Of Nature and Grace, Book 2 · Part 9
Of Glorification in the life to come, and of ſobriety in certaine queſtions that are moued therein.
WHen ſanctification endeth in this life, then glorification entreth, & taketh his beginning for the life to come. And then when we ſhall hauehave eſcaped all the ginnes of mortalitie, when the times of temptation ſhall be paſſed ouer, when the ſtreame of this world ſhall hauehave quite rūne out his courſe: then this corruption of ours ſhalbe endued with incorruption, the olde Phoenix ſhall be renewed: and euen as Moſes did put his leprouſe hande into his boſome,Exod. 4.7 and pulleth it foorth a cleane and a ſound hande: ſo this fraile fleſh of ours, that is ſowen in diſhonour,1. Cor. 15 and muſt rotte in the mould of the earth, ſhall yet riſe againe in honour with great perfectiō in that gloriouſe day.
Sainct Paul ſheweth that there were amongſt the Philippians,Phil. 3 that walked much amiſſe, in number manie, in conditions earthly minded men, ſeruants to their bellie, and enemies to the croſſe of Chriſt, & therfore in fine whoſe iuſt end was to hauehave an heauie doome, & a deſerued damnation. But ſpeaking of him ſelfe and of the godlie he ſaith: our conſolation is in heauen, from whence we looke for a Sauiour, euen the Lord Ieſus, who ſhall change our vile bodies, that they maie be like his gloriouſe bodie according to the working, wherebie he is able to ſubdue all thinges vntounto him ſelfe. Wherein theſe four points are expreſſely ſet downe: the conuerſation of Chriſtians to be heauēlie, their expectation to be of Chriſtes appearing in the cloudes, the glorification to be euen of our verie bodies, and becauſe no man ſhould doubt of the iſſue thereof, after he had ſet downe the former three, in the fourth place mencion is made, of the omnipotent power of God.Reu. 14.13. Wherefore without all queſtion as the ſpirit ſaith in the reuelation, Bleſſed are they that die in the Lorde, for they neither frie nor freeſe, as the Papiſtes ſuppoſe, in purgatorie, but reſt from their labours. Nowe to die in the Lorde, is to die, either in his cauſe, & quarell for righteouſneſſe ſake, or otherwiſe in his faith and feare, and in the courſe of their calling. And to die is to be diſſolued,Eccl. 12.7 the bodie to the earth, from whence it was taken, and the ſoule to be rendred into the hands of God that gaue it.
Thy dead (ſaith Eſay).Eſay 26 O Lorde ſhall liue, euen as my body ſhal they riſe againe Awake and ſing, ye that dwell in the duſt. For thy dewe is as the dewe of herbs, and the earth ſhall caſt vp her dead. Not that all the dead, but that the Lords dead ſhall liue the ſecond life. And not who dye in their ſinnes and in olde Adam, but who die in the Lorde, and who liued in Chriſt, and Chriſt in them, and die in Chriſt,Mar. 12.24 Mat. 22.29 and in the Lord, They ſhall riſe in glorie. Let no man be deceaued, as were the Sadduceis, and Libertines, and as nowe is the whole familie of louelove. The dewe of Gods power is as the dewe of herbes. Herbes appeare not in winter time. The dewe from heauen ſofteneth the ground, doth awaie the froſt, & openeth the earth, & the herbs ſpring againe, and flouriſh a freſh. Likewiſe the moiſture of Gods omnipotencie and power diuine, will cauſe & commaūd the earth to giuegive an account of her dead, to yeild foorth the bodies of his Saincts, that they may liue. Euen as my bodie (ſaith the Prophet) and putteth the matter out of doubt, pointeth to his owne bodie, & proueth the reſtitution of Gods people from baniſhment by this infallible argument, teaching that becauſe they doubted not of this the greater, they ſhould beleeue the leſſe which was their reſtitution.
So in Ezechiell the people ſeemed to be in a dead and deſperate caſe,Ezech. 37 as if their verie bones were dryed vp, their hope gone, and them ſelues cleane out of God ſheweth in a viſion, to the Prophet; a plaine fielde, full of dead bones: hee will giuegive them ſenewes, fleſh ſhall growe ouer them, and he will call the dead, out of their ſepulchers. And by this, god meaneth that he will reſtore his people, and conuey them home, euen as if they were taught & well knew, he would reuiue the dead.
