A Glance of Heaven, Sermon 1
HIDDEN SECRETS Revealed by the GOSPEL.
2 COR. 2. 9.
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor Eare heard, neither have entred into the heart of Man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
THE holy Apostle St. Paul, The coherence.(the Trumpet of the Gospell, the vessell of election) was ordained to bee a messenger of reconciliation, and to spread the sweet savour of the Gospell every where: And answerably to his calling, hee makes way for the excellencie of his Ambassage into the hearts of those he had to deale with. This he doth by the commendation of his function. And that he might the better prevaile, hee removes all objections to the contrary. There were some that would debase his Office, saying, that the Gospell he taught (Christ crucified) was no such great matter: Therefore in the 6. verse of this chapter, hee shewes, that the Gospell is Wisedome, and that among them that are perfect; among the best and ablest to judge. St. Paul did not build as the Papists doe now, upon the blindnesse of the people. But it were not Poperie, if they did not infatuate the people. St. Paul sayth to this effect:The best Ministers will not shun to be tried by the best judgments Wee dare appeale to those that are the best, and of the best judgement, let them judge whether it be wisedome or no: the more perfect men are, the more able they are to judge of our wisedome.
It might bee objected again, You see who …ares for your wisedome, neither Herod, nor Pilate, nor the greatmen and Potentates, the Scribes, and Pharisees, great, learned men, and withall, men of innocent lives, notable for carriage. Therefore, sayth he, Wee speak not the wisedome of this world, or the Princes of this world, that come to nought. Doe not tell us of such mens wisedome, they and their wisedome will come to nought too. Wee teach wisedome of things that are eternall, to make men eternall. As for the Princes of the world, they and all that they know, their thoughts, and all their plots and devises perish. But wee speake the wisedome of God in a mysterie, That is the wisedome of Gods revealing, a deepe wisedome, a mysterie, that God or dained before the world. Ancient wisedom, not a yesterdayes knowledge, tho lately discovered: the preaching of the Gospell is the discovery of that wisdome that was hidden before the world was.
And to invite you, and make you more in love with it, it is a wisedome To your glory. God hath a delight to shew himselfe wise in devising a plot to glorifie poore wretched man.
As for the words themselves, Scope of the words, and explication.they are a proofe of what he had sayd before, why none of the Princes of the world knew this great mysterie. If so be that the eye of any man hath not seene, nor the eare of any man hath heard, nor the heart of any man hath conceived, what doe you tell us of the wise men, which were not all, nay what should I speake of men? the very Angels (as we know by other places) are excluded from a full knowledge of these mysteries. Therefore it is no mervaile,The mysteries of the Gospell hidden from naturall men. though none of the Princes of this world knew them. They are universally hidden from all naturall men. This I take to be the sence of the words. They are taken out of Isaiah: Isai. 64. 4▪S. Paul delights to prove things by the Prophets: but here it is not so much a proofe as an allusion; which we must observe to understand many such places. For Isaiah there speakes of the great things God had done for his Church, such as Eye had not seene, nor Ea e heard: And the Apostle alludes to it here, and addes somewhat, This clause (nor hath entred into the heart of man) is not in that place: but it is necessarily understood: for if the eye doe not see, and the eare heare, it never enters into the heart of man. For whatsoever enters into the heart of man, it must be by those passages and windowes, the gates of the soule, the sences.
And whereas St. Paul sayth, For them that love him, It is for them that expect him, as in Isaiah. The sence is all one: Whosoever love God, they expect and wait for him, where there is no expectation, there is no love.
This is the Apostles drift, If God did doe such great matters for his Church, as eye hath not seen, nor …are heard, according to the Prophet Isuiah, what shall we thinke he will do in the kingdome of grace here, and of glory hereafter.
The words then as wee see, containe the excellencie of the mysteries of the Gospell, described first by the hiddennesse of it to men at first.
Secondly, by the goodnesse of the things revealed, such as neither eye hath seene, &c.
