Jesus and the Resurrection Justified by Witnesses in Heaven and Earth, Part 2 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III. A farther Explication of the Happineſs of this LIFE.
IV.
WE muſt ſtay, as I have ſaid before, for the reſolution of ſuch Queſtions, till we enter into that Joy. And for the preſent be glad to know, that our Souls being thus happily diſpoſed, ſhining with the Divine Light, ſatisfied with the Divine Love, and rejoycing in both, muſt needs iſſue forth in the moſt chearfull and delightſome Praiſes of God, who hath preferred us to ſuch a bliſsfull ſtate. For this we all find is one of the naturall effects of Joy, here in this Life. As it tranſports and raiſes the Soul above it ſelf; as it makes us eager to poſſeſs, if it were poſſible, more of that Good which gives ſuch delight; and as it makes us for the preſent forget all other things, all the cares and troubles of this life; and, indeed, ſo much betters and improves our Soul, that of all other things we are not willing to forgo it: So it never fails likewiſe to employ the tongue in praiſing and commending that Good, to which it owes it ſelf. How barren ſoever the Mind be, or what ſlowneſs ſoever there be in our Tongues; joy and pleaſure make us fruitfull in Thoughts, and quicken our Speech to declare the content we take in the company of that which is the cauſe of it. Nay, the Voice becomes bigger and louder by its means; and it never utters it ſelf, but with earneſt notes of its high ſatisfaction. And therefore it is impoſſible for the raviſht Soul, when it is come to the delightfull Viſion of God, to refrain from joyning with the Heavenly Quire, to give Glory to God in the higheſt, that is, after the moſt excellent manner, and with the moſt exalted affections.
As the Underſtanding, by reflecting upon the bleſſedneſs of the whole Man, will excite an extraordinary Joy in the heart, (as I have juſt now diſcourſed:) ſo, by reflecting upon the fountain from whence that happineſs flows, and earneſtly obſerving the Originall of its enjoyments, it cannot but excite in it ſelf admiration and wondering thoughts; and preſently employ them to invent the nobleſt hymns and ſongs of praiſe, whereby to magnifie and laud this glorious Goodneſs of God. And this will make ſtill greater additions to the Joy before ſpoken of, which muſt neceſſarily be intermixed with theſe moſt affectionate Thankſgivings; as every one can witneſs who hath tried this heavenly employment, which the Pſalmiſt, in his experience, found ſo good, ſo pleaſant, and ſo comely. cxlvii. 1.
Were all the mercies of but one day placed now in a clear view before your eyes, or could you but at once behold all the bleſſings that are crouded into every moment; what admiration would it raiſe up in your hearts? what a volume of praiſes would you be able to compoſe? and how much ſweeter would this one act of lauding and praiſing God be, then the enjoyment of all the good things you praiſe him for? Raiſe up your minds then to conceive the height of thoſe Praiſes, that will be continually ſpringing and bubbling up from thankfull hearts, and always filling their mouths; when they ſhall be able to ſhoot their thoughts down to the very bottom of their days, and ſee all the curious Providences of God about them, all the favours they have enjoyed, and all the dangers they have eſcaped as they paſſed through the tumultuous Sea of worldly affairs. O what Hallelujahs will it create, when theſe ſhall be repreſented thick together, or ſtand at once before us? and when we ſhall not onelyonly look upon the paſt loving-kindneſſes of God in one train of thoughts; but in the next behold all our preſent enjoyments, the quiet ſhoar where we are landed, with the riches and pleaſures of the Heavenly Country? and when we ſhall alſo think again of thoſe that are ſtill future; which are always beginning, and never ending, always preſent, and always to come? This ſure will make the voice of praiſe more loud and ſhrill, and every note ſo ſweet, that it will give the moſt gratefull touch unto the heart.
