A Prospect of Heaven, Treatise · Chapter 20
CHAP. XX.
SECT. I. A deſcription of what things ſhall be ſeen in God by the Saints in Heaven.
HE that ſeeth a wiſe and mighty man, although he ſeeth his out-ſide, yet his in-ſide he ſeeth not, viz. the beauty and perfections of his mind; but in Heaven the Saints ſhall ſee the Divine beauty and excellency with the eye of the inner man; they ſhall ſee the brightneſs of his glory and majeſty; they ſhall behold him, not by a reflex, as a man may ſee the image of the Sun in a Looking-glaſs, but they ſhall as it were look upon him in a direct line.
1. They ſhall with admiration behold him as the firſt eternal Being, as the Ancient of days, comprehending all the Centuries of years, all the ages and generations, all the hundreds and thouſands of years, all the changes and periods of times, all of them making up but a moment, and being no more then the twinckling of an eye to his eternity.
2. They ſhall ſee him as he is in himſelf, that he is glorious in himſelf, in his being; that he is infinitely glorious in all his Attributes; that he is eternally glorious in all his works; they ſhall ſee him to be ſuch a God as he proclaimed himſelf to be, that he is the Lord God, the Lord God of Gods; they ſhall know the immenſity of his being, the infiniteneſs of his greatneſs; that he is infinite in grace, infinite in mercy, infinite in glory; they ſhall then ſee the unlimitedneſs of his eſſence, filling them with himſelf, with his preſence and fulneſs filling all things, and with his infinite being encloſing all things that are.
3. They ſhall clearly ſee him as an unchangeable God, who hath wrought all the wonderful changes that have hapned in the Heavens, in the Earth, in the Seas, yet that himſelf hath remained ſtill immutable; they ſhall look upon him as the firſt univerſal mover, who ſetteth all things in motion, in whom and by whom all things move, himſelf remaining immovable.
4. They ſhall not only be convinced of his Almighty power, but ſhall ſee it clearly, and manifeſtly diſcern his infinite ſtrength; it is one thing to read of the great ſtrength of Sampſon, and to believe it as a certain truth; it had been another thing, and a matter of far greater ſatiſfaction, to have ſeen him ſmiting the Philiſtines hip and thigh with a great ſlaughter, killing a thouſand of God's Enemies with the Jaw-bone of an Aſs, carrying away the gates and poſts of a City upon his ſhoulders, pulling down with his hands the houſe wherein thouſands of the Philiſtines were ſitting: ſo it is one thing to read and believe the Almighty power of God, but another thing, and a matter of greater ſatisfaction to the Soul, to have a clear view of it; to ſee God forming Heaven and Earth of nothing, and changing times and ſeaſons; to ſee him raiſing ſome out of the duſt, and lifting them out of the dunghil, and ſetting them with Princes, and throwing down the mighty from their ſeats, that were exalted to places of great eminency and dignity, overturning Nations and Kingdoms, and working great wonders. Theſe things (though paſt) it is conceived, they ſhall be as clearly ſeen in God, when we ſhall ſee him face to face, as if they were but then in doing. With great delight alſo ſhall they ſee his Almighty power, that ſhall bring up all the Potentates of the Earth, all men, high and low, rich and poor, young and old, before his tribunal; in tranſlating all his Children into everlaſting glory, and throwing the Wicked into everlaſting burnings. They ſhall alſo ſee God exerciſing his power in diſſolving the frame of this viſible World, rolling the Heavens together as a ſcroll, and folding them up as a garment; melting the Elements with fervent heat, and burning up the Earth with the works that are therein. Moreover, they ſhall ſee what God ſhall do for ever, they ſhall ſee God in all his workings to eternity: What a raviſhing thing would it have been,Burr. in Beatitud. if any of us ſhould have been admitted into the preſence of God, and there to have ſeen what God hath done from the beginning of the World to this day? but when this World ſhall be at an end (as it will ſhortly be) God and his Saints will then remain everlaſtingly, and they ſhall be for ever with the Lord, and they ſhall be there where they ſhall ſee what God will do for ever.
