{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_58135/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_58135","id":"gutenberg_58135","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58135","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Devotional literature"],"text":"Produced by Cindy Horton, Chris Pinfield and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note:\n\nApparent typographical errors have been corrected. Small capitals have\nbeen converted to full capitals. Italic font is indicated by\n_underscores_. The use of hyphens has been rationalised. Paragraphs in\nsmaller font have been indented.\n\nThe references to the Gospel of John, in footnote 200, are unclear.\n\n\n\n\n THE\n SAINT'S\n EVERLASTING REST;\n\n OR,\n\n A TREATISE OF THE BLESSED STATE OF THE SAINTS\n IN THEIR ENJOYMENT OF\n\n GOD IN HEAVEN.\n\n Written by the reverend, learned, and pious\n _MR. RICHARD BAXTER_.\n\n Abridged\n BY BENJAMIN FAWCETT. M. A.\n\nI think it of great service to the souls of men, to call them to the\nnotice and use of such a Treatise as this; and to bring such old and\nexcellent writings out of oblivion and the dust.\n\n_Baxter's Preface to Scudder's Christian's Daily Walk._\n\n PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL T. ARMSTRONG,\n Charlestown, Mass.\n 1811.\n\n\n\n\n TO THE\n INHABITANTS\n OF THE\n BOROUGH AND FOREIGN OF KIDDERMINSTER.\n BOTH MAGISTRATES AND PEOPLE.\n\n\n_My dear Friends_,\n\nThere are obvious reasons for prefixing your names to this Book. It\ncontains the substance of what was first preached in your parish-church,\nand was first published from the press with a dedication to your worthy\nancestors. Your trade and manufactures can never render your town so\nfamous, as the name and writings of Mr. Baxter have already made it,\nboth in this island, and in many remote parts of the Protestant world.\nHis intimate and important relation to Kidderminster, and the years he\nabode in it, afforded him the most delightful reflection as long as he\nlived.\n\nLong experience has enabled me to testify for you, that, notwithstanding\nyour share in those common distinctions, which so unhappily divide\nfellow-protestants, you possess a most unusual degree of candor and\nfriendship for each other. Thus you shew, that Kidderminster has not\ntotally lost the amiable spirit which it imbibed more than a century ago.\n\nThere are no excellencies personal or relative, no species of domestic\nor public happiness, no beauties of civil or religious life, but what\nwill be naturally promoted by a care to secure to ourselves an interest\nin the _rest which remaineth to the people of God_. They are the people\nfor whom alone that rest is designed, both by the promises of God, and\nby the purchase of the Son of God. A care to secure that rest to\nourselves, is _the one thing needful_. But neither this people, nor this\ncare, you well know, are the peculiarities of any age, or of any party.\nIf the inhabitants of Kidderminster formerly excelled in this care, you\nmust allow, that it was their greatest glory. And this, more than any\nimprovements of trade, or increasing elegancies of life, will be the\ngreatest glory of their successors.\n\nTo excite this care, is the noblest design of all religious instruction.\nThis, and nothing else, animates the following pages. Here, God and\nChrist, heaven and holiness, invite your most attentive and affectionate\nregards. Here, you may peruse, what multitudes in the same town have\nheard and read before you to their everlasting joy, till _your blessings\nprevail above the blessings of your progenitors_. Here, by the help of\nDivine grace, you may learn the heavenly art of walking with God below,\nof living in a constant view and foretaste of the glories of the New\nJerusalem, and of making all you say or do, suffer or enjoy, subservient\nto the brightening your immortal crown. Nothing has the compiler of this\nabridgment to wish like such consequences as these; even, to see the\nsame holy and heavenly conversation in himself, and in those around him,\nnow, as Mr. Baxter saw in his day. This would be the greatest joy, and\nshall be the constant and fervent prayer, of\n\n Your affectionate friend,\n and obedient servant,\n\n B. FAWCETT.\n _Kidderminster_, Jan. 1, 1759.\n\n\n\n\n THE\n PREFACE.\n _By the COMPILER of this ABRIDGMENT._\n\n\nMr. Richard Baxter, the author of the Saint's Rest, so well known to the\nworld by this, and many other excellent and useful writings, was a\nlearned, laborious, and eminently holy divine of the last age. He was\nborn near Shrewsbury in 1615, and died at London in 1691.\n\nHis ministry, in an unsettled state, was for many years employed with\ngreat and extensive success, both in London, and in several parts of the\ncountry; but he was no where fixed so long, or with such entire\nsatisfaction to himself, and apparent advantage to others, as at\nKidderminster. His abode there was indeed interrupted, partly by his bad\nhealth, but chiefly by the calamities of a civil war, yet in the whole\nit amounted to sixteen years; nor was it by any means the result of his\nown choice, or that of the inhabitants of Kidderminster, that he never\nsettled there again, after his going from thence in 1660. Before his\ncoming thither the place was overrun with ignorance and profaneness;\nbut, by a Divine blessing on his wise and faithful cultivation, the\nfruits of righteousness sprung up in a rich abundance. He at first found\nbut a single instance or two of daily family prayer in a whole street,\nand at his going away, but one family or two could be found in some\nstreets that continued to neglect it. And on Lord's day, instead of the\nopen profanation to which they had been so long accustomed, a person in\npassing through the town, in the intervals of public worship, might\noverhear hundreds of families engaged in singing psalms, reading the\nScriptures and other good books, or such sermons as they had wrote down,\nwhile they heard them from the pulpit. His care of the souls committed\nto his charge, and the success of his labors among them, were truly\nremarkable; for the number of his stated communicants rose to six\nhundred, of whom he himself declared, there were not twelve concerning\nwhose sincere piety he had not reason to entertain good hopes. Blessed\nbe God the religious spirit which was thus happily introduced, is yet to\nbe traced in the town and neighborhood in some degree; (O that it were\nin a greater!) and in a proportion as that spirit remains, the name of\nMr. Baxter continues in the most honorable and affectionate remembrance.\n\nAs a writer, he has the approbation of some of his greatest\ncotemporaries, who best knew him, and were under no temptations to be\npartial in his favor.\u2014\u2014Dr. Barrow said, \"His practical writings were\nnever mended, and his controversial ones seldom confuted.\"\u2014\u2014With a view\nto his casuistical writings, the honorable Robert Boyle, Esq. declared,\n\"He was the fittest man of the age for a casuist, because he feared no\nman's displeasure, nor hoped for any man's preferment.\"\u2014\u2014Bishop Wilkins\nobserved of him, \"that he had cultivated every subject he had handled;\nthat if he had lived in the primitive times, he would have been one of\nthe fathers of the church; and that it was enough for one age to produce\nsuch a person as Mr. Baxter.\" Archbishop Usher had such high thoughts of\nhim, that by his earnest importunity he put him upon writing several of\nhis practical discourses, particularly that celebrated piece, his Call\nto the unconverted.\u2014\u2014Dr. Manton, as he freely expressed it, \"thought Mr.\nBaxter came nearer the apostolical writings than any man in the age.\"\nAnd it is both as a preacher, and a writer, that Dr. Bates considers\nhim, when, in his funeral sermon for him, he says, \"In his sermons there\nwas a rare union of arguments and motives, to convince the mind and gain\nthe heart. All the fountains of reason and persuasion were open to his\ndiscerning eye. There was no resisting the force of his discourses,\nwithout denying reason and Divine revelation. He had a marvellous\nfacility and copiousness in speaking. There was a noble negligence in\nhis style, for his great mind could not stoop to the affected eloquence\nof words; he despised flashy oratory; but his expressions were clear and\npowerful, so convincing the understanding, so entering into the soul, so\nengaging the affections, that those were as deaf as adders who were not\ncharmed by so wise a charmer. He was animated with the Holy Spirit, and\nbreathed celestial fire, to inspire heat and life into dead sinners, and\nto melt the obdurate in their frozen tombs. His books, for their number,\n(which it seems was more than one hundred and twenty,) and variety of\nmatter in them, make a library. They contain a treasure of\ncontroversial, casuistical, and practical divinity. His books of\npractical divinity have been effectual for more numerous conversions of\nsinners to God, than any printed in our time; and, while the church\nremains on earth, will be of continual efficacy to recover lost souls.\nThere is a vigorous pulse in them, that keeps the reader awake and\nattentive.\" To these testimonies may not improperly be added that of the\neditors of his _practical works_ in four folio volumes; in the preface\nto which they say, \"perhaps there are no writings among us that have\nmore of a true Christian spirit, a greater mixture of judgment and\naffection, or a greater tendency to revive pure and undefiled religion;\nthat have been more esteemed abroad, or more blessed at home, for the\nawakening the secure, instructing the ignorant, confirming the wavering,\ncomforting the dejected, recovering the profane, or improving such as\nare truly serious, than the practical works of this Author.\" Such were\nthe apprehensions of eminent persons, who were well acquainted with Mr.\nBaxter and his writings. It is therefore the less remarkable that Mr.\nAddison, from an accidental and very imperfect acquaintance, but with\nhis usual pleasantness and candor, should mention the following\nincident; \"I once met with a page of Mr. Baxter. Upon the perusal of it,\nI conceived so good an idea of the author's piety, that I bought the\nwhole book.\"\n\nWhatever other causes might concur, it must chiefly be ascribed to Mr.\nBaxter's distinguishing reputation as a preacher and a writer, that\npresently after the restoration he was appointed one of the chaplains in\nordinary to King Charles II, and preached once before him in that\ncapacity; as also, that he had an offer made him by the Lord Chancellor\nClarendon, of the bishopric of Hereford, which, in a respectful letter\nto his Lordship, he saw proper to decline.\n\nThe Saint's Rest is deservedly esteemed one of the most valuable parts\nof his practical works. He wrote it when he was far from home, without\nany book to consult but his Bible, and in such an ill state of health,\nas to be in continual expectation of death for many months; and\ntherefore, merely for his own use, he fixed his thoughts on this\nheavenly subject, \"which (says he) hath more benefitted me than all the\nstudies of my life.\" At this time he could be little more than thirty\nyears old. He afterward preached over the subject in his weekly lecture\nat Kidderminster, and in 1650 he published it; and indeed it appears to\nhave been the first that ever he published of all his practical\nwritings. Of this book Dr. Bates says, \"It was written by him when\nlanguishing in the suspense of life and death, but has the signatures of\nhis holy and vigorous mind. To _allure our desires_, he unveils the\nsanctuary above, and discovers the glories and joys of the blessed in\nthe Divine presence, by a light so strong and lively, that all the\nglittering vanities of this world vanish in that comparison, and a\nsincere believer will despise them, as one of mature age does the toys\nand baubles of children. To _excite our fears_, he removes the screen,\nand makes the everlasting fire of hell so visible, and represents the\ntormenting passions of the damned in those dreadful colors, that, if\nduly considered, would check and control the unbridled licentious\nappetites of the most sensual wretches.\"\n\nHeavenly rest is a subject, in its own nature so universally important\nand interesting, and at the same time so truly engaging and delightful,\nas sufficiently accounts for the great acceptance which this book has\nmet with; and partly also for the uncommon blessing which has attended\nMr. Baxter's manner of treating the subject, both from the pulpit, and\nthe press. For where are the operations of Divine grace more reasonably\nto be expected, or where have they in fact been more frequently\ndiscerned, than in concurrence with the best adapted means? And should\nit appear, that persons of distinguishing judgment and piety, have\nexpressly ascribed their first religious impressions to the hearing or\nreading the important sentiments contained in this book; or, after a\nlong series of years, have found it, both the counterpart, and the\nimprovement, of their own Divine life, will not this be thought a\nconsiderable recommendation of the book itself?\n\nAmong the instances of persons that dated their true conversion from\nhearing the sermons on the Saint's Rest, when Mr. Baxter first preached\nthem, was the Rev. Mr. Thomas Doolittle, M. A. who was a native of\nKidderminster, and at that time a scholar, about seventeen years old;\nwhom Mr. Baxter himself afterwards sent to Pembroke-Hall in Cambridge,\nwhere he took his degree. Before his going to the university, he was\nupon trial as an attorney's clerk, and under that character, being\nordered by his master to write something on a Lord's day, he obeyed with\ngreat reluctance, and the next day returned home, with an earnest desire\nthat he might not apply himself to any thing as the employment of life,\nbut serving Christ in the ministry of the gospel. His praise is yet in\nthe churches, for his pious and useful labors, as a minister, a tutor,\nand a writer.\n\nIn the life of the Rev. Mr. John Janeway, Fellow of King's College\nCambridge, who died in 1657, we are told, that his conversion was, in a\ngreat measure, occasioned by his reading several parts of the Saint's\nRest. And in a letter which he afterwards wrote to a near relative,\nspeaking with a more immediate reference to that part of the book which\ntreats of _Heavenly Contemplation_, he says, \"There is a duty, which, if\nit were exercised, would dispel all cause of melancholy; I mean,\nheavenly meditation, and contemplation of the things which true\nChristian religion tends to. If we did but walk closely with God one\nhour in the day in this duty, oh, what influence would it have upon the\nwhole day besides, and, duly performed, upon the whole life! This duty,\nwith its usefulness, manner, and directions, I knew in some measure\nbefore, but had it more pressed upon me by Mr. Baxter's Saint's\nEverlasting Rest, (a book) that can scarce be overvalued, for which I\nhave cause for ever to bless God.\" This excellent young minister's life\nis worth reading, were it only to see how delightfully he was engaged in\nheavenly contemplation, according to the directions in the Saint's Rest.\n\nIt was the example of heavenly contemplation, at the close of this book,\nwhich the Rev. Mr. Joseph Alleine, of Taunton, so frequently quoted in\nconversation, with this solemn introduction, \"Most divinely says that\nman of God, holy Mr. Baxter.\"\n\nDr. Bates, in his dedication of his funeral sermon for Mr. Baxter to Sir\nHenry Ashurst, Bart. tells that religious gentleman, and most\ndistinguished friend and executor of Mr. Baxter, \"He was most worthy of\nyour highest esteem and love; for the first impressions of heaven upon\nyour soul, were in reading his invaluable book of the Saint's\nEverlasting Rest.