a great Inn, where we are to stay a night or two, and be gone; what madness is it so to set our heart upon our Inn, as to forget our home?
4. Consider what a glorious place heaven is: We read of an Angel coming down from heaven, who did tread with his right foot on the Sea, and with his left foot on the earth, Revelation 10. 2. Had we but once been in heaven, and viewed the superlative glory of it, how might we in a holy scorn trample with one foot upon the earth, and with the other foot upon the Sea: Heaven is called a better Country, Hebrews 11. 16. But now they desire a better Country, that is a heavenly: Heaven is said to be a better Country, in opposition to the Country where we now sojourn: What should we mind but that better Country.
Question. In what sense is heaven a better Country?
Answer. 1. In that Country above there are better delights; there is the Tree of Life, the Rivers of Pleasure; there is amazing beauty, unsearchable riches; there are the delights of Angels; there is the Flower of Joy fully blown; there is more than we can ask or think; there is glory in its full dimensions, and beyond all hyperbole.
2. In that Country there is a better dwelling house: 1. It is an house not made with hands, 2 Corinthians 5. 1. To denote the excellency of it: There was never any house but was made with hands; but the house above surpasses the art of man or Angel, none besides God could lay a stone in that building. 2. It is eternal in the heavens; it is not a sojourning house, but a Mansion-house, it is an house will never be out of repair, Wisdom has built this house, and hewn out her seven Pillars,** which can never moulder.
3. In that Country there are better provisions, in our Fathers house is bread enough: Heaven was typified by Canaan, which did flow with milk and honey: There is the Royal Feast, the spiced Wine, there is Angels food, there are those rare viands and dainties served in, as exceed not only our expressions, but our faith.
4. In that Country is better Society: There is God blessed for ever: How infinitely sweet and ravishing will a smile of his face be? The Kings presence makes the Court: There are the glorious Cherubim; in this terrestrial Country where we now live, we are among Wolves and Serpents; in that Country above, we shall be among Angels: There are the spirits of just men made perfect, Hebrews 12. 23. Here the people of God are clouded with infirmities, we see them with spots in their faces, they are full of pride, passion, censoriousness; in that Jerusalem above, we shall see them in their Royal attire, decked with unparalleled beauty, not having the least tincture or shadow of sin upon them.
5. In that Country there is a better air to breathe in: We go into the Country for air; the best air is only to be had in that better Country, 1. It is a more temperate air, the Climate is calm and moderate, we shall neither freeze with the cold, nor faint with the heat; 2. It is a brighter air, there is a better light shines there: The Sun of Righteousness enlightens that Horizon with his glorious beams, Revelation 21. 23. The Lamb is the light thereof. 3. It is a purer air: The Fens, which are full of black vapors, we count a bad air, and unwholesome to live in: This world is a place of Bogs and Fens, where the noxious vapors of sin arise, which make it pestilential and unwholesome to live in, but in that Country above, there are none of these vapors, but a sweet perfume of holiness; there is the smell of the Orange-tree, and the Pomegranate; there is the Myrrh and Cassia coming from Christ, which send forth a most odoriferous smell.
6. In that Country there is a better soil; the Land or Soil is better
1. For its altitude; the earth lying low, is of a baser pedigree; the Element, which is nearest heaven, is purer and more excellent, as the fire; that Country above is the High Country, Psalm 24. 3. it is seated far above all the visible Orbs.
2. It is a better Land for its fertility, it bears a richer Crop: The richest Harvest on earth is the golden Harvest, but the Country above yields Nobler Commodities, there are Pearls Celestial, there is the Spiritual Vine, there is the honey-comb of Gods love dropping, there is the Water of Life, the hidden Manna; There is fruit that does not rot, flowers that never fade; There is a Crop which cannot be quite reaped, it will be ever reaping time in heaven, and all this the Land yields, without the labor of ploughing and sowing.
3. It is a better Land for its inoffensiveness: There are no briars there; the World is a Wilderness where are wicked men, and the best of them is a briar, Micah 7. 4. They will be tearing the people of God in their spiritual Liberties; but in the Country above there is not one briar to be seen, all the briars are burned.
4. It is a better Land for the rareness of the prospect; all that a man sees there is his own: I account that the best prospect, where a man can see furthest on his own ground.
7. In that Country is better union; all the Inhabitants are knit together in love: The poisonous weed of malice does not grow there; there is harmony without division, and charity without envy: In that Country above, as in Solomon's Temple, no noise of Hammer is heard.
