[Pg. 352]
SERMON XXI.
\@And now I
come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my
joy fulfilled in themselves\@.—john XVII. 13.
our Lord is
still amplifying that argument of his own departure, and the disciples' danger
in the world, and so justifieth his earnestness in
prayer for them. I come to thee, and must leave their company, and therefore I
have need to make some provision for them. In the argument
of this text, Christ showeth what was
his special aim in the whole prayer. He is so earnest, not to blemish
the Father, as if he were backward and wanted mercy, but for their comfort,
that they might know what prayers were laid up in store for them, and to give
them a taste of his own care. He prayeth with them,
that they might know how he prayed for them. Christ would have something left
upon record, as a pledge of his affections to the church: 'These wings I speak
in the world,' &c.
In the words, not to speak of
the occasion, \@I come to thee\@; which signifieth not his address in prayer, but his ascension to
God, as was cleared before, ver. 11. In the rest of the words we have Christ's
action, and Christ's aim, the comfort of the disciples; where we have the
author, my joy; the manner how received for quantity, fulfilled; the
quality, in themselves.
'And these
things I speak in the world;' that is, make this prayer in their hearing; \~lalw\~, 'I speak,'
it signifieth prayer with an audible voice; elsewhere
he uselh the word \~fwtw\~ and \~yhlw\~. And here a
record and pattern is left for the use of the church in all ages.
'That they
may have my joy.'—What is the meaning of that?
1. Because he rejoiceth in our good. \@My joy\@, and \@your joy\@ are distinguished:
John xv. 11, 'These things have I spoken to you, that my joy should be fulfilled
in you, and that your joy might be full.' There is nothing maketh
the heart of Christ so glad as to see his members thrive in peace and grace. So
the apostle Paul: Phil ii. 2, 'Fulfil ye my joy.'
Nothing could be more comfortable to Paul than to see the Philippians thrive in
grace. Thus some interpret it actively of the joy which Christ hath in the good
of his members. But I suppose it is rather to be taken passively, \~to\~ \~eautok\~, 'in themselves.'
2. Others think that by \@my
joy\@ is meant a joy like mine; when they feel the same desires kindled in
their hearts, they may be comforted with the workings of the same spirit of
prayer in them; that is, feel such a joy as I feel in uttering these requests.
But this doth not run so smoothly.
3. 'My joy,'
because he is the author of it \@Gaudium ex m\@e. Joy
which I work as mediator and redeemer. Of ourselves we have nothing but despair
and trouble: Isa. lvii. 19, 'I create the fruit of
the lips; to him that is afar off, and to him that is near, and I will heal
him.' We possess it, but it is Christ's
joy; he worketh it, and canseth it by his Spirit; elsewhere it is called, 'joy in
the Holy Ghost.' 1 Thee. i. 6. 4. 'My joy.' because
he is the object of it. \@Gaudium de m\@e. That peace, peace [Pg. 353] that joy which they have conceived from my presence with
them, or care of them, may not he lessened, but increased, that this spiritual
joy may be fulfilled. These two latter are of chief regard.
'May be fulfilled;' not only
accomplished, but be abundant; as chap, xv. 11, 'That your joy may be full.'
The filling up of joy is a phrase proper to
'In themselves;' that is, in
their hearts, by their own feeling and experience; they have need of something
within, for they have nothing without: John xvi. 33, 'In the world ye shall
have tribulation; but be of good comfort, I have overcome the world.'
To draw all to some doctrinal head and issue. Of Christ's coming to God
I have spoken already. I might observe the force of the word to comfort the
heart,' These things I speak, that my joy may be fulfilled.' But I shall
content myself with two observations.
1. Observe, that this prayer
of Christ's is a fountain of consolation. This joy ariseth
from the things he now spoke in the world, partly because here we have a taste
of Christ's heart, how zealously he is affected for our good. When he took his
leave of us, he took his leave of us with blessings and supplications. Partly because here we have a copy, model, or counterpart of his
intercession. Here you may know what he is now doing for you in heaven.