\"\n\nIn the life of the Rev. Mr. Matthew Henry, we have the following\ncharacter given us of Robert Warburton, Esq. of Grange, the son of the\neminently religious judge Warburton, and the father of Mr. Matthew\nHenry's second wife. \"He was a gentleman that greatly affected\nretirement and privacy, especially in the latter part of his life; the\nBible and Mr. Baxter's Saint's Everlasting Rest used to lie daily before\nhim on the table in his parlor; he spent the greatest part of his time\nin reading and prayer.\"\n\nIn the life of that honorable and most religious knight, Sir Nathaniel\nBarnardiston, we are told, \"that he was constant in secret prayer and\nreading the Scriptures; afterwards he read other choice authors: But not\nlong before his death he took singular delight to read Mr. Baxter's\nSaint's Everlasting Rest, and preparation thereunto; which was esteemed\na gracious event of Divine providence sending it as a guide to bring him\nmore speedily and directly to that rest.\"\n\nBesides persons of eminence, to whom this book has been precious and\nprofitable, we have an instance in the Rev. Mr. James Janeway's Token\nfor Children, of a little boy, whose piety was so discovered and\npromoted by reading it, as the most delightful book to him next the\nBible, that the thoughts of everlasting rest seemed, even while he\ncontinued in health, to swallow up all other thoughts; and he lived in a\nconstant preparation for it, and looked more like one that was ripe for\nglory, than an inhabitant of this lower world. And when he was in the\nsickness of which he died, before he was twelve years old, he said, \"I\npray let me have Mr. Baxter's book, that I may read a little more of\neternity before I go into it.\"\n\nNor is it less observable, that Mr. Baxter himself, taking notice, in a\npaper found in his study after his death, what numbers of persons were\nconverted by reading his _Call to the unconverted_, accounts of which he\nhad received by letter every week, expressly adds, \"This little book\n(the _Call to the unconverted_) God hath blessed with unexpected\nsuccess, beyond all that I have written, _except the Saint's Rest_.\"\nWith an evident reference to this book, and even during the life of the\nauthor, the pious Mr. Flavell affectionately says, \"Mr. Baxter is almost\nin heaven; living in the daily views, and cheerful expectation of the\nsaint's everlasting rest with God; and is left for a little while among\nus, as a great example of the life of faith.\" And Mr. Baxter himself\nsays, in his preface to his Treatise of Selfdenial, \"I must say, that of\nall the books which I have written, I peruse none so often for the use\nof my own soul in its daily work, as my Life of Faith, this of\nSelfdenial, and the last part of the Saint's Rest.\" On the whole, it is\nnot without good reason that Dr. Calamy remarks concerning it, \"This is\na book, for which multitudes will have cause to bless God for ever.\"\n\nThis excellent and useful book now appears in the form of an abridgment;\nand therefore, it is presumed, will be the more likely, under a Divine\nblessing, to diffuse its salutary influence among those that would\notherwise have wanted opportunity or inclination to read over the large\nvolume. In reducing it to this smaller size, I have been very desirous\nto do justice to the author, and at the same time promote the pleasure\nand profit of the serious reader. And, I hope, those ends are, in some\nmeasure answered; chiefly by dropping things of a digressive,\ncontroversial, or metaphysical nature; together with the prefaces,\ndedications, and various allusions to some peculiar circumstances of the\nlast age; and particularly by throwing several chapters into one, that\nthe number of them may better correspond with the size of the volume;\nand sometimes by altering the form, but not the sense of a period, for\nthe sake of brevity; and when an obsolete phrase occurred, changing it\nfor one more common and intelligible. I should never have thought of\nattempting this work, if it had not been suggested and urged by others;\nand by some very respectable names, of whose learning, judgment, and\npiety, I forbear to avail myself. However defective this performance may\nappear, the labor of it (if it may be called a labor) has been, I bless\nGod, one of the most delightful labors of my life.\n\nCertainly the thoughts of everlasting rest may be as delightful to the\nsouls in the present day, as they have ever been to those of past\ngenerations. I am sure such thoughts are as absolutely necessary now;\nnor are temptations to neglect them, either fewer, or weaker now than\nformerly. The worth of everlasting rest is not felt, because it is not\nconsidered; it is forgotten because a thousand trifles are preferred\nbefore it. But were the Divine reasonings of this book duly attended to,\n(and oh that the Spirit and grace of a Redeemer may make them so!) then\nan age of vanity would become serious; minds enervated by sensuality,\nwould soon resume the strength of reason, and display the excellence of\nChristianity; the delusive names of pleasure would be blotted out by the\nglorious reality of heavenly joy upon earth; every station and relation\nin life would be filled up with the propriety and dignity of serious\nreligion; every member of society would then effectually contribute to\nthe beauty and happiness of the whole; and every soul would be ready for\nlife or death, for one world or another, in a well grounded and cheerful\npersuasion of having secured a title to that rest which remaineth to the\npeople of God.\n\n B. F.\n _Kidderminster, Dec. 25, 1758._\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n CHAP. I.\n\n _The introduction to the Work, with some account of the nature of the\n Saint's Rest._\n\n The Apostle's design in the text, 25\n The Saint's Rest defined, 27\n What this rest presupposes, ibid\n What this rest contains, 29\n 1. A ceasing from means of grace, 30\n 2. A perfect freedom from all evils, ibid\n 3. The saint's personal perfection in body and soul, ibid\n 4. The nearest enjoyment of God the chief good, 31\n 5. All the powers of the body active in this enjoyment, 34\n And all the powers of the soul; as, knowledge, 35\n Memory, love, and joy, 36-42\n\n\n CHAP. II.\n\n _The great Preparatives to the Saint's Rest._\n\n The happiness of having a way into Paradise open, 43\n 1. The glorious appearing of Christ opens the way, ibid\n 2. The general resurrection, 46\n 3. The last judgment, 47\n 4. The saint's coronation, 50\n\n\n CHAP. III.\n\n _The Excellencies of the Saint's Rest._\n\n 1. It is the purchased possession, 53\n 2. It is a free gift, 54\n 3. It is peculiar to saints, 56\n 4. It is an association with saints and angels, 57\n 5. It derives its joys immediately from God himself, 58\n 6. It will be seasonable, 59\n 7. It will be suitable, 60\n 8. It will be perfect, without sin or suffering, 62\n 9. It will be everlasting, 68\n\n\n CHAP. IV.\n\n _The Character of the Persons for whom this Rest is designed._\n\n 'Tis wonderful it should be designed for mortals, 71\n 1. The people of God, who shall enjoy it, are chosen from eternity, 72\n 2. They are given to Christ, ibid\n 3. They are born again, ibid\n 4. They are deeply convinced of the evil of sin, 73\n their misery by sin, the vanity of the creatures, 74\n and the all-sufficiency of Christ, 75\n 5. Their will is proportionably changed, 76\n 6. They engage in covenant with Christ, 77\n 7. They persevere in their engagements, 78\n The reader is invited to self-examination, ibid\n That the people of God shall enjoy this rest, and 80\n none but they, is further proved by Scripture; 82\n and that they shall not enjoy it till they come to\n another world, 83\n where their souls shall enjoy it while separated\n from their bodies. 84\n\n\n CHAP. V.\n\n _The misery of those that lose the Saint's Rest._\n\n The reader, if unregenerate, urged to consider this loss, 89\n 1. They lose the personal perfections of the saints; 91\n 2. God himself; ibid\n 3. All delightful affections towards God; 92\n 4. The blessed society of angels and glorified spirits, ibid\n Their loss will be greatly aggravated, by having\n 1. Their understanding cleared; 94\n 2. Also enlarged: ibid\n 3. Their consciences brought to a true and close application: 95\n 4. Their affections more lively: 96\n 5. Their memories strengthened. ibid\n\n\n CHAP. VI.\n\n _The misery of those, who, besides losing the Saint's Rest, lose the\n enjoyments of time, and suffer the torments of hell._\n\n The enjoyments of time, which the damned lose, 103\n 1. Their presumptuous belief of their interest in God and Christ; 104\n 2. All their hopes; ibid\n 3. All their peace of conscience: 106\n 4. All their carnal mirth: 107\n 5. All their sensual delights, ibid\n The torments of hell which the damned suffer, 108\n 1. The principal author of them is God himself, 109\n 2. The place or state of torment: ibid\n 3. These torments are the effects of Divine vengeance, 110\n 4. God will take pleasure in executing them; ibid\n 5. God's executioners are Satan and sinners themselves, 111\n 6. These torments will be universal; ibid\n 7. Without any mitigation; 112\n 8. And eternal, 113\n The sinner convinced of his folly in venturing on hell, 114\n And entreated to fly for safety to Christ. 115\n\n\n CHAP. VII.\n\n _The necessity of diligently seeking the Saint's Rest._\n\n This rest is surprisingly neglected, 118\n by the worldly minded, ibid\n the profane multitude, 120\n Formal professors, 121\n and by the godly themselves, 122\n whether magistrates, ministers, 123\n or people, 124\n The author mourns the neglect, 125\n and excites the reader to diligence by many considerations, 126\n Awakening questions proposed to the ungodly, 133\n and also to the godly. 137\n\n\n CHAP. VIII.\n\n _How to discern our title to the Saint's Rest._\n\n Men's folly in not inquiring after a title to it, 139\n Their cause for terror while destitute of it, 141\n Self-examination is urged; 142\n 1. From the possibility of arriving at certainty, 143\n 2. From the hinderances to self-examination by Satan, ibid\n by wicked men, 144\n by our own hearts; 145\n nor does self-examination soon bring assurance; 146\n nor do all true Christians attain to it, ibid\n 3. From considering how easy, common, and dangerous it is to be\n mistaken; that trying is safer than neglect; that God will\n try us soon, and to try ourselves will be profitable, 150\n Directions are given how to try, 153\n Marks for trial; as, do we make God our chief good? 155\n Do we heartily accept of Christ for our Lord and Savior? 156\n The great importance of these two marks. 158\n\n\n CHAP. IX.\n\n _The duty of the people of God to excite others to seek this Rest._\n\n This duty is lamentably neglected: 159\n 1. It consists in pitying the misery of men's souls; 160\n 2. In giving religious instruction; ibid\n 3. In promoting their profit by public ordinances, 165\n Why this duty is so much neglected, 166\n Objections against it answered, 168\n The discharge of it urged; especially, 169\n on men of knowledge, learning, and utterance, 173\n on such as are acquainted with sinners, ibid\n on physicians that attend dying men, 174\n on the wealthy and powerful, ibid\n on ministers, and those that have children and servants. 175\n\n\n CHAP. X.\n\n _The Saint's Rest is not to be expected on earth._\n\n The sin and folly of expecting rest here, appears 180\n By the reasonableness of present afflictions; 181\n 1. They are the way to rest; ibid\n 2. They keep us from mistaking it; ibid\n 3. And from losing our way to it; 182\n 4. They quicken our pace towards it; ibid\n 5. They chiefly incommode our flesh; and 183\n 6. Under them are often the best foretastes of rest, ibid\n By the unreasonableness of resting in present comforts, 185\n 1. 'Tis idolatry; ibid\n 2. It contradicts God's end in giving them; ibid\n 3. 'Tis the way to have them refused, withdrawn, or embittered; 186\n 4. To be suffered to do this, is the greatest curse; 187\n 5. 'Tis seeking rest where it is not; ibid\n 6. The creatures, without God, aggravate our misery; 189\n 7. And all this is confirmed by experience, ibid\n Also by the unreasonableness of our unwillingness to die\n and possess the saint's rest. 190\n\n\n CHAP. XI.\n\n _The importance of leading a heavenly life upon earth._\n\n 'Tis reasonable to delight in thinking of heaven, 201\n Christians exhorted to it, by considering, 202\n 1. It will evidence their sincere piety; 203\n 2. 'Tis the highest excellence of the Christian temper, 204\n 3. It leads to the most comfortable life; 205\n 4. 'Tis the best preservative from temptations; 206\n 5. It will invigorate their graces and duties; 209\n 6. It will be their best cordial in afflictions; 211\n 7. It will render them most useful to others; 213\n 8. It will honor God; 215\n 9. Without it we disobey the commands, and use the most\n gracious and delightful discoveries of the word of God; 216\n 10. Our hearts should be with God, as his is so much on us; and 217\n 11. In heaven where we are so much interested; 218\n 12. Nothing but heaven deserves our hearts. 220\n\n\n CHAP. XII.\n\n _Directions how to lead a heavenly life upon earth._\n\n I. Avoid the hinderances to such a life: 222\n 1. Live not in any known sin, ibid\n 2. Be not earthly minded; 223\n 3. Beware of the company of the ungodly: 225\n 4. Be not satisfied with mere notions in religion; 226\n 5. Take heed of a proud spirit, 227\n 6. and a slothful spirit, 229\n 7. Nor rest in the preparatives to a heavenly life 232\n II. Practise the duties which will promote this life, 233\n 1. Esteem heaven the only treasure and happiness; ibid\n 2. Labor to know your interest in it, 234\n 3. And how near it is; 235\n 4. Frequently and seriously talk of it; 236\n 5. Strive in every duty to raise your heart nearer to it; 237\n 6. To the same purpose improve every object and event; 238\n 7. Be much in the angelical work of praise; 239\n 8. Maintain believing thoughts of God's infinite love. 240\n 9. Observe and cherish the motions of God's Spirit, 241\n 10. Take due care of your bodily health. 242\n\n\n CHAP. XIII.\n\n _The nature of heavenly contemplation, with the time, place, and\n temper fittest for it._\n\n The duty itself recommended to the reader, 244\n This duty defined and illustrated, 246\n The time fittest for this duty is\u2014stated,\u2014frequent, 248\n and seasonable, every day, particularly Lord's 250\n days; especially when in a devout temper, or an 251\n afflicted state, or in the views of death, 252\n The place, fittest for this duty is the most retired, 253\n The temper fittest for this duty, is 255\n 1. When our minds are most clear of the world, ibid\n 2. And most solemn and serious. 256\n\n\n CHAP. XIV.\n\n _What use heavenly contemplation makes of consideration, affections,\n soliloquy, and prayer._\n\n The reader is invited to heavenly contemplation, 258\n To that end consideration is recommended, ibid\n Next, the exercise of the affections, particularly 261\n 1. Love, 262\n 2. Desire, 265\n 3. Hope, 267\n 4. Courage or boldness, 268\n 5. And joy, 269\n These affections need not always be exercised in this order,\n nor all at one time, 273\n Soliloquy and prayer are also useful in heavenly contemplation. ibid\n\n\n CHAP. XV.\n\n _Heavenly contemplation assisted by sensible objects, and guarded by a\n treacherous heart._\n\n The difficulty of maintaining a lively impression of\n heavenly things, 276\n Sensible objects may assist heavenly contemplation; 277\n 1. If we draw strong suppositions from sense; ibid\n 2. If objects of sense and faith are compared, 278\n To guard heavenly contemplation against a treacherous heart,\n consider,\n 1. The heart's backwardness to this duty, 289\n 2. Its trifling in it, 291\n 3. Its wandering from it, 292\n 4. And its too abruptly putting an end to it, ibid\n\n\n CHAP. XVI.