Look upon the little Birds, and hearken how they chirp and ſing in the wide and ſpacious air, where they have no limits ſet to their liberty: and then think what a chearfull life they lead, in compariſon with one that is perpetually coup'd up in a cage, and ſpends many loneſome days and melancholick nights in that ſolitude. And look again upon your own Souls, which we think are capable of the higheſt pleaſures; and cannot you conceive a little how delightfull they will find it, to be always ſinging in the vaſteſt liberty and freedom; to be ſpreading their wings in the boundleſs Light to which God will bring them; and to be uttering their joys, as they ſee themſelves incompaſſed on all ſides with innumerable objects of contentment? O how infinitely will it tranſcend all that they are capable of while they are impriſoned, or rather pinioned, in this body? though one moment of thoſe Joys which are ſometimes felt here by holy Souls, is not to be exchanged for all that the world can offer in its ſtead.
And theſe Songs will be made the more melodious, by the company that ſhall joyn together in the moſt harmonious conſort. All the Saints and Angels will make up but one happy Quire; and will all ſtrive, we may imagine, with an holy emulation to excell each other, and without any envy contend who ſhall ſing the loudeſt and ſweeteſt praiſes to our Creatour and Redeemer. And what delight, may we conceive, will they take in the delicate ſtrains of each other? How will they be pleaſed to hear their own voices accompanied with the hymns of ſo many celeſtiall creatures? How will the whole number be even rapt out of themſelves by the melting airs of the whole Quire; when they all lift up their voices together, as thoſe myriads of holy ones which St. John ſaw (v. Rev. 11.) acknowledging the Lamb worthy to receive power, and riches, and wiſedom, and ſtrength, and honour, and glory, and bleſſing, which (as he ſays v. 13.) all good Chriſtians even in this world delight to aſcribe unto him that ſits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever?
The Pagans had ſome little ſenſe of this pleaſure, as we may learn from Metrodorus himſelf: who, though an Epicurean, Lib. v. Strom. p. 614.yet in theſe words, as Clemens Alexand. obſerves, ſpoke divinely. Remember, O Meneſtratus, who art born mortall, and haſt received a life which will have an end, that aſcending with thy Soul even till thou comeſt to eternity and the infinity of things, thou ſhalt ſee both things to come, and things that have been. For, according to Plato, we ſhall contemplate with the happy Quire foreign, the bleſſed Viſion and Spectacle. Where we attending upon Jupiter, and others upon other Gods, ſhall be admitted, if it be lawfull to ſpeak it, to celebrate the moſt bleſſed Myſteries. Which we ſhall joyfully obſerve, being intire, and inſenſible of any of thoſe evills which expected us in our latter days. And we ſhall be admitted to the myſterious contemplation of thoſe perfect and ſteady ſights, in pure light: being our ſelves pure and diſingaged from this body, which we carry now about with us; to which we are tied as faſt as an oyſter is to its ſhell. They felt, it appears by theſe words, very ſtrong motions in their Souls after a ſight of thoſe things, to which they could not reach while they were in theſe Bodies. And they had a faint hope alſo, that, when they were got looſe from theſe ſhackles, they ſhould neither be confined nor clouded; but in pure light and liberty rejoyce and be glad in the love of their gods, who they expected would admit them to the knowledge of ſuch ſecrets, as they imparted onelyonly to their Friends. For that's the meaning of celebrating the Myſteries; which were Secrets that all were not permitted to ſee, and when any had ſeen, they might not reveal; but were kept with feſtivall joys, after the moſt ſolemn manner, by thoſe who were thought worthy of them. To the delight of thoſe feaſts he compares the joy they ſhould have in the other life; which they were wont to promiſe to all thoſe who were admitted to the ſight of their Myſteries. There they fanſied they ſhould rejoyce in a nobler manner then they did when they followed the pomp of Bacchus and Ceres; (to whoſe myſteries this Authour alludes;) and without that noiſe and tumult which accompanied ſuch trains, behold in quiet the unknown ſpectacles of the inviſible World.
