The words are a consolation, brought by the apostle from the third heaven, where he was, by extraordinary privilege, raised, and saw and understood how great an happiness it is to be with Christ. And they are addressed to believers, to moderate and allay their sorrows for the death of those saints, who, by their conjunction in blood or friendship, were most dear to them. Thus he speaks in the thirteenth verse, 'I would not have you be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not as others which have no hope.' The heathens, that were strangers to a future state, and thought that, after a short course through the world, mankind would be lost for ever in the dead sea, might with some pretence abandon themselves to the extremity of their passions; but christians, to whom life and immortality are revealed by the gospel, who believed 'that as Jesus died and rose again, so all that sleep in Jesus,' that persevere in faith and holiness to the end, 'God will bring with him,' are forbid, upon the most weighty reasons, to indulge their grief in excess. The union between Christ and believers is inviolable; and from thence it follows, they shall be partakers with him in his glory. The soul immediately after death shall be with Christ. While the body reposes in the grave, it is in his presence who is life and light, and has a vital, joyful rest in communion with him. And in the appointed time the bodies of the saints, those happy spoils, shall be rescued from the dark prison of the grave, and be sharers with their souls in immortal glory.
This consummate happiness of the saints the apostle assures from highest the authority, 'The word of theLord ;' and describes his glorious appearance so as to make the strongest impression on our minds: 'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.' Then death, the last enemy, so fearful and feared by men, shall be destroyed; and the captive prince of the world, with all the powers of darkness, and all other rebellious sinners that obstinately joined with him, shall be brought in chains before his dreadful tribunal; and after the great act of the universal judgment shall be completed, then all the saints shall make their triumphant entry with the captain of their salvation into his kingdom, and 'shall ever be with the Lord.'
The general proposition from the words is this: The saints after the
resurrection shall be completely and eternally happy in the presence of
Christ.
To make this supernatural blessedness more easy and intelligible to
us, the scripture describes it by sensible representations; for whilst the soul
is clothed with flesh, fancy has such a dominion that we can conceive of
nothing but by comparisons and images taken from material things. It is
therefore set forth by a feast and a kingdom, to signify the joy and glory of
that state. But to prevent all gross conceits, it tells us that the bodies of
the saints shall be spiritual; not capable of hunger and thirst, nor
consequently of any refreshment that is caused by the satisfaction of those
appetites. The objects of the most noble senses, seeing and hearing, the
pleasure of which is mixed with reason, and not common to the brutes, are more
frequently made use of to reconcile that glorious state to the proportion of
our minds. Thus sometimes the blessed are represented placed 'on thrones, with
crowns on their heads;' sometimes 'clothed in white, with palms in their
hands;' sometimes singing songs of triumph to 'him that sits on the throne:'
and to their Saviour. But the reality of this blessedness infinitely exceeds
all those faint metaphors. Heaven is lessened by comparisons from earthly
things. The apostle who was dignified with the revelation of the successes that
shall happen to the church till time shall be no more, tells us, 'it does not
appear what we shall be in eternity.' 'The things that God has prepared for
those that love him' are far more above the highest ascent of our thoughts than
the marriage-feast of a great prince exceeds in splendour and magnificence the
imagination of one that has always lived in an obscure village, and never saw
any ornaments of state, nor tasted wine in his life. We can think of those
things but according to the poverty of our understandings. But so much we know
that is able to sweeten all the bitterness, and render insipid all the
sweetness of this world.
This will appear by considering, that whatever is
requisite to constitute the perfect blessedness of man is fully enjoyed in the
divine presence.
First, An exemption from all evils is the first condition of perfect blessedness. The sentence of wise Solon is true in another sense than he intended.
- Dicique beatus
Ante obitum nemo, supremaque
funera debet.
No man can be named happy whilst in this valley of tears. But upon the
entrance into heaven, all those evils that by their number, variety, or weight
disquiet and oppress us, are at an end.
Sin, of all evils the most hateful,
shall be abolished, and all temptations that surround us and endanger our
innocence will cease. Here the best men lament the weakness of the flesh, and
sometimes the violent assaults of spiritual enemies. St Paul himself breaks
forth into a mournful complaint, 'O wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver
me from this body of death?' And, when harassed with the buffetings of Satan,
renews his most earnest addresses to God to be freed from them. Here our purity
is not absolute; we must be always cleansing ourselves from the relics of that
deep defilement that cleaves to our nature. Here our peace is preserved with
the sword in our hand, by a continual warfare against Satan and the world. But
in heaven no ignorance darkens the mind, no passions rebel against the
sanctified will, no inherent pollution remains. The church is 'without spot or
wrinkle, or any such thing.' And all temptations 'that war against the soul'
shall then cease. The tempter was cast out of heaven, and none of his poisoned
arrows can reach that purified company. Glorious liberty ! here ardently
desired, but fully enjoyed by the sons of God above.
And as sin, so all
the penal consequences of it are quite taken away. The present life is an
incurable disease, and sometimes attended with that sharp sense that death is
desired as a remedy and accepted as a benefit. And though the saints have
reviving cordials, yet their joys are mixed with sorrows, nay, caused by
sorrows. The tears of repentance are their sweetest refreshment. Here the
living stones are cut and wounded, and made fit by sufferings for a temple unto
God in the new Jerusalem. But as in the building of Solomon's temple the noise
of a hammer was not heard, for all the parts were framed before with that exact
design and correspondence that they firmly combined together; they were hewn in
another place, and nothing remained but the putting them one upon another in
the temple, and then, as sacred, they were inviolable; so God, the architect,
having prepared the saints here by many cutting afflictions, places them in the
eternal building, where no voice of sorrow is heard. Of the innumerable company
above, is there any eye that weeps, any breast that sighs, any tongue that
complains, or appearance of grief? The heavenly state is called 'life,' as only
worthy of that title. There is no infirmity of body, no poverty, no disgrace,
treachery of friends, no persecution of enemies: 'There is no more death, nor
sorrow, nor crying, nor shall there be any more pain; for former things are
passed away,' Rev. xxi. 4. 'God will wipe away all tears from the eyes of his
people.' Their salvation is complete in all degrees. Pure joy is the privilege
of heaven, unmixed sorrows the punishment of hell.
A concurrence of all positive excellences is requisite to blessedness, and these are to be considered with respect to the entire man.