\n\n _Heavenly contemplation exemplified, and the whole work concluded._\n\n A Christian prepared for the work, may contemplate,\n \"The excellency of heavenly rest; 294\n Its nearness dreadful to sinners, joyful to saints, 295\n Its dear purchase; 296\n And its difference from earth, ibid\n He may plead with his heart, 298\n May banish unbelief, ibid\n And pity a careless world, 299\n He may view heavenly rest as the object of love, ibid\n And of joy, 304\n He may lament his heart's indisposition to such joy, ibid\n He may view heavenly rest, as the object of desire,\" 310\n Evil consequences of neglecting such contemplation, 317\n Saints excited to be constant in it, 318\n The author's concluding prayer, 319\n\n\n\n\n THE\n SAINT'S EVERLASTING REST.\n\n Hebrews iv, 9. _There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God._\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. I.\n\nThe Introduction to the Work, with some account of the nature of the\nSaint's Rest.\n\n \u00a7 1. The important design of the apostle in the text, to which the\n Author earnestly bespeaks the attention of the Reader. \u00a7 2. The Saint's\n Rest defined, with a general plan of the Work. \u00a7 3. What this Rest\n presupposes. \u00a7 4. The Author's humble sense of his inability fully to\n shew what this rest contains. \u00a7 5. It contains, (1.) A ceasing from\n means of grace; \u00a7 6. (2.) A perfect freedom from all evils; \u00a7 7. (3.)\n The highest degree of the saint's personal perfections, both in body\n and soul; \u00a7 8. (4.) The nearest enjoyment of God the Chief Good;\n \u00a7 9-14. (5.) A sweet and constant action of all the powers of soul and\n body in this enjoyment of God; as, for instance, bodily senses,\n knowledge, memory, love, joy, together with a mutual love and joy.\n \u00a7 15. The Author's humble reflection on the deficiency of this account.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. It was not only our interest in God, and actual enjoyment of him,\nwhich was lost in Adam's fall, but all spiritual knowledge of him, and\ntrue disposition towards such a felicity. When the Son of God comes with\nrecovering grace, and discoveries of a spiritual and eternal happiness\nand glory, he finds not faith in man to believe it. As the poor man,\nthat would not believe any one had such a sum as an hundred pounds, it\nwas so far above what himself possessed: So men will hardly now believe\nthere is such a happiness as once they had, much less as Christ hath now\nprocured. When God would give the Israelites his Sabbaths of rest, in a\nland of rest, he had more ado to make them believe it, than to overcome\ntheir enemies, and procure it for them. And when they had it, only as a\nsmall intimation and earnest of an incomparably more glorious rest\nthrough Christ, they yet believe no more than they possess, but say,\nwith the glutton at the feast, _Sure there is no other heaven but this_!\nOr, if they expect more by the Messiah, it is only the increase of their\nearthly felicity. The apostle bestows most of this epistle against this\ndistemper, and clearly and largely proves, that the end of all\nceremonies and shadows, is to direct them to Jesus Christ the substance;\nand that the rest of Sabbaths, and Canaan, should teach them to look for\na farther rest, which indeed is their happiness. My text is his\nconclusion, after divers arguments; a conclusion, which contains the\nground of all the believer's comfort, the end of all his duty and\nsufferings, the life and sum of all gospel promises and Christian\nprivileges. What more welcome to men, under personal afflictions, tiring\nduties, successions of sufferings, than rest? It is not our comfort\nonly, but our stability. Our liveliness in all duties, our enduring\ntribulation, our honoring of God, the vigor of our love, thankfulness,\nand all our graces; yea, the very being of our religion and\nChristianity, depend on the believing serious thoughts of our rest. And\nnow, Reader, whatever thou art, young or old, rich or poor, I intreat\nthee, and charge thee, in the name of thy Lord, who will shortly call\nthee to a reckoning, and judge thee to thy everlasting unchangeable\nstate, that thou give not these things the reading only, and so dismiss\nthem with a bare approbation; but that thou set upon this work, and take\nGod in Christ for thy only rest, and fix thy heart upon him above all.\nMay the living God, who is the portion and rest of his saints, make\nthese our carnal minds so spiritual, and our earthly hearts so heavenly,\nthat loving him, and delighting in him, may be the work of our lives;\nand that neither I that write, nor you that read, this book, may ever be\nturned from this path of life; _lest a promise being left us of entering\ninto his rest, we should come short of it_, through our own unbelief\nor negligence![1]\n\n[Footnote 1] Hebrews iv, 1.\n\n\u00a7 2. The Saint's rest is, 'the most happy state of a Christian;' or it\nis, 'the perfect endless enjoyment of God by the perfected saints,\naccording to the measure of their capacity, to which their souls arrive\nat death, and both soul and body most fully after the resurrection and\nfinal judgment.' According to this definition of the saint's rest, a\nlarger account of its nature will be given in this chapter; of its\npreparatives, chap. ii; its excellencies, chap. iii; and chap. iv, the\npersons for whom it is designed. Farther to illustrate the subject, some\ndescription will be given, chap. v, of their misery who lose this rest;\nand, chap. vi, who also lose the enjoyments of time, and suffer the\ntorments of hell. Next will be shewed, chap. vii, the necessity of\ndiligently seeking this rest; chap. viii, how our title to it may be\ndiscerned; chap. ix, that they who discern their title to it should help\nthose that cannot; and, chap. x, that this rest is not to be expected on\nearth. It will then be proper to consider, chap. xi, the importance of a\nheavenly life upon earth; chap. xii, how to live a heavenly life upon\nearth; chap. xiii, the nature of heavenly contemplation, with the time,\nplace, and temper fittest for it; chap. xiv, what use heavenly\ncontemplation makes of consideration, affections, soliloquy, and prayer;\nand likewise, chap. xv, how heavenly contemplation may be assisted by\nsensible objects, and guarded against a treacherous heart. Heavenly\ncontemplation will be exemplified, chap. xvi, and the whole work\nconcluded.\n\n\u00a7 3. There are some things necessarily presupposed in the nature of this\nrest; as, for instance,\u2014that mortal men are the persons seeking it. For\nangels and glorified spirits have it already, and the devils and damned\nare past hope.\u2014That they choose God only for their end and happiness. He\nthat takes any thing else for his happiness, is out of the way the first\nstep.\u2014That they are distant from this end. This is the woeful case of\nall mankind since the fall. When Christ comes with regenerating grace,\nhe finds no man sitting still, but all posting to eternal ruin, and\nmaking haste towards hell; till, by conviction, he first brings them to\na stand, and then by conversion, turns their hearts and lives sincerely\nto himself.\u2014This end, and its excellency, is supposed to be known, and\nseriously intended. An unknown good moves not to desire or endeavor. And\nnot only a distance from this rest, but the true knowledge of this\ndistance, is also supposed. They that never yet knew they were without\nGod, and in the way to hell, did never yet know the way to heaven. Can a\nman find he hath lost his God, and his soul, and not cry out, _I am\nundone_? The reason why so few obtain this rest, is, they will not be\nconvinced, that they are, in point of title, distant from it; and, in\npoint of practice, contrary to it. Who ever sought for that, which he\nknew not he had lost? _They that be whole need not a physician, but they\nthat are sick._[2]\u2014The influence of a superior moving cause is also\nsupposed; else we shall all stand still, and not move toward our rest.\nIf God move us not, we cannot move. It is a most necessary part of our\nChristian wisdom, to keep our subordination to God and dependence on\nhim. _We are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of\nourselves, but our sufficiency is of God._[3] _Without me_, says Christ,\n_ye can do nothing_.[4]\u2014It is next supposed, that they who seek this\nrest, have an inward principle of spiritual life. God does not move men\nlike stones, but he endows them with life, not to enable them to move\nwithout him, but in subordination to himself the first mover. And\nfarther, this rest supposes such an actual tendency of soul towards it,\nas is regular and constant, earnest and laborious. He that hides his\ntalent shall receive the wages of a slothful servant. Christ is the\ndoor, the only way to this rest. But _strait is the gate, and narrow is\nthe way_;[5] and we must _strive_, if we will _enter, for many will seek\nto enter in, and shall not be able_;[6] which implies that _the kingdom\nof heaven suffereth violence_.[7] Nor will it bring us to the end of the\nsaints, if we _begin in the spirit, and end in the flesh_.[8] _He_ only\n_that endureth to the end shall be saved_.[9] And never did a soul\nobtain rest with God, whose desire was not set upon him above all things\nelse in the world. _Where your treasure is, there will your heart be\nalso._[10] The remainder of our old nature will much weaken and\ninterrupt these desires, but never overcome them. And considering the\nopposition to our desires, from the contrary principles in our nature,\nand from the weakness of our graces, together with our continued\ndistance from the end, our tendency to that end must be laborious, and\nwith all our might.\u2014All these things are presupposed, in order to a\nChristian's obtaining an interest in heavenly rest.\n\n[Footnote 2] Matthew ix, 12.\n\n[Footnote 3] 2 Corinthians iii, 5.\n\n[Footnote 4] John xv, 5.\n\n[Footnote 5] Matthew vii, 13.\n\n[Footnote 6] Luke xiii, 24.\n\n[Footnote 7] Matthew xi, 12.\n\n[Footnote 8] Galatians iii, 3.\n\n[Footnote 9] Matthew xxiv, 13.\n\n[Footnote 10] Matthew vi, 21.\n\n\u00a7 4. Now we have ascended these steps into the outward court, may we\nlook within the vail? May we shew what this rest contains, as well as\nwhat it presupposes? Alas, how little know I of that glory! The glimpse\nwhich Paul had, contained what could not, or must not, be uttered. Had\nhe spoke the things of heaven in the language of heaven, and none\nunderstood that language, what the better? The Lord reveal to me what I\nmay reveal to you! The Lord open some light, and shew both you and me\nour inheritance! Not as to Balaam only, whose eyes were opened to see\nthe goodliness of Jacob's tents, and Israel's tabernacles, where he had\nno portion, and from whence must come his own destruction! Not as to\nMoses, who had only a discovery, instead of possession, and saw the land\nwhich he never entered! But as the pearl was revealed to the merchant in\nthe gospel, who rested not till he had sold all he had, and bought it!\nAnd as heaven was opened to blessed Stephen, which he was shortly to\nenter, and the glory shewed him which should be his own possession!\u2014The\nthings contained in heavenly rest are such as these;\u2014a ceasing from\nmeans of grace;\u2014a perfect freedom from all evils;\u2014the highest degree of\nthe saint's personal perfection, both of body and soul;\u2014the nearest\nenjoyment of God the chief good; and a sweet and constant action of all\nthe powers of body and soul in this enjoyment of God.\n\n\u00a7 5. (1.) One thing contained in heavenly rest is, the ceasing from\nmeans of grace. When we have obtained the haven, we have done sailing.\nWhen the workman receives his wages, it is implied he has done his work.\nWhen we are at our journey's end, we have done with the way. _Whether\nprophecies, they shall fail; whether tongues, they shall cease; whether\nknowledge it_ also, so far as it had the nature of means, _shall vanish\naway_.[11] There shall be no more prayer, because no more necessity, but\nthe full enjoyment of what we prayed for. Neither shall we need to fast\nand weep, and watch any more, being out of the reach of sin and\ntemptations. Preaching is done; the ministry of man ceaseth; sacraments\nbecome useless; the laborers are called in, because the harvest is\ngathered, the tares burned, and the work finished; the unregenerate past\nhope, and the saints past fear, for ever.\n\n[Footnote 11] 1 Corinthians xiii, 8.\n\n\u00a7 6. (2.) There is in heavenly rest a perfect freedom from all evils.\nAll the evils that accompanied us through our course, and which\nnecessarily follow our absence from the chief good: Besides our freedom\nfrom those eternal flames, and restless miseries, which the neglecters\nof Christ and grace must remedilessly endure; a woeful inheritance,\nwhich, both by birth and actual merit, was due to us, as well as to\nthem! In heaven there is _nothing that defileth_, or is unclean: All\n_that_ remains _without_.[12] And doubtless there is not such a thing as\ngrief and sorrow known there: Nor is there such a thing as a pale face,\na languid body, feeble joints, unable infancy, decrepit age, peccant\nhumors, painful or pining sickness, griping fears, consuming cares, nor\nwhatsoever deserves the name of evil. We did _Weep and lament_, when\n_the world did rejoice_; but our _sorrow is turned into joy, and_ our\n_joy shall no man take from_ us.[13]\n\n[Footnote 12] Revelation xxi, 27, xxii, 15.\n\n[Footnote 13] John xvi, 20, 22.\n\n\u00a7 7. (3.) Another ingredient of this rest is, the highest degree of the\nsaint's personal perfection, both of body and soul. Were the glory ever\nso great, and themselves not made capable of it, by a personal\nperfection suitable thereto, it would be little to them. _Eye hath not\nseen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the\nthings which God hath prepared for them that love him._[14] For the eye\nof flesh is not capable of seeing them, nor this ear of hearing them,\nnor this heart of understanding them: but there the eye, and ear, and\nheart, are made capable; else how do they enjoy them? The more perfect\nthe sight is, the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect\nthe appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical the ear, the more\npleasant the melody. The more perfect the soul, the more joyous those\njoys, and the more glorious to us is that glory.\n\n[Footnote 14] 1 Corinthians ii, 9.\n\n\u00a7 8. (4.) The principal part of this rest, is our nearest enjoyment of\nGod the chief good. And here, reader, wonder not if I be at a loss; and\nif my apprehensions receive but little of that which is in my\nexpressions. If _it did not appear_, to the beloved disciple, _what we\nshall be_, but only in general, that _when Christ shall appear, we shall\nbe like him_,[15] no wonder if I know little. When I know so little of\nGod, I cannot much know what it is to enjoy him. If I know so little of\nspirits, how little of the Father of spirits, or the state of my own\nsoul, when advanced to the enjoyment of him? I stand and look upon an\nheap of ants, and see them all with one view; they know not me, my\nbeing, nature, or thoughts, though I am their fellow-creature; how\nlittle then must we know of the great Creator, though he with one view\nclearly beholds us all? A glimpse the saints _behold as in a glass_;[16]\nwhich makes us capable of some poor, dark apprehensions of what we shall\nbehold in glory. If I should tell a worldling what the holiness and\nspiritual joys of the saints on earth are, he cannot know; for grace\ncannot be clearly known without grace; how much less could he conceive\nit, should I tell him of this glory? But to the saints I may be somewhat\nmore encouraged to speak; for grace gives them a dark knowledge and\nslight taste of glory. If men and angels should study to speak the\nblessedness of that state in one word, what could they say beyond this,\nthat it is the nearest enjoyment of God? O the full joys offered to a\nbeliever in that one sentence of Christ, _Father, I will that those whom\nthou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory\nwhich thou hast given me_.