The Articles of our Crede touching the reſurrection and life eternall is moſt largely proued by Sainct Paule to the Corinthians.1. Cor. 15 But Chriſt confuteth the Saduceis ſufficientlie with this,Mat. 22.32 Mar. 12.26 that God is the God of Abraham, Iſaak, and Iacob. And that God is the God of the liuing, and not of the dead. Of them that liue, and therefore are, and not of them that liue not, and therefore are not, and of them that ſhall liue, in whole and not onelie in part. And it is ſpoken in the preſent tence, of the liuing, as well for the certaintie of the bodies riſing, as for the aſſured being of the ſoule in the meane ſeaſon in the handes of God. And herein concerning the ſoule (for of the bodie I hauehave ſaid ſufficiently) what becommeth of it when man is diſſolued: I can not but maruel what M. Briſtow meaneth to mencion,Reply to D. Fulk cap. 8 part 2 that there be many texts to make it probable, that not any one entreth into heauē, no not ſince Chriſts time, till the generall reſurrection.Bez. li. Theol. Epiſt. 2 Epiſt. Al theſe probabilities are aunſwered by a learned man of our own age in perfit maner particulerly vponupon occaſion, & heare I reade it needleſſe to trouble the ſimple with impertinent diſputes.Immediatly vpō the departure out of this mortalitie the ſoule is receaued into the ioyes of heauen. Luc. 23.43 2. Cor. 12.2 It may ſuffiſe them to know that while we are in this bodie, we are pilgrimes from the Lorde, ergo not, ſo when the tabernacle therof ſhall be layed aſide. But then we ſhall be as it was ſaide to the theefe, euen in the day therof with Chriſt in Paradiſe. And what is Paradiſe, but heauen? for ſo Sainct Paule when he talketh that he was taken vp into Paradiſe, he tearmeth it the thirde heauen. Euerie man ſayth Auſtine, ſleepeth with his cauſe, and ſhall riſe with his cauſe. But in the middle time, as in our common ſleeping, ſome ſleepe quietly, ſome hauehave heauy and ſorrowfull dreames: ſo when we go into the common bed of the earth with our bodies, yet our ſoul hath her reſt with a ſenſe of ioye, or hath a feeling of ſorrowefull paines. Habent omnes animae, Tract. in Iohn. 49quum de ſeculo hoc exierint &c. All ſoules when they depart out of this worlde (ſtraight) they hauehave their diuerſe places of receipt, if they be good, they hauehave ioy: if they bee naught, they hauehave torment, and when the generall reſurrection ſhall be, the ioye of the good ſhall be more ample, and the torments of the wicked more grieuouſe, when with their bodies alſo they ſhall be tormented, and this is onelie the differēce. Wherfore in the hour of death, let no faith full man doubt, but that he hath a preſent entrance into heauen, and that he ſhall be with Chriſt there, and that he may praie, looking vpward into heauen, both with Chriſt and with Steeuen: Into thy handes O God I commend my ſpirit. O Lorde Ieſus receaue my ſpirit.
And this is a kinde of glorification, which ſhall be conſummated after the conſumption of all thinges. In the meane time while wee yet remaine in this world, there are dueties to be done, and euerie man hath his talentes, fewe or manie, or at leaſt one,Mat. 25.14 and that one he may not hide in a napkin, like the idle man, nor digge it in the earth, where it may ruſt, much leſſe throwe it to the dunghill, that is beſtow it vponupon bad and vile vſes.
The noble man is gone into a farre countrey, the maiſter to a wedding: but they will certainelie returne againe, but when, that is vncertaine, whether at the firſt, ſeconde, thirde, or fourth watche,VVhy the comming of Chriſt is not ſpecially in the circumſtances of time certainely known. whether in the euening, or at the dawning of the day: and therefore is ſo vncertaine, the rather to excite thy care, and ſtirre vp thy diligence, to prouoke thy watchfulneſſe, to ſet thee alwayes in a continuall expectation, both of his comming particulerlie to thee, and in generall to iudge the world.
