A Beam of Divine Glory, Part 1 · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX.
God's Unchangeableneſs ſhould induce us to chooſe him for our God and Portion, and to take up the reſt and happineſs of our Souls in him, with arguments to quicken thereunto.
THe Unchangeableneſs of God calls aloud upon us all to chooſe him for our God and Portion, and to take up the reſt and happineſs of our Souls in him, and not in the Creatures. The truth is, to chooſe God for our God and Portion, and to take up our reſt and happineſs in him, is what every diſcovery of God, in one or another excellency or perfection of his, does chalenge and call for at our hands: Does he reveal himſelf to be an holy God? This calls upon us to chooſe him for our God and Portion, and to get an intereſt in his Holineſs: Does God reveal himſelf to be a gracious God, a God of Grace and Love? This calls upon us to chooſe him for our God and Portion, and to get an intereſt in his Love: Doth he reveal himſelf to be a faithful God, a God that keepeth Covenant and Mercy? This calls upon us to chooſe him for our God and Portion, and to get an intereſt in his Faithfulneſs: ſo here? Does God reveal himſelf to be an Unchangeable God? This calls upon us to chuſe him for our God and Portion, and to get an intereſt in his Unchangeableneſs; taking up the reſt and happineſs of our Souls in him; and accordingly, O that we would look and live above changeable Creatures, taking up our reſt and happineſs in this unchangeable God, which to do is even infinitely our ſafeſt and ſweeteſt courſe: for pray conſider, who or what will you chuſe for your Portion, and wherein will you place the reſt and happineſs of your Souls, if not in the Unchangeable God? Sure I am, you have but God or the Creature to make choice of; Now what is the Creature to God? What is the changeable Creature to the unchangeable God? Alas! the one is infinitely ſhort of the other: God indeed is every way, and in all reſpects a moſt deſirable Good; He is an original Good, a full Good, a ſuitable Good, a ſatisfying Good, an unmixed Good, an all-ſufficient Good; and, which crowns all, an Unchangeable Good, a Good that never fades, never failes. He is the Living God, and ſtedfaſt for ever, Dan. 6.26. The Creatures are all changeable and periſhing: An Heathen could ſay,Inter peritura vivimus. Sen. We live among periſhing things: And 'twas a great ſaying of one of the Aucients; We have nothing Nulla res longa mortalium eſt, omniſ… faelicitas ſaeculi, dum tenetur, amittitur.here (ſayes he) of any long continuance; and all the felicity of this world is gone while we hold it, and loſt even while we injoy it; Such, and ſo great is the changeableneſs and uncertainty of all theſe things: But God, (as you have heard) and all that Good that is in him, is alwayes and for ever the ſame, which ſpeaks him to be infinitely ſweet and deſirable, and ſo infinitely worthy to be imbraced by us for our God and Portion: This indeed crowns and perfects all that good that is in God. Look, as the changeableneſs of the Creatures, lowers and allays that good and ſweetneſs, that is in them; ſo the Unchangeableneſs of God does infinitely raiſe and commend that good and excellency, that is in him. Had the Creatures ten thouſand times more good and excellency in them than they have, yet this one conſideration, that they are changeable, were enough to damp all, and quaſh all; though the Creatures had never ſo much ſweetneſs and goodneſs in them, and though I had never ſo full, free, and ample injoyment of them; though the ſtreames ran never ſo pleaſantly on each hand of me, yet this one thought, that all this is fading, and changeable, and will laſt but for a ſeaſon, were enough to allay my joy, and even imbitter all to me: So on the other hand, though God be ſuch an infinite Ocean of Goodneſs, Sweetneſs, and Bleſſedneſs, as he is; yet that which crowns all, is his Unchangeableneſs in all; and without this, 'tis not the whole of God could make us happy. Now ſhall the conſideration hereof induce you to chuſe him for your God and Portion, and take up your reſt and happineſs in him for ever? Poſſibly you have never yet choſen God to be your God and Portion, nor have you taken up the reſt and happineſs of your Souls in him; you have choſen the Creatures, you have choſen this World, you have choſen carnal, ſenſual things, and in theſe have you placed your reſt and happineſs; but as for God, he has hitherto been far from your Reins; you have centred in changeable Creatures, and forgotten the Unchangeable God: But will you now change your Choice, and take up a new Reſt? Oh now let an Unchangeable God, not changeable Creatures, be your God and Portion, your Reſt and Happineſs. O that the language of your Souls to God, might now be that of the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 73.25. Whom have I in Heaven but thee? And there is none upon Earth that I deſire beſides thee. Lord, thou, and thou alone ſhall be my God, my Reſt, my Portion, my Happineſs, and my All for ever: Indeed, I had choſen the Creatures for my Portion