But if you think that all the expreſſions I have uſed borrow too much from ſenſible things; yet remember at leaſt what delightfull touches a ſweet voice, or other excellent muſick, hath in any moment given your Soul; and conceive then what a pleaſure it would be, to have two hours continued like that one minute, or your ſpirits ſo delicately moved for one whole day together. By this means you will the better underſtand the truth of what I have ſaid: for juſt ſuch is the pleaſure of thoſe Souls, which now ſtrike themſelves and touch their own hearts with a lively ſenſe of the Goodneſs of God towards them; and which feel withall the finger of God giving the like ſtroaks upon them. There is nothing ſo delicious as this, nothing ſo powerfull to raviſh them out of their bodies. The very ſtrings would crack, and the Soul and fleſh would diſſolve their Union, ſhould there remain ſuch a powerfull and delightfull motion for ſome hours, as for a little ſpace they ſometime feel tranſporting them. They cannot but imagine, that the prolonged harmony of one day, ſhould it bleſs the Soul, would make it account all the pleaſures in this world harſh and troubleſome; and cauſe it to cry out, as the man St. Hierom ſpeaks of, who after he had dreamt he was in Paradiſe, called ſtill to thoſe who were about him, Set me again in thoſe flowry fields: reſtore me to thoſe pleaſant walks. O let me enjoy that melody once more; let me hear thoſe ſweet ſongs: trouble me no more with any of theſe worldly noiſes; but bleſs me again with thoſe heavenly touches.
Lift up your minds then by ſuch thoughts as theſe, to conceive what not one day, or year, or age, but an eternity of ſuch rare raviſhing delight would be; and that is a part of that bleſſed LIFE which I am treating of. Which by your own confeſſion muſt needs be more deſirable then all that can be expreſſed by Muſick and ſweet Airs, and melodious Strains and Songs, or any ſuch like words: which muſt be acknowledged to be weak and imperfect, able to expreſs onelyonly the outward images and ſhadows of thoſe Divine enjoyments. And the more perfectly you digeſt and frequently excite ſuch thoughts as theſe, the more you will apprehend of this bliſs; and the more impoſſible it will be, that any thing ſhould hinder you from beginning to be ſo happy, by devoting your ſelves to a Chriſtian life. One part of which is, to praiſe and bleſs the Lord at all times; to bear in your gratefull minds a faithfull remembrance of his benefits, and to expreſs it as oft as you can in the moſt thankfull acknowlegments. In which exerciſe whilſt you ſeriouſly employ your ſelves, you will be able thereby to know in part what the bleſſing of Eternall Life is, wherewith our Lord hath promiſed to reward our hearty obedience.
V.
And here it will be ſeaſonable to adde, that ſuch will be our Knowledge and Love of God, and our true Delight in him, that they will produce a moſt ſweet harmony between our Wills and his, and move us to yield a free and conſtant Obedience to him with all our powers. The Ʋnderſtanding, which now is ſubject to many miſtakes and errours, will then ſhine upon the Will with the rays of the pureſt Light. And the Will, which now is oft too refractory, will not then in the leaſt rebell againſt the Underſtanding, but be obſequious to its illuminations. And the Affections will be as ready to obey the Will, and follow its motions: which will all agree with the Mind of God, and perfectly correſpond to his deſires. His Will ſhall be always done, and ours ſhall be but a ſweet compliance with his. For our knowing him making us like him, will take away all liberty from us of doing any thing but what he would have us. And the whole appetite being ſo intirely filled and ſatisfied, as hath been ſaid, with this great Good, there can be no room left for any inordinate deſires; but we muſt eternally cleave to God, and cannot be turn'd aſide from him any more.
And it will not prove any trouble to us neither, to be thus faſt bound to his will, and obſerve all his motions: but we ſhall fly as ſwiftly about in that free light, as the winged Angels now do; who never fetch ſo much as one ſigh when they receive his commands, but chearfully in every thing obey his pleaſure. Nay, it would be the greateſt trouble to us, if we ſhould doe otherways. We ſhould create a diſturbance in the midſt of that heavenly Reſt, ſhould we not thus readily obey him. One groan would ſpoil all the ſweet accents of the joyfull Praiſes which are there continually offered. Much more would one act of diſobedience be ſo jarring with that harmony, as to make us loſe the pleaſure of it. But there will be no danger of this; we ſhall all be changed, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, not onelyonly in our Body, but alſo in our Spirit: and in this, as well as all other things, that our liberty of indifferency, the freedom we now have to chuſe good or let it alone, yea to chuſe evill as well as good, ſhall be turned into a chearfull ſpontaneous motion towards that which is Good alone. The will, as ſome have expreſſed it, ſhall remain; but not the choice: we ſhall willingly ſerve God; but not chuſe whether we will ſerve him or no.
