V. The four great preparatives to our rest
CHAP. V The four great Preparatives to our Rest.
SECT. I. Having thus opened you a window toward the temple, and showed you a small glimpse of the back parts of that resemblance of the saint's rest which I had seen in the Gospel-glass, it follows, that we proceed to view a little the adjuncts and blessed properties of this rest; but, alas! this little which I have seen makes me cry out, with the prophet Isaiah, (chap. 6:5–7,) "Wo is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts!" Yet, if he will send and touch my lips with a coal from the altar of his Son, and say, Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged, I shall then speak boldly; and if he ask, Whom shall I send, I shall gladly answer, "Here am I, send me." (Ver. 8.) And why doth my trembling heart draw back? Surely, the Lord is not now so terrible and inaccessible, nor the passage of paradise so blocked up, as when the law and curse reigned. Wherefore, finding, beloved
Christians, "that the new and living way is consecrated for us, through the veil, the flesh of Christ, by which we may with boldness enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, I shall draw near with the fuller assurance." (Heb. 10:20–22.) And finding the flaming sword removed, shall look again into the paradise of our God: and because I know that this is not forbidden fruit, and, withal, that it is good for food, and pleasant to the spiritual eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one truly wise and happy, (Gen. 3:6,) I shall take, through the assistance of the Spirit, and eat thereof myself, and give to you, according to my power, that you may eat. For you, Christians, is this food prepared, this wine broached, this fountain opened; and the message my Master sends you is this hearty welcome, which you shall have in his own words, "Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." (Can. 5:1.) And, surely, it is neither manners
nor wisdom for you or me, to draw back or to demur upon such an invitation.
And, first, let us consider of the eminent antecedents, the great preparations; that notable introduction to this rest; for the porch of this temple is exceeding glorious, and the gate of it is called beautiful: and here offer themselves to this distinct observation, these four things, as the four corners of this porch.
1. The most glorious coming and appearing of the Son of God.
2. His powerful and wonderful raising of our bodies from the dust, and uniting them again with the soul.
3. His public and solemn proceedings in their judgment, where they shall be justified and acquitted before all the world.
4. His solemn celebration of their coronation, and his enthronizing of them in their glory. Follow but this fourfold stream unto the head, and it will bring you just to the garden of Eden.
Sect. I. And well may the coming of Christ be reckoned into his people's glory, and enumerated with those ingredients that compound this precious antidote of rest: for to this end it is intended; and to this end it is of apparent necessity. For his people's sake he sanctified himself to his office: for their sake he came into the world, suffered, died, rose, ascended: and for their sake it is that he will return. Whether his own exaltation, or theirs, were his primary intention, is a question, though of seeming usefulness, yet, so unresolved, for aught I have found, in Scripture, that I dare not sean it, for fear of pressing into the divine secrets, and approaching too near the inaccessible light. I find Scripture mentioning both ends distinctly and conjunctly, but not comparatively. This is most clear, that to this end will Christ come again to receive his people to himself, "that where he is, they may be also." (John 14:3.) The Bridegroom's departure was not upon divorce; he did not leave us with a purpose to return no more: he hath left pledges enough to
assure us; we have his word in pawn, his many promises, his sacraments, which show forth his death till he come, and his Spirit to direct, sanctify, and comfort, till he return. We have frequent tokens of love from him, to show us he forgets not his purpose, nor us. We behold the forerunners of his coming, foretold by himself, daily come to pass. We see the fig-tree put forth her branches, and therefore know the summer is nigh. We see the fields white unto harvest: and though the riotous world say, "Our Lord will be long a-coming," yet let the saints lift up their heads, for their redemption draweth nigh.
Alas! fellow-Christians, what should we do, if our Lord should not return! What a case are we here left in! What! leave us among wolves, and in the lion's den, among a generation of serpents, and here forget us! Did he buy us so dear, and then cast us off so: to leave us sinning, suffering, groaning, dying daily, and come no more to us?
It cannot be; never fear it: it cannot be. This is like our unkind dealing with Christ, who, when we feel ourselves warm in the world, care not for coming at him; but this is not like Christ's dealing with us. He that would come to suffer, will surely come to triumph; and he that would come to purchase, will surely come to possess. Alas! where else were all our hopes? What were become of our faith, our prayers, our tears, and our waiting? What were all the patience of the saints worth to them? Were we not left of all men most miserable?