Christ is their advocate and intercessor, he pleadeth
their right, and sueth for blessings; he prayed for
their preservation, unity, and glory. There are two ways to know Christ's
intercession—by this record, and his intercession in our hearts: Rom. viii. 26,
'The Spirit itself maketh intercession in us, with groanings that cannot be uttered.' The Spirit testifieth to our hearts the quality of that intercession
Christ maketh for us in heaven; it is the echo of it;
the inward interpellation of the soul is the echo of Christ's intercession. Now
that the word and Spirit must go together, the form of it is left upon record.
Here is a public record to look upon in all discomforts and troubles of the
church; and this breedeth a full joy. Partly because
Christ's prayers are so many promises; he prayeth for
excellent blessings, and is sure of audience. Well, then, remember these
prayers of Christ for your comfort; when we are pressed down with any evils in
the world, let us run to Christ's prayers. As Luther said, Let us sing the 46th
psalm; so say I, Let us meditate on John xvii.; here
is a remedy for all the afflictions of the church.
2. Observe Christ's care to
leave his people joyful; and careful he is, very solicitous about it before his
departure.
First, I shall
inquire what this joy is that Christ would establish.
1. For the kind
of it, 'My joy;' not a worldly joy, but heavenly; not corporal, but spiritual.
It ill beseemeth Christians to set their hearts [Pg. 354]
on earthly things, or suffer the world to intercept their joy: Phil. iv. 4 'Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.' The apostle was in prison when he wrote it, he had
nothing else to rejoice in at that time; but what he had felt the sweetness of
himself he imparts to others. What can a man desire more than joy? You are at
liberty to rejoice, as he speaketh elsewhere of
marriage: 'You are at liberty to marry, \~alla\~ \~monon\~ \~en\~ \~kupiw\~, but only in the Lord;' such a joy you may
have as Christ works, \@ex me, de me\@, of which I am the object and the
author. You need not fear; that which Christ would establish is a cheerful
piety, not a profane joy: 'Christ's delights are with the sons of men,' Prov. viii. 31. He feasteth
himself with the thoughts of his grace; it is, as it were, the Lord's
recreation; therefore certainly the sons of men should have their delights with
God. If the Lord, that sitteth upon the throne of
majesty and glory, if he delights in us, should not we delight in a God that is
so excellent and worthy?
2. In what manner he would
have it received, \~peplhrwmenhn\~, 'fulfilled in them.' The joy is full because the object is
infinite; we can desire nothing beyond him. Desire answereth
to motion, joy to rest; when we can go no further, there we rest. What can we
desire beyond God? Acts xiii. 52, 'The disciples were
filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost;' their hearts could hold no more.
Narrow vessels are soon filled with the ocean. It is a full joy, not in itself,
but with respect to worldly joy. Worldly joy is scanty, unstable, and vanishing;
it cannot satisfy nor secure the heart. Take away the creatures from the worldling and you take away his joy; the object lieth without him. But, John xvi.
22, 'Your joy shall no man take from you;' they cannot plunder you of peace of
conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost. This ravisheth
the heart: 1 Peter i. 8, 'Ye rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory;' Phil. iv. 7, 'The peace of God, that passeth all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.' It is
better felt than expressed; a creature worketh it
not, but a divine operation. Paul heard in heaven, \~arrhta\~
\~rhmata\~, 'unspeakable words.' So this, being
a foretaste of heaven, cannot be conceived and expressed; you cannot imagine
how sweet it is, and still it increaseth till we come
to heaven, and lose ourselves in these eternal ravishments.
3. It is inward for the
quality of it, \~en\~ \~eautoiv\~, it is wrought in the midst of afflictions; there is sweetness
within when bitterness round about us; like the wood that was thrown in at Marah, it maketh bitter waters
sweet. Exod. xv. 25. Saints are fed with hidden manna, Rev. ii. 17. Their life is hid and their joy is hidden: 1 Peter i. 6, 'Wherein ye greatly rejoice;
though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations.' Without there are persecutions, temptations, afflictions from
Satan and the world, and within joy; they have meat and drink which the world knoweth not of; the world seeth
it not, and therefore the world will not believe it.
