Sermons Volume 4, Sermons on Titus · Sermon 16
SERMON XVI.
TITUS II.13.
—And the glorious Appearing, &c.
IN the Encouragement to the Duty of our Heavenly Calling, we have the Substance of our Hopes, and the Seasons when we shall come to enjoy them to the full.
1st. The Substance of our Hopes, Looking for the blessed Hope.
2dly. The Time when our Enjoyment shall be full, when Body and Soul shall be glorified, that is, at the time of Christ's Appearing; At the glorious Appearing of the Great God, and our Saviour Iesus Christ. Every one would have the blessed Hope; but first there is a glorious Appearing.
In this second Branch there is the Person that must appear, and the Kind or Manner of his Appearing.
1. The Person who must appear, Iesus Christ, described by a Name of Power, the Great God, and a Name of Mercy, and our Saviour; as usually such kind of Attributes are mingled in Scripture, Power and Goodness.
2. The Kind or Manner of his Appearing, it's glorious; foreign, the Appearance of the Glory of the Great God. The Apostle opposed the second Coming of Christ to the first; then it was an humble mean Appearance, now it is full of Glory. But what is meant by this glorious Appearing? Some dream of his Personal Reign before his coming to Judgment, but that is a Fancy. The Scripture only acknowledgeth two Comings of Christ; Heb. 9.28. He shall appear the second time without Sin to Salvation. There is only his first and his second Appearing. After he had once offered himself, and ascended into Heaven, and sat down at the Right Hand of God, there is no more Corporal Presence of Christ upon Earth. But will there not be at least a Glimpse? Will he not come in the Clouds for a while to convert the Jews, and set things to rights in the World? Will he not appear for a very little while, and so vanish again? as he appeared to Paul at his Conversion, Acts 9.3. So some think, and therefore distinguish between his Appearing and his Coming, but without Warrant from Scripture; for these two, Appearing and Coming, are all one; and the Expressions are promiscuously used in Scripture; Col. 3.4. When Christ who is our Life shall appear: 1 John 3.2. When he shall appear, we shall be like him. So that this Appearing is his Coming to Judgment; this is that we must look for. And therefore the Point I shall first observe is this;
Doct. That it is the Duty and Property of God's Children, to look for Christ's second Coming to Iudgment.
There are two choice Scriptures that do describe the Communion of the Church with Christ, and the Dispensations of Christ to the Church; and they both conclude with a Desire of his Coming. In the Canticles, where the Churches Communion with Christ is described, this is the last, the Swan-like Note which the Church sings, Come, Lord! And so in the Revelations, where God's Providences to the Church are described, this is the last Note, the Swan-like Song, Even so, come Lord Iesus! Compare Cant. 8.14. with Rev. 22.20. In the former it is said, Cant. 8.14. Make haste my Beloved, and be thou like to a Roe, or to a young Hart upon the Mountains of Spices. Christ is not slack, but the Church's Affections are very strong and vehement; all the seeming Delay is occasioned by the Earnestness of our Desire. A Harlot would have her Husband defer his Coming; but the Church, like a chaste Spouse, thinks he can never come soon enough. Those that go a Whoring after the World, neither desire Christ's Coming, nor love his Appearing; but those that are faithful (as the Spouse is to Christ) this is the Desire of their Souls, Make haste, my Beloved! So Rev. 22.20. Christ saith, Surely I come quickly: and the Church, like a quick Eccho, takes the Words out of Christ's Mouth; Even so, come Lord Iesus! There is the same Spirit in the Church that was in Christ, the Spirit of the Head is in all his Members, and therefore they speak the same thing, and long for the same thing. Christ speaks in a way proper to himself; Surely I come: and the Church speaks in a way proper to her self; Even so, come Lord Iesus! He by way of Promise, and we by way of Supplication; Christ's Voice and the Church's Voice are Unisons: Here is his Proclamation, Surely, I come: and here is the Churches Acclamation; Even so, come Lord Iesus! Christ says, I come, as desiring our Company; the Church says, Lord, come, as desiring his Company. And thus we are taught to pray