One-Hundred Forty-Five Sermons Upon John 17, Sermon 79
SERMON LXXIX. The Excellent Effects of Christian Joy.
JOH. 17.13.
That my Joy might be fulfilled in themſelves.
IN the next place Let us Conſider the Effects of this Chriſtian joy, and they are admirable.
Firſt, It doth dilate and enlarge the heart, ſo that the Soul rejoycing is far more capacious then otherwiſe it would be: Some have died they ſay for joy, becauſe of the too much dilating and diſperſing the ſpirits; The Saints glorified in heaven enjoy more then ever they could here of God, becauſe their hearts are more widened and prepared, Our Souls are narrow and ſtreightned within us till joy doth extend them; A man of a joyful ſpirit is like a Veſſell of a broad mouth, that receiveth far more of God and Chriſt then a dejected unbeleeving perſon, ſo that when we are commanded to ſet open the doors that the Prince of Glory may enter into us; It's joy that will thus prepare us; It's the complaint of many of Gods Children of their narrowneſſe and ſtraitneſſe of heart, that they have no room for Chriſt; Fears, they fill the heart, Worldly cares they alſo fill, ſo that as men in a Conſumption complain of a ſtopping and ſtreightneſſe in their breaſt, they have much ado to fetch their winde; Thus do the Children of God, oh they have ſuch ſtoppings upon their hearts, that they have much ado to pray, or to do any heavenly duty; Now joy is an excellent opener, That removeth theſe ſinful obſtructions, ſo that this ſhould make thee endeavour after a joyful life, it will make thee dilate in all dimenſions of grace; Thou wilt be a Chriſtian of a higher pitch, or like Daniels Tree whoſe branches ſpread themſelves abroad exceedingly.
2. This Joy makes a man active and ſerviceable to God, Neh. 8.10, The joy of the Lord is your ſtrength; Weak hands and feeble knees which are the Inſtruments of action and motion are attributed to fear as the cauſe of them; Thus on the contrary Joy makes ſtrong hands and firm knees; The Inceſtuous perſon when almoſt ſwallowed with ſorrow could no more vigorouſly ſerve God then a piece of wood, whoſe moiſture is not yet dried up, would be uſeful for building: Hence any ſervice done to God that is accompanied with dejections and ſorrow, hath a kinde of uncleaneſſe in it, as we have a notable expreſſion, Hoſ. 9.4. Their Sacrifices ſhall be unto them as the Bread of mourners, all that eat thereof ſhall be polluted, Lev. 11.1. Perſons that mourned for others that were dead, were accounted unclean, and thus doth all ſinful ſorrow and dejection, it makes thy duty unclean, it polluteth thee, for God loveth not only a chearfull giver, but chearfulneſſe in all duties, and therefore we reade of Gods ſevere threatning for the neglect of this, Deut. 28.47. One great cauſe of all thoſe heavy Curſes there mentioned, is becauſe they did not ſerve the Lord with joy and gladneſſe of heart; Adde to this, Deut. 12.7, 12. as alſo Deut. 26.14. where the perſon offering Sacrifices was to make this Proteſtation, that he had not eat thereof in his mourning: If you ſay, God is of ſuch infinite purity and holineſſe, that I being full of infirmities have cauſe to tremble before him; We grant it, yet remember the Pſalmiſts Advice, Rejoyce with trembling, Pſal. 2. That is the fat of the Sacrifice; Oh then thou that complaineſt of thy dulneſſe, liſtleſneſſe and lukewarmneſſe in Gods Service, whoſe duties look like Pharaohs lean Kine, and though they ſwallow down many fat opportunities as theſe did the fat Kine, yet remain withered and ill-favoured ſtill; Conſider whether unbelief and ſinful dejections are not like Ivy to the Tree, or like rottenneſſe in the bones, ſo Solomon cals Sorrow. The bones which are the chief ſtrength of a man, if they have rottenneſſe in them, how weak muſt that man be? Conſider then whether thy want of heavenly joy be not the cauſe of the evil upon thee, whether that do not make thee a barren Wilderneſſe and a parched heath, whether thou hadſt not fulfilled all Relations and opportunities more fruitfully, if this Joy had been fulfilled in thee.