8. In that Country is better employment; while we are here we are complaining of our wants, weeping over our sins, but there we shall be praising God: How will the Birds of Paradise chirp when they are in that Celestial Country? There the Morning Stars will sing together, and all the Saints of God shout for joy.
O what should we aspire after, but this Country above? Such as have their eyes opened, will see that it does infinitely excel: An ignorant man looks upon a Star, and it appears to him as a little silver spot; but the Astronomer who has his Instrument to judge of the dimension of a Star, knows it to be many degrees bigger than the earth: So a natural man hears of the heavenly Country, that it is very glorious, but it is at a great distance; and because he has not a spirit of discerning, the world looks bigger in his eye; but such as are Spiritual Artists, who have the Instrument of Faith to judge of Heaven, will say, it is far the better Country, and thither will they hasten with the Sails of desire.
14. A godly man is a heavenly man. Heaven is in him before he is in heaven. The Greek word for saint means a person taken off from the earth. A person may live in one place and yet belong to another — he may live in Spain and yet be a citizen of England. Pomponius dwelt in Athens, yet was a citizen of Rome. In the same way, a godly man lives for a time in the world, but he belongs to the Jerusalem above. That is where he aspires to be. Every day is Ascension Day for a believer. The saints are called stars for their loftiness — they have risen into the upper regions. Proverbs 15:24: The way of life leads upward for the wise. A godly man is heavenly in six ways.
1. In his election. 2. In his disposition. 3. In his communication. 4. In his operation. 5. In his expectation. 6. In his conversation.
1. A godly man is heavenly in his election — he chooses heavenly things. David chose to dwell in God's house as his permanent home, as Psalm 84:10 shows. A godly person chooses Christ and grace above the most glorious things the world offers. A person is defined by his choices. This choice for God is most clearly seen in a decisive moment: when Christ and the world compete for our loyalty, and we let the world go to keep Christ and a clear conscience — that is a sure sign we have chosen the better part.
2. A godly man is heavenly in his disposition — he sets his affections on things above, as Colossians 3:2 says. He sends his heart to heaven before he arrives there. He looks on the world as a beautiful prison, and he cannot love his chains even when they are made of gold. A holy person contemplates glory and eternity. His desires have grown wings and flown to heaven. Grace in the heart is like fire — it causes the soul to sparkle upward in holy longings and prayers lifted to God.
3. A godly man is heavenly in his communication — his words are seasoned with salt to benefit others, as Colossians 4:6 says. As soon as Christ rose from the grave, He was speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, as Acts 1:3 records. In the same way, no sooner is a person risen from the grave of their unregenerate life than they begin speaking of heaven. Ecclesiastes 10:12: The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious. A godly man speaks so heavenly that it is as if he has already been there. The love he bears for God will not let him be silent. When the bride in the Song of Songs was overcome with love, her tongue became like the pen of a ready writer: Song of Songs 5:10: My beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. Where wine is in the house, the sign is hung out — and where there is a genuine principle of godliness in the heart, it will express itself through the lips.
How can they be called godly who seem possessed with a spirit of silence? They never have any good spiritual conversation. They speak freely enough about worldly things — they can talk about their goods and trade, and report on what a fine harvest they had — but in matters of religion they are as if their tongue were stuck to the roof of their mouth. If you spend time with many such people, you would have no way of knowing whether they were Christians at all, for they never speak a word about Christ.
Others have tongues that pour out poison rather than honey, defiling those around them. Plutarch says that speech ought to be like gold — most valuable when it has the least impurity. What unclean and spiteful words some people utter! What a foul stench comes from these dungheaps. Those lips that gallop so fast into sin have great need of David's bridle. Can the body be healthy when the tongue is diseased? Can the heart be holy when the devil is at the lips? A godly man speaks the language of heaven. Malachi 3:16: Those who feared the Lord spoke often with one another.
4. A godly man is heavenly in his operation. The motions of the planets are heavenly — and a godly man's motions are elevated and sacred. He works out his salvation with all his strength, as the athletes in the Olympics strained every muscle to win the crown. He prays, fasts, and keeps watch. He presses urgently toward heaven. He is moved by God, carries forward God's interests in the world, and does the work of angels. His actions are worthy of heaven.
5. A godly man is heavenly in his expectation — his hopes reach beyond the world. Titus 1:2: In hope of eternal life. A godly man casts anchor within the veil. He hopes to have the chains of sin broken off. He hopes for things eye has not seen. He hopes for a kingdom when he dies — a kingdom promised by the Father, purchased by the Son, and assured by the Holy Spirit. Just as an heir lives in anticipation of a great inheritance that will one day be his, so a child of God, who is a co-heir with Christ, lives in hope of glory. This hope comforts him in every situation. Romans 5:2: We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
First, hope comforts a godly man in affliction. Hope lightens and sweetens even the most severe trials. A child of God can laugh with tears in his eyes. The time is coming soon when the cross will be taken from his shoulders and a crown placed on his head. A saint who is surrounded by a thousand troubles will be, in an instant, clothed with robes of immortality and raised above the angels.