Christians, hath Christ made us forsake all the world, and be forsaken of all the world; to hate all, and to be hated of all; and all this for him, that we may have him instead of all? And will he, think you, after all this, forget us, and forsake us himself? Far be such a thought from our hearts. But why stayed he not with his people, while he was here? Why must not the Comforter be sent? Was not the work all on earth done? Must he not receive the recompense of reward, and enter into his glory? Must he not take possession in our behalf? Must he not go to prepare a place for us? Must he not intercede with the Father; and plead his sufferings, and be filled with the Spirit, to send it forth; and receive authority, to subdue his enemies? Our abode here is short; if he had stayed on earth, what would it have been to enjoy him for a few days, and then die? But he hath more in heaven to dwell among; even the spirits of the just of
many generations, there made perfect. Besides, he will have us live by faith, and not by sight. O fellow—Christians, what a day will that be, when we, who have been kept prisoners by sin, by sinners, by the grave, shall be fetched out by the Lord himself; when Christ shall come from heaven to plead with his enemies, and set his captives free! It will not be such a coming as his first was, in meanness, and poverty, and contempt: he will not come to be spit upon, and buffeted, and scorned, and crucified again: he will not come, O careless world, to be slighted and neglected by you any more. And yet that coming, which was necessarily in infirmity and reproach for our sakes, wanted not its glory. If the angels of heaven must be the messengers of that coming, as being "tidings of joy to all people:" and the heavenly host must go before, or accompany the celebration of his nativity, and must praise God with that solemnity, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men;" O, then, with what shoutings will angels and saints at that day proclaim,
"Glory to God, and peace and good will towards men!" If the stars of heaven must lead men from remote parts of the world to come to worship a child in a manger; how will the glory of his next appearing constrain all the world to acknowledge his sovereignty? If the King of Israel, riding on an ass, made his entry into Jerusalem with hosannahs, "Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest;" O with what proclamations of blessings, peace, and glory, will he come toward the New Jerusalem! If, when he was in the form of a servant, they cry out, "What manner of man is this, that both wind and sea obey him?"t what will they say when they shall see him coming in his glory, and the heavens and the earth obey him! "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." O Christians, it was comfortable to you to hear from him, to believe in him, and hope for him. What will it be to see him? The promise of his coming and our deliverance was comfortable. What will it be thus to see him, with all the glorious attendance of angels, come in person to deliver us?x "The mighty God, the Lord hath spoken, and called the earth from
the rising of the sun to the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence; a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he might judge his people. Gather my saints together to me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice; and the heavens shall declare his righteousness; for God is
Judge himself." Selah. (Psalm. 50:1–6.) This coming of Christ is frequently mentioned in the prophets, as the great support of his people's spirits till then. And whenever the apostles would quicken to duty, or comfort, and encourage to patient waiting, they usually do it by mentioning Christ's coming. Why, then, do we not use more this cordial consideration, whenever we want support and comfort? To think and speak of that day with horror, doth well beseem the impenitent sinner, but ill the believing saint. Such may be the voice of a believer, but it is not the voice of faith. Christians, what do we believe, and hope, and wait for, but to see that day! This is Paul's encouragement to moderation, to "rejoicing in the Lord always; The Lord is at hand." (Phil. 4:4, 5.) It is "to all them that love his appearing, that the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give the crown of righteousness at that day." (2 Tim. 4:8.) Dost thou so long to have him come into thy soul with comfort and life, and takest thyself but for a forlorn orphan, while he seemeth absent? And dost thou not much more long for that coming which shall perfect thy life, and joy, and glory? Dost thou so rejoice after some short and slender enjoyment of him in thy heart? Oh! how wilt thou then rejoice! How full of joy was that blessed martyr, Mr. Glover, with the discovery of Christ to his soul, after long doubting and waiting in sorrows! So that he cries out, 'He is come! he is come!' If thou have but a dear friend returned, that hath been far and long absent; how do all run out to meet him with joy! Oh! saith the child, 'My father is come!' saith the wife, 'My husband is come!' And shall not we, when we behold our
Lord in his majesty returning, cry out, 'He is come! He is come!' Shall the wicked, with inconceivable horror, behold him, and cry out, Oh! yonder is he whose blood we neglected, whose grace we resisted, whose counsels we refused, whose government we cast off! And shall
not then the saints, with inconceivable gladness, cry out, 'Oh! yonder is he whose blood redeemed us, whose Spirit cleansed us, whose law did govern us! Yonder comes he in whom we trusted, and now we see he hath not deceived our trust; he for whom we long waited, and now we see we have not waited in vain! O cursed corruption, that would have had us turn to the world, and present things, and give up our hopes, and say, 'Why should we wait for the Lord any longer?' Now we see, that "blessed are all they that wait for him." Believe it, fellowChristians, this day is not far off. "For yet a little while, and he that comes will come, and will not tarry." And though the unbelieving world, and the unbelief of thy heart, may say, as those atheistical scoffers, "Where is the promise of his coming? Do not all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation?" Yet, let us know, "the Lord is not slack of his promise, as some men count slackness: one day with him is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Pet. 3:3, 4, 8, 9.) I have thought on it many a time, as a small emblem of that day, when I have seen a prevailing army drawing towards the towns and castles of the enemy. Oh! with what glad hearts do all the poor prisoners within, hear the news, and behold their approach! How do they run up to their prison windows, and thence behold their friends with joy! How glad are they at the roaring report of that cannon, which is the enemy's terror! How do they clap each other on the back, and cry, 'Deliverance, deliverance!'
While, in the mean time, the late insulting, scorning, cruel enemies begin to speak them fair, and beg their favour; but all in vain, for they are not at the disposal of prisoners, but of the general. Their fair usage may make their conditions somewhat the more easy, but yet they are used as enemies still. (Matt. 24:27.) Oh! when the conquering lion of the tribe of Judah shall appear with all the hosts of heaven: when he shall surprise the careless world, as a thief in the night; when as the lightning, which appeareth in the east, and shineth even to the west, so shall they behold him coming: what a change will the sight of this appearance work, both with the world, and with the saints! Now, poor deluded world, where is your mirth and your jollity? Now, where is your wealth and your glory? Where is that profane and careless heart, that slighted Christ and his Spirit,
and with stood all the offers of grace? Now, where is that tongue that mocked the saints, and jeered the holy ways of God, and made merry with his people's imperfections, and their own slanders? What! was it not you? Deny it if you can. Your heart condemns you, and "God is greater than your heart, and will condemn you much more." (1 John
3:20, 21.) Even, when you say, "Peace and safety, then destruction cometh upon you, as travail upon a woman with child; and you shall not escape." (1 Thess. 5:3.) Perhaps, if you had known just the day and hour when the Son of Man would have come, then you would have been found praying, or the like; but you should have watched, and been ready, because you know not the hour. But for that faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord when he comes shall find so doing;
"O, blessed is that servant: verily I say unto you (for Christ hath said it), he shall make him ruler over all his goods." (Matt. 24:42–47.)