3. Chriſts Joy fulfilled in the heart doth conſume and expell all carnall and worldly and ſinful joys: He that rejoyceth in the Lord cannot rejoyce in ſin, becauſe the Objects are clean contrary, no more then a man at the ſame time can with one eye look upward and with another downward; A body may as well be in two places at the ſame time as the ſoul be intenſly affected with two contrary Objects, ſo that if thou complaineſt of the proneneſſe of thy heart to rejoyce in earthly and worldly things; Know there is no ſuch medicine to cure this as heavenly joy, as they ſay, fire will drive out fire, ſo joy will expell joy, Joy in the Lord, Joy in the world, What made David profeſſe ſo much joy in God, but the heavenlineſſe of his heart, and this greater joy put out the leſſe: As the Sun-beams will the fire; Seeing therefore a man cannot live but he muſt have joy in ſomething, Do thou pray and endeavour that the joy of the Lord may take up thy heart, for when this Sun is in thy ſoul, the Starres cannot be ſeen; David ſaith, At Gods right hand is fulneſſe of joy, Pſa. 16.11. If then the Soul have already fulneſſe, it doth not deſire any other Object; If a man have the Ocean, he wants not the ſtream; If a man have the Sun, he needeth not the Candle; Thus he that hath fulneſſe of joy in God, wanteth not the joy of other creatures; Inſomuch that he who hath this heavenly joy may be ſaid to be in Heaven while he is here on earth; No life comes ſo near to that of the glorified Saints in heaven as an holy life accompanied with this joy; If there can be an heaven upon this Earth, this is it; This is the Mount of Transfiguration that changeth a mans heart and his countenance, that makes him ſay, It's good to be here; Oh what enemies are we to our ſelves; Thou makeſt thy houſe, thy chamber▪ a priſon, yea, an hell by thy diſtruſtfull fears, when every place would be an heaven.
4. This Joy of Chriſt will exceedingly wean a mans heart from the world, it will make him undervalue all theſe earthly things which the world ſo much admireth, Pſa. 4.7. Thou haſt put more gladneſſe in my heart, then in the time their Corn and Wine encreaſeth; If then the ſoul have more joy and gladneſſe in Gods preſence and in his favour, then in all earthly contentments whatſoever: no wonder if the heart he looſe from the one and fixed upon the other; As he that hath eaten honey findes an unſavoury taſte in other things compartively, or as he that hath ſtddfaſtly beheld the Sun, is ſo dazeled with the luſtre thereof, that he cannot ſee other inferiour Objects; Thus the heart that is once raviſhed with the ſweetneſſe and glory that is in God and Chriſt, knoweth not how to ſtoop to theſe inferiour fading joys; No man then ſets ſo looſe in heart from earthly Comforts as he that hath this heavenly joy; Every thing tempts him to his loſſe, Shall he loſe his fatneſs and ſweetneſſe by embracing the Creatures.
5. This Joy of Chriſt will facilitate all holy and religious actions; They will make us think the time ſhort, and grudge the work of God is ſo ſoon over; Your worldly joy is called paſtime, and thus is heavenly, upon a better account, When a man rejoyceth in the Sabbaths, and cals them a delight, then they do not as thoſe worldly wretches in the Prophet Amos, c. 8.5. ſay, when will the time be over that we may be buying and ſelling? There is nothing makes the duties of holineſſe ſo burthenſome to thee as want of joy, if they were matter of delight thou wouldſt with joy wiſh that the Sun would ſtand ſtill, be grieved to give over, Iſa 61.3. It's called the Oyle of Joy, as the Oyl makes the Wheel go ſpeedily or the yoke eaſie; ſo doth a joyfull heart; The voluptuous man, The worldly man thinks not the day or week long enough to enjoy his delights, much leſſe doth the godly man the time of enjoying of God; Hence Eternity doth not glut the Saints in heaven and make them weary of God.
6. This Chriſtian Joy will bear up the heart above all afflictions and tribulations; Thus Jam. 1. They are to account it all joy when they fall into tribulation, and 1 Pet. 1.8. he ſpeaketh of thoſe who for the preſent were in heavineſs through manifold temptations, yet at that time did greatly rejoyce, and that with joy unſpeakable and full of glory; They could glory over all their tribulations; This joy you heard is compared to Oyl, and that will alwaies keep us above the waters: Oh how happy is it when thy Temptations do not devour thy joy, but thy joy takes away the ſting of thy Temptations; This made the Martyrs and Confeſſors finde thorns grapes, and thiſtles figs; Oh we think that it's impoſſible ever for ſuch weak and infirm wretches as we are to go through ſuch Tryals as the Godly have done, but if we had their joy it would be no more to us then it was to them.
