The Sovereign and Final Happiness of Man with Means to Obtain it, Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
The clear Revelation of Man's final Happiness by the Gospel. 'Tis set forth by sensible Representations to make it more intelligible. It includes an exemption from all Evils sinful and penal. The concurrence of all positive Excellencies to intire Blessedness. The Body shall be raised in Glory. The Soul shall be made perfect. The Vnderstanding shall clearly contemplate the most excellent Objects. The Will be inflamed with the perfect Love of God. The highest Satisfaction arises from Vnion with God by Knowledg and Love. The full Joy of Heaven shall be perpetual.
'TIs the peculiar honour of the Gospel that by it Life and Immortality are brought to Light. 'Twas not wholly concealed from Men that only saw the Creator in his visible Works. 'Twas more fully discovered by the Law; but with incomparable more Clearness by the Gospel. The Nature of it is now revealed: 'Tis a pure and holy Felicity in everlasting Communion with the blessed God. The subject of it is the intire Man; for this End the Body shall be awakened out of its dead sleep and quickned to an Immortal Life. The place is the highest Heavens, fram'd by the Divine Hand for the seat of his Majesty, the Kingdom of his Love, wherein the glorious Communications of himself are to his Favourites. The causes of it are the infinite Mercy of God, and the meritorious Obedience of his Son in Man's Nature. The Means whereby 'tis obtained are a lively purifying Faith that unites us to Christ, and entitles us to an Inheritance purchased by his most precious Blood. And to confirm our Hopes of this Supernatural Happiness. Our Saviour exhibited a perfect example of this in himself, rising from the Grave, crown'd with Immortality, and in the presence of his Apostles ascending to Heaven, where he sits at the right Hand of God; the Head of the Church, from whom Glory will descend to his Members.
To make this supernatural Blessedness more easy and intelligible to us, the Scripture describes it by sensible Representations. For while the Soul is cloath'd with Flesh, Fancy has such a Dominion, that we can conceive of nothing but by Comparisons and Images taken from material Things. 'Tis therefore set forth by a Feast, and a Kingdom, to signify the Joy and Glory of that State. But to prevent all gross conceits; it tells us that the Bodies of the Saints shall be spiritual, not capable of hunger and thirst, nor consequently of any refreshment that is caused by the satisfaction of those Appetites. The Objects of the most noble Senses, Seeing and Hearing, the pleasure of which is mix'd with Reason, and not common to the Brutes, are more frequently made use of to reconcile that glorious State to the proportion of our Minds. Thus sometimes the Blessed are represented plac'd on Thrones with Crowns on their Heads; sometimes cloathed in White, with Palms in their Hands; sometimes singing Songs of triumph to Him that sits on the Throne, and to their Saviour. But the reality of this Blessedness infinitely exceeds all those faint Metaphors. Heaven is lessened by Comparisons from earthly things. The Apostle who was dignifi'd with the revelation of the Successes that shall happen to the Church till Time shall be no more, tells us, It does not appear what we shall be in Eternity. The things that God has prepar'd for those that love him, are far more above the highest ascent of our Thoughts, than the Marriage-Feast of a great Prince exceeds in splendor and magnificence the imagination of one that has always liv'd in an obscure Village, and never saw any Ornaments of State, nor tasted Wine in his Life. We can think of those things but according to the poverty of our Understandings. But so much we know that is able to sweeten all the bitterness, and render insipid all the sweetness of this World.
This will appear by considering that whatever is requisite to constitute the perfect Blessedness of Man, is fully enjoy'd in the Divine Presence.
1. An exemption from all evils, is the first condition of perfect Blessedness. The sentence of wise Solon is true in another sense than he intended,
—Dicíque beatus
Ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet.
No Man can be named happy whilst in this valley of Tears. But upon the entrance into Heaven, all those evils that by their number, variety, or weight disquiet and oppress us, are at an end,
Sin, of all Evils the most hateful, shall be abolisht; and all Temptations that surround us, and endanger our innocence, shall cease. Here the best Men lament the weakness of the flesh, and sometimes the violent assaults of spiritual Enemies. St. Paul himself breaks forth into a mournful Complaint, O wretched Man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of Death? And when harrass'd with the buffets of Satan, renews his most earnest addresses to God to be freed from them. Here our Purity is not absolute, we must be always cleansing our selves from the reliques of that deep defilement that cleaves to our nature. Here our peace is preserv'd with the Sword in our hand, by a continual Warfare against Satan and the World. But in Heaven no ignorance darkens the Mind, no passions rebel against the sanctified Will, no inherent pollution remains. The Church is without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. And all Temptations that war against the Soul, shall then cease. The Tempter was cast out of Heaven, and none of his poison'd Arrows can reach that Purified Company. Glorious Liberty! here ardently desir'd, but fully enjoyed by the Sons of God above.