[17] Every word full of life and joy. If the\nqueen of Sheba had cause to say of Solomon's glory, _Happy are thy men,\nhappy are thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that\nhear thy wisdom_;[18] then sure they that stand continually before God,\nand see his glory, and the glory of the Lamb, are more than happy. To\nthem will Christ _give to eat of the tree of life_; and _to eat of the\nhidden manna_: yea, he will _make them pillars in the temple of God, and\nthey shall go no more out; and he will write upon them the name of his\nGod, and the name of the city of his God, which is New Jerusalem, which\ncometh down out of heaven from his God, and he will write upon them his\nnew name_; yea, more, if more may be, he _will grant them to sit with\nhim in his throne. These are they who came out of great tribulation, and\nhave washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb:\nTherefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night\nin his temple, and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them:\nThe Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall\nlead them unto living fountains of water; and God shall wipe away all\ntears from their eyes._[19] O blind, deceived world! Can you shew us\nsuch a glory? This is the city of our God, where _the tabernacle of God\nis with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,\nand God himself shall be with them, and be their God. The glory of God\nshall lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And there shall be\nno more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and\nhis servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name\nshall be in their foreheads. These sayings are faithful and true, and\nthe things which must shortly be done._[20] And now we say, as\nMephibosheth, _let_ the world _take all, forasmuch as our Lord will come\nin peace_.[21] _Rejoice_ therefore _in the Lord, O ye righteous_, and\nsay with his servant David, _the Lord is the portion of mine\ninheritance: The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I\nhave a goodly heritage. I have set the Lord always before me, because he\nis at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad,\nand my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt\nnot leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to\nsee corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is\nfulness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore._[22]\nWhat presumption would it have been, once to have thought or spoke of\nsuch a thing, if God had not spoken it before us? I durst not have\nthought of the saint's preferment in this life, as scripture sets it\nforth, had it not been the express truth of God. How indecent to talk of\nbeing _Sons of God\u2014speaking to him\u2014having fellowship with him\u2014dwelling\nin him and he in us_;[23] if this had not been God's own language? How\nmuch less durst we have once thought of _shining forth as the sun_\u2014of\nbeing _joint heirs with Christ_\u2014of _judging the world_\u2014of _sitting on\nChrist's throne_\u2014of being _one in him and the Father_;[24] if we had not\nall this from the mouth, and under the hand, of God? _But hath he said,\nand shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it\ngood?_[25] Yes, as the Lord God is true, _thus shall it be done to the\nman whom_ Christ _delighteth to honor_.[26] Be of good cheer, Christian,\nthe time is near, when God and thou shalt be near, and as near as thou\ncanst well desire. Thou shalt dwell in his family. Is that enough? It is\nbetter to _be a door-keeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the\ntents of wickedness_.[27] Thou shalt ever stand before him, about his\nthrone, in the room with him, in his presence-chamber. Wouldst thou yet\nbe nearer? Thou shalt be his child, and he thy Father; thou shalt be an\nheir of his kingdom; yea more, the spouse of his Son. And what more\ncanst thou desire? Thou shalt be a member of the body of his Son; he\nshall be thy head; thou shalt be one with him, who is one with the\nFather, as he himself hath desired for thee of his Father, _that they\nall may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they\nalso may be one in us; and the glory which thou gavest me I have given\nthem, that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them and thou in\nme, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know\nthat thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me_.[28]\n\n[Footnote 15] 1 John iii, 2.\n\n[Footnote 16] 2 Corinthians iii, 18.\n\n[Footnote 17] John xvii, 24.\n\n[Footnote 18] Kings x, 8.\n\n[Footnote 19] Revelation ii, 7, 17. iii, 12, 21. vii, 14, 15, 17.\n\n[Footnote 20] Revelation xxi, 24. xxii, 3, 4, 6.\n\n[Footnote 21] 2 Samuel xix, 30.\n\n[Footnote 22] Psalm xxxi, 1. xvi, 5, 6, 8, 11.\n\n[Footnote 23] 1 John iii, 1. Genesis xviii, 27. 1 John i, 3. iv, 16.\n\n[Footnote 24] Matthew xiii, 43. Romans viii, 17. 1 Corinthians vi, 2.\nRevelation iii, 21. John xvii, 21.\n\n[Footnote 25] Numbers xxiii, 19.\n\n[Footnote 26] Esther vi, 11.\n\n[Footnote 27] Psalm lxxxvi, 10.\n\n[Footnote 28] John xvii, 21-23.\n\n\u00a7 9. (5.) We must add that this rest contains a sweet and constant\naction of all the powers of the soul and body in this enjoyment of God.\nIt is not the rest of a stone, which ceaseth from all motion when it\nattains the centre.\u2014This body shall be so changed, that it shall no more\nbe flesh and blood, which _cannot inherit the kingdom of God; but a\nspiritual body. We sow not that body that shall be, but God giveth it a\nbody as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body._[29] If\ngrace makes a Christian differ so much from what he was, as to say, _I\nam not the man I was_; how much more will glory make us differ? As much\nas a body spiritual, above the sun in glory, exceeds these frail,\nnoisome, diseased lumps of flesh, so far shall our senses exceed those\nwe now possess. Doubtless as God advanceth our senses, and enlargeth our\ncapacity, so will he advance the happiness of those senses, and fill up\nwith himself all that capacity. Certainly the body should not be raised\nup and continued, if it should not share in the glory. As it hath shared\nin the obedience and sufferings, so shall it also in the blessedness. As\nChrist bought the whole man, so shall the whole partake of the\neverlasting benefits of the purchase. O blessed employment of a\nglorified body! To stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, and to\nsound forth for ever, _Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and\nhonor, and power. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power,\nand riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and\nblessing; for thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every\nkindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our\nGod kings and priests. Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honor, and\npower, unto the Lord our God. Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent\nreigneth._ O Christians! this is the blessed rest; a rest, as it were,\nwithout rest; for _they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy\nLord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come_.[30]\u2014And if the body\nshall be thus employed, oh, how shall the soul be taken up! As its\npowers and capacities are greatest, so its actions are strongest, and\nits enjoyments sweetest. As the bodily senses have their proper action,\nwhereby they receive and enjoy their objects, so does the soul in its\nown action enjoy its own object, by knowing, remembering, loving, and\ndelightful joying. This is the soul's employment. By these eyes it sees,\nand by these arms it embraces.\n\n[Footnote 29] 1 Corinthians xv, 50, 44, 37, 38.\n\n[Footnote 30] Revelation iv, 11. v, 12, 9, 10. xix, 1, 6. iv, 8.\n\n\u00a7 10. Knowledge of itself is very desirable. As far as the rational soul\nexceeds the sensitive, so far the delights of a philosopher, in\ndiscovering the secrets of nature, and knowing the mystery of sciences,\nexceed the delights of the glutton, the drunkard, the unclean, and of\nall the voluptuous sensualists whatsoever. So excellent is all truth.\nWhat then is their delight who know the God of truth? How noble a\nfaculty of the soul is the understanding? It can compass the earth; it\ncan measure the sun, moon, stars, and heaven; it can foreknow each\neclipse to a minute, many years before. But this is the top of all its\nexcellency, that it can know God, who is infinite, who made all these; a\nlittle here, and more, much more hereafter. O the wisdom and goodness of\nour blessed Lord! He hath created the understanding with a natural bias\nand inclination to truth; as its object; and to the prime truth, as its\nprime object. Christian, when, after long gazing heaven-ward, thou hast\ngot a glimpse of Christ, dost thou not sometimes seem to have been with\nPaul in _the third heaven, whether in the body, or out_, and to have\nseen what is _unutterable_?[31] Art thou not, with Peter, ready to say,\n\"_Master, it is good to be here_\"?[32] Oh that I might dwell in this\nmount! O that I might ever see what I now see! Didst thou never look so\nlong upon the Sun of Righteousness, till thine eyes were dazzled with\nhis astonishing glory? And did not the splendor of it make all things\nbelow seem black and dark to thee? Especially in thy day of suffering\nfor Christ, when he usually appears most manifestly to his people, didst\nthou never _see_ one _walking in the midst of the fiery furnace_ with\nthee _like the Son of God_?[33] Believe me, Christians, yea, believe\nGod; you that have known most of God in Christ here, it is as nothing to\nwhat you shall know; it scarce, in comparison of that, deserves to be\ncalled knowledge. For as these bodies, so that knowledge must cease,\nthat a more perfect may succeed. _Knowledge shall vanish away. For we\nknow in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is\nin part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I\nunderstood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I\nput away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly, but\nthen face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as\nalso I am known._[34] Marvel not therefore, Christians, how it can be\n_life eternal, to know God and Jesus Christ_.[35] To enjoy God and\nChrist, is eternal life; and the soul's enjoying is in knowing. They\nthat savor only of earth, and consult only with flesh, think it a poor\nhappiness to know God. But _we know that we are of God, and the whole\nworld lieth in wickedness; and we know that the Son of God is come, and\nhath given us an understanding that we may know him that is true; and we\nare in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true\nGod, and eternal life._[36]\n\n[Footnote 31] 2 Corinthians xii, 2-4.\n\n[Footnote 32] Mark ix, 5.\n\n[Footnote 33] Daniel iii, 25.\n\n[Footnote 34] Corinthians xiii, 8-12.\n\n[Footnote 35] John xvii, 3.\n\n[Footnote 36] 1 John v, 19, 20.\n\n\u00a7 11. The memory will not be idle, or useless in this blessed work. From\nthat height the saint can look behind him, and before him. And to\ncompare past with present things, must needs raise in the blessed soul\nan inconceivable esteem and sense of its condition. To stand on that\nmount, whence we can see the Wilderness and Canaan, both at once; to\nstand in heaven, and look back on earth, and weigh them together in the\nbalance of a comparing sense and judgment, how must it needs transport\nthe soul, and make it cry out, \"Is this the purchase that cost so dear\nas the blood of Christ? No wonder. O blessed price! and thrice blessed\nlove, that invented, and condescended! Is this the end of believing? Is\nthis the end of the Spirit's workings? Have the gales of grace blown me\ninto such an harbor? Is it hither that Christ hath allured my soul? O\nblessed way, and thrice blessed end! Is this the glory which the\nscriptures spoke of, and ministers preached of so much? I see the gospel\nis indeed good tidings, even tidings of peace and good things, tidings\nof great joy to all nations! Is my mourning, my fasting, my sad\nhumblings, my heavy walking, come to this? Is my praying, watching,\nfearing to offend, come to this? Are all my afflictions, Satan's\ntemptations, the world's scorns, and jeers, come to this?\u2014O vile nature,\nthat resisted so much, and so long, such a blessing? Unworthy soul, is\nthis the place thou camest so unwillingly to? Was duty wearisome? Was\nthe world too good to lose? Didst thou stick at leaving all, denying\nall, and suffering any thing, for this? Wast thou loth to die, to come\nto this? O false heart, thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames,\nand lost me this glory! Art thou not now ashamed, my soul, that ever\nthou didst question that love which brought thee hither? That thou wast\njealous of the faithfulness of thy Lord? That thou suspectedst his love,\nwhen thou shouldst only have suspected thyself? That ever thou didst\nquench a motion of his Spirit? And that thou shouldst misinterpret those\nprovidences, and repine at those ways, which have such an end? Now thou\nart sufficiently convinced, that thy Redeemer was saving thee, as well\nwhen he crossed thy desires, as when he granted them; when he broke thy\nheart, as when he bound it up. No thanks to thee, unworthy self, for\nthis received crown; but to Jehovah, and the Lamb, be glory for ever.\"\n\n\u00a7 12. But oh! the full, the near, the sweet enjoyment, is that of love.\n_God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in\nhim._[37] Now the poor soul complains, \"Oh that I could love Christ\nmore!\" then, thou canst not choose but love him. Now thou knowest little\nof his amiableness, and therefore lovest little: Then, thine eye will\naffect thy heart, and the continual viewing of that perfect beauty will\nkeep thee in continual transports of love. Christians, doth it not now\nstir up your love to remember all the experiences of his love! Doth not\nkindness melt you, and the sunshine of Divine goodness warm your frozen\nhearts? What will it do then, when you shall live in love, and have all\nin him, who is all? Surely love is both work and wages. What a high\nfavor, that God will give us leave to love him? That he will be embraced\nby those, who have embraced lust and sin before him! But more than this,\nhe returneth love for love; nay, a thousand times more. Christian, thou\nwilt be then brimfull of love; yet, love as much as thou canst, thou\nshalt be ten thousand times more beloved. Were the arms of the Son of\nGod open upon the cross, and an open passage made to his heart by the\nspear, and will not arms and heart be open to thee in glory? Did he\nbegin to love before thou lovedst, and will not he continue now? Did he\nlove thee, an enemy? thee, a sinner? thee, who even loathedst thyself;\nand own thee, when thou didst disclaim thyself? And will he not now\nimmeasurably love thee, a son? thee, a perfect saint? thee, who\nreturnest some love for love? He that in love wept over the old\nJerusalem when near its ruin, with what love will he rejoice over the\nnew Jerusalem in her glory? Christian, believe this, and think on it;\nthou shalt be eternally embraced in the arms of that love, which was\nfrom everlasting, and will extend to everlasting;\u2014of that love which\nbrought the Son of God's love from heaven to earth, from earth to the\ncross, from the cross to the grave, from the grave to glory; that love,\nwhich was weary, hungry, tempted, scorned, scourged, buffeted, spit\nupon, crucified, pierced; which did fast, pray, teach, heal, weep,\nsweat, bleed, die;\u2014that love will eternally embrace thee. When perfect\ncreated love, and most perfect uncreated love, meet together, it will\nnot be like Joseph and his brethren, who lay upon one another's necks\nweeping; it will be loving and rejoicing, not loving and sorrowing: Yet\nit will make Satan's court ring with the news, that Joseph's brethren\nare come, that the saints are arrived safe at the bosom of Christ, out\nof the reach of hell for ever: nor is there any such love as David's and\nJonathan's, breathing out its last into sad lamentations for a forced\nseparation. Know this, believer, to thy everlasting comfort, if those\narms have once embraced thee, neither sin, nor hell, can get thee thence\nfor ever. Thou hast not to deal with an inconstant creature but with him\n_with whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning_.