Secondly, How much Christ's heart is set upon it. It appears by the
provision he made for them; when he departed he left the Comforter: John xiv.
19, 'I will not leave you comfortless; I will come unto you;' John xv. 11,
'These things have I spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and that
your joy may be full.' He doth not [Pg. 355] say, that my authority may remain
over you, but my joy; and if we would make Christ's heart glad, or our own, we
must obey his commandments; for when he enjoineth
obedience to his disciples, it is that he may rejoice in our comfort. In his
instructions he teacheth them how to pray: John xvi.
24, 'Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full;' and now he prayeth himself, 'That they have my joy fulfilled in
themselves.' Christ maketh this to be his main work
and aim, that in this life we might have peace of conscience and joy in the
Holy Ghost, and in the life to come joy for evermore. Now lest ye should think
this was only for the twelve apostles, you shall see it was the end of the
whole word. The scriptures were written, Rom. xv. 4, 'That we
through patience and comfort of them might have hope.' The whole
ministry of the church serveth to the fulfilling of
this joy. Thirdly, Reasons why Christ was so solicitous about
this matter.
1. Because of the great use
of it in the spiritual life, to make us to do and to suffer: Neh viii. 10, 'The joy of the Lord is your strength.' This
is as oil to the wheels. It is a question which is most useful, godly joy or
godly sorrow: sorrow maketh us serious, joy active.
But why should I divide what God hath joined? \@Gaudium ineffabile cum suspiriis enarrabilibus\@.
Both are wrought by the same Spirit; he is a comforter, and he descended in
the form of a mourning dove. But certainly joy doth more quicken us in
well-doing; it rendereth the functions of body and
mind free and vigorous, that we may walk with alacrity and good conscience. The
joy that we press you to is not a wantonness by which we cast away all care and
labour, and give ourselves up to ease and lasts, as
those do that make their life to be nothing else but a
recreation; but such a joy as maketh us go about our
duties and callings with comfort. This is sweet, when a man, out of the refreshings of the Spirit, can go about the business which
God hath given him to do with delight: Acts xx. 24, 'Neither count I my life
dear to me, so I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have
received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.' As the
eunuch 'went his way rejoicing,' Acts viii. 39. Not like slow asses that go by
compulsion, but like generous horses, that delight in their strength and
swiftness; to take pleasure in praying, in hearing, in suffering, in doing good, in following the duties of our calling. Most men count
sorrow to be a virtue, and joy to be an indecent presumption. When men are
sluggish, carnal, careless, that they may flow in worldly delights, this is
naught.
2. To mar the taste of carnal
pleasures. The soul cannot remain without some oblectation;
it delighteth either in earthly or in heavenly
things. Love will not remain idle in the soul. Now God will give us a taste of
spiritual joy, of pleasantness in wisdom's paths, that we might disdain carnal
pleasures. It is not a wonder for a clown, that hath not been acquainted with dainties,
to love garlic and onions; but for a prince, that hath been acquainted with
better diet, to leave the dainties of his father's table for those things, that
were strange. I do not wonder at carnal men, that they are delighted with
carnal objects; they never knew better; but for a child of God, that hath
tasted how gracious and sweet God in Christ is, to find sap and savour in coarser fare, this is wonderful.
