One-Hundred Forty-Five Sermons Upon John 17, Sermon 11
SERMON XI. Treateth of Eternall Life in the Nature and Properties of it,
JOH. 17.2.
That he ſhould give eternall life to as many as thou haſt given him.
HAving diſpatched the Subject to whom this fruit of Chriſts power is to be vouchſafed, we come now to the Fruit and benefit thereof, and that is Eternal Life; In which we will alſo comprehend the manner of obtaining it; viz. by way of gift, He will give; The greatneſſe of the gift though it may be apprehended, yet it cannot be comprehended; Though we had the tongue of Angels, and the underſtanding likewiſe, yet we ſhould but ſpeak as a childe, and think as a childe, when this matter of Divinity is our Theme. Every thing is inviting; Its life, No rich man, no poor man, but deſireth this; It's Eternal Life, and ſo can be much leſſe rejected, and it's by way of gift, Nothing can be more welcome; It's life, there is the neceſſity of it; It's eternal life, there is the excellency of it; It's given, there is the freeneſſe of it, ſo that this gift here ſuppoſed is not within this Horizon, nor is it made for this Meridian, but it extends to the world to come; The wiſeſt of the Philoſophers were in a miſty darkneſſe about this matter; It was much debated whether any happineſſe did remain after this life, and although ſometimes confuſed thoughts did work on them, as on that man who reading a Book of Immortality, was ſo tranſported, that he killed himſelf immediatly to enjoy it, yet theſe were but generall indigeſted notions, only the Scripture doth give us a diſtinct and accurate account of this bleſſedneſſe after our lives in this world, ſo then we ſee here an unſpeakable priviledge, and that moſt certainly to be beſtowed on them, whatſoever their lives be here, though poor, though miſerable, though afflicted, though troubled, yet they ſhall have an eternal life.
Doct. Chriſt will give to thoſe that are his Eternal life.Obſ. That Chriſt will give to thoſe that are his Eternal life.
I ſhall not enlarge my ſelf according to the vaſt nature of this Subject, which cannot be well underſtood but by the fruition of it, and if you ſhould ask what it is, we ſhould deſire time ſtill to expreſſe it, as he did, what God was, yet I ſhall limit my Diſcourſe to a threefold general head.
1. To ſpeak of it poſitively what it is.
2. Comparatively to this temporal and preſent life.
3. Oppoſitely, to eternal death.
Eternal life conſideredAnd theſe three particulars will tend to manifeſt the greateſt excelleneies of it; Though when we have fully ſatisfied▪ you with this bread, it will ſo multiply, that many fragments may be taken up.
Firſt therefore poſitively,I. Poſitively what it is. 1. It conſiſts in This Eternal Life doth eſſentially lie in the immediate fruition and enjoyment of God: This the Scripture doth often call ſeeing of God, for howſoever it be diſputed by the Learned whether the bodily eye ſhall be elevated ſo ſupernaturally, that it ſhall be able to ſee the divine eſſence,1. The immediate fruition and enjoyment of God. He is an univerſal and infinite object. though ſpirituall and immaterial, yet ſo farre as ſeeing doth imply enjoying and immediate fruition of God, ſo farre they are ſure to partake of it; Now then conſider how great a mercy this is, To have God the Object of all our love, joy, and delight, For he only is that univerſal and infinite object which can ſatiate and comfort the heart: All theſe earthly comforts they are too narrow, too little for the ſoul: Divines ſay, The ſoul of a man hath an infinite appetite, it deſireth this, and it deſireth that, and nothing but God is ſuch an univerſal good that can fully repleniſh it; Now David even in this life he ſaith, Whom have I in heaven and earth but thee? Pſa. 13.35. how much rather will this be true in heaven? God is the center of the ſoul, it is unquiet and reſtleſſe till it fix there: Take all the men in the world, who have drunk deepeſt in the ſtreams of theſe earthly comforts, yet ſtill they thirſt; There is a dropſie on them, ſtill they would have more and other objects, They have a feavori…h heat with them, That makes them reſtleſſe, whereas when we come to Chriſt we ſhall finde reſt to our ſouls, and He that drinketh of this water ſhall never thirſt more, Jo. 4.14. ſo then we ſee what eternal life is, it's all the good that God is, What good is in God, that the beleever hath, and how unreaſonable is it to think that there is a better good then he; If the Creator cannot ſatisfie, can the Creature? From hence it is that the godly do ſo long for this time of enjoying him, I deſire to depart, ſaith Paul, Phil. 2.23. The Church crieth for Chriſt to Come quickly: Thoſe Patriarchs looked on themſelves as Pilgrims, and deſiring a better City then that of this world; ſo then you can but judge of this happineſſe by the footſteps, by the drops of it; If there be any attractive good in the creature, it's but a drop, God the Fountain he is the Ocean: Now in this object God enjoyed, there are theſe remarkable properties of his goodneſſe.
