Chapter XIV (continued, part 2)
* Enter, saith
Christ, into thy Master s joy. If the joy of the Holy Ghost in this life pass all understanding and believing, and we rejoice* with joy unspeakable and full of glory, how much more in the world to come shall our joys pass all understanding, when we shall have fruition of God s presence, which is life itself? Your souls have two great gulfs, viz. the understanding and the will, which must and shall be satisfied.
1. The understanding shall be satisfied. Now, saith Solomon, the eye of the body is not satisfied with seeing, it can comprise half the world in it. And if the eye of the body be so hard to be satisfied, much more the eye of the soul. And yet in heaven this shall be satisfied, this gulf shall be satisfied : Ps. xvii. 15, I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. He was to lay his head in the grave for a while, but he should arise when the heavens shall be no more. As Job said, I shall see him
I shall awake, and then I shall be satisfied with thy likeness. again ; so David, * Shew us the Father, saith Philip, John xiv. 18, and it sufficeth us. You will say, if you could but see God, it would suffice ; and indeed you may well say so, for the sight of God will suffice you. Why, you shall see God, John xvii. 24. For Christ doth desire this especially, those who are his to make happy, to be with him, to behold his face : Father, I will that they also that thou hast given me to be with me where I am ; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me. So Mat. v. 8, * Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, they shall be able to behold him. If the Queen of Sheba, who had seen so much glory before, and being a queen had partaken of so much glory in herself, if she, I say, was so astonished, so amazed, that she had no spirit in her when she saw Solomon s wisdom, and his magnificency in honour and riches, how much more shall the glory of God ravish us, part of which we never saw ; no, not the glimpse of it. Oh how wilt thou be amazed * Qu. and believing we rejoice ? ED. VOL. VII. G g
466 OF THE BLESSED STATE [CHAP. XV. with joy when thou shalt see his glory, and see him as he is, when we shall know as we are known, and God knows us as far as can be ! 1 Cor. xiii. 12, For we now see through a glass, darkly ; but then face to face : now we know but in part ; but then we shall know even as we are known.
All our sight of him here, it is but as in a glass. Now, what a great differ ence it is to look upon a man who is behind us, and to turn our face and to look truly and stedfastly upon him ! There is infinitely more difference betwixt that sight we have of God by faith on earth, and that perfect sight of him, and fruition of his glory, which we shall have in heaven. Why, the eye of a man s body is but a small thing, and the apple of it much smaller, and yet by the help of this little sun the body is able to take half the world into it at once ; how much more shall the eye of our understand ing conceive infinite joys (past our apprehension here) when it hath the light of God s glory shining about it : Ps. xxxvi. 8, 9, They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fulness of thy house ; and thou shalt make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life : in thy light shall we see light. Whenas the sun of glory comes to shine about us, we shall even draw God into our souls ; and thus, you see, the first gulf shall be filled.
2. The second gulf of man s soul is the will. Thou hast a will, and amongst all the affections of it, love is most comfortable. Now, that shall be fully satisfied ; we shall be satisfied with God s loving-kindness, Psalm
Ixxiii. For all other affections bring pain with them, but love is always
If there be any consolation of Christ, if any comfortable: Philip, ii. 1, comfort of love. We love things here on earth that cannot love us ^again, as money, riches, and the like ; how much more shall we love * itself ?
Indeed, as Solomon saith, the love of friends is very delectable : Prov. xxvii. 9, Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart ; so doth the sweetness of a man s friend by hearty counsel. The same testifies David in his lamentation for Jonathan : 2 Sam. i. 26, I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan : very pleasant hast thou been unto me : thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of a woman. But, I say, though the love of friends be great, Jonathan exceeding lovely, yet they are not so lovely as God ; for it cannot be affirmed of them that they are love itself, as God is. Oh, then, how pleasant will it be when this vast affection of love shall be satisfied ! God will come into us and dwell with us ; and do but think what a pleasant thing it is to have the great God of heaven and earth to dwell together with the creature in unity, to have him who is love
! It is said, 1 Pet. i. 8, Whom having itself to dwell in us to all eternity not seen you love ; in whom, though you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable, and glorious. If that be a cause to make you rejoice so unspeakably, how much more joyful will you be when you enjoy his presence, not only to kiss him through the lattice, as here we do, enjoy only his presence through his ordinances, but to lie in the bosom of his love, to be enfolded in those everlasting arms of his mercy ; to be loved of love itself, to be made partaker of all his goodness. And God s love is free, he loves us without any cause in ourselves. Why, then, brethren, consider with yourselves what is the height, depth, breadth, and length of God s love, what it is to be filled with all fulness of God, Eph. iii. 8. Oh what a bottomless sea of God s love shall we be flung into, one drop of which is better than the gold of Ophir, yea, surpasseth the whole earth !