5. They ſhall ſee the infinite love of the infinite God, of which now they have but a taſte; they ſhall then clearly underſtand that love of God, which is the ſpring of all ſpiritual bleſſings in heavenly things, out of which they were elected to holineſs, eternal life and glory; that love out of which Chriſt himſelf (as a Mediator and Redeemer) iſſued, and out of which all things were given them that appertain to life, and godlineſs; that love which prevented them in their loſt condition, which turned the eye of God's compaſſion towards them when they lay in their blood; that love which iſſued out a pardon of all their ſins from the Court of mercy, which lengthened out the patience of God toward them when they lingred in their ſins. Then ſhall they know fully where this love was bred, and that none but the eternal love and delight of the Father could have outed ſo much love; then ſhall they ſee themſelves over head and ears drown'd in many obligations to his infinite love.
6. They ſhall ſee him as the Fountain of light and wiſdom, as the only wiſe God, as the Father of lights, in whoſe light themſelves ſee light, from whoſe face all thoſe beams do ſhine, whereby their Souls are filled with heavenly wiſdom; they ſhall ſee clearly that God is light, filling Heaven with his brightneſs and glory, and fixing the eyes of all the Angels and Saints upon him, as an object infinite, altogether lightſome and lovely. They ſhall behold that infinite wiſdom of God which created Heaven and Earth, which great piece of workmanſhip had nothing but nothing for its materia, how all the different parts whereof it is compoſed had the ſame original, and how this vacuum, by the word of God, brought forth the Heavens with their Conſtellations, the Earth with all its Fields, the Sea with all its Rocks; how the Heavens and Earth were created in an inſtant, though there went ſix days to their diſpoſal. The Saints in Heaven ſhall alſo underſtand that wiſdom of God which in all ages hath governed the World, and directed all creatures to their courſes and motions; how this admirable work hath endured numberleſs ages, contrary to the Laws of Nature, which ſuffereth that ſoon to periſh which ſhe is not long in forming. Then ſhall the myſteries of Providence be fully opened, and we ſhall ſee the Births in the Womb of Providence, which on Earth are inviſible to us; then ſhall we underſtand all the ways, circuits, lines, turnings of Providence, and ſee how Chriſt hath ſteered the helm of Heaven and Earth when means have failed, and men and times have changed. They ſhall likewiſe know that wiſdom that hath ordered the ſins of Men and Devils to holy ends, never intended by the Actors, which hath over-reached the craftieſt devices of the Serpent and his Seed— They ſhall likewiſe behold that manifold wiſdom of God, that contrived the whole method of mans Redemption and Salvation, the very Maſter-piece of Divine wiſdom; that wiſdom that hath given light to the blind, wiſdom to the fooliſh, and abundance of light to thoſe that ſate in darkneſs, and in the ſhadow of death, and which made thoſe that were darkneſs to become light in the Lord. This ſhall be matter of admiration to Men and Angels, that the great God ſhould condeſcend to look on ſuch vile Sinners, ſo far below the free love and majeſty of the moſt High. Then ſhall the Saints underſtand all the counſels of God concerning themſelves from all eternity; when they ſhall be admitted into the Houſe of God, they ſhall not only ſee what God himſelf is, but they ſhall ſee his heart, his will, and all his ways, and glorious contrivances for their ſalvation.
7. They ſhall ſee him as that God who is truth it ſelf; they ſhall exactly diſcern how every promiſe of his, every propheſie delivered by his ſpirit to the Churches, and recorded in his word, is fully accompliſhed, not one failing or falling to the ground; and that whatſoever God promiſed, or bound himſelf by covenant to perform, though it ſeemed difficult, or long, before it was fulfilled, yet it came to paſs at laſt in its appointed time: Oh the ſweet ſatisfaction which the Saints in Heaven ſhall find in the full contemplation of the truth of God every way manifeſted, and ſo gloriouſly verified in and upon themſelves, in keeping them by his power unto ſalvation, in preſerving them to his heavenly Kingdom, in guiding them by his counſel, and bringing them to glory; when they ſhall ſee that all the art, malice, ſkill and power of Men and Devils, could never fruſtrate nor make void the leaſt tittle of God's ſacred truth.