"And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, he shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Pet. 5:4.) O, how should it then be the character of a Christian, "to wait for the Son of God from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come!" (1 Thess. 1:10.) And with all faithful diligence, to prepare to meet our Lord with joy. And seeing his coming is on purpose "to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe," (2 Thess. 1:10,) O, what thought should glad our hearts more than the thought of that day! A little while, indeed, we have not "seen him, but yet a little while, and we shall see him." (John 14:18.)
For he hath said, "I will not leave you comfortless, but will come unto you." We were comfortless, should he not come. And while we daily gaze and look up to heaven after him, let us remember what the angel said, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:10.) While he is now out of sight, it is a sword to our souls, while they daily ask us, "Where is your God?" (Psal. 42.) But then we shall be able to answer our enemies; "See, O proud sinners, yonder is our Lord." O now, Christians, should we not put up that petition heartily, "Let thy kingdom come; for the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let every Christian that heareth and readeth, say,
Come," and our Lord himself saith, "Surely I come quickly, amen; even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Rev. 22:17, 20.)
Sect. II. The second stream that leadeth to paradise, is that great work of Jesus Christ, in raising our bodies from the dust, uniting them again unto the soul. A wonderful effect of infinite power and love. Yea, wonderful indeed, saith unbelief, if it be true. What, saith the atheist and sadducee, shall all these scattered bones and dust become a man? A man drowned in the sea is eaten by fishes, and they by men again, and these men by worms; what is become of the body of that first man; shall it rise again? Thou fool (for so Paul calls thee), dost thou dispute against the power of the Almighty: wilt thou pose him with this sophistry: dost thou object difficulties to the infinite strength? Thou blind mole; thou silly worm; thou little piece of creeping, breathing clay; thou dust; thou nothing: knowest thou who it is, whose power thou dost question? If thou shouldst see him, thou wouldst presently die. If he should come and dispute his cause with thee, couldst thou bear it: or if thou shouldst hear his voice, couldst thou endure? But come thy way, let me take thee by the hand, and do thou a little follow me; and let me, with reverence, as Elihu, plead for God; and for that power whereby I hope to arise.
Seest thou this great, massy body of the earth: what beareth it, and upon what foundation doth it stand? Seest thou this vast ocean of waters: what limits them, and why do they not overflow and drown the earth: whence is that constant ebbing and flowing of her tides: wilt thou say from the moon, or other planets: and whence have they that power of effective influence; must thou not come to a cause of causes, that can do all things? And doth not reason require thee, to conceive of that cause as a perfect intelligence, and voluntary agent, and not such a blind worker and empty notion as that nothing is, which thou callest nature? Look upward; seest thou that glorious body of light, the sun: how many times bigger it is than all the earth; and yet how many thousand miles doth it run in one minute of an hour, and that without weariness, or failing a moment? What thinkest thou; is not that power able to effect thy resurrection, which doth all this: dost thou not see as great works as a resurrection every
day before thine eyes, but that the commonness makes thee not admire them? Read but Job. 37 to 41, and take heed of disputing against God again, or ever. Knowest thou not, that with him all things are possible; can he make a camel go through the eye of a needle; can he make such a blind sinner as thou to see, and such a proud heart as thine to stoop, and such an earthly mind as thine, heavenly; and subdue all that thy fleshly, foolish wisdom? And is not this as great a work, as to raise thee from the dust. wast thou any more unlikely to be, when thou wast nothing, than thou shalt be when thou art dust: is it not as easy to raise the dead, as to make heaven and earth, and all of nothing? But if thou be unpersuadable, all I say to thee more is, as the prophet to the prince of Samaria (2
Kings 7:20), "Thou shalt see that day with thine eyes," but little to thy comfort; for that which is the day of relief to the saints, shall be a day of revenge on thee: there is a rest prepared, but thou canst not "enter in because of unbelief." (Heb. 3:19.) But for thee, O believing soul, never think to comprehend, in the narrow capacity of thy shallow brain, the counsels and ways of thy Maker; any more than thou canst contain in thy fist the vast ocean. He never intended thee such a capacity, when he made thee, and gave thee that measure thou hast, any more than he intended to enable that worm, or this post, or stone, fully to know thee. Therefore, when he speaks, dispute not, but believe, as Abraham, who considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, nor yet the deadness of Sarah's womb; he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded, that what he had promised, he was also able to perform.
And so, "against hope, believed in hope." (Rom. 4:18–21.) So look thou not on the dead bones, and dust, and difficulties, but at the promise. (Isa. 26:20, 21.) Martha knew her brother should rise again at the resurrection: but if Christ say, he shall rise before, it must be believed. Come, then, fellow-Christians, let us contentedly commit these careasses to the dust: that prison shall not long contain them.
Let us lie down in peace, and take our rest, it will not be an everlasting night, or endless sleep. What if we go out of the troubles and stirs of the world, and enter into those chambers of dust, and the
doors be shut upon us, and we hide ourselves, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation be over-past? Yet, behold the Lord cometh out of his place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: and then the earth shall disclose us, and the dust shall hide us no more. As sure as we awake in the morning, when we have slept out the night, so sure shall we then awake. And what if, in the meantime, we must be loathsome lumps, cast out of the sight of men, as not fit to be endured among the living: what, if our carcasses become as vile as those of the beasts that perish: what, if our bones be dug up, and scattered about the pit brink, and worms consume our flesh. Yet we know that our Redeemer liveth, and shall stand at last on earth, and we shall see him with these eyes. And withal it is but this flesh that suffers all this; and what is this comely piece of flesh, which thou art loath should come to so base a state? Is it not a hundred years since it was either nothing, or an invisible something.
