Chapter 8. The Third Royal Privilege of a Believer is—that he shall "be with Christ in glory."
blessed. There poor Lazarus was carried by the angels. When he was upon earth, he had no friends but the dogs which licked his sores.
But when he died, he had a convoy of angels. After our fall, the angels (as well as God) fell out with us, and became our enemies; hence we read that the angels (the cherubim) stood with a flaming sword, to keep our first parents out of Paradise, Gen. 3:24. But being now at peace with God, we are at peace with the angels. Therefore the angel comes with an olive-branch of peace in his mouth, and proclaims with triumph the news of Christ's incarnation. Luke 2:11, "For unto you is born, in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord!"
The angels bless God for man's redemption, verse 13. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly multitude praising God, and saying, glory be to God in the highest."
The angels love mankind (especially where there is the new man) and are ready to do all friendly offices for us. As in our lifetime, they are our supporters, Psalm 91:11. "He shall give his angels charge to keep you;" so after death they are our porters. Lazarus was carried by the angels. The angels are called ministering spirits; they are willing to minister for the good of the saints. Hence some observe, it is said,
Lazarus was carried by the angels, in the plural, not by one angel—as if the angels had been ambitious to carry Lazarus, and each one strived which should have a part. O in what pomp and triumph did
Lazarus's soul now ride! Never was Dives so honored in his life—as Lazarus was at his death. For a king to help to carry the coffin of one of his subjects, were a high honor; but a believer shall have a guard of angels to conduct him. Amasis king of Egypt, that he might set forth his magnificence, would have his chariot drawn by four princes, which he had conquered in the war. But what was all this, compared to the chariot in which Lazarus, and the soul of every believer, shall be drawn at their death! They shall be carried by the angels of God!
Chapter 8.
The Third Royal Privilege: He shall "Be With Christ in Glory.
" Phil. 1:23, "I desire to be depart," or loosen anchor—and to be with Christ! This is a privilege of the first magnitude! Surely we can be no losers, by being with Christ. A graft or scion, though it is taken out of the tree, it does not perish—but is set into a better stock. Thus it is with a Christian, while he is here, (even after conversion) there is much of the wild olive still in him; now when this scion, by death is cut off, he does not perish—but is set into a more noble stock—he is with Christ, which is far better. Well might the apostle say, "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!" Is not a state of perfection better than a state of imperfection?
Our graces are our best jewels—but they are imperfect, and do not give out their full luster; grace is but in its infancy here on earth, it will not be of full growth until we are with Christ. The best Christian in this life—is but a child in grace. Here on earth, we have but some imperfect buddings of grace; when we are with Christ, our graces shall be fully ripe and matured. In this life we are said to receive but "the first fruits of the Spirit." We must not expect a full crop until we are with Christ! Grace while we are here in this world, is mingled with corruption. It is like gold in the ore; or as the pillar of cloud, it has its dark side as well as its light side. Our faith is mingled with unbelief; our humility is stained with pride! The flame of grace is not so pure, but it has some smoky vapors. Our life of grace is said to be hidden. It is hidden indeed, under much corruption, as the sun is hidden under a cloud; or as the corn is hidden under chaff; or as a pearl may be hidden in the mire. Though grace cannot be lost—yet it may be hidden. David so clouded his graces by sin, that others could hardly see the cloth of gold under the filthy garments. Is it not far better to be with Christ? our graces then shall shine forth in their perfection! This is a glorious privilege, we shall be with Christ.
It is a blessed thing to be with Christ while we are here on earth. "I am ever with you." What is it, which the pious soul desires in this
life? Is it not to have the sweet presence of Christ! He cares for nothing, but what has something of Christ in it. He loves duties only as they carry him to Christ. Why is prayer so sweet—but because the soul has private conference with Christ! Why is the Word precious— but because it is a means to convey Christ to him! He comes down to us upon the wings of the Spirit; and we go up to him upon the wings of faith! An ordinance without Christ—is but feeding upon the dish— instead of the meat. Why does the wife love the letter—but because it brings news of her husband! Here on earth, we enjoy Christ by letters, and that is sweet; but what will it be to enjoy his presence in glory! Here is that which may amaze us—we shall be with Christ!
Christ is all that is desirable! Nay, he is more than we can desire! A man that is thirsty, he desires only a little water to quench his thirst; but bring him to the lake—and here he has more than he can desire.
