A Complete Body of Divinity, Sermons · 3 (Question 1 cont.)
SERMON, III.
II. MANS next Chief End to the Glorifying of God, is to ENJOY HIM FOREVER: Why theſe Two are joyned in the Deſcription, hath been already declared: The S…m… is, that they are both promoved by the ſame Means; there is no other way to Enjoy God but by Glorifying him; no… ſhall they who do truly Glorify him, ever miſs of Enjoying him. That we have now under Conſideration, is. That in Subordination to the Glory of God, Man is nextly bo…d for the Everlaſting Enjoyment of Him as his Great End. I ſhall not here exp…tiate in Explaining what is meant by Enjoying of God: The diſtinct opening whereof belongs to the Head of Glorification, which follows afterwards. In ſum, it intends our having him to be our Portion: It therefore preſuppoſeth our being Reconciled to him, and at Peace with him; our Union to him: And i… includes in it the Beatifical Viſion and Fru…tion; the Derivation of all that Communicable Goodneſs from him unto and into us, which he hath engaged in the Promiſes: It graſps in all inchoated and perfected Glory. That this is Mans Great End, would need no Arguments to perſuade us, had not the Fall beclouded our Underſtandings, and darkned that Light, which was at firſt in the Mind of Man, on which this Principle was Written, as with … Sun beam: Yet there is ſo much of the hight of Nature remaining, as may Sufficiently convince us of this Truth; and it is further confirmed by the Light of the Scriptures: and it will be made evident by theſe CONCLUSIONS.
1. THAT M… is … a Subject capable of Happineſs. This is a Priviledge which …e …ath above the I…our Creatures. They can never be Happy, He may: There are thoſe things required to true Felicity, which none but Reaſonable Creatures can pe… in: There muſt be an underſtanding to …iſter…, & a Will to embrace the Object, …ſo it cannot be called Bleſſedneſs. This therefore was a Favour which God beſtowed … Man is his very Conſtitution, that h… might be Happy; and therein Pri…iledged him … the Beaſts of the Field. And though… the W…ul Fall of Ad… hath made Mankind actually Miſerable, yet it hath … …ut him off ſtructurall Poſſibilty of being reſtored again to Felicity.
2. THAT all Mankind are Naturally carried ſorth in Queſt of Happineſs, … their Laſt End, This Principle is ſo engraver in the Nature of Man, that all the Miſchief which the Fall hath done him, hath not deprived him of. It is true, he hath loſt the Knowledge of what true Happineſs is, in a great meaſure, and is utterly at a loſs in regard of the Way to it, Rom. 3.17. And the way of p…ce have they not know…. But he hath ſuch Notions of the thing, and Apprehenſions of the Capacity of his Nature to enjoy it, of the Neceſſity he ſtands in of it, and what a Miſery it will be to go without it, that he makes it the Aim of all his Actions; It is the Bottom of his Projects and Deſigns; and tho' the far greater Number of Men take moſt wretched Courſes to compaſs it, yet this is it they would be at in all, Pſal. 4.6. There …e many that ſay, Who will ſhew us any good? Luk. 12.19. And I will ſay to …y ſoul, Soul, th…e hoſt much goods laid up for many years; take thine caſe, eat, drink, and be merry.
3. TRUE Happineſs doth properly conſiſt in Two Things, viz. Well-Doing, and Well-Being. Happineſs in Scripture Language is frequently called Life; and the Philoſopher tells us, that Life is an Act with Delight; WELL-DOING belongs to Mans Felicity, becauſe his Happineſs is in Attaining his End, and that is mainly in Gorifying God; which is by …upraxy or Well-Doing. Vanity is oppoſed to Happineſs, E…l. 1.2. Now Vanity is the Loſs of ones End; Happineſs muſt therefore be in the Attaining it: Hence that forementioned Iſa. 56.2. Man being made for God, it muſt be a main Part of his Happineſs to Serve and Glorify him: So David, Pſal. 84.4. Bleſſed are they that dwell in thy houſe; they will be ſtill praiſing thee. WELL-BEING alſo is requiſite to Felicity: Miſery therefore and Bleſſedneſs are frequently ſet in Oppoſition: and therefore it is that the Scripture Promiſes are ſo full of ſuch Encouragements to Love and Serve God, as contain in them the Well-Being of the Creature.