And as Sin, so all the penal consequences of it are quite taken away. The present Life is an incurable disease, and sometimes attended with that sharp sense, that Death is desir'd as a remedy, and accepted as a benefit. And though the Saints have reviving Cordials, yet their joys are mixt with sorrows, nay, caused by sorrows. The tears of Repentance are their sweetest refreshment. Here the living Stones are cut and wounded, and made fit by Sufferings for a Temple unto God in the New Jerusalem. But, as in the building of Solomon's Temple, the noise of a Hammer was not heard, for all the parts were fram'd before with that exact design and correspondence, that they firmly combin'd together. They were hew'n in another place, and nothing remain'd but the putting them one upon another in the Temple; and then, as sacred, they were inviolable. So God, the wise Architect, having prepar'd the Saints here by many cutting Afflictions, places them in the Eternal Building, where no voice of Sorrow is heard. Of the innumerable Company above, is there any Eye that weeps, any Breast that sighs, any Tongue that complains, or appearance of Grief? The Heavenly State is called Life, as only worthy of that Title. There is no infirmity of Body, no Poverty, no Disgrace, no Treachery of Friends, no Persecution of Enemies. There is no more Death, nor Sorrow, nor Crying, Rev. 21. 4.nor shall there be any more Pain: for former things are past away. God will wipe away all Tears from the Eyes of his People. Their Salvation is compleat in all degrees. Pure Joy is the Priviledg of Heaven, unmixed Sorrows the punishment of Hell.
A concurrence of all positive Excellencies is requisite to Blessedness. And these are to be considered with respect to the entire Man.
1. The Body shall be awak'd out of its dead sleep, and quickned into a glorious immortal Life. The Soul and Body are the essential parts of Man; and though the inequality be great in their operations that respect Holiness, yet their concourse is necessary. Good Actions are design'd by the Counsel and Resolution of the Spirit, but perform'd by the Ministry of the Flesh. Every Grace expresses it self in visible actions by the Body. In the sorrows of Repentance it supplies tears, in Fastings its appetites are restrain'd, in Thanksgivings the Tongue breaks forth into the joyful praises of God. All the victories over sensible pleasure and pain are obtain'd by the Soul in conjunction with the Body. Now 'tis most becoming the Divine Goodness not to deal so differently, that the Soul should be everlastingly happy, and the Body lost in forgetfulness; the one glorified in Heaven, the other remain in the dust. From their first setting out in the World to the Grave they ran the same Race, and shall enjoy the same Reward. Here the Body is the Consort of the Soul in obedience and sufferings, hereafter in fruition. When the Crown of Purity, or Palm of Martyrdom shall be given by the great Judg in the view of all, they shall both partake in the honour. Of this we have an earnest in the Resurrection of Christ in his true Body, who is the first fruits of them that sleep. 1 Cor. 15.He shall change our vile Bodies, Phil. 3. 1.that they may be fashioned like to his glorious Body, according to the working of his Power, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself. A substantial unfading Glory will shine in them infinitely above the perishing Pride of this World, that is but in appearance, like the false colours painted on the feathers of a Dove by reflection of the Light, which presently vanish, when it changeth its posture, or the Light is withdrawn. Indeed what can be more glorious than to be conform'd to the Humanity of Christ, the seat of all Beauty and Perfection. This Conformity shall be the work of his own hands. And when Omnipotence interposes, nothing is difficult. The raising the Body to an unchangeable state of Glory, is as easy to the Divine Power, as the forming it at first in the Womb. As the Sun labours no more in the Mines in the forming Gold and Silver, the most precious and durable Metals, than in the production of a poor short-liv'd Flower.
II. The Soul shall have perfection and satisfaction in all its Faculties.
1. The Understanding shall clearly see the most excellent Objects.1 Cor. 13. Now we know but in part. The naked beauty of Divine Things is vail'd, and of impossible discovery. And the weakness of the mind is not proportionable to their dazling brightness. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. In that enlightned state, the glorious manifestation of the objects shall as much exceed the clearest revealing of them here, as the Sun in its full lustre, one beam of Light strain'd through a crevice in the Wall. And the Understanding shall be prepar'd to take a full view of them. Therefore the Apostle compares the several Periods of the Church in respect of the degrees of Knowledg, to the several Ages of this Life. When I was a Child, I spake as a Child, I understood as a Child, I thought as a Child: but when I became a Man, I put away childish things. In Children the organs, either from an excess of moisture, or their smalness, are indisposed for the vigorous exercise of the Mind: some strictures of Reason appear, a presaging sign what will be, but mixt with much obscurity. But when the organs are come to their just proportion and temperament, the Soul displays its strength and activity.
All things of a supernatural order shall then be clearly discovered. The contrivance of our Salvation, the ways of conducting us to Blessedness, which are objects of a sublime nature, will afford an exquisite pleasure to the Understanding. All the secrets of our Redemption shall be unsealed. The great Mystery of Godliness, the Incarnation of the Eternal Son, and his according Justice with Mercy, shall then be apparent. The Divine Counsels in governing the World, are now only visible in their wonderful effects either of Mercy or of Justice, and those most dreadful; but the Reasons of them are past finding out. But what our Saviour said to Peter, What I do, thou knowest not now, but shalt know hereafter, is applicable to these impenetrable dispensations. All the original Fountains of Wisdom, as clear as deep, shall then be opened. We shall then see the beauty of Providence in disposing temporal things in order to our eternal felicity. We now see as it were the rough part, and Knots of that curious Embroidery: but then the whole Work shall be unfolded, the sweetness of the Colours, and proportion of the Figures appear. There we shall be able to expound the perplexing Riddle, How out of the Eater came meat, and out of the Strong came sweetness. For we shall know as we are known.