I. The body shall be awaked out of its dead sleep, and quickened into a glorious immortal life. The soul and body are the essential parts of man; and though the inequality be great in their operations that respect holiness, yet their concourse is necessary. Good actions are designed by the counsel and resolution of the Spirit, but performed by the ministry of the flesh. Every grace expresses itself in visible actions by the body. In the sorrows of repentance it supplies tears; in fastings its appetites are restrained; in thanksgivings the tongue breaks forth into the joyful praises of God. All the victories over sensible pleasure and pain are obtained by the soul in conjunction with the body. Now it is most becoming the divine goodness not to deal so differently that the soul should be everlastingly happy, and the body lost in forgetfulness; the one glorified in heaven, the other remain in the dust. From their first setting out in the world to the grave, they ran the same race, and shall enjoy the same reward. Here the body is the comfort of the soul in obedience and sufferings, hereafter in fruition. When the crown of purity or palm of martyrdom shall be given by the great Judge in the view of all, they shall both partake in the honour. Of this we have an earnest in the resurrection of Christ in his true body, who 'is the first-fruits of them that sleep,' 1 Cor. xv. 21; 'He shall change our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned like to his glorious body, according to the working of his power, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself, Phil. iii. 21. A substantial, unfading glory will shine in them infinitely above the perishing pride of this world, that is but in appearance, like the false colours painted on the feathers of a dove by the reflection of the light, which presently vanish when it changeth its posture, or the light is withdrawn. Indeed, what can be more glorious than to be conformed to the humanity of Christ, the seat of all beauty and perfection? This conformity shall be the work of his own hands. And when omnipotence interposes, nothing is difficult. The raising the body to an unchangeable state of glory is as easy to the divine power as the forming it at first in the womb; as the sun labours no more in the mines in the forming gold and silver, the most precious and durable metals, than in the production of a poor short-lived flower.
II. The soul shall be made perfect in all its faculties.
1. The understanding shall clearly see the most excellent objects: 'Now
we know but in part,' 1 Cor. xiii. The naked beauty of divine things is veiled,
and of impossible discovery; and the weakness of the mind is not proportionable
to their dazzling brightness. But when that which is perfect is come, 'then
that which is in part shall be done away.' In that enlightened state the
glorious manifestation of the objects shall as much exceed the clearest
revealing of them here, as the sun in its full lustre one beam of light
strained through a crevice in the wall. And the understanding shall be prepared
to take a full view of them. Therefore the apostle compares the several periods
of the church, in respect of the degrees of knowledge, to the several ages of
this life: 'When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.' In
children the organs, either from an excess of moisture or their smallness, are
indisposed for the vigorous exercise of the mind ; some strictures of reason
appear, a presaging sign what will be, but mixed with much obscurity; but when
the organs are come to their just proportion and temperament, the soul displays
its strength and activity.
All things of a supernatural order shall then be
clearly discovered. The contrivance of our salvation, the ways of conducting us
to blessedness, which are objects of a sublime nature, will afford an exquisite
pleasure to the understanding. All the secrets of our redemption shall be
unsealed. The great mystery of godliness, the incarnation of the eternal Son,
and his according justice with mercy, shall then be apparent. The divine
counsels in governing the world are now only visible in their wonderful
effects, either of mercy or justice, and those most dreadful ; but the reasons
of them are past finding out. But what our Saviour said to Peter, ', 'What I do
thou knowest not now, but shalt know hereafter, is applicable to these
impenetrable dispensations. All the original fountains of wisdom, as clear as
deep, shall then be opened. We shall then see the beauty of providence in
disposing temporal things in order to our eternal felicity. We now see, as it
were, the rough part and knots of that curious embroidery, hut then the whole
work shall be unfolded, the sweetness of the colours and proportion of the
figures appear. There we shall be able to expound the perplexing riddle, how
'out of the eater came meat, and out of the strong came sweetness;' for 'we
shall know as we are known.'
We shall see God. Our Saviour tells us, 'This
is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent.' The beginning and perfection of our happiness consists in this
knowledge. The Deity is spiritual and invisible to the eye of the body,
infinite and incomprehensible to the soul. But we shall then so clearly
understand the divine perfections, that our present knowledge, compared to
that, is but as the seeing a dark resemblance in a glass to the clear view of a
person in the native beauty of his face. God is most gloriously present in
heaven; for according to the degrees of excellence in the work, such are the
impressions and discoveries of the virtues of the cause. Now all sensible
things in the low order of nature are but weak resultances from his perfections
in comparison of their illustrious effects in the divine world. The glories of
the place and of the inhabitants, the angels and saints, clearly express his
majesty, goodness and power. But in a transcendent manner he exhibits himself
in the glorified Mediator. He is styled 'the brightness of his Father's glory,
and the express image of his person;' not only for his equal perfections in
respect of the unity of their nature, but to signify that God in the person of
the incarnate Mediator is so fully represented to us, that by the sight of him
we see God himself in his unchangeable excellences. This appears by the
following words, that 'having purged us from our sins, he sat down on the right
hand of the majesty on high;' for they respect the Son of God as united to the
human nature, in which he performed the office of the priesthood, and took
possession of his glorious kingdom. During his humble state, the divine
virtues, wisdom, goodness, holiness, power, were so visible in his person,
life, revelations, and miraculous works, that when Philip so longed for the
sight of the Father, as the only consummate blessedness, 'Show us the Father,
and it suffices,' he told him, 'He that has seen me has seen the Father also.'
But how brightly do they appear in his triumphant exaltation ! It was his
prayer on earth, 'Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with
me where I am, that they may behold my glory.' Inestimable felicity ! Whether
we consider him in the respect of an object that incomparably transcends all
the created glory of heaven, or in the relation of our head, on a double
account; partly because he was debased into the form of a servant, and suffered
all indignities and cruelties of sinners for us, has received the recompense of
his meritorious sufferings, the triumph of his victory, 'being glorified with
the Father with the glory he had before the world was;' and partly because
every member shall be conformed to him in his glory: 'We shall be like him, for
we shall see him as he is.' And all felicity and glory is comprised in that
promise. The sight of the face of Moses when radiant had no transforming
efficacy, for the light of it was not in him as its source but by derivation.
But God is light essentially, and the sight of his perfections will be
productive of his likeness in us, so far as it may be in a restrained subject.
When our Saviour was upon the holy mount, and one vanishing beam of glory
appeared in his transfiguration, Peter was so transported at the sight that he
forgot the world and himself. How ravishing, then, will the sight of him be in
his triumphant majesty, when we shall be transfigured ourselves!
2. As we shall behold God's face, know his most amiable excellences, so
they shall love him as perfectly as they know him. To the illustrations of the
mind there are correspondent impressions on the heart. In the present state our
love is imperfect, and as fire out of its sphere, dies away by our neglect to
feed it, with proper materials, enamouring considerations of God. But it is not
so in heaven; there the divine sun attracts every eye with the light of its
beauty, and inflames every heart with the heat of his love. The continual
presence of God is in different respects the cause and effect of our love to
him; for there is no more powerful attractive to love him than to see him; and
love keeps the thoughts undivided from him. 'God is love,' and will kindle in
us a pure affection that eternity shall never lessen.