But if thou like the euill ſeruaunt ſaye, tuſhe the Lorde differreth to come, and being abſent can not ſee what is done amiſſe, and cruelly ſhalt miſuſe thy fellow ſeruauntes, or riotouſlie miſpend thy maiſters ſubſtance, waſting all in wantonneſſe and exceſſe, liuing in pleaſure, and fatting thy ſelfe, as in the day of great ſlaughter and much feaſting, & ſhall common with thy ſoule, after this maner: O my ſoul take thy reſt, this iolitie will not faile, this caſe on earth is euerlaſting: behold ſuddenlie when thou thinkeſt leaſt,Luc. 12.46 this night before euer the morning can come, death is at thy doore, thie dayes are numbred, thy deeds are waighed, thy doom is come, and thy ſoule ſhall departe, not onelyonly this life and ſo an end, but ſhalbe ſundred from the nomber of the liuing with God, and ſhall liue in torments euerlaſtinglie with Satan and his angels without end
Nay rather let vsus imitate the faithfulneſſe of Sainct Paule, who in reſpect of others, & namely of his brethrē the Iewes, what a continuall ſorrowe conceaued he, howe hartie was his deſire, howe feruent his prayers in their behalfe? Yea, he had care of all congregations. Who is weake and I am not affected? Who is offended, and I not grieued? And in reſpect of him ſelfe he ranne his race, he kept the faith, he fought a good fight, & knew that there was a crowne repoſed for him. And becauſe wee may not thinke, that this toucheth onelyonly Sainct Paule,2. Tim. 4 he addeth, not onelie for me, but vntounto all, that louelove, and therefore looke for Chriſtes comming, euen with loynes girded, that is with diligence, and with lightes in their hands, that is, with ſkill, as it is in the Goſpell.
But hee that in ſteede of running his race, ſhall ſit him downe lazilie, or diuert before he come to the goale, or in ſteede of keeping, ſhall make ſhipwracke of the faith, and in ſteed of fighting, ſhall ſtriue vnlawfully, there is laide vppe alſo a rewarde for ſuch, euen the reward of iniquitie, and when he litle thinketh, the day of the Lord ſhall come vppon him, much like to a theefe in the night, and as the travell of a woman, ſuddainlie in the twinckling of an eye, and then he ſhall be ſent into his owne place, as Iudas was, when he hung him ſelfe. But as for the godly,Act. 12.5. we hope and pray for prepared mindes, and though by infirmitie we ſleepe, euē as the wiſe virgins did, yet we ſhall not ſleepe to death,Mat. 25.2. or without oyle in our lamps as did the fooliſh.
Naturall men can iudge the face of the euening, if it be red, they ſaie we ſhall hauehave a faire day, if the morning red, we ſhall hauehave raine, & it is true, if the figtree or the mulbery ſproute furth their leaues, euerie one knoweth, ſommer is nigh. We are to diſcerne naturall euentes by naturall ſignes. HaueHave we no skill (I truſt we hauehave as many as be ſpirituall) in ſpirituall matters?
In the laſt times & waines of the world, men ſhall attentiuely harken to ſpirites of errour, the doctrine of Deuils ſhalbe ſpred abroade and be taught, mariages and the lawfull vſe of meates as a matter of conſcience ſhalbe interdicted. Antichriſt ſhall ſitte in the holy place, and as Auſtine ſayth according to the Greke text,Aug. de ciuit. Dei lib. 20. cap. 19. in templo Dei, and ſhall chalenge him ſelfe to be the Church of God. Know we not what theſe thinges meane.foreign
I will go a litle farther, and come from matters in religion vntounto mens manners. Charitie ſhall waxe colde,1. Theſ. 2.4 iniquitie ſhalbe rife and ab…nd, and almoſt run ouer all the world like Noes flood, men ſhalbe ſelfelouers, there ſhalbe warres and rumors of warres in eueryevery corner, skant faith ſhalbe found in the earth except here and there, as it were an eare or two left after harueſt. Is there nothing to be looked for vppon conſideration of this? verily almoſt there remayneth not any ſigne to be fulfilled, but the Sunne to be darkened, or the Moone looſe her light, and that the ſtarres droppe from heauen, and the verie celeſtiall powers be ſhaken and remoued. The euening is red, yea blood red, wil not the morrow therefore be fair, and ioyfull to all the godly? Lift vp your heades, ye that mourne, for your redemption draweth neere. Yea, the morning is red alſo, and ſhall not a tempeſt ouertake the wicked? Cloudes like woolpacks houer ouer our heads, and thicken in euerie coaſt, the harueſt of the worlde is white, and calleth for a ſickle. The end of all is at hande, yea the endes of the worlde are come vppon vsus. Life eternall is the gifte of God, and euen anone he will make full deliuerie thereof. Euerie man ſhall receaue his peny, his palme into his handes, his crowne of life for his head, the white garmente that neuer ſoyleth, the euerlaſting foode, that neuer periſheth, the waters that neuer fayle, the candle that neuer goeth out ſhall euen anone be deliuered vntounto all. They who ſowed a winde, ſhall reap a whirlewinde, but they that ſowed in iuſtice ſhall reape merciemercy, they who gathered Manna on the ſix day, ſhall reſt on the ſeuenth. They that ſowed in teares ſhall reape in ioy, and their ioy ſhall no man take from them.