[38] His love to\nthee will not be as thine was on earth to him; seldom, and cold, up and\ndown. He that would not cease nor abate his love, for all thine enmity,\nunkind neglects, and churlish resistances, can he cease to love thee,\nwhen he hath made thee truly lovely? He that keepeth thee so constant in\nthy love to him, that thou canst challenge _tribulation, distress,\npersecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, to separate thy love\nfrom Christ_, how much more will himself be constant?[39] Indeed thou\nmayest be _persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor\nprincipalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor\nheight, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us\nfrom the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord_.[40] And now are\nwe not left in the apostle's admiration. _What shall we say to these\nthings?_[41] Infinite love must needs be a mystery to a finite capacity.\nNo wonder _angels desire to look into_ this mystery.[42] And if it be\nthe study of saints here, _to know the breadth, and length, and depth,\nand height, of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge_;[43] the\nsaint's everlasting rest must consist in the enjoyment of God by love.\n\n[Footnote 37] 1 John iv, 16.\n\n[Footnote 38] James i, 17.\n\n[Footnote 39] Romans viii, 35.\n\n[Footnote 40] Romans viii, 38, 39.\n\n[Footnote 41] Romans viii, 31.\n\n[Footnote 42] 1 Peter i, 12.\n\n[Footnote 43] Ephesians iii, 18, 19.\n\n\u00a7 13. Nor hath joy the least share in this fruition. 'Tis that, which\nall the former lead to, and conclude in; even the inconceivable\ncomplacency which the blessed feel in their seeing, knowing, loving, and\nbeing beloved of God. This is the _white stone which no man knoweth,\nsaving he that receiveth it_.[44] Surely this is the joy which a\n_stranger doth not intermeddle with_.[45] All Christ's ways of mercy\ntend to, and end in, the saint's joys. He wept, sorrowed, suffered, that\nthey might rejoice; he sendeth the Spirit to be their Comforter; he\nmultiplies promises; he discovers their future happiness, _that their\njoy may be full_.[46] He opens to them the fountain of _living waters_,\nthat they may _thirst no more_, and that it may _spring up in them to\neverlasting life_.[47] _He chastens them, that he may give them\nrest._[48] He makes it their duty to _rejoice in him alway, and again_\ncommands them to _rejoice_.[49] He never brings them into so low a\ncondition, wherein he does not leave them more cause of joy than sorrow.\nAnd hath the Lord such a care of our comfort here? O what will that joy\nbe, where the soul being perfectly prepared for joy, and joy prepared by\nChrist for the soul, it shall be our work, our business, eternally to\nrejoice! It seems the saint's joy shall be greater than the damned's\ntorment; for their torment is the torment of creatures, _prepared for\nthe devil and his angels_;[50] but our joy is _the joy of our Lord_.[51]\n_The_ same _glory which the Father gave the Son, the Son hath given\nthem_,[52] _to sit with him in his throne, even as he is set down with\nhis Father in his throne_.[53] Thou, poor soul, who prayest for joy,\nwaitest for joy, complainest for want of joy, longest for joy; thou then\nshalt have full joy, as much as thou canst hold, and more than ever thou\nthoughtest on, or thy heart desired. In the mean time walk carefully,\nwatch constantly, and then let God measure out to thee thy times and\ndegrees of joy. It may be he keeps them till thou hast more need. Thou\nhadst better lose thy comfort than thy safety. If thou shouldst die full\nof fears and sorrows, it will be but a moment, and they are all gone,\nand concluded in joy inconceivable. As _the joy of the hypocrite_, so\nthe fears of the upright are _but for a moment. God's anger endureth but\na moment; in his favor is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy\ncometh in the morning._[54] O blessed morning! Poor, humble drooping\nsoul, how would it fill thee with joy now, if a voice from heaven should\ntell thee of the love of God, the pardon of thy sins, and assure thee of\nthy part in these joys? What then will thy joy be, when thy actual\npossession shall convince thee of thy title, and thou shalt be in heaven\nbefore thou art well aware?\n\n[Footnote 44] Revelation ii, 17.\n\n[Footnote 45] Proverbs xiv, 10.\n\n[Footnote 46] John xvi, 24.\n\n[Footnote 47] John iv, 10, 14.\n\n[Footnote 48] Psalm xciv, 2, 13.\n\n[Footnote 49] Philippians iv, 4.\n\n[Footnote 50] Matthew xxv, 41.\n\n[Footnote 51] Matthew xxv, 21.\n\n[Footnote 52] John xvii, 22.\n\n[Footnote 53] Revelation iii, 21.\n\n[Footnote 54] Job xx, 5. Psalm xxx, 5.\n\n\u00a7 14. And it is not the joy only; it is a mutual joy as well as mutual\nlove. Is there joy in heaven at thy conversion, and will there be none\nat thy glorification? Will not the angels welcome thee thither, and\ncongratulate thy safe arrival?\u2014Yea, it is the joy of Jesus Christ, for\nnow he hath the end of his undertaking, labor, suffering, dying, when we\nhave our joys; _when he is glorified in his saints, and admired in all\nthem that believe_;[55] when _he sees of the travail of his soul, and is\nsatisfied_.[56] This is Christ's harvest, when he shall reap the fruit\nof his labors, and it will not repent him concerning his sufferings, but\nhe will rejoice over his purchased inheritance, and his people will\nrejoice in him.\u2014Yea, the Father himself puts on joy too, in our joy. As\n_we grieve his Spirit_,[57] and _weary him with our iniquities_:[58] so\nis he rejoiced in our good. O how quickly does he now spy a returning\nprodigal, even _afar off_? How does he _run and meet him_? And with what\n_compassion_ does he _fall on his neck, and kiss him, and put on him the\nbest robe, and a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and kills the\nfatted calf to eat and be merry_.[59] This is indeed a happy meeting;\nbut nothing to the embracing and joy of that last and great\nmeeting.\u2014\u2014Yea more; as God doth mutually love and joy, so He makes this\n_His_ rest, as it is our rest. What an eternal Sabbatism, when the work\nof redemption, sanctification, preservation, glorification, is all\nfinished, and perfected for ever! _The Lord thy God in the midst of thee\nis mighty, He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy, He will\nrest in his love, He will joy over thee with singing._[60] Well may we\nthen rejoice in our God with joy, and rest in our love, and joy in him\nwith singing.\n\n[Footnote 55] 2 Thessalonians i, 10.\n\n[Footnote 56] Isaiah liii, 11.\n\n[Footnote 57] Ephesians iv, 30.\n\n[Footnote 58] Isaiah xliii, 24.\n\n[Footnote 59] Luke xv, 20-23.\n\n[Footnote 60] Zephaniah iii, 17.\n\n\u00a7 15. Alas! my fearful heart scarce dares proceed. Methinks I hear the\nAlmighty's voice saying to me, _Who is this that darkeneth counsel by\nwords without knowledge_?[61] But pardon thy Servant, O Lord. I have not\npried into unrevealed things. I bewail that my apprehensions are so\ndull, my thoughts so mean, my affections so stupid, and my expressions\nso low, and unbeseeming such a glory. _I have_ only _heard by the\nhearing of the ear_: oh, let thy servant _see thee_ and possess these\njoys; and then shall I have more suitable conceptions, and shall give\nthee fuller glory; I shall _abhor my_ present self, and disclaim and\nrenounce all these imperfections, _I have uttered that I understood not,\nthings too wonderful for me, which I knew not_.[62] Yet _I believed, and\ntherefore have I spoken_.[63] What, Lord, canst thou expect from dust\nbut levity? or from corruption, but defilement? Though the weakness and\nirreverence be the fruit of my own corruption, yet the fire is from\nthine altar, and the work of thy commanding. I looked not into thy ark,\nnor put forth my hand unto it, without thee. _Wash_ away these stains\nalso _in the blood of the Lamb_. Imperfect, or none, must be thy service\nhere. O take thy Son's excuse, _the spirit is willing, but the flesh is\nweak_.[64]\n\n[Footnote 61] Job xxxviii, 2.\n\n[Footnote 62] Job xlii, 3, 5, 6.\n\n[Footnote 63] 2 Corinthians iv, 13.\n\n[Footnote 64] Matthew xxvi, 41.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. II.\n\nThe great preparatives to the Saint's Rest.\n\n \u00a7 1. The happiness of Christians in having a way open into paradise.\n There are four things which principally prepare the way to enter into\n it; \u00a7 2, 3. particularly, (1.) The glorious appearing of Christ; \u00a7 4.\n (2.) The general resurrection: \u00a7 5-8. (3.) The last judgment; \u00a7 9, 10.\n and, (4.) The saint's coronation; \u00a7 11. Transition to the subject of\n the next chapter.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. The passage of paradise is not now so blocked up, as when the law\nand curse reigned. Wherefore finding, _beloved Christians, a new and\nliving way consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, the\nflesh of Christ, by which_ we may with _boldness, enter into the\nholiest_, I shall _draw near with fuller assurance_:[65] And finding the\n_flaming sword_ removed, shall look again into the paradise of our God:\nAnd because I know that this is no _forbidden fruit_, and withal that\n_it is good for food, and pleasant to the_ spiritual _eyes, and a tree\nto be desired to make one_ truly _wise_ and happy; I shall through the\nassistance of the Spirit, _take and eat thereof_ myself, _and give_ to\nyou, according to my power, that you may _eat_. The _porch_ of this\n_temple_ is exceeding glorious, and _the gate of it is called\nBeautiful_. Here are four things, as the four corners of this porch.\nHere is the most glorious coming and appearance of the Son of God;\u2014that\ngreat work of Jesus Christ in raising our bodies from the dust, and\nuniting them again to the soul;\u2014the public and solemn process at their\njudgment, where they shall first themselves be acquitted and justified,\nand then with Christ judge the world;\u2014together with their solemn\ncoronation, and receiving the kingdom.\n\n[Footnote 65] Hebrews x, 19, 20, 22.\n\n\u00a7 2. (1.) The most glorious coming and appearance of the Son of God may\nwell be reckoned into his people's glory. For their sake he came into\nthe world, suffered, died, rose, ascended, and for their sake it is that\nhe will return. To this end _will Christ come again to receive his\npeople unto himself, that where he is, there they may be also_.[66] The\nbridegroom's departure was not upon divorce. He did not leave us with a\npurpose to return no more. He hath left pledges enough to assure us of\nthe contrary. We have his word, his many promises, his sacraments, which\n_shew forth his death till he come_;[67] and his Spirit, to direct,\nsanctify, and comfort, till he return. We have frequent tokens of love\nfrom him, to shew us, he forgets not his promise, nor us. We daily\nbehold the forerunners of his coming, foretold by himself. We see _the\nfig-tree putting forth leaves_, and therefore _know that summer is\nnigh_.[68] Though the riotous world _say, my Lord delayeth his\ncoming_;[69] yet let the saints _lift up their heads, for their\nredemption draweth nigh_.[70] Alas, Fellow Christians, what should we do\nif our Lord should not return? What a case are we here left in? What,\nleave us _in the midst of wolves_,[71] and _among lions_,[72] _a\ngeneration of vipers_,[73] and here forget us? Did he buy us so dear,\nand then leave us sinning, suffering, groaning, dying daily, and will he\ncome no more to us? It cannot be.\u2014This is like our unkind dealing with\nChrist, who when we feel ourselves warm in the world, care not for\ncoming to him: But this is not like Christ's dealing with us. He that\nwould come to suffer, will surely come to triumph. He that would come to\npurchase, will surely come to possess. Where else were all our hopes?\nWhat were become of our faith, our prayers, our tears, and our waiting?\nWhat were all the patience of the saints worth to them? Were we not left\n_of all men most miserable_?[74] Christians, hath Christ made us forsake\nall the world, and be forsaken of all the world? to hate all, and be\nhated of all? and all this for _him_, that we might have _him_, instead\nof all? And will he, think you, after all this, forget us, and forsake\nus himself? Far be such a thought from our hearts!\u2014But why staid he not\nwith his people while he was here? Why? Was not the work on earth done?\nMust he not take possession of glory in our behalf? Must he not\nintercede with the Father, plead his sufferings, be filled with the\nSpirit to send forth, receive authority, and subdue his enemies? Our\nabode here is short. If he had staid on earth, what would it have been\nto enjoy him for a few days, and then die? He hath more in heaven to\ndwell among; even the spirits of many generations. He will have us live\nby faith, and not by sight.\n\n[Footnote 66] John xiv, 3.\n\n[Footnote 67] 1 Corinthians xi, 26.\n\n[Footnote 68] Matthew xxiv, 32.\n\n[Footnote 69] Matthew xxiv, 48.\n\n[Footnote 70] Luke xxi, 28.\n\n[Footnote 71] Matthew x, 16.\n\n[Footnote 72] Psalm lvii, 4.\n\n[Footnote 73] Matthew iii, 7.\n\n[Footnote 74] 1 Corinthians xv, 19.\n\n\u00a7 3. O, Fellow Christians, what a day will that be, when we, who have\nbeen kept prisoners by sin, by sinners, by the grave, shall be fetched\nout by the Lord himself? It will not be such a coming as his first was,\nin poverty and contempt, to be spit upon, and buffeted, and crucified\nagain. He will not come, O careless world! to be slighted and neglected\nby you any more. Yet that coming wanted not its glory. If _the heavenly\nhost_, for the celebration of his nativity, must _praise God_;[75] with\nwhat shoutings will angels and saints _at that day_ proclaim _glory to\nGod, peace and good will towards men_? If a star must lead men from\nremote parts of the world _to come to worship_ a child in a manger;[76]\nhow will the glory of his next appearing constrain all the world to\nacknowledge his sovereignty? If, _riding on an ass_, he enter Jerusalem\nwith hosannas,[77] with what peace and glory will he come toward the New\nJerusalem? If, when he was in _the form of a servant_,[78] they cry out,\n_What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey\nhim?_[79] What will they say, when _they shall see him coming in his\nglory_, and the heavens and the earth obey him? _Then shall all the\ntribes of the earth mourn._[80] To think and speak of that day with\nhorror, doth well beseem the impenitent sinner, but ill the believing\nsaint. Shall the wicked behold him and cry, \"Yonder is he whose blood we\nneglected, whose grace we resisted, whose counsels we refused, whose\ngovernment we cast off!\" And shall not the saints, with inconceivable\ngladness, cry, \"Yonder is he whose blood redeemed us, whose Spirit\ncleansed us, whose law did govern us, in whom we trusted, and he hath\nnot deceived our trust; for whom we long waited, and now we see we have\nnot waited in vain! O cursed corruption! that would have had us turn to\nthe world, and present things, and say, _Why should we wait for the Lord\nany longer?