1. He is the Ʋniverſal good, he is the bonum in qua omnia bona, He is the Univerſal good.There cannot be any deſirable perfection but it is in him; The Creatures have their particular limited goodneſſe, health hath its, wealth hath its, learning its, but now God is the Jehovah, all beings are eminently in him; As the Pſalmiſt argueth, He that made the eye, ſhall not he ſee? he that made the ear, ſhall not he hear? Pſal. 94.9. He then that makes this and that thing deſirable, is not he much more deſirable? Is there a ground to love Father, Mother, Wife, or Children, and not much rather to love God? ſo that that Command Mat. 22. hath the greateſt reaſon, where God willeth to be loved with all the heart, all the ſoul, all the might; for there is nothing hath any good which is the Object of love, but it's in God, or from him, There is none good but God ſaith Chriſt, ſo then what are Stars to the Sunne? The Starres cannot diſpell the night, only the light of the Sun can do that; Thus only God and the light of his countenance can make the heart happy, as having all things.
2. That good which God is, it is an unmixed ſincere good;He is an unmixed ſincere good. He is ſo good that there is no trouble in him, for that is the imperfection of all earthly good things, as there is a drop of honey, ſo there is a drop of gall; Every Roſe hath its thorn; If God gives thee any mercy in this life, yet ſtill there is a ſting as well as hony, ſo that no condition, no mercy hath every thing in it; Though they have this, yet they want another, and hence Solomon who gave himſelf to finde out this Philoſophers ſtone, to obtain an happineſſe if it could be in this world, yet upon experience he giveth this Motto of every thing, Vanity of vanities, all is vanity Eccl. 1.1. But do the Saints in heaven, who have had the experience of enjoying God, paſſe ſuch a ſentence upon that happineſſe in heaven? Of this honey in the world we muſt not eat too much leſt we ſurfet; But there is fullneſſe without nauſeating; There is repleniſhing and yet alwaies hungring, God is as much deſired after millions of years as at the firſt moment in heaven; Hence this life is to be ſpent only in joy, in praiſes, and gladneſſe of heart; Oh that we could affect our hearts more with this eternal life, it would be a great comfort in afflictions, and a quick ſpur to all duties.
And a proper, peculiar, and convenient good.Laſtly, God who is thus the object of this Eternall life, is the proper, peculiar, and convenient good; No object is ſo ſutable and adequate to the heart as he is, howſoever morall Philoſophers ſay, good is the object of the will, yet they ſay, It's not good in the generall or abſolute, but that which is proportionable and convenient; The ſick man deſireth health, becauſe it's the good proportionable to his wants, ſo the tormented man, eaſe; Thus although it be true that ſince man is fallen and corrupted with ſinne, God is not proportionable or ſutable to him; Hence wicked men are ſaid to hate God, Exod. 20. yet take we man according to his Creation, and the Image of God firſt planted in him, and ſo God was his ultimate end, in him only could he have full complacency, and ſo as farre as we are regenerated and this holy Image reſtored in us, Nothing can ſatisfie us but God, We ſee David in many of his Pſalm…, he diſcovers ſeverall extremities and neceſſities upon him, yet the only cure is the light of his countenance; Let God look graciouſly on him, let him draw near to him, and then the troubleſome waves are preſently quiet.