And is it not most of it for the present, if not an appearing nothing, seeming something to an imperfect sense; yet, at best, a condensation of invisibles, which, that they may become sensible, are become more gross, and so more vile. Where is all that fair mass of flesh and blood which thou hadst, before sickness consumed thee? annihilated, it is not; only resolved into its principles; show it me if thou canst. Into how small a handful of dust or ashes will that whole mass, if buried or burnt, return: and into how much smaller can a chemist reduce that little, and leave all the rest invisible. What, if God prick the bladder, and let out the wind that puffs thee up to such a substance, and resolve thee into thy principles? Doth not the seed thou sowest die before it spring; and what cause have we to be tender of this body; oh, what care, what labour, what grief and sorrow hath it cost us; how many a weary, painful, tedious hour! O my soul, grudge not that God should disburden thee of all this: fear not, lest he should free thee from thy fetters: be not so loath that he should break down thy prison, and let thee go: what, though some terrible earthquake go before; it is but that the foundations of the prison may be shaken, and so the doors fly open; the terror will be to thy jailor, but to thee deliverance. O, therefore, at what hour of the night soever thy Lord come, let him find thee, though with thy feet in these stocks,
yet singing praises to him, and not fearing the time of thy deliverance. If unclothing be the thing thou fearest, why it is that thou mayest have better clothing put on. If to be turned out of doors be the thing thou fearest, why remember, then, when this earthly house of thy tabernacle is dissolved, thou hast "a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." How willingly do our soldiers burn their huts, when the siege is ended, being glad their work is done, that they may go home and dwell in houses. Lay down, then, cheerfully this bag of loathsome filth, this lump of corruption; thou shalt undoubtedly receive it again in incorruption.
Lay down freely this terrestrial, this natural body; believe it, thou shalt receive it again a celestial, a spiritual body. And though thou lay it down into the dirt with great dishonour, thou shalt receive it into glory with honour: and though thou art separated from it through weakness, it shall be raised again, and joined to thee in mighty power. When the trumpet of God shall sound the call, "Come away, arise ye dead;" (1 Cor. 15:42–45;) who shall then stay behind? Who can resist the powerful command of our Lord; when he shall call to the earth and sea, "O earth, give up thy dead! O sea, give up thy dead?" Then shall our Sampson break for us the bonds of death. And as the ungodly shall, like toads from their holes, be drawn forth whether they will or no; so shall the godly, as prisoners of hope, awake out of sleep, and come with joy to meet their Lord. The first that shall be called, are the saints that sleep; and then the saints that are then alive shall be changed. For Paul hath told us, by the word of the Lord, "That they which are alive, and remain till the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then they which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, O Christians, comfort one another with these words." This is one of the Gospel mysteries: "That we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible
must put on incorruption; and this mortal, immortality. Then is death swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:51–57.) Triumph now, O
Christian, in these promises; thou shalt shortly triumph in their performance. For this is the day that the Lord will make; "we shall be glad and rejoice therein." (Ps. 118.) The grave that could not keep our
Lord, cannot keep us: he arose for us, and by the same power will cause us to arise. "For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again; even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him." (1
Thess. 4:14.) Can the head live, and the body and members remain dead? O, write those sweet words upon thy heart, Christian, "Because
I live, ye shall live also." (John 14:19.) As sure as Christ lives, ye shall live: and as sure as he is risen, we shall rise. Else the dead perish.
Else what is our hope; what advantageth all our duty or suffering?
Else the sensual epicure were one of the wisest men; and what better are we than our beasts? Surely our knowledge, more than theirs, would but increase our sorrows; and our dominion over them is no great felicity. The servant hath ofttimes a better life than his master, because he hath few of his master's eares. And our dead careasses are no more comely, nor yield a sweeter savour, than theirs. But we have a sure ground of hope. And besides this life, we have "a life that is hid with Christ in God; and when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory." (Col. 3:3, 4.) O let not us be as the purblind world, that cannot see afar off; let us never look at the grave, but let us see the resurrection beyond it. Faith is quicksighted, and can see as far as that is; yea, as far as eternity. Therefore let our hearts be glad, and our glory rejoice, and our flesh also shall rest in hope; for he will not leave us in the grave, nor suffer us still to see corruption. Yea, "Therefore, let us be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know our labour is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor. 15:58.)
God made not death, but Christ overcame it, when sin had introduced it. Death is from ourselves, but life from the Author and Lord of life. The devil had the power of death till he was overcome by
death; (Heb. 2:14, 15;) but he that liveth and was dead, and is alive for evermore, hath now the keys of death and hell. (Rev. 1:18.) That the very damned live, is to be ascribed to him; that they live in misery, is long of themselves. Not that it is more desirable to them to live miserably, as there they must do, than not to live; but as God's glory is his chief, if not only end, in all his works, so was it the Mediator's chief end in the world's reparation. They shall, therefore, live, whether they will or no, for God's glory, though they live not to their own comfort, because they would not.
But whatsoever is the cause of the wicked's resurrection, this sufficeth to the saint's comfort, that resurrection to glory is only the fruit of Christ's death: and this fruit they shall certainly partake of.