8. They ſhall ſee him as a God infinite in holineſs, of perfect purity; they ſhall with great delight look directly into that overflowing fountain of holineſs, which hath ſtreamed into ſo many thouſand Souls, which hath waſhed ſo many unclean hearts from their filthineſs, which filleth all the Saints and Angels in Heaven with perfect holineſs; then ſhall they behold thoſe fair hands (as I may ſpeak) that ſtooped to waſh ſuch black-skinned and defiled Sinners, and purged away the filth of the Daughter of Sion— If the Egyptians for many ages have had a great deſire to find out the fountain of that River Nilus, which by his yearly inundations watereth the Land in that hot climate, (having no ſhowres of rain) and maketh it abundantly fruitful: Oh then how ſhall glorified Souls rejoyce to be brought to the Spring-head of holineſs, which hath watered ſo many barren Souls, and made them bring forth the fruits of the Spirit.
9. They ſhall clearly ſee him as an all-ſufficient God; they ſhall ſee that rich treaſury opened, out of which all that good was given, which was received by any, or all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth. The Lord by many notable inſtances of his own glorious works, Job 38.22. convinced Job of ignorance, and poſed him by a multitude of interrogations; among the reſt ſaith he, Hast thou entered into the treaſures of ſnow? or hast thou ſeen the treaſures of hail? But in that ſtate of glory, not only this holy man, but every one of the Saints ſhall be admitted to view the treaſures of God's all-ſufficiency, out of which all good things concerning this life and the life to come, have been and ſhall be diſpenſed and diſtributed among the Creatures, life, breath, all things, grace and glory; grace of juſtification, grace of ſanctification, preventing grace, ſubſequent grace, exciting grace, confirming grace, ſtrength againſt temptation, ſupport under afflictions, help in extremities, relief againſt ſeeming impoſſibilities, faith, repentance, love, hope, &c. they ſhall ſee the Spring of that River of God's pleaſures, and of thoſe living Waters, which have refreſhed ſo many thirſty Souls when they ſeemed ready to periſh. Oh how would it tickle the vain curioſity of many men, to be admitted to the ſight of the rich treaſures of great Princes, and to have their Cabinets (filled with the rareſt and moſt ſumptuous Jewels) unlocked before their eyes? Alas, they are not ſo much as common ſtones of the ſtreet, in compariſon of the treaſures of God's all-ſufficiency which the Saints ſhall behold in Heaven.
SECT. II.
FUrthermore, as the Saints in Heaven ſhall ſee what God is in himſelf, ſo they ſhall perfectly and fully ſee what God is to themſelves; here is the happineſs of the beatifical viſion, not only to know that God is infinitely gracious in himſelf, but that he is alſo infinitely gracious to us; not only to know that God is goodneſs it ſelf, bonum ſummum, the chiefeſt good, but alſo to know God is our chiefeſt good, our happineſs. Then the Saints will all ſay to God as Job did, when he had that familiar conference with God, Job 42.5. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye ſeeth thee. So when we come to Heaven, every one of us will ſay, Lord, I have heard thy Miniſters ſay, that thou art a merciful, a gracious God; I have heard thy Word to proclaim thee to be a Lord, a Lord God gracious and merciful, a God pardoning ſin, and forgiving iniquity, and now mine eyes ſee thee; now I plainly ſee that thou art ſuch a God as indeed thou art. I tell you this is one main part of the beatifical Viſion, not only to ſee what God is in himſelf, but to ſee clearly what a good God he is to us; this is the happineſs of all the Saints, this is the fulneſs of joy which is in the preſence of God, this is the rivers of pleaſure which are at God's right hand. Suppoſe the Devils and damned Spirits ſhould know what God is in himſelf, that he is the God of grace, the God of mercy, the God of glory, alas, they would but little bleſs themſelves in the knowledg of God, becauſe God is not thus to them; it is their woe of