In Christ there is not only a fullness of sufficiency—but a fullness of abundance; it overflows all the banks! A Christian that is most energized by faith, has neither a head to devise, nor a heart to desire
—all that which is in Christ! Only when we come to heaven, will God enlarge the vessel of our desire, and will fill us as Christ did the waterpots with wine—"up to the brim." Now this privilege of being with Christ, has six privileges growing out of it.
1. The First Privilege of being with Christ—VISION.
Job 19:26. "In my flesh shall I see God"; the sight of Jesus Christ will be the most sublime and ravishing object to a glorified saint. When
Christ was upon earth, his beauty was hidden. "He has no form or loveliness;" the light of the divine nature was hidden in the dark lantern of the human; it was hidden under reproaches, sufferings; yet even at that time there was enough of beauty in Christ to delight the heart of God. "My Elect in whom my soul delights." His veil was then upon his face; but what will it be when the veil shall be taken off, and he shall appear in all his embroidery! It is heaven enough—to see
Christ. "Whom have I in heaven but you!" Angels and archangels do not make heaven. Christ is the most sparkling diamond in the ring of glory!
2. The Second Privilege of being with Christ—UNION. We shall enter into a marriage union with Christ. We shall so behold him, as to be made one with him. What nearer than union? what sweeter? Union is the spring of joy, the ground of privilege; by virtue of this blessed union with Christ, all those rare beauties with which the human nature of the Lord Jesus is bespangled, shall be ours. Let us compare two scriptures: John 17:24, "Father, I will that they also whom you have given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." That is, the glory of the human nature. But this is not all, verse 22, "The glory that you have given me, I have given them." Christ has not his glory only for himself—but for us; we shall shine by his beams. Here on earth, Christ puts his graces upon his spouse, and in heaven he will put his glory upon her.
No wonder then the king's daughter is "all glorious within," and "her clothing of wrought gold." How glorious will the spouse be, when she has Christ's jewels upon her! Judge not of the saints by what they are
—but by what they shall be. "It does not yet appear what we shall be,"
1 John 3:1. Why, what shall we be? "We shall be like him." The spouse of Christ shall not only be made one with Christ—but she shall be made like Christ; in other marriages, the spouse changes her condition—but here she changes her complexion! Not that the saints in glory shall receive of Christ's essence, they shall have as much glory as the human nature is capable of; though Christ conveys his image—yet not his essence. The sun shining upon a glass leaves a print of its beauty there; and it is hard to distinguish between the glass and the sunbeam: but the glass is not the beam, the sun conveys only its likeness, not its essence.
3. The Third Privilege of being with Christ—NOBILITY. This consists in two things.
1. The saints shall sit with Jesus Christ when he judges the world. "Know you not, that the saints shall judge the world?" The saints shall sit with Christ in judicature, as the justices of peace with the judge. The saints are Christ's assessors; they shall be with him
upon the bench, applauding his righteous sentence. O what a glorious tribunal will that be! Here on earth, the world judges the saints—but there the saints shall judge the world.
2. They shall sit nearer the throne than the angels. The angels are noble and sublime spirits—but by virtue of our marriage union, we shall be ennobled with greater honor than the angels! The angels are Christ's friends—but not his spouse! This honor have all his saints. As the saints' robes in glory shall be brighter than the angels: theirs being only the righteousness of creatures—but these having upon them the righteousness of God, so their dignity shall be greater. Here on earth, we are prisoners at bar—but there favorites at court! The saints shall sit down in glory above the angels.
4. The Fourth Privilege of being with Christ—JOY. This joy of the saints proceeds from union; when our union with Christ is perfect, then our joy shall be full. Rev. 21:4, "And God shall wipe away all tears, and there shall be no more sorrow."
1. There shall be no WEEPING. Jesus Christ has provided a handkerchief to wipe off the tears of the saints. Here on earth, the spouse is in sable, it being a time of absence from her husband. But in heaven, Christ will take away the spouse's mourning; he will take off all her black and bloody apparel, and will clothe her in white robes, Rev. 7:13. White, as it is an emblem of the saints' purity, so it is a type of their joy. Heaven would not be heaven—if there were weeping there. Hell indeed is called a place of weeping; those who would not shed a tear for their sins while they lived, shall have weeping enough; but we never read of weeping in heaven. Christ will take down our harps from the willows; there he will call for his heralds and trumpeters. The angels, those blessed choristers, shall sing the divine anthems of praise, and the saints shall join in that heavenly concert. If it were possible that any tears could be shed when we are with Christ, they should be the tears of joy, as sometimes we have seen a man weep for excessive joy! Christ will turn all our water there, into wine.
