The Saints Everlasting Rest, Treatise 4 · Chapter 11
CHAP. XI. Some Advantages and Helps for raising and affecting the Soul by this Meditation.
§. 1.SECT. I.
1Fetch help from Sense.FIfthly. The fifth part of this Directory is, To shew you what advantages you should take, and what helps you should use to make your Meditations of Heaven more quickening, and to make you taste the sweetness that is therein. For that is the main work that I drive at through all; that you may not stick in a bare thinking, but may have the lively se…e of all upon your hearts: And this you will finde to be the most difficult part of the work, and that its easier barely to think of Heaven a whole day, then to be lively and affectionate in those thoughts one quarter of an hour. Therefore let us yet a little further consider what may be done, to make your thoughts of Heaven to be piercing, affecting, raising thoughts.
Here therefore you must understand, That the meer pure work of Faith, hath many disadvantages with us, in comparison of the work of Sense. Faith is imperfect, for we are renewed but in part; but Sense hath its strength, according to the strength of the flesh: Faith goes against a world of resistance, but Sense doth not. Faith is supernatural, and therefore prone to declining, and to languish both in the habit and exercise, further then it is still renewed and excited; but Sense is natural, and therefore continueth while nature continueth. The object of Faith is far off; we must go as far as Heaven for our Joyes: But the object of Sense is close at hand. It is no easie matter to rejoyce at that which we never saw, nor ever knew the man that did see it; and this upon a meer promise which is written in the Bible; and that, when we have nothing else to rejoyce in, but all our sensible comforts do fail us: But to rejoyce in that which we see and feel, in that which we have hold of, and possession already; this is not difficult. Well then, what should be done in this case? Why sure it will be a point of our Spiritual Prudence, and a singular help to the furthering of the work of Faith, to call in our *Quantalibet intentione se humana mens extenderit, etiamsi phantasiaes imaginum corporalium a cognitione compescat, si omnes circumscriptos spiritu ab oculis cordis admoveat, adhuc tamen in carne mortali pasita videre gloriam Dei non valet, sicut est. Sed quicquid de illa quod in mente resplendet, similitudo, & non ipsa est. Greg. sup. hom. 8.Sense to its assistance: If we can make us friends of these usual enemies, and make them instruments of raising us to God, which are the usual means of drawing us from God, I think we shall perform a very excellent work. Sure it is both possible and lawful, yea, and necessary too, to do something in this kinde; for God would not have given us, either our Senses themselves, or their usual objects, if they might not have been serviceable to his own praise, and helps to raise us up to the apprehension of higher things: And it is very considerable, How the Holy Ghost doth condescend in the phrase of Scripture, in bringing things down to the reach of Sense; how he sets forth the excellencies of Spiritual things, in words that are borrowed from the objects of Sense; how he describeth the glory of the New Jerusalem, in expressions that might take even with flesh it self: As that the Streets and Buildings are pure Gold, that the Gates are Pearl, that a Throne doth stand in the midst of it, &c. Revel. 21. and 22. That we shall eat and drink with Christ at his Table in his Kingdom; that he will drink with us the fruit of the Vine new, that we shall shine as the Sun in the Firmament of our Father▪ These, with most other descriptions of our glory, are expressed as if it were to the very flesh and sense; which though they are all improper and figurative, yet doubtless, if such expressions had not been best, and to us necessary, the Holy Ghost would not have so frequently used them: He that will speak to mans understanding, must speak in mans language, and speak that which he is capable to conceive. And doubtless as the Spirit doth speak, so we must hear; and if our necessity cause him to condescend in his expressions, it must needs cause us to be low in our conceivings. *Aequum est meminisse, & mi qui disseram & vos qui judicabitis homines esse, ut si probabilia dicentur nihil ulterius requiratis. Plato in Timaeo. Idem in Epistola ad Dionys monet ut eos tanquam barathrum declinet, qui de Diis tanquam de iis quae manibus teneri & apprehendi possunt, certas exigunt demonstrationes. Et in Phaedone eo nomine gravissimè reprehendit eos quod ambitiosis inter se verborum pugnis & inani demonstrationum conatu, principe… senovor…m & pugnantium dogmatum constituant, de rebus ipsis nihil certum, nihil stabile, nihil firmum habeant. Ipseque suam deplorat …aecitatem; qui quae se prius persp…vè scire existimaret, ne per umbram quidem sibi unquam visa esse compererit: Et quorum aliquam esse ratus fuerat soliditatem, ea nunc omnia non secus ac inanes somniorum imagines vanescere.Those conceivings and expressions which we have of Spirits, and things meerly Spiritual, they are commonly but second Notions, without the first; but meer names that are put into our mouths, without any true conceivings of the things which they signifie; or our conceivings which we express by those notions or terms, are meerly negative; what things are not, rather then what they are: As when we mention [Spirits] we mean they are not corporeal substances, but what they are we cannot tell; no more then we know what is Aristotles Materia Prima. It is one reason of Christs assuming and continuing our nature with the Godhead, that we might know him the better, when he is so much neerer to us; and might have more positive conceivings of him, and so our mindes might have familiarity with him, who before was quite beyond their reach
But what is my scope in all this? is it that we might think Heaven to be made of Gold and Pearl? or that we should *Ex operibus quidem opificem …anc causam effestoremque mundi Deum nosse datur: Ex imagine autem & simula…ro (ut Socratis auditor Antistines dicebat) is non agnoscitur, nullis oculis conspicuus, nullius rei similis, ut ex ulla effigie nosci possit. Atque (ut a Zen…phonte Socratico Scriptum legimus) qui cuncta concussat, ipse intrepidus & inconcussus; magaus nimirum potensque esse cognoscitur: Quali autem sit facie ignoratur. Fernelius, de abditis rerum causis, cap. 9.Picture Christ as the Papists do, in such a shape? or that we should think Saints and Angels do indeed eat and drink? No; Not that we should take the Spirits figurative expressions, to be meant according to strict propriety; or have fleshly conceivings of Spiritual things, so as to beleeve them to be such indeed: But thus; To think that to conceive or speak of them in strict propriety, is utterly beyond our reach and capacity; and therefore, we must conceive of them as we are able; and that the Spirit would not have represented them in these notions to us, but that we have no better notions to apprehend them by; and therefore that we make use of these phrases of the Spirit to quicken our apprehensions and affections, but not to pervert them; and use these low notions as a Glass, in which we must see the things themselves, though the representation be exceeding imperfect, till we come to an immeditae and perfect sight; yet still concluding, That these phrases though useful, are but borrowed and improper. The like may be said of those expressions of God in Scripture, wherein he represents himself in the imperfections of Creatures, as anger, repenting, willing what shall not come to pass, &c. Though these be improper, drawn from the maner of men, yet there is somewhat in God which we can see no better yet, then in this glass, and which we can no better conceive of, then in such notions, or else the Holy Ghost would have given us better. (I would the Judicious Reader would (on the by) well weigh also, how much this conduceth to reconcile us, and *Of which I have spoken more fully in my Treatise of Redemption.the Arminians, in those ancient and like-to-be continuing Controversies.)