in the Lord's Prayer, Thy Kingdom come; that we may always keep those Desires a…oot, that Christ's Kingdom in the whole Flux, from the Beginning to the last Period, may come. The Day of Judgment is the most Imperial Act of Christ's Kingly Office; and therefore we do not only pray for the Beginnings here, but also for the Consummation hereafter. And mark, we that live in the latter Ages of the World, have an Advantage of the Church in the Primitive Time. It was the solemn Prayer of the Church heretofore, (as Tertullian sheweth us) pro morâ finis, for the Delay of Christ's Coming, that his Designs and Decrees might be accomplished in the World; that the Kingdom of Grace might be spread far and near. And we that live in the Dregs of Time, pray for the hastening of Christ's Coming, for the imbracing of our great and glorious Hopes; that the Name of God may be no longer dishonoured, that the Kingdom of Sin, Satan and Antichrist may have an End. They expected the Revelation of Antichrist, and we his Destruction. Thus the Saints are described to be those that look for a Saviour; Phil. 3.20. For our Conversation is in Heaven, from whence also we look for a Saviour, the Lord Iesus Christ. Paul speaks in his own Name, and in the Name of all that were like himself; We look, &c. The Saints here are a Company of Expectants, always waiting for the good Hour of their Preferment, when Christ will come, that he may conduct them to everlasting Glory. And they not only look'd for it, but longed for it; and therefore it is said, they love his Appearing, 2 Tim. 4.8. It is notable, Paul doth not mention there other Marks and Characters; not for me only, but all that believe and faithfully serve and obey Christ; but he describes them by this, which is an essential Character of the Saints, for it notes the Disposition of their Hearts, not for me only, but for all those that love his Appearing.
There are several Reasons may be given why this is the Duty and Property of the Children of God still to look for Christ's glorious Appearing: Look upon their Temper, their Relation, their Priviledges, and the Profit they gain by this Expectation.
1. Look upon the Temper of the Saints; within them there's the Spirit, Faith, Love and Hope, and all these put them upon this Desire: there is the Spirit, Rev. 22.17. The Spirit and the Bride (that is, the Spirit in the Bride) say, Come. The Holy Ghost breeds and stirs up Desires, and begets those holy Motions in their Hearts, and the Church answereth his Motions. This is a Disposition above Nature: Carnal Nature saith, Stay; but the Spirit saith, Come. If it might go by Voices in the World, whether Christ should come or no, do you think carnal Men would give their Vote this way for Christ's Coming? The Voice of corrupt Nature is, Depart; Iob 22.14. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledg of thy Ways: that's the Language of their Hearts. Carnal Men are of the Mind of the Devil, when Christ wrought a Miracle in casting out a Devil, and discovered somewhat of his Divine Power, the Devils were afraid, as if he were coming to Judgment already; Matth. 8.29. Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? The Devil cannot endure to hear of Christ's Coming; no more can carnal Men, for they are of his Mind. If Thieves and Malefactors might have the Liberty to choose, whether there should be Assizes, yea or no, do you think they would look for and long for the Judg's Coming, and the Day of his Approach? So corrupt Nature hath no Desire of this Day. It is the Spirit in the Bride that says, Come; as soon as the Spirit of Grace works in us, there is a Bent and Inclination this way; 1 Pet. 1.3. Who hath begotten us again unto a lively Hope. Spiritual Desires come from Heaven, and thither they tend. As soon as the Spirit works Grace in the Heart, it looks out this way; the Heart is bent thither from whence it receives all it hath, as all Creatures love the Place of their Original. The great Work of the Spirit is to bring us and Christ together. The Spirit comes from the Father and the Son, to bring us to the Father by the Son; and therefore the Spirit stirs up those holy Groans in us, When will he come? Then look upon the Graces of a Christian; there is Faith, Love and Hope. (1.) Faith: The Ground of this Looking is the Promise; now Faith stands waiting for the Promise, as if it were already begun to