Contemplations on Mortality, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. Experimentall feelings of the Divine preſence, choice Comforts to a Saint at Death.
THou haſt made known unto me the wayes of life: and what followes? ThoudAct. 2.28. ſhalt make me full of joy from thy countenance. Gods face darts one beam of light on the path of a Saint, to ſhine upon his way to glory: another beam (and thats of joy) upon the heart of a Saint, to oil his motion. And all but beams: yet warming beams and experienc'd beams to haſten him to the Sun it felf. A Saint ha's now but beams of joy, and bleſſed be God for beams, and ſuch beams as direct and attract to the Sun it ſelf, to that Sun of joy, to that fulneſs of joy in his countenance: Saints look unto him and theircPſ. 34, 5. faces are enlightned, our looking to God makes us look like him and the neerer to him, the more we are like him Gods countenance is of a changing and transforming nature: When God lookt upon Moſes but through a chinck: how did his face ſhine, how lovely was it, as well as glorious? God ſmiles on a Saint in love, and a Saint reflects upon God with joy.
But Saints have not only good looks from God, but free entertainment. He maketh me to lye down in green paſtures, he leadeth me beſide the ſtill waters, he reſtoreth my ſoul, he leadeth me in paths of righteouſneſs for his Names ſake: oh! how the cool Eteſian gales from the rivers of the ſpirit in ordinances revive and refreſh a Saint: The experience of preſent mercies diſpells the fears of future evills: I will fear no evill for thou art with me: God never forſakes a ſoul in covenant, never withdraws his reall (though ſometimes his viſible) communion. I foreſaw the Lord alwaies aAct. 2.2… 27.before my face: therefore my heart rejoices &c. becauſe thou wilt not leave my ſoul in the grave. By nature Gods not with us: but when once the day ſpring from on high doth viſit us, grace never ſets in an evening, whether we ſleep or wake we are ſtill with God.
Here's the point, to know aright; that God is with us: and we with him. Whether we have walkt with God and he with us. If Enoch walk with God then God will take him: He that walks with God, pleaſes God:bGen. 5.24. The Septuagint render the Hebrew word for walking, by pleaſing God, and the Spirit of God delights in the word [foreign] and uſes the ſamecHeb. 11.5. when treating of Enoch in the New Teſtament to ſhew what pleaſure God takes in them, that walk with him.
If we walk with God, we have fellowſhip and communion with him. Godd1 Joh. 1.6, 7. is light, and if we walk in light we walk with him: Light is holineſs: and a holy perſon walks in light and dwells in God: lets not ſpot our garments, and we ſhall walk with him in whiteeRev. 3.4. The fine linnen of holineſs alas, what Saint doth keep it clean: we muſt waſh it daily in the Laver of the Spirit, or elſe no company for a holy God: The beſt of our linnen is but courſe and yellow: its well if it be ſincere and true: but then it ſhall ſhine with raies of glorious light, and be laced and beautified with admirable gifts: The QueenfPſ. 45.14. ſhall be brought unto him in raiment of needlework at the wedding day. Now 'tis ſoiled with many a drop and many a foul ſpot: but then as pure as God would have it. Now, the mores the pitty, 'tis patcht and ragged: many a Saint is out at heels in his holineſs, he walks diſorderly and uncomely. But then we ſhall have new Coats fine linnen, clean and white, Rev. 19, 8. and change of Raiment from our elder brother. Benjamin aGen. 45.22.ſhall be fine indeed, when he ſits at the Table of the Ruler of Canaan: 'Tis holineſs fits us for Table communion in heaven: 'tis porch communion in grace that brings us neer it: haſt thou never walkt with God in the porch? thou ſhalt never ſit down at thebLuk. 22.30. Table of Chriſt and drink the new wine of the Kingdome.
Again, As God walks in the light of holineſs: he walks alſo in the holy Place of his Temple, God delights in his Ordinances, in his pure worſhip: We walk with God, when our hearts are in communion with him in Ordinances. His paths are in the Sanctuary there's hiseLam. 2.1. footſtool and there his goings: HedRev. 2.1. walks among the golden Candleſticks: In the Temple all talk of his glory, while he ſits at the Table of grace, and thecSong. 1.11 Spikenard ſendeth forth the ſmell thereof; There he hathfPſ 133.3. commanded the bleſſing and life for evermore.
Walking, in Scripture when applyed to God in communion with Saints, is expreſt three ſeverall waies: Before God, with God, and after God.
To walk before God (among others) one ſpeciall ſenſe is, (that we are now upon) to walk in pure and holy worſhip. Coming up to the Temple is called a coming upg1 King. 14 9. before God, our appearing,hPſ. 56.13. ſitting,i1 Sam. 2.30, 35. Pſ. 100.2, &c. Ezek. 33.31. walking and abiding before him. h And Jerohoam is branded on the account of falſe worſhip, that he caſt God behind his back. As God commands his people, they ſhall have no other Gods before him; So he forbids any other worſhip then he hath inſtituted, to ſerve himſelf with: For he iskExod. 20.5. a jealous God: his eyes do ſee quicklylExod. 32.8., and his jealouſie willmDent. 29.18, 20. ſmoak fiercely againſt ſuch a man and all the curſes in the Book ſhall lye upon him, and the Lord will blot his name from under heaven. Bold and ſawcy is that ſilly worm that preſumes to chalk out a worſhip for the living God.