and Happineſs, but now I renounce that choice, I'le have no more to do with changeable Creatures, the World was my happineſs, and I ſat down with it, ſo fooliſh was I, and ignorant; but now I have done with the World, this flitting, fading, dying World, and thou Lord alone ſhall be my All for ever: Oh that you would indeed thus chuſe the Unchangeable God, and take up your reſt and happineſs in him this day: And you that have choſen him, and taken up your happineſs in him, make a new choice of him, and take up your reſt more purely and entirely in him; ſay over this Unchangeable One; This God is our God for ever and ever, Pſal. 48.14. Oh, labour to get more above the Creatures, and live more in God, and upon God: The more purely and entirely you take up your reſt in God, the ſweeter will he be to you, and the more ſatisfaction will your ſouls find in him. Now to quicken you thus to chuſe God, and live upon him, and his Unchangeableneſs;
1. Conſider, what a changeable World we live in; we live in a changeable World, in a World that rings changes every day, many changes, and great changes; the truth is, This World is a very changeable world, and 'tis not long e're it will be changed once for all, the day is coming, when all theſe things ſhall be diſſolved; the Heavens ſhall paſs away with a noiſe, the Earth ſhall melt with fervent heat, 2 Pet. 3.10.11. and in the mean time the world is not without its changes; and how great changes we may live to ſee, who knows? ſuch changes ſeem to be coming upon the world as that nothing but an Unchangeable God will be able to bear us up under them. In Luk. 21.25, 26. we read of diſtreſs of Nations which ſhall be upon the Earth, with perplexity; mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after thoſe things that ſhall come to paſs upon the Earth: The ſum of which amounts to this, that there ſhall be ſuch changes, ſuch rendings, ſuch ſhakings, ſuch terrible convulſions and concuſſions wrought in the Nations of the World; ſuch deſolations ſhall be made, and ſuch terrible ſtorms of wrath and vengeance ſhall fall upon the World, as that men ſhall be even exanimated, and driven to their wits end, they ſhall fall under a deliquium Animi, a ſwooning of Spirit, they ſhall breath out their very Souls; or, they ſhall be filled with ſuch anguiſh, horror, and confuſion of Soul, as that they ſhall be ready to lay violent hands upon themſelves, and take away their own lives: and, my Beloved, ſhould we live to ſee ſuch things, how good will an Unchangeable God be? O Sirs! living in ſuch a changeable World, who would not fix upon an Unchangeable God, as a Man's Portion and Happineſs? Who would not get upon, yea into this Rock of Ages? And how good, how ſweet will it be to have an Unchangeable God to retreat to, and ark in?
2. Conſider, what changeable things all our Creature-comforts and contentments are: As the World, wherein we live, is a changeable World, So all our Creature-comforts are changeable comforts; Should the World ſtand where it does, and as it does, without any ſuch changes as we have mentioned; yet our beſt Creature-comforts here are ſubject to change every day; and how ſoon we may ſay of one, or another, or all of them, as Jacob ſometimes did of his two ſons Joſeph & Simeon, Gen. 42.36. Joſeph is not, and Simeon is not? How ſoon we may ſay, this and that Comfort is not, who can tell? I have now a Trade, to morrow, it may be, I ſhall have none: I have now an Eſtate, to morrow, it may be, I ſhall have none: I have now a pleaſant Habitation, to morrow, it may be, it will be in Aſhes: I have now my Friends and Relations about me, my Husband, or my Wife lying pleaſantly in my Boſom, my Children like Olive branches round about my Table, to morrow, it may be, they will all ſleep in the Duſt, and go down to the Gates of the Grave, and I ſhall ſee them no more: Alas! theſe things are not, (as Solomon ſpeaks of Riches) ſuch is their changeableneſs, that they have ſcarce a being; Or, ſuppoſe theſe things ſhould ſtay with us, yet how ſoon may they be imbitter'd to us? How ſoon may the beſt of this Wine be turned into Wormwood? How ſoon may the ſweeteſt of theſe Comforts be changed into bitter Croſſes? Sometimes, the deſire of our eyes is taken away from us with a ſtroke, (as God threatned the Prophet of old) that is, ſuddenly; and e're ever we are aware of it our deareſt, ſweeteſt, and moſt delightful Comforts are taken from us: At other times the deſire of our Eyes becomes the burthen of our Souls, our deareſt Comforts are imbittered to us; that which yeſterday was ſweet and pleaſant, to day poſſibly is bitter and burthenſom to us; that which to day is the joy of our hearts, to morrow it may be will be as a goad in our ſides, and as thorns in our eyes: O how ſoon many times do our moſt pleaſant Streams turn into waters of Marah to us! Now all on this ſide God being thus changeable, who would not reſt in Him, and his Unchangeableneſs? Oh Unchangeableneſs! Unchangeableneſs! this is to be found in God alone, and therefore let him alone be the Reſt and Portion of our Souls.