We shall see God. Our Saviour tells us, This is Life Eternal to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. The beginning and perfection of our Happiness consists in this knowledg. The Deity is spiritual and invisible to the Eye of the Body, infinite and incomprehensible to the Soul. But we shall then so clearly understand the Divine Perfections, that our present knowledg compar'd to that, is but as the seeing a dark resemblance in a Glass, to the clear view of a Person in the native beauty of his Face. God is most gloriously present in Heaven. For according to the degrees of excellence in the Work, such are the impressions and discoveries of the Virtues of the Cause. Now all sensible things in the low order of Nature, are but weak resultances from his Perfections, in comparison of their illustrious Effects in the Divine World. The Glories of the Place, and of the Inhabitants, the Angels and Saints, clearly express his Majesty, Goodness and Power. But in a transcendent manner he exhibits himself in the glorified Mediator. He is stiled the brightness of the Father's Glory▪ and the express image of his Person; not only for his equal Perfections in respect of the unity of their Nature, but to signify that God in the Person of the incarnate Mediator is so fully represented to us, that by the sight of him we see God himself in his unchangeable Excellencies. This appears by the following words, that having purged us from our sins, he sate down on the right-hand of the Majesty on high; for they respect the Son of God as united to the humane Nature, in which he perform'd the Office of the Priesthood, and took possession of his glorious Kingdom. During his humble state, the Divine Vertues, Wisdom, Goodness, Holiness, Power, were so visible in his Person, Life, Revelations, and miraculous Works, that when Philip so long'd for the sight of the Father as the only consummate Blessedness, Shew us the Father, and it suffices; He told him, He that has seen me, has seen the Father also. But how brightly do they appear in his triumphant Exaltation. 'Twas his Prayer on Earth; Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my Glory. Inestimable Felicity! whether we consider him in the respect of an Object, that incomparably transcends all the created Glory of Heaven, or in the relation of our Head, on a double account; partly that because he was debased into the form of a Servant, and suffered all Indignities and Cruelties of Sinners for us, has received the Recompence of his Meritorious Sufferings, the triumph of his Victory, being glorified with the Father with the Glory he had before the World was; and partly because every Member shall be conformed to him in his Glory; we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And all Felicity and Glory is compriz'd in that Promise. The sight of the Face of Moses when radiant, had no transforming efficacy; for the light of it was not in him as its source, but by derivation. But God is Light essentially, and the sight of his Perfections will be productive of his Likeness in us, so far as it may be in a restrained subject. When our Saviour was upon the holy Mount, and one vanishing Beam of Glory appear'd in his Transfiguration, Peter was so transported at the sight, that he forgot the World and himself. How ravishing then will the sight of him be in his triumphant Majesty, when we shall be transfigured our selves?
2. As they shall behold God's Face, know his most amiable Excellencies; so they shall love him as perfectly as they know him. To the illustrations of the Mind, there are correspondent impressions on the Heart. In the present state our Love is imperfect, and as Fire out of its sphere, dies away, by our neglect to feed it with proper materials, enamouring considerations of God. But 'tis not so in Heaven: there the Divine Sun attracts every Eye with the light of its beauty, and inflames every Heart with the heat of his Love. The continual Presence of God is in different respects the Cause and Effect of our Love to him. For there is no more powerful Attractive to love him, than to see him; And Love keeps the thoughts undivided from him. God is Love, and will kindle in us a pure Affection that Eternity shall never lessen.
Our Affections that are now scattered on many things, wherein some small Reflections of his Goodness appear, shall join in one full Current in Heaven, where God is all in all. We shall then understand the riches of his Love, that God who is infinitely happy in himself, should make Man for such a Glory, and such a Glory for Man. And that when for his Rebellion he was justly expell'd from Paradise, and under a sentence of Eternal Death, God should please to restore him to his Favour, and give him a better state than was forfeited. We shall then understand our infinite Obligations to the Son of God, who descended from the Heaven of Heavens to our Earth; and which is more, from the Majesty wherein he there raign'd, from the Glory wherein he was visible to the Angelical Minds, and became Man for Men, Redemption for the Lost, to purchase Immortal Life for those who were dead to that blessed Life. In short, then God will express his Love to us in the highest degrees that a finite Creature is capable to receive from Love it self, and we shall love him with all the strength of our glorified powers.
3. Compleat satisfaction flows from union with God by Knowledg and Love. In his Presence is fulness of Joy, at his Right-hand are Pleasures for ever. The Causes and Excellencies of the Heavenly Life are in those words exprest. The Causes are the influxive Presence of God, the revelation of his attractive Perfections, the beholding his Face, the declaration of his peculiar Favour. This our blessed Lord himself had a respect to, as the compleat Reward of his Sufferings: Thou shalt make me full of Joy with thy Countenance. And his Right-Hand, his Bounty that dispenses, and Power that secures that Felicity. The Excellencies of this state are fulness of Joy, and that without diminution, or end.