2. There shall be no SORROW. One smile from Christ's face will make us forget all the afflictions of our earthly life. Sorrow is a cloud gathered in the heart, upon the apprehension of some evil: and weeping is the cloud of grief dropping into rain. But in heaven the sun of righteousness shall shine so bright, that there shall not be the least interposition of any cloud. There shall be no sorrow there, nor anything to breed it. There shall be no sin to humble. Heaven is such a pure soil, that the viper of sin will not breed there. There shall be no enemy to molest. When Israel had conquered Canaan—yet they could not get rid of all the Canaanites, they would live among them;
"But the Canaanites would dwell in that land!" But when we are with Christ, we shall never more be troubled with Canaanites. "In that day, there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord."
God will keep the heavenly paradise with a flaming sword, that none shall come near to hurt: "Upon all that glory shall be a defense."
There shall be nothing to breed sorrow in heaven. There are two things that usually raise the clouds of sorrow, and both shall be removed when we are with Christ.
1. The frowns of great men. How ambitious are men of the King's smile? but alas, that quickly sets in a cloud, and then their comforts are in the wane, they are sad! But when we are with Christ, we shall have a perpetual smile from God! The saints shall never be out of favor, Jesus Christ is the great favorite at court; and as long as God smiles upon Christ, so long he will smile upon the saints, they having on Christ's beauty; and being part of Christ.
2. The loss of dear friends. Friends imparts secrets; friendship is the marriage of affections, it makes two become one spirit. David and Jonathan took sweet counsel together, their heart was knit in one.
Now here is the grief—when this precious knot must be untied. But be of good cheer, if your friend is one of the elect, after you have parted with your sins—you shall meet with him and never part. If your friend is wicked, though he were your friend on earth, you will cease to be his friend in heaven. The pious wife will not complain she has lost her wicked husband; nor the pious parent, that he has lost
his wicked child. All relations are infinitely made up in Christ, as the whole constellation in the sun, that great lamp of heaven. When a man comes to the lake, he does not complain that he lacks his cistern of water. Though you sucked comfort from your relations; yet when you come to the ocean, and are with Christ, you shall never complain that you have left your cistern behind!
There will be nothing to breed sorrow in heaven; there shall be joy— and nothing but joy. Heaven is set out by that phrase, "Enter into the joy of your Lord." Here on earth, joy enters into us; there we enter into joy. The joys we have here on earth, are from heaven; those joys are in heaven! The joys that we shall have with Christ, are without measure and without mixture. "In your presence is fullness of joy," Psalm 16:11.
1. The HEART shall be filled with joy. Nothing but Christ can replenish the heart with joy: the understanding, will, and affections, are such a triangle, that none can fill but the Trinity. As Christ's beauty shall amaze the eye, so his love shall ravish the heart of a glorified saint! Must it not needs be joy to be with Christ? What joy, when a Christian shall pass the great gulf between heaven and hell!
What joy when Christ shall take a believer into the wine cellar, and kiss him with the kisses of his lips! What joy when the match shall be at once made up, and solemnized between Christ and the soul! These are the more noble and entire delights.
2. All the SENSES shall be filled with joy—and at once! The eye shall be filled. What joy shall it be, to see that orient brightness in the face of Christ! There you may see the lily and the rose mixed, white and ruddy, Cant. 5:10. The ear shall be filled.
What joy to the spouse—to hear Christ's voice! The voice of God was dreadful to Adam, after he had listened to the serpent's voice. "I heard your voice in the garden—and was afraid," Gen. 3:10. But how sweet will the bridegroom's voice be! What joy to hear him say, "My love, my dove, my undefiled one!" What joy to hear the music of angels, even the heavenly multitude praising God? If the eloquence
of Origin, and the golden mouth of Chrysostom, did so affect and charm the ears of their auditors, O then what will it be to hear the glorious tongues of saints and angels, as so many divine trumpets sounding forth the excellencies of God, and singing hallelujahs to the lamb!
The smell shall be filled. What joy to smell that fragrance and perfume which comes from Christ! All his garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia. The sweet breath of his Spirit blowing upon the soul, shall give forth its scent as the wine of Lebanon. The taste shall be filled. Christ will bring his spouse into the banqueting-house, and she shall be inebriated with his love! O what joy to be drinking in this heavenly nectar! This is the water of life! This is the wine on the lees well refined. The touch shall be filled—the saints shall be ever in the embraces of Christ; "Behold my hands and my feet; handle me, and see me," Luke 24:39. That will be our work in heaven; we shall be forever handling the Lord of life! Thus all the senses shall be filled with joy. Well might the apostle say, to be with Christ is better by far!