The hiddennesse and excellency of the Gospell in that respect, is set forth by way of negation, Eye hath not seen, nor Eare heard, nor Heart conceived. And indeed this is the way to set forth excellent Divine things.The way to set forth divine things. God himselfe is set out by way of deniall; by removing imperfections, he is invisible, immortall, &c. And so heaven, that is neare to God, as being prepared by him, it is set out by way of deniall, as S. Peter sayth, It is an inheritance immortall, 1. Pet. 1.undefiled, &c. 1. Pet. 1.
So here, positive words could not be found sufficient to set out the excellencie of the things that God hath prepared.
As for the Knowledge of the mysterie of salvation in Jesus Christ, we neither can come to it by naturall invention, nor by naturall discipline. All the things that we know naturally, we know by one of these two wayes, but divine things are knowne neither way.
Where could there have been any knowledge of Christ, if God had not opened his breast in the Gospell, and come forth of his hidden light, and shewed himselfe in Christ, Godman, and in publishing the Gospell, established an ordinance of preaching for this purpose, where had the knowledge of salvation in Christ been?
To prove this, wee have here a gradation: the eye sees many things; but wee heare more things than we see, yet neither Eye hath seen, nor eare hea…d: I but the conceits of the heart, are larger than the sight of the eye, or the hearing of the eare; yet neither eye hath seen, nor eare hath heard, nor hath entred into the heart of man to conceive, &c. The Philosopher sayth, there is nothing in the understanding, but it came into the sences before: and therefore it cannnot enter into the heart of man, if it enter not by the eye, or by the eare.
The things here spoken of,What is meant by those things the eye hath not seen. be especially the graces, and comforts, and priviledges to bee enjoyed in this life, and the consummation, and perfection of them in heaven. Christ brings peace, and joy, justification, & sanctification, &c. the like. And even in this life; the perfection of these is in heaven, where the soul and the body shall be both glorified, in a glorious place, together with glorious, company, The Father, Sonne, and holy Ghost, innumerable Angels and justmen. These are those things that eye hath not seen, &c. The beginnings here, and the perfection and consummation of them hereafter. Having thus farre unfolded the words, I come to the poynts considerable.
First,D…trines God hath a company of beloved children in the world, that he means a speciall good unto.
The second, God hath prepared great matters for them.
If great persons prepare great things for those whom they greatly affect, shall we not thinke that the great God will prepare great things for those that hee hath affection to, and that have affection to him? If God be a friend to the llect, & they be his friends, surely he wil answer friendship to the utmost: answerable to the great love he beares his children, he hath provided great things for them.
If that bee excellent that is long in preparing, then those things which belong to Gods children, must needs be excellent: for they were preparing even before the world was. Salomons Temple was an excellent Fabrick, it had long preparation. Ahasueros made a feast to 127. Provinces, it was long in preparing: great things have great preparation. Now these things that God intends his children, have been preparing even from everlasting, and they are from everlasting to everlasting: they must needs bee excellent. But before I dwell on any particular poyn…, here is a question to be answered.
If the things that God hath prepared for his children,A question be secret and excellent, how then come we to know them at all?
We come to know them 1. by Divine Revelation. God must reveale them first, as it is in the next vers. God hath revealed them by his spirit▪God reveals secret things that are excellent to his children.
The Spirit reveales them by way of negation, and indefinitely, as also by way of eminence. Whatsoever is excellent in the world, God borrowes it, to set out the excellencie of the things that hee hath provided for his Children in grace, and glory.
A feast is a comfortable things they are called a Feast. A Kingdome is a glorious thing; they are called a Kingdome. Marriage is a sweet thing; they are set forth by that, by an inheritance, and adoption of children, and such like: So that all these things are taken to …e shadowes of those things. And indeed they are but shadows, the realitie is the heavenly kingdome of grace and glory: the heavenly riches, the heavenly inheritance, the heavenly sonship: when all these things vanish, and come to nothing: then comes in the true Kingdome, Sonship, and Inheritance.
Againe, 2. wee know them in this world by way of taste: for the things of the life to come, there are few of them, but Gods children have some experimentall taste of them in this world: God reserves not all for the life to come, but he gives a grape of Canaan in this wildernesse.
