Thomas Case (Correction, Instruction [London, 1802], p. 65):
Afflictions make heaven appear as heaven indeed. To the weary, it is rest — To the banished, home — To the scorned and reproached, glory — To the captive, liberty — To the soldier, conquest — and to the conqueror, it is a crown of life, of righteousness and of glory — To the hungry, it is hidden manna — To the thirsty, the fountain of life — To the grieved, fulness of joy — and to the mourner, pleasures for evermore — In a word, to them that have lain upon the dunghill, and kept their integrity, it is a throne, on which they shall sit and reign with Christ for ever and ever. Surely beloved, heaven thus proportioned to every state of the afflicted soul, cannot but be very precious, and will make the soul with a stronger or weaker impulse, desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, which is best of all.
Afflictions make heaven appear as heaven indeed. To the weary, it is rest — To the banished, home — To the scorned and reproached, glory — To the captive, liberty — To the soldier, conquest — and to the conqueror, it is a crown of life, of righteousness and of glory — To the hungry, it is hidden manna — To the thirsty, the fountain of life — To the grieved, fulness of joy — and to the mourner, pleasures for evermore — In a word, to them that have lain upon the dunghill, and kept their integrity, it is a throne, on which they shall sit and reign with Christ for ever and ever. Surely beloved, heaven thus proportioned to every state of the afflicted soul, cannot but be very precious, and will make the soul with a stronger or weaker impulse, desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, which is best of all.
