Moses Choice, Treatise · Part 3 · Chapter 41
CHAP. XLI. What is this recompence of reward.
NOw the third thing that we are to come to is, De illa ineffabili letitia & manſione aterna nunc ex parte narrantes evangeliza vimus, tanquā ſi quis è pelagomaris aquaeguttā digito ſuo auferat. S. Ephraem lib. de Iud. cap. 5.to ſhew what this reward is; we can but give you a little glimpſe of it: Whatſoever will be ſaid, it will rather even darken it then otherwiſe, in regard of the wonderful excellency of it; all the ſtars in heaven, if they were all Suns, they would be but a dark ſhadow to ſet out this reward, and therefore it is reſerved to eternity to be known; but yet, becauſe the Lord hath been pleaſed to let out a beam of light unto us in his word, we ſhall endeavor to give a little glimpſe of it to you, ſo that the hearts of Chriſtians may be revived in their way, and they may gather up their feet to go on chearfully in their courſe, having reſpect with a diſcerning, experimental, ſpiritual, fixed, believing eye, unto the glorious recompence of reward.
Firſt, take all the beauty, excellency, the ſweet and 1.good that there is in all the world; if there could be a confluence and extract of the quinteſſence of all good, in all creature in this world, and all to be communicated to one man, yet it were but as a dark ſhadow of the glory that is to be revealed.
Secondly, this reward, certainly it is that which is 2.beyond all the expreſſion that we have in Scripture of it: Great things are ſpoken in the word, but there is more to be revealed and to be enjoyed, then is yet revealed in all the Book of God, Iſa. 64. 4. For ſince the beginning of the world, men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye ſeen, O God, beſides thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. And therefore in 2 Theſſ. 1. 10. it is ſaid, Chriſt ſhall come to be glorified in his Saints, and to be admired in all them that believe: Now the cauſe of admiration, it is the ſight of ſomething more then was known before, that was not thought of, and was not underſtood; even then at the firſt coming of Chriſt, he ſhall appear in ſo much glory, as he ſhall be admired; as if the Saints ſhould ſay, We heard much concerning Chriſt and his glory, but we never thought that there was ſo much glory in Jeſus Chriſt, as now we finde; and therefore we ſtand admiring at the glory of Chriſt.
Thirdly, all thoſe conſolations, thoſe admirable 3.ſoul-raviſhing comforts that the Saints of God have ever had in this world, have all been but the firſt fruits of thoſe glorious things that are hereafter to to be revealed, they are but as the Cluſters of grapes that that bleſſed Land of Canaan is ſo full of.
Fourthly, then all the expreſſions that man can give of thoſe things that are to be hereafter, muſt 4.needs be but dark reſemblances of what ſhall be revealed hereafter: As the infant in the womb knows not what the light, the glory and beauty of the world is; ſo we, while we are in this darkneſs, know little of the beauty and glory of heaven. St. Auguſtine ſpeaking concerning what we can ſay of it, ſays, It is but as a little drop of the ſea, and a little ſpark of the Quicquid homo dixerit, quaſi ſtilla de mari, quaſi ſcintilla de foco: Bonavitae eternae, tam multa ut numerum, tam magna ut menſu…ā, tam pre cioſa, ut eſtimationem omnem excedant, Auguſt. de triplicihabitu, cap. 4great furnace: Thoſe good things of eternal life are ſo many, that they exceed number; ſo great, that they exceed meaſure; ſo precious, that they are above all eſtimation. Auguſtine in one of his Epiſtles hath this relation, That the very ſame day wherein Jerome dyed, he was in his ſtudy, and had got pen, ink and paper to write ſomething of the glory of heaven to Jerome, ſuddenly he ſaw a light breaking into his ſtudy, and a ſweet ſwell that came unto him, and this voyce he thought he heard, O Auguſtine, what doeſt thou? doeſt think to put the ſea into a little veſſel? when the heavens ſhall ceaſe from their continual motion, then ſhalt thou be able to underſtand what the glory of heaven is, and not before, except you come to feel it as I now do, this therefore is beyond the expreſſion of man.
Fifthly, all the deſires of all the ſouls of Gods 5.Saints in the world, they come infinitely ſhort of that which ſhall be hereafter. We are ſtraightned here in our ſpirits, in our deſires; if we could enlarge our deſires in a ſpiritual way, it would hereafter adde much to our glory; our deſires are not onelyonly ſtraighter then that we ſhall have, but the ſtraightneſs of our deſires here hinders much the capacity of the good that hereafter is to be revealed and communicated; and therefore Chriſtians ſhould labor in a ſpiritual way to enlarge their deſires to the utmoſt, to get their hearts to be working after great things here, ſo that they may by them engreaten their hearts, and extend their hearts, to prepare them for the great things that are to be revealed. I may ſay concerning our ſtraight deſires, as the Prophet did to Joaſh, 2 Kings 13. 18, 19. where the Prophet bade him ſtrike upon the earth, and he ſtruck thrice; the Prophet was angry, and ſaid, You ſhould have ſtruck five or ſix times, and ſo often ſhouldſt thou have ſmitten thy enemies: So according to the truth and ſpiritual working of our deſires here, ſhall we be made capable of glory hereafter; but now if we be ſtraightened in our hearts, and we deſire to be in heaven, and to have ſome good thing there, but our hearts are not after great things, not enlarged in our deſires, it will be in ſome meaſure, in ſome proportion according to our deſires, and therefore it is an evil thing for Chriſtians to have their deſires ſtraightned here. There are glorious things to be had in God, and therefore our deſires ſhould be more enlarged then they are. It is an excellent expreſſion of Baſil, *foreign. Baſil Couſt. Mon. c. 1.It grieves, it irks, it is tedious to our moſt munificent, great, glorious King (he hath one word that expreſſes as much as all theſe) if we ask any thing little of him; he would have us ask great things of him.