For that Sight which we ſhall have of his Beauty will not let us take our eyes off from him; and that Love which flows from thence cannot but be exerciſed by thoſe who have that bleſſed Sight: and they that cannot but ſee and love ſo great a Good, will not be able to turn their minds and hearts inordinately to any thing elſe. They therefore who ſhall be accounted worthy of that World to come, will be free from Sin, and from the fear of ſinning; whereby they will be ſecure of perpetuall Bleſſedneſs: which is neceſſary to make us perfectly happy. For they are very ſhort of it, who are in danger or in fear of loſing the felicity they enjoy. Both theſe will be far remote from that happy World; where they will be fixt in their Happineſs, becauſe they will be fixt in their Obedience. Which as it may grow, it is poſſible, ſtill more and more chearfull; ſo it will infuſe a greater ſenſe of the Divine Love into their hearts; and every act wherein they doe the will of God may be rewarded perhaps with a greater increaſe of happineſs.
Who would not chuſe then to obey God now, that hereafter he may not be able to doe otherwiſe? Who would not ſtrive to bring his will in ſubjection to Chriſt, that he may at laſt exchange his own will wholly for his; the liberty, that is, of a man, for the liberty of the Divine Nature, which is always determined by an happy neceſſity to that which is Good? Yea, who would not chuſe ſuch an happineſs as is always, it is probable, growing more perfect? the excellency of which we can never comprehend, becauſe it will be growing more excellent? A Life ſo noble, that every operation of it makes it more divine? It is no diſparagement to its worth, to ſay, that we cannot at firſt know all that we ſhall know, nor love ſo much as we ſhall be able to love, nor poſſeſs all the joy of our Lord: but it is rather a commendation of it, that after ſuch an height of knowledge, love and joy, as we ſhall arrive unto at firſt, we ſhall be advancing to a greater nearneſs and familiarity with God.
IV.
But it is time to bring this Diſcourſe to a concluſion, when I have told you, that it is not the Soul onelyonly which will be happy in this Eternall LIFE. That word, I ſaid at the firſt, imports the ſupreme felicity of the whole Man: and therefore Man conſiſting of a Body as well as a Soul, that muſt come in for a ſhare in this Bliſs, and at laſt be made partaker of it. Yet I ſhall not ſtay to tell you particularly what the LIFE of the Body ſhall be after the Reſurrection; becauſe I have been longer then I intended in deſcribing the operations of our nobler part about its higheſt Good. It ſhall be ſufficient to give you but theſe two marks, whereby to know the exceeding happy condition to which it will be promoted. Firſt, it muſt needs be transformed into a very noble Being, which is to be the companion of ſuch an exalted Soul, and be capable to comply with it in theſe ſublime operations. We reade much of its brightneſs and glory, which the Scripture ſeems to ſay ſhall be ſo great, that it will contend with the ſplendour of the Sun it ſelf: And we may very well believe it, ſeeing it is to be the Veſture of a Spirit ſo illuminated by the Viſion of God. For which reaſon, among others, it may be that the Apoſtle calls it a Spirituall Body. Which as it needs no ſupports of meat and drink, and is made immortall, and no longer liable to any diſeaſe: ſo is it of a purer ſenſe and a quicker power then this preſent fleſh, moving with ſo much agility and eaſe, that we ſhall feel it is no burthen to us. And the Apoſtle indeed tells us, (which is the Second thing) that Chriſt, by his power which is able to ſubdue all things to himſelf, will faſhion it like to his own glorious body. iii. Phil. 21. Now what the brightneſs of that is, you may gueſs by the Viſions of the two great Apoſtles, St. Peter and St. Paul.
