Looking Unto Jesus, Book 3 · Chapter 2 · Section 7
SECT. VII. Of joying in Jeſus in that reſpect.
WE muſt joy in Jeſus as carrying on the great work of our Salvation in a way of Covenant. I know our joy here is but in part; ſuch is the excellency of Spiritual joy, that it is reſerved for Heaven; God will not permit it to be pure and perfect here below: and yet ſuch as it is (though mingled with cares and pains) it is a bleſſed duty; it is the light of our ſouls: and were it quite taken away, our lives would be nothing but Horrour and Confuſion: O my Soul, if thou didſt not hope to encounter joy in all thy Acts, thou wouldſt remain languiſhing and immoveable, thou wouldſt be without action and vigour, thou wouldſt ſpeak no more of Jeſus, or of a Covenant of grace, or of God, or Chriſt, or Life, or glory. — Well then go on O my Soul, and joy in Jeſus; if thou loveſt him, what ſhould hinder thy rejoycing in him? It is a Maxime, that as Love Proceeds, ſo if there be nothing that retaines the Appetite, it alwayes goes from Love to Joy. One motion of the Appetite towards good is to be united to it, and the next Appetite towards good is to enjoy it: now Love conſiſts in union, and joy in fruition; for what is fruition, but a joy that we find in the poſſeſſion of that thing we love? Much ado there is amongſt Philoſophers concerning the differences of Love and Joy. Some give it thus; As is the motion of fluid Bodies which run towards their Center, and think to find their reſt there; but being there, they ſtop not, and therefore they return, and ſcatter themſelves on themſelves, they ſwell and overflow: So in the paſſion of Love, the Appetite runs to the beloved Object, and unites it ſelf to it, and yet its motion ends not there; for by this paſſion of joy, it returns the ſame way; again it ſcatters it ſelf on it ſelf, and overflows thoſe Powers which are neareſt to it; by this effuſion the ſoul doubles on the Image of the good it hath received, and ſo it thinks to poſſeſs it more; it diſtills it ſelf into that faculty, which firſt acquainted it with the knowledg of the Object, and by that means it makes all the parts of the Soul concur to the poſſeſſion of it. Hence they ſay, That joy is an effuſion of the Appetite, whereby the Soul ſpreads it ſelf on what is good, to poſſeſs it the more perfectly.
But not to ſtay in the inquiry of its Nature, O my Soul, be thou in the exerciſe of this Joy; Is there not cauſe? come ſee, and own thy Bleſſedneſs; take notice of the great things the Lord hath done for thee. As,— 1. He hath made a Covenant with thee of temporal mercies; thou haſt all thou haſt by free-holding of Covenant-Grace: thy Bread is by Covenant, thy ſleep is by Covenant, thy ſafety from Sword is by the Covenant, the very tilling of thy Land is by a Covenant of Grace, Ezek. 36.34. O how ſweet is this? Every Crum is from Chriſt, and by virtue of a Covenant of Grace.
2. He hath made a Covenant with thee, of ſpiritual mercies; even a Covenant of Peace, and Grace, and Bleſſing, and Life for evermore; God is become thy God, he is all things to thee; he hath forgiven thy ſins, he hath given thee his Spirit, to lead thee, to ſanctifie thee, to uphold thee in that ſtate wherein thou ſtandeſt; and at laſt he will bring thee to a full enjoyment of himſelf in Glory, where thou ſhalt bleſs him, and rejoyce before him with joy unſpeakable and full of glory. O pluck up thy heart, lift up thy head, ſtrengthen the weak hands and the feeble knees; ſerve the Lord with gladneſs and joyfulneſs of Spirit, conſidering the day of thy Salvation draweth nigh. Write it in Letters of Gold, that thy God is in Covenant with thee, to love thee, to bleſs thee, and to ſave thee. Yet a little while, and he that ſhall come will come, and receive thee to himſelf, and then thou ſhalt fully know what it is to have God to be thy God, or to be in Covenant with God. I know theſe Objects rejoyce not every heart; a man out of Covenant, if he look on God, he is a conſuming fire: if on the Law, it is a Sentence of Condemnation; if on the Earth, it brings forth Thorns by reaſon