2. It conſiſts in the perfect ſanctifying the ſou… …nd body thereby ſi…ting a man for the enjoyment of God.2. This Eternall life doth poſitively conſiſt in the beatifying the ſoul and the whole body, ſanctifying it ſo fully that now it can enjoy God: For though God be never i… glorious an object, yet till the ſoul be made perfect he cannot enjoy God; No more then the Sunne which is primum viſibile, yet becauſe of its dazling luſtre the eye is too weak to behold it ſtedfaſtly; Now in heaven the ſpirits of iuſt men are ſaid to be made perfect, and no corruptible thing can inherit the Kingdom of heaven; This then, this eternal life is ſeen in that the ſoul, yea, the whole man is …o heavenly and holy, ſo perfected in every thing, that it's made capable of all this happineſſe; The godly have communion and fellowſhip with God in this life, now they are no more capable of this, if not ſanctified, then a beaſt can converſe with a man; Hence becauſe this ſanctification is impotent, we know in part, we beleeve in part, We ſee him but in a riddle, not face to face, but then ſhall we know him even as we are known of him, 1 Cor. 13.12. It was a general received opinion, as appeareth by ſeverall examples in the Old Teſtament, that if God made any glorious appearance to man, he ſhould preſently die, ſo Manaoh and others argued, and whence roſe that apprehenſion but becauſe of the glorious Majeſty of God, and the vain, weak, frail nature of man? Oh but in heaven where God is in all his glorious manifeſtation, and we ſhall behold him continually, yet there ſhall be no faintings, no fears within us, and all is, becauſe the Saints are then glorified and perfected in ſoul and body; There's not the leaſt ſpot or wrinkle of ſinne to put them to any ſhame or fear within.
3. In a quick and lively apprehenſion of this happineſſe.3. This Eternall Life conſiſts in a quick and lively apprehenſion of this happineſſe it hath, without which happineſſe could not be happineſſe; A man in a Lethargy though he liveth, yet he is as good as dead, becauſe he perceiveth not his own life, neither doth he take any pleaſure in any earthly contents; Hence it is, that the inanimate creatures, Trees, and Rocks, though they ſhould be free from pain, yet cannot be ſaid to be happy, becauſe they have no faculty of reflexion, They cannot perceive or diſcern their happineſſe, but in this eternal life, The knowledge and aſſurance of their happineſſe is that which makes it indeed to be a bleſſed life; The Heavens are not happy though they ſhall abide ever, becauſe they have not life, nor can they reflect upon what they are; A childe in the womb, though heir to a vaſt inheritance, yet cannot take any comfort from it, becauſe he hath no reaſon to diſcern it; But then our ſouls ſhall have the moſt accurate quickneſſe, and there will not be the leaſt circumſtance that ſhall aggravate our happines, but we ſhall apprehend it, we ſhall know how to improve every comfortable conſideration; Alas, in this life the godly through their weakneſſe of knowledge and faith, make not that advantage of Chriſt as they may: There are many bleſſed arguments to refreſh their ſouls, and they know them not or attend not to them, but when we ſhall come to eat of this bread of life, we ſhall not loſe one crumb of it; Then there is nothing ſhall be hid from our eyes, but according to our capacity we ſhall then love God and Chriſt, and enjoy them to the full.
Come we in the next place to the properties of this life, And it hath theſe properties.for we can better ſpeak of them then the life it ſelf, as we can better look upon the Sun-beams then the Sun it ſelf.
And 1. It's a continued life of happineſſe;1. A continued life of happineſſe. There is no interruption or ſtop put to this joy and comfort, and that is a tranſcendent thing, for in this life two things intermit our joy.
1. Occurrent adverſities, contrary miſeries, our health is taken away by diſeaſes, our wealth by poverty, our hopes by fears, ſo that every mans life hath more gall then hony.
