The Dignity of Gods Children, Chapter 35
CHAP. XXXV.
Of the time when the children of God ſhall be ſo like vntounto Christ, as before we heard: and of the reaſon of the ſaid likeneſſe, by an effect thereof.
IT followeth now to ſpeake of the time when the children of God ſhall be like to Chriſt. This is ſaid to be at his appearing. This time is alſo noted, Coloſſ. 3. 4. Tit. 2. 13. 1. Pet. 1. 5. and 7. I doe but name the places, not expreſſing the words, becauſe I haſten.
By his appearing he meaneth his ſecond comming, in glorie and all maieſtie, accompanied with his holy Angels, and comming to iudge the quicke and the dead; as at his former comming in the forme of a ſeruant, he came to be iudged, and not to iudge.
This is called his appearing, becauſe as the Goſpell or grace of God, which bringeth ſaluation vntounto all men, is ſaid, now to hauehave appeared, Tit. 2. 11. in reſpect it had beene kept ſecret before ſince the world began, and had not beene ſo opened as it is now reuealed vntounto the ſonnes of men, &c. Rom. 16. 25. Epheſ. 3. 5. ſo Chriſt Ieſus being aſcended into heauen, and there ſitting at the right hand of his father, is not now ſo manifeſted, at leaſt to the bodily ſight, as hee ſhall manifeſt himſelfe at his ſecond comming.
This time of this his appearing is his mariage day, whereas all time before is but as it were the time of his and our betrothing, and of the preparing of vsus for that mariage day, to be the fitter ſpouſe for him.
All this ſentence of our certainty and knowledge of our being Note.made like vntounto Chriſt at his appearing, is not to bee taken as ſpoken in the perſon of the Apoſtle onelyonly, and of them to whom he did write, but of all other the children of God whatſoeuer. None muſt looke for this perfection and likeneſſe vntounto Chriſt before this time of his appearing.
What then (will ſome man aske) doe you ſay of Enoch and Elias? Of the one it is ſaid, that he walked with God, and was no more ſeene, for God tooke him away: Geneſ. 5. 24. And againe, that By faith Enoch was tranſlated, that he ſhould not ſee death: neither was he found, for God had tranſlated him: Heb. 11. 5. Of the other (of Elias) that he went vp by a whirlewinde into Heauen: 2. King 2. 11.
Concerning therefore the two former examples of whom the queſtion is mooued, whatſoeuer men hauehave thought, or doe thinke, and whatſoeuer the former words may ſeeme to inſinuate (which their inſinuated ſenſe ſhall be opened afterward) this I thinke, that they are not yet bodily in heauen Enoch and Elias not bodily yet in heauen.neither ſhall be till the reſurrection of all fleſh, when all the reſt of Gods elect ſhall receiue their conſummation and perfect bliſſe.
My reaſons for this opinion are briefly theſe:
Firſt, Heb. 11. 13. after the mention as well of Enoch as of 1. Reaſon.Noah, Abraham. and Sara, it is expreſly ſaid, All theſe died in faith. It were abſurd to reſtraine the generall word all onelyonly to the three laſt, and not to extend it alſo vntounto Enoch and Abel. Therefore it is manifeſt, that theſe two died as well as the other three.
If it be obiected, that it is ſaid before, that Enoch was tranſlated that he might not ſee death, and that therefore, if here this verbe died bee as well vnderſtood of him as of the reſt, then there ſhall be contrarieties in one and the ſame place. I anſwer, that the reconciliation of this doubt is very eaſie: namely by interpreting the former phraſe, that hee might not ſee death, of not feeling death after the common painfull manner of men. And ſo the word to ſee, for to feele, or to diſcerne, or by experience to perceiue, is often taken in the Scripture. The waters ſaw thee, O God, the waters ſaw thee, &c. that is, they did as it were feele, and by experience perceiued thy power, Pſal. 77. 16. So the Apoſtle ſaith, I ſee another Law in my members, &c. that is, I feele, Rom. 7. 23. There might bee many other the like places alleged: but theſe are ſufficient.