To walk with God, is to walk in his wayes, in his ſtatutes and commandments to do them: to eye his directions, to feel and turn about with every guide of his hand. We muſtnPſ. 119. chooſe his precepts for our way, and we ſhall have him for company: and is the way ſo holy, and our God ſo holy? then bleſſed is the man: thats holy and undefiled in ſuch a way,Pſ. 119.1. and in ſuch heavenly company. TheaHoſ. 14.9. wayes of the Lord are right: the juſt ſhall walk in them: but tranſgreſſors ſhall fall therein. Every holy duty is a rock of offence, and a ſtone of ſtumbling to a carnall heart, he trips and ſtumbles and falls and riſes no more: But an upright heart, and an upright way, meet pleaſantly with anbPſ. 25.8. upright Lord, that teaches ſinners in the way, and guideth the week in judgment:cPro. 11.20. Such as are upright in the way, are his delight, he takes pleaſure in the path and perſon.
To walkdDeut. 13.4 after God, is to chooſe God for our Captain and Leader: to make him our example, preſident and conduct. The Iſraelites followed the cloud of Gods preſence by day, and the pillar of Fire by night, in the howling Wilderneſs of Arabia, till they came to Canaan. When theeNum. 9.17. cloud was taken up, then Iſrael journied, and where the cloud abode, there they pitched their Tents: Saints muſt be imitatorsfDeu. 1.36 Joſh. 14.8, 9. of Caleb and Joſhuah, to follow the cloud of the divine preſence fully: and this is the Churches prayergPſ. 80.2. before Ephraim Benjamin and Manaſſeth ſtir up the Ark of thy Strength, march before us to lead and ſave us: A holy and perfect God goes before, and a holy and perfect People follow after: BehMat. 5.48 ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect: be ye holy in all manner of converſation; For 'tis writteniPet. 1.15, 16. be ye holy as I am holy: Not to come up to it, but to come after it; not to equall but to eye and imitate. O perfect copy! the more a Saint looks at it, the more he mends his hand: O the rare ſtrokes in this pattern of holineſs! that enamours the eye to behold, and quickens the hand to imitate: As he is, ſo are we k1 Job. 4, 17.in this world: as he walktl1 Joh. 2.6 ſo ought we: So ſhould we Lord! and by thy heavenly conduct ſo would we: Let Saints conſider, how Chriſt walkt: how obediently to the Father, how tenderly to the brethren, how mortified to the worlds vanities. When thy thoughts are tempering, or thy tongue upon the ſtring: thy hand or thy foot haſtning to action: ſtop one moment, conſider, would Chriſt do this,mEph. 5.1. and be followers of God as dear children.
Thirdly, As God walks in holineſs, and in the Sanctuary of Ordinances: So he delights to walk among a holy People: henZeph. 3.17 rejoyces over them with joy, he reſts in his love, and joyes over them with ſinging: When Zion ſhines in holineſs, ſhe ſhall be a Crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royall Diadem in the hand of her God: She ſhall no more be termed Forſaken, nor her land deſolate: But her own name ſhall beaIſa. 62.4. Hephzi-bah and her Lands name Beulah: For the Lord delighteth in her, and her land ſhall be married. The joy and delight of God is in a people like himſelf, with ſuch he will dwell, rejoyce over them,b2 Cor. 6.16, 16. above the joy of harveſt, and walk in them for ever.cPro. 8.17. I love them that love me, ſaies Wiſdome, and who ſeeks me early ſhall find me: Love ſets the heart a ſeeking and the more we love him, we ſeek the earlier. I ſought yeadSong. 3.1. by night, him whom my ſoul lov'd. Night-ſearchers are Chriſt-finders, a holy heart ſeeks a holy Saviour, and a holy Lord delights to be found by it: Chriſt abſents, not for want of love to us, but to inflame our love to him: he loveseSong 2.9, 14. to ſtand behind the wall, and to hear our moaning after him; to look out at thee2.9. window of heaven, and takes pleaſure to ſee our wandrings about to find him, and ſendsfIſa. 30.2… his holy ſpirit to whiſper to us, where he is.
