The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 3 · Chapter 9
The .ix. Chapter. ¶Of the meditation of the life to come.
BUt with what so euer kinde of trouble we be distressed, we must alwaye loke to this ende, to vse our selues to the contempt of this present life, & therby be stirred to the meditatiō of the life to come. For, bicause God knoweth wel howe much we be by nature enclined to the beastly louelove of this world, he vseth a most fit meane to draw vsus back, and to shake of our sluggishnesse, that we shuld not stick to fast in yt louelove. There is none of vsus that desireth not to seme to aspire & endeuour al their life lōg to heauēly immortalitie. For we are ashamed to excel brute beasts in nothing: whose state should be nothing inferiour to oures, vnlesse there remaine to vsus a hope of eternitie after death. But if you examine the deuises, studies & doynges of eueryevery man, you shall finde nothyng therin but earth. Hereupon groweth that senslesnesse, that our minde beyng daseled with vaine glistering of richesse, power & honors, is so dulled that it can not see far. Our heart also beyng possessed with couetousnesse, ambition & lust, is so weyed downe, that it can not rise vp hier. Finally al our soule entangled with enticementes of the flesh, seketh her felicitie in earth. The Lord, to remedie this euell, doth with cōtinual examples of miseries teach this of the vanitie of this present life. Therfore that thei should not promise thēselues in this life a soūd & quiet peace, he suffreth them to be many times disquieted & troubled either with warres, or vprores, or robberies, or other iniuries. That they should not with to much gredinesse, gape for fraile & transitorie richesse, or rest in the richesse yt they already possesse, somtime with banishment, sometime with barrennesse of the earth, somtime with fire, somtime by other meanes he bringeth thē to pouertie, or at least holdeth them in measure. That they should not with to muche ease take pleasure in the benefites of mariage, he eyther maketh them to bee vexed with the frowardnesse of their wiues, or plucketh thē downe wt ill childrē, or punisheth thē with wāt of issue. But if in al these things he tenderly beareth with them, yet least they should either swell with foolish glorie, or inmeasurably reioyse with vaine confidence, he doth by diseases & dangers set before their eyes, how vnstable & vanishing be al the goods that are subiect to mortalitie. Then only therfore we rightly profit in the discipline of the crosse when we learne yt this life, when it is considered in it self, is vnquiet, troublesome & innumerable wayes miserable, & in no point fully blessed: & that all those yt are reckened the good thinges thereof are vncertaine, fickle, vaine, & corrupted with many euels mixed with them. And herupō we do determine, that here is nothing to be sought or hoped for but strife: and that whē we thinke of our crowne, then we muste lifte vp our eyes to heauen. For thus we muste beleue. That our minde is neuer truely raysed to the desire and meditation of the life to come, vnlesse it hauehave first conceyued a contempt of this present life.