woes, becauſe they know that God is to them a conſuming fire, devouring burnings, and an angry Judge: To know a thing, and not to poſſeſs that thing, is no happineſs at all; to know there are riches in the bottom of the Sea, doth nothing rejoyce a man, but to poſſeſs thoſe riches; to know there are rich treaſures of all good things, and not to have any part in that treaſure, what comfort hath a poor man in the knowledg of that? It is true what Chryſologus ſaith of the rich Man in Hell,Dives magis uritur Lazari gloria quam proprio incendio. Chryſolog. The glory of Lazarus doth more torment him, then the fire of Hell. It is no comfort to him to ſee Heaven, and Lazarus in Abraham's boſome, and himſelf to be thruſt into Hell. This brings joy to the heart of man, when he knows a thing, and ſeeth it to be his own. There are three things that make a man glad: 1. When a man hath that which he loveth. 2. When that which he hath and loveth is the beſt thing. 3. When a man knoweth that he hath, and that he loveth, is the beſt thing. All theſe things are in the beatifical Viſion.
The Saints enjoy that which they love, viz. God; then God is the beſt thing: among all the treaſures of good things, nothing to be compared to God. Likewiſe the Saints do know that they do enjoy God, that God is their God; and what God is in himſelf, that he is to them: this is that which will ſatisfie all the Saints when they ſhall awake out of the duſt.
They alſo ſhall ſee all things in God: it is a true Theorem among the Schools, Videntes Deum omnia vident in ipſo; thoſe that ſee God, ſhall ſee all other things in him. And the reaſon that they give is this, becauſe the Divine eſſence is the repreſentative object of all things. Fulgentius makes this compariſon,Fulgentius his compariſon. God (ſaith he) may not unfitly be compared to a glaſs; look as in a glaſs we ſee three things, we ſee the glaſs it ſelf, then we ſee our own ſelf in the glaſs, then we ſee other things in the glaſs too; ſo in God we ſhall ſee Deitatem, noſmetipſos, caeteraque; ſee God, ſee our ſelves, ſee all other things beſides.
Now this knowledg will not be a comprehenſive knowledg of God; we may be ſtudying God to all eternity, and yet we ſhall never be able to comprehend him: God is infinite, and our underſtandings are finite; it is impoſſible for an infinite object, to be confined within the limits of a finite being. Aquinas gives this good rule;Divina eſſentia tota videtur, quia eſt ſimpliciſſima partibus carens, ſed non totaliter. Aquinas. We ſhall ſee the whole eſſence, but as moſt ſimply void of all compoſition, but we ſhall not ſee him wholly; we ſhall have large and clear apprehenſions of God, but no comprehenſion: As Cardan told them that asked of him, What God was? Tunc Deus eſſem; if I were able to tell you what God is, I my ſelf ſhould be a God. We ſhould all be Gods, if we could comprehend God.
SECT. III.
THe Saints in Heaven ſhall alſo behold the Lord Jeſus as he is God, the ſame God with the Father and the Holy Ghoſt. More particularly,
1. They ſhall have a perfect knowledg of him as God and Man, as Mediator between God and Man; they ſhall not only ſee the Lord Jeſus with their bodily eyes, but they ſhall alſo diſcern his incomparable excellency with the eye of their inner man; they ſhall then underſtand the myſtery of the incarnation of the Son of God; they ſhall clearly ſee into the myſtery of the hypoſtatical, or perſonal union of God and Man, which is now ſo little underſtood by us; they ſhall then ſee the God-head filling the Manhood with glory and majeſty, dwelling in it ſubſtantially; they ſhall behold how the nature of man was raiſed unto an infinite height above all created nature, and joyned to the Deity in the word hypoſtatically and ſubſtantially; they ſhall ſee how God is truly and properly Man, and how Man is truly and properly God, which naturally no created underſtanding can comprehend; they ſhall then clearly behold that wonderful conjunction of the Son of God, and of the Seed of Abraham in one Perſon, and ſhall ſee the Man-hood exalted far above all Principalities and Powers.