7. Joy as it is participated in this life encreaſeth more hungring and deſire after the object we deſire, to have more of it ſtill; Take any Object of delight which we do not perfectly enjoy, and oh how it quickens and ſtirs up the appetite to have more ſtill, for although perfect joy doth fully ſatiate the deſire, and extinguiſh all thirſt, becauſe as Aquinas ſaith well, Gaudium ſe habet ad deſiderium, ſicut quies ad motum, and ſo when the ſtone is come to the center, it moveth no further, yet becauſe in this life we have not a perfect fruition of God, only have ſome bunches of the Grapes of Canaan, not Canaan it ſelf; Therefore the ſweetneſſe we have in God or Chriſt doth more ſtir up the deſire after God, as you ſee in David, thoſe inchoate enjoyments of God did make him reſtleſſe and impatient for further Communion with him; Hence David exhorteth to taſte how good God is, if once we had but an experimental ſweetneſſe of the Excellency of his love, we ſhould ſtill be breathing after him, as David, Pſal. 119. My ſoul breaketh for the longing it hath to him at all times; But eſpecially the heavenly joy produceth this admirable effect ſo contrary to fleſh and bloud, that it makes a man look for the coming of Chriſt, and haſtening it in his praiers and deſires, as that which will compleat his joy, Here ſorrow and joy will be mixed together, but there is pure and unmixed joy, and that to all Eternity; Oh what a wilderneſs, what a place of baniſhment is this world to ſuch a tempered heart; This is the valley of Tears, and that is the mountain of joys.
Now to all this may be Objected, That it cannot be a Chriſtians duty to be alwaies rejoycing, for many times they lie under ſad Temptations, eſpecially there are times and ſeaſons when God cals to mourning; Is any man afflicted, let him pray? Is any merry, let him ſing Pſalms? And Solomon of old ſaid, There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh; David alſo ſaith, Pſa. 126.5. Such as ſow in tears ſhall reap in joy, which implieth a time of tears only. To this Conſider theſe things.
1. It may not be denied but that there are ſome times wherein God doth in a peculiar manner call to the duty of mourning, faſting, and humiliation; Inſomuch that the Prophet Iſay complaineth that when God called to mourning, they went to their mirth and jollities, Iſa 21.12. And thus when God ſhall plainly afflict thee for any ſins thou haſt committed, as David with the loſſe of his Childe for his Uncleaneſſe; In ſuch caſes it is our duty to be humbled and to mourn under his hand; But theſe humiliations and faſtings lie in the abſtinence of that natural and lawful joy we might take in the Creatures, not in ſpiritual Joy: In daies of humiliation it's a duty to rejoyce in the Lord, and ſuch joy will like fire melt and thaw the heart; This joy that is ſo uſeful muſt not be laid aſide; But then that joy in the Creatures which at another time would be lawfull, is in ſuch a ſeaſon ſinful; It's not lawful then to joy in Wives, in Children, in outward comforts, but to mourn before God, as thoſe who by their ſins have deſerved the loſſe of all; So then there may be a time when this outward worldly though lawful joy is to be denied; and in this ſence Solomon ſaith, It's better to go to the houſe of mourning then of laughter, becauſe ſuch ſad objects may be ſanctified to ſpiritual meditations.
2. Conſider this, That ſpiritual Joy may then moſt abound, when that ſoul-humiliation and godly mourning is put in practiſe; No grace of Gods Spirit is contrary to one another, The ſame ſpirit that worketh joy doth alſo prove the ſpirit of Supplication and mourning on his people; Now as joy and trembling may ſtand together, Pſa. 2. and joy and fear, Act. 9.31. So may godly ſorrow and joy conſiſt together, ſo that it is never unlawful to rejoyce in God no more then to love or to beleeve in him.
Ʋſe of Inſtruction, To inform us of the great concernment of spiritual Joy, We may ſay it's the life and marrow of Religion, It's the Spurre and goad to all holineſſe; Therefore how deceived is the world that looketh for joy and conſolation ſome other way, Honours, Wealth, and Greatneſſe will afford thee no true ſolid joy, yea, all theſe things will turn to gravell and wormwood in thy belly; As the Manna that was preſerved for the Sabbath day did onelyonly laſt, If any kept that which fell in one of the ſix daies above the Command, it turned to pollution immediatly, and thus it is here; Whatſoever Joy is treaſured up in reference to heaven, that will alwaies abide, it will never forſake thee, but what is only in reference to theſe earthly things, it will vaniſh; Oh then ſay, thy Beloved is the chiefeſt of ten thouſand above all other worldly Comforts whatſoever.