The promise is sure: "All that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and come forth." (John 5:28.) "And this is the Father's will which hath sent Christ, that of all which he hath given him he should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day;" (John 6:39;) "and that every one that believeth on the Son may have everlasting life, and he will raise him up at the last day." (Ver. 40.) If the prayers of the prophet could raise the Shunamite's dead child, and if the dead soldier revived at the touch of the prophet's bones, how certainly shall the will of Christ, and the power of his death, raise us. The voice that said to Jairus' daughter, "Arise;" and to Lazarus, "Arise, and come forth," can do the like for us. If his death immediately raised the dead bodies of many saints in Jerusalem; if he gave power to his apostles to raise the dead; then what doubt of our resurrection? And thus, Christian, thou seest that Christ, having sanctified the grave by his burial, and conquered death, and broke the ice for us, a dead body and a grave is not now so horrid a spectacle to a believing eye; but as our Lord was nearest his resurrection and glory when he was in the grave, even so are we: and he that hath promised to make our bed in sickness, will make the dust as a bed of roses. Death shall not dissolve the union betwixt him and us, nor turn away his affections from us; but in the morning of eternity he will send his angels, yea, come himself, and roll away the stone, and unseal our grave, and reach us his hand, and deliver us alive to our Father. Why, then, doth
the approach of death so cast thee down, O my soul; and why art thou thus disquieted within me? The grave is not hell: if it were, yet there is thy Lord present; and thence should his merit and mercy fetch thee out. Thy sickness is not unto death, though I die, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby. Say not, then, he lifted me up to cast me down, and hath raised me high that my fall may be the lower; but he casts me down that he may lift me up, and layeth me low that I may rise the higher. A hundred experiences have sealed this truth unto thee, that the greatest dejections are intended but for advantages to thy greatest dignity, and the Redeemer's glory.
Sect. III. The third part of this Prologue to the Saint's Rest, is the public and solemn process at their judgment, where they shall first, themselves, be acquitted and justified; and then, with Christ, judge the world. Public I may well call it, for all the world must there appear: young and old, of all estates and nations, that ever were from the creation to that day, must here come and receive their doom. The judgment shall be set, and the books opened, and the book of life produced; "and the dead shall be judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works, and whosoever is not found written in the book of life, is cast into the lake of fire."
(Rom. 2:16, and 14:10; Rev. 20:12–15.) O, terrible! O, joyful day!
Terrible to those that have let their lamps go out, and have not watched, but forgot the coming of their Lord: joyful to the saints, whose waiting and hope was to see this day. Then shall the world behold the goodness and severity of the Lord: on them who perish, severity; but to his chosen, goodness: when every one must give account of his stewardship, and every talent of time, health, wit, mercies, afflictions, means, warnings, must be reckoned for; (Matt.
24, and 25:5–7; Rom. 1:22;) when the sins of youth, and those which they had forgotten, and their secret sins, shall all be laid open before angels and men; when they shall see all their friends, wealth, old delights, all their confidence and false hopes of heaven, to forsake them; when they shall see the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they neglected, whose word they disobeyed, whose ministers they abused,
whose servants they hated, now sitting to judge them; when their own consciences shall cry out against them, and call to their remembrance all their misdoings. Remember at such a time, such or such a sin; at such a time Christ sued hard for thy conversion; the minister pressed it home to thy heart, thou wast touched to the quick with the word; thou didst purpose and promise returning, and yet thou cast off all. When a hundred sermons, sabbaths, mercies, shall each step up and say, I am witness against the prisoner; Lord, I was abused, and I was neglected; O, which way will the wretched sinner look! O, who can conceive the terrible thoughts of his heart! Now the world cannot help him; his old companions cannot help him; the saints neither can nor will; only the Lord Jesus can: but, oh! there is the soul-killing misery, he will not; nay, without violating the truth of his word, he cannot; though otherwise, in regard of his absolute power, he might. The time was, sinner, when Christ would, and you would not; and now, oh! fain would you, and he will not. Then he followed thee, in vain, with entreaties; O, poor sinner, what doest thou; will thou sell thy soul and Saviour for a lust: look to me, and be saved; return, why wilt thou die? But thy ear and heart were shut up against all. Why, now thou shalt cry, Lord, Lord, open to us; and he shall say, "Depart, I know you not, ye workers of iniquity." (Matt.
7:22, 23.) Now, mercy, mercy, Lord; O, but it was mercy you so long set light by, and now your day of mercy is over. What then remains, but to cry out to the mountains, Fall upon us; and the hills, O cover us from the presence of him that sits upon the throne! But all in vain; for thou hast the Lord of mountains and hills for thine enemy, whose voice they will obey, and not thine. Sinner, make not light of this; for, as thou livest, except a thorough change and coming in to Christ prevent it, which God grant, thou shalt shortly, to thy inconceivable horror, see that day. O, wretch, will thy cups then be wine or gall; will they be sweet or bitter; will it comfort thee to think of thy merry days, and how pleasantly thy time slipped away; will it do thee good to think how rich thou wast, and how honourable thou wast; or will it not rather wound thy very soul to remember thy folly, and make thee, with anguish of heart, and rage against thyself, to cry out, O wretch, where was mine understanding! Didst thou make so light of
that sin that now makes thee tremble: how couldst thou hear so lightly of the redeeming blood of the Son of God; how couldst thou quench so many motions of his Spirit, and stifle so many quickening thoughts as were cast into thy soul? What took up all that life's time which thou hadst given thee to make sure work against this day; what took up all thy heart, thy love, and delight, which should have been laid out on the Lord Jesus? Hadst thou room in thy heart for the world, thy friend, thy flesh, thy lusts, and none for Christ? O, wretch, whom hadst thou to love, but him; what hadst thou to do, but to seek him, and cleave to him, and enjoy him! Oh! wast thou not told of this dreadful day a thousand times, till the commonness of that doctrine made thee weary; how couldst thou slight such warnings, and rage against the minister, and say he preached damnation: had it not been better to have heard and prevented it, than now to endure it? O, now, for one offer of Christ, for one sermon, for one day of grace more; but too late; alas! too late. Poor, careless sinner, I did not think here to have said so much to thee; for my business is to refresh the saints; but if these lines do fall into thy hands, and thou vouchsafe the reading of them, I here charge thee, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his kingdom; (2 Tim. 4:1;) that thou make haste and get alone, and set thyself sadly to ponder on these things: ask thy heart, Is this true, or is it not; is there such a day, and must I see it? O, what do I then; why trifle I; is it not time, full time, that I had made sure of Christ and comfort long ago; should I sit still another day, who have lost so many; had I not rather be found one of the holy, faithful, watchful Christians, than a worldling, a good fellow, or a man of honour: why should I not, then, choose it now; will it be best then, and is it not best now? O, think of these things! A few sad hours spent in serious fore-thoughts is a cheap prevention; it is worth this, or it is worth nothing. Friend, I profess to thee, from the word of the Lord, that of all thy sweet sins, there will then be nothing left, but the sting in thy conscience, which will never out through all eternity; except the blood of Christ, believed in, and valued above all the world, do now, in this day of grace, get it out.
