Preparation for Suffering in an Evil Day, Chapter 9
CHAP. IX.
The ſixth Direction for ſuffering, is a lively hope of eternal Life: Hope aſſures us, that there is another World, that the good things of it exceed thoſe of this, that we have an intereſt in them: Hope diſpoſes us for them; Hope waits for them unto the end.
THe ſixth Direction is this: If we would be in a fit poſture for ſuffering, we muſt get a lively hope of eternal Life: As our life is a Sea, Hope is compared to an Anchor, which makes us ſtand ſteady in a ſtorm: As our life is a warfare, Hope is compared to an Helmet, which covers the ſoul in times of danger: As the body liveth Spirando, by breathing, ſo the Soul lives Sperando, by hoping. A man cannot drown ſo long as his head is above water; Hope lifts up the head, and looks up to the Redemption and Salvation that is to come in another World in its fulneſs and perfection. Hope doth three things; it aſſures good things to come; it diſpoſes us for them; it waits for them unto the end: Each of which will be of ſingular uſe to fit us for pious Sufferings.
1. Hope aſſures good things to come: It is called the Hope of Salvation, Theſſal. 5.8. the hope of Glory, Rom. 5.2. the hope of eternal Life, Tit. 1.2. becauſe it aſſures theſe things: To this I ſhall ſpeak in three Particulars
1. Hope aſſures us that there is another World, called in Scripture the World to come; without this there can be no foundation for pious Suffering; no man can freely part with this World unleſs he be aſſured of another: If in this life only we have hope in Chriſt, we are of all men moſt miſerable, 1 Cor. 15.19. Miſerable indeed, to be perſecuted out of one World, and to have never another to go to. If Chriſtians were in as dark a caſe, as the Emperor Adrian was, when dying he cried out, O my poor ſoul, whither art thou going? they could be in no rational capacity of ſuffering: But hope aſſures them, that there is another world, where things are adminiſtred in a different manner then they are here in this:Duas vitas novit Eccleſia, una eſt in fide alterain ſpecie, una in tempore, alterain aeternitate, una in labore, altera in requie; una cum hoſte pugnat, altera ſine hoſte regnat, Aug. in Joh. Tract. 124. Here good men bear the Croſs, there they wear the Crown; here they are black with reproaches, there they ſhine as the Sun; here they are toſſed at Sea, there they enter into reſt; here they drink of the bitter Cup, there of the Rivers of Pleaſures above; here they are in the bloody hands of men, there in the arms of a gratious God: Hope is ſure, that theſe things are ſo; God's Promiſes ſecure them, and, that we might have ſtrong conſolation, God's Oaths is ſuperadded alſo: Our Saviour hath ſealed up the truth of them with his own blood, and we may venter our deareſt lives upon them. Hence it is, that hope is ſaid to be the anchor of the ſoul, ſure and ſtedfaſt, entring into that within the Vail. Hebr. 6.19. Other Anchors may break, but this will never fail; other Anchors are faſtned in this World, but this enters into that within the Vail, and fixes it ſelf in the unmoveable Heaven; and in reſpect thereof, Chriſtians become in ſome meaſure unmovable in the midſt of all the ſtorms here below. St. Cyprian ſaith of the Chriſtians in his time, that their Faith and Hope did ſtand unmovable and unſhaken inter ipſas ſeculi ruinas, Ad Demetrianum.among the ruins of the World. When the excellent Melancton was threatned by his enemies,Mel. Ad. in vità ejus. that they would not leave him a footſtep in Germany, he replied, That he ſhould have one in Heaven: In like manner when a poor perſecuted Chriſtian is ready to be caſt out of this World, he may comfort himſelf with this, that he hath another to go to, where he ſhall have better uſage: and a reward for his ſufferings.