Second, hope comforts a godly man in death. Proverbs 14:32: The righteous has hope in his death. If someone were to ask a dying saint — when all his earthly comforts were gone — what he still had, he would say: the helmet of hope. There is an account of a Christian woman who, when a persecutor commanded that her breasts be cut off, replied: Tyrant, do your worst — I have two breasts you cannot touch: faith and hope. A soul with this blessed hope rises above the desire for life and the fear of death. Who would be troubled to exchange a short-term lease for an inheritance that will never end? Who would regret leaving behind this brief life — soon expired — to possess a glorious inheritance in eternal light?
6. A godly man is heavenly in his conversation — he radiates such holiness that it honors his profession. He lives as if he had seen the Lord with his own eyes. What zeal, holiness, and humility shine forth in his life. A godly person seeks not only to imitate the angels but to follow Christ Himself. 1 John 2:6: Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked. The Macedonians celebrated Alexander's birthday by wearing his portrait around their necks, set with pearls and jewels. In the same way, a godly man carries the living image of Christ with him in the heavenliness of his conduct. Philippians 3:20: Our citizenship is in heaven.
Application 1: Those who are consumed by the world must be judged ungodly, for godliness and earthly-mindedness are a contradiction. Philippians 3:18-19: For many walk, of whom I now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose god is their belly, who set their minds on earthly things. We read that the earth swallowed Korah alive, as Numbers 16:32 records. This judgment has fallen on many in a spiritual sense — the earth has swallowed up their time, their thoughts, and their conversation. They are buried twice: their hearts are buried in the earth before their bodies are. How sad it is that the soul — that noble thing, made for communion with God and angels — should be put to grinding work and made a slave to the earth. How has the soul become like the prodigal son, choosing to spend time with pigs and feed on husks rather than seeking communion with the blessed God? This is how Satan fools people and keeps them from heaven — by making them seek a heaven here.
Application 2: If we want to show that we are born of God, we must have a heavenly spirit and disposition. We will never go to heaven when we die unless we are living in a heavenly way while we live. To lift our affections higher, let us carefully weigh four considerations.
1. God Himself calls us to turn away from the world. 1 John 2:15: Do not love the world. We may enjoy its pleasures the way we enjoy the fragrance of flowers, but the world must not lie close to our hearts like a treasure we cling to. Romans 12:2: Do not be conformed to this world. Do not chase after its honors and profits. God's commands call us away from the world — and so do His providences. Why does He send war and plague? What is the meaning of such great suffering? Surely, times of dying are meant to help us die to the world.
2. Consider how far below a Christian it is to be earthly-minded. We sometimes laugh at children who busily chase after toys — blowing bubbles, kissing their dolls — while we ourselves do the same thing. At death, all the world we have clutched and treasured will be like a rag doll — it will give us no comfort then. To be consumed with such things is far below the dignity of a soul born from heaven. More than that, those who claim to be lifted by godliness and whose hopes reach above — for them to have their hearts fixed below is to dishonor their heavenly calling and to soil the silver wings of grace by dragging them through the dirt.
3. Consider what a poor and contemptible thing the world is — it is not worth setting our affections on. The world cannot fill the heart. If Satan were to take a Christian up to a high mountain and show him all the kingdoms and glory of the world, what would he actually be showing him? A fantasy — an apparition. Nothing here can satisfy the vast capacity of the human soul. Job 20:22: In the fullness of his sufficiency he is in distress. There is want in the midst of plenty. The world will no more fill the soul than a single drop will fill a bucket. And even the little sweetness we draw from created things is mixed with bitterness — like the drink they gave Christ. Mark 15:23: They offered Him wine mixed with myrrh. And this imperfect sweetness will not last. 1 John 2:17: The world is passing away. Created things do little more than greet us and then vanish. The world constantly changes — it is reliable only in its disappointments. How quickly we may move from our comfortable lodging to make our bed in the dust. The world is a great inn where we stop for a night or two and then move on. What madness it is to set our hearts so firmly on the inn that we forget our true home.