3. It is for his honour. Nothing bringeth reproach
upon the ways of God so much as the sadness of those that profess them. \@Spiritue Calvinianus est spiritus
melancholicus\@, was a Lutheran proverb, because
the Calvinsts were against wakes and dancings and revels. You darken the ways of God by your
melancholy conversation. Religion should be cheerful, though not wanton and
dissolute. We are to invite others: Ps. xxxiv. 2, 'My
soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof, and be
glad.' Otherwise thou art as one of the spies that discouraged the children of
4. Because he delighteth to see us cheerful: 'He delighteth
in the prosperity of his saints.' Certainly the Lord doth not delight in a sad
devotion, and that the finger should always be in the wound. As a man delighteth that his fields should prosper, and laugh with
fatness, so doth Christ in the saints. They are his charge: John xv. 11, 'These
things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your
joy might be full.' Would you make Christ's heart glad, keep your own cheerful.
Fourthly, I shall give you
some observations concerning joy.
1. God's providence to all
the creatures doth aim at their joY and
welfare. In inanimate creatures there is a cessation and rest, m the beasts a
sensitive delectation, in a man joy. All actions that tend to the preservation
of life, have their pleasure mixed with them; and
therefore certainly he hath provided some Christian joy for a Christian. All
actions of godliness have a delight mixed with them.
2. Spiritual joy ariseth more from hope than possession: Rom. xii. 12,
'Rejoicing in hope;' Heb. iii 6, 'If we hold fast the confidence, and the
rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end;'
3. This joy is more felt in
adversity than prosperity: 1 Peter i 6, 'Wherein ye greatly rejoice; though now for a season, if need
be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations;'
4. Those
have the highest feeling of joy that have tasted the [Pg. 357] bitterness of
sorrow: Isa. lvii. 18, 'I have seen his ways, and
will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him, and to his
mourners;' Jer. xxxi. 18, 'I have surely heard
Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised,'
&c.; ver. 20, 'Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a
pleasant child? for since I spake
against him, I do earnestly remember him still,' &c. Unutterable groans
make way for ineffable joys; they feel the most lively elevation of joy as a
recompense for the pangs of the new birth. God permits sorrows, that we may
find the fuller comfort Bernard thinks that the joy of the saints is greater
than the joy of angels, because they who have been kept, and not restored, had
never experience of any other condition; however, his reason is notable: \@Placet sanctis securitas, sed ei magis qui timuit;
jucunda omnibus lux,
sed liberate de potestate ienebrarumjvcundicn·; transisse demorte ad vitam, gratiam dujAicat\@.
5. The feelings of this joy
are up and down, yet when the joy is gone, the right remaineth,
and this joy will be fulfilled: John xvi. 22, 'Ye now have sorrow, but I will
see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.' If we lose it ourselves, it is not
utterly lost. The sun is always moving, but it doth not always shine, and
display his rays with a merry countenance; so a Christian meeteth
with many rubs, but still he holdeth on his course to
heaven; and therefore, where sense faileth, faith
should make supply.
6. The nature of man is more
acquainted with sorrows than with pleasures. Men naturally are more susceptible
of sorrow than of joy. Partly because of the presages of a guilty conscience:
Heb. ii. 14, 'Through fear of death, they were all their lifetime subject to
bondage.' Men are more ingenious and inventive to torment themselves than they
are to find out arguments of joy. Partly out of ingratitude: Mat. i. 2, 'I have loved you, saith the Lord; yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us?' We grieve more for a mean
affliction than we rejoice in many great blessings. As if the humours of the body be out of order, or one joint break,
this is enough to make us sink, and ill at ease; so one light affliction sinks
us. Partly because God hath laid this burden of sorrow upon us to make us long
for heaven: 'Few and evil are the days of the years of my life.'
\@Use \@1. To show
us the goodness of God, who hath made our wages a great part of our work, and our reward our service. The Lord doth not require
of us to lance and gash ourselves; his ways are not sour ways; he hath made it
a part of our duty and homage to rejoice in him. Oh! that
he should deal so bountifully with us in this life! The world might be a Bochim, and it is a Beracha. It
is indeed a vale of tears; but yet the sun shineth
sometimes when it raineth. Oh t how should this make
us in love with the service of God! They are happy that minister in his
presence. It is a request, Ps. xc.