2. Hope aſſures us, that the good things of the World to come do incomparably exceed the things of this World. If the things of this world were the better, no man would leave better for worſe; nay, if they were but equal, no man would part with that in poſſeſſion for that in expectation; But Hope aſſures us, that the good things of the World to come do far tranſcend thoſe that are in this World: The manſions in glory are better then the houſes of clay; the incorruptible inheritance exceeds a fading one; eternal Life is much more pretious then temporal; the crowns of immortality above outſhine all the titles of honor here below; the pure rivers of Pleaſure in Heaven are far ſweeter then the delights on earth; the fruiton of God (who is the ſupream Good, Center of Souls, Sabbath of rest, and Fountain of bleſſedneſs) cannot but be infinitely beyond the enjoyment of Creatures. A good aſſurance, that theſe things are ſo, will diſpoſe us, to part with the leſſer concerns here below, that we may enjoy the greater that are above. We read of ſome Worthies, that took joyfully the ſpoiling of their goods, becauſe they had in Heaven a better & enduring ſubſtance, Hebr. 10.34. And again, of ſome, that would not accept deliverance, becauſe they would obtain a better reſurrection, Heb. 11.35. Suadows & trifles were to be parted with, rather then Maſiy & durable Felicity; the bubble or vapor of a tranſitory Life was to be let go, rather then an everlaſting one. When in the Perſecution under Diocleſian, the Martyrs were asked, What made them bear ſuch torments; and what they expected after all their ſufferings? They made this anſwer, That they did hope for thoſe good things, which eye hath not ſeen, nor ear heard, neither have entred into the heart of man, which God hath prepared for them that Love him. We ſee what bore up their ſpirits in their ſufferings; Let us labour to have an high ſenſe of the excellencies of the World to come, that, if need be, we may part with all for it.
3. Hope aſſures our intereſt in the good things of the World to come: And here two things are to be noted; the one is this, Hope in its initial Exiſtence aſſures our intereſt in them fundamentally; he that hath a true lively hope of them, hath a real intereſt in them; every right Grace touches upon Heaven, and gives a right to it; but Hope doth it in a kind of peculiar way; it enters in within the Vail, and in a ſort takes poſſeſſion of the other World: As the ſhip is at Land in its Anchor, ſo the Soul is in Heaven in its Hope; and he that hath a true intereſt there, will not part with it in a time of ſuffering: The Anchor, being in Heaven, and faſtned in the unmoveable felicity there, will hold out in a Storm: Such an one will reckon, as St. Paul did, that the ſufferings of this preſent time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which ſhall be revealed in us, Rom. 8.18. Or, if a compariſon be made, the ſufferings in reſpect of the Glory, will be but as a drop of wormwood, to a vaſt Sea of infinite Sweetneſs. The other thing is this; Hope in its full ſtature aſſures our intereſt in the good things to come ſenſibly; he that hath a plerophory of Hope, certainly knows that he hath an intereſt in them; We know that we have paſſed from death to Life, ſaith Sr. John, 1, Joh. 3.14. As if the Apoſtle had ſaid, we are in the borders of Heaven, and we know it as it were ſenſibly, as we do our paſſage from one place to another. Holy Job ſaith, I know that my Redeemer liveth; and, maugre all the Worms, in my Fleſh I ſhall ſee God, Job. 19.25, 26. He was ſure of the bliſsmaking Viſion, and could look through the duſt to Immortality: Such a full hope uſhers in a kind of Paradiſe into the Soul, and admirably fits it to bear ſufferings; the internal Suavity is able to ſweeten any outward Condition. The Learned Rivet, at his dying hour, brake forth into theſe words, Expecto, credo, perſevero, dimoveri nequeo, Dei Spiritus meo Spiritui teſtatur, me eſſe ex Filiis ſuis, O amorem ineffabilem! I expect, believe, perſevere, cannot be moved; Gods Spirit witneſſes to mine, that I am one of his Children; O! ineffable Love! Let us Labor to have, not only a lively hope, that we may have a title to Heaven, but a full hope, that we may know our title to it: This will be an high Cordial in an evil day, and make us able, whatever the ſufferings be, to go on triumphantly and with full Sails to Heaven.
2. Hope doth not only aſſure the good things to come, but diſpoſes us for them: Hope is not an idle Dream or Notion, but it is an active and lively thing; it doth not meerly look to the glory above, but puts the Soul into a poſture for it: Every one, that hath in him the hope of ſo great a thing as the ſeeing the bleſſed God is, purifieth himſelf, even as he is pure, 1, Joh. 3.3. He knows Darkneſs cannot have communion with Light; unclean eyes cannot be opened in ſo pure a place as Heaven is; the earthly heart is too groſs to be in the Region of holy Spirits; he that drowns himſelf in Senſual Pleaſures, is not meet to drink of the pure Rivers that are above: Malitious Spirits cannot be capable of dwelling there, wher infinite Love opens it ſelf in all its ſweetneſs: The falſe-hearted Hypocrite can never be admitted to ſee Truth in the Original, nor the evil man to drink Goodneſs at the Fountain-head: He therefore that hath a right hope of being with God in Heaven, will purifie himſelf for ſuch an high eſtate; he will labor to have more of the light of Faith to fit him for that of Viſion; to have more purity of heart, to make him meet to ſee the holy One; to have more of Heaven in his affections, to prepare him for that bleſſed Region; to have more ſpiritual delight here, that he may be capable of entring into the joy of his Lord hereafter; to have his heart more filled with holy Love, that he may be in an apt poſture for the rich effuſions of Love in Heaven; to have more truth and goodneſs in his heart, that he may be the more ready to enjoy the Fountain and Fulneſs of both, I mean, the bleſſed God who is All in All: Thus this lively Hope makes a man meet for Heaven, and in ſo doing it makes him meet for thoſe Sufferings that lie in his way thither: That Purity, which diſpoſes him to enjoy God in Heaven, doth alſo diſpoſe him to ſuffer for him on Earth; and the greater diſpoſition is to Heaven, the Center of bleſſedneſs, the ſtronger will the motion be to break through all difficulties that are in the paſſage thereunto: Let us therefore get a purilying Hope, that we may be fit for the Croſs.