be accomplished. Look as Rebeka espied Isaac a-far off; so Faith espies Christ a-far off. Faith is the Evidence of things not seen, and looks upon Christ as if he were already on his way, and so makes the Soul stand ready to meet and receive him. As a loving Wife stands upon the Shoar, and looks for the Return of her Husband; and the Sight of every Ship makes her to realize by an active and loving Fancy the Sweetness of an Interview: So Faith stands waiting for the Coming of Christ, and the Approaches he makes towards the Church. (2.) Love: 1 Pet. 1.8. Whom having not seen, ye love. The Saints love Christ whom they never saw. We know Christ by hear-say here in the Church, not by Sight; he wooes us, as Princes use to do, by Picture; therefore they long for his Appearing. Whosoever is a Friend to Christ, will find his Heart long for Christ, of whom he hath so often heard in the Word, and so often tasted in the Supper. Love is an Affection of Union, it desires to meet the Party loved: so is Love to Christ; it is not satisfied with the present State, but it cries out, Come, come; Why is his Chariot so long a coming? It longs to see him whom it hath heard of so often and so much, and of whose Sweetness it hath already tasted; for this Love is not only kindled by the Knowledg we have of him by hear-say, but by Experience. Christ first comes in the Heart by Grace, and then the Soul having tasted the Sweetness of it, longs for another Coming; When will he come in the Clouds, that we may see him as he is? And as Love to Christ, so also Love to the Saints enkindles this Desire. We have not all our Company here in the World; and till we all meet together, we shall never be satisfied. (3.) Hope, that is another Grace: God sitteth us with Graces as well as Happiness. The Lord doth not only provide a glorious Estate for us, but Grace to expect it, and stirs up Affections in us sutable thereunto: As in the privative Part of Salvation, Christ doth not only deliver us from the Hurt of Death, but from the Bondage and Fear of Death. Despair is the Beginning of Hell. So in the positive Part of Salvation, the Lord doth not only provide Heaven and Happiness for us, but Hope that we may look for this Happiness: We are begotten again to a lively Hope, 1 Pet. 1.3. And to wait for his Son from Heaven, 1 Thess. 1.10. Hope was made on purpose for this thing, that we expect our full and future Happiness. When the Affection of Hope is elsewhere placed, and turned to carnal things, it is like a Member out of Joint. It was made and framed on purpose that we might look for this glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ.
2. Look upon their Relation to Christ. There are two Relations the Scripture usually takes notice of with respect unto the Day of Judgment, Christ is our Master and our Husband. As he is our Master, we must look for him. It is the Property of a good Servant to wait for his Master's Coming; Mat. 24.46. Blessed is that Servant whom his Lord when he cometh, shall find so doing. Here we have only present Maintenance, but hereafter we shall receive our Wages; Rev. 22.12. Behold, I come quickly, and my Reward is with me. A Servant of God should remember, that when Christ comes, he will not come empty-handed; he is your good and bounteous Master. Here you have but an Earnest, as when you hire a Man, you give him Earnest. But now because God would not have our Affections to be servile, therefore there is a sweeter Relation; we are to look for him not only as a Lord and Master, but as an Husband; and therefore it is the Bride that saith, Come, Rev. 22.17. Here we are only contracted to Christ, he hath pass'd his Promise to us, but the Day of Judgment is the Day of solemn Espousals; Hos. 2.19. I will betroth thee unto me for ever. Here in the Covenant of Grace, Christ doth pass a Promise to the Church; here he comes to give us a Pledg, and take a Pledg from us. As Tertullian saith, Christ took from us the Token and Pledg of our Flesh, and is gone to Heaven to make all things ready; and he hath left with us the Token of his own Spirit, that so we might long for the time when he shall come again for the Consummation of this happy and glorious Marriage that is between him and us. We are to wait for Glory, as a Servant for his Master; and as a Bride or Virgin betrothed, doth wait for the Coming of him that hath promised Marriage to her.