SECT. II.§. 2.
1. GO too then:1Draw strong suppositions from Sense. When thou settest thy self to meditate on the joyes above, think on them boldly as Scripture hath expressed them: Bring down thy conceivings to the reach of sense. Excellency without familiarity, doth more amaze then delight us: Both Love and Joy are promoted by familiar acquaintance: When we go about to think of God and Glory in proper conceivings without these Spectacles, we are lost, and have nothing to fix our thoughts upon: We set God and Heaven so far from us, that our thoughts are strange, and we look at them as things beyond our reach, and beyond our line, and are ready to say, That which is above us, is nothing to us. To conceive no more of God and Glory, but that we cannot conceive them; and to apprehend no more, but that they are past our apprehension; will produce no more love, but this▪ To acknowledg that they are so far above us, that we cannot love them; and no more joy but this. That they are above our rejoycing. And therefore put Christ no further from you, then he hath put himself, least the Divine Nature be again inaccessible. Think of Christ as in our own nature glorified; think of our fellow Saints as men there perfected; think of the *Ibi jacet gratia, ibi virentibus campi… terra luxurians alumno so induit gramine, & redolente p…scitur …re: ibi altum nemora tol…untur in verticem, & ibi arbor densiore coma vestit; quicquid curantibus ramis scena dejacens inumbrarit. Omnia illic non frigoria nec …doris, nec uti i… autumno …va requiescant, aut ut iterum vere novo tellus foecunda parturiat. Vnius cuncta sunt temporis; unius po…a feruntur aestatis; quippe cum nec mensibus suis tunc luna deserv…at, nec sol per horarum momenta decurrat, aut in …octem lux fugata concedat. Habet populos quier laeta, fedes tenet placidas, …i sons scaturiens medio sinu alvei prorumpentis emergit, & …au…o per interv…lla …rcui…, finuosis flexibus lavitur, ut in ora nascentium si…i fluminum dividatur. Cyp…ian. de laude Martyr.City and State, as the Spirit hath expressed it, (onelyonly with the Caution and Limitations before mentioned.) Suppose thou were now beholding this City of God; and that thou hadst been companion with John in his Survey of its Glory; and hadst seen the Thrones, the Majesty, the Heavenly Hosts, the shining Splendor which he saw. Draw as strong suppositions as may be from thy sense for the helping of thy affections: It is lawful to suppose we did see for the present, that which God hath in Prophecies revealed, and which we must really see in more unspeakable brightness before long. Suppose therefore with thy self thou hadst been that Apostles fellow-traveller into the Celestial Kingdom, and that thou hadst seen all the Saints in their White Robes, with Palms in their hands: Suppose thou hadst heard those Songs of Moses, and of the Lamb; or didst even now hear them praising and glorifying the Living God: If thou hadst seen these things indeed, in what a rapture wouldst thou have been? And the more seriously thou puttest this supposition to thy self, the more will the Meditation elevate thy heart. I would not have thee, as the Papists, draw them in Pictures, nor use mysterious, significant Ceremonies to represent them. This, as it is a course forbidden by God, so it would but seduce and draw down thy heart: But get the liveliest Picture of them in thy minde that possibly thou canst; meditate of them, as if thou were all the while beholding them, and as if thou were even hearing the Hallelujahs, while thou art thinking of them; till thou canst say, Methinks I see a glympse of the Glory! methinks I hear the shouts of joy and praise! methinks I even stand by Abraham and David, Peter and Paul, and many more of these triumphing souls! methinks I even see the Son of God appearing in the clouds, and the world standing at his bar to receive their doom; methinks I even hear him say, Come ye blessed of my Father! and even see them go rejoycing into the Joy of their Lord! My very dreams of these things have deeply affected me; and should not these just suppositions affect me much more? What if I had seen with Paul, those unutterable things? should I not have been exalted (and that perhaps above measure) as well as he? What if I had stood in the room of Stephen, and seen Heaven opened, and Christ sitting at the right hand of God? Surely, that one sight was worth the suffering his storm of stones. O that I might but see what he did see, though I also suffered what he did suffer! What if I had seen such a sight as Michaiah saw? 2 Chro. 18.18.The Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the hosts of Heaven standing on his right hand and on his left? Why these men of God did see such things; and I shall shortly see far more then ever they saw, till they were loosed from this flesh, as I must be. And thus you see, how the familiar conceiving of the state of blessedness, as the spirit hath in a condescending language expressed it; and our strong raising of suppositions from our bodily senses, will further our Affections in this Heavenly work.
SECT. III.§. 3.
2. THere is yet another way by which we may make our senses here serviceable to us;2. Compare objects of sense with objects of faith. and that is, By comparing the objects of sense with the objects of faith; and so forcing sense to afford us that Medium, from whence we may conclude the transcendent worth of Glory, By arguing from sensitive delights as from the less to the greater. And here for your further assistance I shall furnish you with some of these comparative Arguments.
And first, You must strongly argue with your hearts, from the corrupt delights of sensual men. Think then with your selves, when you would be sensible of the joyes above; Is it such a delight to a sinner to do wickedly? and will it not be delightful indeed then to live with God?Quae ergo nos angit vesania, vitiorum siti…e absynthium, hujus mundi sequi naufragium, vitae praesentis pati infortunium, impiae tyrannidis ferre dominium, et non magis convolare ad sanctorus faelicitatem, ad angelorum societatem, ad solemnitatem supernae laetitiae, et ad jucunditatem contemplativae vitae, ut poss…mus intrare in potentias domini, & videre superabundantes divitias bonitatis ejus? Bernard. de praemio pat. Caelest. Hath a very drunkard such delight in his cups and companions, that the very fears of damnation will not make him forsake them? Hath the bruitish whoremaster such delight in his whore, that he will part with his credit, and estate, and salvation, rather then he will part with her? Sure then there are high delights with God! If the way to hell can afford such pleasure, what are the pleasures of the Saints in Heaven? If the coveteous man hath so much pleasure in his wealth, and the ambitious man in his power and titles of honor; what then have the Saints in the everlasting treasures? and what plasure do the Heavenly honors afford, where we shall be set above principalities and powers, and be made the glorious spouse of Christ? What pleasure do the voluptuous finde in their sensual courses? how closely will they follow their hunting and hawking and other recreations from morning to night? How delightfully will they sit at their Cards and Dice, hours, and dayes, and nights together? O the delight that mustneeds then be, in beholding the face of the Living God, and in singing forth praises to him and the Lamb! which must be our recreation when we come to our Rest!
§. 4.SECT. IIII.