That alſo of being tranſlated, ſignifieth nothing els, but he was taken away in an extraordinary manner, not ſeen of men, but ſo ſecretly, that no man knew, or by any outward thing could iudge otherwiſe of him, but as if God tooke him immediatly into heauen: And ſo would God in that euill and ſinfull age take him away ſo gently, and extraordinarily diſſoluing the ſoule and the body, that men might thinke him, to goe body and ſoule into heauen, for the better honoring that holy life, which he then liued: the rather becauſe all other liued ſo wickedly. To any but very meanly exerciſed in the Scripture it is well knowen, that many things are ſpoken according to the opinion of men; according to that which they ſeemed vntounto men. So Samuel is ſaid to hauehave been raiſed (after death) by the witch, and to hauehave ſpoken vntounto Saul: 1. Sam 28. 11. &c. Not that it was Samuel (For they that die in the Lord reſt from their labors: Reu. 14. 13. and are not therefore at the call or command of witches) but onelyonly becauſe he appeared in the likeneſſe of Samuel (as Satan can change himſelfe into the likeneſſe of an Angell of light: 2. Cor. 11. 14) and becauſe Saul and his company tooke him ſo to be.
My ſecond reaſon is out of the ſame Chapter. For of all the former, and of diuers other examples afterward mentioned, it is written thus, All theſe through faith obtained good report, and receiued not the promiſe, God prouiding a better thing for vsus, that they without vsus ſhould not be made perfect. verſe 39. 40. If Enoch had beene taken vp in body into heauen, then had hee beene made perfect without vsus.
My third reaſon is out of the ſame Epiſtle alſo, Chapt. 9. 8. where the Apoſtle, by the entrance or going once yee…ely of the high Prieſt alone into Sanctum Sanctorum, into the moſt holy place, doth teach, that vnderunder the Law, and whiles the firſt Tabernacle was ſtanding, the way into the holieſt of all was not yet opened. What meaneth the Apoſtle by the holieſt of all, but heauen, eſpecially for the bodies of men to enter thereinto? For howſoeuer God had prepared heauen to be the common receptacle of the ſoules of the righteous after death, yet Chriſt was the firſt that entred in body.
And this ſeemeth to bee the ſtronger argument, becauſe in the deſcription of heauen in the ſame epiſtle afterward, Chap. 12. 23. it is called the city of the liuing God the celeſtial Ieruſalem, which hath the company of innumerable Angels, the aſſembly of the congregation of the firſt borne, which are written in heauen, and God the iudge of all, and the ſpirits of iuſt and perfect men, and Ieſus the Mediator of the new Teſtament. Heere therefore is mention of Angels, of God, of the ſpirits of iuſt men, and of Ieſus the Mediator: heere is no mention at all of any bodies, or of any men altogether in heauen. If any will reply, that this is a deſcription of the whole Church in heauen and in earth, both gouernours, children, and ſeruants; I anſwer, that then the words [the congregation of the firſt borne] muſt comprehend the Church militant in earth, and ſo there will bee none found in heauen, but God, Ieſus Chriſt, the ſpirits of iuſt and perfect men, and the Angels. So all bodies, beſide the body of Chriſt, are yet excluded.
Fourthly, in the deſcription of the reſurrection, 1. Cor. 15. 52. there is no other ſort mentioned, but the dead to bee raiſed, and the liuing at that time vponupon the earth to be changed: The trumpet ſhall blow, and the dead ſhall be raiſed vp incorruptible, and we (viz all which at that day ſhall be liuing) ſhalbe changed. The like is, 1. Theſſ. 4. 15. 16. 17. This ſay we vntounto you by the word of the Lord, that we which liue and are remaining in the comming of the Lord ſhall not preuent them which ſleepe: for the Lord himſelfe ſhall deſcend downe from heauen with a ſhout, and with the voice of an Archangell, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Chriſt ſhall riſe first. Then ſhall wee which liue and remaine be caught vp with them alſo in the clouds, &c. In neither of both theſe places is there any mention of any but of the dead, and of the liuing and remaining here vponupon the earth. Enoch therfore and Elias muſt be reckned with the dead, & accounted as dead; though they died in an extraordinary maner, neither violent or painfull to themſelues, or diſcerned by other.