Again, they are beyond all our hopes: It is ſaid of Abraham, He believed above hope; we cannot believe above hope in this ſenſe, that is above the great things that are hoped for, and yet God loves to have his people raiſe their hopes high.6.
Yea laſtly, it is beyond all imagination; if men and Angels ſhould ſet themſelves to imagine what 7.they would have, they would think if ſuch and ſuch things were, that would be a glorious condition, this reward ſhall be beyond imagination; we may imagine that which we could not almoſt deſire, but whatſoever you can invent or imagine, you ſhall have that happineſs, or that which is beyond it: ſometime we think, what a ſweet thing will it be in Heaven to meet our Father, our Mother, our Brother or Siſter, our Husband or Wife? theſe relations ſhall ceaſe there; but we may conclude, though we have not that there, we ſhall have that which ſhall be better, and that which we would rather chuſe.
But then if it be thus, that all the world be but a dark ſhadow, if that which is revealed in the word be but a glimpſe, if all the comforts of the Saints here be but the firſt-fruits, if all the expreſſions of men come beneath, if all our deſires come ſhort, if all our hopes reach not to it, if all be above the imagination of men and Angels, what is it then? what is that which is thus great? we can tell you ſomewhat of this recompence of reward negatively, and ſomewhat comparatively, but very little of it poſitively; yet ſomewhat that way too.
Firſt, negatively: There ſhall be no evil, there 1.ſhall be ſuch an eſtate of Gods people, wherein What the recompence of reward is.they ſhall be fully, abſolutely, everlaſtingly free from all kinde of evil; in this world evil ſticks to every Chriſtian, but there they ſhall be in an eſtate beyond all evil. When the Sun is got to the heighth, there is no ſhadow; ſo when Gods people come to the top of their bleſſedneſs, there ſhall be no ſhadow of any evil at all: that God that is infinite in good, certainly will not ſuffer evil to be always in his people: Freed from all evil of ſin, and that is the greateſt evil of all; never troubled with any hard heart any more, never peſtered with an unbelieving ſtraightned heart any more, never dull and heavy in Gods ſervice any more; there ſhall never be any more blindeneſs and ignorances, any unconſtancy, any miſtake, any wearineſs in Gods ſervice, delivered wholly from ſin; yea, delivered not onelyonly from the ſin that we have, but from the very ſavor of ſin, and from all the remainders of ſin: A man may be delivered out of priſon, but he may ſmell of the priſon; men may be healed of a wound, and yet have a ſcar remain; ſo it is with Gods people here, they are delivered from the guilt and power of their ſin, but they ſmell of their priſon garments, and there are ſome ſcars upon them, but all the ſmells and ſcars of our ſin ſhall be taken from us; yea, delivered from the very poſſibility of ſin: To be in an eſtate without ſin, is a bleſſed eſtate, but to be in an eſtate wherein there ſhall be no poſſibility to ſin, that is a bleſſed condition indeed: It is a kinde of miſery that a godly man counts himſelf to be in, not onelyonly that he does ſin, but that he may ſin, that he hath a poſſibility to ſin; but to be free from that, that is a bleſſed condition: And this is the happineſs of God himſelf, that there is no poſſibility that he ſhould do any thing in the leaſt degree to ſin.
And as they are delivered from ſin, ſo from ſorrow, for that is the immediate conſequent of ſin: All tears ſhall be wiped from their eyes. And as from moral evil, ſo from natural evil; from external and internal evil, from all weakneſs of parts, and from all pains, and ſickneſs, and deformities, from all labors, all incumbrances here in the world; freed from the company, and madneſs, and oppoſition, and tyranny, and injuſtice of wicked men; they ſhall be above Satan, and above the men of the world. Gal. 1. 4. It is ſaid, that Chriſt hath given himſelf to deliver us from this preſent evil world; it is a part of the purchaſe of Chriſt, to be wholly freed from all the evils of this preſent world; and this purchaſe of Chriſt we ſhall have. Under the higheſt regions are the tempeſts and ſtorms, but above there are none; ſo in this world the Saints meet with tempeſts and ſtorms, but above are none. As the Pſalmiſt ſays, In thy light O God we ſhall ſee light: ſo in the light of God we ſhall ſee nothing but light: now when Gods light does ſhine into us, it does diſcover darkneſs; but time will come, though Gods light ſhall ſhine never ſo brightly, we ſhall ſee no darkneſs, but altogether light. We read concerning Moſes and Elias in Luke 9. in the tranſfiguration of Chriſt, the Text ſays, They did confer about his deceaſe that ſhould be accompliſhed at Jeruſalem: the Saints of God ſhall meet together, and Moſes, and Elias, and the Patriarchs, and ſhall confer no more about deceaſes, about troubles and ſufferings that ſhall be accompliſhed; all thoſe evils ſhall be done away. We may ſay of evils all, as Moſes did to the people of Iſrael concerning the Egyptians, Thoſe your enemies that now you ſee, you ſhall never ſee any more: So we may ſay to Gods people that go out of the world to partake of the recompence of reward; be quiet, be ſtill: thoſe evils of ſin, of ſorrow that now you ſee, and feel, you ſhall never ſee, never feel any more; that is ſomething though it be negatively.
Secondly, comparatively, and herein are three 2.things. Firſt, to compare the good, the happineſs that ſhall be hereafter, with all the good and happineſs that we have here. Secondly, compare it with the condition of Adam in the eſtate of innocency. Thirdly, compare it with the happineſs of the Angels.