Art thou like Chriſt? Doſt thou delight ingSong 2.14 hearing the voice, and ſeeing the face and changing breaths in converſing with Saints? Does the blood of David run in thy Veins? Does thy goodneſs, thy kindeſs, extend to Saints on earth, to thoſehPſ. 16.2, 3 excellent ones, more excellentiProv. 12.26. then their neighbour? Is thy delight in theſe Princes of the daughters of Zion, theſekPſ. 45.16. Princes in all the Earth. God calls Zion his Hephzi-bah my delight is in her: Doſt thou call the Suns of Zion, thy Hephzibam? My delights in them. So David did,lPſ. 16.3. Col-Hephzibam, All my delights in them. All his delight: All his time and all his parts, all his eſtate, and all his affections are ſpent with God and Saints: With his good will, he could ſpend all his dayes in the Courts of Gods houſe and ſociety of Iſraelites, that come up to worſhip. Art thou one of theſe? then all theſe are thine: becauſe thou art Chriſts, thy heart's in them, and one day in their company is a little heaven: For what makes heaven?Pſ. 84.7. but a purer and a longer communion with God and Saints. Why did David ſo long and pant to dwell in Gods houſe? that he calls it, hisnPſ 27.4. foreign one thing, his one, his only, his darling, his choice petition? chiefly! toaPſ. 27, 4. behold the amenities, the pleaſantneſſes, the beauties of the Lord, and to inquire in his Temple, to taſt theb36.8. fatneſs of his houſe, the fat ſacrifices of the peace-offerrings with God. God had his part and the Prieſt his, and the Saint his. IncLev. 7.14.15, &c. the old Sacrifices all the fatdC. 3.16. was the Lords: but in the ſpiritual ſacrifices, all theeIſa. 25.6. Pſ. 63.5. fat is a Saints at the Goſpell mountain: when the cloth is ſpread for the feaſt of fat things, of fat things full of marrow, when the wine's mingled, andfPro. 9.2. the rable's furniſht, and Wiſdome cries,gSong 5.1. Eat O friends and drink abundantly O beloved.
But this is not all, (yet more then all beſides) though David love God above all, ſeeks him before all, and loves Zion for finding God there: yet the Saints he loves too, and therefore delights to go to Zion to meet the multitude, that kept holy feaſts inhPſ. 42.4. the courts of God. [Hamon iTurba tripudians.chogag,] To rejoyce with the multitude of dancers, and hear the joyfullkPſ. 89.15 ſound: where they are ſtilllPſ. 84.4. praiſing him andmPſ. 145.11, 12. talking of his power: They ſing of his righteouſneſs, his mighty acts and the glorious majeſty of his Kingdome.
Whereas the man that pleads his name in Zion Court-roll; he thatsnPſ. 87.5, 7 born there, delights to be there among the Singers and Players on Inſtruments: he loves the Songs of Zion; For all his Springs are in Zion, and ſtream from the God of Zion: Would you ſind a Saint or would you find your ſelf to be ſo? look in the Courts of Zion: in pure Ordinances with a pure God do all true Saints converſe. Do'ſt thou enquire for theoSong 1.7, 8. foot-ſteps of the flocks of his companions. Perhaps the Fathers flock, the little choſen flock of Chriſt, is with his ſon Moſes, ſome faithfull Shepheard in thepExod. 3.1, 2. back-ſide of a Deſert coming to the mountain of God, and there ſee Viſions of the flaming Buſh and the Angell of the Covenant in it? Do'ſt thou delight where Chriſt does feed, though in ſecret and retired corners, and holdeſt communion with Saints there? 'Tis not glittering pomp of outward ſervices that takes the heart of a Saint: that's the mark of a Roman ſtrumpet.Joh. 420 2 King 16.11. Altare amaſcenum. To worſhip in ſpirit and truth: not in gaudy Gerizims or ſtately Samaritan Temples, not to burn incenſe on Altars like thoſe of Damaſcus: but in naked and plain ſimplicity of the Goſpel lies the beauty and glory and ornament of the true Church. Divine inſtitutions: not a tittle beyond them of mens invention, pleaſe a holy heart. A true Convert alwaies inquires after purity of worſhip; like the womanaJoh 4.20. of Samaria, when Chriſt was working upon her heart, is very inquiſitive and buſie about the truth of worſhip and Chriſt as ready and clear in anſwers. Art thou a walker with God? thou walkſt then and converſeſt with him, and with holy Saints in holy worſhip.
But is thy delight in vain Companions: that's an ill token. Doſt thou fancy and relliſhbMat. 15.9. vain worſhip, and ſetteſt in the aſſemblies of ſuperſtitious Zealots. Its a bad omen of a carnall heart, and an ignorant head. A mans company ſhews his moralls: and a Saints, his graces. Where our treaſure is, there our heart and love, and communion lies. A vain habit and a vain geſture, and vain diſcourſe with vain and trifling ſpirits are the Sign-Poſts, that hang out from an empty and a vain heart. Do'ſt thou bowl away thy time, ſhoot away thy ſeaſons, and bett away thy precious hours among the waſters of the day of grace? I fear thy profeſſion is rotten at core. David argues his integrity before God, in not having ſatcPſ. 26.4. with vain perſons. nor having gone in with diſſemblers ord35.16. with hypocritall mockers in Feaſts. But that he was a Companion aPſ. 119.63.of all ſuch as feared the Lord and kept his Precepts. Sheep do not uſe to company with hogs, and lye down in the mire together, you never ſaw Doves feeding upon Carrion with Crows and Ravens. Such, whom thou perceiveſt by a ſpirituall inſtinct and expecteſt to ſing with thee in heaven; do thou company with, pray, hear, conferre and converſe with, here upon earth? I need not bid thee: If gracious, the magnetiſme, the Loadſtone of holineſs will draw and allure thee. The perfume of that precious ointment, its fragrant aromaticall ſmell, will attract thy ſociety by a ſpirituall naturality. Thoſe that arec1 Joh 4.7. born of God love the Brethren.