Our affections, that
are now scattered on many things, wherein some small reflections of his
goodness appear, shall join in one full current in heaven, where God is all in
all. We shall then understand the riches of his love, that God, who is
infinitely happy in himself, should make man for such a glory, and such a glory
for man; and that when for his rebellion he was justly expelled from paradise,
and under a sentence of eternal death, God should please to restore him to his
favour, and to give him a better state than was forfeited. We shall then
understand our infinite obligations to the Son of God who descended from the
heaven of heavens to our earth, and, which is more, from the majesty wherein he
there reigned, from the glory wherein he was visible to the angelical minds,
and became man for men, redemption for the lost, to purchase immortal life for
those who were dead to that blessed life. In short, then God will express his
love to us in the highest degrees that a finite creature is capable to receive
from love itself, and we shall love him with all the strength of our glorified
powers.
3. Complete satisfaction flows from union with God by knowledge and
love: 'In his presence is fulness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures
for ever.' The causes and excellences of the heavenly life are in those words
expressed. The causes are the influxive piesence of God, the revelation of his
attractive perfections, the beholding his face, the declaration of his peculiar
favour. This our blessed Lord himself had a respect to, as the complete reward
of his sufferings: 'Thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.' And
his right hand his bounty, that dispenses, and his power that secures, that
felicity. The excellences of this state are fulness of joy, and that without
diminution or end.
When the soul opens its eyes to the clear discoveries of
the first truth, and its breast to the dear and intimate embraces of the
supreme good, beyond which nothing remains to he known, nothing to be enjoyed,
what a deluge of the purest pleasures will overflow it ! We cannot ascend in
our thoughts so high as to conceive the excess of joy that attends those
operations of the glorified soul upon its proper object. But something we may
conjecture.
4. The full joy of heaven shall continue without diminuition or end.
First, The number of possessors cannot lessen it. The divine presence is an
unwasted spring of pleasure, equally full and open to all, and abundantly
sufficient to satisfy the immensity of their desires. Envy reigns in this
world, because earthly things are so imperfect in their nature, and so peculiar
in their possession, that they cannot suffice, nor be enjoyed by all. But in
heaven none is touched with that low, base passion; for God contains all that
is precious and desirable in the highest degrees of perfection, and all partake
of the influence of his universal goodness without intercepting one another. In
the kingdom above there is no cause for the elder brother to repine at time
Father's bounty to the younger, nor for the younger to supplant the elder to
obtain the birthright. The heirs of God are all raised to sovereign glory.
Every one enjoys him as entirely and fully as if solely his felicity. God is a
good, as indivisable as infinite, and not diminished by the most liberal
communications of himself. We may illustrate this by comparing the price of our
redemption and the reward. The death of Christ is an universal benefit to all
the saints, yet it is so applied to every believer for his perfect redemption,
as if our Saviour in all his agonies and sufferings had no other in his eye and
heart ; as if all his prayers, his tears, his blood, were offered up to his
Father only for that person. The common respect of it the apostle declares in
those admirable words, that signify such an excess of God's love to us, 'He
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not
with him also freely give us all things?' But to imagine that the propriety of
every believer is thereby prejudiced, is not only false, but extremely injurous
to the merit and dignity, and to the infinite love of Christ. Therefore the
same apostle tells us, 'The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me ;' as if he were
the sole object of Christ's love, the end and reward of his sufferings. And
this appropriating of it to himself is no prejudice to the rights of all
others. St John describes himself by that truly glorious title, 'The disciple
whom Jesus loved.' Could he speak this of himself without the injury and
indignation of the other disciples? Certainly he might; for if we consider that
incomprehensible love of Christ, expressed to them all at his last supper,
after Judas was gone forth, 'As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you,'
we may easily understand that every one at them might justly believe that he
was singularly beloved of Christ. They were all received in the heart, though
(with John) they did not all lean on the breast of their divine master. Thus in
heaven God is the universal treasure of all the saints, and the peculiar
portion of every one. As by his essence he equally fills the whole world, and
every part of it, and by his providence equally regards all and every
particular creature; so in heaven he dispenses the riches of his love to all,
that they cannot desire more, if every one of them were (if I may so express
it) the only-begotten of the Only-begotten himself, the sole heir of all the
merits of his Son. Every saint may, with the inflamed spouse, break forth in
that triumph of love, 'My beloved is mine, and I am his.' Nay, the great number
of the glorified saints is so far from lessening their joy, that it unspeakably
increases it: 'The innumerable company of angels, and the general assembly of
the church of the First-born,' next to the happiness of enjoying God, are a
chief part of heaven. An unfeigned ardent affection unites that pure society.
Our love is now kindled, either from a relation in nature, or some visible
excellences that render a person worthy of our choice and friendship; but in
heaven the reasons are greater, and the degrees of love incomparably more
fervent. All carnal alliances and respects cease in that supernatural state.
The apostle tells us, 'If I have known Christ after the flesh, I know him so no
more.' By the resurrection and ascension of Christ he was transported into
another world, and had communion with him as an heavenly king, without low
regards to the temporal privilege of conversing with him on earth. The
spiritual relation is more near and permanent than the strictest band of
nature. The saints have all relation to the same heavenly Father, and to Jesus
Christ the Prince of peace, and head of that happy fraternity. The principal
motive of love here is for the inherent excellences of a person. Wisdom,
goodness, holiness, are mighty attractives, and produce a more worthy
affection, a more intimate confederacy of souls, than propinquity in nature.
David declares that 'all his delight was in the excellent.' But there are
allays of this noble love here. For -
[1.] There are relics of frailty in the best men on earth, some blemishes that render them less amiable when discovered. Here their graces are mixed infirmities, and but ascending to glory. Accordingly our love to them must be regular and serene; not clouded with error, mistaking defects for amiable qualities. But in heaven the image of God is complete, by the union of all the glorious virtues requisite to its perfection. Every saint there exactly agrees within the first exemplar, is transformed according to the primitive beauty of holiness. No spot or wrinkle remains, or any such thing, that may cast the least aspect of deformity upon them.
[2.] In the present state, the least part of the saint's worth is
visible; as time earth is fruitful in plants and flowers, but its riches are in
the mines of precious metals, the veins of marble hidden in its bosom. True
grace appears in sensible actions, but its glory is within. The sincerity of
aims, the purity of affections, the impresses of the Spirit on the heart, the
interior beauties of holiness, are only seen by God. Besides, such is the
humility of eminent saints, that the more they abound in spiritual treasures,
the less they show; as the heavenly bodies, when in nearest conjunction with
the sun, and fullest of light, make the least appearance to our sight. But all
their excellences shall then be in view: 'The glory of God shall be revealed in
them.' And how attractive is the divine likeness to an holy eye ! How will it
ravish the saints to behold an immortal loveliness shining in one another!