When the Soul opens its eyes to the clear discoveries of the first Truth, and its breast to the dear and intimate imbraces of the Supream Good, beyond which nothing remains to be known, nothing to be enjoy'd, what a deluge of the purest Pleasures will overflow it? We cannot ascend in our thoughts so high, as to conceive the excess of Joy that attends those operations of the glorified Soul upon its proper object. But something we may conjecture.
Those who are possest with a noble Passion for Knowledg, how do they despise all lower Pleasures in comparison of it? How do they forget themselves, neglect the Body, and retire into the Mind, the highest part of Man, and nearest to God? The bare apprehension of such things that by their internal nature have no attractive influence upon the Affections, is pleasant to the Understanding. As the appearance of Light, though not attended with any other visible beauties, refreshes the Eye after long darkness: so the clear discovery of Truths, how abstract so ever, that were before unknown, is grateful to the intellective Faculty. Thus some have been strangely transported with the pleasure of a Mathematical Demonstration, when the evidence, not the importance of the thing was so ravishing; for what is more dry and barren of delight than the speculation of Figures and Numbers? Solon when near his end, and some of his Friends that visited him were speaking softly of a Point of Philosophy, by that sound of Wisdom was awaken'd from the sleep of Death that was just seizing on him, and opening his eyes, and raising his head to give attention; being ask'd the reason of it? answered, That when *Vt cum istud quicquid est de quo disputatis percepero, mortar. Val. Max.I understand what you are discoursing of, I may die. Such was his delight in Knowledg, that a little of it made his Agony insensible. But here are many Imperfections that lessen this intellectual Pleasure, which shall cease in Heaven. Here the acquisition of Knowledg is often with the expence of Health: the flower of the Spirits, necessary for Natural Operations, is wasted by intense thoughts. How often are the Learned sickly? As the Flint when 'tis struck, gives not a spark without consuming it self; So Knowledg is obtain'd by Studies that wast our faint sensitive faculties. But then our Knowledg shall be a free emanation from the spring of Truth, without our labour and pains. Here we learn by circuit, and discern by comparing things; our Ignorance is dispell'd by a gradual succession of Light: But then Universal Knowledg shall be infused in a moment. Here after all our labour and toyl, how little Knowledg do we gain? Every Question is a Labyrinth out of which the nimblest and most searching Minds cannot extricate themselves. How many specious Errors impose upon our Understandings? We look on things by false Lights, through deceiving Spectacles: But then our Knowledg shall be certain and compleat. There is no forbidden Tree in the Celestial Paradise, as no inordinate Affection. But suppose that all things in the compass of the World were known, yet still there would be emptiness and anguish in the Mind: for the most comprehensive knowledg of things that are insufficient to make us happy, cannot afford true Satisfaction. But then we shall see God in all his Excellencies, the supream Object and End, the only Felicity of the Soul. How will the sight of his Glory personally shining in our Redeemer, in the first moment quench our extream thirst, and fill us with joy and admiration? 'Tis not as the naked conception of Treasures, that only makes rich in ideas, but that Divine sight gives a real Interest in him. The Angels are so ravish'd with the Beauties and Wonders of his Face, that they never divert a moment from the contemplation of it.
2. The pure Love of the Saints to God is then fully satisfied. Love considered as an affection of Friendship is always attended with two desires; to be assured of Reciprocal Love, and to enjoy the Conversation of the Person beloved, the testimony of his esteem and good-will. This kind of‖Aristot▪ affection seems to be inconsistent with that infinite distance that is between God and the Creature. But though 'tis disproportionable to the Divine Majesty, 'tis proportionable to his Goodness. Accordingly our Saviour promises, He that loves me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and manifest my self unto him. And to confirm our belief of this astonishing Condescention, repeats it, If a Man love me, my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him. In the present state, the signs of God's special Favour are exhibited to his Friends. Now he bestows on them the honour of being his Sons, the Graces and Comforts of his Spirit, the precious Earnests of his Love, and Seal of their Redemption. But in eminency of degrees, the effects of his Love are incomparably more glorious in Heaven. Here the Saints are adopted, there crown'd. There he opens all the bright Treasures of his Wisdom, the Riches of his Goodness, the Beauties of his Holiness, the Glories of his Power, and by the intimate application of his Presence makes his Love most sensible to them. O the mutual delights between God and glorified Souls! God looks on them with an engaged Eye, as his own by many dear titles, and is well pleased in his own Goodness to them, and ravish'd with the Reflex of his own Excellencies shining in them. As the Bridegroom rejoyces over the Bride, ('tis the language of Divine Love) so their God rejoyces over thom. And what a blessed Rest do they find in the compleat fruition of their Beloved? All their desires quietly expire in his Bosom. What triumphs of Joy follow? Can we frame a fuller Conception of Happiness than to be perfectly loved by infinite Goodness, and perfectly to love him?