And 2. If there were no oppoſite calamity, as there was not to Adam, yet there is a naturall intermiſſion of it by ſleep, ſo that if we were never ſo happy, yet as often as we ſleep our Sun would be ecclipſed, but this happy life we ſpeak of admits of neither of theſe Interruptions; There cannot be any miſery or grief there, for God will waſh away all tears from their eyes, and it muſt needs be ſo, becauſe all the cauſe of miſery which is ſinne, is there taken away, ſo that as there cannot be any thunder or lightning in the upper Region, becauſe the vapours which are the materials of it cannot aſcend ſo high, can have no entrance there, ſo becauſe no unclean thing, no ſinful thing can enter heaven, therefore no evil, no miſery, or affliction can come there; This ſhould make us all deſpiſe this valley of tears for that Mount of Viſion or tranſfiguration, What is this Wilderneſſe to that Canaan? What are theſe husks to that Manna? Why are we ſo hardly plucked out of this world that hath ſo many thorns and troubles with it, to enter into heaven? where there is no grief, no complaining or diſcontent at all.
Again, There is not the ſecond intermiſſion of this happineſſe; for there is no night, no ſleep nor drouſineſſe, but it is a waking, joyful life to all Eternity: Alas, if here we ſhould have the moſt deſirable comforts that can be, yet we would call for a time to ſleep, they could not keep us alive without this bodily Rect; but there the body is made ſo glorious a body that it's no more capable of ſleep, then it is of hunger or thirſt; Oh then happy and thrice happy is that life where thou ſhalt not for a moment be taken off from God. It's impoſſible for the godly in this life to have an actual love and complacency in God, never to be diſtracted or diverted by other thoughts, ſomething or other comes and ſteals the heart away, and laieth the dead childe in the room of the living one, but then we ſhall have a conſtant intuitive beholding of God, and nothing ſhall withdraw us from him, Thus it is not to be interrupted.
2.2. It hath in it all deſirable things In this life there is an affluence and an accumulation of all things to make it bleſſed; The very Philoſophers thought happineſſe muſt be ſuch a ſtate wherein was an aggravation of all good things, ſo that if a man could have all good things, and want but one, he could not be called an happy man; Hence in the Scripture the Hebrew word for happineſſe is in the plural number, becauſe it is not one or two, or twenty good things can make a man happy, but there muſt be all things; And for this reaſon it is that the Scripture hath ſo many variety of reſemblances to repreſent this bleſſedneſſe; To ſhew you, that it hath all deſirable things; It's called a Kingdom, a Crown of glory, a Feaſt and Banquet, a place of joy; Heaven is ſaid to be paved with all precious ſtones; Now why doth the Scripture uſe ſuch expreſſions? Not that we ſhould conceive any carnal pleaſures or worldly contents there, as Mahomets Alcoran ſpeaketh, of a bruitiſh happineſſe altogether ſenſual, but from earthly things would lift up your hearts to heavenly, it would gather you a Poſie of the fineſt flowers, and tell you, heaven is this, Do but abſtract the imperfections of the creatures, and the perfection that is in heaven; Even as Divines ſay concerning the perfections of creatures, God hath them, but in an eminent manner abſtracted from the imperfections, he hath wiſedom but not the imperfection of mans wiſedom, he doth underſtand, he willeth as well as a man, but not with the imperfection of a man, So it is here: Heaven is riches, heaven is health, heaven is glory, heaven is honour, but ſtill without the imperfection of theſe earthly comforts.
3. It is a glorious Life.3. This life is a glorious life; Beſide freedom from evil and a poſitive affluence of all good, there is external glory to make it yet more deſirable; Our ſouls ſhall be made glorious ſouls, our bodies glorious bodies: Heaven is a glorious place; The Angels are glorious, the Majeſty of God will then be reſplendent in all his glory; If the Queen of Sheba had no more ſpirit within her, beholding Solomons temporal glory, how raviſhing muſt this heavenly glory be? The Scripture every where ſpeaks of the glory of this condition, now glory is that which exciteth all generous ſpirits, What did the Romans, the Phariſees doe for glory? but it was a vain, empty glory; This is called by the Scripture, The exceeding weight of glory, 2 Cor. 4.17. It's a ſolid, ſubſtantial glory, glorious within and without alſo.