3. Look upon a Christian's Privileges which we shall then enjoy, and certainly Christians must needs desire Christ's Coming. The Day of Judgment is the Day of Manifestation, the Day of Perfection, the Day of Congregation, and the Day of Glorification.
(1.) It is called a Day of Manifestation of the Sons of God; Rom. 8.19. The earnest Expectation of the Creature waiteth for the Manifestation of the Sons of God. All now is under a Vail, your Christ, your Life, your Glory is hid. Our Persons are hid under Obscurity and Abasement; Col. 3.3, 4. Your Life is hid with Christ in God; but when Christ who is our Life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in Glory. Look as Moses told those Rebels, when they would level the Officers of the Church, Numb. 16.5. To Morrow the Lord will shew who are his: So when once the Night of Death is past over, to Morrow when we awake out of the Dust of the Grave, then Christ the natural Son will appear in all his Royalty and Glory, as the great God and Saviour of the World, and then also the adopted Sons shall be manifested; we shall put on our best Robes, and be apparell'd with Glory, even as Christ is. In Winter the Tree appears not what it is, the Life and Sap is hid in the Root; but when Summer comes, all is discovered: So now a Christian he is under a Vail, but in this great Day all shall be manifested.
(2.) It is a Day of Perfection. Every thing tends to its perfect State, and so doth Grace. We see the little Seed that lies under Ground, breaks through the Clods, and works its way farther, because it is not come to the Flower and Perfection: So Grace still tends and longs for Perfection; then we shall have perfect Holiness and perfect Freedom, Christ to the glorified Saints will be a perfect Saviour. Death which is a Fruit of Sin, is still continued upon the Body, therefore Christ is but a Saviour in part to the Spirits of just Men made perfect; but then the Body and Soul shall be united and perfectly glorified, that we might praise God in the Heavens. Christ's Coming is to make an End of his Redemption, of what he hath begun: At first he came to redeem our Souls, and break the Power of Sin, but then he comes to redeem our Bodies from the Hand of the Grave, and from the Power of Corruption; the one is done by Humiliation and Abasement, the other by Power. The Scripture speaks, as if all our Privileges in Christ were imperfect till that Day; Regeneration, Adoption, Union with Christ, they suffer a kind of Imperfection till then. Regeneration, the Day of Judgment is called by that Name; Matth. 19.28. In the Regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the Throne of his Glory. Then all things are made new; Heaven and Earth is new, Bodies new, Souls new. Then Adoption is perfect; Rom. 8.23. Waiting for the Adoption, to wit, the Redemption of our Bodies. What is the meaning of the Apostle's Expression? As soon as we are planted into Christ, are we not the Sons of God? Yes, now we are Sons, but the Heir is handled as a Servant during his Non-age; 1 Iohn 3.2. Beloved, now we are the Sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be; we wait for the Adoption. Justification that is perfect then; Acts 3.19. Repent therefore and be converted, that your Sins may be blotted out, when the times of Refreshing shall come from the Presence of the Lord: Then our Pardon shall be proclaimed in the Ears of all the World; and we shall have Absolution out of Christ's own Mouth; then shall we come to understand what it is that the Lord saith, I will remember your Sins no more, and your Iniquity shall be blotted out. Then for Redemption; Ephes. 4.30. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed to the Day of Redemption. Luke 21.28. Look up, and lift up your Heads, for your Redemption draweth nigh. O how doth the Captive long for his Liberty; so should we long for that Day, for it is the Day of our Redemption. Now the Body is a Captive; and when the Soul is set at Liberty, the Body is held under the Chains of Death. Ay, but then Christ comes to loosen the Bands and Shackles of the Grave, and free the Bodies of the Saints. Look as the Butler was not afraid when he was sent for by Pharaoh, because Ioseph had assured him he should be set at Liberty: So Christ comes to set you fully at Liberty, not only the Soul, but the Body. Therefore to think and speak of that Day with Horror, doth ill become them that expect such Perfection of Privileges, to be acquitted before all the World, and to be crowned with Christ's own Hands.