If Christ's sufferings are full of joy, what then are his embraces! If the dew of Hermon hill is so sweet—the first-fruits of Christ's love; what will the full crop be!
In short, there will be nothing in heaven but what shall add infinitely to the joy of the saints. The very torments of the damned shall create matter of joy and triumph. I may allude to that of the Psalmist, "The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance." "And again they shouted: Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever!"
Revelation 19:3. The Elect shall rejoice upon a double account— to see God's justice magnificently exalted, and to see themselves miraculously delivered. There shall be no unpleasant object represented; nothing but joy. Such will that joy be, when we are with Christ, that it is not possible to now even imagine! "He was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell." 2 Cor. 12:4. We read that Joseph gave his brethren money and provisions for the way; but the full sacks were kept until they came to their father's house. Just so, God gives us something by
the way; some of the hidden manna; some taste of his heavenly joy in this life—but the full sacks of blessing are kept for heaven! O what joy to be with Christ! Surely if there were such joy and triumph at Solomon's coronation, that all the earth rang with the sound of it, what joy will be on the saints' coronation-day, when they shall be eternally united to Jesus Christ!
5. The Fifth Privilege of being with Christ—REST. A Christian in this life is like quicksilver, which has a principle of motion in itself
—but not of rest. We are never quiet—but are like the ship upon the waves. As long as we have sin—we will not have rest. A child of God is full of motion and disquiet; "I have no rest in my bones by reason of my sin," Psalm 38:3. While there are wicked men in the world, never look for rest. If a man is poor, he is thrust away by the rich. If he be rich, he is envied by the poor. Sometimes losses disquiet, sometimes law-suits vex. The saints in this life are in a pilgrim condition; the apostles had no certain dwelling place, 1 Cor. 4:11. We are here on earth, in a perpetual hurry, in a constant fluctuation. Our life is like the tide, sometimes ebbing, sometimes flowing.
Here on earth, is no rest—and the reason is, because we are out of center; everything is in motion until it comes at the center; Christ is the center of the soul. The needle of the compass trembles—until it turns to the North pole. Noah's dove found no rest for the sole of her foot—until she came at the ark. This ark was a type of Christ. When we come to heaven, the kingdom which cannot be shaken, we shall have rest, Heb. 4:9. "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." Heaven in scripture is compared to a granary, Matt. 3:12, an emblem of rest. Wheat, while it stands on the ground, is shaken to and fro with the wind—but when it is laid up in the granary it is at rest. The elect are spiritual wheat, who while they are in the field of this world, are never quiet—the wind of persecution shakes this wheat, and everyone who passes by, will be plucking these sacred ears of corn. But when the wheat is in the heavenly garner, it is at rest. There remains a rest for the people of God. Not but that there shall be motion in heaven, (for spirits cannot be idle) but it shall be
without lethargy and weariness. It shall be a labor full of ease; a motion full of rest. When a believer is in heaven, he has his rest. The lower earthly region is windy and tempestuous. When we are once gotten into the upper region of glory, there are no winds or noxious vapors—but a serene calmness; this is to be with Christ.
6. The Sixth Privilege of being with Christ—SECURITY. It is possible that a man may have a few minutes of rest; but he is not secure, he knows not how soon eclipses and changes may come. He is still in fear, and fear makes a man a slave, though he knows it not.
There is torment in fear, 1 John 4:18. He who has great possessions thinks thus: "How soon may I fall from this pinnacle of honor? how soon may the plunderer come?" Nay, a believer who has durable riches—may still be wavering and doubting concerning his condition.
1. He sometimes questions whether he is in the state of grace or not; and thus he thinks with himself; "Perhaps I believe; I have something that glitters, perhaps it is but a counterfeit pearl. Perhaps my faith is presumption, my love to Christ is but self-love." And after the Spirit of God has wrought the heart to some sound persuasion, he is soon shaken again; as a ship that lies at anchor, though it is safe— yet it is shaken and tossed upon the water; and these fears leave impressions of sadness upon the heart.
2. But secondly, he fears that though he is in the state of grace—yet he may fall into some scandalous sin, and so grieve the Spirit of God, sadden the hearts of the righteous, wound his own conscience, harden sinners, discourage new beginners, put a song into the mouth of the profane, and at last God hide his face in a cloud. A child of God after a sad declension, having by his sin put black spots in the face of religion, though I deny not but he has a title to the promise; yet be may be in such a condition, that he cannot for the present apply any promise—he may go weeping to his grave.
These sad fears, like black vapors, are still arising out of a gracious heart. But when once a believer is with Christ, there is full security of