Their love is mutual and reflexive, proportionable to the cause of it. An
equal, constant flame is preserved by pure materials. Every one is prfectly
amiable, and perfectly enamoured within all. Now can we frame a fuller
conception of happiness than such a state of love, wherein whatever is pleasant
in friendship is in perfection, and whatever is distasteful by men's folly and
weakness is abolished. The psalmist breaks out in a rapture, 'Behold, how good
and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity ! 'Love is the
beauty and strength of societies, the pleasure of life. How excellent is the
joy of the blessed, when the prayer of Christ shall be accomplished, that they
all may be one ! 'As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may
be one in us. God is absolutely one in his glorious nature and will, and
therefore unalterably happy; and their inviolable union in love is a ray of the
essential unity between the sacred persons. There are no divisions of heart and
tongues, as in this Babel, but the most perfect and sweetest concord, an
eternal agreement in tempers and inclinations. There are no envious
comparisons; for love, that affectively transforms one into another, causes the
glory of every saint to redound to the joy of all. Every one takes his share in
the felicity of all, and adds to it. Such is the power of that celestial fire
wherein they all burn, that it melts, and mixes souls in such an entire union,
that, by complaisance and an intimate joy, the blessedness of all is, as it
were, proper to every one; as if every one were placed in the hearts of all,
and all in the heart of every one. If in the church of the first-born
christians, in the earthly Jerusalem, the hand of charity was so strict that it
is said, 'the multitude of believers were of one heart and one soul ;' how much
more intimate and inseparable is the union of the saints in Jerusalem above,
where every one loves another as himself !
It is recorded of Alexander,
that entering with Hephaestion, his favourite, into the pavilion of Darius'
mother, then his prisoner, she bowed to the favourite, as having a greater
appearance of majesty, thinking him to be Alexander; but advised of her error,
she humbly begged his pardon; to whom the generous king replied, 'You did not
err, mother, for this is also Alexander.' Such was their affection, that
whoever was taken of them, the other was taken in him ; the less ascending in
the greater, without degrading the greater in the less. This is a copy of the
holy love of the blessed; but with the same difference as between the
description of a star with a coal and its beauty in its proper aspect. And
where all is love, all is delight. Oh, how do they enjoy and triumph in the
happiness of one another ! Within what an unimaginable tenderness do they
embrace ! What reciprocations of endearments are between them ! Oh their
ravishing conversation and sweet intercourse! for their presence together in
heaven is not a silent show. In the transfiguration Moses and Elias talked with
Christ. With what excellent discourses do they entertain one another! If David
felt such inward pleasure from the sense of God's favours that he could not
restrain the expression of it, but invites the saints, 'Come and hear, all ye
that fear the Lord, and I will tell you 'what he has done for my soul;'
certainly in heaven, the blessed with overflowing affections recount the divine
benefits, the admirable methods whereby the life of grace was begun, preserved,
and carried on in the midst of temptations; the continual succession of mercies
in the time of their hopes, and the consummation of all in the time of their
enjoyment. How joyfully do they concur in their thanksgivings to God for the
goodness of creation, in making them reasonable creatures, capable to know,
love, and enjoy him when they might have been of the lowest order in the whole
sphere of beings; for his compassionate care and providence over them in this
world. But especially for his sovereign mercy in electing them to be vessels of
honour; for his powerful grace in rescuing them from the cruel and ignominious
bondage of sin; for his most free love, that justified them from all their
guilt by the death of his only Son, and glorified them with himself. They are
never weary in this delightful exercise, but continually bless him for his
mercy that endures for ever. We may judge by the saints here, when they are in
a fit disposition to praise God, what fervours they feel in their united
praises of him in heaven. The psalmist in an ecstasy calls to all the parts of
the world to join with him: 'The Lord reigns, let the heavens rejoice, and the
earth be glad: let the sea roar, let the fields be joyful, and all that dwell
therein.' He desires that nature should be elevated above itself, that the dead
parts be inspired with life, the insensible feel motions of joy, and those that
want a voice break forth in praises to adorn the divine triumph. With what life
and alacrity will the saints in their blessed communion celebrate the object of
their love and praises! The seraphims about the throne cried to one another, to
express their zeal and joy in celebrating his eternal purity and power, and the
glory of his goodness. Oh the unspeakable pleasure of this concert, when every
soul is harmonious, and contributes his part to the full music of heaven! Oh,
could we hear but some echo of those songs wherewith the heaven of heavens
resounds, some remains of those voices wherewith the saints above triumph in
the praises, in the solemn adoration of the King of spirits, how would it
inflame our desires to be joined with them ! 'Blessed are those that are in thy
house, they always praise thee.'
[3.] The fulness of joy in heaven is undecaying, for the causes of it
are always equal; and those are, the beatific object revealed, and the
uninterrupted contemplation of it.
Whilst we are here below, the sun of
righteousness, as to our perception and sense, has ascensions and declinations,
accesses and recesses; and our earth is not so purified but some vapours arise
that intercept his cheerful, refreshing light. From hence there are alternate
successions of spiritual comforts and sorrows, of doubts and filial confidence
in the saints. It is a rare favour of heaven when an humble believer in his
whole course is so circumspect as not to provoke God to appear displeased
against him; when a christian (as those tutelar angels spoken of in the gospel)
always beholds the face of his heavenly Father, and converses with him with an
holy liberty. And what a torment the hiding of God's face is to a deserted
soul, only they know who feel it. External troubles are many times attended
with more consolations to the spirit than afflictions to sense: but to love God
with a transcendent affection, and to fear he is our enemy, no punishment
exceeds or is equal to it. As his loving-kindness in their esteem is better
than life, so his displeasure is worse than death. How do they wrestle with God
by prayers and tears, and offer, as it were, a holy violence to the king of
heaven, to recover their first serenity of mind, the lost peace of heart ! How
passionately do they cry out, with Job in the book of his patience, Job xxix. 2
- 4 'Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me:
when his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through
darkness: as I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my
tabernacle.' And sometimes God delays the revealing himself even to his dearest
children ; not that he does not see their necessities and hear their prayers,
or is so hard that till their extremities he is not moved with compassion, but
for wise and holy reasons; either that they may not return to folly, if by any
presumptuous sin they forfeited their peace; or if they have been careful to
please him, yet he may deprive them of spiritual comforts for a time, to keep
them humble, and that with an obedient resignation to his sovereign pleasure
they may wait for his reviving presence. And then joy returns greater than
before. For thus God usually renders with interest what he suspended only for
trial. But the saints above are for ever enlightened within the vital splendour
and dear regards of his countenance, always enjoy his beamy smiles. A continual
effusion of glory illustrates heaven and all its blessed inhabitants.