The firſt of which, when he ſaw our Saviour transfigured in the holy Mount, (Matth. xvii.) was ſo overcharged with joy, that the ſight put him in a manner beſide himſelf. For he knew not, ſaith the text, what he ſaid, when he uttered thoſe words, Let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moſes, and one for Elias. He knew indeed that it was good being there, ix. Luk. 33. though he ſcarce knew where he was. This was the onelyonly thing in his thoughts, that they ſhould be moſt happy men, might they never ſtir from that glorious place; but always remain thus tranſported, as at preſent he was. Let us be fixed here, was his wiſh; let us always live in ſuch pure light, and enjoy ſuch beautifull ſights: from whence he was loth to take his eyes, or to leave ſuch good company as now appeared in glory, v. 31. And yet this, you muſt remember, was no more then a glimpſe of that Glory which our Saviour was to have after his Reſurrection, and which he now ſhines in, and ſhall one day be revealed. Judge then by this, what happy creatures they will be, whoſe bodies ſhall be made like that glorious body; which when it was but a while transformed in this world, made the place ſeem no leſs then a Paradiſe. How illuſtrious will the condition of true Chriſtians be, when they ſhall not merely dwell in ſuch Tabernacles as St. Peter wiſht; but in bodies reſembling that which was ſo transfigured, or rather of a far greater ſplendour: there appearing then, as I ſaid, but a twinkling of that Glory of our Saviour, to whom we ſhall be conformed.
For if you obſerve it afterward, when the Heavenly light of our Saviour's glorified Body incompaſſed the other Apoſtle St. Paul, (to whom he appeared in his way to Damaſcus,) he could not look upon it, as St. Peter had done upon the other: but it was ſo ſhining, that it put out his eyes, he continuing three days without ſight. ix. Act. 9. And for any thing we know, he had never recovered the uſe of them more, had not the ſame Jeſus reſtored his ſight to him by a Miracle. Theſe ſenſes of fleſh were not able to bear a Light ſo effulgent. It was to deprive them of all their operations, to approach near to ſuch a brightneſs. And yet ſuch glorious creatures will our Lord make his faithful Servants. So aſtoniſhing is his love, that he will never ceaſe his kindneſs to them, till they be numbred among his Saints in glory everlaſting; that is, till he impart his own moſt excellent glory to them.
Which ſignifies that they muſt be wonderfully changed from what our bodies are now in this vile ſtate; wherein they are not capable to behold ſuch a glory as ſhall then be revealed. But the ſerious belief and hope of it founded upon the word of our Saviour, and of thoſe who were eye-witneſſes of his Majeſty, is a marvellous comfort to us; and ſhould make us ſtudy to purify our ſelves more and more, and to perfect holineſs in the fear of God. We ſhould cleanſe and refine our affections, and render them ſtill more ſpirituall and heavenly; that being leſs moved with the things of this world, and finding our inclinations weaker towards them, we may more readily and chearfully comply with the will of God, and prevent as much as we can the reſurrection of the dead: when we ſhall have no luſt to doe otherwiſe then as God would have us, but ſhall intirely pleaſe our ſelves in accompliſhing his good will and pleaſure.
For the more faithfully and eminently any perſons ſerve the Lord Chriſt, out of pure love to him and to his Chriſtian Brethren, the greater marks of his favour will he ſet upon them. Their very Bodies, it is probable, will ſhine in a greater glory, and be made ſo much the more illuſtrious, according as their light here ſhone brighter before men, and moved them to glorify their heavenly Father. For St. Paul ſeems to teach, not onelyonly that the bodies we ſhall have after the Reſurrection will differ as vaſtly from thoſe we have now, as Earth does from Heaven; but that thoſe heavenly bodies which we ſhall put on will differ very much among themſelves in brightneſs and glory. As the glory of the celeſtiall bodies is one, and the glory of the terreſtriall another: ſo he tells us, (among the celeſtiall) there is one glory of the Sun, and another glory of the Moon, and another glory of the Stars; for one ſtar differeth from another ſtar in glory. So alſo is the reſurrection of the dead. 1 Cor. xv. 40, 41, 42. That is, ſome will have bodies more bright then others, and ſhine as Stars of a greater magnitude; to note them to be perſons of eminent rank, who have done very glorious ſervice to their Lord.
