The Godly Mans Journey to Heaven, Treatise 2 · Meditation 22
22. No person, no thing, can possibly content the sight, the smell, the taste, the touch of that kingly eagle the true Christian; beside that blessed Iesus, who sometime was dead, but now is liuing blessed for euermore.
VVHen I begin to meditate anie wayes seriously, ô my soule, vponupon that honour whereunto thy God in thy Sauiour Iesus Christ hath aduanced thee, and so vponupon these priuiledges and prerogatiues, wherewith he hath enriched thee, being now happily made a Christian through him; I wonder not that that great and wise Apostle was moued to crie out: I thought nothing worthie to be knowne amongst you, 1. Cor. 22.saue Iesus Christ and him crucified. The things that were aduantage vntounto me, the same I counted losse for Christs sake: yea, doubtlesse I thinke all things losse, for the excellent knowledge of Christ Iesus my Lord, for whom I hauehave accounted all things to be losse, Phil. 3. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.and count them to be dung that I might winne Christ, and might be found in him, not hauing my owne righteousnesse which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, euen the righteousnesse which is of God through faith: that I might know him, and the vertue of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his afflictions, and be made conformable to his death, if by any meanes I might attaine vntounto the resurrection of the dead. Beleeue me, ô my soule, a man as he is a man, excelleth not the brutish beast so farre; as a true Christian, as he is a Christian, surmounteth a man, as he is a man. A man as he is a man, liueth but one life beyond the bruite beasts, to wit, the life of reason; for euen the bruite beast, moueth, groweth, feeleth: but I must thinke, that now euen senfible experience hath taught thee, ô my soule, that I being happily through Christ my Sauiour and head made a Christian, liue that life of grace, whereby thou, ô my soule, being naturally dead in sinnes and trespasses, art spiritually quickened; wherby my mind naturally blind, and destitute of the knowledge of the true God▪ and of his Sonne, is enlightened to see and know him, whereby my will naturally crooked and auerse from the good will of this my God, is rectified and conformed to his will; whereby my soule and fond affections naturally set onelyonly vponupon euill, yea, delighting in euill, and abhorring all good, are renewed and vnfainedly made to hate euill, and sincerely to louelove good: yea, whereby the whole members of this my bodie, exercised onelyonly about the committing of sinne, as these which by nature be the weapons of vnrighteousnesse, are sanctified and made the weapons of righteousnesse to serue God in holinesse: yea, knowest thou not, ô my soule, feelest thou not, ô my soule, euen alreadie to thy great and inexpressible ioy, that thou hast begun through that rare aduantage and singular benefit of this thy begun life of grace, to liue alreadie that life of expected glorie, which shall in despite of diuels, death and graue (thy sweet Sauiour being thine, and thou being his) receiue me with a most smiling and pleasant countenance in the end of time, and which I shall retaine in endlesse eternitie? When I reade Scripture many things moue me to aduance, yea, to admire the excellencie and happinesse of the true Christian; sorrowing that any should be stiled a man beside him: reioycing from my heart that man is become a Christian,Act. 26. 29. and with Paul earnestly wishing, that all men were Christians. Hearken, hearken, ô my soule, to the most comfortable words of thy louelove Iesus, speaking vntounto thee by the pen of Matthew: Whersoeuer a dead carkasse is, Mat. 24. 28.thither will the eagles resort. Here compareth he himselfe to a dead carkasse, and a true Christian to an eagle resorting to this carkasse to feed vponupon it. But what moueth thy Sauiour, ô my soule, to compare the true Christian to an eagle, because there is not a naturall propertie assigned by the naturalists, to the naturall eagle, wherewith God thy louing Father in his dearest Sonne Iesus Christ, by his holy Spirit hath not most ioyfully, most richly endued, and gloriously adorned the true Christian soule, that onelyonly spirituall eagle, which is to be found in this world. And so the true Christian is happily for his information, reformation, consolation, and confirmation, compared by his wise Lord and Maister (who onelyonly makes him and knowes him) vntounto an eagle, because of his estate, because of his sight, because of his smell, because of his flight, because of his resting place, where he can onelyonly stay, and staying refresh and feed himselfe. As for the estate and condition of a true Christian, I must tell thee, ô my soule, that the Christian is not a slaue, is no base bodie, is no vassall, but euen a most honourable one, a most mightie one, yea, the onelyonly king amongst men, and aboue all men dwelling on earth here as the eagle is the king ouer these foules which do flie in the aire, and therefore stiled by the Ethnikes, Iouis ales, as we who be Christians may be called Iesus foules. Alwayes thou must know, ô my soule, that a Christian is not a king by nature but by grace; by generation, but by regeneration: and so not as he is from that first sinfull Adam, but as he is in that second righteous Adam, 2. Cor. 5.who was made sinne for him, to make him righteous. But here, ô my soule, I must pray thee to consider what sort of king is this kingly eagle, set aboue all men by that King of kings, and Lord of Lords Iesus, euen this Christian. A Christian, I must tell thee, ô my soule, is a king commanded, is a king commanding, is a king ruled, is a king ruling, commanded onelyonly by his Father, his Sauiour, his sanctifier, and ruled onelyonly by that straight and shining line of that sauing word of God, contained in holy Scripture; his mind, his heart, his will, his affections, and eueryevery member of his body being so gouerned by that line, and led by that Spirit whose word it is, that he can out of knowledge and with ioy approue that which is agreeable to it, condemne that which is repugnant to it, eschew that it forbids and condemnes, embrace that it commands and commends. Yea, the true Christian is so farre commanded by that King who made him a king, and by that his word acquainting him with the nature of that kingdome prepared for him, that if any king or subiect liuing attempt with the counsell of Ierusalem,Act. 4. 