3. Conſider, how near our laſt and great change is unto us: ſhould the World never wax old, nor admit of any change; and ſhould our Creature-comforts and contentments live and laſt for ever; yet we our ſelves muſt change, we are fading, dying, periſhing Creatures; we paſs under many changes, and great changes, and 'tis but a little while e're our laſt and great change will come: Death is our laſt and great change till the Reſurrection: So the Holy Ghoſt by Joh ſpeaks of it, Job 14.14. and this is a great change indeed, a change from Work to Reward, from Time to Eternity; a change out of this World into another; from theſe Tabernacles of Clay, to live in eternal Regions, either of Light or Darkneſs; and thus ſhall We all be changed: a few years, a few months, a few weeks, a few dayes, a few hours, yea, it may be, but a few moments more and we ſhall all be thus changed changed by Death out of Time into Eternity; and how much then are we concerned to make choice of, and take up our reſt in an Unchangeable God? Then, namely when we paſs under this change, to be ſure nothing but Unchangeableneſs will be of any avail to us, and this is to be found in God alone; him therefore ſhould we chuſe, and take up our reſt in. This very conſideration induced David to make a freſh choice of God, and cleave more entirely to him, as his Reſt and Happineſs, Pſal. 39.5, 6, 7. Behold, O Lord, thou haſt made my dayes as an hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee: Verily, every man at his beſt eſtate is altogether vanity; ſurely every man walketh in a vain ſhew, ſurely they are diſquietted in vain: Well, and what now? Why, ſayes he, And now Lord what wait I for? My hope is in thee. He ſaw his vanity and changeableneſs, as alſo the vanity and changeableneſs of all others, both Perſons, and Things; he ſaw both himſelf, and all others in their very beſt ſtate to be not only vain, but even vanity it ſelf, ſubject to change every hour; in the ſight and ſenſe of which he cleaves to God, chuſes him, centers in him as his God, his Portion, his All: Now Lord what wait I for? My hope is in thee, q. d. Now Lord, that I have ſeen my own vanity and changeableneſs, and the vanity and changeableneſs of others too, now I look to thee, I cleave to thee, I reſt in thee as my onelyonly Good, Portion, and Happineſs: I have now done with the Streames, with the Creatures, and Creature-contentments, and I'le now bathe only in the Fountain, reſt wholly in thy ſelf, the Fountain of living Waters. And, my Beloved, did we dwell more in the conſideration of the nearneſs of our laſt and great change, we ſhould doubtleſs cleave more cloſely and entirely to the Unchangeable God, as our reſt and Portion: Our thus numbering our dayes, deep and frequent conſideration of the ſhortneſs of our lives, and how ſoon we may be changed, would make us to apply our hearts to this Wiſdom, to get an intereſt in the Unchangeable God, Pſal. 90.12. O be much therefore in this Work.