Si homines de gaudio terre…o jubilant, nos de gaudio caelesti jubilare non debemus? quod verbis vere explicare non possumus? Et quem decet ista jubilatio nisi ineffabilem Deum? Et si Deum fari non potes, & tacere non debes, quid restat nisi ut jubiles? August. in Psal. 94. Si consideremus quae et quanta sunt quae sanctis dabuntur in die judicij, quae & quanta quae nobis promittuntur in caelis, vilescent omnia quae habentur in terris. Terrena namque substantia, aeternae faelicitati comparata, pondus est, non subsidium. Gregor. in homil.2. COmpare also the delights above, with the lawfull delights of moderated senses. Think with thy self▪ how sweet is food to my taste when I am hungry? especially, as Isaac said, that which my soul loveth? that which my temperature and appetite do incline to? What delight hath the taste in some pleasant fruits? in some well relished meates? and in divers junkets? O what delight then must my soul needs have in feeding upon Christ the living bread? and in eating with him at his table in his Kingdom? VVas a mess of pottage so sweet to Esau in his hunger, that he would buy them at so dear a rate as his birth-right? How highly then should I value this never perishing food? How pleasant is drink in the extremity of thirst? The delight of it to a man in a feaver or other drought, can scarcely be expressed: It will make the strength of Sampson revive: O then how delightful will it be to my soul, to drink of that fountain of living water, which who so drinks shall thirst no more? So pleasant is wine and so refreshing to the spirits, that its said to make glad the heart of man: How pleasant then will that wine of the great marriage be? even that wine which our water was turned into? that best wine which will be kept till then? How delightful are pleasant odors to our smel? how delightful is perfect musick to the ear? how delightful are beauteous sights to the eye? such as curious pictures; sumptuous, adorned, well-contrived buildings; handsome, necessary rooms, walks, prospects; Gardens stored with variety of beauteous and odoriferous flowers; or pleasant Medows which are natural gardens? O then think every time thou seest or remembrest these, what a fragrant smell hath the pretious ointment which is poured on the head of our glorified Saviour, and which must be poured on the heads of all his Saints? which will fill all the room of heaven with its odor and perfume? how delightful is the musick of the heavenly host? how pleasing will be those real beauties above? and how glorious the building not made with hands? and the house that God himself doth dwell in? and the walkes and prospects in the City of God? and the beauties and delights in the Celestial Paradise? Think seriously what these must needs be. The like may be said of the delight of the sense of Feeling, which the Philosopher saith is the greatest of all the rest.
SECT. V.§. 5.
3. COmpare also the delights above,Celestia horum principia Deo nota sunt, atque ei qui Dei sit ami…us: inquit Plato in Timaeo. which the delights that are found in natural knowledg: This is far beyond the delights of sense; and the delights of heaven are further beyond it. Think then, can an Archimedes be so taken up with his Mathematical invention, that the threats of death will not take him off, but he will dye in the midst of these his natural contemplations? Should I not much more be taken up with the delights of Glory, and dye with these contemplations fresh upon my soul? especially when my death will perfect my delights; but those of Archimedes dye with him? What a pleasure is it to dive into the secrets of nature? to finde out the mystery of Arts and sciences? Ferunt magnum Melancthonem dicere solitum, Non credere se in univers…a Germania reperi…i posse ullum, qui unicam integram paginam in Aristotelis O…gano rectè intelligat.to have a clear understanding in Logick, Physicks, Metaphysicks, Musick, Astronomy, Geometry? &c. If we make but any new discovery in one of these, or see a little more then we saw before, what singular pleasure do we finde therein? VVhy think then what high delights there are in the knowledg of God and Christ his Son; If the face of humane learning be so beautifull, that sensual pleasures are to it but base and bruitish, how beautiful then is the face of God? VVhen we light of some choice and learned book, how are we taken with it? we could read and study it day and night: we can leave meat and drink and sleep to read it: what delights then are there at Gods right hand, where we shall know in a moment all that is to be known?
§. 6.SECT. VI.
4. COmpare also the delights above, with the delights of Morality, and of the natural affections: VVhat delight had many sober Heathens in the rules and Practice of Moral duties? so that they took him onelyonly for an honest man, who did well through the love of Vertue, and not onelyonly for fear of punishment? yea, so highly did they value this moral Vertue, that they thought the chief happiness of man consisted in it. VVhy, think then, what excellency there will be in that rare perfection which we shall be raised to in heaven? and in that uncreated perfection of God which we shall behold? what sweetness is there in the exercise of natural Love? whether to Children, to Parents, to Yoakfellows, or to Friends? The delight which a pair of special faithful friends, do finde in loving and enjoying one another, is a most pleasing, sweet delight: It seemed to the Philosophers to be above the delights of Natural, or Matrimonial friendship; and I think it seemed so to David himself, so he concludes his Lamentation for him; I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan, very pleasant hast thou been unto me, thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women, 2 Sam. 1.26. Yea, the soul of Jonathan did cleave to David Even Christ himself;Ibi Hymnidici Angelorum chori, ibi societas civium supernorum; ibi dulcis solemnitas a peregrinationis hujus tristi labore redeuntium; ibi festivitas fine fine, aeternita… sine labe, serenitas sine nube, August. in Johan. as it seemeth had some of this kinde of love, for he had one Disciple whom he especially loved and who was wont to lean on his brest: why, think then, if the delights of close and cordial friendship be so great, what delight shall we have in the friendship of the most High? and in our mutual amity with Jesus Christ? and in the dearest love and consort with the Saints? Surely this will be a closer and stricter friendship then ever was betwixt any friends on earth; and these will be more lovely and desirable friends than any that ever the Sun beheld; and both our affections to our Father, and our Saviour, but especially his affection to us will be such as here we never knew; as Spirits are so far more powerful then Flesh, that one Angel can destroy an Host, so also are their affections more strong and powerful, we shall then love a thousand times more strongly and sweetly then now we can: and as all the Attributes and Works of God are incomprehensible, so is the attribute and work of Love; He will love us many thousand times more, then we even at the perfectest are able to love him, what joy then will there be in this mutuall Love?
SECT. VII.§. 7.