3. The supream Joy of the Saints is for the Felicity and Glory of God himself. For as the holy Soul feels no more powerful motive to love God, than because he is most worthy of it, as he is God, a Being of infinite Excellencies, and therefore to be loved above the dearest Persons and Things, even it self; so the highest Joy it partakes of is from this consideration, that God is infinitely blessed and glorious. For in this the supream desire of love is accomplish'd, that the most beloved Object is perfectly honour'd and pleased In Heaven the Love of the Saints to God is in its highest Perfection, and they see his Glory in the most perfect manner, which causes a transcendent Joy to them. And this is one reason why the Saints though shining with unequal degrees of Glory, are equally content. For their most ardent Love being set on God, that he is pleased to glorify himself by such various communications of his Goodness, is full satisfaction to their desires. Besides, in those different degrees of Glory, every one is so content with his own,†Sic ita que habebit donum aliud aelio minus, ut hic quo que donum habeat, ne velit amplius. Aug. that there is no possible desire of being but what he is.
4. The full joy of Heaven shall continue without diminution, or end. The number of Possessors cannot lessen it. The Divine Presence is an unwasted Spring of Pleasure, equally full and open to all, and abundantly sufficient to satisfy the immensity of their desires. Envy reigns in this World, because earthly things are so imperfect in their nature, and so peculiar in their possession, that they cannot suffice, nor be enjoyed by all. But in Heaven none is touch'd with that low base passion: for God contains all that is precious and desireable in the highest degrees of Perfection, and all partake of the influence of his universal Goodness without intercepting one another. In the Kingdom above there is no cause for the elder Brother to repine at the Father's Bounty to the younger, nor for the younger to supplant the elder, to obtain the Birth-right. The Heirs of God are all rais'd to Sovereign Glory. Every one enjoys him as entirely and fully, as if solely his felicity. God is a Good as indivisible as infinite, and not diminished by the most liberal communications of Himself. We may illustrate this by comparing the Price of our Redemption, and the Reward. The Death of Christ is a universal benefit to all the Saints, yet 'tis so applied to every Believer for his perfect Redemption, as if our Saviour in all his Agonies and Sufferings had no other in his Eye and Heart; as if all his Prayers, his Tears, his Blood were offer'd up to his Father only for that Person. The common respect of it the Apostle declares in those admirable words, that signify such an excess of God's Love to us, He that spared not his own Son, but deliver'd him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? But to imagin that the*Et totum se dedit universis, et totum singulis. Ac per hoc quicquid passione sua Salvator praestitit, sicut totum ei debent universi, sic singuli; nisiquod propè hoc plus singuli quàm universi, quod totum acceperunt singuli, quantum universi. Salvian. propriety of every Believer is thereby prejudiced, is not only false, but extreamly injurious to the Merit and Dignity, and to the infinite Love of Christ. Therefore the same Apostle tells us, The Life which I now live in the Flesh, I live by the Faith of the Son of God; who loved me, and gave himself for me: as if he were the sole Object of Christ's Love, the End and Reward of his Sufferings. And this appropriating of it to himself, is no prejudice to the Rights of all others. St. John describes himself by that truly glorious Title, The Disciple whom Jesus loved. Could he speak this of himself without the injury and indignation of the other Disciples? Certainly he might. For if we consider that incomprehensible Love of Christ, exprest to them all at his last Supper, after Judas was gone forth; As the Father hath loved me, so I have loved you; we may easily understand, that every one of them might justly believe that he was singularly beloved of Christ. They were all received in the Heart, though (with John) they did not all lean on the Breast of their Divine Master. Thus in Heaven God is the universal Treasure of all the Saints, and the peculiar Portion of every one, not engrost by possessing, nor wasted by enjoying.†Si audiaet multitudo silens, non inter se particulatim comminuunt sonos, tanquam cibos: sed omne quod sonat & omnibus totum est, & singulis totum. August. in Epist. ad Volusan. As by his Essence he equally fills the whole World, and every part of it; and by his Providence equally regards all and every partitular Creature; so in Heaven he dispenses the Riches of his Love to all, that they cannot desire more, if every one of them, were (if I may so express it) the only begotten of the only begotten himself, the sole Heir of all the Merits of his Son. Every Saint may with the inflamed Spouse break forth in that Triumph of Love; My Beloved is mine, and I am his.
Nay, the great number of the glorifi'd Saints, is so far from lessening their Joy, that it unspeakably encreases it. The innumerable Company of Angels, and the General Assembly of the Church of the First-born, next of the happiness of enjoying God, are a chief part of Heaven. An unfeigned ardent Affection unites that pure society. Our Love is now kindled either from a relation in Nature, or a civil account, or some visible Excellencies that render a Person worthy of our choice and friendship: but in Heaven the Reasons are greater, and the degrees of Love incomparably more fervent. All Carnal Alliances and Respects cease in that supernatural state. The Apostle tells us, If I have known Christ after the Flesh, I know him so no more. By the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ he was transported into another World, and had communion with him as an Heavenly King, without low regards to the temporal Priviledg of conversing with him on Earth. The Spiritual relation is more near and permanent than the strictest band of Nature. The Saints have all relation to the same Heavenly Father, and to Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace, and Head of that happy Fraternity. The principal motives of Love here are the inherent Excellencies of a Person. Wisdom, Holiness, Goodness, Fidelity are mighty Attractives, and produce a more worthy Affection, a more intimate Confederacy of Souls, than propinquity in Nature, or any carnal respects. Virtue is amiable in an old Person, though wrinkled and deformed: Vice is hateful in a young Person though beautiful. There are clearer Eyes than those of Flesh, a purer Light than what is sensible, a diviner Beauty than what is Corporeal, and a nobler Love than what is sensual. David declares that all his delight was in the Excellent. But there are allays of this Spiritual Love here. For,
1. There are reliques of Frailty in the best Men on Earth, some Blemishes that render them less amiable when discovered. Here their Graces are mixt with Infirmities, and but ascending to Glory. Accordingly our Love to them must be regular, and serene; not clouded with Error, mistaking defects for amiable qualities. But in Heaven, the Image of God is compleat, by the union of all the glorious Vertues requisite to its perfection. Every Saint there exactly agrees with the first Exemplar, is transformed according to the primitive beauty of Holiness. No spot or wrinkle remains, nor any such thing, that may cast the least aspect of deformity upon them.