of ſins; if on Heaven, the Gate is ſhut; if on the Signes in Heaven, Fire, Meteors, Thunder, ſtrike in him a terrour. But O my Soul, this is not thy caſe: a Man in Covenant with God, looks on theſe things with another eye; if he look on God, he ſaith, This is my Father; if on Chriſt, this is my elder Brother; if on Angels, theſe are my Keepers; if on Heaven, this is my Houſe; if on the Signes of Heaven, Fire, Meteors, Thunder, theſe are but the effects of my Fathers Power; if on the Law, the Son of God hath fulfilled it for me; if on Proſperity, God hath yet better things for me in ſtore; if on Adverſity, Jeſus Chriſt hath ſuffered much more for me than this; if on the Devil, Death, and Hell, he ſaith with the Apoſtle, O Death! where is thy Sting? 1 Cor. 15.55.O Grave! where is thy Victory? Come poor ſoul, is it not thus with thee? what? art thou in Covenant with God, or art thou not? If yet thou doubteſt, review thy grounds of hope, and leave not there, till thou comeſt up to ſome meaſure of aſſurance: but if thou art perſwaded of thy Intereſt, O then rejoyce therein; is it not a Goſpel-duty to rejoyce in the Lord, and again to rejoyce? The Lord is delighted in thy delights:Phil. 4.4. he would fain have it thy conſtant frame and daily buſineſs to live in joy, and to be alwayes delighting thy ſelf in him.
This one Promiſe, I am the Lord thy God, is enough to cauſe thy appetite to run to it, and to unite it ſelf to it by Love; and to ſcatter it ſelf on it, and to overflow thoſe powers of the Soul that are neareſt to it, that every part of the Soul may concur to the poſſeſſion of it. Bleſs the Lord, O my Soul (ſaith David) and all that is within me bleſs his holy Name. So rejoyce in the Lord, O my Soul, and all that is within me, rejoyce in the Name of God. This is true joy, when the ſoul unites it ſelf to the good poſſeſſed in all its parts: And was there ever ſuch an object of true joy as this? Heark, as if Heaven opened, and the voice came from God in Heaven; I will be a God to thee, and to thy Seed after thee: I am the Lord thy God; and I will be thy God. What? doth not thy heart leap in thy boſom at this ſound? John the Baptiſt leaped in his mothers womb for joy, at the ſound of Maries Voice; and doth not thy ſoul ſpring within thee at this voice of God? O wonder! ſome can delight themſelves in ſin; and is not God better than ſin? Others more refined, and indeed ſanctified, can delight themſelves in remiſſion of Sin, in Grace, Pardon, Holineſs, Fore-thoughts of Heaven; how exceedingly have ſome gracious hearts been raviſhed with ſuch thoughts? But is not God, the objective happineſs, the Fountain-bleſſedneſs, more rejoycing than all theſe? Why? Dear ſoul if there be in thee any rejoycing faculty, now awake, and ſtir it up; it is the Lord thy God whom thou art to rejoyce in; it is he whom the glorious ſpirits joy in: it is he who is the top of Heavens joy, their exceeding joy: and it is he who is thy God as well as their God. Enough! enough! or if this be not enough, hear thy Duty as the Lord commands thee: Rejoyce in the Lord, Phil. 3.1.Phil. 3.1. Be glad ye Children of Zion, and rejoyce in the Lord your God, Joel 2.23.Joel. 2.23. Rejoyce in the Lord all ye Righteous, for praiſe is comely for the upright, Pſal. 33.1.Pſal. 33.1. Rejoyce in the Lord ye Righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holineſs, Pſal. 97.12.Pſal. 97.12. Let all thoſe that put their truſt in thee rejoyce, let th…m ever ſhout for joy, becauſe thou defendeſt them; let them alſo that love thy Name be joyful in thee, Pſal. 5.11.Pſal. 5.11. Let the Righteous be glad, let them rejoyce before God, yea let them exceedingly rejoyce, Pſal. 68.3.Pſal. 68.3. Glory ye in his holy Name, let the heart of them rejoyce that ſeek the Lord, Pſal. 105.3.Pſal. 105.3. Let Iſrael rejoyce in him that made him, let the Children of Zion be joyful in their King, Pſal. 149.3.Pſal. 149.3. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoyce O ye Righteous, and ſhout for joy all ye that are upright in heart, Pſal. 23.11.Pſal. 23.11. O what preſſing Commands are theſe?