As the Geometrician by the meaſure of Hercules foot, proportionally coniectured of the ſtature of the whole bodie, ſo by humaine ſimilitudes we may conceaue ſomewhat of thoſe ioyes, and that glorie, which in this day ſhalbe accōpliſhed, but perfitlie to the full to ſet them furth, becauſe they are not yet reuealed, it paſſeth all wordes, all writinges, all imaginations of all the tunges, or pens, or harts of mortall men.
Wherfore the queſtiō that ſome moue of higher or lower,The queſtion of equalitie or inequalitie of glory not much materiall to faith and godlines. greater degrees of more glorie, in ſome then in ſome in the day of glorie is to no great purpoſe. For in the higheſt degree, there is no difference of degrees, or if ſo, yet our glorie ſhall be ſo much, as we will either deſire, or can containe. And what neede further reaſoning in a matter not taught in the ſcriptures? wherfore both in this and all the like queſtions, I aunſwer with the wordes that the woman of Samaria vſed to and of our Sauiour. The wel is deepe and I hauehave no veſſel to draw vp ſuch water.Ioh. 4.11.
Concerning a queſtion, that in this place is much moued by ſome, & throughly reſolued by none that I know,VVhether we ſhall know on another in the next life. I will ſay what I thinke, and the rather to take away the queſtion if it may be then to decide it.
VponUpon the apparition of Moſes and Elias in mount Tabor in our Sauiours transfiguration, it hath bene thought of ſome, that in our glorified ſtate we ſhall know and be knowen one of an other. But by the way I wil firſt giuegive a more neceſſary note becauſe of occaſion of Moſes appearing. Moſes was buried, no man coulde tell where, but yet here he appeared.Dei Whereupon ariſeth a comfortable conſideratiō, that though man can not tel what becommeth of mēs bodies & the bodies of many Matters, that are throwen to the lions, deuoured of dogges, caſt into Sequana, or thrown into the ſea, burnt to aſhes, &c. Yet God knoweth, and as he made Moſes here to appeare, ſo here after the bodies and ſoules of all his afflicted Saincts, ſhall appeare at his ſecond cōming, euen at the blaſt of the trumpet.
Now for the queſtion how could thoſe be knowen & diſcerned? there were many hundred yeares between Elias time, & Peters, and Iohns, who were with Chriſt in the mount, and there was a thouſande yeares betwixt Moſes time and theirs, and if there were but an age difference, yet howe coulde they be knowen at the firſt bluſh? and then if they being before vnknowen were ſo ſoone knowen in this but transfiguration, how much rather ſhal we knowe them in our glorification, with whō we were acquainted, of whoſe bones we were bones, of whoſe fleſh we ar fleſh, & of whoſe race we deſcēded, whoſe kindnes we loued, whoſe louelove in all manner of godly familiaritie & tender friendſhip we enioyed.
For this, that Moſes and Elias were diſcerned the text ſetteth down, howe they were diſcerned it ſetteth not downe. A ſimple aunſwer is eaſieſt and trueſt as I take it. God who made the apparition to Peter and Iohn, gaue vntounto Peter and Iohn the knowledge to diſcerne who they were that appeared, whether he will giuegive them the like knowledge in the life to come becauſe the ſcripture is ſilent, I dare not definitiuely ſay or argue to or fro.
Farther it is reaſoned: Adam in his innocencie ſtraight way, notwithſtanding he were aſleepe, when Eué was taken out of his ſide, yet he knew, who Eué was: ſemblably, when this corruption ſhall put on incorruption, when ſinnefulnes ſhal chāge for innocency, like to or elſe more perfitte then Adams in Paradiſe, when our knowledge in part ſhall be made perfit, and our charity intended to an higher degree and extēded to more in number, then we may, if know the things that we knewe not before, much more know the things, and recognize the perſons we knew once.
I will not diſpute againſt this opinion, much, for peraduenture it may be true.
Farther it is reaſoned, that if the damned ſpirite of the richman in hell, notwithſtanding the great diſtance & chaos betwixt, could diſcerne Lazarus & Abrahā in heauē, that the ſoules of the iuſt and perfit mē ſhal much more ſee with a clearer eye the ſociety of all, but eſpecially certaine in the cytie of the Saincts.