2. In the present state the least part of the Saints Worth is visible. As the Earth is fruitful in Plants and Flowers, but its riches are in Mines of precious Metals, the veins of Marble hidden in its bosom. True Grace appears in sensible Actions, but its Glory is Within. *O si animum boni viri liceret inspicere, ex magnifico placido que fulgentem! nonne veluti numinis occurs… obstupefacti essemus? Senec.The sincerity of Aims, the purity of Affections, the impresses of the Spirit on the Heart, the interiour beauties of Holiness, are only seen by God. Besides, such is the humility of eminent Saints, that the more they abound in spiritual treasures, the less they show. As the Heavenly Bodies when in nearest conjunction with the Sun, and fullest of light, make the least appearance to our sight. But all their Excellencies shall then be in view. The Glory of God shall be revealed in them. And how attractive is the Divine Likeness to an holy Eye? How will it ravish the Saints to behold an immortal Loveliness shining in one another? Their Love is mutual and reflexive, proportionable to the cause of it. An equal, constant Flame is preserv'd by pure Materials. Every one is perfectly amiable, and perfectly enamour'd with all. Now can we frame a fuller conception of Happiness, than such a State of Love, wherein whatever is pleasant in Friendship is in perfection, and whatever is distastful by Mens folly and weakness is abolished? The Psalmist breaks out in a Rapture, Behold how good and pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in Vnity! Love is the Beauty and Strength of Societies, the Pleasure of Life. How excellent is the Joy of the Blessed, when the Prayer of Christ shall be accomplished, that they all may be one; as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. God is absolutely One in his glorious Nature and Will, and therefore unalterably Happy; And their inviolable Union in Love, is a Ray of the Essential Unity between the sacred Persons. There are no Divisions of Heart and Tongues, as in this Babel; but the most perfect and sweetest Concord, an Eternal Agreement in Tempers and Inclinations. There are no envious Comparisons; for Love that affectively transforms one into another, causes the Glory of every Saint to redound to the Joy of all. Every one takes his share in the Felicity of all, and adds to it. Such is the power of that Celestial Fire wherein they all burn, that it melts and mixes Souls in such an entire Union, that by Complacence and an intimate Joy, the Blessedness of all is, as it were, proper to every one; as if every one were plac'd in the Hearts of all, and all in the Heart of every one. If in the Church of the first-born Christians in the earthly Jerusalem, the Band of Charity was so strict that 'tis said, the Multitude of Believers were of one Heart, and one Soul; How much more intimate and inseparable is the Union of the Saints in Jerusalem above, where every one loves another as himself? 'Tis recorded of Alexander, that entring with Hephestion his Favourite, into the Pavilion of Darius his Mother, then his Priour, she bowed to the Favourite, as having a greater appearance of Majesty, thinking him to be Alexander: but advised of her Error, she humbly begg'd his Pardon: To whom the generous King replied,Non errâti Mater, nam hic Alexander est▪ Curt. lib. 3. You did not err, Mother, this is also Alexander: Such was their Affection, that whoever was taken of them, the other was taken in him; the less ascending in the greater, without degrading the greater in the less. This is a Copy of the holy Love of the Blessed; but with the same difference, as between the Description of a Star with a Coal, and its Beauty in its proper Aspect. And where all is Love, all is Delight. O how do they enjoy and triumph in the Happiness of one another? With what an unimaginable Tenderness do they embrace? What Reciprocations of Endearments are between them? O their ravishing Conversation, and sweet Entercourse! for their Presence together in Heaven is not a silent Show. In the Transfiguration, Moses and Elias talk't with Christ. With what excellent discourses do they entertain one another? If David felt such inward Pleasure from the sence of God's favours, that he could not restrain the expression of it, but invites the Saints, Come and hear, all ye that fear the Lord, and, I will tell you what he has done for my Soul. Certainly in Heaven, the blessed with overflowing affections recount the Divine Benefits: the admirable Methods, whereby the Life of Grace was begun, preserv'd and carried on in the midst of Temptations; the continual Succession of Mercies in the time of their Hopes, and the Consummation of all in the time of their Enjoyment. How joyfully do they concur in their thanksgivings to God for the goodness of Creation: in making them reasonable Creatures, capable to know, love and enjoy Him, when they might have been of the lowest Order in the wholesphere of Beings: for his compassionate care and providence over them in this World: But especially for his sovereign and singular Mercy in electing them to be vessels of honour: for his powerful Grace, in rescuing them from the cruel and ignominious bondage of Sin: for his most free Love, that justified them from all their guilt by the Death of his only Son, and glorified them with himself. They are never weary in this delightful exercise, but continually bless him for his Mercy that endures for ever. We may judg by the Saints here, when they are in a fit disposition to praise God, what fervours they feel in their united Praises of him in Heaven. The Psalmist in an Extasie calls to all the parts of the World to joyn with him; The Lord reigns, let the Heavens rejoyce, and the Earth be glad; let the Sea roar, let the Fields be joyful, and all that dwell therein. He desires that Nature should be elevated above it self, that the dead parts be inspir'd with Life, the insensible feel Motions of Joy, and those that want a Voice break forth in praises, to adorn the Divine Triumph. With what Life and Alacrity will the Saints in their blessed Communion celebrate the Object of their Love and Praises? The Seraphims about the Throne cryed to one another, to express their Zeal and Joy, in celebrating his Eternal Purity and Power, and the Glory of his Goodness. O the unspeakable Pleasure of this Concert! when every Soul is harmonious, and contributes his part to the full Musick of Heaven. O could we hear but some Eccho of those Songs wherewith the Heaven of Heavens resounds, some remains of those Voices wherewith the Saints above triumph in the Praises, in the solemn Adoration of the King of Spirits, how would it inflame our desires to be joyn'd with them? Blessed are those that are in thy House, they always praise thee.