14, 'Oh! satisfy us early
with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.' Certainly God alloweth us to come with such requests, for he commandeth us to rejoice: 1 Thee. v. 16, 'Rejoice
evermore.' We might weep evermore, yet he saith, 'Rejoice evermore.'
\@Use\@ 2. To take off the slander brought on the ways of God, as if they
were dark and uncomfortable, as if we should abandon and [Pg. 358] renounce all
delight. Oh! that wicked men would but make experience
God doth not require that you should renounce delight, but change the course of
it. Joy is not abrogated, but preferred. Do not think the practice of religion
is full of sadness and heaviness. Will you believe the spies,
that have been in the land of promise? The righteous are only fit to
give testimony to the comfort of a converted estate; a stranger interraeddleth not with their joys. If any of God's
children be uncomfortable, it is because they have not tasted deep enough of
the promises, the Comforter suffereth
some contradiction from their hearts and lusts: but what is this to your
estate? The souls of wicked men are still under bondage; in the midst of their
greatest joys, their pleasures are mixed with fear; as Belshazzar
was soon put out of his mirth.
\@Use\@ 3. Let us
despise the dreggy delights of the world. We are empty by nature, and worldly
joy filleth not but with wind. Since Christ hath made
such provision for our consolation, why should we seek it elsewhere? God hath
forbid no joy but what is hurtful Outward mercies
bring in some joy, but not a full joy. Godliness doth not unman us, and hinder
the course of any true natural affection. But no outward thing should be our
chief joy; a light touch is best: 1 Cor. vii. 30,
'They that rejoice should be as if they rejoiced not' First we have an
interest, then a comfortable use of the creatures. Hast thou wealth, power,
greatness? Do not bind up thy heart with these things, they will be gone, and
then thy joy will be gone too. When they take up too much of our affections,
they are curses, and will prove our sorrow: Eccles. vii. 6, 'As
the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also
is vanity;' a slight superficial thing. Vain men are catched
with every light pleasure, as a fire soon taketh in
thorns. Thorns burning under a pot make a great noise, and so carnal mirth maketh much noise. Worldly men promise themselves a great
deal of pleasure and contentment, but this fire is soon out, so worldly joy is
soon gone. Let us not delight in fleshly liberty; the pleasures of sin are
short-lived, and carnal pleasures leave bitterness and remorse behind them: Prov. xiv. 13, 'Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful;
and the end of that mirth is heaviness.' As laughter,
through dilatation of the spirits, maketh us sad
afterwards. The fuel of carnal pleasures is gross, burdensome, oppressive to reason, it hindereth
the free contemplation of the mind, and lasteth but for
a little while; we need to be refreshed with other pleasures. But God in Christ
is full and fresh to all eternity; angels are not weary of him. Besides, carnal
mirth is but madness; Eccles. ii. 2, 'I have said of laughter, It is mad; and
of mirth, What doeth it?' It is good for no serious
purpose. Solomon challengeth the masters of mirth;
what doth it but displace reason, and give way to vanity and lightness? I know
there is a lawful use of inoffensive mirth; but when we take pleasures, they
should not take us: Eph. v. 4, 'Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor
jesting, which are not convenient; but rather giving of thanks;' ver. 19,
'Speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; singing,
and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. There is a mirth becoming the
gravity of a Christian. [Pg. 359]
\@Use\@ 4. Reproof to
two sorts:
1. To those that are always sad. Christians do not live up to that care
and provision which Christ hath made for them. In scripture it is, 'Rejoice evermore,' Thes. v. 16. And they live as if God had said, Weep
evermore. It is verily a fault, however disguised; in some it deserveth pity; in others chiding and rebuke. In some pity,
that are under penal disturbance; when God putteth
any into the stocks of conscience, they cannot come out at pleasure; these are
irresistible chains; a poor creature lieth bound till
God saith, Go forth. Those chains of darkness in which the devils are held are
their own everlasting horrors. It is God's prerogative, 'to create the fruit
of the lips, peace, peace.' Isa. lvii.