_[81] Now we see, _Blessed are all they that wait for\nhim_.\"[82] And now, Christians, should we not put up that petition\nheartily, _Thy kingdom come? The Spirit and the bride say come: And let\nhim that heareth_, and readeth, _say, Come_. Our Lord himself says,\n_Surely I come quickly. Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus._[83]\n\n[Footnote 75] Luke ii, 13, 14.\n\n[Footnote 76] Matthew ii, 2.\n\n[Footnote 77] Matthew xxi, 5-9.\n\n[Footnote 78] Philippians ii, 7.\n\n[Footnote 79] Matthew viii, 27.\n\n[Footnote 80] Matthew xxiv, 30.\n\n[Footnote 81] 2 Kings vi, 33.\n\n[Footnote 82] Isaiah xxx, 18.\n\n[Footnote 83] Revelation xxii, 17, 20.\n\n\u00a7 4. (2.) Another thing that leads to paradise is, that great work of\nJesus Christ, in raising our bodies from the dust, and uniting them\nagain unto the soul. A wonderful effect of infinite power and love! Yea,\nwonderful indeed, says unbelief, if it be true. What, shall all these\nscattered bones and dust become a man?\u2014Let me with reverence plead for\nGod, for that power whereby I hope to arise. What beareth the massy body\nof the earth? What limits the vast ocean of the waters? Whence is that\nconstant ebbing and flowing of the tides? How many times bigger than all\nthe earth is the sun, that glorious body of light? Is it not as easy to\nraise the dead, as to make heaven, and earth, and all of nothing?\u2014Look\nnot on the dead bones, and dust, and difficulty, but at the promise.\nContentedly commit these carcasses to a prison, that shall not long\ncontain them. Let us _lie down in peace_, and take our rest; it will not\nbe an everlasting night, nor endless sleep. If _unclothing_ be the thing\nthou fearest; it is that thou mayest have better _clothing_.[84] If to\nbe turned out of doors be the thing thou fearest; remember, that when\nthe _earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved_, thou hast _a\nbuilding of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the\nheavens_.[85] Lay down cheerfully this lump of _corruption_; thou shalt\nundoubtedly receive it again in _incorruption_. Lay down freely this\n_terrestrial_, this _natural body_; thou shalt receive it again a\n_celestial_, a _spiritual body_. Though thou lay it down with great\n_dishonor_; thou shalt receive it in _glory_. Though thou art separated\nfrom it through _weakness_; it shall be raised again in mighty _power.\nIn a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the\ntrumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we\nshall be changed._[86] _The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then they\nwhich are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the\nclouds, to meet the Lord in the air._[87] Triumph now, O Christian, in\nthese promises; thou shalt shortly triumph in their performance. _This\nis the day which the Lord will make, we shall rejoice and be glad in\nit._[88] The grave, that could not keep our Lord, cannot keep us. He\narose for us, and by the same power will cause us to arise. _For if we\nbelieve that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also which sleep\nin Jesus will God bring with him._[89] Let us never look at the grave,\nbut let us see the resurrection beyond it. Yea, let us _be steadfast,\nimmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as we\nknow our labor is not in vain in the Lord_.[90]\n\n[Footnote 84] 2 Corinthians v, 4.\n\n[Footnote 85] 2 Corinthians v, 1.\n\n[Footnote 86] 1 Corinthians xv, 42-44, 52.\n\n[Footnote 87] 1 Thessalonians iv, 16, 17.\n\n[Footnote 88] Psalm cxviii, 24.\n\n[Footnote 89] 1 Thessalonians iv, 14.\n\n[Footnote 90] 1 Corinthians xv, 58.\n\n\u00a7 5. (3.) Part of this prologue to the saint's rest, is the public and\nsolemn process at their judgment, where they shall first themselves be\nacquitted and justified, and then with Christ judge the world. Young and\nold, of all estates and nations, that ever were from the creation to\nthat day, must here come, and receive their doom. O terrible! O joyful\nday! Terrible to those that have forgot the coming of their Lord! Joyful\nto the saints, whose waiting and hope was to see this day! Then shall\nthe world _behold the goodness and severity of God; on them which\nperish, severity; but_ to his chosen, _goodness_.[91] Every one must\n_give an account of his stewardship_.[92] Every talent of time, health,\nwit, mercies, afflictions, means, warnings, must be reckoned for. The\nsins of youth, those which they had forgotten, and their secret sins,\nshall all be laid open before angels and men. They shall see the Lord\nJesus, whom they neglected, whose word they disobeyed, whose ministers\nthey abused, whose servants they hated, now sitting to judge them. Their\nown consciences shall cry out against them, and call to their\nremembrance all their misdoings. Which way will the wretched sinner\nlook? Who can conceive the terrible thoughts of his heart? Now the world\ncannot help him; his old companions cannot; the saints neither can, nor\nwill. Only the Lord Jesus can; but, there is the misery, he will not.\nTime was, _sinner_, when Christ would, and you would not; now, fain\nwould you, and he will not. All in vain, to cry _to the mountains, and\nrocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon\nthe throne_;[93] for thou hast the Lord of mountains and rocks for thine\nenemy, whose voice they will obey, and not thine. _I charge thee\ntherefore, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the\nquick and the dead, at his appearing, and his kingdom_,[94] that thou\nset thyself seriously to ponder on these things.\n\n[Footnote 91] Romans xi, 21.\n\n[Footnote 92] Luke xvi, 2.\n\n[Footnote 93] Revelation vi, 16.\n\n[Footnote 94] 2 Timothy iv, 1.\n\n\u00a7 6. But why tremblest thou, O humble gracious soul? He that would not\nlose one Noah in a common deluge, nor overlook one Lot in Sodom; nay,\nthat could do nothing till he went forth; will he forget thee at that\nday? _The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and\nto reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished._[95] He\nknoweth how to make the same day the greatest terror to his foes, and\nyet the greatest joy to his people. _There is no condemnation to them\nthat are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the\nspirit. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?_ Shall the\nlaw? _The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath made them free\nfrom the law of sin and death._ Or shall conscience? _The Spirit itself\nbeareth witness with their spirit, that they are the children of God. It\nis God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth?_[96] If our Judge\ncondemn us not, who shall? He that said to the adulterous woman, _Hath\nno man condemned thee? Neither do I_;[97] will say to us, more\nfaithfully than Peter to him, _though all men deny thee_, or condemn\nthee, _I will not_.[98] Having _confessed me before men, thee will I\nconfess also before my Father who is in heaven_.[99]\n\n[Footnote 95] 2 Peter ii, 9.\n\n[Footnote 96] Romans viii, 1, 2, 16, 33, 34.\n\n[Footnote 97] John viii, 10, 11.\n\n[Footnote 98] Matthew xxvi, 33, 35.\n\n[Footnote 99] Matthew x, 32.\n\n\u00a7 7. What inexpressible joy, that our dear Lord, who loveth our souls,\nand whom our souls love, shall be our judge! Will a man fear to be\njudged by his dearest friend? Or a wife by her own husband? Christian,\ndid Christ come down and suffer, and weep, and bleed, and die for thee,\nand will he now condemn thee? Was he judged, condemned, and executed in\nthy stead, and now will he condemn thee himself? Hath he done most of\nthe work already, in redeeming, regenerating, sanctifying, and\npreserving thee, and will he now undo all again? Well then, let the\nterror of that day be never so great, surely our Lord can mean no ill to\nus in all. Let it make the devils tremble, and the wicked tremble; but\nit shall make us leap for joy. It must needs affect us deeply with the\nsense of our mercy and happiness, to see most of the world tremble with\nterror, while we triumph with joy; to hear them doomed to everlasting\nflames, when we are proclaimed heirs to the kingdom; to see our\nneighbors that lived in the same towns, came to the same congregation,\ndwelt in the same houses, and were esteemed more honorable in the world\nthan ourselves, now by the Searcher of hearts eternally separated. This,\nwith the great magnificence and dreadfulness of the day, the Apostle\npathetically expresses: _It is a righteous thing with God, to recompense\ntribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled, rest\nwith us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his\nmighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not\nGod, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be\npunished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and\nfrom the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his\nsaints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day_.[100]\n\n[Footnote 100] 2 Thessalonians i, 6-10.\n\n\u00a7 8. Yet more, we shall be so far from the dread of that judgment, that\nourselves shall become the judges. Christ will take his people, as it\nwere, into commission with himself, and they shall sit and approve his\nrighteous judgment. _Do ye not know that the saints will judge the\nworld?_ Nay, _know ye not that we shall judge angels_?[101] Were it not\nfor the word of Christ that speaks it, this advancement would seem\nincredible and the language arrogant. _Even Enoch, the seventh from\nAdam, prophesied of this, saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten\nthousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince\nall that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds which they\nhave ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly\nsinners have spoken against him._[102] Thus shall the saints be honored,\n_and the upright shall have dominion in the morning_.[103] O that the\ncareless world _were wise, that they understood this, that they would\nconsider their latter end_![104] That they would be now of the same mind\nas they will be, when they shall see _the heavens pass away with a great\nnoise, and the elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the\nworks that are therein, burnt up_! When all shall be on fire about their\nears, and all earthly glory consumed. For _the heavens and the earth,\nwhich are now, are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, and\nperdition of ungodly men. Seeing then that all these things shall be\ndissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy\nconversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of\nthe day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved,\nand the elements shall melt with fervent heat?_[105]\n\n[Footnote 101] 1 Corinthians vi, 2, 3.\n\n[Footnote 102] Jude 14, 15.\n\n[Footnote 103] Psalm xlix, 14.\n\n[Footnote 104] Deuteronomy xxxii, 29.\n\n[Footnote 105] 2 Peter iii, 7-12.\n\n\u00a7 9. (4.) The last preparative to the saint's rest, is their solemn\ncoronation, and receiving the kingdom. For, as Christ, their Head, is\nanointed both King and Priest; so under him are his people _made unto\nGod_ both _kings and priests, to reign_, and to offer praises for\never.[106] The _crown of righteousness, which was laid up for them,\nshall by the Lord the righteous Judge be given them at that day_.[107]\nThey have been _faithful unto death, and therefore he will give them a\ncrown of life_.[108] And according to the improvement of _their talents_\nhere, so shall _their rule_ and dignity be enlarged.[109] They are not\ndignified with empty titles, but real dominion. Christ _will grant them\nto sit with him in his throne_;[110] _and will give them power over the\nnations, even as he received of his Father; and he will give them the\nmorning star_.[111] The Lord himself will give them possession with\nthese applauding expressions: _Well done, good and faithful servant,\nthou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over\nmany things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord_.[112]\n\n[Footnote 106] Revelation v, 10.\n\n[Footnote 107] 2 Timothy iv, 8.\n\n[Footnote 108] Revelation ii, 10.\n\n[Footnote 109] Matthew xxv, 21, 23.\n\n[Footnote 110] Revelation iii, 21.\n\n[Footnote 111] Revelation ii, 26-28.\n\n[Footnote 112] Matthew xxv, 23.\n\n\u00a7 10. And with this solemn and blessed proclamation shall he enthrone\nthem; _Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for\nyou from the foundation of the world_.[113] Every word full of life and\njoy.\u2014_Come_\u2014this is the holding forth of the golden sceptre, to warrant\nour approach unto this glory. Come now as near as you will; fear not the\nBethshemite's judgment; for the enemy is utterly _abolished_.[114] This\nis not such a _Come_ as we were wont to hear, _Come, take up your cross,\nand follow me_.[115] Though that was sweet, yet this much more.\u2014_Ye\nblessed_\u2014Blessed indeed, when that mouth shall so pronounce us! For\nthough the world hath accounted us accursed, and we have been ready to\naccount ourselves so; yet certainly _those that he blesseth, are\nblessed; and those whom he curseth, only are cursed, and his blessing\ncannot be reversed_.[116]\u2014\u2014_Of my Father_\u2014Blessed in the Father's love,\nas well as the Son's, for they _are one_.[117] The Father hath testified\nhis love in their election, donation to Christ, sending of Christ, and\naccepting his ransom, as the Son hath also testified his.\u2014_Inherit_\u2014No\nlonger _bondmen_, nor _servants_ only, nor _children under age_, who\n_differ not_ in possession, but only in title, _from servants_.[118] But\nnow we are _heirs of the kingdom_,[119] _and joint heirs with\nChrist_.[120]\u2014_The kingdom_\u2014No less than the kingdom? Indeed, to be\n_King of kings, and Lord of lords_, is our Lord's own proper title: But\nto be _kings, and reign with him_,[121] is ours. The enjoyment of this\nkingdom is, as the light of the sun, each have the whole, and the rest\nnever the less.\u2014_Prepared for you_\u2014God is the _Alpha_, as well as the\n_Omega_, of our blessedness. Eternal love hath laid the foundation. He\nprepared the kingdom for us, and then prepared us for the kingdom. This\nis the preparation of his counsel and decree; for the execution whereof\nChrist was yet to make a further preparation\u2014_For you_\u2014Not for believers\nonly in general, who, without individual persons, are nobody; but for\nyou personally.\u2014_From the foundation of the world._\u2014Not only from the\npromise after Adam's fall, but from eternity.\n\n[Footnote 113] Matthew xxv, 34.\n\n[Footnote 114] Ephesians ii, 15.\n\n[Footnote 115] Matthew xvi, 24.\n\n[Footnote 116] Numbers xxii, 6, xxiii, 20.\n\n[Footnote 117] John x, 30.\n\n[Footnote 118] Galatians iv, 1-7.\n\n[Footnote 119] James ii, 5.\n\n[Footnote 120] Romans viii, 17.\n\n[Footnote 121] Revelation xix, 16. xx, 6.\n\n\u00a7 11. Thus we have seen the Christian safely landed in paradise, and\nconveyed honorably to his rest. Now let us a little further, in the next\nchapter, view those mansions, consider their privileges, and see whether\nthere be any glory like unto this glory.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. III.\n\nThe Excellencies of the Saint's Rest.\n\n \u00a7 1. The excellencies of the Saint's Rest are enumerated. \u00a7 2. (1.) It\n is the purchased possession. \u00a7 3, 4. (2.) A free gift. \u00a7 5. (3.)\n Peculiar to saints. \u00a7 6. (4.) An association with saints and angels.\n \u00a7 7. (5.) It derives its joys immediately from God himself. \u00a7 8. (6.) It\n will be seasonable. \u00a7 9. (7.) Suitable. \u00a7 10-12. (8.) Perfect, without\n sin and suffering. \u00a7 13. (9.) And everlasting. \u00a7 14. The chapter\n concludes with a serious address to the reader.