Thirdly, by arguing from the lesse to the greater: If peace of conscience bee so sweet here; what is eternall peace? If a litle joy here bee so pleasant and comfortable, that it makes us forget our selves, what will bee that eternall joy there? If the delights of a kingdome bee such, that they fill mens hearts so full of contentment, that ofttimes they know not themselves, what shall we think of that excellent kingdom? So by way of taste and rellish, we may rise from these pettie things, to those excellent things, which indeed are scarce a beame, scarce a drop of those excellencies.
If Peter and Iohn when they were in the mountain, were not their owne men, when they saw but a glimpse, but a little glorie of Christ manifested in the mount, what shal we think, when there is the fulnesse of that glorious revelation, at the right hand of God, where there is fulnesse of pleasures for ever? How shall our soules be filled at that time? Thus by way of rising from the lesser to the greater, by tasting, feeling, and by divine revelation, wee may know in some measure the excellencie of those things prepared for us.
Now to cleare this thing more fully,Three degrees of revelation. know that there are three degrees of revelation.
First there must bee a revelation of the things themselves, by word, and writing, or speech, and the like, as we know not the minde of a man, but either by speech, or writing: so there must bee a revelation of these things; or else the wit of Angels could never have devised, how to reconcile Justice and MercieMercy, by infinite wisedome; by sending a Mediator to procure peace, God-man, to worke our salvation. Therefore wee could not know them without a revelation, and discoverie outward: this is the first degree that wee may call Revelation by scripture, or by the doctrine of the Gospel. Who could discover those things that are meerly supernaturall, but God himselfe?
Then againe 2. when they are revealed by the word of God, and by men that have a function to unfold the unsearchable riches of Christ, by the ministerie of the Gospell, yet notwithstanding they are hidden riddles still, to a company of carnall men. Put case the vaile be taken off from the things themselves; yet if the vaile bee over the soule, the understanding, will, and affections, there is no apprehension of them: therefore there must bee a second revelation, that is, by the Spirit of God. Ofnecessitie this must bee: for even as the Apostle sayth in this Chapter, None knoweth the minde of Man, Vers. 11.but the spirit that is in Man: so none knoweth the mind of God, but the Spirit of God. What is the Gospel without the Spirit of Christ, to discover the minde of God to us? We know not the good meaning of God to us in particular:The Gospell is hid, without the Spirit to discover the minde of God. wee know in generall that such things are revealed in scripture: but what is that to us, if Christ bee not our Saviour, and God our Father? unlesse we can say as S. Paul sayth, He loved me, and gave himselfe for mee. Therefore you see a necessitie of revelation by the Spirit.
But this is not all that is here meant, there is 3ly a higher discovery, and that is in heaven▪ that that is revealed here, is but in part. and thereupon if wee believe, wee believe but in part, and wee love but in part, If our knowledge, which is the ground of all other graces and affections, be imperfect, all that followes must needs bee imperfect also. Therefore St. Iohn sayth,1 Iohn 3. 2. We know that wee are the Sonnes of God, but it appeares not what we shall bee. What we shall be in heaven it doth not appeare now; there must bee a further revelation, and that will bee hereafter, when our soules shall bee united together with our bodies: and then indeed our eyes shall see, our ears heare, and hearts shall conceive those things that while wee are here in the wombe of the Church, wee neither can see nor heare, nor understand, more than the childe in the wombe of the mother can conceive the excellencies in this civill life. Thus we see these truths a little more unfolded. I will now adde somewhat to make use of what hath been spoken.