The Martyrs, for inſtance, whoſe bodies were ſlain or burnt to aſhes for Chriſt's ſake, we may well ſuppoſe will be more ſplendid then thoſe who were laid in their graves in peace. Nay, the Church in St. Auſtin's time, out of their great affection to them, wiſht to behold the ſcars of thoſe glorious wounds which they received for Chriſt's ſake, ſhining with a peculiar glory in their immortall Bodies. And perhaps, ſaith he, L. xxii. de Civ. Dei, c. 20.we ſhall ſee them: For it will not be a deformity in them, but a dignity; and in the body will ſhine the beauty of their vertue more then of their body.
This the Writers, whom we call the Schoolmen, imagine is the Aureola or little golden Crown which the Judge will give to rare Vertues. By which they mean ſome accidentall reward ſuperadded to the eſſentiall Bleſſedneſs. Like the little crown of gold, wherewith the other crown upon the Table of Shew-bread was finiſhed, as the Vulg. Lat. renders xxv. Exod. 25. from whence this expreſſion ſeems to be borrowed. But that the overplus of reward which Chriſt will give to ſome ſhall conſiſt onelyonly in a peculiar brightneſs of their body, I ſee no ground to determine; becauſe God hath ſo many other ways to crown the faith and love and hope of thoſe whom he delights to honour. It is better to conclude all this diſcourſe with the words of the ſame Father, which follow a little after *Ib. cap. 21.. What and how great the ſpirituall grace of the Body will be, becauſe the time is not come to make experiment, I am afraid leſt all that we ſay of it be raſhly ſpoken. And therefore I ſhall onelyonly adde, of which we may be certain, that, as Macarius obſerves, whether it be a greater or a leſſer glory that we attain, we ſhall all ſhine together in one moſt bleſſed and glorious place. His words are theſe;
As Birds produce feathers of a different kind, Homil. 32.and ſome fly nearer to the earth, others farther off, but all fly in one common air; or as there is one Heaven, which hath many Stars in it, ſome greater then others, but all fixed in heaven: So the Saints ſhall be differently planted foreign, in one Heaven of the Divinity, and in one inviſible country. Thither let us all direct our paths, thither let us continually aſpire; ſaying, as he does in another place, (to which I ſhall adde the words of another great man,)
O how ineffable are the promiſes of Chriſtians, Macarius Homil. 4.who have ſuch glorious expectations, that the Faith and riches of one ſingle Soul cannot be equalled by the glory and beauty of heaven and earth; though we take in all their furniture, and treaſures, and variety, and goodlineſs, and bravery! And yet how fairly do theſe things ſhine in our eyes? and with what pleaſure do we behold their beauty? Anſelm. in Protolog.If then the created life be ſo good, how good is that Life which creates! If the ſalvation we receive be ſo pleaſant, how ſweet is that Salvation which gives all Salvation! If that wiſedom be ſo lovely which underſtands the works of God, how lovely is that Wiſedom which of nothing contrived them all! Finally, if there be ſo many and ſo great delights in delectable things, what and how great is that Delight which is in him that made all things delectable! He that ſhall enjoy this Good, what ſhall he have? what ſhall he not have? He ſhall have what he will, and what he would not he ſhall not have. If honour and riches be deſired, God will make his good and faithful ſervants rulers over many things. Nay they ſhall be called Sons of God, and Gods; and where his Son is, there they ſhall be, heirs of God, and coheirs with Chriſt. If they deſire true ſecurity, there is none like that: for certainly, they ſhall be as certain that theſe, or rather this Good ſhall never by any means be wanting to them, as they are certain they ſhall never leave it of themſelves; nor God their Lover ever take it away againſt the will of thoſe he loves; nor any thing ſtronger then He be able to ſeparate them and God. They ſhall rejoyce therefore perpetually. And they ſhall rejoyce as much as they love; and love as much as they know. And how much, O Lord, ſhall they know thee then! how much ſhall they love thee! Certainly neither eye hath ſeen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entred into the heart of man in this life, how much they ſhall know thee, and how much they ſhall love thee in that. I beſeech thee, O God, let me know thee, let me love thee, that I may rejoyce in thee. And if I cannot do it to the full in this life, O that I may profit every day, untill it come to the full! Let thy Knowledge grow in me here, and there be made full: let thy Love increaſe, and there alſo be full: that here my Joy may in hope be great, and there in poſſeſſion full. Amen.