Fifthly, all the elect being compared to a body, and it being contrary to the nature of a body, that any one member ſhould bee perfected, till the body hauehave all the members belonging thereunto, how can it bee, that one or two of the members of Chriſts body ſhould be perfected and wholly glorified in heauen, Chriſt wanting many members, and not being compleat in his ſaid body, till the very laſt age of the world, and till the laſt point of the ſaid age? For who can deny, but that there are many of the elect yet vnborne? When alſo they ſhall bee all borne, who can deny, but that they ſhall be called one after another? Till all be borne, and all be called, Chriſts body is not perfect.
Sixthly, who can deny the Miniſters of the Goſpell to bee more excellent (eſpecially the Apoſtles and Euangeliſts, who firſt planted the Churches among the Gentiles) who (I ſay) can deny theſe to bee more honorable then any Miniſters vnderunder the Law? Much more then any before the Law. This hath beene ſhewed before: therefore I doe not now ſtand vponupon it. This only I adde, that it is ſaid of the Apoſtles (as an honourable thing, and as a dignity and prerogatiue of them aboue all other) namely, that they ſhould ſit vponupon twelue ſeats (or thrones) and iudge the twelue tribes of Iſrael: Matth. 19. 28. It is likewiſe to be acknowledged, that as the calling was more honourable then the calling of any of the Prophets, ſo alſo they had more excellent graces, not only ſpeciall for diſcharge of their ſpeciall places, but alſo generally of ſanctification. Is this ſo? How vnlikely then is it, that any, eſpecially vnderunder the Law, or before the Law, ſhould hauehave any degree of glory, and be perfectly glorified before them?
Seuenthly, there were ſome as wicked in their time, before their time, and after their time, and daily are, as they (now in queſtion) were godly: yea former times, and theſe laſt times doe affoord many much more wicked then they then were, or any other are godly.
Such was Ieroboam, that made Iſrael to ſinne, Ahab, and many other of the kings of Iſrael. So Iudas that betraied our Sauiour: the Phariſees that ſinned againſt the holy Ghoſt: the man of ſinne, called likewiſe the ſonne of perdition, the aduerſarie that exalteth himſelfe againſt all that is called God, &c. and many other contemners of the Goſpell. Yet none of theſe doe goe bodily into the place of all the damned, till the day of iudgement. Why then ſhould wee thinke that they before named (Enoch and Elias) went bodily into heauen, the place of the bleſſed?
This that I hauehave hitherto written of Enoch and Elias, is the iudgement of diuers other that muſt bee acknowledged to hauehave beene glorious lights, and worthy of much praiſe in the Churches.
Caluin indeed writeth heerein ſomewhat obſeurely, and (I confeſſe) ſomewhat aboue my reach and capacitie: for firſt thus hee writeth vponupon Geneſ. 5. 24. euen word for word: (the Latine turned into Engliſh) In ſumme (ſaith hee, ſpeaking of Enochs taking away) ſuch a rapture (or taking away) was but a gentle and ioifull paſſage out of this world. Yet he was not receiued into the heauens to glorie, but was onelyonly releaſed of the miſeries of this preſent life, vntill Chriſt the firſt fruits of them that riſe again ſ…ould come. And ſith bee was one of the members of the Church, it was neceſſarie that hee ſhould wait till all (the members) together ſhould come foorth to meet Chriſt, that the whole body might bee vnited to the head. Notwithſtanding, in the very next words he doth much obſcure that which before hee had written, adding, If any ſhall obiect that of the Apoſtle, It is appointed all men to die once; the ſolution is eaſie, namely, that death doth not alwaies make a diuorce of the ſoule and body: but they are ſaid to die, which put off the corruptible nature; in which manner they ſhall die whom the laſt day ſhall finde remaining. Theſe laſt words (I confeſſe) I cannot conceiue: namely, how any may be ſaid to die, whoſe ſoules and bodies are not ſeparated: and how they that ſhall be liuing at the laſt day, may be ſaid to die, whom the Apoſtle expreſly ſaith ſhall not die, but only be changed.
Peter Martyr (according to his manner) writeth very largelie, and ſomewhat (I confeſſe) different from ſomething before written by me: namely, in his Commentarie vponupon 2. King. 2. 11. Notwithſtanding, in another place he commeth neerer vntounto me, and agreeth more with me.