First of all therefore for matter of instruction,1. Vse. Instruction if it be so, that the things of the Gospell bee such, as that without a revelation from God, they could not bee knowen, then we see, that there is no principle at all of the Gospel in nature. There is not a sparke of light, or any inclination to the Gospell but it is meerly above nature: for hee removes here, all naturall wayes of knowing the Gospell, eye, eare, & understanding: therfore the knowledge of it is meerly supernaturall. For if God had not revealed it, who could ever have devised it? And when hee revealed it, to discover it by his Spirit, it is supernatural: but in heaven much more, which is the third degree I spake of.Why so many heresies touching the Gospel. Therfore (by the way) you may know the reason why so many heresies have sprung out of the Gospel, more than out of he Law, & the misunderstā ding of it. There are few or no heresies from that, because the principles of the Law are writtē in the heart: men naturally know that whoredome, and adulterie, and filthy living, &c. are sins; men have not so quenched nature, but that they know that those things are naught: therefore there have been excellent Lawmakers amōg the heathens. But the Gospel is a meere mystery discoured out of the breast of God, without all principles of nature: there are thousands of errors that are not to be reckoned, about the nature, the person & the benefits of Christ, about justification, and sanctification, and free will and grace, and such things, what a world of heresies, have proud wits continually started up? This would never have beene but that the Gospell is a thing above nature. Therefore when a proud wit, and supernaturall knowledge revealed meete together: the proude heart stormes, and loves to struggle, and deviseth this thing and that thing to commend it selfe, and hereupon comes heresies, the mingling of naturall wit with divine truthes. If men had had passive wits to submit to divine truthes, and to worke nothing out of themselves, as the spider out of her own bowells, there had not beene such heresies in the Church, but their hearts meeting with supernaturall truthes, their proud hearts mingling with it, they have devised these errours that I note in the first place.
Then againe if the things that wee have in the Gospell be such divine truthes above nature altogether:2. Instruction. In d…vine truths above nature, wee are not to trust to reason too much. Then we must not stand to looke for reason too much, nor trust the reason or wit of any man, but divine authority her… especially. For if divine authority cease in the Gospel, what were it? nothing; the law is written in mens hearts: but we must trust divine authoritie in the Gospel above al other portions of scripture, and not to the wit of any man whatsoever.
The Church of Rome that is possest with a Spirit of pride, and Ignorance and tyranny; they will force knowledge on them that be under them, from their sole authoritie; the Church, saith so; and wee are the Church, and it is not for you to know, &c. and scriptures are so and so; but is the Gospell a supernaturall mysterie above the capacitie of any man? and shall we build upon the authoritie of the Church for these truthes? oh no! there must bee no forcing of Evangelicall truthes from the authority or parts of any man. But these are not things that wee stand in so much need of, therefore I hasten to that which is more usefull. Eye hath not seene, nor eare heard, &c.
Here then we have an use of direction how to carrie our selves in reading, An use of direction. How to study and read divine truthsand studying holy truths, especially the sacred mysteries of the Gospel, how shall we study them? Wee thinke to breake into them with the engine of our wit, and to understand them, and never come to God for his spirit: God will curse such proud attempts. Who …nowes the things of man but the spirit of a man? and who knowes the things of God, but the spirit of God? Therefore in studying the Gospell, let us come with a spirit of faith, and a spirit of humility, and meeknesse there is no breaking into these things with the strength of parts; That hath been the ground of so many heresies as have beene in the Church. Only Christ … the key of David that shutteth and no man openeth, and openeth and no man shutteth, he hath the key of the Scripture, and the key to open the understanding. And to presse this poynt a little; if eye hath not seene, nor eare heard, nor hath entred into the heart of man to conceive, the things of the Gospell without the revelation of the spirit; then we must come with this mind, when wee come to heare the things of the Gospell: Lord, without thy holy spirit they are all as a clasped booke, they are hidden mysteries to mee, though they be revealed in the Gospell. If my heart be shut to them, they are all hidden to me.
Wee see men of excellent parts are enemies to that they teach themselves, opposing the power of the Gospell: whence is all this? because they thinke only the opening of these things makes them divines, wheras without the holy Ghost sanctifying, and altering the heart in some measure, to tast, and rellish these things, that as they are divine in themselves, so to have some what divine in the heart to tast these things, it is impossible but that the heart should rise against them; and so it doth: for when it comes to particulars, you must deny your selfe in this honour, in this pleasure, & cōmoditie, now you must venture the displeasure▪ of man for this, and that truth: the heart riseth in scorn, and loathing of divine truth: when it comes to particulars they know nothing as they should. For when is truth knowne, but when in particulars wee stand for it, and will neither betray it, nor do any thing that doth not benefit a Christian? If we have not the spirit of God to relish truthes in particular, they will doe us no good. And except the spirit sanctifie the heart of man first by these truthes, the truth will never be understood by the proud, naturall heart of man.