And
their contemplation of God is fixed. If the object, though extraordinary
glorious, were transient, or the eye so weak that it could only see it but by
glances, the height of joy would not be perpetual; but the mind is prepared
with supernatural vigour to see the brightness of God's face, and by the most
attentive application always converses with that blessed object, so that the
joy of heaven is never intermitted for a moment. They always see, and love, and
rejoice, and praise him.
It is possible a carnal suspicion may arise in
some, as if the uniform perpetual vision of the same glory might lose its
perfect delightfulness; for those who seek for happiness in the vanity of the
creatures are always desirous of change, and have their judgments so corrupted,
that while they languish with a secret desire after an unchangeable good, yet
they conceive no good as desirable that is not changed.
But to correct this gross error of fancy, let us a little inquire into
the causes of dissatisfaction, that make the constant fruition of the same
thing here to be tedious.
(1.) Sensible things are of such a limited
goodness, that not any of them can supply all our present wants, so that it is
necessary to leave one for another. And the most of them are remedies of our
diseased appetites, and, if not temperately used, are destructive evils. Eating
and drinking are to extinguish hunger and thirst, but continued beyond just
measure become nauseous.
Besides the insufficiency of their objects, the
senses themselves cannot be satisfied all at once. The ear cannot attend to
delightful sounds, and the eye cannot be intent on beautiful colours at the
same time. The satisfaction of one sense defeats another of enjoying its proper
good; therefore the same object is not constantly pleasant, but the heart is
distempered from as many causes as there are desires unaccomplished. Add
further, all things under the sun afford only a superficial delight, and
miserably deceive the expectations raised of them; and many times there is a
mixture of some evil in them that is more offensive than the good is
delightful. The honey is attended with a sting, so that often those things we
sigh after through vehement desire, when they are obtained, we sigh for grief.
Now all these causes of dissatisfaction cease in heaven; for God is an infinite
good, and whatever is truly desirable and precious is in him in all degrees of
perfection. And in his presence all the powers of the soul are drawn out in
their most pleasant exercise, and always enjoy their entire happiness. The
fruition of him exceeds our most raised hopes, as much as he is more glorious
in himself than in any borrowed representations. God will be to us incomparably
above what we can ask or think. The compass of our thoughts, the depth of our
desires, are imperfect measures of his perfections. As he is a pure good in
himself, so he is prevalent over all evil. It is evident, therefore, that
nothing can allay the joys of saints when they are in God's presence.
(2.)
Novelty is not requisite to ingratiate every good, and make it perfectly
delightful. God is infinitely happy, to whom no good was ever new. It is indeed
the sauce that gives a delicious taste to inferior things; for men relish only
what is eminent, and the good things of this world are so truly mean, that they
are fain to borrow a show of greatness by comparison within a worse estate
preceding. But an infinite good produces always the same pure, equal, complete
joy, because it arises from its intrinsic perfection, that wants no foil to
commend it. The psalmist breaks forth, 'Whom have I in heaven hut thee?' This
is no vanishing rapture, but a constant joyful height of affection. God, the
essential happiness of the saints, is always perfectly lovely and delightly to
them.
(3.) The glorified saints, in every period of their happy state,
have as lively a perception of it as in the beginning. To make this evident, we
must consider that the pleasure of novelty springs from a quick sense of the
opposite terms between our condition in the want of some desired good and after
our obtaining it. Now the mind is more intense on the advantage, and more
strongly affected at first. One newly freed from the torments of a sharp
disease feels a greater pleasure than from a constant tenor of health. Those
who are raised from a low state to an eminent dignity are transported with
their first change; but in tract of time the remembrance of their mean
condition is so weakened and spent, that it is like the shadow of a dream, and
proportionably their joy is lessened. Honours, like perfumes, by custom are
less sensible to those that carry them. But the saints above always consider
and feel the excellent difference between their suffering and triumphant state.
They never lose that ravishing part of felicity, the vivid sense of past evils.
Their reflections are always as strong on the misery from whence they were
raised to the pitch of happiness as in their first glorious translation. In
what an ecstasy of wonder and pleasure will they be, from the fresh memory of
what they were, and the joyful sense of what they are! I was (says the admiring
soul) poor, blind, and naked; but, O miraculous and happy alteration ! I am
full of light, enriched with the treasures of heaven, adorned with divine
glory. I was under the tyrannous power of Satan, but he is bruised under my
feet. I was sentenced to an everlasting separation from the presence of God, my
only life and joy; but now am possessed of my supreme good. Oh, how
transporting is the comparison of these wide and contrary extremes! How
beautiful and pleasant is the day of eternity after such a dark, tempestuous
night! How does time remembrance of such evils produce a more lively and
feeling fruition of such happiness! How strangely and mightily does salvation
within eternal glory affect the soul! This gives a sprightly accent to their
everlasting hallelujahs. This preserves an affectionate heat in their
thanksgiving to their victorious deliverer. And thus their happiness is always
the same, and always new. Their pleasure is continued in its perfection.
Lastly, The blessedness of the saints is without end; this makes heaven to be itself. There is no satiety of the present, no solicitude for the future. Were there a possibility or the least suspicion of losing that happy state, it would cast an aspersion of bitterness upon all their delights; they could not enjoy one moment's repose. But the more excellent their happiness is, the more stinging would their fear be of parting with it. But 'the inheritance reserved in heaven is immortal, undefiled, and fades not away;' and the tenure of their possession is infinitely firm by the divine power, the true support of their everlasting duration: 'With God is time fountain of life.' They enjoy a better immortality than the tree of life could have preserved in Adam. The revolutions of the heavens and ages are under their feet, and cannot in the least alter or determine their happiness. After the passing of millions of years, still an entire eternity remains of their enjoying God. O most desirable state! where blessedness and eternity are inseparably united. O joyful harmony! when the full chorus of heaven shall sing, 'This God is our God for ever and ever.' This adds an infinite weight to their glory. This redoubles their unspeakable joys with infinite sweetness and security. They repose themselves in the complete fruition of their happiness. God reigns in the saints, and they live in him for ever.
From what has been discoursed we should -
1. Consider the woful
folly of men in refusing such an happiness, that, by the admirable favour of
God, is offered to their choice. Can there be an expectation or desire or
capacity in man of enjoying an happiness beyond what is infinite and eternal? O
blind and wretched world! so careless of everlasting felicity! Who can behold
without compassion and indignation men vainly seeking for happiness where it is
not to be found, and after innumerable disappointments, fly to an
impossibility, and neglect their sovereign and final blessedness ? Astonishing
madness, that God and heaven should be despised in comparison of painted
trifles! This adds the greatest contumely to their impiety. What powerful charm
obstructs their true judging of things? What spirit of error possesses them ?