In the former place firſt he writeth, that it is not probable or Conſent…eum.like, that theſe two (Enoch and Elias) ſhould be taken to the places of bleſſedneſſe, before Chriſt himſelfe, which is the firſt fruits of all, had aduanced himſelfe thither. The words alſo of our Lord may ſeeme to perſwade this, who in Iohn ſaith, No man hath aſcended into heauen, but the ſonne of man that deſcended from heauen. He therefore denieth any man to hauehave aſcended into heauen before himſelfe, &c. Yet afterward hee ſaith, that they went bodie and ſoule into Abrahams boſome: and he maketh Abrahams boſome a place aboue, yet diſtinct from the glorious place where Chriſt, and all his Saints departed this life, are. How ſound this is, I leaue to other of ſound iudgement. For my part, I know no ſuch diſtinction as he there maketh.
After this he proceedeth further, denying them to hauehave died, oppoſing himſelfe to them that ſaid as I hauehave written, viz. that they died, but yet an extraordinary kinde of death, neither by any defect or decay of nature, nor by any force and violence, but after ſome other ſort with eaſe and delight, &c.
Notwithſtanding, in the other place before inſinuated, he differeth from that which himſelfe had before written, and agreeth with me. For writing of the Euchariſt againſt Steuen Gardiner, Loc. 1. and anſwering the 11. obiection of Gardiner, thus he writeth: If you doe beleeue that Enoch and Elias doe yetliue, you doe beleeue it without the Scripture. Elias was taken away after an admirable ſort, and withdrawen from Elizeus in a firie chariot: but that his ſpirit was not ſtript from his body, by what teſtimonie of Scripture will you prooue it?
Then immediately concerning Enoch, hee acknowledging that which is written, Heb. 11. 5. to hauehave beene done, that God might teſtifie, by his ſaid extraordinary kinde of tranſlating, his louelove towards him, for the better prouocation of other to the imitation of his goodneſſe, hee demandeth of Gardiner, But how know you, that afterward (viz. after his taking from the Common ſight of men) he dyed not when he was ſafe, and out of danger of ſinne? you will ſay, that the epiſtle to the Hebrewes bath, that he might not ſee death: A man may vnderſtand that, that he might not feele death, whiles he was in the world; that he might not die a common, and an ordinarie death. But that hee died not after his tranſlation, how will you make vsus belieue? And there want no: Hebrew writers, which expounding the ſecond booke of the Kings doe ſay, that Elias his body and all his garments, (except his cloake or mantle) were conſumed in the whirlweinge: but that the Spirit of the Prophet went vntounto God.
Oecolampadius in Heb. 11. 5. citing the words of Geneſis tranſlated by the Septuagints, And Enoch pleaſed God, and was not found becauſe God tranſlated him. Notwithſtanding (ſaith he) by theſe words it is not prooued, that hee did not die: Becauſe if hee were of the ſeede of Adam, it muſt be, that hee was mortall. And truely this is moſt agreeable to truth, and conſonant to the analogy of faith. For Chriſt alone is the firſt begotten of the dead, and hath opened paradiſe to them that beleeue. And that which moueth me more, ſo long time as Christ had not payed the price of our redemption, ſo long alſo a long ſword, or a fierce and ſhaken ſword, did ſtop all paſſage into paradiſe. If alſo he were tranſlated into paradiſe, how did Chriſt bold ſafe his dignitie? But if you will make here a miracle, then he muſt yet looke for death, and a change. But if any will obſerue the maner of the Apoſtle, bee will not meruaile, that he hath ſaid, that he did not ſee death. For as wee hauehave ſeene him to doe before touching Melchiſedech, hee would affirme nothing beſides the teſtimonie of the Scripture, and becauſe that he ſaith not expreſly that he died, therefore he did not endeauour to ſet downe ſo much. In the meane time notwithſtanding he denyeth him not to hauehave died, as likewiſe he doth not Melchiſedeth. &c. Thus much Occolampadius. Martinus Borrhaus, a learned writer about the yeare 1539. in his commentaries vponupon Geneſis, Chap. 5. 24. doth ſo interpret that place as I doe. That worthy and famous man M. Doctor Fulke alſo, is moſt plainly of my ſide, and agreeth fully with me. For confuting the marginall note of the Rhemiſh tranſlators of the new teſtament vponupon Heb. 9 8. he ſaith, that heauen was not opened by the ſacrifices of the firſt tabernacle, &c. and that our Sauiour was the firſt that entred into perfect glorie of heauen.