Therefore the course that God takes with his children is this;GODS course with his children to shew them these mysteries. those that he meanes to have; he first inspires into their hearts some desire to come to heare, and attend upon the meanes of salvation, to understand the Gospell, and then under the means of salvation, he shines into the understanding by a heavenly light; and inspires into the will and affections some heavenly inclination to this truth of the Gospell, to justification, sanctification, selfe-denyall, and the like: and workes a new life, and new sences, and upon them wrought under the meanes comes the soul to relish, and to understand these mysteries, and then the eares, and the eies are open to see these things, and never before. A holy man that hath his heart subdued by the spirit of God in the use of the meanes, oh, he relisheth the point of forgivenesse of sins, hee relisheth the point of sanctification, he studies it daily more, and more, and nearer communion with God, hee relisheth peace of conscience, and joy in the holy Ghost, they are sweete things, and all the duties of Christianity, because hee makes it his maine busines to adorne his pro…ession: and to live here, so, as hee may live for ever hereafter. And this must be of necessitie: for marke out of the text; If the naturall eye, and eare, and heart can never see nor heare, nor conceive the things of God, must there not be a supernaturall eare, and eye, and heart put into the soule? must not the heart,Supernaturall objects require supernatural senses. and all be new molded againe? If the former frame bee not sufficient for these things, of necessitie it must be so.
From hence learne to arme your selves against all scandalls: when ye see men of parts, and account, (and such there may be) men of deepe apprehensions, and understanding in the Scripture for matter of notion, and for the language of the Scripture exquisite, and yet to be proud, malicious, haters of sanctity, next to divells, none greater; consider what is the reason: either they have proud spirits that despise, and neglect the meanes of salvation altogether; or if they doe come, they come as Iudges, they will not submit their proud hearts to the sweet motions of the Spirit: stumble not at it, if such men bee both enemies to that they teach themselves, and those that practise it, the reason is, because their proud hearts were never subdued by the Spirit to understand the things they speake of. For such a teacher understands supernaturall things by a naturall light, and by humane reason; that is, to talk, and discourse, &c. but hee sees not Supernaturall things by a supernaturall light, divine things by a divine light. Therefore a poore soule that heares the things published by him, understands them better by the helpe of the Spirit, than he that speakes them: better indeed for his use, and comfort.Simile. As we see, there are some that can measure land exactly; but the man that oweth the land measured, he knowes the use of the ground, and delights in it as his owne: the other can tell, here is so much ground, &c. So some Divines, they can tell there are such poynts, and so they are raysed; and they can bee exquisite in this: but what profite have they by it?
The poore soule that heares these things, by the helpe of the Spirit, hee can say, these are mine, as the man for whom the ground is measured. As it is with those that come to a Feast, the Physitian comes, and sayes, this is wholsome, and good; and this is good for this and that, but eates nothing: others that know not these things, they eare the meate,Of knowledge joyned with feeling. and are nourished in the meane time: so when such men discourse of this and that, a poore man that hath the Spirit, he relisheth these things, as his owne; the other goes away, onelyonly discourseth as a Philosopher of the meate, and eates nothing.
And therfore when you read & heare these things, content not your selves with the first degree of revelation: no, that is not enough; when you have done that, desire of God to joyne his Spirit, to give you spirituall eyes, and hearts, that you may close with Divine truths, and be divine as the truths are; that there may bee a consent of the heart with the truth: then the word of God will be sweet indeed.