19. Joy is his immediate dispensation. We wonder, considering the comforts of
the gospel, that there should be any such thing as trouble of conscience,
because we know not what it is to lie under God's mighty hand, to be cast into
the prison, shall I say, or the hell of our consciences. Alas! poor creatures! We cannot break prison when we will. It is
easy for those that stand upon the shore to say to those that are tossed upon
the waves, Sail thus. They are tugging for life, the
cause is beyond our direction and their choice. But these persons are to be
pitied, yet counselled. Besides God's power, we
mingle much of our own obstinacy and peevishness, as Rachel would not be
comforted, Jer. xxxi. 15. We are to invite them to
Christ, and they are bound to hearken. Their present duty is to come for ease:
Mat. xi. 28, 'Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and ye shall
find rest for your souls.' That is the only gracious issue of soul-troubles; as
Christ cried, 'My God,' on the cross, they are not exempted from believing. But
others are to be chidden. It is a sad thing that Christians should not have the
wisdom to make use of their own felicity. We often hug a
distemper instead of a duty, as if God were better pleased with dolorous
impressions: Lam. iii. 33, 'He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the
children of men.' Not with his heart, so it is in the Hebrew. It argueth ill thoughts of God. Baal's priests gashed
themselves to please their idols; but God delighteth
in the prosperity of his saints. Men think there is more of merit and
satisfaction in what is afflictive; it is a kind of revenge they take upon
themselves. God hath required sorrow to mortify sin, but not to satisfy
justice; he would have us triumph in Christ whilst we groan under the body of
death. Oh! consider, sourness is a dishonour to God, a discredit to your profession, a
disadvantage to yourselves, a grief to the Spirit, because yon resist his work
as a comforter. Besides, there is much of ingratitude in it; complaints and
murmurings deface the beauty of his mercies. As a snail leaveth
a frothy slaver upon the fairest flowers, so do unthankful Christians leave
their own slaver upon the rich mercies of God vouchsafed to them in Christ;
when they are always complaining, and never rejoicing in God, they leave the
slaver of their murmurings upon them, as if all were nothing. If a king advance a man, and he always is sad before him, he is
angry:
Well, then, consider these
things. Besides your unfitness hereby for your duty, the uncheerfulness
of professors darkeneth the ways of God, and brings a
scandal upon Christ's spiritual kingdom. What cause have
you to be always sad? It must be either your afflictions or your sine. For
afflictions, if your eyes were opened, and earthly affections mortified, you
would see no cause of grief. It can never be so ill with a Christian but he
hath matter of rejoicing. Nothing can deprive you of God, of your interest in
Christ: Job xv. 11, 'Are the consolations of God small,' that they cannot
counterbalance worldly afflictions? Your discontent cannot be greater than your
grounds of comfort. It is true nature will work; afflictions are bitter in the
root, but the fruit is sweet to a spiritual palate: Heb. xii. 11, 'No
chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but
grievous;' it doth but seem bitter,
carnal sense is not a fit judge. But then for your sins.
I confess, joy is proper to God's children, behaving themselves as children;
but what shall we do when we have sinned? I answer—There
is a time to mourn, and this is the season of it: 'If her father had spit in
her face, should she not be ashamed seven days?' Num. xii.
14. It is good to be sensible of the displeasure of a father. Ay! but in this heaviness there should be a mixture of joy.
Though there be a time to mourn, yet 'Rejoice
evermore.' Great heaviness, without a mixture of joy, is sinful. In this sense
we should not mourn without hope. We have to do with a God that is not
implacable; he mixeth love with his frowns: 'In the
midst of judgment he remembereth mercy;' and therefore
we should mix joy with our sorrows: Jer. iii. 14, 'Turn O backsliding
2. The other
sort are those that would rejoice, but do not
provide-matter of joy. Christ saith, 'That my joy may be fulfilled in themselves.' But in whom? He had
pleaded their interest, 'They are thine;' he had spoken well of them to the
Father, 'I am glorified in them.' Alas I the joys of others are but 'stolen
waters, and bread eaten in secret,' frisks of mirth,
when conscience is asleep. A man, cannot rejoice in
God till he hath some interest in him: 1 Sam. xxx. 6, 'David encouraged himself
in the Lord his God.' when all was lost at Ziklag;
pray mark, 'his God.' \@Totte meum
et tolle\@ Detail—take
away mine, and take away God. God is better known \@tn pmedicamento relationis, quam in prdedicamento svbsiantue\@. God
in his nature is terrible; God in covenant is sweet: Hab.