4. THAT Well-Being which will amount to Happineſs can be nothing l…ſs than the Enjoyment, of ſo much real and enduring Goodneſs, as the Creature may fully and finelly reſt ſatisfied in. David deſcribes Happineſs by Satisfaction, Pſal. 36.8.63.5. And that which cannot Happify a Man, is called that which cannot ſatisfy, Iſa. 55. …. Felicity is called Reſt. Ma…. 11.29. But till all the Reachings of the Soul are gratified, till all its Appetites are filled, it cannot reſt, it will be in Motion as long as it feels any Want.
5. THAT the Object of Mans Happineſs is out of himſelf, Man cannot be his own Felicity: He is … dependant Creature: His Being and his Bleſſedneſs are two things: He cannot dwell at home: He doth not enjoy in …imſelf a Self ſufficiency. Man in his beſt and moſt perfect ſtate of Integrity was to ſeek his Well-Being out of himſelf: He was not made Happy, but only Capable of being ſo by Cloſing in with his Object. Fallen Man then, who is not only not Happy, but become e…treamly Miſerable, is under a Neceſſity of going abroad to ſeek for Good. Neither can the Body or Soul be at Reſt, till they meet with and fall upon an Object that may give them Satisfaction. This is it that hath made the Whole World a Company of Seekers, asking for Good, Pſal. 4.6.
6. THAT the whole Creation affords no ſuch Object, the Fruition whereof can make a Man Happy. And the Reaſon is, becauſe they cannot Satisfy: So far are they from Satisfying the Rational, that they cannot do it to the Senſitive Soul; and for that Cauſe the Wiſe, man argues them to be Vanity, Eccl. 1.8. Not the. Lower World only, but Heaven itſelf is not enough to Anſwer Mans Deſires, Pſal. 73.25. There are Three Defects in the Creature, rend…ing it Inſufficient for our perfect Well-Being.
(1.) ITS Unſuitableneſs. If there were enough of it, yet it is not accommodated to all a Man Wants; nay, thoſe which are his Greateſt Wants, and make him truly Miſerable. It cannot Purchaſe him the Pardon of his Sins, Prov. 11.4. Riches proſit: not in the day of wrath. It cannot deliver his Soul from being Eternally Loſt; forementioned Mat. 16.26. It cannot make a Price that will pay his Ranſom from the Curſe which lies heavy upon him, Pſal. 49.6, 7, 8. They that truſt in their wealth, and boaſt themſelves in the multitude of their riches: None of them can by any means redeem his brother, no… give to God a ranſom for him: For the redemption of their ſoul is precious and it ceaſeth for ever. It is but only his Earthly Part which it can give any Relief unto, that is the leaſt and moſt inconſiderable of the two.
(2.) ITS Scantineſs. Were it never ſo ſuitable, yet there is not enough of it: The Reaches of Mans Soul are ſo vaſt, that they can graſp in the whole Creation, and ſcarce feel it: The Deſire of Man, that …orſel…ches Daughter, is ſtill …ving Give, Give,: The Bed is too narrow, and the Covering too ſhort: The World looks hully, but it is empty, void and …aſte. Many have had too m…, but never yet any had enough, ſo as to … Content, that had nothing but the Creature, but they have ſtill enlarged their deſires as Hell: And the reaſon is, becauſe the World is a great Nothing, Prov. 23.5. Wil… thou ſet thine eyes upon that which is not?
(3.) ITS ſhort Comi…ence, and Uncertainty. Man is a Creature made for Perpetuity: and if his Object be not Stable and Durable, it will ſooner or later leave him under horrible Diſappointment, and ſo will theſe things. They are B…kon Cisterns, Jer. 2.18. They are Certain in nothing but Uncertainty, Prov. 23.5. For riches certainly make themſelves wings, they fly away as an eagle towards heaven. They are the Subjects of Moth & Ruſt, and ly ready for the Thief. Mat 6.19. Lay … up for your ſelves treaſures upon earth; …ere moth and ruſt doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and ſteal. Yea, they are made to be Burnt up, 2 Pet. 23.10. But the day of the Lord will co… as a thief in the night; in the which the …eavens ſhall paſs away with a great no…ſe, and the …lements ſhall molt with ſervent …eat, the earth alſo, and the works that are therein ſhalll be burnt up. How then can they make a Man Happy?