3. Hope doth not only diſpoſe us for the good things to come, but it waits for them unto the end. Hope is a waiting grace, it makes a Chriſtians life to be a perpetual waiting: All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come, ſaith Job, Chap. 14. Verſ. 14. Job had many changes, but he waited for that great one, which ſhould bring him into a ſtate of unchangeaale happineſs. Whatever holy men are a doing ſtill they are in a waiting poſture: When Jacob was bleſſing his Sons, he did not for get this, but broke out in a Sudden ſweet Ejaculation, I have waited for thy Salvation, O Lord, Gen. 49.18. Hope makes Chriſtians to wait for the good things to come at all times, but in a Special manner in time of Sufferings: St Paul ſpeaking firſt of the ſuffering Saints, and then of the groaning World, Expreſſeth himſelf thus; We our ſelves alſo, which have the Firſt-fruits of the Spirit, groan within our ſelves, waiting for the Adoption, the Redemption of our Body, for we are ſaved by Hope, Rom. 8.23, 24. Here we may obſerve the true ſtate and poſture of the Saints; Afflictions make then groan, but the Divine Hope, the Firſtfruits of the Spirit, make them wait for a better World, in which Adoption and Redemption ſhall have their compleat perfection: A Chriſſtian in Afflictions being tormented in this World, will wait for a better. The Martyr Agatha, having her Breaſts cruelly cut off for Religion, told the perſecutor, That yet ſhe had two breaſts remaining, ſuch as he could not touch; the one of Faith, the other of Hope; which afforded her great Comforts in her Torments: Faith adheres to the Promiſe, Hope waits for the good things promiſed; both ſtrengthen in a day of Trial: It is the very nature of Divine Hope, to wait for the good things to come: When the Sun of Proſperity Shines, it waits in a way of obedience; Lord, I have hoped for thy ſalvation, and do thy Commandments, ſaith David, Pſal. 119.166. He waited in a way of obedience to Gods Commands. And when the ſtorm of Perfecution comes, it waits in a way of Patience. Hence the Apoſtle ſpeaks of the patience of hope: 1. Theſſal. 1.3. That hope, which in Proſperity waited in a way of Obedience, will in Adverſity wait in a way of Patience: Hope would have the Chriſtian to be always waiting for the upper World, but when the Croſs comes, it preſſeth upon him more vehemently, and will ſpeak after this manner to him; what, haſt thou waited for the great reward in Heaven in Duties and Ordinances, and wilt thou not wait for it in Sufferings too? Heaven is the ſame ſtill, and Sufferings are not worthy to be compared with it: Do but ſuffer a little, and thou ſhalt be there. When the Martyr Ananias, in the Perſian Perſecution, ſeemed to tremble at the approaching Croſs, Puſices ſpake thus to him,Sozom. L. 2. cap. 10. Pauliſper, O ſenex oculos, claude, nam ſtatim lumen Dei videbis; Shut thine eyes a little, O old man, and immediately thou ſhalt ſee the light of God. Excellent is that of the Apoſtle: Our light Affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are ſeen, but at the things which are not ſeen; for the things which are ſeen are temporal, but the things which are not ſeen are eternal; 2. Cor. 4.17, 18. Here it is obſervable, Affliction is light and momentary, but glory is a weight and eternal, there is no proportion between them: If by hope we look at the inviſible and eternal things, this will ſupport our hearts, that it is but a little ſhort ſuffering, and we ſhall be in Heavenly bliſs for ever: Let us therefore labor after a waiting hope, that we may patiently bear the Croſs.