2. The fulness of Joy in Heaven is undecaying; for the causes of it are always equal. And those are the Beatifick Object reveal'd, and the uninterrupted Contemplation of it. Whilst we are here below, the Sun of Righteousness, as to our perception and sence, has ascensions and declinations, accesses and recesses. And our Earth is not so purified, but some Vapors arise that intercept his chearful refreshing Light. From hence there are alternate successions of Spiritual Comforts and Sorrows, of Doubts and filial Confidence in the Saints. 'Tis a rare favour of Heaven, when an humble Believer in his whole course is so circumspect as not to provoke God to appear displeased against him: When a Christian (as those tutelar Angels spoken of in the Gospel) always beholds the face of his Heavenly Father, and converses with him with an holy Liberty. And what a torment the hiding of God's Face is to a deserted Soul, only they know who feel it. External troubles are many times attended with more Consolations to the Spirit, than Afflictions to Sense; but to love God with a transcendent Affection, and to fear he is our Enemy, no Punishment exceeds, or is equal to it. As his Loving-kindness in their esteem is better than Life, so his Displeasure is worse than Death. How do they wrestle with God by Prayers and Tears, and offer, as it were, a holy Violence to the King of Heaven, to recover their first serenity of Mind, the lost Peace of Heart? How passionately do they cry out with Job, in the Book of his Patience, O that I were as in months past, Job 29. 2, 3, 4.as in the days when God preserved me: when his Candle shin'd upon my head, and when by his Light I walk'd through darkness: As I was in the days of my youth, when the Secret of God was upon my Tabernacle. And sometimes God delays the revealing himself even to his dearest Children; not that he does not see their Necessities, and hears their Prayers, or is so hard that till their Extremities he is not moved with Compassion, but for wise and holy Reasons; Either that they may not return to folly, if by any presumptuous Sin they forfeited their Peace; or if they have been careful to please him, yet he may deprive them of Spiritual Comforts for a time, to keep them humble, and that with an obedient resignation to his Sovereign Pleasure they may wait for his reviving Presence. And then Joy returns greater than before. For thus God usually renders with interest what he suspended only for trial. But the Saints above are for ever enlightned with the vital splendor, and dear regards of his Countenance, always enjoy his beamy smiles. A continual effusion of Glory illustrates Heaven and all its blessed Inhabitants.
And their Contemplation of God is fixed. If the Object, though extraordinary glorious, were transient, or the Eye so weak that it could only see it but by glances, the heighth of Joy would not be perpetual. But the mind is prepar'd with supernatural vigour, to see the brightness of God's Face, and by the most attentive application always converses with that blessed Object; so that the Joy of Heaven is never intermitted for a moment. They always see, and love, and rejoyce, and praise him.
'Tis possible a carnal suspicion may arise in some, as if the uniform perpetual vision of the same Glory might lose its perfect delightfulness. For those who seek for happiness in the vanity of the Creatures, are always desirous of change, and have their Judgments so corrupted, that while they languish with a secret desire after an unchangeable Good, yet they conceive no Good as desireable, that is not changed.
But to correct this gross errour of Fancy, let us a little enquire into the causes of Dissatisfaction, that make the constant fruition of the same thing here to be tedious.