Alas ! eternal 'things are unseen,' not of conspicuous moment, and therefore in
the carnal balance are esteemed light against temporal things present to the
sense: 'It does not appear what we shall be.' The veil of the visible heavens
covers the sanctuary, where Jesus, our high priest, is entered, and stops the
inquiring eye.
But have we not assurance by the most infallible principles
of faith that the Son of God came down from heaven to live with us and die for
us, and that he rose again to confirm our belief in his 'exceeding great and
precious promises' concerning this happiness in the future state? And do not
the most evident principles of reason and universal experience prove that this
world cannot afford true happiness to us? How wretchedly do we forfeit the
prerogative of the reasonable nature by neglecting our last and blessed end !
If the mind be darkened that, it does not see the amiable excellences of God,
and the will so depraved that it does not feel their ravishing power, the man
ceases to be a man, and becomes like the beasts that perish; as a blind eye is
no longer an eye, being absolutely useless to that end for which it was made.
And though in this present state men are stupid and unconcerned, yet hereafter
their misery will awaken them, discover what is that supreme good wherein their
perfection and felicity consists. When their folly shall be exposed before God,
angels, and saints, in what extreme confusion will they appear before that
glorious and immense theatre! Our Saviour told the unbelieving Jews, 'There
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves turned
out.' They shall be tortured with the desire of happiness without possible
satisfaction. It is most just that those who err without excuse should repent
without remedy.
2. Let us be excited seriously to apply ourselves in the
use of effectual means for the obtaining this happiness. Indeed the original
cause of it is the pure, rich mercy of God; the meritorious is the most
precious obedience of our Saviour, by whom we obtain plenteous redemption. His
abasement is the cause of our exaltation. The wounds he received in his body,
the character of ignominy, and footsteps of death, are the fountains of our
glory: 'Eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.' But the
gospel declares, 'that without holiness no man shall see God.' An holy change
of our natures, and perseverance in the course of universal obedience, are
indispensably requisite in order to our obtaining heaven: 'Those who by patient
continuance in well-doing seek for glory, honour, and immortality, shall
partake of eternal life.' Now, were there no other reason of this constitution
but the sovereign will of God, it were sufficient. But the foundation of it is
laid in the nature of the things themselves. Therefore our Saviour does not
simply declare that an unregenerate person shall not see the kingdom of God,
but with the greatest emphasis, cannot, to signify an absolute
impossibility of it. Beside the legal bar that excludes unsanctified persons
from the beatific vision of God, there is a moral incapacity. Suppose that
justice should allow omnipotence to translate such a sinner to heaven, would
the place make him happy? Can two incongruous natures delight in one another?
The happiness of sense is by an impression of pleasure from a suitable object.
The happiness of intellectual beings arises from an entire conformity of
dispositions. So that unless God recede from his holiness, which is absolutely
impossible, or man be purified and changed into his likeness, there can be no
sweet communion between them. Our Saviour assigns this reason of the necessity
of regeneration in order to our admission into heaven: 'That which is born of
the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.' According
to the quality of the principle, such is what proceeds from it. The flesh is a
corrupt principle, and accordingly the natural man is wholly carnal in his
propensions, operations, and end. The disease is turned into his constitution.
He is dead to the spiritual life, to the actions and enjoyments that are proper
to it. Nay, there is in him a surviving principle of enmity to that life; not
only a mortal coldness to God, but a stiff aversion from him, a perpetual
resistance and impatience of the divine presence that would disturb his
voluptuous enjoyments. The exercises of heaven would be as the torments of hell
to him, while in the midst of those pure joys his inward inclinations
vehemently run into the lowest lees of sensuality. And therefore till this
contrariety, so deep and predominant in an unholy person, be removed, it is
utterly impossible he should enjoy God with satisfaction. Holiness alone
prepares men for the possession of celestial happiness that is against the
corruption and above the perfection of mere nature.
'Let us then, having
such a joy set before us, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and run with patience the race that is set before us, looking
to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.' Methinks the sight of worldly
men, so active and vigilant to prosecute their low designs, should quicken us
to seek with the greater diligence and alacrity 'the kingdom of heaven, and the
righteousness thereof.' A carnal wretch, urged by the sting of a brutish
desire, with what impatience does he pursue 'the pleasure of sin, which is but
for a season !' An ambitious person, with what an intemperate height of passion
does he chase a feather ! A covetous man, how greedily does he prosecute the
advantages of the present world that pass away, and the lusts thereof! Ah! how
do they upbraid our indifferent desires, or dull delays, and cold endeavours,
when such an high prize is set before us ! Who is able to conceive the excess
of pleasure the soul feels when it first enters through the beautiful gate of
paradise, and sees before it that incomprehensible glory, and hears a voice
from him that sits upon the throne, 'Enter into thy Master's joy, for ever to
be happy with him? The serious belief of this will draw forth all our active
powers in the service of God. The feeding by lively thoughts on this
supernatural food will add new vigour and lustre to our graces, and make our
victory easy over the world. If we believe indeed that our bodies shall be
spiritual, and our souls divine in their perfections, it 'will make us resolute
to subdue the rebel flesh and rescue the captived spirit from all entanglements
of iniquity: 'Having the promise of such an excellent reward, let us always
abound in the work of the Lord.'
3. The lively hope of this blessedness is
powerful to support us under the greatest troubles that can befall us in this
our mortal condition. Here we are tossed upon the alternate waves of time, but
hereafter we shall arrive at the port, the blessed bosom of our Saviour, and
enjoy a peaceful calm : 'And so we shall ever be with the Lord.' Words of
infinite sweetness! This is the song of our prosperity and charm of our
adversity: 'We shall ever be with the Lord.' Well might the apostle add
immediately after, 'Therefore comfort one another with these words.'
More
particularly, they are a lenitive to moderate our sorrows upon the departure of
our dearest friends who die in the Lord ; for they ascend from this valley of
tears to the happy land of the living. What father is so deserted of reason as
to bear impatiently the parting with his son, that goes over a narrow part of
the sea to a rich and pleasant country, and receives the investiture and
peaceable possession of a kingdom? Nay, by how much the stronger his love is,
so much the more transporting is his joy ; especially if he expects shortly to
be with him, to see him on the throne, in the state of a king, and to partake
of his happiness. If, then, it be impossible to nature to be grieved at the
felicity of one that is loved, according to what principle of nature or faith
do believers so uncomfortably lament the death of friends, of whom they have
assurance that, after their leaving our earth, they enter into an everlasting
kingdom, to receive a crown of glory from Christ himself? Our Saviour tells the
disciples, 'If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I said I go to my Father,'
to sit down at his right hand in majesty. A pure affection directly terminates
in the happiness and exaltation of the person that is loved. I am not speaking
against the exercise of tender affections on the loss of our dear friends, and
the pensive feeling of God's hand in it, which is a natural and necessary duty.