5. COmpare also the Excellencies of heaven with those glorious works of the Creation which our eyes do now behold: What a deal of wisdom, and power, and goodness appeareth in and through them to a wise Observer? What a deal of the Majesty of the great Creator doth shine in the face of this fabrick of the world?Psal. 92.4, 5. surely his Works are great and admirable, sought out of them that have pleasure therein:Psal. 111.2. Psal. 145.6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. and 10.7.22. This makes the study of natural Philosophy so pleasant, because the Works of God are so excellent: VVhat rare workmanship is in the body of a man? yea, in the body of every beast? which makes the Anatomical studies so delightful?Psal. 136.4, 5, 6, &c. Job 36.24.25, 26. what excellency in every Plant we see? in the beauty of Flowers? in the nature, diversity, and use of Herbs? in Fruits, in Roots, in Minerals, and what not? But especially if we look to the greater works: if we consider the whole body of this earth, and its creatures, and inhabitants; the Ocean of waters, with its motions and dimensions, the variation of the Seasons, and of the face of the earth; the entercourse of Spring and Fall, of Summer and Winter; what wonderful excellency do these contain? Why, think then in thy Meditations, if these things which are but servants to sinful man, are yet so full of mysterious worth; what then is that place where God himself doth dwell? and is prepared for the just who are perfected with Christ? VVhen thou walkest forth in the Evening, look upon the Stars, how they glissen, and in what numbers they bespangle the Firmament: If in the day time,In Civitate Dei Rex veritas, Lex Charitas, dignitas aequitas, pax foelicitas, vitae aeternitas. Aug. de Civit Dei. look up to the glorious Sun; view the wide expanded encompassing heavens, and say to thy self, what glory is in the least of yonder Stars? what a vast, what a bright resplendent body hath yonder Moon, and every Planet? O what an unconceiveable glory hath the Sun? Why, all this is nothing to the glory of Heaven; yonder Sun must there be laid aside as useless, for it would not be seen for the brightness of God: I shall live above all yonder glory, yonder is but darkness to the lustre of my Fathers House, I shall be as glorious as that Sun my self; yonder is but as the wall of the Pallace-yard; as the Poet …aith,
If in Heavens outward Court such beauty be,
What is the glory which the Saints do see?
So think of the rest of the Creatures: This whole earth is but my Fathers footstool; this Thunder is nothing to his dreadful voice; these winds are nothing to the breath of his mouth: So much wisdom and power as appeareth in all these; so much, and far much more greatness and goodness, and loving delights shall I enjoy in the actual fruition of God. Surely, if the Rain which rains, and the Sun which shines on the just and unjust, be so wonderful; the Sun then which must shine on none but Saints and Angels, must needs be wonderful and ravishing in glory.
§. 8.SECT. VIII.
6. COmpare the things which thou shalt enjoy above, with the excellency of those admirable works of Providence, which God doth exercise in the Church, and in the World. What glorious things hath the Lord wrought? and yet we shall see more glorious then these. Would it not be an astonishing sight, to see the Sea stand as a Wall on the right hand, and on the left, and the dry Land appear in the midst, and the people of Israel pass safely through, and Pharoah and his people swallowed up? what if we should see but such a sight now? If we had seen the ten Plagues of Egypt, or had seen the Rock to gush forth streams, or had seen Manna or Quails rained down from Heaven, or had seen the Earth open, and swallow up the wicked, or had seen their Armies slain with Hailstones, with an Angel, or by one another. Would not all these have been wondrous, glorious sights? But we shall see far greater things then these. And as our sights shall be more wonderful, so also they shall be more sweet: There shall be no blood nor wrath intermingled; we shall not then cry out as David, Who can stand before this Holy Lord God? Would it not have been an astonishing sight, to have seen the Sun stand still in the Firmament? or to have seen Ahaz Dyal go ten degrees backward? Why, we shall see when there shall be no Sun to shine at all; we shall behold for ever a Sun of more incomparable brightness. Were it not a brave life, if we might still live among wonders and miracles? and all for us, and not against us? if we could have drought or rain at our prayers, as Elias? or if we could call down fire from Heaven to destroy our enemies? or raise the dead to life, as Elisha? or cure the diseased, and speak strange languages, as the Apostles? Alas, these are nothing to the wonders which we shall see and possess with God! and all those wonders of Goodness and Love! We shall possess that Pearl and Power it self, through whose vertue all these works were done; we shall our selves be the subjects of more wonderful mercies then any of these. Jonas was raised but from a three days burial, from the belly of the Whale in the deep Ocean; but we shall be raised from many yeers rottenness and dust; and that dust exalted to a Sun-like glory; and that glory perpetuated to all eternity. VVhat sayest thou, Christian, Is not this the greatest of miracles or wonders? Surely, if we observe but common providences, the Motions of the Sun, the Tides of the Sea, the standing of the Earth, the warming it, the watering it with Rain as a Garden, the keeping in order a wicked confused world, with multitudes the like; they are all very admirable: But then to think of the Sion of God, of the Vision of the Divine Majesty, of the comely Order of the Heavenly Host; what an admirable sight must that needs be? O what rare and mighty works have we seen in Britain, in four or five yeers? what changes? what subduing of enemies? what clear discoveries of an Almighty Arm? what magnifying of weakness? what casting down of strength? what wonders wrought by most improbable means? what bringing to Hell, and bringing back? what turning of tears and fears into safety and joy? such hearing of earnest prayers, as if God could have denyed us nothing that we asked? All these were wonderful heart-raising works. But O, what are these to our full deliverance? to our final conquest? to our eternal triumph? and to that great day of great things?
SECT. IX.§. 9.
7. COmpare also the Mercies which thou shalt have above,Temporalis vita aeternae comparata, mors est dicenda potius quam vita. Ipse enim quotidi…nus defectus corruptionis, quid est aliud quam prolixitas mortis? Quae autem lingua dicere, vel quis intellectus capere sufficit illa supernae civitatis quanta sint gaudia? Angelorum choris interesse, cum beatissimis spiritibus gloriae conditoris assistere; praesentem Dei vultum cer…ere, incircumscriptum lumen videre, nullo mortis dolore affici, incorruptionis perpe…uae mun…re laetari? Greg. in hom. with those particular Providences which thou hast enjoyed thy self, and those observable Mercies which thou hast recorded through thy life. If thou be a Christian indeed, I know thou hast, if not in thy Book, yet certainly in thy Heart, a great many precious favors upon record. The very remembrance and rehearsal of them is sweet: How much more sweet was the actual enjoyment? But all these are nothing to the Mercies which are above. Look over the excellent Mercies of thy Youth and Education; the mercies of thy riper yeers or age; the mercies of thy prosperity, and of thy adversity; the mercies of thy several places and relations; are they not excellent, and innumerable? Canst not thou think on the several places thou hast lived in, and remember that they have each had their several mercies? the mercies of such a place, and such a place; and all of them very rich and engaging Mercies? O how sweet was it to thee, when God resolved thy last doubts? when he overcame and silenced thy fears and unbelief? when he prevented the inconveniences of thy life, which thy own counsel would have cast thee into? when he eased thy pains? when he healed thy sickness, and raised thee up as from the very grave and death? when thou prayedst, and wepst, as Hezekiah, and saidst, My days are cut off, I shall go to the gates of the grave, I am deprived of the residue of my yeers: I said I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the Land of the Living, I shall behold man no more with the Inhabitants of the World. Mine age is departed and removed from me as a Shepherds Tent: I have cut off like a Weaver my life; he will cut me off with pining sickness; from day to day wilt thou make an end of me, &c. Yet did he in love to thy soul deliver it from the pit of corruption, and cast thy sins behinde his back; and set thee among the living, to praise him as thou dost this day: That the fathers to the children might make known his Truth: The Lord was ready to save thee, that thou mightest sing the songs of praise to him in his house all the days of thy life, Isai. 38.10. to the 20. I say, were not all these most precious mercies? Alas, these are but small things for thee in the eyes of God; he intendeth thee far greater things then these, even such as these are scarce a taste of. It was a choice mercy that God hath so notably answered thy prayers; and that thou hast been so oft and so evidently a prevailer with him: But O think then, Are all these so sweet and precious that my life would have been a perpetual misery without them? Hath his providence lifted me so high on Earth, and his merciful kindness made me great? How sweet then will the Glory of his presence be? And how high will his eternal love exalt me? And how great shall I be made in Communion with his greatness? If my pilgrimage, and warfare have such mercies, what shall I finde in my home, and in my Triumph? If God will communicate so much to me while I remain a sinner; what will he bestow when I am a perfect Saint? If I have had so much in this strange Country at such a distance from him; what shall I have in Heaven in his immediate presence, where I shall ever stand about his Throne?