Thy sin is like a beautiful harlot: while she is young and fresh, she
hath many followers; but when old and withered, every one would shut their hands of her: she is only their shame; none would know her. So will it be with thee: now thou wilt venture on it, whatever it cost thee; but then, when men's rebellious ways are charged on their souls to death, O that thou couldst rid thy hands of it; O that thou couldst say, Lord, it was not I. Then, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, naked, imprisoned: how fain would they put it off. Then sin will be sin indeed, and grace will be grace indeed; then, say the foolish virgins, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are out. O, for some of your faith and holiness, which we were wont to mock at; but what is the answer, "Go buy for yourselves; we have little enough; would we had rather much more." Then they will be glad of any thing like grace; and if they can but produce any external familiarity with Christ, or common gifts, how glad are they! Lord, we have eat and drunk in thy presence, prophesied in thy name, cast out devils, done many wonderful works; we have been baptised, heard sermons, professed
Christianity: but, alas! this will not serve the turn. He will profess to them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. O, dead-hearted sinner, is all this nothing to thee! As sure as Christ is true, this is true; take it in his own words: "When the Son of Man shall come in his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on the right hand, and the goats on the left." (Matt. 25:31.) And so on, as you may read in the text.
But why tremblest thou, O humble, gracious soul? Cannot the enemies and slighters of Christ be foretold their doom, but thou must quake: do I make sad the soul that God would not have sad? (Ezek.
13:22.) Doth not thy Lord know his own sheep, "who have heard his voice, and followed him?" (John 10:27.) He that would not lose the family of one Noah in a common deluge, when him only he had found faithful in all the earth; (Gen. 7:1–3, and 19:22;) he that would not overlook one Lot in Sodom; nay, that could do nothing till he went forth: will he forget thee at that day? "Thy Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust to the
day of judgment to be punished;" (2 Pet. 2:9;) he knoweth how to make the same day the greatest for terror to his foes, and yet the greatest for joy to his people. He ever intended it for the great distinguishing and separating day; wherein both love and fury should be manifested to the highest. (Matt. 13.) O, then, "Let the heavens rejoice, the sea, the earth, the floods, the hills; for the Lord cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity." (Psal. 96:11–13.) But, especially,
"Let Sion hear, and be glad, and her children rejoice;" (Psal. 98:7–9;) for, "when God ariseth to judgment, it is to save the meek of the earth." (Psal. 97:8.) They have judged and condemned themselves many a day in heart-breaking confessions, and therefore shall not be judged to condemnation by the Lord; "for there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (1 Cor. 11:31.) And, "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?" (Rom. 8:1, 33.) Shall the law? Why,
"Whatsoever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law; but we are not under the law, but under grace: for the law of the Spirit of life, which is in Christ Jesus, hath made us free from the law of sin and death." (Rom. 3:19, 5:1, 6:14, and 8:2.) Or shall conscience? Why, we were, long ago, "justified by faith, and so have peace with God, and have our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience; and the Spirit bearing witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God." (Heb. 10:22.) "It is God that justifieth; who shall condemn?" (Rom. 8:16.) If our Judge condemn us not, who shall? He that said to the adulterous woman, "Hath no man condemned thee? neither do I condemn thee;" (John 8:11;) He will say to us, more faithfully than Peter to him, "Though all men deny thee, or condemn thee, I will not." (Mark 14:31.) "Thou hast confessed me before men, and I will confess thee before my Father, and the angels of heaven." (Matt. 10:32.) He, whose first coming was not "to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved;" (John 3:17;) I am sure, intends not his second coming to condemn his people, but that they, through him, might be saved. He hath given us eternal life in charter and title already, yea, and partly in possession; and will he after that condemn us? When he gave us
the knowledge of his Father and himself, he gave us eternal life; and he hath verily told us, "that he that heareth his word, and believeth on him that sent him, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death to life." (John 5:24, and 17:8.) Indeed, if our Judge were our enemy, as he is to the world, then we might well fear. If the devil were our judge, or the ungodly were our judge, then we should be condemned as hypocrites, as heretics, as schismatics, as proud, or covetous, or what not? But our
Judge is Christ, who died; yea, rather, who is risen again, and maketh request for us: for, "all power is given him in heaven and in earth, and all things delivered into his hands; and the Father hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." For, though God judge the world, yet the Father, immediately, without his Vicegerent, Christ, judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son, that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. Oh what inexpressible joy may this afford to a believer, that our dear Lord, who loveth our souls, and whom our souls love, shall be our Judge! Will a man fear to be judged by his dearest friend, by a brother, by a father, or a wife by her own husband? Christian, did he come down, and suffer, and weep, and bleed, and die for thee, and will he now condemn thee; was he judged, and condemned, and executed in thy stead, and now will he condemn thee himself; did he make a bath of his blood for thy sins, and a garment of his own righteousness for thy nakedness, and will he now open them to thy shame; is he the undertaker for thy salvation, and will he be against thee; hath it cost him so dear to save thee, and will he now himself destroy thee; hath he done the most of the work already, in redeeming, regenerating, and sanctifying, justifying, preserving, and perfecting thee, and will he now undo all again: nay, hath he begun, and will he not finish; hath he interceded so long for thee to the Father, and will he cast thee away himself? If all these be likely, then fear, and then rejoice not. Oh what an unreasonable sin is unbelief, that will charge our Lord with such unmercifulness and absurdities! Well, then, fellow-Christians, let the terror of that day be ever so great, surely our Lord can mean no ill to us in all: let it make the devils tremble, and the wicked tremble; but
it shall make us to leap for joy: let Satan accuse us, we have our answer at hand; our surety hath discharged the debt. If he have not fulfilled the law, then let us be charged as breakers of it: if he have not suffered, then let us suffer; but if he have, we are free: nay, our
Lord will make answer for us himself. "These are mine, and shall be made up with my jewels: for their transgressions was I stricken, and cut off from the earth; for them was I bruised and put to grief: my soul was made an offering for their sin, and I bore their transgressions. They are my seed, and the travail of my soul: I have healed them by my stripes; I have justified them by my knowledge."