2. They ſhall behold him as the Author and Finiſher of their Faith, as the Sacrifice for their Sins, as him who was their wiſdom, righteouſneſs, ſanctification, and redemption — They ſhall know him as their Pledg and Surety, as one that ſatisfied the juſtice of his Father, and bore all the pains and torments their ſins deſerved: they ſhall know him as their Head, that gave them life and motion; they ſhall know him as their Tutor and Guide, that hath led them through their Pilgrimage in this World to the heavenly Canaan; they ſhall then know how he carried a world of Saints over the ſame Seas they are now ſailing in; how Chriſt paid the fare of the ſhip himſelf, and that not one of them was found dead on the ſhore — They ſhall know him as a Father that was more tenderly affected with the ſorrows and ſufferings of his Children then of his own; they ſhall then know how Chriſt's eye and heart was upon his Spouſe, making their ſalvation his end, and the meaſure of his love; his riſing early, his night watching, his toyling, his ſweating, his ſore and hard travel, and all that he might have a redeemed People. Then ſhall they know him as their King, Prieſt and Prophet, who offered up himſelf for them; they ſhall look upon him as one who preſented all their prayers to his Father, and procured acceptance; who taught them the mind of God, who came out of the boſome of God, and revealed the Father to them, who governed them and protected them all their days; they ſhall look upon him as one that brought them through fair and foul ways to his Fathers Houſe. The perfect knowledg of theſe things, and the like, will abundantly ſatiſfie the Saints in Heaven. Then Jeſus Christ ſhall be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all that believe, 2 Theſ. 1.10.
I. He ſhall be glorified in his Saints; which glory ſhall reſult to Chriſt two ways.
1. By putting glory on his Saints; in glorifying them, he glorifieth himſelf; he manifeſteth what a King of glorious ſtate he is, what treaſures of glory are in him, that he can put ſo much glory on innumerable Saints, without any diminution of his own glory; all that glory which the Saints enjoy, is Chriſt's originally; he is the Fountain, they the Ciſterns; he infinitely full, though they are filled with it alſo; they receive grace for grace from Chriſt, and they receive glory for glory, happineſs for happineſs, joy for joy from him. Chriſt ſheweth the riches of his glory, as a King ſheweth the riches of his treaſury, when he can make many rich, and he not wax poor: but what King can do ſo excepting Chriſt the King of Kings?
2. He ſhall be glorified in his Saints] that is, as Chryſoſtom expounds it, foreign, by his Saints.Chryſoſt. in 2 Theſ. 2.10. All his Saints ſhall with one heart and mouth aſcribe to him all the glory of their glory, and for their glory, Revel. 4.10. Then all the Saints will take their Crowns of glory from off their heads, and caſt them down before the Throne of Chriſt, ſaying, Thou art worthy to receive honour, and glory, and power. He is infinitely worthy in himſelf, becauſe he is God over all; but he is alſo relatively worthy in reſpect of the Saints, becauſe all the glory they have, they received from him; he purchaſed their glory, he hath brought them to glory, he hath glorified his power in making them glorious, and he counts them worthy of this glory.