* Qu. love Love ? ED.
CHAP. XV. J OF THE SAINTS IN GLOB?. 467
In the last place, I will endeavour to shew the final cause, and demon strate the greatness of heaven, by the end why God hath prepared all this glory, and the persons for whom.
1. For whom is it that God hath been from everlasting preparing glory? Is it not for his saints ? Is it not for his friend and spouse ? Is it not for Sion ? Heb. xii. 22-24, But you are come into Mount Sion, and into the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of the sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. God hath reserved heaven for us ; heaven is made for the feasting of his first-born ; he hath in heaven all his children about him ; there shall be called a general assembly of them, one will not be away. You know parents bestow the most cost when they have their children all at once together ; they respect no cost, looking to the joy which is set before them. They have joy unspeakable in the presece of their children together, and therefore at times of rejoicing men winl send for their chil dren home. Now, my brethren, God will have all hLs children home ; he will have a general invitation ; the great congregation of the elect shall be called together. He will have them all at home, and therefore he must needs make great provision. Consider what he hath vouchsafed to wicked men, the worst of men, who run away with the blessings of the world, though they are such as God hath set himself against to hate with an eternal hatred ! Why, then, think with yourselves what he hath prepared for those that love him, whom with an everlasting love he hath loved in his Son, for his Son s sake, which is as great as himself ! Certainly to them he will communicate himself to the uttermost. I say, then, think with yourselves what God hath prepared for those that love him.
2. Secondly, Consider the end for which this is, and that is, to manifest his own glory. He truly hath had a great deal of glory out of this world
the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handywork. He hath had a great deal of glory out of this world by justifying poor sinners, and sanctifying their hearts, and also by punishments inflicted upon wicked men ; but all this is nothing to that already ; for glory he meaneth to have, not comparable to that he will have in heaven : 2 Thes. i. 10, * When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and be admired of all them that believe. We think wonderful things of God, and yet all our thoughts shall come far short of the excellency of his coming. He will come beyond our expectation ; he will come to purpose, to be admired of all them that believe. The matter of God s glory, the revenues of it, must come out of you ; the chiefest of his glory, as for the manifesta tion of it, must come forth of you ; for he will come to be glorified in his saints : he will then shew how glorious a God he is by manifestation of his glory. It must come forth of that, he will come to be glorified in his saints ; he will then shew how glorious a God he is, by manifesting what glorious creatures he hath made. It is not a little glory that will content God ; it is not a little glory that will content a king when he meaneth to take state, Eom. i. He will glorify himself as God, or else he would never have begun ; he would never have gone about it unless he meant to do it to the utmost. And in what doth this his glory consist ? Why, in making us glorious ; and the manifestation of his glory, as he is God, comes from us. It is true, indeed, God s essential glory cannot be added unto us, but
468 OF THE BLESSED STATE [CHAP. XV. the manifestation of his glory shall arise to us ; we shall have it communi catively, as when you see the sun reflect upon the waters : though you see not the sun itself, yet you see as perfect a manifestation of it as if you should see the sun itself. So likewise, though you cannot have God s glory essentially, yet you shall have it perfectly communicated to you, manifested in you, 2 Cor. viii. 28 ; and therefore the saints are there called the glory of Christ. Now think with yourselves, God hath had infinite vast thoughts of glorifying himself ; there hath been a fountain of thoughts in him for that cause, and that unceasing spring which hath run in God from all eter nity must needs make a vast sea ; and who must be the vessels that must go into this, into whom all this must be emptied ? Are they not those that love him, those that he hath loved with an everlasting love ? Why, then, do but think with yourselves how unutterable are the joys we shall have in heaven.
I would add something more to it, if anything more can be added to it ; and if I but mention the properties, they will further add to this glory, and make it abound. I will name no more than those we have already laid down to our hands ; 1 Pet. i. 4, 5, * Elect to an inheritance incorrupted and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, revealed in the last times.