To iſſue this: If thou findeſt inward ſolace and pleaſure:
1. In a holy converſation.
2. In pure Ordinances. And
3. In gracious Saints: Its evident, thou walkeſt hand in hand with God: And by experience thou ſhalt feel both warmth, conduct and ſuſtentation from that holy hand.
He infuſes lively ſpirits for motion, directs thee in a ſtraight way to the Land of uprightneſs, and upholds thee from daſhing thy foot againſt any ſtone of ſtumbling; For thou loveſt his Law,aPſal. 119 165. and nothing which God does to thee, ſhall offend thee.
Theſe tokens plainly manifeſt, that God is with thee: but doſt thou feel it? Can'ſt thou ſay it from an in war warmth influenced into thy Soul, by ſitting under thebPſ. 91.4. Feathers of the Almighty, under the wings of the Cherubims in his holy Oracle? Art rhou warm'd by Ordinances, and inflamed in thy affections to God, and through a holy, cheriſhing, vitall heat? Can'ſt ſay with David, thou art with me? then humbly infer I will fear no evill. He that walks incPſ. 89.15 the light of Gods face, and under the warmth of his wings: no evill frights him, no Lion in the way turns him aſide from the paths of holineſs. A righteous man under the ſenſe of the flowings in upon him, of the righteouſneſs of Chriſt, is as bold as a Lion, and makes all the beaſts of the forreſt tremble. He playes with that hugedJob 41.2.5. Leviathan of Death, as with a Bird, and bores his jaw with a thorne: The head of thisePſ. 74.14. Crocodile, is meat for his Soul in the wilderneſs: he ſpreads a banquet for his companions, and parts him among his ſpirituall merchants: he makes a gain of death, and feeds upon the Deſtroyer. Forf1. Cor. 3.21. death is his, becauſe he is Chriſts and Chriſt is Gods. He carries thegRev. 2.17. white ſtone of abſolution in his boſome, and fears not the day of Judgment. Chriſt ishGal. 1.16. revealed in him and ſo ſhall his glory. TheiCol. 1.27. Eph. 3.17. dwelling of Chriſt in his heart by faith, is not only the bode of glory, but roots and grounds him in love, and inlarges his Soul to comprehehend with all Saints the interminable bounds, the unmeaſurable dimenſions, the unintelligible knowledge of the love of Chriſt, till he be filled with all the fulneſs of God. Though as yet he ſees not Chriſt by the eye of ſenſe: yet he is enamour'd with him by the eye of love from the optick nerve of Faith, andk1 Pet. 1.8 rejoices with joy unſpeakable and full of glory. A Saint cannot conceive the greatneſs of Chriſts love nor utter the exuberancy of his own joy. As the love of Chriſt flowes in: ſo his joy ſwells, overflowes and tides it into the boſome of Chriſt: He is as full of heaven as he can hold and is ready to take his Phoenix-flight upon the wing of an extaſie into Paradiſe.
But wheres the Saint, that injoyes ſuch heavenly feelings of the preſence of God? Did we ſearch our experiments to feel our feelings, and taſt our taſtings of God? More would find the Well and drink the waters of aſſurance,
Ut nemo in ſeſe tentet deſcendere, nemo!
Will no man dive into his breaſt,
To ſeek the face of ſuch a gueſt?
Haſt thou a Well of living waters within thee and ne're a Bucket? A Fountain, and ne're a Baſon of Meditation: Be a worthy Souldier of Gideon, aJudg. 7.5, 6.lap with the hand of FaithbBochart. de animal. parti col. 674. haſten and conquer the Midian of tentation: O how it ſtrengthens the nerves, inſpirits, and puts a new life in the ſinews of theſe Champions of valour to fight the Lords Battails: A ſenſe, a taſt of the waters of divine love makes a conquering Saint: Like Sampſon at death, ſlayes all his Philiſtins, deſtroyes their God and their Temple together: What the touch of God upon the heart is, may be better felt then expreſt, and what ye can expreſs, none underſtands but he that feels: None hear theſe Uniſon ſtrokes, but Virgin-Souls that have learntbRev. 14.3 the Song of the Lamb: No ſtranger intermedles with acProv. 14 10. Saints bitterneſs at firſt converſion. nor the ſweet fruit of joy in aſſurance: Theſe ſpices grow in thedSong 4 12 encloſed garden, bitter are they in the root and taſte at firſt: but ſend forth a fragrant ſcent when pounded in the Mortar of Meditation: Theſe waters flow from a Fountain ſealed, like the head of Nilus, but at length by their nitrous ſtreams impregnate all the champion plains of the Soul with fertile and teeming joyes: A Saint diſtills them into Spirits of conſolation and then like an expert Chymiſt circulates all his duties and graces in the cloſed glaſſe of experience at the Sun of Gods countenance into an oyl of joy. 'Tis etheriall and volatile, and comforts all that mourn: 'I is fragrant wine and highly balſamicall fit for a ſick beloved: iteSong 7.9 goes down ſweetly, cauſing the lips of thoſe that are aſleep, to ſpeak.