4. Consider what a glorious place heaven is. We read of an angel coming down from heaven who placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, as Revelation 10:2 says. If we had but once been in heaven and seen its surpassing glory, we could in holy contempt trample with one foot on the earth and with the other on the sea. Heaven is called a better country in Hebrews 11:16: They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Heaven is called a better country in contrast to the land where we now live as strangers. What should we care about, if not that better country?
Question: In what sense is heaven a better country?
Answer: 1. In that country above there are better delights. There is the tree of life and the rivers of pleasure. There is breathtaking beauty and inexhaustible riches. There are the joys of angels. There is the flower of joy in full bloom. There is more than we can ask or imagine. There is glory in its fullest measure, beyond all description.
2. In that country there is a better dwelling. First, it is a house not made with hands, as 2 Corinthians 5:1 says — which signals its excellence. Every house here has been built by human hands, but the house above surpasses the craft of any man or angel. Only God could lay a single stone in that building. Second, it is eternal in the heavens. It is not a temporary shelter but a permanent mansion — a house that will never fall into disrepair. Wisdom has built this house and hewn out its seven pillars, which will never crumble.
3. In that country there are better provisions. In our Father's house there is bread enough. Heaven was pictured by Canaan, which flowed with milk and honey. There is the royal feast, the finest wine, the food of angels — delicacies so extraordinary they surpass not only our ability to describe them but even our capacity to believe them.
4. In that country there is better society. God Himself is there — blessed forever. How infinitely sweet and satisfying will one smile from His face be? A king's presence makes the court. There are the glorious cherubim. In this earthly country where we now live, we are among wolves and serpents. In the country above, we will be among angels. There are the spirits of righteous people made perfect, as Hebrews 12:23 says. Here, God's people are obscured by their weaknesses — we see them spotted with pride, anger, and fault-finding. But in the Jerusalem above, we will see them in their royal attire, adorned with unimaginable beauty, without the slightest shadow of sin upon them.
5. In that country there is better air to breathe. We sometimes travel to the countryside for fresh air — but the best air is found only in that better country. First, it is more temperate — the climate is calm and mild. We will neither freeze with cold nor faint with heat. Second, it is brighter air — a better light shines there. The Sun of Righteousness illuminates that horizon with His glorious beams. Revelation 21:23: The Lamb is its light. Third, it is purer air. Wetlands filled with dark vapors are considered unhealthy to live in. This world is a place of bogs and swamps, where the toxic vapors of sin rise up and make the atmosphere harmful. But in the country above, there are none of those vapors — only a sweet fragrance of holiness. There is the scent of the orange tree and the pomegranate, and myrrh and cassia flowing from Christ, sending out the most beautiful fragrance.
6. In that country there is better soil.
First, for its altitude: the earth lies low and is therefore of a lesser kind. The element nearest to heaven is purer and more excellent, like fire. That country above is the high country, as Psalm 24:3 says — it is set far above all the visible heavens.
Second, it is better land for its fertility — it bears a richer harvest. The richest harvest on earth is a golden grain harvest, but the country above yields nobler things. There are celestial pearls, the spiritual vine, the honeycomb of God's love dripping with sweetness, the water of life, the hidden manna. There is fruit that does not rot and flowers that never fade. There is a harvest that can never be fully gathered — it will always be harvest time in heaven. And all of this the land yields without any labor of plowing or sowing.
Third, it is better land for its freedom from harm. There are no thorns or briars there. This world is a wilderness filled with wicked people, and Micah 7:4 says the best of them is a briar — tearing at God's people and wounding their spiritual freedoms. But in the country above, not one brier can be found — all the briars have been burned away.
Fourth, it is better land for the excellence of its prospects — everything a person sees there is his own. The best view is the one where a person can see the furthest on his own ground.
7. In that country there is better unity — all the inhabitants are bound together in love. The poisonous weed of hatred does not grow there. There is harmony without division and charity without envy. In that country above, as in Solomon's temple, no sound of hammer is heard.
8. In that country there is better employment. Here we complain of our needs and weep over our sins. But there we will praise God. How joyfully will the birds of paradise sing when they arrive in that heavenly country? There the morning stars will sing together and all God's saints will shout for joy.
What should we desire more than that country above? Those whose eyes are open will see that it surpasses everything beyond measure. An uneducated person looks at a star and it appears to him as a tiny silver speck. But an astronomer, using his instruments to measure the star's true size, knows it to be many times larger than the earth. In the same way, a person without spiritual perception hears that the heavenly country is very glorious, but it seems far away and remote — and because he has no spiritual discernment, the world looks bigger in his eyes. But those who are spiritually skilled, using the instrument of faith to see heaven clearly, will say: this is by far the better country. And toward it they will hasten, with the sails of desire fully set.