For betwene these two there is no meane, the earth must either become vile in our sight, or holde vsus bound with intemperate louelove of it. Therfore if we hauehave any care of eternitie, we must diligētly endeuour to loose our selues frō these fetters. Now bicause this presēt life hath many flatteryng pleasures wherewith to allure vsus, a great shewe of pleasantnesse, grace, & swetenesse, wherwith to delite vsus: it is much behoueful for vsus to be now and then called away, that we be not bewitched with such alluremētes. For what, I pray you, would be done if we did here enioy a continual concourse of good things & felicitie, sithe we can not with continuall spurres of euels be sufficiently awaked to consider the miserie thereof? Not only the learned doe knowe, but also the common people hauehave no Prouerbe more common than this, that mans life is like a smoke or shadow: and bycause they sawe it to bee a thyng very profitable to be knowen, they hauehave set it out with many notable sentēces. But there is nothyng that we do either more negligently consider, or lesse remember. For we goe aboute all thinges, as though we would frame to our selues an immortalitie in earth. If ther be a corps caried to burial, or if we walk amōg graues, then, bicause there is an image of death before our eyes, I graunt we do maruelously well discourse like Phylosophers vponupon the vanitie of this life. Albeit we do not yt cōtinually, for many times al these things do nothing moue vsus. But when it happeneth, our Philosophie lasteth but a while, which so sone as we turne our backes, wanisheth awaye, & leaueth no steppe at al of remēbrance behinde it: finally it passeth away as a clapping of hādes vpō a stage at any pleasant sight. And we forgetting not only death, but also yt we be subiect to death, as though we had neuer heard any report therof, fall to a carelesse assurednesse of earthly immortalitie. If any mā in the meane time tel vsus of ye Prouerbe, that man is a creature of a dayes continuance, we graunt it in deede: but so heedelesly, yt still the thought of euerlastyng continuance resteth in our minde. Whoe therfore can denie, that it is a great profit to vsus all, not only to be admonished in wordes, but by all the exāples of experiēce that may be to be cōuinced of ye miserable estate of earthly life: for asmuche as euen when we are conuinced, we scarcely cesse to stand amased with peruerse & foolish admiratiō of it, as though it cō teined the vttermost end of good thinges. But if it be necessarie yt God instruct vsus, it is our dutie likewise on our behalues, to harken to him when he calleth & awaketh our dulnesse, that despisyng the world we may with al our heartes endeuour to the meditatiō of the life to come.
But let the faithfull accustome themselues to suche a despisyng of present life, as maye neither engendre a hatred thereof, nor any vnthankfulnesse toward God. For this life, howsoeuer it is ful of infinite miseries, is yet worthily reckened amōg the not sclender blessynges of God. Therfore if we acknowlege no benefit of God in it, we are gilry of no small vnthankfulnesse toward God himselfe. But specially it ought to bee to the faythfull a testimonie of Gods good will, for asmuche as it is wholy directed to the furtherance of their saluation. For before that he openly deliuer vntounto vsus the inheritance of eternall glorye, hys will is to shewe hymselfe a Father vntounto vsus by smaller examples: and these be the benefites that are dayely bestowed vponupon vsus. Sithe therefore this life serueth vsus to vnderstand the goodnesse of God, shal we disdaine it as though it had not a crūme of goodnesse in it? We must therefore put on this felyng and affection, to recken it among the giftes of goodnesse that are not to be refused. For though there wanted testimonies of Scripture, of which there are both many and most euident, very nature it self doth exhort vsus to geue thākes to the Lorde, for that he hath brought vsus into the light of it, that he graunteth vsus the vse of it, that he geueth vsus all necessarie succors for the preseruation of it. And this is a muche greater reason, yf we consider that we are in it after a certayne manner prepared to the glorie of the heauenly kingdome. For so the Lorde hath ordeyned that they whiche in time to come shalbe crowned in heauen, must fight certaine battels in earth, that they should not triumph, till they had ouercome the hard aduentures of the battel, & obteyned the victorie. Then an other reason is, yt we do by diuerse benefites beginne therin to taste the swetenesse of Gods liberalitie, that our hope & desire should be whetted to long for the reuelyng thereof. When this is determined, that it is a gift of Gods clemencie that we lyue this earthly lyfe, for whiche as we be bound vntounto him, so we ought to be mindefull and thankfull: thē we shal in fit order come to cōsider the most miserable estate therof, to this end yt we may be deliuered frō to much gredinesse of it, wherunto as I hauehave before sayd, we are of our selues naturally enclined.