I will not anſwer this to be parabolical, & that eueryevery part of a parable doth not euer proue eueryevery matter, that it may be fitted vntounto. For it may be that this very part thus vrged, is not of a thing altogether impoſſible.
But that which I ſhall ſhortly remember by occaſion of the queſtion moued, is moſt true, and much to be conſidered.
Firſt it is true that death is a paſſage into a better life to all that beleue, a doore, & entrance into heauen, a redy meanes to be with Chriſt, and not where Chriſt is onelyonly (for Chriſt according to his Godhead is excluded no place) but with Chriſt, and in Paradiſe are they, who die a corporall death, but yet liue vntounto Chriſt. And then this being throughly conſidered it doth lenifie ſuch natural paſſions as are incidēt to the ſonnes of Adā, it maketh the bitter cup to hauehave a ſweete taſt, it breedeth a deſire to be diſſolued, and a longing to be at our long and laſt home. For the things here are nothing to the thinges there: yet are we hardly induced to leaue them, and herein they ſerue & louelove vsus moſt, and we them.
But let vsus conſider, when we die, we depart from the world, and therefore from worldly affections alſo we ſhould depart, and betake our ſelues wholly to a better habitation, and vtterly to hauehave nothing to do, with the things that are done vnderunder the ſunne after the diſpoſitiō of our houſe and temporalities, as Eſaie exhorted the king.
A wet eye and an affectionate minde doth neither diſcerne aright, nor iudge vprightly in this caſe, and when we ſhould be rauiſhed with the louelove of his face, to whom we go, we looke backward, whether we ſhall ſee the faces of our old frinds any more.
In the reſurrection they neither marry nor are maried, mariage is the neereſt coniunction amongeſt men. But then the reſpects of mā & wife ſhalbe ſwalowed vp as it were a candle put out at the riſing of the Sunne. Therefore the affections toward father and mother, children and kinred, of conſanguinitie and blood of affinitie or amity which are leſſe, ſhal alſo ceaſe then. For they will either hinder ſomewhat, or doe much hurte in the quietnes of our paſſage.
I reade of one Rotholdus (of whome Sigibert doth write) a man of name, and a Duke, when he ſhoulde be baptiſed, he would knowe whether there were moe in heauen or in hell, and what acquaintance he had in either place, was not this a great folly?
In the ſecond booke of Samuel Dauid maketh offer to an old aged man Barzelai,2. Sam. 19. that elſwhen, had ſhewed him kindnes, & that now God had bleſſed Dauid, and had brought him to the kingdome, he woulde requite the old man, and offered him that he ſhould goe with him, & be in his court at Ieruſalem. But Barzelay on the other ſide maketh a contrarie requeſt vntounto Dauid, that he may returne to Gilead, and dy in his own countrie, and be buried in the graues of his aunceſtors, and as for anie pleaſure that he could take in the kings palace, he ſaid he was ouerſpent and worne, his ſenſe of taſting was gone, & ſo of hearing, the voyce of the ſingers and the court muſicke did not affect the old man.
In the ſtorie we ſee a contentation in the aged man, and alſo a louelove to his country whereby he preferred Gilead before Ieruſalem. I do not altogeather diſcommend eueryevery point in his affection. But, by application, if I may ſpeake, there are ouer many Barzelaies now a dayes both in their liues, and in their deathes. They are ſo long time accuſtomed to the worſe, that they diſdaine the better, they cannot taſt the truth, they will not heare the muſicke of the charmer, charme he neuer ſo cunningly. They began in ſuperſtition, they hauehave long continued in error, and they will needes be buried in the idolatrie of their forefathers, and they will go whether they thinke they hauehave moſt acquaintance. But true religion goeth neither by the moſt, nor by thoſe that ſeeme to be moſt neere a man commonly.
In our life, the worde is our direction, the ſpirit our guide. In our death we muſt, as we reſigne our bodyly ſubſtance vntounto godly vſes, and our bodies for a time, into the boſome of the earth, ſo without more adoe, & without forecaſting of doubts, or ſcruples, of curious, fancifull or affectionat queſtioning muſt we wholy yeeld vp our ſoules vntounto God our father a ſafe keeper of them vntounto the gloriouſe reſurrectiō in Chriſt Ieſu, to whom with the holy ſpirite three perſons, and one euerliuing God be euerlaſting praiſe, Amen.
End of the text · John Prime, Of Nature and Grace (1583)