A Prospect of Heaven, Treatise · Chapter 26
CHAP. XXVI.
SECT. I.
AS for the affection of deſire, it ſhall have no place in Heaven: the infinite ſweetneſs which the Saints ſhall taſt in God and Chriſt, and in the love of God and Chriſt, ſhall abundantly ſatisfie them, and leave no place for deſire: their perfect enjoyment of God ſhall admit no hungring or thirſting after further delights: they ſhall find it is enough, they ſhall be fully ſatisfied, but never cloyed, nor ſatiated. Whence S. Auguſt. ſaith,Auguſt. Tract. 3. in Jo…n. ſuch ſhall that delight of beauty in Heaven be, that it ſhall be alwayes preſent with thee, and yet thou never ſatiated: for if I ſhall ſay, Thou ſhalt not be ſatisfied, there ſhall be an hunger and thirſt: if I ſhall ſay, Thou ſhalt be ſatiated, thou wilt fear a cloying there, where ſhall be neither famine, hunger, nor thirſt, nor any tedious cloying: to the ſame purpoſe Cyprian ſaith,Cyprian de laude Martyrii. the Saints ſhall not onelyonly taſte how ſweet God is, but they ſhall be filled with a wonderful ſweetneſs, nothing ſhall be wanting to them. In Heaven there is no more deſire for Chriſt as a thing abſent, the thirſt being ſwallowed up in Chriſt, the Soul thirſteth no more; Chriſt being preſent, their deſires are ſatisfied: God ſhall be all in all, his preſence ſhall fill and ſatisfie all the powers and faculties of their Souls.
Holy David having here taſted of God's ſweetneſs, cries out, Whom have I in Heaven but thee, there is none upon earth that I deſire beſides thee? Pſal. 73.25. intimating to us, that he that hath God, hath enough in God: The Soul that poſſeſſeth God in this life, hath recovered that great loſs that fell upon Adam, and all Man-kind by fin: Man by ſin loſt God, now he that hath God in Chriſt, hath recovered this great loſs: Man in his firſt eſtate had enough by enjoying God; now he that recovereth this loſs, wanteth nothing, for he findeth enough in God. And although Adam in innocence enjoyed many other things beſides God, as perfect health, poſſeſſion of the Garden of Eden, and full authority over the Creatures, and albeit theſe things were comfortable in a degree in their kind, yet man's happineſs in that ſtate did not conſiſt in poſſeſſing theſe things, but in enjoying God: and all the glory and ſweetneſs, and any thing that was deſirable in all theſe things, was derived meerly and wholly from God. Now whatever God doth here give to man by the Creature, he will ſupply in Heaven without the Creature, viz. immediately by himſelf: if the ſtreams be ſweet, how much better is water in the Spring, and purer there? In Heaven the Saints ſhall want nothing, yet ſhall they enjoy nothing there but God; he will be all to them, their drink, their food, their reſt, their joy, their pleaſure, the height of all their honour, he will be all, and more than all unto them. Which conſideration made a devout man meditating hereupon to cry out, Deus meus & omnia, ah! one refreſhing of thine,Drexel. Conſider. de Aeternit. one enjoyment of thee is a ſweet refreſhing indeed; for to enjoy thee is to enjoy the quinteſſence of all good. Thou art unto me, O my good God, goodneſs it ſelf, reſt in my labours, pleaſure in my grief, ſecurity in my cares, and the only true riches in my poverty; thou art my ſtrong Bulwark, againſt all the furious aſſaults of men; thou art my refuge whatſoever evil doth oppreſs me; and finally, Thou art all unto me, whatſoever I can wiſh for, or deſire: wherefore then when we come to Heaven, we ſhall not need to ſeek to quench our thirſt with any ſtream, when we have ſo chryſtal a Spring-head or fountain as this, where we may lye down and drink our fills: in having and enjoying God, we ſhall have whatſoever we can deſire: then the Lord will wholly frame the hearts of his Children according to his own mind, that whatſoever is pleaſing to him ſhall be delightful to them; the heart ſhall then be kept in from wandring any more after vain and ſenſual delights; and the Soul being wholly conformed to God, it hath whatever it can deſire.