So to their marginall note vponupon Heb. 11. 5. that there it appeared that Enoch yet liueth and is not dead, againſt the Caluiniſts, he briefly anſwereth thus, It appeareth not that Enoch yet liueth in bodie, more then Moſes or Elias, but that hee was tranſlated by God out of the world, and died not after the common maner of men. So he inſinuateth that he died, but not after the common maner of men. To their notes at large vponupon Reu. 11. 3. he anſwereth thus, You will (ſaith he) proue that they (that is, Enoch and Elias) are aliue in paradiſe. But what place is paradiſe but heauen? as the Apoſtle declareth. 2. Cor. 12. 2. and 4. for earthly paradiſe either by the flood, or before was defaced. Now what doctrine it is to affirm… that men in mortall bodies aſcended into heauen, I leaue to the learned to conſider. And preſently after, It is euident indeed (ſaith he) that Elias was taken vp aliue but not that hee continueth aliue. Yea, becauſe it is ſaid expreſly that he was taken vp into heauen, it is certaine, that his body was not carried into heauen, for Chriſt was the firſt, that in whole humanity aſcended into heauen.
Maſter Samuel Bird likewiſe (a learned and godly miniſter late of Ipſwich in Suffolke) writing vponupon Heb. 11. 5. ſaith thus: It is ſaid, that he was taken vp, that he might not ſee death: the meaning is that he did not die after the common maner of men: he was exempted from the violent ſeparation of the ſoule from the body, which nature doth abhorre: not but that his bodi… did waſt away, and did not aſcend into heauen. For Chriſt is the firſt, that entred in his body into heauen, to take poſſeſſion of it for vsus. Heb. 9. 12.
With the former teſtimonies affirming that Enoch and Elias are not bodily, yet in heauen, but that their bodies were diſſolued, as well as the bodies of other (though after an extraordinary maner) I may ioine the teſtimonie of Doctor Downam. For in his ſecond booke of Antichriſt, chap. 6. page 59. though he doe not plainely affirme as much as the former Authors hauehave done, yet he maketh it ſo doubtfull of their bodies yet being in heauen, that a man may eaſily perceiue, that he rather inclineth to the former writers then otherwiſe.
The obiections to the contrary, are of no moment, and be anſwered before.
OnelyOnly where it is ſaid, that Elias was carried vp in a whirlewinde into heauen, firſt wee muſt vnderſtand, that ſome read this word heauen, in the geniti…e caſe thus, carried vp in a whirlewinde of heauen. Secondly, the word heauen, in the ſcripture, is often vſed for the aire; or for all aboue the earth. Let the foule flie vponupon the earth, in the open firmament of the heauen. Gen. 1. 20. ſo, the foules of the heauen. verſe 26. and in diuers other places.
And that it is ſo here to be taken, it is the more probable, becauſe it is not to be thought, but that Elias had other garments beſides his mantle. Except therefore his ſaid other garments were carried vp into the high heauen, we muſt grant that the word heauen doth only ſignify the aire: in the which his body might as well waſte, as his other garments (beſides his mantle which fell from him) did conſume.
Some man (perhaps) may thinke all this diſcourſe of Enoch and Elias, to bee altogether idle, and impertinent vntounto my preſent treatiſe of the dignity of Gods children, and a meere digreſſion from the ſame. But if it be well conſidered, it maketh much for it; as much amplifying the ſaid dignity of Gods children. For ſith Enoch and Elias were ſo rare and excellent men for their times, as the Scriptures commend them to be: and for further teſtifying of their rareneſſe and excellency, were honoured with ſo rare and extraordinary a tranſlation out of this world, and yet are not in their bodies glorified, neither ſhall be, till all the reſt of Gods children ſhall bee glorified and made like vntounto Chriſt, at his ſecond comming in all pomp and maieſty; doth not the Lord thereby teſtify vntounto all the world, that all his children are in ſo high regard & account with him, that he will not hauehave the firſt and the greateſt (as it were) to be aduanced to the perfection of happines, till the whole number be accompliſhed, and till the laſt and the meaneſt be borne, and made fit for the like perfection and happines, that all and eueryevery one may receiue their crownes together?