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. Let us draw a little nearer, and see what further excellencies this\nrest affordeth. The Lord hide us _in the clefts of the rock, and cover\nus with the hands_ of indulgent grace, while we approach to take this\nview! This rest is excellent for being\u2014a purchased possession;\u2014a free\ngift;\u2014peculiar to saints;\u2014an association with saints and angels; yet\nderiving its joys immediately from God;\u2014and because it will be a\nseasonable,\u2014suitable,\u2014perfect,\u2014and eternal rest.\n\n\u00a7 2. (1.) It is a most singular honor of the saint's rest, to be called\n_the purchased possession_.[122] That is, the fruit of the blood of the\nSon of God; yea, the chief fruit, the end and perfection of all the\nfruits and efficacy of that blood. Greater love than this there is not,\nto lay down the life of the lover. And to have this our Redeemer ever\nbefore our eyes, and the liveliest sense and freshest remembrance of\nthat dying, bleeding love still upon our souls: How will it fill our\nsouls with perpetual joy, to think that in the streams of this blood we\nhave swam through the violence of the world, the snares of Satan, the\nseducements of flesh, the curse of the law, the wrath of an offended\nGod, the accusations of a guilty conscience, and the vexing doubts and\nfears of an unbelieving heart, and are arrived safe at the presence of\nGod! _Now_, he cries to us, _is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?\nBehold and see, if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow!_[123] and we\nscarce regard the mournful voice, nor scarce turn aside to view the\nwounds. But _then_ our perfected souls will feel, and flame in love for\nlove. With what astonishing apprehensions will redeemed saints\neverlastingly behold their blessed Redeemer? the purchaser, and the\nprice, together with the possession? Neither will the view of his wounds\nof love, renew our wounds of sorrow. He, whose first words after his\nresurrection were to a great sinner, _Woman, why weepest thou?_[124]\nknows how to raise love and joy, without any cloud of sorrow, or storm\nof tears. If any thing we enjoy was purchased with the life of our\ndearest friend, how highly should we value it! If a dying friend deliver\nus but a token of his love, how carefully do we preserve it! And still\nremember him when we behold it, as if his own name were written on it!\nAnd will not then the death and blood of our Lord everlastingly sweeten\nour possessed glory! As we write down the price our goods cost us; so on\nour righteousness and glory, write down the price, the _precious blood\nof Christ_. His sufferings were to satisfy the justice that required\nblood, and to bear what was due to sinners, and so to restore them to\nthe life they lost, and the happiness they fell from. The work of\nChrist's redemption so well pleased the Father, that he gave him power\nto advance his chosen, and give them the glory which was given to\nhimself, and all this _according to his good pleasure, and the counsel\nof his own will_.[125]\n\n[Footnote 122] Ephesians i, 14.\n\n[Footnote 123] Lamentations i, 12.\n\n[Footnote 124] John xx, 15.\n\n[Footnote 125] Ephesians i, 9, 11.\n\n\u00a7 3. (2.) Another pearl in the saint's diadem is, that it is _a free\ngift_. These two, _purchased_ and _free_, are the chains of gold which\nmake up the wreaths for the tops of the pillars in the temple of\nGod.[126] It was dear to Christ, but free to us. When Christ was to buy,\nsilver and gold were nothing worth; prayers and tears could not suffice,\nnot any thing below his blood; but our buying is receiving; we have it\nfreely, _without money and without price_.[127] A thankful acceptance of\na free acquittance is no paying of the debt. Here all is free; if the\nFather freely give the Son, and the Son freely pay the debt; and if God\nfreely accepts that way of payment, when he might have required it of\nthe principal; and if both Father and Son freely offer us the purchased\nlife on our cordial acceptance, and if they freely send the Spirit to\nenable us to accept; what is here then that is not free? Oh the\neverlasting admiration that must needs surprize the saints to think of\nthis freeness! \"What did the Lord see in me, that he should judge me\nmeet for such a state? That I, who was but a poor, diseased, despised\nwretch, should be clad in the brightness of this glory! That I, a\ncreeping worm, should be advanced to this high dignity! That I, who was\nbut lately groaning, weeping, dying, should now be as full of joy as my\nheart can hold! yea, should be taken from the grave, where I was\nrotting, and from the dust and darkness, where I seemed forgotten, and\nbe here set before his throne! That I should be taken, with Mordecai,\nfrom captivity, and be set next unto the king; and, with Daniel, from\nthe den, to be made ruler of princes and provinces! Who can fathom\nunmeasurable love?\" If worthiness were our condition for admittance, we\nmight sit down and _weep_ with St. John, _Because no man was found\nworthy_. But _the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is worthy, and hath\nprevailed_;[128] and by that title must we hold the inheritance. We\nshall _offer_ there the _offering_ that David refused, even praise for\n_that which cost us nothing_.[129] Here our commission runs, _freely ye\nhave received, freely give_;[130] but Christ has dearly bought, yet\nfreely gives.\n\n[Footnote 126] 1 Kings vii, 17.\n\n[Footnote 127] Isaiah lv, 1.\n\n[Footnote 128] Revelation v, 4, 5.\n\n[Footnote 129] 2 Samuel xxiv, 24.\n\n[Footnote 130] Matthew x, 8.\n\n\u00a7 4. If it were only for nothing, and without our merit, the wonder were\ngreat; but it is moreover against our merit, and against our long\nendeavoring our own ruin. What an astonishing thought it will be, to\nthink of the unmeasurable difference between our deservings and\nreceivings! Between the state we should have been in, and the state we\nare in! To look down upon hell, and see the vast difference that grace\nhath made betwixt us and them! To see the inheritance there, which we\nwere born to, so different from that which we are _adopted_ to! What\npangs of love will it cause within us, to think, \"_yonder_ was the place\nthat sin would have brought me to, but _this_ is it that Christ hath\nbrought me to! Yonder _death_ was _the wages of my sin_, but this\n_eternal life is the gift of God, through Jesus Christ my Lord_![131]\n_Who made me to differ?_[132] Had I not now been in those flames, if I\nhad had my own way, and been let alone to my own will? Should I not have\n_lingered in Sodom_, till the flames had seized on me, if God had not in\nmercy _brought me out_?\"[133] Doubtless this will be our everlasting\nadmiration, that so rich a crown should fit the head of so vile a\nsinner! That such high advancement, and such long unfruitfulness and\nunkindness, can be the state of the same person! And that such vile\nrebellions can conclude in such most precious joys! But no thanks to us,\nnor to any of our duties and labors, much less to our neglects and\nlaziness; we know to whom the praise is due, and must be given for ever.\nIndeed to this very end it was that infinite Wisdom cast the whole\ndesign of man's salvation into this mould of purchase and freeness, that\nthe love and joy of man might be perfected, and the honor of grace most\nhighly advanced; that the thought of merit might neither cloud the one,\nnor obstruct the other? and that on these two hinges the gate of heaven\nmight turn. So then let DESERVED be written on the door of hell, but on\nthe door of heaven and life, THE FREE GIFT.\n\n[Footnote 131] Romans vi, 23.\n\n[Footnote 132] 1 Corinthians iv, 7.\n\n[Footnote 133] Genesis xix, 16.\n\n\u00a7 5. (3.) This rest is peculiar to saints, belongs to no other of all\nthe sons of men. If all Egypt had been light, the Israelites would not\nhave had the less; but to enjoy that light alone, while their neighbors\nlived in thick darkness, must make them more sensible of their\nprivilege. Distinguishing mercy affects more than any mercy. If Pharaoh\nhad passed as safely as Israel, the Red Sea would have been less\nremembered. If the rest of the world had not been drowned, and the rest\nof Sodom and Gomorrah not burned, the saving of Noah had been no wonder,\nnor Lot's deliverance so much talked of. When one is enlightened, and\nanother left in darkness; one reformed, and another by his lust\nenslaved; it makes the saints cry out, _Lord, how is it that thou wilt\nmanifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?_[134] When the prophet\nis sent to one _widow_ only of all that _were in Israel_, and to\n_cleanse_ one _Naaman_ of all the _lepers_,[135] the mercy is more\nobservable. That will sure be a day of passionate sense on both sides,\nwhen _there shall be two in one bed_, and _two in the field, the one\ntaken, and the other left_.[136] The saints shall look down upon the\nburning lake, and in the sense of their own happiness, and in the\napprobation of God's just proceedings, they shall rejoice and sing,\n_Thou art righteous, O Lord, which wast, art, and shalt be, because thou\nhast judged thus_.[137]\n\n[Footnote 134] John xiv, 22.\n\n[Footnote 135] Luke iv, 25-27.\n\n[Footnote 136] Luke xvii, 34, 36.\n\n[Footnote 137] Revelation xvi, 5.\n\n\u00a7 6. (4.) But though this rest be proper to the saints, yet it is common\nto all the saints; for it is an association of blessed spirits, both\nsaints and angels; a corporation of perfected saints, whereof Christ is\nthe Head; the communion of saints completed. As we have been together in\nthe labor, duty, danger, and distress; so shall we be in the great\nrecompense and deliverance. As we have been scorned and despised, so\nshall we be owned and honored together. We, who have gone through the\nday of sadness, shall enjoy together that day of gladness. Those, who\nhave been with us in persecution and prison, shall be with us also in\nthat palace of consolation. How oft have our groans made, as it were,\none sound? our tears one stream? and our desires one prayer? But now all\nour praises shall make up one melody; all our churches, one church, and\nall ourselves, one body; for we shall be all one in Christ, even, _as he\nand the Father are one_.[138] 'Tis true, we must be careful, not to look\nfor that in the saints, which is alone in Christ. But if the forethought\nof _sitting down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of\nheaven_,[139] may be our lawful joy; how much more the real sight and\nactual possession? It cannot choose but be comfortable to think of that\nday, when we shall join with Moses in his song, with David, in his\npsalms of praise, and with all the redeemed in _the song of the Lamb_\nfor ever;[140] when we shall see _Enoch walking with God_;[141] Noah\nenjoying the end of his singularity; Joseph of his integrity; Job of his\npatience; Hezekiah of his uprightness; and all the saints _the end of\ntheir faith_.[142] Not only our old acquaintance, but all the saints, of\nall ages, whose faces in the flesh we never saw, we shall there both\nknow, and comfortably enjoy. Yea, angels as well as saints, will be our\nblessed acquaintance. Those, who now are willingly our _ministering\nspirits_,[143] will willingly then be our companions in joy. They, who\nhad such joy in heaven for our conversion,[144] will gladly rejoice with\nus in our glorification. Then we shall truly say, as David, _I am a\ncompanion of all them that fear thee_;[145] _when we are come unto Mount\nZion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and\nto an innumerable company of angels; to the general assembly, and church\nof the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of\nall, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the\nMediator of the new covenant_.[146] 'Tis a singular excellence of\nheavenly rest, that we _are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the\nhoushold of God_.[147]\n\n[Footnote 138] John xvii, 21.\n\n[Footnote 139] Matthew viii, 11.\n\n[Footnote 140] Revelation xv, 3.\n\n[Footnote 141] Genesis v, 24.\n\n[Footnote 142] 1 Pet. i, 9.\n\n[Footnote 143] Heb. i, 14.\n\n[Footnote 144] Luke xv, 7, 10.\n\n[Footnote 145] Psal. cxix, 63.\n\n[Footnote 146] Heb. xii, 22-24.\n\n[Footnote 147] Eph. ii, 19.\n\n\u00a7 7. (5.) As another property of our rest, we shall derive its joys\nimmediately from God. Now we have nothing at all immediately, but at the\nsecond or third hand, or how many, who knows? From the earth, from man,\nfrom sun and moon, from the ministration of angels, and from the Spirit,\nand Christ. Though in the hand of angels the stream savors not of the\nimperfection of sinners, yet it does of the imperfection of creatures;\nand as it comes from man, it savors of both. How _quick and piercing is\nthe word_ in itself?[148] Yet many times it never enters, being managed\nby a feeble arm. What weight and worth is there in every passage of the\nblessed gospel? Enough, one would think, to enter and force the dullest\nsoul, and wholly possess its thoughts and affections; and yet how oft\ndoes it fall as water upon a stone? The things of God, which we handle,\nare divine; but our manner of handling is human. There is little we\ntouch, but we leave the print of our fingers behind. If God speaks the\nword himself, it will be a piercing, melting word indeed. The Christian\nnow knows by experience, that his most immediate joys are his sweetest\njoys; which have least of man, and are most directly from the Spirit.\nChristians, who are much in secret prayer and contemplation, are men of\nthe greatest life and joy; because they have all more immediately from\nGod himself. Not that we should cast off hearing, reading, and\nconference, or neglect any ordinance of God: but to live above them,\nwhile we use them, is the way of a Christian. There is joy in these\nremote receivings; but the _fulness of joy is in God's_ immediate\n_presence_.[149] We shall then have light without a candle, and\nperpetual day without the sun; for _the city has no need of the sun,\nneither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God lightens it,\nand the Lamb is the light thereof; there shall be no night there, and\nthey need no candle, neither light, for the Lord God giveth them light,\nand they shall reign for ever and ever_.[150] We shall then have\nenlightened understandings without Scripture, and be governed without a\nwritten law; for the Lord will perfect his law in our hearts, and we\nshall be all perfectly taught of God. We shall have joy, which we drew\nnot from the promises, nor fetched home by faith or hope. We shall have\ncommunion without sacraments, without _this fruit of the vine, when\nChrist shall drink it new with us in his Father's kingdom_,[151] and\nrefresh us with the comforting wine of immediate enjoyment. To have\nnecessities, but no supply, is the case of them in hell. To have\nnecessity supplied by means of the creatures, is the case of us on\nearth. To have necessity supplied immediately from God, is the case of\nthe saints in heaven. To have no necessity at all, is the prerogative of\nGod himself.\n\n[Footnote 148] Heb. iv, 12.\n\n[Footnote 149] Psalm xvi, 11.\n\n[Footnote 150] Revelation xxi, 23. xxii, 5.\n\n[Footnote 151] Matthew xxvi, 29.\n\n\u00a7 8. (6.) A farther excellence of this rest is, that it will be\nseasonable. He that expects _the fruit of his vineyard at the\nseason_,[152] and makes his people _like a tree planted by the rivers of\nwater, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season_,[153] will also give\nthem the crown in season. He that will have _a word of joy spoken in\nseason, to him that is weary_,[154] will surely cause the time of joy to\nappear in the fittest season. They who _are not weary in well doing,\nshall, if they faint not, reap in due season_.