The Works of Jeremiah Burroughs 9-11, Treatise 2 · Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
The Coherence. And the Scope and meaning of the Words.
IN the beginning of this Chapter, the blessed State of the Saints of the most High God is Proclaimed before all the World, Behold, what manner of Love, the Father hath bestowed upon us! We may wel with a kind of astonishment and amazedness of spirit, admire at this; but the Eloquence of Men and Angels is not able fully and effectually to express it: We must be some time in Heaven before we can take a due Survey of all the Dimensions of this Eternal Fatherly love of God in Christ to his adopted ones, That we should be called the Sons of God: that we wretched, base, vile sinners, that we, not Angels, but we should be called, not servants, not friends only, but that we should be called the Sons of God; even we that were the children of the Devil, as Fire-brands of Hell in our selves, that we should not only be pluck'd out of the fire, but be called the Sons of God, not only be Sons, but this should be made known that we should be called the Sons of God; this excellent and blessed state of ours is spiritual, is hidden from the World, the World knoweth us not, and good reason, for it knoweth not him, the World knoweth not our Father, knoweth not Christ, and therefore we cannot marvel that they do not know us, not know the blessed condition we are in, in being the Sons of God, Princes unknown are unrespected: the truth is, we know it but very little our selves, the blessedness of this condition, the happiness of the Saints is a marvelous, secret, and hidden thing; but now we are the Sons of God, we know thus much, that we are so, and yet it doth not appear what we shall be, we are now so, yet though we are now sons, we expect manifestation of greater and more glorious things than yet do appear, we have the Foundation of abundance of Glory laid in, but we are sons though we have not our inheritance, yet it doth not appear what we shall be; we now are in afflictions, there is little difference appears between us and the men of the World, but we know when He shall appear we shall be like him; we are certain there is a time coming that God intends the letting out of himself to the full to his Creatures; we have a little now that sweetens our hearts, and enables us to rejoyce in afflictions and tribulations, but there is a time drawing on, when he shall appear, when our blessed Savior shall come again and appear in Glory, and these eyes of ours shall see him, and when he shall appear, we shall be made like him, great things we have in Hand, but greater in Hope; much in Possession, but more in Reversion: let this comfort us against the contempts cast upon us by the World, which is blind and bessdes it self in point of Salvation. We are at present, poor and mean, and contemptible and sinful, the off-scouring of all things; but all sin shall be done away, these very bodies of clay that we carry about us, shall be made like unto his glorious body, and our spirits likewise shall have the Image of the Father fully resplendant in us, we shall be in such a condition as fit for the appearing of our Husband, of Jesus Christ, fit for enjoyment of communion with him, to stand for ever before him, for we shall be like him, and we shall see him as he is, we do see him now but through a glass, dimly through the Creature, through a Lattice, through his Ordinances, as an old man through Spectacles, as a weak eye looks upon the Sun; but in Heaven we shall see him as he is, so far as a blessed Creature is capable of that blessful vision, then we shall see him face to face, we shall see him even as he is; in the mean time while this glory of God shall appear, we have the Grace of Hope put into our hearts, we wait for the time, we expect when this time shall come, and we rejoyce with Joy unspeakable and glorious when this shall be; here is the hope of the Saints that such a time is coming: Now what will this glorious Hope do of such glorious things? the beatifical Vinon of Jesus Christ, and being made like unto him in glory; what will the Hope of this do in the heart? Every man that hath this Hope in him, purifies himself as he is pure. If once the Lord hath raised but such a Hope as this is in the heart of a sinner, it will do mighty things there, it wil clense the heart, purge it from the filth of sin, will purifie the heart even as Jesus Christ is pure, whom we hope thus to see, and to be made like to; this hope to be made like unto Christ hereafter, doth in some measure make us like unto him for the present; we hope we shall se him, and be like him, for every man that hath this Hope, doth purifie himself, even as he is pure.
Every Man: Not only eminent Christians, not only those that have great abilities, and much Grace, doth it, but Every Man, every Soul, as we opened in the former Treatise, That the Faith of the weakest, is of the same Nature with the Faith of the strongest, and hath the same Priviledges in divers particulars; and so we have it here in the Tex…, that the Hope of the weakest is of the same nature with the Hope of the strongest, for Every man that hath this Hope; it's impossible that this Hope can come into the heart of a sinner, but it must work out of his heart the love of his sins, Every man that hath this Hope.
THIS HOPE: As if the Apostle should say, there is a base reffuse Hope in the World, that will do nothing in the soul; but he that hath this Hope, this choice Hope, as it's said of Faith, that it is the Faith of Gods Elect, so he that hath this Hope.
This Hope; either to note the choiceness and excellency of the Hope: Or else,
This Hope; that is, The Hope that hath such a glorious OBJECT as this Hope hath; this Supernatural Hope that hath a Supernatural Object, the Hope that enables the soul to Hope for such great and glorious things: The men of the World they have their Hopes, one man he hopes to encrease his Estate and grow rich, he hath a fair way of Trading, he hopes for a good Voyage, and makes account if such things return safely home, he must be thus enrich'd; another hopes to get a good Place; and another hopes that upon the death of such a Friend he shall get thus and thus: There's a great many Hopes in the World, but he that hath this Hope saith the Apostle; the Hopes of the Saints are pitcht higher than the Hopes of the men of the world, they are raised up to high and glorious things, even to the appearing of Jesus Christ, and the seeing him as he is, and being made like unto him, he that hath this Hope.
He that hath this Hope in him, Purifies himself.foreign. The word is a Metaphor from the Gold-smith, or Physitian, or else from the Ceremonial Law.
PURIFIES, it is not Sanctifies: The difference of these words is this; To Sanctifie, that belongs to God himself, to Christ, Christ saith, he Sanctifies himself, and God he is Holy and pure; but this word notes such a kind of Sanctifying as implies a defilement, Purifies himself, Clenseth himself from the filthiness of sin that is in him: this Hope when it comes into the heart, it finds a great deal of filth of sin in the inward man, but it is never at rest and quiet till it gets the filth of sin purged out, and that which he doth, he doth to purpose; this hope will not only keep a man from the gross and vile sins of the world, but it wil purifie the heart within, he purifies himself as He isforeign, Purus: From whence (say some) comes the Latine, Agnus, because it was a pure Sacrifice. Pure, he makes Jesus Christ to be his Pattern, to clense and purifie his heart by, he is not satisfied until he gets to be like Jesus Christ, that immaculate Lamb of God, as he is pure; reasoning thus with himself, what do I expect to see Christ, and to be made glorious like to Jesus Christ hereafter? Then let me make Christ to be my pattern now, to be as like him as ever I can for the present: he that hath this hope in him, purifies himself, even as he is pure: that's a true Hope that runs out into Holiness; Faith and Hope purge and work a sutableness in the soul to the things beleeved and hoped for. This is the true Scope of the Words, and the Spiritual meaning of them.
Three things are remarkrble in them.