19. command him either to do that his great king hath forbidden him to do, or ceasse from doing of that his Maiestie hath appointed to be done by him, he can answer with courage whether it be righter in the sight of God to obey you rather then God, iudge ye: yea, he is so farre addicted vntounto the commandement of this his great King, that before he disobey it he will heartily with Daniel and his companions be readie to lay downe his life at the feete of any king.Dan. 3. 6. A Christian is a king of quicke sight who can see clearly with the owle in the darke night, and so in the day of tentation and tribulation, making him to say with Iob: The Lord hath giuen, Iob 1. 2.the Lord hath taken, blessed be the name of the Lord. Who can see with the eagle vponupon the bright shining day, able to cast his eyes directly towards the strongest, cleare, piercing beames of that hote shining sun of blooming prosperitie, no wayes turning away either his heart or his eyes from his great King and blessed Maister, for all the honour, all the wealth, all the pleasures, can be offered to him, can be taken from him, for all the persecution can be deuised, can be executed against him, in this (triumphantly like a conquering king, who hath nothing aboue him beside God) trading the laudable sauing pathes of Ioseph, Moses, Dauid, Ezrah, Nehemiah, Daniel, and a verie world of heauenly Kings, by that Christ of God made Christs to God. As a Christian is a king of quicke sight, so is he a king of most sharpe smelling, with the eagle, not smelling things neare hand, but duplicate page duplicate page things afarre off, in such sort, that he can finde nothing to be sauorie to him, beside that blessed glorious King, who made him a king, and blessed him with this spirituall sharpe smelling. Yea, I must tell thee, ô my soule, that the smelling of a Christian is so spiritually delicate, that he can rest vponupon the sauour of no Angell, of no man, of no woman, either soiourning here, or glorified in heauen, much lesse the sauour of honour, wealth, or pleasure, or whatsoeuer this earth can possesse. Shall old Isaac smelling the garment of his blessed sonne Iacob crie out, not without a speciall triumphing ioy: Behold the smell of my sonne, is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed. And shalt not thou, ô my soule, made a sharpe smelling eagle by thy Sauiour Iesus, easily to smell euen things far remoued from thee, smell this, thy Sauiour as onelyonly profitably, honorably, and pleasantly sauorie to thee, and for thee. The sense hereof moued the Church Christs spouse, directing her language to Christ, her onelyonly louelove and husband, to crie out:Psal. 45. 8. All thy garments smell of myrrhe, and cassia, when thou camest out of thy yuorie palaces, where they hauehave made thee glad. The sense hereof moued the same Spirit of Iesus to make this confession:Cant. 1. 3. Because of the sauour of thy good ointments, thy name is as an oyntment powred out, therefore the virgins do louelove thee. Cant. 1. 13.And againe, My welbeloued is as a bundle of myrrhe vntounto me: my welbeloued is as a cluster of camphire in the vines of Bengedi. Yea, this moued the Church (giuing a speciall proofe of the sharpenesse of her smell and taste) to speake to her husband thus: The mandrakes hauehave giuen a smell, and in our gates are all sweet things new and old; Cant. 7. 13.my welbeloued, I hauehave kept them for thee. As a Christian is a kingly eagle seeing quickly, and smelling sharply, so he is a kingly eagle of wonderfull flight: for the Christian mans soule flies not onelyonly swiftly, but also sublimely, and so both farre and high, and that in one instant. Can the Christian be content with the crow, or with the rauen, to dwell here beneath with men, and amongst men, flying and building their nests only a little aboue the heads of men? No, no, he must necessarily flie farre aboue the clouds and firmament. But wherof comes this, ô my soule, eueryevery true Christian soiourning here, resembleth the Israelites hasting out of Aegypt,Exod. 22. he had his dough bound vp in clothes vponupon his shoulders, his loynes girded, and his staffe in his hand, and so he was altogether readie at the call of Moses to turne his backe with heartie contentment vponupon Aegypt, and his face with heauenly gladnesse towards Gods promised and his expected Canaan.Colos. 3. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Well knowes the Christian soule where her husband and home is, her husband, her home is not beneath here, but is aboue, and therefore her heart must euer be vpward: yea, for this cause the true Christian cannot ceasse euerie minute, vponupon the wings of faith flying thither, to enter in where Christ is there powring forth all his necessities. The true Christian soule knoweth that her husband will come againe, albeit she know not when he will come, and therefore the Christian dare not suffer idolatrie, incest, murther, adulterie,1. Pet. 1. 13. fornication, oppression, drunkennesse, couetousnesse, falshood, deceit, and such abhominations, as also many long and heauie deluges to hang after him, lest first they hinder him to take him to his wings, and then hinder him in his flight after that he hath taken himselfe to them. As the true Christian is that kingly eagle which seeth quickly, smelleth sharpely, flieth swiftly, and on high, so he is that kingly eagle, which cannot stay his flight, till he come where that sometime dead, blessed, and sweet smelling carrion, but now gloriously liuing Lord of life and light, Iesus is. Let a Christian man meete with a thousand Angels, he will behaue himselfe as Gehazi the seruant of Elizaeus did,2. King. 4. 29. being sent by his maister with his staffe towards the dead sonne of the Shunamitish Ladie, not daring so much as to salute one of them by the way, till he come where Iesus is. And in this the wise Christian resembleth that diseased woman, who thronging through the whole preasse, could not be stayed till she touched his garment with her finger, who had touched her heart before with his Spirit,Mat. 9. 20. 21. and made her by faith to touch him spiritually, before by her hand she touched him bodily.