There is a great difference between stupidity and patience; but violent passion
or unremitting sorrow is most unbecoming the blessed hope assured to us in the
gospel.
Chrysostom, treating of this argument, and reflecting upon the
custom of those times, wherein at funeral solemnities a train of mourning women
attended the corpse, tearing their hair and face, and crying out with all the
expressions of desperate sorrow, breaks forth, 'Ah, christian faith and
religion! that was triumphant over thine enemies in so many battles and
victories by the blood and death of the martyrs, how art thou contradicted by
the practice of these who profess thee in words! Is this not to be sorrowful as
those that have no hope? Are these the affections, the expressions of one that
believes the blessedness of immortal life? What will the heathens say? How will
they be induced to believe the promises of Christ to his servants of a glorious
kingdom, when those who are so in title, behave themselves as if they had no
steadfast faith in them?'
4. The hopes of this blessed state is able to
free us from the fear of death. This last enemy gives a hot alarm to mankind,
both as it deprives them of all that is pleasant here, and for the terrible
consequences that attend it. To the eye of sense, a dead body is a spectacle of
fearful appearance. He that a little before heard and discoursed, and with a
cheerful air conversed and enjoyed the world, now is dead, and all his senses
in him; the eyes are dead to light, and the ears to sounds, the tongue to
words, the heart to feel any affections, and the countenance to discover them;
nothing remains but silence, horror, and corruption. Besides, 'after death
comes judgment, and a state of unrelenting torments to the wicked. But a true
believer, that has been obedient to his Saviour, sees things by another light
than that of sense, and has living hopes in his dying agonies. He knows that
death to the saints is but a sleep ; and while the body rests in the grave, the
soul is, as it were, all act, continually exercising its most noble faculties
on the best objects. Does the soul sleep in that all-enlightened world, that
sees with open face the infinite beauty of God? that hears and bears a part in
the hymns of the angels and saints encircling his throne? that drinks of the
rivers of pleasure that flow from his presence? that freely and joyfully
converses with all the celestial courtiers, the princes of that kingdom, the
favourites of God ? Then it truly lives. This reconciles death to a christian,
who has nothing more in his wishes than to be with Christ, and knows that
diseases and pains, the forerunners of it, are but as breaking down the walls
of this earthly dark prison, that the soul may take its flight to the happy
region, and for ever enjoy the liberty of the sons of God. And for his body,
that shall be reunited to the soul in glory. Methinks God speaks to a dying
believer as he did to Jacob when he was to descend to Egypt, 'Fear not to go
down into the grave ; I will go down with thee, and I will bring thee up
again.' The same almighty voice that gave being to the world shall awake those
who sleep in the dust, and reform them according to the example of Christ's
glorified body. Oh, how should we long for that triumphant day, and with most
ardent aspirings pray, 'Thy kingdom come in its full power and glory?'
I shall now come to speak of the mournful subject, the cause of my
appearing here at this time, the deceased reverend and excellent divine, Dr
Thomas Manton, a name worthy of precious and eternal memory. And I shall
consider him both in the quality of his office, as he was an ambassador of
Christ, declaring his mind and representing his authority, and in the holiness
of his person, showing forth the graces and virtues of his divine Master.
God had furnished him with a rare union of those parts that are requisite to
form an excellent minister of his word, A clear judgment, rich fancy, strong
memory, and happy elocution met in him, and were excellently improved by his
diligent study.
The preaching of the word is the principal part of the
minister's duty, most essential to his calling, and most necessary to the
church. For this end chiefly the several orders in the ministerial office were
instituted (Eph. iv.); and upon our Saviour's triumphant ascent and reception
into heaven, an abundant effusion of the Spirit in graces and abilities
descended upon men. Now, in the performing this work he was of that conspicuous
eminence that none could detract from him but from ignorance or envy.
He
was endowed with extraordinary knowledge in the scriptures, those holy oracles
from whence all spiritual light is derived; and in his preaching gave such a
perspicuous account of the order and dependence of divine truths, and with that
felicity applied the scriptures to confirm them, that every subject by his
management was cultivated and improved. His discourses were so clear and
convincing, that none, without offering voluntary violence to conscience, could
resist their evidence. And from hence they were effectual, not only to inspire
a sudden shame, and raise a short commotion in the affections, but to make a
lasting change in the life. For in the human soul, such is the composition of
its faculties, that till the understanding be rectified in its apprehensions
and estimations, the will is never induced to make an entire, firm choice of
what is necessary for the obtaining perfect happiness. A sincere, persevering
conversion is effected by weighty reasons, that sink and settle in the heart.
His doctrine was uncorrupt and pure, 'The truth according to godliness.'
He was far from a guilty, vile intention to prostitute that sacred ordinance
for the acquiring any private secular advantage. Neither did he entertain his
hearers with impertinent subtleties, empty notions, intricate disputes, dry and
barren without productive virtue; but as one that always had before his eyes
the great end of the ministry, the glory of God and the salvation of men, his
sermons were directed to open their eyes, that they might see their wretched
condition as sinners, to hasten their flight from the wrath to come, to make
them humbly, thankfully, and entirely receive Christ as their prince and
all-sufficient saviour, and to 'build up the converted in their most holy
faith, and more excellent love,' that is 'the fulfilling of the law.' In short,
to make true christians eminent in knowledge and universal obedience.
As
the matter of his sermons was designed for the good of souls, so his way of
expression was proper to that end. Words are the vehicle of the heavenly light.
As the divine wisdom was incarnate to reveal the eternal counsels of God to the
world, so spiritual wisdom in the mind must be clothed with words to make it
sensible to others. And in this he had a singular talent. His style was not
exquisitely studied, not consisting of harmonious periods, but far distant from
vulgar meanness. His expression was natural and free, clear and eloquent, quick
and powerful, without any spice of folly, and always suitable to the simplicity
and majesty of divine truths. His sermons afforded substantial food with
delight, so that a fastidious mind could not disrelish them. He abhorred a vain
ostentation of wit in handling sacred things, so venerable and grave, and of
eternal consequence. Indeed, what is more unbecoming a minister of Christ than
to waste the spirits of his brain, as a spider does his bowels, to spin a web
only to catch flies, to get vain applause by foolishly pleasing the ignorant?
And what cruelty is it to the souls of men ! It is recorded as an instance of
Nero's savage temper (Suetonius), that in a general famine, when many perished
by hunger, he ordered a ship should come from Egypt (the granary of Italy)
laden with sand for the use of wrestlers. In such extremity to provide only for
delight, that there might be spectacles on the theatre, when the city of Rome
was a spectacle of such misery as to melt the heart of any but a Nero, was most
barbarous cruelty. But it is cruelty of a heavier imputation for a minister to
prepare his sermons to please the foolish curiosity of fancy with flashy
conceits; nay, such light vanities that would scarce be endured in a scene,
whiles hungry souls languish for want of solid nourishment.
