The Glorious Epiphany with the Devout Christians Love, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. The Progreſs of this Love to Chriſts Appearing in three ſteps more.
V.
AND yet this Love cannot content it ſelf with inward motions and aſpirations of the Soul towards the appearing of our Lord; but conſtantly excites all ſuch actions as are requiſite for the attaining of ſo great a Good. If we eſteem any thing highly, and feel it exceeding agreeable to our hearts deſire, we do not willingly reſt in the pleaſing paſſions it raiſes up in our hearts; but they carry us out in earneſt endeavours to be owners of it. And the influence it hath upon us is ſo powerful, and it doth ſo ſtrongly draw us after it; that it will not ſuffer any thing to put a ſtop to the current of our affections, when they are iſſuing out unto it.
There are certain imperfect motions in our hearts, which we are apt to call Love, that by no means deſerve that name; being only a good liking of that, which we do not yet truly love. They are called in the Schools, Velleities, wiſhes and wouldings, as we ſpeak; half a will which we feel for divers excellent things, but never come to any effect. The reaſon is, becauſe the appearance of ſome extream great difficulty, or the force of ſome contrary deſire, either holds the ſoul in her courſe (as ſhe is moving towards them) and beats her affections back again; or elſe turns the ſtream of them quite another way.
Love therefore is a generous vigour in the heart, which incites and ſtrengthens it to fair and noble actions, for the effecting its deſires; though oppoſed by never ſo many enemies. It is called by ſome the fire wherewith the ſoul is clothed, which forces its way through all reſiſtances. A certain ardor in us, which inſpires us to worthy though difficult undertakings. An Heroick paſſion, which makes us think nothing impoſſible, that is needful to be done, for the compaſſing the end at which it aims.
Thus then muſt our ſouls be carried, with ſuch ſtrong affections, towards the appearing of Chriſt, if we heartily love it. We muſt omit nothing that we know is required of us, for the obtaining the bleſſings which it will bring unto us. We muſt bid all things ſtand aſide that would impede us; and tell them they muſt pretend to no intereſt at all in us, when we are in purſuit of ſo great a good. The love of which will ſoon reconcile us to the hardeſt duties; and endear to us the moſt ſelf-denying courſes. It will alter the countenance of ſufferings, and make all the troubles of this life caſt a kinder aſpect on us. Nay, it will enable us to look death in the face with a cheerful heart. For it will preſent it to us in another ſhape; and make the Grave, that houſe of darkneſs, ſeem like the beautiful gate of the Temple of God.
Whatſoever our Lord declares to be his pleaſure, this will bid us do it; though we be undone by that means in all our temporal concerns. And when they tempt us to murmur and repine, to cry and lament at our parting with them: Love will bid us be of good comfort; becauſe this is the way to have a fair reception by our Lord, when He ſhall ſee we have quitted all for His ſake. We cannot indeed keep them always if we would; yet ſuch is his love, our faith tells us, that if we conſent to forſake them beforehand upon his account, He will not ſuffer us to be loſers by it: And therefore our love both to Him and to our ſelves, prompts us not to ſtick at any thing which will be pleaſing to Him, though for the preſent it be harſh to us. It teaches us to reaſon as St. Peter doth, 2 Pet. iij. 11, 12. Seeing all theſe things must be diſſolved, what manner of perſons ought we to be in all holy converſation and godlineſs; Looking for and haſting unto the coming of the day of the Lord?
What manner of perſons? Truly, ſuch as are preparing a room in their hearts for their Lord. Such as hope then to compleat their Eſpouſals to Chriſt. And therefore muſt be holy and without blame before Him in love, (1. Epheſ. 4.) and ſtudy nothing ſo much as to be found acceptable in his ſight (who is the Lord of their hearts, and their very life); and to be nobly entertained by Him, when He ſhall come again to receive His loving ſubjects up unto Himſelf. We have our converſation in heaven (ſaith St. Paul) from whence we expect the Saviour, the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, who ſhall change our vile body, that it may be faſhioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He can ſubdue all things unto Himſelf. For in all reaſon they that expect ſuch a ſight ſhould fit themſelves for it by a converſation ſuitable to the dignity to which they ſhall be then preferred. So Oecumenius I remember expounds theſe words of St. Paul to Timothy, when he anſwers the Queſtion, who is it that loves his appearing, in this manner, foreign, He that doth things worthy of excellent recompences.