(3.) It is a Day of Congregation or gathering together. The Saints are now scattered, they live in divers Countries, Towns and Houses, and cannot have the Comfort of one another's Society. But then all shall meet in one Assembly and Congregation. It is said, Psal. 1.5. The Vngodly shall not stand in Iudgment, nor Sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous. There will be a time when Christ's Church shall be gathered all together into one Place. As the Stars do not shine in a Cluster, but are dispersed throughout the Firmament for the Comfort and Light of the World; so are the Saints scattered up and down in the World, according as they may be useful for God: but then when the four Winds shall give up their Dead, and the Saints shall be gathered from all the Corners of the World, this shall be the great Rendezvouz. Look as the Wicked shall be herded together, as Straw and Sticks are bound in a Bundle, that they may set one another a fire; Drunkards with Drunkards, Adulterers with Adulterers, and Thieves with Thieves: Matth. 13.40, 41, 42. As therefore the Tares are gathered and burnt in the Fire; so shall it be in the End of the World. The Son of Man shall send forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend, and them which do Iniquity: And shall cast them into a Furnace of Fire, there shall be Wailing and gnashing of Teeth. The Wicked shall be sorted with Men like themselves, and so increase one another's Torment: so shall all the World of the Godly meet in one Assembly and Congregation, and never separate more. In this Life we cannot injoy one another's Fellowship for divers Reasons, God hath Service for us in divers Countries; but such a happy time shall come, when we shall all make but one Body: therefore the Saints are still groaning and longing for that happy Day; we for them, and they for us; not only the Saints upon Earth that are left to conflict with Sin and Misery, but the Saints in Heaven are still groaning, as the Souls under the Altar; Rev. 6.9, 10. How long, O Lord! Holy and True. Look as those in a Ship-wrack that have gotten to the Shore, stand longing and looking for their Companions: So glorified Saints that have gotten safe to Shore, still they are longing and looking when the Body of Christ shall be made perfect, and all the Saints shall meet in one solemn Assembly. This is the Communion between us and the Saints departed, they long for our Company, as we do for theirs. Here the Tares are mingled with the Wheat; and besides the Persecutions of the Wicked, their very Company is a Burden. Iacob's Cattle, and Laban's are together; but then they shall be separated, and the Saints shall be gathered together, and sit as Judges of them, giving their Vote with Christ in their Condemnation.
(4.) It is a Day of Glorification to Christ, and therefore the Saints long for it; a Day when Christ shall be honoured, and get to himself a glorious Name. God got himself a great Name when he drowned Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the Sea: O what will it be when he shall cast all the Wicked into Hell! Now Christ will come to shew the Fulness of his Majesty, the Terror of his Wrath, and to glorify his Justice upon wicked Men. Christ sheweth his Majesty every day, but we have not Eyes to see it, our Eyes are dazled with Worldly Splendor; but then all Mists shall vanish. The Saints that love the Glory of God, must needs long for that time when Christ shall be seen in all his Glory, when God shall be dishonoured no more, and the Kingdom of Sin and Satan have an end, and wicked Men shut up under their everlasting State. And then from the Saints God hath perfect Glory in them and from them: here God hath not his perfect Glory from us, nor in us. This is the Comfort of God's Children, that God is glorified in their Glory, that they may live to praise him for ever, without Weakness and Distraction; and that's the reason of those Expressions, To whom be Glory for ever and ever. They delight in their own glorious Estate, because they shall ever be in a Capacity to bring Glory to God. Nay, then God shall be glorified in all his Counsels and Decrees, in the Wisdom of his Providence, and in the course of his Judgments; for in the Day of Judgment the full History of the World shall be brought before the Saints, whereas now we see it but by pieces.