If a King or ſome other great perſon, make a great feaſt, and inuite many thereunto: and ſome come betimes, ſome that dwell further of, tary ſomewhat longer: and the maſter of the feaſt, will not hauehave them that firſt come, to ſit downe, till all the reſt be come, is it not a great gracing and countenancing of all the gueſts, ſo to prolong the time of ſitting downe, till the reſt be come? Though ſome may thinke that the firſt are ſomewhat diſgraced and wronged by ſtaying for the laſt; yet the matter well weighed, they may conſider, that euen ſo the Lord of the feaſt, would hauehave ſtayed the reſt for them, if the reſt had come firſt, and the firſt had tarried to be laſt. Yea, all men may well ſee the ſaid Lord of the feaſt to be well perſwaded of their louelove and patience, in ſtaying them for the comming of them that remaine. It is the chiefe honour of any gueſt, inuited by one much greater then himſelfe, to be openly graced with teſtimony of the good opinion of the Lord of ſuch a feaſt. For ſo all men may ſee, that the Lord of ſuch a feaſt, hath good regard, as well of them that come late, as of them that came firſt: and of them that came firſt, as of them that come after.
By all hitherto ſpoken of this time when we ſhall be made like vntounto Chriſt, let vsus learne, firſt to be patient till that time come. Secondly, the longer it is ere it do come, the more earneſtly to pray for that day of Chriſts comming, & the oftner in all zeale to ſay, Come Lord Ieſus, come quickly. I doe but briefly note, or rather name things, leauing the larger diſcourſe of them to other: and euer to the meditation of the godly reader.
Thus much of our ſimilitude and likenes vntounto Chriſt: of our certaintie thereof: and of the time when we ſhall enioy it. The confirmation of our ſaid ſimilitude or likeneſſe vntounto Chriſt followeth; which is, that we ſhall ſee him as he is.
Heere let vsus firſt obſerue the cauſall coniunction whereby this reaſon is …oined with the former propoſition. This is commonly tranſlated for: but it is in the originall becauſe. It is the ſame word that is vſed, Luk. 7. 47. I ſay vntounto thee, Many ſinnes are forgiuen her, for (ſay our Engliſh tranſlations, but becauſe ſaith the originall) ſhe loued much. This I doe the rather note, becauſe the Rhemiſts, and other Papiſts, in that place of Luke, doe vrge the originall word ſignifying becauſe, as there noting the louelove of the woman to hauehave beene the cauſe of the forgiueneſſe of our ſinnes: whereas our Sauiour reaſoneth not from the cauſe to the effect, but from the effect to the cauſe, aſſuring her (and other then and there preſent) not for that louelove which before ſhee had ſhewed, but by that louelove which then ſhe did ſhew ſo abundantly towards him, that many ſinnes were forgiuen her. As the ſame (viz. that much louelove of man towards God and Chriſt, are not the cauſe, but an effect of the forgiueneſſe of many ſinnes, and doe not goe before, but follow the forgiueneſſe of ſinnes:) As this (I ſay) is plaine by the parable of two debtors (before in that Chapter mentioned) to one of which were forgiuen but 50. pence, and to the other 500. and concerning whom our Sauiour had asked the Phariſee (with whom he then dined) not which had loued, but which would louelove the Creditor moſt: ſo it is the more plaine by this place, where the ſame coniunction is taken for a note of an effect, not of a cauſe of our former ſimilitude and likenes vntounto Chriſt.
It is ſo alſo taken, Ioh. 8. 44. where our Sauiour ſaith of the diuell, He abode not in the truth, becauſe there is no truth in him. Heere the ſame word [becauſe] is a note of an effect. For Chriſt prooueth the diuell not to hauehave abidden in the truth, not becauſe before his fall there had beene no truth in him (for hee was created an Angell of light as well as. other) but becauſe now there is no truth in him.