iii. 18, 'Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my
salvation.' When all things [Pg. 361] fail, a child of God nameth to his interest. The object of joy is good,
but not good in common, but my good. Excellency and propriety are the two conditions
of the object of joy. Therefore holy joy is not every one's duty, but theirs
that have an interest in God. There are some duties proper to the saints, that
suppose such a state and interest Prayer and hearing are common duties, the
obligation lieth on all the creatures, it is the
homage they owe to God; but now they are not immediately bidden to rejoice. All
are bound to provide matter for joy, but not all to rejoice. Carnal men are for
the present under wrath, liable to hell, bondage is their portion; therefore
clear up your interest, if you would rejoice in God. Men delight in their
children because they are their own.
Use 5. To raise your minds to the exercise of this joy. We should
be more careful than we are to maintain our peace and joy.
To help you, I shall show
1. What reason a Christian
hath to rejoice.
2. By what means he may get,
keep, and maintain it
First, What
reasons a Christian hath to rejoice.
The causes of joy may be referred to his past estate, his present interest, his
future hopes.
1. The remembrance of his
past estate. A Christian may stand wondering at the change which God hath made
in his soul: 1 Peter ii. 9, 'That ye should show forth the praises of him who
hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light.' The light is the more marvellous because of
the foregoing darkness. Past miseries are sweet in the remembrance. It will be
a part of our happiness in heaven to look back; as travellers
in the inn discourse of the dangers and dirtiness of the way. It is matter of
renewed joy to see how the weeds of sin are rooted out, how the buds of grace
begin to grow in the garden of our hearts. No man looketh
on the sea with more comfort than he that hath escaped the dangers of a
shipwreck; as the Israelites, when they saw the Egyptians dead on the shore,
sung a song of triumph; so doth a Christian rejoice when he considereth
his change, what he was, what he is.
2. His present interest,
sense, and feeling. We have mercies in hand as well as mercies in hope,
something exhibited as well as promised; God's eternal love, with all the
blessings that issue thence, of justification, sanctification, «fee. Paul
triumphs in this: Rom. viii. 37, 'Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors, through him that loved us.' God hath adopted them to be children,
heirs of his heavenly kingdom; if the world maketh
war against them, they have peace with God, they are in a reconciled estate; in
frame of heart they are regenerate, they have the first-fruits of the Spirit,
sweet experience of grace; not only the wine of Canaan, but the clusters of
Canaan; they have communion with God, though banished from men. It is the
nature of the mind to delight itself in the possession of any solid good. No
good can satisfy but the supreme; this we are in part possessed of as soon as
grace is wrought in the heart
3. His
future hopes: Heb. in. 6, 'If we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of
hope firm unto the end.' We are heirs-apparent to the crown of heaven. We may
rejoice in what we possess, we may glory in what we hope for. This ravisheth the heart to think of it; we shall [Pg. 362] have
what infinite mercy will bestow, infinite merit purchase, and the ample
promises of the reward hath revealed. The body of sin will be destroyed, and we
shall be out of the reach of temptations.
Secondly, By
what means it is maintained. God hath appointed graces and ordinances for this
end.
1. Graces; faith, hope, and
obedience.
[1.] Faith; it is a help to
joy; it representeth the excellency, truth, and reality of spiritual things.