Againe, here we see this divine truth, That a man when he hath the Spirit of God, knowes things otherwise than hee did know them before, though he did not know them by outward revelation of hearing and reading, &c. And hee believes them otherwise than he did before: he sees them by a new light. It is not the same knowledge that an unregenerate man hath,1 Cor. …. 14. 15. with that he hath after, when God workes upon his heart: for then it is a divine supernatural knowledge. And it is not the same faith, and beliefe: the Spirit of God raiseth a man up in a degree of creatures above other men, as other men are above beasts: hee gives new eyes, new ears, & a new heart;Concerning spirituall sight. he moulds him anew every way. Therefore you have good men, somtimes wonder at themselves (when God hath touched their hearts) that they have had such shallow conceits of this and that truth before. Now they see that they were in the darke, that they were in a dampe before, that they conceived things to be so and so, and thought themselves some body; but when God opens their eyes, and takes away the skales, and lets them see things in their proper light, heavenly things, by a heavenly light, and with a heavenly eye; they wonder at their former foolishnesse in divinity, especially so farre as concernes the Gospell: for there is more in the Scripture then pure supernaturall divinity, there are many other arts in the Scripture.
The Gospell I say is a knowledge not of naturall men,It is not in nature to shew us these divine mysteries. or great wits, but of holy sanctified men. Therefore we must not think that these things may be known by nature, &c. It is a sacred knowledge so much as will bring us to heaven, it is a knowledge of holy men, that have their hearts brought to love and tast, and relish that they know. Therefore it is no wonder though a company of men of great partes live naughtily, they are no true divines, because they have no true knowledge. The divell is no divine, nor a wicked man properly; though hee can discourse of such things, yet he is not properly a divine: because he knowes not things by a divine light, or heavenly things by a heavenly light. The knowledge of the Gospell, it is a knowledge of sanctified, holy men: but to come neerer to our practise.
If eye hath not seene, nor eare heard, Another use of In…struction.nor hath entered into the heart of man, to conceive those things that God hath prepared for his: Then let us make this the rule of our esteeme of any thing that is good, or any thing that is ill, make it a rule of valuation. The Apostle here you see, hath a ranke of things above the sight of the eye, or the hearing of the eare, or the conceiving of the heart of man: if there be such a ranke of things above this; then the greatest ills are those that eye hath not seene, nor eare heard, nor hath entred into the heart of man: and indeed they are so. Wee grieve at the Ague, and at the Stone, and the Goute, they are grievous things indeed; oh! but what bee these things that wee feele, and see, to those in another world, that wee cannot apprehend for the greatnesse of them? The torments of hell wee cannot conceive, and understand them here: for it is indeed to bee in hell it selfe, to conceive what hell is: and therfore when God enlargeth mens spirits to see them, they make away themselves. And so for the greatest good; these goods here, this outward glory, we can see through it. Christ could see through all the glory in the world, that the Divell shewed him. And these are things that wee can heare of, and here the utmost that can be spoken of them: therefore surely they are not the greatest good, there are more excellent things than they, because the eye sees them, the eare heares of them, and the understanding can conceive of them; but there be things that the eye hath not seene, nor eare heard, not the soule conceived; and those bee the joyes of heaven.A rule to value things by. And thereupon (to descend to practise) if this bee a rule to value things, that the best things are transcendent, beyond sence and comprehension: then shall I for those things that I can see, & can heare, and feele, and understand, shall I lose those excellent good things, tha… neither eye hath seen, nor eare heard? &c. Is not this desperate folly, to venture the losse of the best things, of the most transcendent things, that are above the capacitie of the greatest reaches of the world? shall I lose all for pettie poore things, that are within my owne reach and compasse?
How foolish therefore are those that are given to pleasures! they feele the pleasure indeed; but the sting comes after. They delight in those ill things that they can heare, and heare al that can be spoken of them, and never thinke of the excellent things that eye hath not seen, nor eare heard, &c.
Let this make us in love with divine truthes in the Scripture, with the Gospel, that part of the Scripture that promiseth salvation by Christ, and all the graces, and priviledges of Christianity, they are above our reach. Wee study other things, we can reach them, we can reach the mysteries of the Law by long study, and the mysteries of physicke, and to the mysteries of trades by understanding, & when men have done all, they may be fooles in the maine; Solomons fooles: they may do al these things, and be wise for particular things, by particular reaches of that which eie hath seen, and eare heard, &c. and then for the best things that are above the capacitie of men, they may die empty of all,I… is the best wisedome to be wise to salvation. and goe to the place o… the damned. To bee wise to Salvation is the best wisdome.