His fervour
and earnestness in preaching was such as might soften and make pliant the most
stubborn, obdurate spirits. I am not speaking of one whose talent was only in
voice, that labours in the pulpit as if the end of preaching were for the
exercise of the body, and not for the profit of souls; but this man of God was
inflamed with an holy zeal, and from thence such ardent expressions broke forth
as were capable to procure attention and consent in his hearers. He spake as
one that had a living faith within him of divine truths. From this union of
zeal with his knowledge he was excellently qualified to convince and convert
souls. The sound of words only strikes the ear, but the mind reasons with the
mind, and the heart speaks to the heart.
His unparalleled assiduity in
preaching declared him very sensible of those dear and strong obligations that
lie upon ministers to he very diligent in that blessed work. What a powerful
motive our Saviour urged upon St Peter! John xxi. 'As thou lovest me, feed my
sheep, feed my lambs.' And can any feed too much when none can love enough? Can
any pains be sufficient for the salvation of souls, for which the Son of God
did not esteem his blood too costly a price? Is not incessant, unwearied
industry requisite to advance the work of grace in them to perfection? In this
the work of a minister has its peculiar disadvantage. That whereas an
artificer, how curious and difficult soever his work be, yet has this
encouragement, that what is begun with art and care he finds in the same state
wherein it was left; a painter, that designs an exact piece, draws many lines,
often touches it with his pencil to give it life and beauty, and though
unfinished, it is not spoiled by his intermission; a sculptor, that carves a
statue, though his labour be hard from the resistance of the matter, yet his
work remains firm and durable; but the heart of man is of a strange temper,
hard as marble, not easily receptive of heavenly impressions, yet fluid as
water. Those impressions are easily defaced in it; it is exposed to so many
temptations that induce an oblivion of eternal things, that without frequent
excitations to quicken and confirm its holy purposes, it grows careless, and
all the labour is lost that was spent on it. This faithful minister 'abounded
in the work of the Lord; and, which is truly admirable, though so frequent in
preaching, yet was always superior to others, and equal to himself. In his last
time, when declining to death, yet he would not leave his beloved work, the
vigour of his mind supporting the weakness of his body. I remember when,
oppressed with an obstinate hoarseness, a friend desiring to spare himself, he
rejected the advice with indignation.
He was no fomenter of faction, but
studious od the public tranquility. He knew what a blessing peace is, and
wisely foresaw the pernicious consequences that attend divisions. By peace, the
bond of mutual harmony, the weakest things are preserved and prosper ; but
where discord reigns, the strongest are near to ruin. The heavenly consent in
the primitive church was a principal cause of its miraculous increase and
flourishing; but after dissensions prevailed amongst christians, that was
destroyed in a short time which was built by the divine union and heroic
patience of the primitive christians, and the glorious beginnings that promised
the reformation of all Europe were more obstructed by the dissensions of some
employed in that blessed work, than by all the power and subtlety, the arms and
artifices of Rome itself. How afflictive is the consideration of our divided
church! Sweet peace ! whither art thou fled ? Blessed Saviour! who didst by thy
precious blood reconcile heaven and earth, sent down thy Spirit to inspire us
with that wisdom that is pure and peaceable, that those who agree in the same
principles of faith, in the same substantial parts of worship, in asserting the
same indispensable necessity of holiness, may receive one another in love. I am
affectionately engaged in a matter that so nearly touches all those that value
the Protestant interest.
Briefly, Consider him as a christian ; his life
was answerable to his doctrine. It is applicable to some ministers, what is
observed of the carbuncle, by its colour, lustre, and fiery sparklings, it
seems to be actually a fire, but it has only the name and appearance of it.
Thus some in the pulpit seem to be all on fire with zeal, yet their hearts are
as cold as a stone, without holy affections, and their lives are unworthy their
divine ministration. But this servant of God was like a fruitful tree, that
produces in its branches what it contains in the root; his inward grace was
made visible in a conversation becoming the gospel of Christ.
His resolute
contempt of the world secured him from being wrought on by those motives that
tempt low spirits from their duty. He would not rashly throw himself into
troubles, nor, spreta conscientia, avoid them. His generous constancy of
mind in resisting the current of popular humour declared his loyalty to his
divine Master. His charity was eminent in procuring supplies for others when in
mean circumstances himself. But he had great experience of God's fatherly
provision, to which his filial confidence was correspondent.
His
conversation in his family was holy and exemplary, every day instructing them
from the scriptures in their duty.
I shall finish my character of him with
observing his humility. He was deeply affected with the sense of his frailties
and unworthiness. He considered the infinite purity of God, the perfection of
his law, the rule of our duty, and by that humbling light discovered his
manifold defects. He expressed his thoughts to me a little before his death :
if the holy prophets were under strong impressions of fear upon the
extraordinary discovery of the divine presence, how shall we poor creatures
appear before that holy and dread majesty? Isaiah, after his glorious vision of
God, reflecting upon himself, as not retired from the commerce and corruption
of the world, breaks forth, 'Woe is me, for I am undone! because I am a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine
eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' It is infinitely terrible to
appear 'before God, the judge of all,' without the protection of 'the blood of
the sprinkling, that speaks better things than the blood of Abel.' This alone
relieved him, and supported his hopes. Though his labours were abundant, yet he
knew that the work of God, passing through our hands, is so blemished, that,
without an appeal to pardoning mercy and grace, we cannot stand in judgment.
This was the subject of his last public sermon.
He languished many months,
but presuming he should be too strong for his infirmity, neglected it, till at
last it became insuperable and mortal. Many pathetical aggravations heighten
our great and dear loss ; that such a faithful minister of Christ should be
taken away, whose preaching was so powerful to repair the woful ruins of
godliness and virtue in a degenerate age ; whose prudent, pacific spirit
rendered him so useful in these divided times, when professors ot the same
religion are alienated from one another, as if they had been baptized with the
waters of strife; that before our tears had dried up for the loss of other
worthy ministers, the fountain of sorrow should be opened again by this
afflicting stroke. But it becomes us to receive the dispensations of heaven
with humble and quiet submission, to reflect upon our sins with an holy grief,
that provoke God to remove such an excellent instrument of his glory from us.
Let us pray to the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth faithful
labourers into it. Oh that surviving ministers might be animated with a zeal
more pure and fervent in their divine work, and that people would be wise,
while a price is put it into their hands to improve it for their eternal
advantage ! The neglected gospel will at last be a terrible witness against the
disobedient, to justify and aggravate their condemnation.
Home | Sermons | Biography | Writings | Links