4. Why the Saints look for Christ's Appearing, is the Profit of this Expectation which they shall receive; partly as it engageth to a heavenly Conversation, Phil. 3.20. Our Conversation is in Heaven, from whence we look for a Saviour. Where should we converse most, but where Christ is? Now where is Christ but in Heaven? and therefore our Minds should be ever running upon it, our Eyes ever looking that way, and our Hearts ever longing for him. Partly as it engageth us to Faithfulness in our Relations: there is a Day coming when we shall give an account for the Duties of our Relations, because that is the particular Sphear of our Activity. 2 Tim. 4.1. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Iesus, who shall judg the Quick and the Dead at his Appearing, and his Kingdom. Paul there presseth Timothy to discharge the Duty of a Minister, and so for a Master of a Family, and for a Servant. Your Relations are not things of chance, but they fall under the special Care of God's Providence, and therefore you must be accountable for them: here God hath confined you by the Wisdom of his Providence to serve the great Ends of your Creation; therefore whatever is omitted, you are to give an account of your Relations; Magistrates, Ministers, Masters, Servants, all of their several Relations. Partly, as it calms the Heart against the Injuries and Molestations of the present Life: 1 Pet. 2.23. our Lord Christ when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatned not, but committed himself to him that judged righteously: So you must learn of him, when you meet with Trouble, and hard Usage, and unworthy dealing in the World, commit your selves to God; the Judg is at the Door, and he will review all things again. Look as Paschalus, a Minister of the Albigenses, when he was burnt at Rome, cited the Pope and his Cardinals before the Tribunal of the Lamb; thus do you. Partly, as it engages to Perseverance. If a Man hath followed a distressed and afflicted Party for a long time, if nothing comes of it, he tires; but remember, if we follow Christ here, all our Pains will be recompensed to us; 1 Iohn 2.28. Abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have Confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Christ will come, and that with Salvation to them that look for him; therefore let me be faithful in my Duty.
Obj. 1. But how can we look for it, when we know there are some Signs that precede the Coming of Christ? therefore certainly he is not like to come in our days; Will he alter the prefix'd time of his Approach, and change the Jacets of that great Journey?
Answ. (1.) Tho Christ keepeth his pace, yet it is good for us to alter ours; tho we cannot hasten his coming, yet let us be always ready, 2 Pet. 3.12. Looking for, and hastning unto the coming of the Day of God. It is good for us to get ground upon our Fears, and our Sins, and to declare our readiness to meet with Christ: every day we live in the World, is a day lost in Heaven. (2.) If any Age had cause to think Christ would come, certainly we have. It was not far off in the Apostles days, they were called the last days; but ours are the very Dregs of Time. When we see an old Man weak and feeble, Aches and Diseases of the present Life encrease upon him, we say, certainly he cannot live long: So if we look upon the Temper of the World, sure it cannot endure long; Christ will come to set all things at rights. One Forerunner of Christ's coming, are the Dreams and Delusions that are abroad. Mundus senescens patitur phantasias; as the World grows old, it is much given to Fancies, as old Men are to Dotage and Dreams. (3.) If Christ come not in our days, yet Death is at hand; Heb. 9.27. It is appointed unto Men once to die, and after that the Iudgment. Every Man's particular Judgment follows upon his departure out of the World, and then the general Judgment follows, as Death finds him, either among the Sheep or Goats. Iudas died sixteen hundred Years ago; yet as he died, so shall he be found. After Death there's no change of State: therefore your business is always to be ready to depart in Peace, and hasten to an eternal State.
Obj. 2. How can this be the Property of God's Children to desire his coming? Are they always in this Temper and Frame? many weak ones tremble at the thought of it for want of assurance of God's Love, it is the Terror and Bondage of their Lives to think of Christ's coming; and sometimes the Saints do not actually feel such an Inclination and Strength of Desire.