II. Chriſt ſhall be admired in all that believe.] Wonder and aſtoniſhment ariſeth ex magnitudine & novitate rerum; the greatneſs and ſtrangeneſs of a thing cauſeth admiration in all beholders. The glory which Chriſt will put on his Saints ſhall be exceeding great, and exceeding ſtrange, beyond all conceit and imagination; the heart of man cannot now perceive it; but when the eye ſhall ſee this glory, and the heart ſhall perceive it, Chriſt will be wonderfully admired in them and by them. The glory of his power will be admired, in that ſuch poor duſt and aſhes ſhould be advanced to ſuch an height of glory, that he can make his Creatures ſo glorious. They will admire his love toward them in communicating ſuch glory to them; they will admire his grace in bringing ſuch worthleſs Creatures to ſuch glory, even from the Dunghil to the higheſt Throne of glory. Moreover, they ſhall clearly underſtand that great myſtery of the Trinity, of the Perſons in the unity of one God-head and Divine eſſence, which is now ſo far above the underſtanding of the ſincereſt Chriſtian; they ſhall ſee how the Son is begotten of the Father, as the word and wiſdom of the Father, and abideth in the Father; how the Holy Ghoſt proceedeth from both, and abideth in both; they ſhall ſee how theſe three are diſtinguiſhed by a perſonal propriety, ſo that they are three Perſons ſubſiſting in themſelves, and yet together in number are one eſſence, or ſimple Deity, one power, one wiſdom, one goodneſs, one majeſty, one immenſity, one eternity; then ſhall they ſee how the Father is in the Son, how the Son is in the Father, and the Holy Ghoſt in both; how all are in each, and each in all. This is a myſtery which here no heart can conceive, or tongue expreſs; it is, as Hilary ſaith, Extra ſermonis ſignificationem, extra ſenſus intentionem, & extra intelligentiae conceptionem: no ſpeech can ſet it forth, no ſenſe can ſound the depth of it, no reaſon reach the reaſon of it; but in Heaven the Saints ſhall perfectly underſtand this great myſtery. This is the Heaven (ſaith Gregory Nazianzen) that I look for,Nazian. orat. contra Arrian. that I may have a view of the glorious Trinity, and underſtand that great myſtery. This truth that hath met with ſo much contradiction from many blaſphemous Hereticks in former ages, ſuch as Neſtorians, Arrians, Sabellians, Macedonians, they ſhall then moſt clearly underſtand.
SECT. IV.
GLorified Saints ſhall alſo look into the great myſtery of godlineſs; with great delight ſhall they read the Book of Life, the eternal Decree of God electing them to Salvation; how ſhall it fill their hearts with joy, to look into the original Records of eternity, to ſee into that depth of the riches both of the wiſdom and knowledg of God, at which the Apoſtle made a ſtand. The Apoſtle was at a ſtand, as one whoſe ſtature in that condition of mortality was too low to wade any further into that great deep; therefore he cries out, Rom. 11. How unſearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! The waters are too deep, I can find no bottom; for who hath known the mind of the Lord, or been his Counſellor? But in Heaven the Saints ſhall fully underſtand this unſearchable depth, viz. how God ſhould ſo carry on the great deſigns of the declaration of his pardoning mercy to ſome, and his puniſhing juſtice to others; and that in both theſe God was free in his grace, and juſt in his judgments, though he neither choſe nor called according to works; that the damned Creature was moſt guilty, and that God was both ſevere and graciouſly merciful, and that none hath cauſe to complain of God; and that the fundamental cauſe of this various adminiſtration with Nations and Perſons, is the holy and ſoveraign will of God, who hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardeneth. This is the depth without a bottom that St. Paul ſpeaks of. But in Heaven the Saints ſhall be filled with the knowledg of theſe myſteries, the boſome of God being opened to their underſtandings. What are the events that have hapned in the World, or in the Church, but the effects or conſequents of thoſe decrees which have been everlaſtingly in the mind of God? Now if the Saints in Heaven ſhall perfectly ſee God, then nothing of God ſhall be hid from them, which may make up their compleat happineſs: they ſhall then clearly underſtand the myſteries of juſtification and glorification, and all the deep things of God, all the myſteries of the holy Scriptures, all the Prophecies, all the Figures, Types, and Symbolical ſhadows, all the myſtical Senſes; all theſe things they believed here, either expreſly or implicitely, but the reward of faith is viſion and clear knowledg. The ſame doth St. Auguſtine inſinuate, ſaying,Auguſt. de Civit. Dei, cap. 21. What ſhall we ſee in Heaven but God, and all thoſe things which now believing we ſee not?