4. A holy Life▪4. It is an holy life; For if you ask what ſhall be the emploiment of thoſe who have this Eternal life: The Scripture tels us that both Angels and Saints are wholly exerciſed in this, in praiſing and glorifying God; The Angels Iſa. 6. are brought in crying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hoſts: And this is that which makes wicked men ſo careleſſe about it; They rather deſire a bruitiſh ſenſuall life, Let us eat and drink, as if they were ſo many Swine, but as the life of a Beaſt is not comparable to that of a man, ſo neither are the pleaſures and joys of the fleſh like thoſe of holineſſe; Hence it is that thoſe who live holily have a taſte and firſtfruits of this eternal life; He that beleeveth hath eternal life, Joh. 6.54. He hath it already, both in reſpect of a ſure Title and intereſt, as alſo of the taſte and pledges of it in his ſoul; Wonder not then if you ſee men given up to their luſts, no waies diligent to obtain this life; The holineſſe of it is no motive to them, no more then a Pearl doth affect a Swine; They muſt be holy who deſire ſuch an holy life.
5. It's a ſpirituall life that differs from the former, becauſe it's oppoſite to that animal life,5. A ſpiritual life we live here; The body is made a ſpirituall body, we ſhall there no more hunger or thirſt, no more eat or drink: All thoſe civill and natural actions will be done away; No more delight in Father, in Wife, in Children, for the ſoul is wholly ſwallowed up with the love of and delight in God: As when the Sunne ariſeth we cannot ſee the Starres, ſo when God ſhall come to fill the capacity and potentiality of the ſoul, no more earthly comforts can be diſcerned by us: It's a true Rule, that ſpirituall delights are farre more tranſporting and affecting the heart then any bodily can be; As thoſe who are in an extaſie and rapture, they minde no worldly thing: Paul did not know whether he was in the body or out of the body, yea, the delight in ſtudy did ſo tranſport Archimedes, that he was drawing lines when Syracuſe the City he was in, was taken, ſo that as David ſaid of prevailing grief, ſome Philoſophers could ſay of their delight in ſtudy, They forgat the time to eat their bread: Now ſpiritual delights muſt needs elevate higher then all theſe: Hence it is that Divines ſay, The beatificall viſion or fruition of God makes it impoſſible for the Saints to ſinne, They cannot leave God ſo excellent and full to cleave to any creature; As a man that hath taſted honey doth not like the taſte of other things, or as he who hath long gazed on the Sunne hath his eyeſight taken away to behold other things. The Apoſtle tels us, 2 Cor. 4.15. that while we behold the glory of the Goſpel, we are transformed into his Image; If faith in God in this life is ſo able to aſſimila…e us unto God, that he purifieth himſelf as God is pure; If Moſes by ſpeaking with God face to face had ſuch glory communicated to him, that the people were not able to behold the glory of his face, what a Tranſmutation will that immediare beholding of God make in us? We ſee the Diſciples in a tranſient ſight of this were ſo tranſported that they ſaid, It is good for us to be here, let us build Tabernacles; They would never have gone to their former lives again; If a drop do thus work, what will the Ocean do?
Ʋſe Of Inſtruction to Inform us, That true happineſſe which is Eternal life cannot be had on this ſide heaven; It's ſaid,Ʋſe. the deſire of happineſſe is imbred in all; No man can refuſe the deſire of it; Ask every man in the world what he would have, he will anſwer you, happineſſe; Only here is the miſerable corruption in us, we miſtake where it is, we ſeek for it where it cannot be had; The voluptuous man would have it in his pleaſures; The Ambitious man in honour and earthly greatneſſe; All ſeek for it in this world; But how do you, like the blinde Sodomites grope and feel after that which you cannot finde? Go home and ſay, I am not yet happy, I am rich but not happy; I have worldly comforts, but this as no more happineſſe then a Landfloud is to the Sea, yea, for all this happineſſe thou hadſt better never have been born, Every worm, every toad is happier then thou art; Oh then perſwade thy ſelf thou art not yet in the haven, Thou art in the Wilderneſſe, not yet in Canaan; Nulla verior miſeria quam falſa laetitia, and ſuch joy, ſuch comfort, ſuch delight is all thou haſt who haſt not God.