Answ. (1.) The meanest Saint hath some Inclination this way: Can a Man desire that Christ may come into his Heart, and will there not be such Desires that he may come to Judgment? since Comfort and Reward is more naturally embraced than Duty. The very first Work of Grace is to raise and beget this Hope, 1 Pet. 1.3. Who hath begotten us again unto a lively Hope. (2.) There may be sometimes a Drousiness and Indisposition, when their Lamps are not kept burning, Luke 12.36. And be ye always ready, as those that wait for their Lord. When they are fallen asleep, they may for the present wish, that Christ may not come and take them in this condition. As the wise Virgins slept as well as the foolish; so God's own Children many times find themselves indisposed for his coming: careless Carriage weakens their Hope, and the Remisness of their Watch; yet in all there is a Spirit this way, which beginneth with the new Birth. A Wife desires her Husband's coming home, but it may be all things are not ready, and in so good order as they should: So all Christians desire the coming of Christ, but sometimes they are not so exact and watchful, and therefore their Affections are not so lively. Drousiness creeps upon their Hearts, and then God rouzeth them by Afflictions.
Obj. 3. But is this the Property of God's Children, when we see carnal Men sometimes out of Weariness of the present Life, and Trouble of the World, will even long for his coming, and wish for Death?
Answ. That is an Offer of Nature after Ease, this is a Desire stirred up by the Spirit. Sometimes God's Children in their Passions desire to be taken out of the World, as Ionah 4.8. He fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And Elijah, 1 King. 19.4. He requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough, now, O Lord, take away my Life; for I am not better than my Fathers. But this is but a shameful Retreat from Duty, and the Heat and Burden of the Day, and the Labours of the present Life; these are froward Thoughts, not sanctified Desires; Words of a feaverish Distemper, not of Affection, but it comes from the Sickness and Weakness of their Souls. But this I speak of is a solid looking for, desire and longing for the glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ.
Vse 1. It sheweth what they are, who wish that it may never come. Some would be glad in their Hearts to hear such News, that Christ's Coming would never be; it is their Burden and Torment to think of it; as Felix trembled when he heard of Judgment to come. These Men have the Spirit of the Devil in them; if they had the Spirit of God in them, would it be so? Surely no. A carnal Man cannot say the Lord's-Prayer, for he is afraid he shall be heard. Optas ut veniat, quem times ne adveniat? saith Austin. How canst thou say, Thy Kingdom come, when thou art afraid lest God should come?
Vse 2. To press us to this earnest Looking. Christ looketh, he is not slack, 2 Pet. 3.9. The Lord is not slack concerning his Promise. If all things were ready, he would come presently. Before he came in the Flesh, his Delights were with us, Prov. 8.31. Rejoycing in the habitable Parts of the Earth, and my Delights were with the Sons of Men. And he longeth now he is in Heaven, Rev. 22.12. Behold, I come quickly, and my Reward is with me. The Angels expect it, they would not be found Liars, they told us of it, Acts 1.11. This same Iesus that is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come, in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven. The Saints groan. How long, O Lord! how long! Devils tremble at the thoughts of it, Mat. 8.29. Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? The Creatures expect it in their kind, Rom. 8.19. For the earnest Expectation of the Creature waiteth for the Manifestation of the Sons of God. All things by a natural Instinct are carried to their Perfection. Evil Men cannot endure to think of it; as Felix trembled at the thoughts of Judgment to come: Let not the Saints stand out, but expect it earnestly. How much was the first coming of Christ wished for and desired: Abraham rejoiced at the thoughts of it, Iohn 8.56. Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my Day, and he saw it, and was glad. Kings and Prophets desired to see these things; Luke 10.24. For I tell you, that many Prophets and Kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Old Simeon, Luke 2.25. was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel: yet then he was a Child in the Cradle, now in Glory riding on the Clouds; then he came in the Similitude of sinful Flesh, Rom. 8.3. God sent his own Son in the likeness of Sinful Flesh; but now he shall appear without Sin, Heb. 9.28. VntoUnto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without Sin, unto Salvation. This earnest looking implieth strong Faith, longing Desires, frequent Thoughts.