So Ioh. 15. 15. I hauehave called you my friends, for (or becauſe) all things that I hauehave heard of my father I hauehave made knowen vntounto you. Heere the ſame word alſo noteth an effect, not a cauſe. Thus then the Apoſtle prooueth that wee ſhall bee made like vntounto Chriſt at his appearing, by an effect of this likeneſſe, that is, becauſe wee ſhall ſee him as hee is. This to ſee Christ as hee is, is not the cauſe of our being like vntounto him; but our being like vntounto him ſhall bee the cauſe of our ſeeing him as he is. For wee cannot ſee him as he is, except firſt wee be made like vntounto him. The effect is not before the cauſe, but the cauſe before the effect.
By ſeeing here he meaneth ſeeing with our bodily eies: and by ſeeing him as he is, the ſeeing of him plainely, not obſcurely: fully, not in part: face to face, not on his back parts, as Moſes is ſaid to hauehave ſeene God: Exod. 33. 23. not as a mightie God alone, but alſo as a Sauiour: and therefore not in his diuine nature alone, but vnderunder the veile (as it were) of this humanity: and yet alſo in ſo great glory, as no fleſh liuing did euer ſee the like.
This ſeeing of him in this maner, is oppoſed to ſeeing him through a glaſſe darkely, and to knowing of him in part. 1. Cor. 13. 12. Where theſe two words, ſeeing and knowing, ſeeme to import, that there we ſhall both ſee him more plainely with our bodily eies, and alſo know him more perfectly in our vnderſtanding, then here we do or can doe. For here wee ſee him but by pictures and images: I meane not by dead pictures & images, made by men, but by the liuing pictures and images, of our ſelues and of other Gods children, repreſenting him in holineſſe and righteouſneſſe, and made onelyonly, (as before wee heard) by God himſelfe: as alſo we ſee him by outward ſignes and elements, with the actions belonging vntounto them, (that is, the ſacraments) ordeined by him ſelfe. And here wee know him by his word, euen by hearing ſuch things of him, as therin hee hath reuealed: but then wee ſhall ſee him in his owne perſon, and in that glory where unto now he is aduanced. Ioh. 17. 24. Father I will, that they which thou haſt giuen me, be with me, euen where I am, that they may behold my glorie: viz. the glory of his merciemercy, grace and goodnes (more then euer before they had done) as well as the glorie of his perſon and iuſtice. The wicked and reprobate ſhall behold the glory of his perſō, and heare and feele the glory of his iuſtice (that is, his glorious iuſtice) not to their comfort, but to their woe: and no otherwiſe, then as malefactors behold the faces of the Iudges and all their ſolemnity wherein they ſit at our aſſiſes, & heare there ſentences: and finally ſo ſhall they ſee and heare theſe things, that they ſhall wiſh (as we hauehave heard) the hilles and mountaines to fall vponupon them, to hide them from his preſence.
But the children of God ſhall behold him as their Sauiour, to their vnſpeakeable ioy and comfort. Yea, how great their ioy and comfort ſhall be by this ſight, appeareth by that delight, that men take in the ſight of mortall Princes; by that deſire and ioy that many had to ſee Chriſt in his baſenes: (the wiſe men. Mat. 2. the ſhepheards and Simeon, Luc. 2. Zacheus, Luk. 19. and the Grecians, Ioh. 12.) as alſo by that before ſpoken in Chap. 26. of Peter, Iames and Iohn, being ſo rauiſhed with the ſight of the glorious transfiguration of Chriſt in the moū taine, that forgetting themſelues to hauehave beene then clothed with their naturall, mortall, and vile bodies, they could hauehave beene contented, and did indeed deſire to hauehave dwelt there for euer.
If all theſe tooke ſuch delight in theſe ſights, how comfortable, how ſweete, how pleaſant, how ioyfull ſhall this ſight of Chriſt Ieſus be, thus to ſee him, not as ſometime hee was in his baſenes, but as now he is in his glory?
In reſpect of this ſight, all the ſight that wee hauehave here, is not ſo much as the ſight of the blindman, when Chriſt had begunne ſo to open his eies, that he ſaid bee did ſee men walke like trees. Mark. 8. 24.