In the first place, it is an inheritance, the deed of which runs for ever to Christ and his heirs. The subtlest lawyer that is, yea, such an one as can almost find a knot in a bulrush, shall not be able to pick the least hole in your evidence. It is an inheritance also to which every one of you shall be heirs, and shall have an everlasting possession in it. It is not in heaven as it is in this world, where the elder brother is only heir, and goes away with the inheritance, when many times the younger are beggars ; but in heaven it is not so, for there we shall be all heirs and co-heirs with Christ. And the reason of it is, because it is called the inheritance of the saints : Col. i. 12, Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Why, my brethren, now you know light is such a thing as is common to all, so that if there were ten thousand times more men in the world than there is, they might enjoy it ; neither doth any envy at the light another hath. Now heaven is an inheritance of the sons in light, which we shall be partakers of, and therefore there shall be no envying of one another s happiness and light in glory. You may be all heirs ; yea, you shall be all heirs ; there are no younger brethren. Again, alas! in this life the livings we possess, and the inheritance of them, passeth from one to another, from the father to the son ; yea, and further, all the evidence they have will be burned one. day ; they will be made void at the day of judgment. The whole world will be burned, and what will become of their inheritance ?
2. But now, secondly, this inheritance is eternal, incorruptible v. 1, For we know, that if this earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building with God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ; an inheritance that will be for ever. Why, now think what eternity is, and think of it again, it will even amaze your thoughts. Length of time is that which multiplies our joys here upon earth ; for to enjoy a thing many years is our greatest joy, and if we can so enjoy it, their lies our comfort ; hence those words of the rich man in the gospel, Soul, take thy rest, for thou hast goods laid up for many years. What a happiness then is it, not only to enjoy an inheritance many years, but for ever, to have goods laid up for ever ! What a mercy is it that they are for ever ! The eter nity of them adds to our joys. It was a rejoicing to David that God would
CHAP. XV.] OF THE SAINTS IN GLORY
give him a kingdom ; but more, that he would prepare a kingdom to his house a great while : 2 Sam. vii. 18, 19, Then went king David, and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, Lord God ? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ? And was this yet a small thing in thy sight, Lord God, but thou hast spoken of thy servant s house for a great while to come. David took it for a great favour, that God would bestow a kingdom upon him ; and yet, saith he, this was but a small thing in thy sight. What ! Was it a small thing to give a king dom ? No ; but there was another thing more than a kingdom, and that was, that his posterity should sit on the throne for a great while ; this made the mercy the greater. If heaven s glory should last but for a few days or years, it were worth more seeking after than all the things of this world. Now we make a great strife for momentary trifles in this world, but heaven shall last for ever. It hath an everlasting evidence, it shall never have an end. The day thereof is for a long day, for it is for eternity, and a day. Again, David was to die himself, and to leave the glory of his kingdom to another, yet he took it for a great favour and mercy that it was promised to his house for a great while ; but now in heaven we shall never die ; we shall possess our kingdom in our own persons to everlasting: whereas the pleasures and riches we enjoy here must go to others. The rich man in the Gospel sings to his soul, Soul, thou hast goods in store laid up for many years ; eat, drink, and take thy rest ; but mark the answer, Thou fool, this night shall thy glory be taken from thee. Now in &heaven it is far otherwise, we shall never be deprived of our glory ; why, let not the least thought of jealousy come into our minds. For this place is incor ruptible, ahd not only incorruptible in itself, but also in those that enjoy it ; we shall be ever with the Lord, we shall be the persons. The kingdoms of this world were brave places if they might have no end, the kings of them exceeding happy if they might never die, but live always. But, alas ! though they live like gods, they shall die like men. Now in heaven there is no such thing, there is no dying, nor talk of dying, but mortality shall be swallowed up of immortality ; we shall enjoy those inexhaustible rivers of pleasures to eternity.
3. Now we come to the next property. It is incorruptible and undefiled, 1 Peter i. 4. All the comforts we have in this life are mixed with sin, yea, with the impotency of sin and misery ; so that one saith well to this purpose. Though the joys of a king be many and greater than others , yet they have as many sorrows attending upon them as joys, and if not crosses, yet sin, the greatest cross of all, if men be sensible of it. But heaven is undefiled, there is no anguish, no grief, no tears, no sorrows, but joys to all eternity. There shall be no vexing Canaanites to trouble you, neither outward nor inward enemies : Isa. xxxv. 10, And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come with songs, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads ; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall fly away. Here the [evil] of sin afflicts us, the punishments due unto the same affright us ; one man is troubled with a lust which he would fain master, another man cries out with the apostle, miserable man that I am ! &c. Qualms come over many men s hearts for the guilt of sin, and how many throes have they before they can get sin abandoned ! Another is vexed with some tormenting malady and grievous sickness in his body ; but in heaven we shall be freed from these sorrows, there shall be neither soul nor body sick : Isa. xxxiii. 24, And they in heaven shall not say, I am sick : the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their
470 OF THE BLESSED STATE [ClIAF. XV. iniquity. There shall he no thought of the pardon of sin, for the inhabi tants that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquities ; that is, those sins which they have committed in this life shall be forgiven there. There is no thought of sin in heaven, there it shall be everlastingly buried in oblivion.