SECT. X.§. 10.
8. COmpare the comforts which thou shalt have above with those which thou hast here received in the Ordinances. Hath not the written Word been to thee as an open fountain, flowing with comforts day and night? when thou hast been in trouble, there thou hast met with refreshing: when thy faith hath staggered, it hath there been confirmed: what suitable Scriptures hath the Spirit set before thee? VVhat seasonable promises have come into thy minde? so that thou maist say with David, If thy Word had not been my delight, I had perished in my trouble? Think then If the VVord be so full of consolations, what overflowing springs shall we finde in God? if his letters are so comfortable, what are the words that flow from his blessed lips? and the beams that stream from his Glorious Face? If Luther would not take all the world for one leaf of the Bible, what would he take for the Joyes which it revealeth? If the promise be so sweet, what is the performance? If the Testament of our Lord, and our charter for the Kingdom be so comfortable, what will be our possession of the Kingdom it self? Think further; what delights have I found also in this Word preached? when I have sit under a heavenly heart-searching Teacher, how hath my heart been warmed within me? how hath he melted me, and turned my bowels? me thinks I have felt my self almost in Heaven: me thinks I could have been content to have sate and heard from morning to night, I could even have lived and dyed there: How oft have I gone to the congregation troubled in spirit, and returned home with quietness and delight? How oft have I gone doubting, concluding damnation against my own soul; and God hath sent me home with my doubts resolved, and satisfied me, and perswaded me of his love in Christ? How oft have I gone with darkness and doubtings in my Judgment, and God hath opened to me such pretious truths, and opened also my understanding to see them, that his light hath been exceeding comfortable to my soul? what Cordials have I met with in my saddest afflictions? what preparatives to fortifie me for the next encounter? Well then, if Moses face do shine so gloriously, what Glory is in the Face of God? If the very feet of the *Curaeus cum Diem recordaretur quo primo Melancthonem legentum audiss…t, illud recitare solebat, quod in suis init…ationibus …nunt pontificit: Quem vidi, quem amav…, quem dilexi.Messengers of these tidings of Peace be beautiful, how beautiful is the face of the Prince of Peace? If the word in the mouth of a fellow servant be so pleasant, what is the living Word himself? If this Treasure be so pretious in earthen Vessels, what is that Treasure laid up in Heaven? Think with thy self, If I had heard but such a Divine Prophet as Isaiah, or such a perswading moving Prophet as Jeremy, or such a worker of Miracles as Elijah or Elisha, how delightful a hearing would this have been? If I had heard but Peter, or John, or Paul, I should rejoyce in it as long as I lived; but what would I give that I had heard one Sermon from the mouth of Christ himself? sure I should have felt the comfort of it in my very foul; why but, alas, all this is nothing to what we shall have *Patriam nostram Paradisum computamus: Parentes Patriarchas habere jam caepimus: Quid non properamus & currimus ut Patriam nost…am videre, ut parentes salutare possimus? Magnus illic nos charorum numerus expectat, parentum, f…atrum, filiorum, frequens nos & copiosa turba desiderat, jam de sua immortalitate secura, & adhuc de nostra salute solicita. Ad horum conspectum & complexum venire quanta & illis & nobis in commune laetitia est? Qualis illic coelestium regnorum voluptas, sine timore moriendi & cum aeternitate vivendi? Quam summa & perpetua faelicitas? Illic Apostolorum gloriosus chorus; illic Prophetarum exultantium numerus; illic Marty…um innumerabilis populus, ob certaminis & passionis victoriam Coronatus; Triumphantes illic Virgines, quae concupiscentiam carnis & corporis, continentiae robore subegerunt: Remunerati misericordes qui alimentis & largitionibus pauperum, justitiae opera fecerunt, &c. Cyprian. de Immortalitate.above: O blessed are the eyes that see what there is seen, and the ears that hear that things that there are heard! There shall I hear Elias, Isaiah, Daniel, Peter, John, (not preaching to an obstinate people in imprisonment, in persecution, and reproach, but) triumphing in the praises of him that hath advanced them. Austin was wont to wish these three wishes; first, That he might have seen Christ in the flesh; secondly, That he might have heard Paul Preach; thirdly, That he might have seen Rome in its glory: Alas, these are small matters all to that which Austin now beholds; there we see not Christ in the form of a servant, but Christ in his Kingdom, in Majesty and Glory; not Paul Preach in weakness and contempt, but Paul with millions more rejoycing and triumphing; not pesecuting Rome in a fading glory, but Jerusalem which is above, in perfect and lasting glory.
So also think, what a joy it is to have access and acceptance in Prayer, that when any thing aileth me, I may go to God and open my case, and unbosom my soul to him as to my most faithful friend? especially knowing his sufficiency and willingness to relieve me? O but it will be a more surpassing unspeakable joy, when I shal receive all blessings without asking them; and when all my necessities and miseries are removed, and when God himself will be the portion and inheritance of my soul.