That which we rejoice in must be good, true, present. All joy ariseth from the presence of some good, either in actual
possession or firm expectation. Thus doth faith: Heb. x. 34, 'Knowing in
yourselves that in heaven ye have a better and an enduring substance.' Faith
is not an opinion or wild guess; heaven is a pleasing fancy to a carnal man,
but it is a reality, a substance, an enduring substance to a believer. The
world is a fashion, perishing, moveable. It is the
nature of faith to make things absent, present; it giveth
a being to hope, it sets up a stage in the heart of a believer, where God is
represented acting whatever he hath promised; and this not by a naked fiction
or empty speculation, as a man may frame ideas of things that never shall be,
as in the dream of dotage of a distempered fancy they make a soul as if seen
with bodily eyes. Faith gives to its object not only a naked representation,
but an actual presence.
[2.] Hope; this dependeth much on faith; it is an earnest elevation of the
mind to look for what faith counteth real. Now hope ravisheth the soul, as if it had its head above the clouds:
'Rejoicing in hope.' Rom. xii. 12. Joy is proper to
enjoyment, but hope serves instead of enjoyment; they feast and entertain their
souls with their glorious hopes.
[3.] Obedience; faith giveth the title, hope the sight, obedience the evidence, therefore it is necessary to the establishing of
joy. Nay, it oath an effective influence; it is God's method. First he poureth in the oil of grace before the oil of gladness:
Heb. vii. 2, 'First being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after
that also King of Salem, that is, King of peace;' Rom. xiv. 17, 'The
2. Ordinances. I shall name them.
[1.] The word. The joy that
hypocrites have is from the word: Heb. vi. 5, 'They
have tasted the good word of God.' A temporary faith findeth
joy in the word; all the fault is, it is but a taste,
some slight experience, which they do not continue and maintain. Here is
represented fuel for faith and hope, God's infinite mercy, Christ's infinite
merits, the glory of the next world. Joy is, as it were, the blaze of the soul.
Love keepeth the fire burning; but now, if we would
have it blaze and flame up, we must come to the word, this is the bellows. [Pg. 363]
When the angel preached the
gospel, he said, Luke ii. 10, 'Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.' We come to hear good news from heaven; though an
angel be not the messenger, yet the message is the
same; God openeth his heart to us.
[2.] Prayer; wherein we open
our hearts to God; it hath a pacative virtue. Many
psalms begun with anguish end with triumph, as if he had received good news mat
his affaire were altered. Hannah when she had prayed, 'her countenance was no more sad,' 1 Sam. i. 18. God is
'the Father of mercies, the God of consolations,' 2 Cor.
i. 4; the nearer to him, the nearer to the fountain
of joy. There are joys felt in prayer, by retiring into God's presence: Ps.
xvi. 11, 'In thy presence there is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are
pleasures for evermore.' Heaven is a place of joy, because of the constant
communion we have with God there. God
doth not love to send us away sad.
[3.] Sacraments; because of
sweeter experiences: Cant. i. 4, 'will be glad, and
rejoice in thee: we will remember thy love more than wine.' They are sealing
ordinances: Heb. vi. 18, we have 'strong consolation;'
Mat xxvi. 30, 'When they had sung an hymn, they went
out into the Mount of Olives.' though it were a sad time. The eunuch went away
rejoicing as soon as he was baptized, because he was made sure of the grace of
God, Acts viii. 39. It is as when a man hath a good lease confirmed to him. It
is not the bread and wine rejoiceth the heart, but
the renewing of the covenant.
[4.] Meditation; it refresheth the soul, and feeds joy. It is the proper
natural use of reason. The speculation even of terrible things is grateful. It
was the comfort God himself took in his works; he made them, he saw them. It is
a refreshing to the soul to think pi creation and providence; as a son taketh pleasure in a history wherein are recorded his
father's valiant acts. It is a pure recreation. But oh! the
sweetness of redemption, the excellency of glory! The
thoughts are sent as spies into the land of promise; hereby we have a
Pisgah-sight; it giveth us a foretaste of heaven, and
filleth our souls with joy and blessedness.