1. Strong Faith. Reason saith it may be, Faith saith it shall be. Divine Justice must have a solemn Triumph, Conscience is afraid of it. Our Reward may be delayed, but it cannot stand with the Justice of God, that it should be abolished and taken away. There is Confusion in the World: Dives flowed with Ease and Plenty, when Lazarus was rough-cast with Sores. We need to be awed with Shame, as well as Fear. Faith saith he will come, we have his Word for it: as unlikely things have come to pass that have been foretold. Were the old Believers deceived that expected his coming in the Flesh? That a few Fishermen should preach the Gospel to all Nations? this is already done. Christ is contracted with us now, he will come to marry us; he went not away upon Discontent: He that loved us so as to as to come from Heaven to Earth to take our Nature, will he not come in Glory? We have of his Spirit, and we enjoy his Ordinances as a Memorial till he comes, and we have many Love-tokens sent us as a Pledg that he will come.
2. Longing Desires. Our Hearts should even spring and leap within us when we hear of Christ's coming. Thus the Believers of the Old Testament, how did they rejoice to hear of a Messiah to come? Iohn 8.56. Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my Day, and he saw it, and was glad. Abraham rejoiced to think that a Son should come of his Loins, in whom all the World should be blessed: Heb. 11.13. These all died in Faith, not having received the Promises, but having seen them afar off, and were perswaded of them, and embraced them. How did the Patriarchs hug the Promises, O sweet Promise! this will yield a Messiah, a Christ to the World.
3. There should be frequent Thoughts of his coming, as if you always heard the Trumpet. Every time thou lookest to Heaven, think, I have a Christ there, a rich Jewel kept safe; and when ever you see the Clouds, think of Christ's coming and going: These Clouds were Chariots by which Christ went triumphing into Heaven, and in like manner he will come again; Dan. 6.10. Daniel went into his House, and his Windows being opened towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his Knees three times a day, and prayed and gave Thanks unto his God. Daniel had reason to look towards the Temple, tho ruined, because of the Promise of God to his People that prayed towards the Temple; so now and then we should look up to Heaven, there is Christ above within the Heavens. We are called often to lift up our Hearts to God, and our Eyes to Heaven, from whence we look for a Saviour; there's our Treasure and our Jesus.
Vse 3. Of Trial. It is good to see how we stand affected towards this Appearing. Nothing can content true Christians in the World; Do we look beyond it? Whither is the bent of our Hearts? how is it with them?
1. If there were this Looking, there would be Preparing. A Man that expecteth the coming of a King to his House, he will furnish his House accordingly, and make all things ready. Surely you look for no Body, when you do not sute and prepare your selves to entertain them: When the House is sluttish, and the Kitchin cold, do you look for great Guests? What are we to do to prepare our selves for Christ's coming?
(1.) Judg your selves. 2 Cor. 13.5. Examine your selves, whether ye be in the Faith; prove your own selves: Know ye not your own selves, how that Iesus Christ is in you, except you be Reprobates. By judging your selves, God's Act is anticipated.
(2.) Get into Christ. Rom. 8.1. There is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus. They that are in Christ, need not fear God's Judgment; you may set Christ's Righteousness against Christ's Judgment. Guilty Felons desire not the Judge's Presence. Art thou in the Case wherein thou wouldst be found of him? 2 Pet. 3.14. Be diligent, that you may be found of him in Peace, without Spot, and blameless.
(3.) Walk strictly. We are between the two Comings of Christ, his first and his second Coming; let us live Soberly, Righteously and Godly. When a Man is providing Matter of Condemnation for himself, can he be said to look for Christ's Coming?
2. How do you entertain Christ for the present in your Hearts, and in his Ordinances? Can a Man slight Ordinances, and expect Christ's second Coming? A Woman that never careth to hear from her Husband, cannot be said to desire his Coming: So if Christ has often knocked at the Door of our Hearts, and we will not give him entrance, how can we be said to look for his Appearing?