Which if we love, it will not fail to raiſe us unto a heavenly life. If we wait for Him to come from Heaven, it will lift up our hearts, and carry them thither. We ſhall disburden them of all carnal affections, and throw off the load of the cares of this world, that we may be light and airy, ready to fly up above, when He calls us, to be with Him. We ſhall labour to cleanſe and purifie our ſouls as He is pure; to adorn them with His Graces; and, in one word, to put on the Lord Jeſus, that He may ſee Himſelf in us, when He comes.
And wilt thou come then, O bleſſed Saviour, (are ſuch ſouls apt to ſay) may we confidently look for thee from Heaven to be our Saviour? Why do we queſtion it, ſine we have thy faithful word for it; who haſte promiſed that we ſhall ſee thee as thou art, and be for ever with thee? O aſtoniſhing love! what riches of grace is this? Was it not enough that thou condeſcendedſt once to come and ſave us; but that thou determineſt to come again? Canſt thou not ſatisfie thy love unleſs we be where thou art? And wilt thou leave thy ſeat in heaven to come and fetch us, rather than leave us here upon the earth?
O Love, what is like unto thee? Thou haſt a mighty power! who can underſtand the wonders that thou doſt? O make it great in us, good Lord, as well as in thy ſelf. Cauſe it to do marvels in our hearts, as it hath done in thine. Let our ſouls be unſatisfied, till they come to thee. Call forth all their powers, as thou hast done their deſires, that they may restleſly move towards thee. Make them unwearied in well-doing, stedfaſt, unmovable, and abundant in thy work; that they may not miſs of thee.
O moſt gracious Lord, ſuffer nothing in this world to diſcourage theſe hearts, that have wholly given themſelves to thee. Ceaſe not ſtill to excite and quicken them; ſince they have been already touched and awakned by thine Omnipotent love. But preſerve ſuch a flame alive in them, that they may ardently follow thee. Inſpire them with zealous reſolution, never to deſiſt in their purſuit of that bleſſed Hope thou haſt ſet before them. Strengthen them againſt all the power of their enemies; and let thy love burn with ſuch fervour in them, that none of the oppoſers of their holy deſires may be able to ſtand before it. Arm them, good Lord, with this invincible force of heavenly love, which may make them noble conquerors, and prepare them for thy glorious Triumph.
VI.
But true love cannot ſtay here neither; nor content it ſelf with ſome endeavours to enjoy that Good, which propounds it ſelf to its affections; for it ever tends to an Ʋnion with that lovely thing towards which it is moved. When the Soul runs forth to ſee what it is that calls out its deſires; the intention of that motion is, to poſſeſs it ſelf of that amiable object; if it anſwer its firſt pretences, and prove ſuch as it promiſed. No ſooner doth any thing appear beautiful and lovely to the mind or imagination, but preſently the heart ſends meſſengers (as I may call the ſpirits that iſſue out of it) to bring it home, and conduct it to take up its lodging there. This is the meaning of that effuſion of the Soul which I ſpoke of before; whereby it would diſſolve it ſelf into that which it loves, and be ſo mingled as to become perfectly one with it.
When an agreeable object, I told you, hath imprinted its image on the mind, it caſts a certain light into the ſoul, and ſhines ſo comfortably on the affections, that they are powerfully warmed and excited by it. Now when the heart is full of this ſplendor, it doth not ſatisfie it ſelf with thoſe rays and emiſſions of light and heat, which are imparted to it; but ſtrives to unite it ſelf to the very center of it, and would feel the ſpring from whence ſuch life and pleaſure flows.