What consolation also have we oft received in the Supper of the Lord? what a priviledge is it to be admitted to sit at his Table? to have his Covenant sealed to me by the outward Ordinance, and his special Love sealed by his Spirit to my heart? Why, but all the life and comfort of these, is their declaring and assuring me of the comforts hereafter; their use is, but darkly to signifie and seal those higher mercies: when I shall indeed drink with him the fruit of the vine renewed, it will then be a pleasant feast indeed. O the difference between the last Supper of Christ on earth, and the marriage Supper of the Lamb at the great day! Here he is in an upper roome, accompanied with twelve poor selected men, feeding on no curious dainties, but a Paschal Lamb with sow…e Herbs, and a Judas at his table ready to betray him: But then his room will be the Glorious Heavens; his attendants all the host of Angels and Saints; no Judas nor unfurnished guest comes there; but the humble believers must sit down by him, and the Feast will be their mutual Loving and Rejoycing. Yet further think with thy self thus; The communion of the Saints on earth, is a most delectable mercy: What a pleasure is it to live with understanding, and heavenly Christians … Even David saith,Psal. 16. they were all his delight? O then what a delightful society shall I have above? The Communion of Saints is there somewhat worth, where their understandings are fully cleared, and their affections so highly advanced. If I had seen but Job in his sores upon the Dunghil, it would have been an excellent sight to see such a mirror of patience: what will it be then to see him in glory, praising that power which did uphold and deliver him? If I had heard but Paul and Sylas singing in the stocks, it would have been a delightful hearing, what will it be then to hear them sing praises in heaven▪ If I had heard David sing praises on his Lute and Harp, it would have been a pleasing Melo…dy; and that which drove the evil spirit from Saul, would sure have driven away the dulness and sadness of my spirit, and have been to me as the Musick was to Elisha, that the Spirit of Christ in joy would have come upon me; why, I shall shortly hear that sweet Singer in the heavenly Chore advancing the King of Saints; and will not that be a far more melodious hearing? If I had spoke with Paul when he was new come down from the third Heavens, and he might have revealed to me the things which he had seen, O what would I give for an hours such conference? how far would I go to hear such an Narration? why, I must shortly see those very things my self; yea, and far more then Paul was then capable of seeing, and yet shall I see no more then I shall possess. If I had spoke but one hour with Lazarus when he was risen from the dead, & heard him describe the things which he had seen in another world (if God would permit and enable him thereto,) what a joyful discourse would that have been? How many thousand books may I read before I could know so much as he could have told me in that hour? If God would have suffered him to tell what he had seen, the Jews would have more thronged to hear him, then they did to see him; O but this would have been nothing to the sight it self, and to the *Erit ibi Deus omnia in omnibus, & illius praesentia omnes animae & corporis implebit appetitus; cessabun…que de caetero consummatis omnibus, ministratorii Angelicarum virtutum discursus? Et impleta ordinataque omnino civitate Dei, nec innovabitur, nec mutabitur ultra fixae & consummatae beatitudinis status. Cyprian. de laude Martyr.fruition of all that which Laza…us saw.
Once again, think with thy self, what a soul raising imployment is the praising of God? especially in consort with his affectionate Saints? What if I had been in the place of those Shepherds, and seen the Angels, and heard the multitude of the heavenly Host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men? Luke 2.13, 14. what a glorious sight and hearing would this have been? but I shall see and hear more glorious things then this. If I had stood by Christ when he was thanking his Father, Joh, 17. I should have thought mine ears even blessed with his voyce, how much more when I shall hear him pronounce me blessed? If there were such great joy at the bringing back of the Ark, 2 Sam. 6.15. and such great joy at the reedifying the material Temple, Nehe. 12.43. what joy will there be in the New Jerusalem? why, If I could but see the Church here in Unity and Prosperity, and the undoubted Order and Discipline of aIpse per se placet, & per se sufficit ad meritum, sufficit ad praemium, nec extra illum quicquam quaerit, quia totum in illo invenitur quicquid desideratur. Semper libet eum adsp…ere, semper habere, semper in illo delectari, & illo perfrui; In illo clarificatur intellectus, & parificatur affectus, ad cognoscendam & diligendam veritatem. Et hoc est totum bonum hominis, nosse scilicet & amare Creatorem suum, Bernard. de praemio caelesti.Christ established, and his Ordinances purely and powerfully administred, what an unspeakable joy to my soul it would be? If I could see the Congregations provided with able Teachers, and the people receiving and obeying the Gospel, and longing for Reformation, and for the Government of Christ, O what a blessed place were England? If I could see our Ignorance turned into Knowledg and Error turned into soundness of Understanding, and shallow Professors into solid Believers, and Brethren living in Amity, and in the life of the Spirit, O what a fortunate Iland were this? Alas, alas, whats all this to the Reformation in Heaven? and to the blessed condition which we must live in there? There's another kinde of change and glory then this? What great joy had the people and David himself, to see them so willingly offer to the Service of the Lord? And what an excellent Psalme of Praise doth David thereupon compose? 1 Chro. 29.9, 10, &c. When Solomon was anointed King in Jerusalem, the people rejoyced with so great joy, that the earth rent at the sound of them, 1 Kings 1.40. what a joyful shout will there be then at the appearing of the King of the Church? If when the foundations of the earth were fastned, and the corner stone thereof was laid, the morning stars did sing together, and all the sons of God did shout for joy, Job 38 6, 7. why then when our glorious world is both founded and finished, and the corner stone appeareth to be the top stone also, and the Holy City is adorned as the Bride of the Lamb, O Sirs, what a joyful shout will then be heard?
SECT. XI.§. 11.
9 COmpare the joy which thou shalt have in heaven, with that which the Saints of God have found in the way to it, and in the foretastes of it; when thou seest a heavenly man rejoyce, think what it is that so affects him? it is the property of fools to rejoyce in toyes, and to laugh at nothing; but the people of God are wiser then so, they know what it is that makes them glad: When did God ever reveal the least of himself to any of his Saints, but the joy of their hearts were answerable to the Revelation? Paul was so lifted up with what he saw, that he was in danger of being exalted above measure, and must have a prick in the flesh to keep him down; when Peter had seen but Christ in his Transfiguration, which was but a small glimpse of his glory, and had seen Moses and Elias, talking with him, what a rapture and extasie is he cast into? Master (saith he) it is good for us to be here, let us here build three Tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias, as if he should say, O let us not go down again to yonder persecuting rabble; let us not go down again to yonder drossy dirty world, let us not return to our mean and suffering state, is it not better that we stay here now we are here? is not here better company? and sweeter pleasures? but the Text saith, He knew not what he said, Matth. 