What a pittifull case is this, that God should give us our understandings for better things then wee can see or heare in this world, yet we imploy thē in things of the world wholly? Let us not doe as some shallow, proud heads, that regard not divine things; the holy Scriptures they will not vouchsafe to read once a day, perhaps not once a weeke; nay, some scarce have a Bible in their studies. For shame, shall we be so Atheisticall? when God hath provided such excellent things conteined in this booke of God, the Testament, shall wee slight these excellent things for knowledge that shall perish with us? as St. Paul saith before the Text: the knowledge of all other things is perishing, knowledge of perishing men. Learne on earth that that will abide in heaven, Augustine.sayth S. Austin. If wee bee wise, let us know those things on earth, that the comfort of them may abide with us in heaven. Therefore let us be stirred up to value the Scriptures,Value the Scriptures the mysteries of salvation in the Gospel, they are things that Eye hath not seene, nor Eare heard,&c. Nay, I say more, that little that wee have here, by hearing truths unfolded, whereby the Spirit of God slides into our hearts, and workes with them: there is that peace that a man hath in his heart, in the unfolding of the poynt of Iustification, or Adoption, or any divine comfort, that it breeds such inward peace and joy as is unspeakable and glorious. All that we have in the world is not worth those little beginings that are wrought by the hearing of the word of God here. If the first fruits here be joy oftimes unspeakable, and glorious, if the first fruits be peace that passeth understanding; what will the consūmation, and perfection of these things be at that day?
Againe here you see a ground of the wonderfull patience of the Martyrs. Ground of the Martyrs patience.You wonder that they would suffer their bodies to be torne, and have their soules severed so violently from their bodies: Alas; cease to wonder; when they had a sence wrought in them by the spirit of God of the things that eye hath not seene, nor eare heard. If a man should have asked them why they wold suffer their bodies to be misused thus when they might have redeemed all this with a little quiet? oh! they would have answered presently, as some of them have done; wee suffer these things in our bodies,A godly man suffers these things in his senses for those that are above his senses. and in our sences, for those that are above our sences, wee know there are things layd up for us that eye hath not seene, nor eare heard, &c. What doe you tell us of this torment, and that torment? we shall have more glory in heaven then wee can have misery here: for wee can see this, and there is an end of it▪ but wee shall have joy that eye hath not seene, nor eare heard, &c. As St. Paul most Divinely in diverse places in Rom. 8.Rom. 8. the things that wee suffer here are not Worthy of the glory that shall be revealed. Therefore let us not wonder so much at their patience as to lay up this ground of patience against an evill day when we may be drawne to seale the truth with our blood. By the way learne what Popery is,What Popery is. they thinke to merit by their doing, but especially by their sufferings, though they be ill doers, and suffer for their demerits; this is their glory. Shall those stayned good workes (put case they were good workes, they be defiled, and stayned, and as menstruous cloathes, as it is Isaiah 64.)Isai. 64. shall they merit the glory to bee revealed, that is so great that eye hath not seene, &c. What proportion is there? In merit there must be a proportion betweene the deed done,Merit hath no proportion with glory. and the glory: what proportion is there betweene stayned imperfect defiled workes, and the glory to bee revealed? Should not our lives be almost angecall? What manner of men should wee be in all holy conversation, Considering what things are layd up in heavē, & we have the first fruits of them here? Can men be too holy and exact in their lives, that looke for things, that eye hath not seene, nor eare heard, &c.
I wonder at the stupiditie, and hellish pride, and malice of mens hearts, that thinke any man can be too exact in the maine duties of Christianity,We cannot be too exact in holy duties. in the expression of their love to God, in the obedience of their lives, in abstinence from the filthinesse of the world, and the like. Can a man that lookes for these excellent transcendent things, be too careful of his life? I beseech you your selves be Judges.
The end of the first Sermon.