Juſt as Iron when it is impregnated with the vertue of the Loadſtone, is not contented with thoſe effluxes it hath received, but moves towards the body from which they ſtream; ſo is it with an heart which receives this joyful news from our Lord, that He will appear again in glory. It amuſes not it ſelf in thoſe delightful thoughts; it ſits not down in thoſe raviſhing joys; nor thinks it enough to be melted in the paſſion of love to Him, and to ſo great a bleſſedneſs: But it ſeeks to knit it ſelf to the very mind and ſpirit of Chriſt, that it may feel how bleſſed He intends to make it. It ſtudies, I mean, to be changed and transformed more and more into His likeneſs; and by an intire agreement of will with his will, to begin its transfiguration; and be prepared for a perfect and eternal union with Him.
It is not ſufficient to a heart that is in love with that great day, to live in a conſtant expectation of it (which is excited by the Revelation He hath made of it in his Goſpel, and is the light which he now ſends from heaven into us:) but it would gladly prevent, as I have already noted, that happy time; by feeling Him appear every day more gloriouſly there. It longs to ſhine more clearly in the light of his heavenly knowledge; to burn more brightly in the ardors of his love; and by being more richly adorned with the Graces of His Spirit, to be recommended to all in the beauty of His Holineſs.
There is nothing can better explain all that hath been hitherto ſaid, than the example of the Loadſtone, which I juſt now mentioned. As ſoon as a piece of Iron feels the power of it, we ſee how it turns it ſelf towards it; and by its quivering declares the complacence and pleaſure (as we may call it) that it takes in its touches. Then we behold how it creeps a little towards it; ſtill advancing and bearing it ſelf more and more that way, till it come to join it ſelf with that thing, from whence it firſt received thoſe inclinations. Here you have all the parts of love, that have been already mentioned, moſt lively repreſented. Firſt, the mind apprehends, and is made ſenſible of ſome Good, which communicates an image or picture of it ſelf unto it. Then the heart is ſecretly ſurpriſed with a certain delight, by which the agreeableneſs of that image intices it from its ſelf. And then it moves towards it, and goes to ſee it. And at laſt, when it finds it to be what it appeared, it flies, as I may ſay, into its embraces, and endeavours to knit it ſelf ſo faſt unto it, that they may never hereafter be divided.
And juſt ſuch like is the temper of that ſoul, which heartily loves our Lords Appearing. Which it perceives to be a happineſs ſo great, that it cannot be ſatisfied with any entertainment it finds in this world, but preſſes forward to the bleſſed ſight of Him in all his glory. Nothing can quiet it, nor hinder its motion, till it become one ſpirit with Him. All that it hath as yet attained, all the wiſdom wherewith it is filled, all the joys of piety which it ſometime feels, are little and inconſiderable in compariſon with what it deſires to feel. And therefore on it proceeds in a ſerious ſtudy to be more like Him; out of a deſign never to ceaſe its earneſt endeavours, till it come to be for ever with Him.
O thou great and moſt Magnetick Good (ſhould every pious heart ſay) O thon ſoveraign attractive of all ſouls; I feel my ſelf wonderfully touched by thee. Thou haſt put my ſpirit, which was fooliſhly wandring after other things, in a ſetled motion unto thee. O what an inclination haſt thou awakned in my heart, to be with thee! Thou haſt mightily ſtirred all the powers of my ſoul, which is wholly turned about, to look moſt earneſtly towards thee.
O ceaſe not to ſhine perpetually into this cloudy mind, which is all in darkneſs without thee. Ceaſe not to invigorate this dull and ſluggiſh ſpirit, which is thus excited by thee. O ſpare not thoſe mighty effluxes of thy love; but draw me ſtill after thee. I cannot be willing to ſtand at any diſtance from thee; nor to ſtop my progreſs till I be cloſely united to thee. Therefore ſtill continue to make me feel thy power, till I be ſo happy as to move no more, but to reſt in thee.