SECT. II.
ANd as for the affections of fear and ſorrow, and anger, they ſhall have no place in Heaven: for then they ſhall be ſet far above the fear of all evil; the Saints being poſſeſſed of an infinite good, which is God himſelf, for their portion, they ſhall have no cauſe then to fear any evil; there is no evil can hurt them, for no evil ſhall be able to reach them that are in poſſeſſion of him that is an infinite good: they are alſo poſſeſſed of God (the infinite good) in perpetuity; they have him in everlaſting poſſeſſion: for otherwiſe, although they need not fear any evil while they are poſſeſſed of him, yet they might fear the loſs of him, and their woful ſeparation from him, and then they ſhould lye open to all ſorts of evils; therefore to prevent this fear, the Lord hath betrothed them to himſelf for ever, and hath given himſelf to them in Marriage, and that in an everlaſting covenant, and will never be divorced from them, but be theirs for ever and ever.
The graces of Repentance, Mortification, Self-denial ſhall have no place in Heaven, which are of great uſe here in the way to Heaven: there ſhall be no ſenſe of evil to be ſorrowed for, nor ſin to be repented of, nothing diſtaſteful to provoke their anger, or to diſcompoſe thoſe bleſſed Spirits that are above; there ſhall be a perfect harmony between God and them.
Neither ſhall there be any uſe of thoſe graces of Faith and Hope in Heaven. S. Paul tells us, Now abideth faith, hope, and charity, theſe three, but the greateſt of theſe is charity: why greater than the other, but becauſe this abideth immortal for ever? In Heaven inſtead of believing we ſhall ſee; here the object of faith is things not ſeen; the thing promiſed, but not yet performed; now in the life to come, when all things that are promiſed are fully performed to us, and poſſeſſed by us, there is no uſe of faith, in relation to theſe things. —So for Hope, when all the glory of Heaven is fully enjoyed, that the Saints hope for, there is an end of Hope in reference to the ſame things: the affection of Hope ceaſeth not, until the good that is deſired and hoped for, be obtained, and made preſent; but that good thing being had and attained unto, then the affection of Hope ceaſeth, for what we have and enjoy we hope not for,Viſibile non eſt objectum Spei. Rom. 8.24, 25. Therefore, ſaith Auguſt. Hope is a Child of Faith, by which man hopeth (from him whom he knoweth) for that which yet he hath not: Now when the good that we hoped for is obtained, Hope doth end and ceaſe. Yet notwithſtanding, although Faith, Hope, and Patience, ſhall ceaſe in reſpect of their objects, yet they are eternal in reſpect of their fruits, Heb. 6.12. The Apoſtle ſtirring up the Hebrews to walk after the examples of thoſe that are now in glory, ſpeaks thus; Be ye followers of them who through faith and patience have inherited the promiſes. Thoſe things that heretofore were not ſeen by them but by an eye of Faith, they are now in full poſſeſſion of, they do inherit the promiſes: on the other ſide, they have no more ſufferings to endure, therefore there is no more uſe of patience; but the fruit of thoſe graces which they ſought for, that they now inherit and enjoy. S. Paul tells us, Gal. 6. that he that ſoweth to the Spirit ſhall reap life everlaſting. When the Husbandman ſoweth his ſeed in the Earth, the ſeed dieth, and is diſſolved in the ground, there it lies hid, he ſees no more ſeed till the harveſt cometh, but then he reapeth many Buſhels for one: ſo he that ſoweth to the ſpirit, worketh in the ſtrength of thoſe graces, ſhall reap life everlaſting: he ſhall have no uſe of thoſe graces in the life to come, but reap the fruit of it, even life eternal: when the Saints come to poſſeſs Heaven as a portion caſt out by God's own lot for them from all eternity, they ſhall for ever enjoy the fruit of their piety, and the end of their Faith and Hope: Oh how ſweet ſhall the remembrance of their work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of Hope be to all eternity?