The love of God is a glorious object, ſeen by the eyes of the Soul turn'd inward: Experience is like the chryſtalline humour, through which, and Meditation is like the tunica aSpigel. Anat. fol. p. 301. & Bartholin. 80. p. 351 Ed Lug. B. 1651.retina, the Network-Coat of the Eye, upon which the various kinds and ſpecies of divine love are cleerly diſcern'd: Like as the curious varieties of all manner of objects are brought into darkned rooms by convex glaſſes: So 'tis with a Saint in the private room of contemplation when his glaſſe is placed in the roof of his Soul, and all worldly objects are ſhut out, a heavenly heart lets in only the admirable things that come from above. All thats in Heaven flowes in, and paints the Chambers of the Soul like Solomons Temple within, and adorns a holy heart in lively colours with Palm-Trees and Cherubims: The Queen is all gloriousbPſal. 45.13. within: Her clothing of wrought Gold from the Iſle of Ophir, her garments of Phrygian Needlework: But all theſe ornaments beautifie the heart within: The KingscSong 7.5. Galleries, within the Soul, are hung with the Arras of Grace, and Tapiſtry Stories of Gods love from Election to Salvation, from Heaven to Heaven: Lift up your heads ye everlaſtingdPſ. 24.9. dores, that the King of glory may enter, and thereeSong 7.12 receive his loves.
Naked innocency and godly ſimplicity, holy integrity and unblameable purity of life, are a Saints outward ornaments, the choiceſt luſtre, and radiancy ſhines in the preſence Chamber: The Soul that has it, beholds it with unſatiable delight, enjoyes it, and is even inebriated and ſcarce it ſelf, with the pleaſant draughts of this cordiall Nectar: It drinks abundantly of this holy anodyne to aſſwage its ſorrows: The joyes of Heaven pour'd in from the golden cup of aſſurance is a choice opiative againſt death: It perverts not, but exalts the intellectualls and tranſlates a Saint in a trance to glory.
Haſt thou then any ſpirituall ſenſes, & are they f e…erciſed to diſcern both good and evill:Heb. 5.14 Canſt thou taſt the bitter evill of death in the forbidden fruit, and cure that mortall guſt with thegRev. 2.7. Tree of Life, in the midſt of the Paradiſe of God:Eph. 1.21, 2. Hath the h Head of Principalities and Powers, commanded away the Cherubims with their flaming Swords from the gates of Eden: Has the Prince of Life called thee to feed upon that i medicinall fruit,Rev. 22.2 to live for ever? Has thy Soul reliſht the ſweetneſs of the water of the chryſtalline River of Life? Does it flow ſo faſt upon thy Palate with its unſpeakable varieties and admirable changes of all manner of delicious taſtes, that thy ſpirituall ſancy is uncapable to keep pace with, much leſs to unfold and expreſs its pleaſure: Here are ſweet waters ſtoln from heaven, that the world knows not, and hidden Manna that even many diſciplesaJoh. 4.32 taſte not: The waters come down from thebRev. 22.1 throne of God and of the Lamb: They ſpring from the Fountain of the Fathers divine election, and his eternall Covenant with the Lamb, and run between the Banks of the Incarnation and Paſſion in chryſtall ſtreams: Haſt thou taſted c1 Pet. 2.…that the Lord is gracious? Tell me, O Soul, is he not ſweet? And ſo ſweet, that thy tongue can't hold but paſſionately invite others to comedPſal. 34.8 taſte, and ſee: Is not the Manna, thecJoh. 6.35. Bread of Life, which Chriſt gives, ſuited to every deſire and longing appetition of a Saints Palate? Is not hisfSong 2.3. fruit ſweet to thy taſte? Do not the Apples comfort thee, when thou eat'ſt them under his ſhadow with great delight? To them that believe he isg1 Pet, 2.7. h. 3. precious, ſayes Peter, If ſo be ye have taſted that the Lord is gracious: A gracious Lord is a precious Lord, and a taſted Lord is a ſweet Lord: Speak true, O Soul, didſt ever taſte ſo choice a ſweetneſs, or lay thy lips to ſuch iSong 6.11Pomegranats as grew in this garden: ThekSong 7.12 & 2.13. flower of the Vine by its ſmell allures, by its taſte captivates the ſenſes and even overcomes the ſpirits of a Saint: Its ſaid of the ſpicy mountains of Arobia the happy, that the gatherers are often bereav'd of their ſpirits by the ſtrong emanation of thoſe fragrant ſhrubs: Truly Saints, (when walking in the mountains of Canaan