Couldſt not thou be pleaſed, O bleſſed Lord, with any thing leſs than an union with ſuch ſinful fleſh, as this of ours is? would it not ſuffice thee to look down from heaven upon us, and ſhow us a glympſe of thy glory; but thou muſt come alſo and dwell among us; and make thy ſelf to be bone of our bone, and fleſh of our fleſh, that we might be one with thee? How can I be contented then, only with looking up unto thee? How ſhould I be ſatisfied if I have nothing more, but meerly ſome glances from thee? O my moſt gracious Lord, give me leave to imitate thy love. Suffer me to deſire and ſeek to become what thou art, by being perfectly transformed into thy likeneſs. And do not think it too great a preſumption, if I wiſh and long to be ſo united to thee, My Love, as to be for ever with thee.
Let me have the happineſs at leaſt to ſigh and mourn after thine Appearing. Affect my heart ſo ſenſibly with it, that I may groan in ſpirit (if I can do no better) for that bleſſed time, when I ſhall loſe the ſight of thy face no more, when I ſhall lye under the warm beams of the light of thy countenance; when I ſhall live in the very element of love; when I ſhall be ſo near thee, that I ſhall feel my ſelf to move in the very ſame Orb with thee, thou bright Sun of Righteouſneſs.
I ſeem now alas! to be a great way off from thee. I feel my ſelf like the cold earth, in the winter; which turns towards the Sun, and looks upon that glorious Light of Heaven, that great lover of all the world, but alas! is very far removed from its comfortable rays. O that I might be ſo happy as to approach nearer to thee! O that I were fixed, and might never turn about any more from thee! Let the time come, that there ſhall be no more night, but a perpetual day with me. O haſten the time, when I my ſelf ſhall ſhine like the Sun, in thy Celeſtial glory.
VII.
Now in the mean time, till love come to a perfect union, as it is inceſſant in its motion, ſo it grows more vehement in its deſires and endeavours. For as frequent agitations make the fire burn more fiercely, ſo doth the ſtirring of this paſſion make it break out with a brighter flame. The deſire of union increaſes the ſwiftneſs of its motion; and the more ſpeed it makes, the nearer it is like to come to its deſired union. And, which is very conſiderable, the more earneſt and aſſiduous our motion is towards any Good, the greater hopes we have that we ſhall enjoy it; and the greater our hopes are, the more are we ſtill pricked on and ſpurred forward in the purſuit of that which we would fain enjoy.
A thing which is of exceeding great moment in this pious and devout love of Chriſtian people. For without a GOOD HOPE (which St. Paul ſaith, our Lord, who is our Hope, hath given us, 2 Theſſ. ii. 16. 1 Tim. i. 1.) our motion would ſlacken, if not be extinguiſhed. We ſhould have no heart to proſecute our deſign, but let it fall immediately; if it were not in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lye hath promiſed, i. Tit. 2. As on the contrary by the help of this ſure and certain Hope, our diligence is doubled; and ſuch oyl poured on our wheels, as makes them move not only more eaſily, but with greater ſpeed and quickneſs alſo.
All the lovers therefore of Chriſts Appearing, are ſaid to wait for it, to expect it, and to look for the coming of that bleſſed Hope, as you ſhall ſee in the concluſion of this Argument, from thoſe well known places, iij. Phil. 20. ij. Tit. 13. and many other. And if you examine the holy Scriptures carefully, you ſhall find that this is comprehended in the love we ought to have for his Appearing; being ſuch a natural effect of love, that they are put indifferently the one for the other. As may be ſeen by comparing theſe two places together, 1 Cor. ij. 9. with lxiv. Iſa. 4. in the former of which the Apoſtle ſays, the things which ſurpaſs our conception, are prepared by God for them that love him; and in the other the Prophet ſaith, He hath prepared them for him that waiteth for Him.