Sensible things are of such a limited Goodness, that not any of them can supply all our present wants, so that 'tis necessary to leave one for another. And the most of them are Remedies of our diseased Appetites, and if not temperately used, are destructive Evils. Eating and Drinking are to extinguish Hunger and Thirst, but continued beyond just measure, become nauseous. Besides, the Insufficiency of their Objects, the Senses themselves cannot be satisfied all at once. The Ear cannot attend to delightful Sounds, and the Eye be intent on beautiful Colours at the same time. The Satisfaction of one Sense defeats another of enjoying its proper good; therefore the same Object is not constantly pleasant, but the Heart is distemper'd from as many Causes, as there are desires unaccomplish'd. Add farther, all things under the Sun afford only a superficial delight, and miserably deceive the Expectations raised of them: and many times there is a mixture of some evil in them, that is more offensive, than the good is delightful. The Honey is attended with a Sting, so that often those very things we sigh after through vehement desire, when they are obtain'd, we sigh for grief. Now all these Causes of dissatisfaction cease in Heaven; for*Vitae nos taedium tenet timor mortis, natat omne consilium, nec implere nos ulla faelicitas potest. Causae autem est, quod non pervenimus ad illud bonum immensum & insuperabile, ubi necesse est, consistat nobis voluntas nostra, quia ultra summum non est locus. Senec. epist. 74. God is an infinite Good, and whatever is truly desireable and precious, is in Him in all degrees of Perfection. And in his Presence all the Powers of the Soul are drawn out in their most pleasant exercise, and always enjoy their entire happiness. The fruition of him exceeds our most raised hopes, as much as he is more glorious in Himself than in any borrowed Representations. God will be to us incomparably above what we can ask or think. The compass of our thoughts, the depth of our desires are imperfect measures of his Perfections. And as he is a Pure Good in Himself, so he is prevalent over all Evil. 'Tis evident therefore that nothing can allay the Joys of Saints when they are in God's presence.
2. Novelty is not requisite to ingratiate every Good, and make it perfectly delightful.†foreign Arist. Eth. l. 7. c. ult. God is infinitely happy, to whom no Good was ever new. 'Tis indeed the Sauce that gives a delicious taste to inferiour things. For Men relish only what is eminent; and the good things of this World are so truly mean, that they are feign to borrow a shew of Greatness by comparison with a worse estate preceding. But an infinite Good produces always the same pure equal compleat Joy, because it arises from its intrinsic perfection, that wants no Foil to commend it. The Psalmist breaks forth, Whom have I in Heaven but Thee? This is no vanishing Rapture, but a constant joyful height of Affection. God, the essential happiness of the Saints, is always perfectly lovely and delightful to them.
3. The glorified Saints in every period of their happy state, have as lively a perception of it as in the beginning. To make this evident, we must consider that the pleasure of Novelty springs from a quick sense of the opposite terms, between our condition in the want of some desired Good, and after our obtaining it. Now the Mind is more intense on the advantage, and more strongly affected at first. One newly freed from the torments of a sharp disease, feels a greater pleasure than from a constant tenour of health. Those who are rais'd from a low state to eminent Dignity, are transported with their first change, but in tract of time the remembrance of their mean condition is so weakned and spent, that 'tis like the shadow of a Dream, and proportionably their Joy is lessened. Honours like Perfumes, by custom are less sensible to those that carry them. But the Saints above always consider and feel the excellent difference between their suffering and triumphant state. They never lose that ravishing part of felicity, the vivid sense of past evils. Their reflections are always as strong on the Misery from whence they were rais'd to the pitch of Happiness, as in their first glorious Translation. In what an Extasy of wonder and pleasure will they be, from the fresh memory of what they were, and the joyful sense of what they are? I was (says the admiring Soul) poor, blind, and naked; but O miraculous and happy Alteration! I am full of Light, enrich'd with the Treasures of Heaven, adorn'd with Divine Glory. I was under the tyrannous power of Satan, but he is bruised under my feet. I was sentenc'd to an everlasting separation from the Presence of God, my only Life and Joy; but now am possest of my supream Good. O how transporting is the comparison of these wide and contrary extreams? How beautiful and pleasant is the Day of Eternity, after such a dark tempestuous Night? How does the remembrance of such Evils produce a more lively and feeling fruition of such Happiness? How strangely and mightily does Salvation with Eternal Glory affect the Soul? This gives a spritely accent to their everlasting Hallelujahs. This preserves an affectionate Heat in their Thanksgivings to their Victorious Deliverer. And thus their Happiness is always the same, and always new. Their pleasure is continued in its perfection.
Lastly, The Blessedness of the Saints is without end. This makes Heaven to be it self. There is no satiety of the present, no solicitude for the future. Were there a possibility, or the least suspicion of losing that happy state, it would cast an aspersion of bitterness upon all their delights: they could not enjoy one moments repose; but the more excellent their Happiness is, the more stinging would their fear be of parting with it. But the Inheritance reserved in Heaven, is immortal, undefiled, and fades not away. And the tenure of their Possession is infinitely firm by the Divine Power, the true Support of their everlasting Duration. With God is the Fountain of Life. They enjoy a better Immortality, than the Tree of Life could have preserved in Adam. The Revolutions of the Heavens, and Ages, are under their Feet, and cannot in the least alter or determin their Happiness. After the passing of millions of Years, still an entire Eternity remains of their enjoying God. O most desireable State! where Blessedness and Eternity are inseparably united. O joyful Harmony! when the full Chorus of Heaven shall sing, This God is our God for ever and ever. This adds an infinite weight to their Glory. This redoubles their unspeakable Joys with infinite sweetness and security. They repose themselves in the compleat Fruition of their Happiness. God reigns in the Saints, and they live in him for ever.