17.4. When Moses had been talking with God in the Mount, it made his Visage so shineing and glorious, that the people could not endure to behold it, but he was fain to put a vail upon it: No wonder then if the face of God must be vailed, till we are come to that state where we shall be more capable of beholding him,2 Cor. 3.16, 17, 18. when the vail shall be taken away, and we all beholding him with open face, shall be turned into the same Image from glory to glory. Alas, what is the backparts which Moses saw from the clefts of the Rock, to that open face which we shall behold hereafter? what is the Revelation to John in Patmos, to this Revelation which we shall have in heaven? How short doth Pauls Vision come of the Saints Vision above with God? How small a part of the glory which we must see, was that which so transported Peter in the Mount? I confess these were all extraordinary foretastes, but little to the full Beatifical Vision: when David foresaw the Resurrection of Christ and of himself, and the pleasures which he should have for ever at Gods right hand, how doth it make him break forth and say, Therefore my heart was glad, and my glory rejoyceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope, Psal. 16.9. Why think then; If the foresight can raise such ravishing joy, what will the actual possession do? How oft have we read and heard of the dying Saints, who when they had scarce strength and life enough to express them, have been as full of joy as their hearts could hold? And when their bodies have been under the extremities of their sickness, yea ready to feel the pangs of death, have yet had so much of heaven in their spirits, that their joy hath far surpassed their sorrows; and if a spark of this fire be so glorious, and that in the midst of the sea of adversity; what then is that Sun of Glory it self? O the joy that the Martyrs of Christ have felt in the midst of the scorching flames? sure they had life and sense as we, and were flesh and blood as well as we: therefore it must needs be some excellent thing that must so rejoyce their souls, while their bodies were burning: VVhen Bilney can burn his finger in the Candle, and Cranmer can burn off his unworthy right Hand:Sancti Martyres praesentem vitam non despexissent, nisi certiorem animarum vitam subsequi Scirent. Greg. Dial. l. 4. when Bainham can call the Papists to see a Miracle, and tel them, that he feels no more pain then in a bed of Down, and that the fire was to him as a bed of Roses: when Farrer can say, If Istir, believe not my Doctrine. Think then, Reader, with thy self in thy Meditations, sure it must be some wonderful foretasted glory that can do all this, that can make the flames of fire easie, and that can make the King of Fears so welcome; O what then must this glory it self needs be? when the very thoughts of it can bring Paul into such a streight,Nihil crus Sentit in nervo, quum animus est in coelo. Tertul. ad Martyr. that he desired to depart and to be with Christ, as best of all; when it can make men never think themselves well till they are dead; O what a blessed Rest is this? Shall Sanders so delightfully embrace the Stake, and cry out, Welcome Cross; and shall not I more delightfully imbrace my blessedness, and cry, Welcome Crown? Shall blessed Bradford kiss the Faggot, and shall not I then kiss the Son himself? Shall the poor Martyr rejoyce that she might have her foot in the same hole of the Stocks that Mr. Philpots foot had been in before her? and shall not I rejoyce that my soul shall live in the same place of glory where Christ and his Apostles are gone before me? Shall Fire and Faggot, shall Prisons and Banishment,Euseb. Hist. Eccles. l. 14. c. 17. Idem. l. 11. c. 9. shall Scorns and cruel Torments be more welcome to others, then Christ and Glory shall be to me? God forbid: What thanks did Lucius the Martyr give them, that they would send him to Christ from his ill masters on earth? How desirously did Basil wish, when his persecuters threatned his death the next day, that they might not change their resolution, lest he should miss of his expectation! What thanks then shall I give my Lord, for removing me from this loathsome prison to his Glory! and how loth should I be to be deprived thereof! When Luther thought he should dye of an Apoplexy, it comforted him, and made him more willing, because the good Duke of Saxony, and before him the Apostle John had died of that disease, how much more should I be willing to pass the way that Christ hath passed, and come to the glory where Christ is gone? If Luther could thereupon say, Feri Domine, feri clementer, ipse paratus sum, quia verbo tuo a peccatis absolutus; Strike Lord, strike gently, I am ready, because by thy Word I am absolved from my sins; how much more cheerfully should I cry, come Lord and advance me to this glory, and repose my weary soul in Rest!
§. 12.SECT. XII.
10. COmpare also the Glory of the Heavenly Kingdom, with the glory of the imperfect Church on earth, and with the Glory of Christ in his state of Humiliation: And you may easily conclude, If Christ under his fathers wrath, and Christ standing in the room of sinners, were so wonderful in excellencies, what then is Christ at the Fathers right hand? And if the Church under her sins and enemies, have so much beauty; something it will have at the marriage of the Lamb. How wonderful was the Son of God in the forme of a servant? When he is born, the Heavens must proclaime him by miracles: A new Star must appear in the firmament, and fetch men from remote parts of the world to worship him in a manger;Cum Christo semper vivemus facti per ipsum filii Dei: cum ipso exultabimus semper ipsius cruore …parati. Erirmus Christiani cum Christo simul gloriosi, de Deo patre beati, de perpetua voluptate laetantes, semper in conspectu Dei, & agentes Deo gratias semper: Neque enim poterit nisi & laetus esse semper, & gratus, qui cum morti fuisset obnoxus, factus est de immortalitate securus. Cyprian. ad Demetriad. The Angels and Heavenly host must declare his Nativity, and solemnize it with praising and glorifying God. When he is but a childe he must dispute with the Doctors and confute them. VVhen he sets upon his office, his whole life is a wonder. Water turned into wine, thousands fed with five loaves and two fishes; multitudes following him to see his miracles; The lepers cleansed, the sick healed, the lame restored, the blinde receive their sight, the dead raised; if we had seen all this, should we not have thought it wonderful? The most desperate diseases cured with a touch, with a word speaking; the blinde eyes with a little clay and spittle, the Devil departing by Legions at his command; the windes and the seas obeying his VVord; are not all these wonderful? Think then, How wonderful is his Celestial Glory? If there be such cutting down of boughs, and spreading of Garments, and crying Hosanna, to one that comes into Jerusalem riding on an Asse; what will there be when he comes with his Angels in his Glory? If they that heard him preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, have their hearts turned within them, that they returne and say, Never man spake like this Man: Then sure they that behold his Majesty in his Kingdom, will say, There was never glory like this Glory. If when his enemies come to apprehend him, the word of his mouth doth cast them all to the ground; if when he is dying, the earth must tremble, the vail of the Temple rent, the sun in the firmament must hide its face, and deny its light to the sinful world, and the dead bodies of the Saints arise, and the standers by be forced to acknowledge, Verely this was the Son of God: O then what a day will it be, when he will once more shake, not the Earth only, but the Heavens also, and remove the things that are shaken? when this Sun shall be taken out of the firmament, and be everlastingly darkened with the brightness of his Glory? when the dead must all arise and stand before him; and all shall acknowledge him to be the Son of God, and every tongue confess him to be Lord and King? If when he riseth again, the Grave and Death have lost their power, and the Angels of Heaven must roll away the stone, and astonish the watchmen till they are as dead men, and send the tidings to his dejected Disciples; If the bolted doors cannot keep him forth; If the sea be as firme ground for him to walk on; If he can asend to Heaven in the sight of his Disciples, and send the Angels to forbid them gazing after him: O what Power, and Dominion and Glory then is he now possessed of! and must we for ever possess with him! Yet think further; Are his very servants enabled to do such miracles when he is gone from them? Can a few poor fishermen and tent-makers and the like Mechanicks, cure the lame, and blinde, and sick? open their prisons? destroy the disobedient? raise the dead? and astonish their adversaries? O then what a world will that be, where every one can do greater works then these? and shall be highlier honoured then by the doing of wonders? It were much to have the Devils subject to us: but more to have our names written in the book of Life. If the very preaching of the gospel be accompanied with such power, that it will pierce the heart, and discover its secrets, bring down the proud, and make the stony sinner tremble If it can make men burne their books▪ sel their lands, bring in the price, and lay it down at the Preachers feet; If it can make the spirits of Princes stoop, and the Kings of the Earth resigne their Crownes, and do their homage to Jesus Christ; If it can subdue Kingdome, and convert thousands, and turn the world thus upside down; If the very mention of the Judgment and Life to come, can make the Judge on the bench to tremble, when the prisoner at the bar doth preach this Doctrine; O what then is the Glory of the Kingdom it self? What an absolute Dominion hath Christ and his Saints? And if they have this Power and Honour in the day of their abasement, and in the time appointed for their suffering and disgrace, what then will they have in their full advancement?