7. GOD & He Only is ſuch an Object, in the Enjoyment of whom, there is perfect Satisfaction and Bleſſedneſs. That the Creature …ath i… not in it, hath been Diſcovered; But ſti…l Man is not at an utter loſs, becauſe he may find it in God: The full demonſtration of this belongs to a following Queſtion: The Scripture Sufficiently informs us in this Truth, ſee, Pſal 16. ult. Thou wilt ſhew me the path of life: in thy preſence is fulneſs of joy, at thy right …and there are pleaſures for evermore. 36.9. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light ſhall we ſee light. So ſee Eph. 3.20. There is with him enough to fill all the… Deſires, Pſal. 81.10. I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill ….
8. HENCE, if Mans Great End be Well-Being, it muſt be to Enjoy God Eternally, For therein only can his Well-Being conſiſt: Here only is his Reſting Place; Till he comes hither, he doth but wander from Mountain to Hill, ſeeking Reſt, and finding none: And if there be no ſelf concern equally incumbent on him with this, as it is certain there is not, needs muſt it be an End Superior to all thoſe poor. Deſigns, which the generality of Mankind are in Perſuit of with ſo much Heat and Vigour; and nothing but the Glory of God can be beyond it.
Q. HOW …ar is a Man bound to have his mind exerciſed about this Chief End in all his Actions?
A. THIS Caſe hath been too laxly reſolved by ſome, and too ſeverely Strained by others: Popiſh Caſuiſts give too large Allowances to Mens carnal Corruptions, while they tell us, that a Previous Intention is enough, and that if a Man at moſt Once a Day think of his End, it is enough; …ay an Implicite Intention may ſuffice. They on the other hand lay a Snare to trouble pious Conſciences, who charge Sin and Hypocriſy on Men, if they be not always int…, thinking upon their Glorifying and Enjoying of God. For a right …ting of the Reſolution of this Caſe, take T…ſe …o…ſions.
1. THAT every Action in a Man's Life, that doth not Serve to this Great End, is a … Action: Becauſe it miſſeth the mark which … was made to attain▪ Means are …profitable, if they be not made Serviceable to their Ends: And if the Chief of Subordinate Means be broken off, before it comes to the Laſt Link, it is loſt. There may be a Civil Goodneſs, but there is no Theological Good in any thing that ſtays ſhort of the Glory of God: That was the Vanity of their Faſts. Zech. 7.5. Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the prieſts, ſaying when ye faſted and mourned in the fifth and ſeventh month, even thoſe ſeventy years, did ye at all … unto me, even to me?
2. IT is required of M…x, that they aim or l…v…l all their Actions to this End. It is not Sufficient that they reach it caſually: for we know God will be Glorifyed by all, whether we will or no; but it muſt be intentionally: forementioned 1 Cor. 10.31. The Nature of an End, to be purſued by a Voluntary Agent, requires it: without this Intention there can be no Proſecution.
3. THERE can be no Application to the Uſe of Means, without Thinking upon the End. A Man my make uſe of things: but not as Means to his Chief End, unleſs his Mind be upon it: For it is the End that puts him upon the Uſing Means; It is the only Moral Motive that excites him Except a Man think that he was made for God's Glory, and to ſeek his own Salvation, he will never enquire how this may be done. Iſa. 1.3.
4. THERE can be Choice of Means, without …n …ye upon the End. It is not indifferent what a Man doth, if he would reach his End▪ there muſt be a Sutableneſs in the Means, elſe they are loſt; and that cannot be known, without applying them in our Conſideration to it: It is neceſſary therefore for a Man in all he ſets about to deliberate, and ſay to himſelf, Will God be Glorified by this! Will … help me to the Enjoyment of him? And accordingly to chuſe or reject it, Gen. 39.9. How then can I do this great wickedneſs, and ſin againſt God?
5. THERE can be no Uſing the Means …ſen, Rightly, without the Conſideration of the End: It is as eaſy to miſs it in uſing Right Means, as in chuſing of Wrong ones. A Man may not only eat, and drink, but alſo read, and hear, and pray, and neither honour God nor further his own Salvation: He that would not be deceived here, muſt lay them by the End, and frame their according to it; which cannot be without ſetting it before him, Pſal. 16.8. I have ſet the Lord always before me: becauſe he is at my right hand, I ſhall not be moved.