the heavenly, I mean of aſſurance) need the ſpice of ſupport againſt the powerfull efflux of the ſpice of joy: The Soul before it finds Chriſt, is ſick of love and when hee's found, is ſick of joy: I mean, while here below. till we are purified by viſion, it can ſcarce well bear the flowings in of aſſurance: We muſt have our viſions of the Angell of the Covenant like Jacob, aGen. 32.26.only by dawnlight, glittering noon enjoyments are for heaven: Theſe old Bottles are readyto burſt with the new wine of the Kingdom▪ We could not bear the ſtrength of this wine: If the King ſhould often bring us into theſe Cellars & therefore he keeps the Key, & opens & ſhuts it at his pleaſure: and poſſibly therefore God is pleaſed to nouriſh Saints but with drops of theſe high Tinctures of glory, full draughts might ſwell us with pride, and inflame us with feavers of cenſure again meek walkers: Jacohs Peniels muſt halt upon ſhrunk ſinews.bGen. 32.32. And Pauls Revelations muſt be humbled by Satans buffets: 'Tis not only the ſurges of grief, but rivers of joy that may overwhelm the ſpi As Gerſon ſpeaks of a devout woman that breathed out her Soul in the ſtrength of theſe enjoyments:Vol. 3. p. 64. b. Therefore 'tis, that here we muſt live by taſtes and taſtes only: the full banquet's kept to laſt, the firſt fruits firſt, then the harveſt; firſt the bunch of Eſchol, and then the Vintage of Canaan: firſt the waterſh wine of Cana, and then the miraculous wine of Chriſts glorious Kingdome: Admirable grace it is, that God drops down taſtes and lets fall crumbs from the Table of the Spirits of the Juſt made perfect: And is a taſte ſo pleaſant, ſo delectable, then whats the fulneſs: Haſt thou a mouth that taſtes and ſavours the things of God? Though it ſtay the ſtomnck, yet it whets the appetite for glory: The ear trieth words and the mouth taſteth meat, ſaiesaJob 34.3. Elihu: but 'tis the heart that ponders judgment: Heavens dainties call for a pondering ſpirit to dwell upon the reliſh and a circumſpect frame, that we be not wanton: I have heard of thee, ſaies Job, bJob 42.5by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye ſeeth thee (and may we ſay) my ſoul taſteth thee: Therefore I abhor my ſelf and repent in duſt and aſhes: Abhorrency of ſelf and complacency in God, are tokens of divine taſtings, feelings, ſeeings, enjoyings: The neerer we draw to thoſe holy embraces, the more lovely doth God appear and more vile our ſelves: Nothing elſe pleaſes that Soul which hath had a raviſhing reliſh of God: Now nothing leſſe then God, now nothing longer, nothing like him: Not our ſelves, our ſins humble us, our graces are imperfect: Not Angels: Mary weeps for all ſhecJob. 20.12 13. talks with ſhining Angels, 'tis not them ſhe cries for: nor can their white garments dry up her tears, or their radiant ſhining faces raiſe the leaſt umbrage of a ſmile, while her Lord is abſent: The burden is, they have taken away my Lord, and whereis he? But a word from Chriſt clear her eyes and chears her ſpirit: She knows his voice (when Chriſt will have it ſo) before ſhe ſees him: She ſaw a ſeeming gardiner and asks for Chriſt: but now ſhe ſees the true Vine, and taſtes his love, ſhe hears his voice and ſees his face, and nothing now will ſerve butdV. 17. touching: The more we hear and ſee of Chriſt, the neerer, fuller, ſweeter, are our approaches to him. The Soul's never ſatiated on this ſide heaven: This feaſt preſents heavenly Viands genuine & appoſite to a gracious palate: They are not of a cloying, clogging temper, and there ever comes in flowing upon the heart freſh, new, and ſweet iſſuings from Chriſt: Such rare pieces of proſpect entertain the Soul in this transfiguring mountain: that it peeps and pryes, and piers in at the key-hole of the Chamber of Heaven, and can do nothing but lye at the poſts of wiſdome and cry with the ancient, plus de te Domine, Mo e of thee Lord
But on the other ſide, where are the hearts of beſotted worldings: The eyes of aaProv. 17.24. fool, ſaies Solomon are in the ends of the Earth, rowling and rambling about upon vain objects: But wiſdome is foreign at the very face of him that …ath underſtanding, he ſees ſuch beauty in the face of wiſdome: that he ſhuts his eyes to the world, and opens them only to heaven.