§. 13.SECT. XIII.
11. COmpare thy mercies thou shalt have above, with the mercies which Christ hath here bestowed on thy soul; and the glorious change which thou shalt have at last, with the gracious change which the Spirit hath wrought on thy heart: Compare the comforts of thy glorification, with the comforts of thy sanctification. There is not the smallest grace in thee, which is genuine and sincere, but is of greater worth then the riches of the Indies; not a hearty desire and groan after Christ, but is more to be valued, then the Kingdoms of the VVorld: A renewed nature is the very Image of God; Scripture calleth it by the name of [Christ dwelling in us] and [the Spirit] of God abiding in us: It is as a beam from the face of God himself; it is the Seed of God remaining in us; it is the onelyonly inherent beauty of the rational soul; it innobleth man above all nobility; it fitteth him to understand his Makers pleasure, to do his VVill, and to receive his Glory. VVhy think then with thy self, If this grain of Mustard seed be so precious, what is the Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God? If a spark of life which will but strive against corruptions, and flame out a few desires and groans, be so much worth; how glorious then is the Fountain and End of this life? If we be said to be like God, and to bear his Image, and to be holy as he is holy; when, alas, we are pressed down with a body of sin; Sure we shall then be much liker God, when we are perfectly holy and without blemish, and have no such thing as sin within us. Is the desire after Heaven so precious a thing? what then is the thing it self which is desired? Is the love so excellent? what then is the beloved? Is our joy in foreseeing and believing, so sweet? what will be the joy in the full possessing? O the delight that a Christian hath in the lively exercise of some of these affections! VVhat good do's it to his very heart, when he can feelingly say, He loves his Lord? what sweetness is there in the very act of loving? yea, even those troubling Passions of Sorrow and Fear, are yet delightful, when they are rightly exercised: How glad is a poor Christian, when he feeleth his heart begin to melt? and when the thoughts of sinful unkindness will dissolve it? Even this Sorrow doth yield him matter of Joy. O what will it then be, when we shall do nothing but know God, and love, and rejoyce, and praise; and all this in the highest perfection? what a comfort is it to my doubting soul, when I have a little assurance of the sincerity of my graces? when upon examination I can but trace the Spirit in his sanctifying works? How much more will it comfort me, to finde that this Spirit hath safely conducted me, and left me in the arms of Jesus Christ? what a change was it, that the Spirit made upon my soul, when he first turned me from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God? To be taken from that horrid state of nature, wherein my self and my actions were loathsom to God, and the sentence of death was past upon me, and the Almighty took me for his utter enemy; and to be presently numbred among his Saints, and called his Friend, his Servant, his Son; and the sentence revoked which was gone forth; O what a change was this▪ To be taken from that state wherein I was born, and had lived delightfully so many yeers, and was rivetted in it by custom and engagements, when thousands of sins did lie upon my score; and if I had so died, I had been damned for ever; and to be justified from all these enormous crimes, and freed from all these fearful plagues, and put into the title of an Heir of Heaven; O what an astonishing change was this? Why then consider, how much greater will that glorious change then be? Beyond expressing; beyond conceiving! How oft when I have thought of this change in my Regeneration, have I cryed out, O blessed day! and blessed be the Lord that I ever saw it! why how then shall I cry out in Heaven, O blessed Eternity! and blessed be the Lord that brought me to it! Was the mercy of my conversion so exceeding great, that the Angels of God did rejoyce to see it? Sure then the mercy of my salvation will be so great, that the same Angels will congratulate my felicity. This Grace is but a spark that is raked up in the ashes; it is covered with flesh from the sight of the world, and covered with corruption sometime from mine-own sight: But my Everlasting glory will not so be clouded, nor my light be under a bushel, but upon a hill, even upon Sion, the Mount of God.
§. 14.SECT. XIIII.
12. LAstly, compare the joyes which thou shalt have above, with those foretastes of it, which the Spirit hath given thee here. Judg of the Lyon by the Paw, and of the Ocean of Joy, by that drop which thou hast tasted: Thou hast here thy strongest refreshing comforts, but as that man in Hell would have had the water to cool him;Ibi non gustabunt quam suavis sit Deus, sed implebuntur & satiabuntur dulcedine mirifica: Nihil eis d…erit; nihil oberit; omne desiderium corum Christus praesens implebit. Non senescent, non tabescent, non putrescent amplius: Perpetua sanitas, faelix aeternitas, beatitudinis illius sufficientiam confirmabunt. Non erit concupiscentia in membris, non ultra ulla exurget rebellio carnis, sed t…tus status hominis pacificus, sine omni macula & ruga permanebit… …yprian de laude Martyr. Quaecunque supra coelum sunt, mentes & formae olympici, illius habitac…li cives, si non candem atque Deus, illi tamen dignitate & naturâ proximam conditionem acceperunt. Fe…nel. de abdit. rerum causis, cap. 9. Ex Platone. a little upon the tip of the finger for thy tongue to taste; yet by this little thou maist conjecture at the quality of the whole. Hath not God sometime revealed himself extraordinarily to thy soul, and let a drop of glory fall upon it? Hast thou not been ready to say, O that it might be thus with my soul continually, and that I might always feel what I feel sometimes! Didst thou never cry out with the Martyr after thy long and doleful expectations, He is come, he is come? Didst thou never in a lively Sermon of Heaven, nor in thy retired contemplations on that blessed State, perceive thy drooping spirits revive, and thy dejected heart to lift up the head? and the light of Heaven to break forth to thy soul, as a morning Star, or as the dawning of the day? Didst thou never perceive thy heart in these duties, to be as the childe that Elisha revived? to wax warm within thee, and to recover life? VVhy think with thy self then, what is this earnest to the full Inheritance? Alas, all this light that so amazeth, and rejoyceth me, is but a Candle lighted from Heaven, to lead me thither through this world of darkness! If the light of a Star in the night be such, or the little glimmering at the break of the day; what then is the light of the Sun at noontide? If some godly men that we read of, have been overwhelmed with joy, till they have cryed out, Hold Lord, stay thy hand; I can bear no more! like weak eyes that cannot endure too great a light. O what will then be my joyes in Heaven, when as the object of my joy shall be the most glorious God, so my soul shall be made capable of seeing, and enjoying him; and though the light be ten thousand times greater then the Suns, yet my eyes shall be able for ever to behold it?
Or if thou be one that hast not felt yet these sweet foretastes (for every beleever hath not felt them) then make use of the former delights which thou hast felt, that thou maist the better discern what hereafter thou shalt feel.
And thus I have done with the fifth part of this Directory, and shewed you on what grounds to advance your Meditations, and how to get them to quicken your affections, by comparing the unseen delights of Heaven, with those smaller which you have seen, and felt in the flesh.