4. Conſider, that then, and not till then, ſhall we be happy indeed, when we come to look and live above changeable Creatures upon an Unchangeable God. 'Tis happineſs, my Beloved, that is the great intereſt of Souls, and 'tis happineſs we all deſire and purſue after; now then are we happy indeed, and not till then, when we get above the Creatures, and take up our reſt in the Unchangeable God. Pray, Sirs, let us conſider things a little; Suppoſe you had this whold World at will, and might injoy as much of the Creature as your Souls could wiſh; ſuppoſe you could all your dayes live in a Paradiſe of all earthly Delights, and ſwim chin-deep in the Streams of all Creature-contentments; yet what were all this? Alas! it would not make up one dram of true happineſs; your happineſs muſt be in God ſtill: Mind how the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks as to this, Pſal. 144.15. Happy is the People that is in ſuch a caſe; yea, happy is that Poople whoſe God is the Lord. In what caſe was this? Why, a caſe of outward proſperity, a caſe of enjoying an affluence of all outward Creature-contentments; for of theſe he had ſpoken before. But David, is this really your judgment, and do you give it us for a divine Truth, that theſe things make men happy? No (ſayes he) I rather herein tell you what the Worlds judgments is, and wherein they look upon happineſs to conſiſt; They think thoſe of all others to be the happieſt People, who enjoy moſt of this World, moſt eaſe, moſt pleaſure, moſt of Creature-comforts: But (ſayes he) I am of another mind, I account them the happy People, who have the Lord for their God, that is, who have a Covenant-relation to, and intereſt in the bleſſed God; 'tis God, not the Creature, the enjoyment of whom makes happy. The former Propoſition [Happy is the People that is in ſuch a caſe] ſhews what carnal men judge concerning happineſs, and what makes happy in their account; the latter Propoſition, [yea happy is the People whoſe God is the Lord] ſhews what true happineſs indeed is and wherein it conſiſts, which is in an intereſt in God, in the Unchangeable One: Or, this latter is (as one obſerves) a correction of the former, Correctio eſt dicti prioris, q.d. imo vero hunc ego verè beatum dixero, qui Deum verum, (non incertam ſeculi fortunam) habet propitium. Gejer.and 'tis as if he ſhould ſay, but I would rather ſay, they are the happy Souls, who have the true God, not the changeable Creature, propitious to them. Oh 'tis not the Creature, but God, an intereſt in and communion with unchangeableneſs, that makes happy: 'Tis the joint-language of all the Creatures, happineſs is not in us, we are all vanity, and ſubject to change, and cannot make eternal Souls happy; happineſs lyes in God alone, where alone both fulneſs and Unchangeableneſs, ſufficiency and immutability are to be found: To look for happineſs in the Creature, is to ſeek the living among the dead; but to look for it in God, that is to ſeek it at the Fountain-head of all true happineſs. What ſhall I ſay? God is his own happineſs, he is eternally bleſſed in and with himſelf, (as has been before declared) and he is the happineſs of his Creatures, both Saints and Angels; and when God makes his People, his Saints and Servants, perfectly happy, which he never does till he takes them to Heaven, he then takes them from all their Creature-contentments, and he admits and receives them into the full and ſingle enjoyment of himſelf. 'Twere eaſie to ſhew that nothing ſhort of God, and his unchangeableneſs, can poſſibly make happy; and accordingly that we ſhall never be happy indeed, till we learn to carry our happineſs above the road of Creatures, and place it wholly and intirely in God: But I muſt not run out too far here. Oh, my Beloved, that man is certainly happieſt, whoſe heart and life are holieſt, and whoſe communion with God is fulleſt; he that enjoyes moſt of God, whether he enjoys much or little of the Creature, he it is that is moſt happy. 'Tis a great ſaying which I have read in Auſtin, ſpeaking to thoſe that ſeek happineſs in the Creature,Quaerite quod quaeritis, ſed ibi non eſt ubi quaeritis, beatam vitam queritis in regione mortis, non eſt illic, quomodo enim beata vita, ubi nec vita. Aug. Conf. lib. 4. Cap. 12. Seek what you ſeek, (ſayes he) that is, ſeek happineſs, but know that 'tis not to be found where you ſeek it; you ſeek a bleſſed life in the region of Death, but 'tis not to be found there, for how ſhould there be a bleſſed life found, where there is not ſo much as life found? And elſewhere, ſpeaking to God, All things are full of trouble and difficulty,Dura ſunt omnia, & tu ſolus requies. Aug. Conf. lib. 6. cap. 16. and thou alone art reſt and happineſs (ſayes he). Truely the Creature (as Solomon tells us) is nothing elſe but vanity and vexation of Spirit; but in God there is reſt, there is happineſs, there is ſatisfaction of Soul to be found; and if you would be happy indeed, chuſe him, and place your reſt and happineſs in him alone.