Juſt as the people of Iſrael praying without the Sanctuary (in the Court to which they were confined) waited for the Prieſt when he ſhould come from the Altar of Incenſe, or rather for the High-Prieſt on the day of Atonement to return from the moſt holy place and the Ark of the Covenant, to beſtow the bleſſing on them: So do all good Souls, who are devoted ſincerely to the ſervice of Chriſt, while they remain in this outward Court, (the Earth wherein we dwell, which is at a great diſtance from the Heavens) look up to the holy place, where Jeſus the great High-Prieſt of our profeſſion is; iij. Heb. 1. & iv. 15.and wait for the time when He will come forth to bleſs them, ſaying, Come ye bleſſed of my Father, xxv. Mat. 34.inherit the Kingdom prepared for you, from the beginning of the world.
They cannot but frequently caſt their eyes and turn their hearts that way, as the place of their Reſt, which He is gone before to prepare for them. They are ever calling upon their Souls to follow hard after their dear Saviour, as David ſays (lxiij. Pſal. 8.) his heart did after the enjoyment of God in his Sanctuary. For this they ſeek, as he there ſpeaks, with thirſty deſires, to ſee his power and his glory, ſo as they have never yet ſeen him, nor can ſee him; no not in their neareſt approaches to him, while they live in theſe earthly tabernacles. They wiſh therefore He would come and bleſs them with a clear and full ſight of Him. After this their deſires grow daily more ardent; and they endeavour to ſtir up ſtronger and more affectionate motions towards ſo great an happineſs. They are apt to cry out, ſaying, Draw us, and we will run after thee; yea, we will fly; we will take the wings of an Eagle (in our paſſionate deſires) that we may mount up aloft, and get more and more above this world to be with thee.
And this gives them good Hopes likewiſe, that they ſhall be with Him; inſomuch that they cannnot but ſay:
O bleſſed Jeſus, thou haſt ſet our Souls into a longing for thee; and now they cannot ceaſe to deſire to come to thee. Thou haſt made us believe the moſt excellent ſurpaſſing glory, wherein thou ſhineſt; and ever ſince we cannot chuſe but look towards it, and wiſh to behold thee in that glory. If we be very earneſt for this ſight, if our Souls ſigh and ſay, xlij. Pſal. 2.O when ſhall we come and appear before thee; we do but return thine own breath, who haſt inſpired us with theſe deſires after thee.
And may we not hope to come thither where thou art, when thou thy ſelf attractest our ſouls to thee? Wilt thou not ſatisfie thoſe longings, which not we, but thou haſt raiſed in our hearts? Give us leave to remember thee of what thou thy ſelf haſt ſaid, who didſt pronounce thoſe BLESSED WHO HAVE NOT SEEN, xx. Joh. 29.AND YET HAVE BELIEVED. O let it be unto thy ſervants according to thy word. For we are ſuch believers, as thou haſt bleſſed. We never ſaw thee, and yet believe thou cameſt forth from God, xiij. Joh. 3.and art gone to God; and art moſt high in the glory of the Father, ix. Rom. 5.God bleſſed for evermore. Do not our hearts cleave unto thee, though they have only heard of thee? Are not our eyes continually towards thee, though they have never yet beheld thee? Thou wilt not always ſure abſent thy ſelf; but turn our faith at laſt into a ſight of thee.
For what is the BLESSEDNESS of which thou ſpakeſt, and haſt faithfully promiſed to ſuch believers? Is it not that they ſhall one day behold thy glorious face, and reign with thee in thy glory? Is it not that thou wilt manifeſt thy ſelf unto them here; and at last appear again to take them to thy ſelf, that they may live where thou art? O dear Saviour, as thou haſt made us to BELIEVE in this manner; ſo make us likewiſe thus BLESSED. As we have received thee, though we have not ſeen thee; ſo let this be the reward of our receiving thee, that we may ſee thee. We will hope thou wilt make us thus happy; as thou haſt made us thus faithful. We will expect till thou makest us ſee what thou haſt promiſed, as thou haſt made us do what thou haſt commanded. We will rejoyce in hope of thy glory; and do thou make our joy to be full: yea, bring us unto thee, and bid us enter into the joy of thee our Lord.