6. THERE are … & Means, which … eyed …: by reaſon whereof it is not poſſible that he ſhould without Inter… … actually engaged in the Thoughts of his Laſt End: It would diſtreſs his Mind; and God hath not laid any Duty, in it ſelf impoſſible upon Me…. There are Occaſions calling … order our outward Affairs with … Pſal. 11….… … good … end …; be will guide … affairs … diſcretion. And that cannot be without pondering on them which will intermit the actual thinking of the other, in a …ite limited Underſtanding.
7. T…T we ought in the … of all our Occaſions to be very frequently Reflecting upon our Great End, and in … to reſt in … ſubordinate one: and the …me… the better, ſo it be done with Wiſdom: It is the … the Heart Right, and call it in if go… aſtray; to ask ourſelves ſtill on all occaſions, H… do I Glorify God is … H…x is … …rthered by it? To ask, Where is our Heart? What are we Driving: And the rather becauſe the Corruption in … draws …s to dominy impertiment and unprofitable Actions, for want of being rightly … by us, … 32.31. And they … cometh, and they … before thee as my people, and they be as thy words, but they will not to them: for with them … their heart goeth after their ….
THERE are a few INFERENCES, which may be drawn from the foregoing Diſcourſe ….
1. THAT there are but a very ſew that known what they were made for: If the Lives & Practices of Men may be a Rule for us to judge of their Principles by, we may ſafely conclude, that either they underſtand not, or do not conſider (which is called Ignorance in Scripture) what Errand God ſent them into the World about: How wofully are the Children of Men miſtake about their Ends? They … poſe they were made for nothing … gratify their own Concupiſcence, … this World's Goods, to drown themſelves in Pleaſures … up the …na…es of this World's … ſeek an Happineſs under the … Glory of God, and everlaſting … of that, …. And may … theſe to be wofully miſ…ble? The Apoſtle joy …s theſe Two together, Rom. 3 16, 17. Deſtruction …d miſery ere in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known.
2. THAT the greateſt Number of the Children of Men live in vain. What is Vanity but a miſſing the End? That Man, as to himſelf, had better never to have been born, that comes into the World, and goes out of it again, and miſſeth of the End he was born for. And yet how lamentably will this be found true of the Generality of Mankind, if we compare their lives by the End, which Religion tells us that all Men are made for? What ſhall we think of the covetous Worldling, who makes an …ol of the Creature, and ſpends all his thoughts and time in compaſſing the World; who makes Mam… his God, & wealth his felicity! What ſhall we think of the voluptuous Pleaſure-…ter; who reckons himſelf born to eat, drink, and play; who thinks, drink, fare, full c…ps, laſcivous company, and wanton dalliances, to be the Ne plus … of Mankind: makes his Belly to be his God, and the ſatisfaction of his fleſhly appetite, to be his higheſt happineſs! What ſhall we think of the ambitions Glory-Seeker, who values himſelf by the Dignity and Preferment he can climb up to among men: and miſtake any honour for … bleſſedneſs, and looks no farther! What of the profine Sc…er at Godlineſs, who diſhonours God's Name by Oaths, Curſes, Re… of his holy ways, and is ſo far from ſeeking Communion with God, that he …; him depart from him! Certainly, either the Scriptures is miſtake about … cheif end, or theſe are beſide it, and will loſe all their labour at the laſt, and their Souls into the bargain▪ Nay, the Hypocrite too, the falſe P…ſeſſor, who pretends to aim at the glory of God, but really makes Self …, H… alſo will loſe his Labour, & deceive his Soul into Ruin.
3. THAT in highly concerns Young Ones to ſet themſelves to the study of Religion betimes. And let it then be a Motive to all ſuch, early to engage themſelves in it. Remember therefore, that you were made for an End: you can be happy only in the attaining of it: You are capable of ſerving to it …n the days of your Youth: All that time is already loſt, which you ſpend in purſuing any other ends but this. You have by reaſon of original Sin loſt the apprehenſions of it, and are naturally engaged for lower or inferiour ends: True Religion only gives you direction, how you may come by the right perception of it again: If you miſs of, and do not teach to this end, you are undone forever. And if you are ſo fooliſh as to ſpend away your Childhood and Youth in Vanity, you may be cut off from any after opportunities of engaging yourſelves for the glorifying of God and enjoy … him. As then you love your Souls, and would not come ſhort of God's Glory, & your Souls Salvation, ſet yourſelves earneſtly to attend upon all thoſe means & helps, whereby you may … acquainted with your great end, & engaged in living unto it.
[MARCH 27, 1688.]