A wandring eye is the ſign of an unſatisfied fool, that wont learn wiſdome from a Solomon: Though God gave him more riches, (If Villalpandus countaright, then ever any of the Roman Emperors had) and all manner of enjoyments and an exquiſite heart to dive to the bottome of the viſible Creation: Every one that girds himſelf to run Solomons race a new, counts that Prince a fool, but proves himſelf to be ſo: God commanded Solomon to write a Book on purpoſe to ſave our labour, to quench our drought, to excuſe our oil, and to ſet up his Herculean Pillars: On the one ſide he graves, all is vanity: on the other, ne plus ultra, ſail no further: For now there's no terra incognita, no more land, nor continent, nor Iſle to be diſcovered: hear the concluſion of thebEccl, 12 13 whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandment, for this is the whole of man,
Solomons Ships of ſpeculation went round the world and brings tidings of more gold for covetous wretches, and more Apes and Peacocks for curious and weak fancies, but no new thing under rhe Sun: The old pleaſures indeed ſhall waft home new toils, & new vexations, but no ſatisfaction to a judicious Soul: A wiſe man therefore fixes his eyes upon divine wiſdome and daily contemplates the ribs of Solomons Ship laid up in the dock at Eziongaber, ſhatter'd with its ſore travells, and learns the great prudence to ſtay at home, to ſtudy his own heart, and to ponder the paths of underſtanding. Alas! then may we not pitty, deluded, bewitched, entangled mortalls, that ſtill hunt their game, and follow the hot ſcent through the wilderneſſe and forreſt of this world: Oh! how they puff and pant, and ſweat and leap hedge and ditch after the deep throated hounds of their boundleſſe deſires to catch a ſhadow: Its a plain ſign they know little and have taſted nothing of God to hunt ſo fiercely after ſmoak and vapour.
I will not ſay 'tis unlawfull to hunt wild Beaſts for the food of man, or to make room and preſerve his ſafety: But this I'le ſay, to take pleaſure in ſetting the creatures at variance, to make a ſport of the fruit of ſin, to make that a recreation, which God has made a curſe, is the ſign of one that walks contrary to God: I read of no godly man but of four other hunters in Scripture, Nimrod, and Eſau, and Iſhmael, and the cruell hunter of ſouls, and I am ſure they are wild and bad companions: But there are a world of hunts-men that purſue the pleaſures of ſin, and the gains of unrighteous Mammon, and oh how theſe ignes fatui, theſe inflam'd meteors lead thouſands into the bogs of eternall darkneſſe: And as the ancient Heathens ſang of hunts-men, —Nec praeda quam caede magis &c. Nunc hominum nunc bella gerunt vio lenta ferarum: That eager hunters of Beaſts in times of peace were uſually bloody hunters of men, in time of war.
That man has no communion with God, whoſe Soul is immerſt and drownd in ſenſuall pleaſures: Such as walk in the vanity of their minds,aEph. 4 18 are alienated from the life of God; ſuch have little honour or love for God, that forſake the fountain of living waters, and ſuck the mud of the broken Ciſterns of the Creature: Their Souls are as earthy as their objects, and their ſpirits as baſe as their pleaſures: But remember, that to lay up thy Soul in thy Barns, to tye it in thy Bags, to lodg it in thy Parks, to pack it in thy Warehouſe, or ſtove it in thy Ship: Theſe are dangerous places to look for it: when the world is in a light flame.
Shall I commend unto thee, O man, a gainfull Trade and a pleaſant Chaſe: The firſt is to lay out all thy Stock for the Pearl of price: The ſecond is to fall in company with David, andaPſ. 63.8 follow hard after God, and never leave him till thou get a bleſſing, AsbPſ. 42.1 the Hart panteth after the water-brooks; ſo panteth my ſoul after thee, O God, Here's a hunted hart turns hunter himſelf: Sin hunts a Saint, and he pants for God, and at length meets with lovely Veniſon, but 'tis in the Sanctuary, ſavoury meat that his ſoul loves, he taſtes it and bleſſes his darling before he dyes: He feeds upon a Kid of the flock takes the Cup of Salvation and Praiſes, ſaying, thou haſt dealt bountifully with me,cPſ. 116.7. Return, O my Soul, unto thy reſt: He has no reſt upon earth, no reſt but in God, and therefore return, O my ſoul, unto thy God: He looks upon the whole earth, as Tohu vabohu, without form and void,dGen. 1.2 and all the fulneſſe thereof to be but emptineſſe, the roating of the ſeas to ſound forth their ſhallowneſſe, and all the ſtarry heavens to be likeeStellae nebuloſae. vaniſhing clouds: Unleſſe he feel the warmth of the ſpirit of God moving upon the waters of his ſoul.