Now what so euer is taken from the wrongfull desire of this life, ought to be added to ye desire of a better life. I graūt in deede that thei thought truely, that thought it best not to be borne, & the next, to die quickly. For what could they beyng destitute of the light of God and true religion, see therin but vnhappy and miserable? And they dyd not without reason, that mourned and wepte at the birthes of their frendes, and solemnely reioysed at their burials, but they did it without profit, bicause beyng without the right doctrine of fayth, they did not see how that may turne to good to the godly, which is of it self neither blessed nor to be desired: and so they ended their iudgement with desperation. Let this therfore be the marke of the faithful in iudgyng of mortall life, that when they vnderstand it to be of it self nothing but miserie, they maye resort wholly the more freshly & redily to the eternall life to come. When we come to this comparison, then this present lyfe maye not only be safely neglected, but also vtterly despysed and lothed in comparison of the other. For if heauen be our contrey, what is the earth els but a place of banishment? If the departyng out of the world be an entryng into lyfe, what is the world but a graue? to abide in it, what is it els but to be drowned in death? If to be deliuered from the bodie is to be set in perfect libertie, what is the bodye els but a pryson? If to enioye the presence of God is the hyest summe of felicitie, is it not miserable to lacke it? But til we be escaped out of the world,ii. Cor. v.vi. we wander abrode from the Lord. Therefore if the earthly life be compared with the heauenly life, doutlesse it ought to be despised & troden vnderunder foote. But it is neuer to be hated, but in respect that it holdeth vsus in subiection to sinne, & yet that hatred is not properly to be layed vponupon our life. But how so euer it be, yet we must be so moued either with werinesse or hatred of it, that desyrynge the end of it, we may be also redy at the will of the Lorde to abide in it: so yt our werinesse may be far from all grudging and impatience. For it is like a place in battell array, wherin the Lorde hath placed vsus, which we ought to kepe tyll he call vsus away.Rom. vii.xxiiii. Paul in dede lamēteth his state that he is holden bond in the bondes of the body longer than he wyshed, and sigheth with feruent desire of his redemption: neuerthelesse to obey the commaundement of the Lorde, he professed him self ready to both,Philip. i.xxiii. because he acknowledgeth himself to owe this vntounto God, to glorifie his name, either by death or life: and that it is in God to determine what is moste expedient for his glory. Therfore if we must liue and die to the Lorde, let vsus leaue to his will the tyme of our life and death: but so that we be styll feruent in desire of death, and be cōtinually occupied in meditation therof, and despise this life in comparison of the immortalitie to come, and wyshe to forsake it when it shall please the Lorde, because of the bondage of sinne.
But this is monstruous, that in stede of that desire of death, manye that bost them selues to be Christians, are so afrayed of it, that they trē ble at eueryevery mention of it, as of a thing betokening vnluckely and vnhappy. Truely it is no maruell, if naturall sease in vsus do quake for fear when we heare of the dissoluing of vsus. But this is in no wyse tolerable, that there be not in a Christian mans brest the light of godlinesse, that should with greater comfort ouercome and suppresse that feare, howe great soeuer it be. For if we consider that this vnstedfast, faulty, corruptible, fraile, withering, and rotten tabernacle of our body, is therfore dissolued, that it may afterward be restored againe into a stedfast, perfect, vncorruptible and heauenly glorie: shall not faith compell vsus feruently to desire that whiche nature feareth? If we consider that by death we are called home out of banishmēt, to inhabite our contry, yea a heauenly contrey, shall we obteine no comfort there by? But there is nothinge that desireth not to abide continualli. I graunt, & therefore I affirme, yt we ought to loke vntounto the immortalitie to come, wher we may atteine a stedfast state that no where appeareth in earth.ii. Cor. v.i For Paul dothe very well teache, that the faithfull ought to goe cherefully to death: not because they would be vnclothed, but because they desyre to be newly clothed. Shall brute beastes, yea and lifeles creatures, euen stockes and stones,Rom. viii.xix. knowing their present vanitie, be earnestly bent to loking for the last day of the resurrection, that they may with the children