Heaven

The general sound of heaven, eternal life, salvation, the love of God in Christ, is pleasing to the ears of men. There are few to be met with who suspect themselves to have any dislike at the things expressed by these terms; much less that they in danger of being eternally damned on account of an obstinate refusal of such blessings. Every man thinks himself fond of heaven, and that his desires of eternal life are not only sincere, but sufficiently strong, to bring him, at one time or other, to go through whatever may be required that he may obtain that blessedness. Why do men entertain such flattering thoughts of themselves? It is because they know not the plague of their hearts, and because they consider not the true nature of the salvation and happiness which are brought to light by the gospel. If the testimony of God, in his word, may be credited, there is that naturally in every man's heart, which, without the interposition of grace, will infallibly lead him to neglect, to despise, to hate, and to cast away, all the treasures of salvation, and all the joys and glories of heaven. This assertion will not appear strange, if we consider what the Scripture teaches of the nature of heaven. It is a happiness, spiritual, intellectual, holy -- consisting in the knowledge, the image, the fellowship, the service, of the infinitely holy God. But, from experience, it is plain, how cold, how dead, how perverse, the hearts of men are, as to the great truths concerning the being and perfections of God. And it is only because these fundamental truths are basely and carelessly passed over by many preachers, that the hearts of many professors of religion do not fret, and boil, and foam with indignation, in the hearing of the word of God. I am persuaded that if the glory of the true God were faithfully, and in its proper majesty, published as it hath sometimes been, unless God should sovereignly change the hearts of many, it would soon thin many places of worship. Were God to appear in the sanctuary, as he hath sometimes done, the whole herd of hollow-hearted, worldly, conceited professors, would flee from him, as wild beasts keep at a distance from a fire blazing in the desert. John Love