Our ſight here touching this obiect thereof, is no better then the ſight of Iſaak, Iacob, and Eli, when they were old, and when their eies were ſo dimme, that they tooke (as we ſay) hob for nob, one for another: yea, that they could not diſcerne any man, but either by his ſpeech, or by asking who he was.
What ſhall I ſay more? Touching this ſight, let vsus remember what the Queene of Sheba ſaid of the report ſhe had heard of Salomons wiſdome in her owne Country, and of that which ſhe found by her owne experience. For when ſhe had ſeene all Salomons wiſedome, and the houſe that bee had built, and the meat of his table, and the ſitting of his ſeruants, and the order of his Miniſters, and their apparell, and his drinking veſſels, and his burnt offerings that hee offered in the houſe of the Lord, ſhee was greatly aſtonied, and ſaid vntounto the King. It was a true word that I heard in my owne Land of thy ſayings, and of thy wiſdome. Howbeit, I beleeued not this report, till I came and had ſeene it with mine eies. But loe the one halfe was not told me, &c. 1. King. 10 45. 6. 7.
In like ſort it may bee ſaid of this ſight, and of all the reſt of our future ſtate a…d condition, which we ſhall enioy, when we ſhall at his appearing be made like vntounto him, and ſee him as he is. For fleſh and blood doth not beleeue, neither can beleeue, that that is ſaid in the written word of theſe things, yea, hee that hath the moſt faith doth hardly beleeue all that is written: at leaſt, though hee beleeue at ſometimes, yet at other times this faith is much exerciſed with doubts, eſpecially for applying theſe things to himſelfe; yet all is moſt true that we heare in this land of our pilgrimage of theſe things: of our likenes vntounto Chriſt, and of our ſeeing him as he is: but loe, the one halfe of them is not told vsus, neither in the Scriptures (becauſe indeed we are not capable thereof) neither much leſſe by our miniſters, not onelyonly becauſe of the negligence of many: but alſo becauſe of want of vnderſtanding in the moſt; yea, euen in the beſt concerning theſe things. For if Paul concerning theſe things, as well as concerning other myſteries, could ſay of himſelfe, as well as of other, wee know in part, and ſee through a glaſſe darkely; And againe, Now I know in part: how much more (alaſſe) may we poore and ſilly miniſters (in reſpect of him) make the like confeſſion, of our ſeeing and knowing theſe high and future myſteries but in part?
O Chriſtian readers, let theſe things comfort vsus in all our troubles. In the mids of our afflictions, let vsus ſo conſider of theſe things, that as Peter ſpeaketh of thoſe to whom hee did write, ſo we may feele our hearts to leape for ioy within vsus (ſo the word doth ſignify) and to reioice with ioy vnſpeakeable and glorious. 1. Pet. 1. 6. & 8. When the virgin newly conceiued with Chriſt, viſited her couſin Elizabeth the wife of Zachariah, (about 6 moneths gone with Iohn Baptiſt) it is ſaid that the babe (viz. Iohn Baptiſt) did leap, or ſpring in the wombe of Elizabeth at the ſalutation of the virgine, Luk. 1. 41. and 44. As that babe by the ſecret worke of Gods ſpirit, did ſo leape and ſpring at the ſalutation of the virgine ſo newly conceiued with Chriſt, afterward, to bee borne in the forme of â ſeruant, yet a redeemer of the elect: ſo and much more let our hearts leape and skippe (as it were) in vsus, ſo often as we heare of this laſt warning of Chriſt in glory, for perfecting of the whole worke of mans redemptions, and of this our ſeeing him as he is.
Yea, let vsus the more reioice, becauſe this ſight is not for a day, or for a yeere, or ſor many yeers, but for euer and euer. As this world paſſeth away, ſo alſo doth eueryevery luſt thereof; euen the luſt of the eies, as well as the luſt of any other member: 1. Ioh. 2. 17. yea, much ſooner. But this ſight now ſpoken of, is an euerlaſting ſight. Leſt vsus therefore account of all worldly ſights in reſpect of this, but as of toies and bables: more fit for children then for men: yea, for fooles, then for them that are wiſe, and of any vnderſtanding.
Thus much of the confirmation of our former future likenes vntounto Chriſt, by this our ſeeing him as he is.