If thou haſt indeed had ſpirituall feelings of God, thy Soul's warm'd, thy thirſt to the world ſlaked, to God inflamed, thy hot inquiſition and purſuit of the creature coold and checkt: Fools gather Cockleſhells and Peebles, when there lyes before them a mine of Gold or a rock of Diamonds: And here's the vaſt difference between the poſſeſſors of worldly, and the inheritors of heavenly treaſures. Thoſe make the man covetous of an evill,eHab. 2.9 covetouſneſſe to his houſe, the other ennobles the minde with a communicative generoſity: And theres reaſon for't, though no reaſon for ſin, yet theres a reaſon to be rendred why the ſinner acts ſo: For the firſt loſes by his hoarding, and the other gains by his ſpreading: The graces of the ſpirit in the ſoul as well as in the whole Church, are a fountain of gardens,fSong. 4.15. a well of living waters and ſtreams from Lebanon: They are not wells pent up, but overflowing: Come, ſaies David, and Ile tell you whatgPſ. 66.16. God hath done for my ſoul: Experience in theſe Viſions is like ſailing upon an Ocean, that hath an infinite round: no diving to the bottome, no kenning of a ſhore: Theres alwayes a terra incognita, an unknown land in heavenly myſteries, and the more we diſcover, it yields more various and excellent pleaſures: New fruits, new taſtes, new paradiſes, new gardens of delight, new ſongs and new joyes for ever: The Songs of the Lamb will be new aRev. 14.3to all eternity: Here, in this life the ſoul hoiſts up ſails from the port of converſion, on the waters of Merom, the bitter waves of repentance, mourning and tentation for ſin; then ſpreads them upon the Sea of Galilee in ſweet communion with Chriſt and his holy diſciples in the ſhip, then paſſes the dead ſea without danger, and at length with a proſperous gale falls into the vaſt Ocean of eternall glory.
But to reentrench: he that feels, what God is to his ſoul, is in wardly fild with a ſenſe, what he will be: Death is no more able to amuſe a holy ſoul inboſom'd with God, and ſeaſon'd with experiences of his love then the Carkaſs of the Lion was to fright Sampſons Parents: nay, it fed them with life-honey dropping from the hony-comb.
Keep up thy feeling fellowſhip with God in the cloſeſt, and choiceſt reflections upon his love, and the fear of death will vaniſh: Make conſcience of ſecret ſins and ſecret duties: this will make way for ſecret communion and ſweetly encreaſe it: The more frequent and humbly familiar, you are with God in holy reverence: the more divine and ſoul-fainting emanations will flow from his heart to repleniſh thy ſoul, and enlarge it for glory: ouraPſ 90.8. ſecret ſins, ſaies Moſes, are in the light, in the broad day light of thy countenance. Let's conſider a he ſees the leaſt aberration and wandering of our thoughts from his love, let's be as tender to avoid his diſpleaſure, as we would be joyfull in the beams of his face: let'sbPſ 63 6. remember him upon our beds, and meditate on him in the night watches: Let'scPſ. 4.4. foreign commune with our own hearts and be ſtill, that we may commune with his and be joyfull. Silete, vacate, be ſtill from all paſſions and hurries: give a vacancy to thy Soul to meditate on God and it will ſtill thy fears. The more our Souls are wrapt up in this communion, the more they dye to the world and live to God. Our life is a vapor to dying mortalls: but death is a vapor to a living, to a lively Saint.
But now let me end with a caution that's mixt with a Cordiall: A very holy Saint may ſet in a cloud, and arrive at the haven in a ſtorm. God's tyed to believers by promiſe to ſave them: but not to carry them inaSong 3.9. Solomons Chariot of the wood of Lebanon, into Heaven. Yet it ſtands firm what David ſings in this preſent Pſalm; Thou art with me, and therefore, I'le fear no evill. When the Soul from feeling can chear up its ſpirits, that God is with it: It fears not, who's againſt it. God for ſecret reaſonsbLuk. 24.16. may hold the eyes of ſome diſciples, that they may not know him: to ſhew that all, from grace to glory, is from free love, and that we can challenge neither grace to cloſe with his Covenant, nor aſſurance to diſcern our adherence. The ſprinkling of the Conſcience from dead works, the peace of God that paſſeth all underſtanding,cCol. 3.15 to rule in our hearts; and the joyes of the holy ſpirit all flow from the ſame Fountain. All our ſprings are in Zion, and bubble up from under the Throne of the Mercy-Seat. Yea at the ſtate of Death ſome ordinary Chriſtians, If meek and humble, may injoy greater Viſions, then many gracious, holy, and ſweetly gifted Miniſters. 'Tis not alwayes the ſtrength of Grace: but the gift of influence that breeds and nouriſhes ſtrong and bright aſſurance. A Mary Magdalen ſhall call Jeſus by the name of Rabboni: When two experienc'd Diſciples ſhall walk and talk with him many a mile, and not ſee him nor taſte him till the evening, till thecLuk. 24 29. Supper of Glory. But yet 'tis rare for holy hearts to want theſe heavenly Viſions. The pure in heart ſhall ſee him in the Glaſſe of aſſurance, as well as behold him hereafter face to face.