of God be deliuered from vanitie, and shall we that are endued with the light of wyt, and aboue wyt enlightened with the spirite of God, when it standeth vponupon our being, not lift vp our myndes beyond this rottennesse of earth? But it perteineth not to my present purpose, nor to this place, to speake against this peruersnesse. And in the beginning I hauehave alredie professed, that I would not here take vponupon me the large handlinge of common places. I would counsel suche fearfull myndes, to rede Cyprians boke of Mortalitie, vnlesse thei were mete to be sent to the Phylosophers, that they may beginne to be ashamed when they se the contempt of death that those do shewe. But this let vsus hold for certainly determined, that no man hath well profited in Christes schole, but he that doth ioyfully loke for the daye both of death and of the last resurrection. For both Paule describeth all the faithfull by this marke,…. & also it is common in the Scripture, to call vsus thither as oft as it will set forthe a ground of perfect gladnesse.…. Reioyce (saithe the Lorde) and lift vp …our heads, for your redemption commeth nere at hande. Is it reasonable, I praie you, yt the thing which he willed to be of so great force to raise vp ioye & cherefulnesse in vsus, sholde brede nothing but sorrowe and discouragement? If it be so, why do we still boast of hym as oure Scholemaster? Let vsus therfore gette a sounder minde, and howsoeuer the blinde and senslesse desire of the flesh do striue against it, let vsus not doubt to wishe for the comming of the Lorde, not onelyonly with wishinge, but also with groning and sighing, as a thing most happy of all other. For he shal come a redemer to vsus, to drawe vsus out of this infinite gulfe of euels and miseries, and to leade vsus into that blessed inheritance of his life and glorie.
This is certainely true: all the nation of the faithfull, so longe as they dwel in earth,Ro. viii.xx…vi. i. Cor. xv.xix. must be as shepe appointed to slaughter, that they mate be fashioned like Christ their heade. Therfore thei were in moste lamentable case, vnlesse thei had their minde raised vp into heauen, & surmounted all that is in the worlde, and passed ouer the present face of things. Contrariwise, whē thei hauehave ones lif…ed their heades aboue all earthly thinges, although thei see the wealth and honoures of the wicked storyshing, if thei see them enioying quiet peace if thei see them proude in gorgiousnesse and sumptuousnesse of all thinges, if they see them to stowe in plentiful store of al delites, by side that if thei be spoyled by their wickednesse, yf they susteine reprochfull dealinges at theyr pride, if thei be robbed by their couetousnesse, if thei be vexed by any other outrage of theirs: thei will easily vpholde themselues in such aduersyties. For that daie shalbe before their eies,Esa. xxv.xvii. Reuel. vii.xvii. when the Lorde shall receiue his faithfull into the quiet of his kingdome, when he shal wipe all teares from theyr eyes, when he shall clothe them with the robe of glorie & gladnesse, when he shall feede them with the vnspeable swetnesse of his deinties, when he shall aduaunce them to the felowshippe of his hie estate: ynally when he shall vouchesaue to enterparten hys felicitie wyth them. But these wycked ones that hauehave floryshed in the ear…he, he shall throwe into extreeme shame, he shall change their delites into tormentes, their laughing and mirth into weping and gnasshing of tethe, he shall disquiet their peace with terrible torment of cō science, he shall punish their deintinesse with vnquenchable fier, & shall put their heades in subiection to those godly men, whose patience thei hauehave abused.i. Thes. i.vi. For this is righteousnes (as Paule testifieth) to geue release to the miserable & to them that are vniustly afflicted, and to render affliction to the wycked that do afflict the godly, when the Lorde Iesus shall be reueled from heauen. This truely is our onelyonly comfort, whiche if it be taken awaie, we must of necessitie either despeir, or flatteringly delite oure selues wyth the vayne comfortes of the worlde to oure owne destruction.Ps. lxxiii. For euen the Prophete confesseth that his fete stagged, when he taried to longe vponupon considering the present prosperitie of the wicked: and that he coulde not otherwise stande stedfaste, but when he entred into the sanctuarie of God, and bended his eyes to the last ende of the godly and the wicked. To conclude in one word, then only the crosse of Christ triumpheth in the heartes of the faythfull vponupon the Deuil, fleshe, synne & the wicked, when our eyes are turned to the power of the resurrection.