(Isa. 53:5, 8, 10, 11.) "They are my sheep: who shall take them out of my hands?" (John 10:28.) Yea, though the humble soul be ready to speak against itself, "Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee," &c., yet will not Christ do so. This is the day of the believer's full justification. They were, before, made just, and esteemed just, and by faith justified in law; and this, to some, evidenced to their consciences. But now they shall both, by apology, be maintained just; and, by sentence, pronounced just actually, by the lively voice of the Judge himself; which is the most perfect justification. Their justification by faith, is a giving them title in law, to that apology and absolving sentence which at that day they shall actually receive from the mouth of Christ; by which sentence, their sin, which before was pardoned in the sense of the law, is now perfectly pardoned, or blotted out by this ultimate judgment. (Acts 3:19.) Therefore, well may it be called the time of refreshing, as being to the saints, the perfecting of all their former refreshments. He who was vexed with a quarrelling conscience, an accusing world, a cursing law, is solemnly pronounced righteous by the Lord, the Judge. Though he cannot plead Not guilty, in regard of fact, yet, being pardoned, he shall be acquitted by the proclamation of Christ: and that is not all; but he that was accused as deserving hell, is pronounced a member of Christ, a son of God, and so adjudged to eternal glory. The sentence of pardon, passed by the Spirit and conscience within us, was wont to be exceeding sweet; but this will fully and finally resolve the question, and leave no room for doubting again for ever. We shall more rejoice that our names are found written in the book of life,
than if men or devils were subjected to us; and it must needs affect us deeply with the sense of our mercy and happiness, to behold the contrary condition of others; to see most of the world tremble with terror, while we triumph with joy; to hear them doomed to everlasting flames, and see them thrust into hell, when we are proclaimed heirs of the kingdom; to see our neighbours, that lived in the same towns, came to the same congregations, sat in the same seats, dwelt in the same houses, and were esteemed more honourable in the world than ourselves; to see them now so differenced from us, and by the Searcher of hearts, eternally separated. Thus, with the great magnificence and dreadfulness of the day, doth the apostle pathetically express: "It is righteous with God, to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled, rest with us; when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power," &c. (2 Thess. 1:6–10.) And, now, is not here enough to make that day a welcome day, and the thoughts of it delightful to us? but yet there is more. We shall be so far from the dread of that judgment, that ourselves shall become the judges. Christ will take his people, as it were, into commission with him; and they shall sit and approve his righteous judgment. Oh fear not now the reproaches, scorns, and censures, of those that must then be judged by us: did you think, O wretched worldlings, that those poor, despised men, whom you made your daily derision, should be your judges; did you believe this, when you made them stand as offenders before the bar of your judgment?
No more than Pilate, when he was judging Christ, did believe that he was condemning his Judge; or the Jews, when they were whipping, imprisoning, killing the apostles, did think to see them sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. "Do you not know," saith
Paul, "that the saints shall judge the world: nay, know you not that we shall judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:2, 3.) Surely, were it not the word of Christ that speaks it, this advancement would seem incredible, and the language arrogant; yet even Enoch, the seventh from Adam,
prophesied of this, saying, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed; and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (Jude 14.) Thus shall the saints be honoured, and the "righteous have dominion in the morning." (Psal. 9:14.) O, that the careless world were "but wise to consider this, and that they would remember their latter end!" (Deut.
32:29.) That they would be now of the same mind as they will be when they shall see the "heavens pass away with a noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, to be burnt up." (2 Pet. 3:10.) When all shall be on fire about their ears, and all earthly glory consumed; "for the heavens, and the earth, which are now, are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men." (2 Pet. 3:7.) But, alas! when all is said, "the wicked will do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." (Dan. 12:10.)
Rejoice, therefore, O ye saints, yet watch; and what you have, hold fast till your Lord come; (Rev. 2:25;) and study that use of this doctrine which the apostle propounds. "Seeing, then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be, in all holy conversation and godliness: looking for and hasting to the coming of the day of God; wherein the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements melt with fervent heat." (2 Pet. 3:11, 12.)