5. Conſider, that God freely offers himſelf as an Unchangeable Good, in his Covenant to you. You know how he ſpeaks to ſinners, even to ſinners, Iſa. 55.3. Come unto me, and I will make an Everlaſting Covenant with you. And pray what is this Covenant? Why, I will be your God, that you know is the grand Promiſe of it, Jer. 31.33. In the Covenant God offers himſelf to ſinners in all his glorious Excellencies and Perfections: his language therein to them is, Come Souls, ſee what a God I am, how great, how good, how rich, how glorious, ſee what treaſures of light and life, of love and glory there are in me; and loe! I am willing to be yours, your God, your Friend, your Father, your Portion, your Happineſs, your All for ever: Look, what ever I am, that I will be to you; and whatever I can do, that I will do for you. Thus he offers himſelf in all his glorious Excellencies and Perfections to you, and as in all, ſo particularly in his Unchangeableneſs; Come, ſayes he, I am the Lord, I change not, and as ſuch an one do I tender my ſelf to you, my Unchangeableneſs ſhall be the Rock of your Reſt, the immutability of my Nature, my Counſel, my Covenant, my Love, is a ſure footing for your Faith, and a firm Foundation for your Comfort: While I am, I will be Life and Bleſſedneſs to you; I'le be a never-failing Fountain of Peace, Joy, & Satisfaction to you: I am the Firſt and the Laſt, He who was, and is, and is to come; and as ſuch I will be yours for ever; and when the World, and all that is therein ſhall be burnt up, I wil be a ſtanding Portion for you; when the whole World is like a tumbling Ocean round about you, I'le be a Rock of Ages to you; and be not afraid of me, I am a God of Grace and Love: 'Tis true, I am the Great and High God, but my Highneſs ſhall ſtoop, and my greatneſs ſhall condeſcend to you; yea, and nothing ſhall ſtand between you and me, no ſin, no vileneſs, no unworthineſs of yours; I know you are poor, vile, ſinful worthleſs worms, infinitely unworthy of me; I know your ſins are many, and the diſtance between me and you is great; but all this ſhall not hinder you from an intereſt in Me, and my Unchangeableneſs, if you will take hold of my Covenant, chuſe me for your God and Portion, and take up the reſt and happineſs of your Souls in me. Thus God reveals and offers himſelf in his Covenant to us; and does he thus offer himſelf in his Covenant to us; and ſhall we not chuſe him for our God and Portion? ſhall we ſtick in the Creature ſtill and reject the offer God makes of himſelf to us? God forbid! Oh let us now chuſe this Unchangeable God, and let him be our Reſt, our Portion, our Happineſs and our All for ever. Let us reaſon matters a little in our own Souls; the World that is fall of changes, all my Creature-comforts and Contentments they are ſubject to change, I am not ſure of them one moment, my own laſt and great change is near at hand, I know not how ſoon 'twill come upon me, nothing but the Unchangeable God can make me happy; and he freely offers himſelf in his Covenant to me; and ſhall I yet, notwithſtanding all this, neglect him? ſhall I cleave to the Creature, and not to this Unchangeable God? by no means; He, not the fading, oying, Creature, ſhall be my Portion and my Happineſs for ever. Or, if all this does not do, than once more,
6. Conſider, how ſad and dreadful a thing it will be to have the Unchangeableneſs of God againſt you. This is a ſure rule, that unleſs we make God ours by chuſing of him, and cloſing in his Covenant with him, as our God and Portion, he and all his Attributes will at laſt be found againſt us, againſt us to deſtroy us, and make us miſerable for ever: if we make not God's Unchangeableneſs ours, and ingage it not for us, by chuſing him as unchangeable, his Unchangeableneſs will ſtand for ever ingaged againſt us; and Oh how ſad will that be? 'Tis ſad to have any Attribute of God againſt a Man; but to have his Unchangeableneſs againſt us how ſad is that? O for a Man to have God for his eternal Enemy, God eternally and Unchangeably ſet againſt him, this is enough to render him compleatly and unchangeably miſerable. Again, therefore let me call upon you to look and live above changeable Creatures, and to chuſe, reſt in, and live upon the Unchangeable God, as your God and Portion; look upon him in Chriſt, in whom you will find him infinitely full of love and ſweetneſs, in whom you will find him Love it ſelf, God is Love, 1 Joh. 4.8. and accordingly let your ſouls chuſe him, and cleave to him, as yours for ever.