Obj. But you will say, This glory may wither and decay ; it may wax old and decline.
Ans. There is no fading in heaven, for with God there is no variable ness, no, not so much as a shadow of changing. The glory of kingdoms decay daily, and monarchies fall ; as the Roman empire, what a glorious monarchy was it ! But now it is come almost unto a bare title. But in heaven there is no decaying, no falling, there is always a full spring-tide without ebb. The infinite mass of glory which thou shalt receive at _the last day, thou shalt keep for ever. After as many millions of years expired as there are hairs on thy head, it shall be as bright as it was on the last day ; and the reason of it is because of God s presence. We shall be present with him who is the fountain of life, whose streams of glory must needs issue to eternity ; for at his right hand is fulness of joy, and rivers of pleasure flow from him for evermore. So long as God fades not, heaven will never fade. When God himself fades, when that fountain can be dried up then those rivers of pleasures shall cease flowing, but that is impossible, for he is the well of life. What is the reason that precious stones decay not, but that there is no dross or corruption in them ? As the diamond being pure in itself fades not away, but always keeps a lustre and splendour in it, whereas other base stones that have dross in them, soon decay and moulder away ; in like manner, though this world have dross in it, and by reason of that perisheth, yet in heaven there is no dross of sin or corrup tion, and therefore it cannot fade. Why now you will say again, Grant all this you have said before, yet 1 doubt I may be bereaved of it. It may be taken away from me by violence, for kingdoms in this life are taken away, and kings are deprived of their dignities. But there is no fear of this in heaven, it is kept for you sure enough, no moths of corruption to make you sin, no violence of Satan s temptations to make you fall. For though the devil and sin crept into paradise, yet neither of them shall come into heaven: Mat. vi. 20, Lay up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, nor thieves break in and steal.
But you will say again, If I could once get thither, I had no cause to fear, I should never fall if I were once in heaven ; but I fear the vileness of my own heart, I fear I shall be defiled with my corruptions and by Satan. And as David said, I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul, I am afraid I may perish hereafter ; though I now be in the state of grace, I may fall and never come thither.
But look further ; it is said, it is reserved for you, who are kept by the power of God to salvation ; you are kept for it, Christ hath reserved it for you, who saith further, Of those which thou hast given me, I have not lost one. If all the power of the Creator lie for it, you shall not lose it ; but it doth, therefore you shall not lose it. And lastly, thou shalt not stay long for it, thou shalt not be a probationer, but till thy death at the farthest ; it is laid up ready for thee, a crown of glory waits and stays for thee. But now all these things are shewed ; this is the misery, that we will not believe : In my Father s house, saith he, there are many mansions ; if it had not been so, I would have told you. He will not deceive us ; believe him on
his word. We use to believe the promise of a man we judge faithful ; much more let us credit God, who is truth itself. Therefore, as ever we would be partakers of these joys, and have part and portion in these eternal comforts ; let the belief of them be stedfast, and though there be many uses to be made of this, yet this is the chief, that we would believe this truth. In deed, you believe ; but I say unto you, believe, and again believe. Those that entered not into the promised land, entered not because they did not believe. This is the cause that men perish, and enter not into God s rest. I say, therefore, believe God, seeing he hath fulfilled all his promises, and hath not failed in one since the beginning. The land of Canaan he gave according to his promise long before : 1 Kings viii. 23, * Lord, thou keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants ; verse 56, Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised by the hand of his servant Moses. If he hath promised that ten kings shall destroy the whore (as indeed he did), she shall be destroyed. He will not fail in his promise ; he hath spoken, and he will make it good ; he is abundant in mercy and truth ; yea, he will be better than his word. Let me speak therefore to you that are yet in the state of nature, who still delight in your sins ; if you believed these things, surely you would not doat on your sins as you do, it would make you utterly abandon them. And also let me say something to you, whose eyes God hath opened, who are in the state of grace. Surely, if you laboured more and more to persuade yourselves of this, you would not be so glued to the world as you are ; it would make you like men of another world, you would be trans formed, and be even as if you were in heaven. Let, then, all your carriage and manner of conversation be here, as if you were in your inheritance above ; let all your thoughts be in heaven ; let your hearts take possession of this incorruptible crown, whilst your bodies are on earth.
THREE SEYERAL AGES OF CHRISTIANS IN
FAITH AND OBEDIENCE
THREE SEVERAL AGES OF CHRISTIANS IN
FAITH AND OBEDIENCE.
I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.
I write unto you, young men, became ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
1 JOHN II. 13, 14.