But go your way, keep close with God, and wait till your change come, and till this end be; "for you shall rest, and stand in the lot at the end of the days." (Dan. 12:13.) The fourth antecedent, and highest step to the saints' advancement, is their solemn coronation, enthronizing, and receiving into the kingdom. For, as Christ, their Head, is anointed both King and Priest, so under him are his people made unto God both kings and priests; (Rev. 1:5;) (for prophecy, that ceaseth) "to reign and to offer praises for ever." (Rev. 5:10.) "The crown of righteousness, which was laid up for them, shall by the Lord the righteous Judge be given them at that day." (2 Tim. 4:8.) "They have been faithful to the death,
and therefore shall receive the crown of life." (Rev. 2:10.) And according to the improvement of their talents here, so shall their rule and dignity be enlarged, (Matt. 25:21, 23,) so that they are not dignified with empty titles, but real dominions: for Christ "will take them and set them down with himself on his own throne; (Rev. 3:21;) and will give them power over the nations, even as he received of his
Father; (Rev. 2:26–28;) and will give them the morning star. The Lord himself will give them possession with these applauding expressions: "Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (Matt. 25:21, 23.) And with this solemn and blessed proclamation shall he enthrone them: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Every word full of life and joy. "Come;" this is the holding forth of the golden sceptre, to warrant our approach unto this glory. Come now as near as you will: fear not the Bethshemite's judgment, for the enmity is utterly taken away. This is not such a "come" as we were wont to hear. "Come, take up your cross and follow me:" though that was sweet, yet this much more. "Ye blessed;" blessed indeed, when that mouth shall so pronounce us.
For though the world hath accounted us accursed, and we have been ready to account ourselves so, yet certainly, those that he blesseth are blessed, and those whom he curseth, only are cursed; and his blessing shall not be revoked: but he hath blessed us, and we shall be blessed. "Of my Father;" blessed in the Father's love as well as the Son's, for they are one. The Father hath testified his love in their election, donation to Christ, sending of Christ, accepting his ransom,
&c., as the Son hath also testified his. "Inherit;" no longer bondmen, nor servants only, nor children under age, who differ not in possession, but only in title from servants; (Gal. 4:1, 5–7;) but now we are heirs of the kingdom, (Jam. 2:5,) coheirs with Christ. "The kingdom;" no less than the kingdom. Indeed, to be a King of kings, and Lord of lords, is our Lord's own proper title; but to be kings and reign with him, is ours. The fruition of this kingdom, is as the fruition of the light of the sun, each have the whole, and the rest nevertheless. "Prepared for you;" God is the alpha as well as the
omega of our blessedness. Eternal love hath laid the foundation. He prepared the kingdom for us, and then prepared us for the kingdom.
This is the preparation of his counsel and decree, for the execution whereof Christ was yet to make a further preparation. "For you;" not for believers only in general, who without individual persons are nobody; nor only for you, upon condition of your believing, but for you personally and determinately, for all the conditions were also prepared for you. "From the foundation of the world;" not only from the promise after Adam's fall, as some, but, as the phrase usually signifieth though not always, from eternity. These were the eternal thoughts of God's love towards us, and this is it he purposed for us.
(Matt. 25:20, 21, 34, 35; Rev. 2 and 3.) But a greater difficulty ariseth in our way. In what sense is our improvement of our talent, our well-doing, our overcoming, our harbouring, visiting, feeding, &c., Christ, in his little ones, alleged as a reason of our coronation and glory? Is not it the purchased possession and mere fruit of Christ's blood? If every man must be judged according to his works, and receive according to what they have done in the flesh, whether good or evil; and God "will render to every man according to his deeds;" (Rom. 2:6, 7;) and give eternal life to all men, if they patiently continue in well-doing, and give right to the tree of life, (Rev. 22:14,) and entrance into the city, to the doers of his commandments: and if the last absolving sentence be the completing of our justification, and so "the doers of the law be justified;" (Rom. 2:13;) why, then, what is become of free grace; or justification by faith only; of the sole righteousness of Christ to make us accepted? Then, the papists say rightly, That we are righteous by our personal righteousness; and good works concur to justification.
Answ. I did not think to have said so much upon controversy; but because the difficulty is very great, and the matter very weighty, as being near the foundation, I have in another book added to what I said before, certain brief positions, containing my thoughts on this subject; which may tend to the clearing of these and many other difficulties hereabouts, to which I refer you.
But that the plain, constant language of Scripture may not be perverted or disregarded, I only premise these advertisements by way of caution, till thou come to read the fuller answer.
1. Let not the names of men draw thee one way or other, nor make thee partial in searching for truth; dislike the men for their unsound doctrine; but call not doctrine unsound, because it is theirs; nor sound, because of the repute of the writer.
2. Know this, that as an unhumbled soul is far apter to give too much to duty and personal righteousness, than to Christ; so an humble, self-denying Christian is as likely to err on the other hand, in giving less to duty than Christ hath given, and laying all the work from himself on Christ, for fear of robbing Christ of the honour; and so much to look at Christ without him, and think he should look at nothing in himself: that he forgets Christ within him. As Luther said of Melanethon's self-denying humility, "Soli Deo omnia deberi tam obstinate asserit, ut mihi plane videatur saltem in hoc errare, quod
Christum ipse fingat longius abesse cordi suo quam sit revera—Certe nimis nullus in hoc est Philippus." He so constantly ascribes all to God, that to me he seems directly to err, at least in this, that he feigneth or imagineth Christ to be further off from his own heart than indeed he is. Certainly he is too much nothing in this.
3. Our giving to Christ more of the work than Scripture doth, or rather our ascribing it to him out of the Scripture way and sense, doth but dishonour, and not honour him; and depress, but not exalt his free grace; while we deny the inward, sanctifying work of his
Spirit, and extol his free justification, which are equal fruits of his merit, we make him an imperfect Saviour.
4. But to arrogate to ourselves any part of Christ's prerogative, is most desperate of all, and no doctrine more directly overthrows the Gospel, almost, than that of justification by the merits of our own, or by works of the law.