[155] If God _giveth rain_\neven to his enemies, _both the former and the latter in his season_, and\n_reserveth the appointed weeks of harvest, and covenants that there\nshall be day and night in their season_;[156] then surely the glorious\nharvest of the saints shall not miss its season. Doubtless he that would\nnot stay a day longer than his promise, but brought Israel out of Egypt\non _the self same day when the four hundred and thirty years_ were\nexpired;[157] neither will he fail of one day or hour of the fittest\nseason for his people's glory. When we have had in this world a long\nnight of darkness, will not the day breaking and the rising of the Sun\nof Righteousness, be then seasonable? When we have passed a long and\ntedious journey, through no small dangers, is not home then seasonable?\nWhen we have had a long and perilous war, and received many a wound,\nwould not a peace with victory be seasonable? Men live in a continual\nweariness; especially the saints, who are most weary of that which the\nworld cannot feel. Some weary of a blind mind; some, of a hard heart;\nsome, of their daily doubts and fears, some of the want of spiritual\njoys; and some, of the sense of God's wrath. And when a poor Christian\nhath desired, and prayed, and waited for deliverance many years, is it\nnot then seasonable? We grudge that we do not find a Canaan in the\nWilderness; or the songs of Sion in a strange land; that we have not a\nharbor in the main ocean, nor our rest in the heat of the day, nor\nheaven before we leave the earth; and would not all this be very\nunseasonable.\n\n[Footnote 152] Mark xii, 2.\n\n[Footnote 153] Psalm i, 3.\n\n[Footnote 154] Isaiah i, 4.\n\n[Footnote 155] Galatians vi, 9.\n\n[Footnote 156] Jeremiah v, 24. xxxiii, 20.\n\n[Footnote 157] Exodus xii, 40, 41.\n\n\u00a7 9. (7.) As this rest will be seasonable, so it will be suitable. The\nnew nature of the saints doth suit their spirits to this rest. Indeed\ntheir holiness is nothing else but a spark taken from this element, and\nby the Spirit of Christ kindled in their hearts; the flame whereof,\nmindful of its own divine original, ever tends to the place from whence\nit comes. Temporal crowns and kingdoms could not make a rest for saints.\nAs they _were not redeemed with_ so low a price,[158] neither are they\nendued with so low a nature. As God will have from them a spiritual\nworship, suited to his own spiritual being, he will provide them a\nspiritual rest, suitable to their spiritual nature. The knowledge of God\nand his Christ, a delightful complacency in that mutual love, an\neverlasting rejoicing in the enjoyment of our God, with a perpetual\nsinging of his high praises; this is a heaven for a saint. Then we shall\nlive in our own element. We are now as the fish in a vessel of water,\nonly so much as will keep them alive; but what is that to the ocean! We\nhave a little air let into us, to afford us breathing; but what is that\nto the sweet and fresh gales upon Mount Sion? We have a beam of the sun\nto lighten our darkness, and a warm ray to keep us from freezing; but\nthen we shall live in its light, and be revived by its heat for ever. As\nthe natures of saints are, such are their desires; and it is the desires\nof our renewed nature which this rest is suited to. Whilst our desires\nremain corrupted and misguided, it is a far greater mercy to deny them,\nyea, to destroy them, than to satisfy them: but those which are\nspiritual are of his own _planting_, and he will surely _water_ them,\nand _give the increase_. He quickened our hunger and thirst for\nrighteousness, that he might make us happy in a full satisfaction.\nChristian, this is a rest after thy own heart; it contains all that thy\nheart can wish; that which thou longest, prayest, laborest for, _there_\nthou shalt find it all. Thou hadst rather have God in Christ, than all\nthe world: there thou shalt have him. What wouldst thou not give for\nassurance of his love? There thou shalt have assurance without\nsuspicion. Desire what thou canst, and ask what thou wilt, as a\nChristian, and it shall be given thee, not only to half of the kingdom,\nbut to the enjoyment both of kingdom and King. This is a life of desire\nand prayer, but that is a life of satisfaction and enjoyment.\u2014This rest\nis very suitable to the saints's necessities also, as well as to their\nnatures and desires. It contains whatsoever they truly wanted; not\nsupplying them with gross created comforts, which, like Saul's armor on\nDavid, are more burden than benefit. It was Christ and perfect holiness\nwhich they most needed, and with these shall they be supplied.\n\n[Footnote 158] 1 Peter i, 18.\n\n\u00a7 10. (8.) Still more, this rest will be absolutely perfect. We shall\nthen have joy without sorrow, and rest without weariness. There is no\nmixture of corruption with our graces, nor of suffering with our\ncomfort. There are none of those waves in that harbor, which now so toss\nus up and down. To-day we are well, to-morrow sick; to-day in esteem,\nto-morrow in disgrace; to-day we have friends, to-morrow none; nay, we\nhave wine and vinegar in the same cup. If _revelations_ raise us _to the\nthird heaven_, _the messenger of Satan_ must presently _buffet_ us, and\n_the thorn in the flesh_ fetch us down.[159] But there is none of this\ninconstancy in heaven. If _perfect love casteth out fear_,[160] then\nperfect joy must needs cast out sorrow, and perfect happiness exclude\nall the reliques of misery. We shall there rest from all the evil of sin\nand of suffering.\n\n[Footnote 159] 2 Corinthians xii, 2, 7.\n\n[Footnote 160] 1 John iv, 18.\n\n\u00a7 11. Heaven excludes nothing more directly than sin; whether of nature,\nor of conversation. _There shall in no wise enter any thing that\ndefileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie._[161]\nWhat need Christ at all to have died, if heaven could have contained\nimperfect souls? _For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that\nhe might destroy the works of the devil._[162] His blood and spirit have\nnot done all this, to leave us after all defiled. _What communion hath\nlight with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial?_[163]\nChristian, if thou be once in heaven, thou shalt sin no more. Is not\nthis glad news to thee, who hast prayed, and watched against it so long?\nI know, if it were offered to thy choice, thou wouldst rather choose to\nbe freed from sin, than have all the world. Thou shalt have thy\ndesire.\u2014That hard heart, those vile thoughts, which accompanied thee to\nevery duty, shall now be left behind for ever. Thy understanding shall\nnever more be troubled with darkness. All dark scriptures shall be made\nplain; all seeming contradictions reconciled. The poorest Christian is\npresently there a more perfect divine than any here. O that happy day,\nwhen error shall vanish for ever! When our understanding shall be filled\nwith God himself, whose light will leave no darkness in us! His face\nshall be the scripture, where we shall read the truth. Many a godly man\nhath here, in his mistaken zeal, been a means to deceive and pervert his\nbrethren, and when he sees his own error, cannot again tell how to\nundeceive them. But there we shall conspire in one truth, as being one\nin Him who is the truth. We shall also rest from all the sin of our\nwill, affection, and conversation. We shall no more retain this\nrebelling principle, which is still drawing us from God: no more be\noppressed with the power of our corruptions, nor vexed with their\npresence: no pride, passion, slothfulness, insensibility, shall enter\nwith us; no strangeness to God, and the things of God; no coldness of\naffections, nor imperfection in our love; no uneven walking, nor\ngrieving of the Spirit; no scandalous action, nor unholy conversation;\nwe shall rest from all these for ever. Then shall our will correspond to\nthe Divine will, as face answers face in a glass, and from which, as our\nlaw and rule, we shall never swerve. _For he that is entered into his\nrest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his._[164]\n\n[Footnote 161] Revelation xxi, 27.\n\n[Footnote 162] 1 John iii, 8.\n\n[Footnote 163] 2 Corinthians vi, 14, 15.\n\n[Footnote 164] Hebrews iv, 10.\n\n\u00a7 12. Our sufferings were but the consequences of our sinning, and in\nheaven they both shall cease together. We shall rest from all our doubts\nof God's love. It shall no more be said, that \"Doubts are like the\nthistle, a bad weed, but growing in good ground.\"[165] They shall now be\nweeded out, and trouble the gracious soul no more. We shall hear that\nkind of language no more, \"What shall I do to know my state? How shall I\nknow that God is my Father? that my heart is upright? that conversion is\ntrue? that faith is sincere? I am afraid my sins are unpardoned; that\nall I do is hypocrisy; that God will reject me; that he does not hear my\nprayers.\" All this is there turned into praise. We shall rest from all\nsense of God's displeasure. Hell shall not be mixed with heaven. At\ntimes the gracious soul _remembered God, and was troubled; complained,\nand was overwhelmed, and refused to be comforted_; Divine _wrath lay\nhard upon him, and God afflicted him with all his waves_.[166] But that\nblessed day shall convince us, that though God _hid his face from us for\na moment_, yet _with everlasting kindness will he have mercy on\nus_.[167] We shall rest from all _temptations of Satan_. What a grief is\nit to a Christian, though he yield not to the temptation, yet to be\nsolicited to deny his Lord? What a torment, to have such horrid motions\nmade to his soul? such blasphemous ideas presented to his imagination?\nSometimes cruel thoughts of God, undervaluing thoughts of Christ,\nunbelieving thoughts of Scripture, or injurious thoughts of Providence?\nTo be tempted sometimes to turn to present things, to play with the\nbaits of sin, and venture on the delights of flesh, and sometimes to\natheism itself? Especially when we know the treachery of our own hearts,\nready, as tinder, to take fire, as soon as one of these sparks shall\nfall upon them? Satan hath power here to tempt us _in the wilderness_,\nbut he entereth not _the holy city_; he may _set us on a pinnacle of the\ntemple_ in the _earthly Jerusalem_, but the _new Jerusalem_ he may not\napproach; he may _take us up into an exceeding high mountain_, but the\n_Mount Sion_ he cannot ascend; and if he could, _all the kingdoms of the\nworld and the glory of them_,[168] would be a despised bait to a soul\npossessed of the kingdom of our Lord. No, 'tis in vain for Satan to\noffer a tempation more.\u2014All our _temptations from the world and the\nflesh_ shall also cease. O the hourly dangers that we here walk in!\nEvery sense, and member, is a snare; every creature, every mercy, and\nevery duty, is a snare to us. We can scarce open our eyes, but we are in\ndanger of envying those above us, or despising those below us; of\ncoveting the honors and riches of some, or beholding the rags and\nbeggary of others with pride and unmercifulness. If we see beauty, 'tis\na bait to lust; if deformity, to loathing and disdain. How soon do\nslanderous reports, vain jests, wanton speeches, creep into the heart!\nHow constant and strong a watch does our appetite require! Have we\ncomeliness and beauty? What fuel for pride! Are we deformed? What an\noccasion of repining! Have we strength of reason, and gifts of learning?\nO how prone to be puffed up, hunt after applause, and despise our\nbrethren! Are we unlearned! How apt then to despise what we have not!\nAre we in places of authority? How strong is the temptation to abuse our\ntrust, make our will our law, and cut out all the enjoyments of others\nby the rules and model of our own interest and policy! Are we inferiors?\nHow prone to grudge at others' pre-eminence, and bring their actions to\nthe bar of our judgment! Are we rich, and not too much exalted? Are we\npoor, and not discontented? Are we not lazy in our duties, or make a\nChrist of them? Not that God hath made all these things our snares; but\nthrough our own corruption they become so to us. Ourselves are the\ngreatest snare to ourselves. This is our comfort, our rest will free us\nfrom all these. As Satan hath no entrance there, so neither hath any\nthing to serve his malice! but all things there shall join with us in\nthe high praises of our great Deliverer.\u2014As we rest from the\ntemptations, we shall likewise from _the abuses and persecutions of the\nworld_. The prayers of _the souls under the altar_ will then be\nanswered, and God will _avenge their blood on them that dwell on the\nearth_.[169] _This_ is the time for crowning with thorns; _that_ for\ncrowning with glory. _Now, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus,\nshall suffer persecution_;[170] _then_ they _that suffered with him_,\nshall _be glorified with him_.[171] _Now_ we must _be hated of all men\nfor Christ's name's sake_.[172] _Then_ Christ will _be admired in his\nsaints_ that were thus hated.[173] _We are_ here _made a spectacle unto\nthe world, and to angels, and to men; as the filth of the world, and the\noff-scouring of all things_;[174] _men separate us from their company,\nand reproach us, and cast out our names as evil_:[175] But we shall then\nbe as much gazed at for our glory; and they will be shut out of the\nchurch of the saints, and separated from us, whether they will or not.\nWe can now scarce pray in our families, or sing praises to God, but our\nvoice is a vexation to them: how must it torment them then, to see us\npraising and rejoicing, while they are howling and lamenting! You,\nbrethren, who can now attempt no work of God, without losing the love of\nthe world, consider you shall have none in heaven but will further your\nwork, and join heart and voice with you in your everlasting joy and\npraise. Till then, _possess ye your souls in patience_.[176] Bind all\nreproaches as a crown to your heads. Esteem them greater riches than the\nworld's treasures. _It is a righteous thing with God, to recompense\ntribulation to them that trouble you; and to you, who are troubled, rest\nwith Christ._[177]\u2014We shall then rest from all our sad divisions, and\nunchristian quarrels with one another. How lovingly do thousands live\ntogether in heaven, who lived at variance upon earth! There is no\ncontention, because none of this pride, ignorance, or other corruption.\nThere is no plotting to strengthen our party, nor deep designing against\nour brethren. If there be sorrow or shame in heaven, we shall then be\nboth sorry and ashamed to remember all this carriage on earth; as\nJoseph's brethren were to behold him, when they remembered their former\nunkind usage. Is it not enough that all the world is against us, but we\nmust also be against one another? O happy days of persecution, which\ndrove us together in love, whom the sunshine of liberty and prosperity\ncrumbles into dust by our contentions! O happy day of the saint's rest\nin glory, when, as there is one God, one Christ, one Spirit, so we shall\nhave one heart, one church, one employment for ever!\u2014We shall then rest\nfrom our participation of our brethren's sufferings. The church on earth\nis a mere hospital; some groaning under a dark understanding, some under\nan insensible heart, some languishing under unfruitful weakness, and\nsome bleeding for miscarriages and wilfulness, some crying out of their\npoverty, some groaning under pains and infirmities, and some bewailing a\nwhole catalogue of calamities. But a far greater grief it is, to see our\ndearest and most intimate friends turned aside from the truth of Christ,\ncontinuing their neglect of Christ and their souls, and nothing will\nawaken them out of their security: To look on an ungodly father or\nmother, brother or sister, wife or husband, child or friend, and think\nhow certainly they shall be in hell for ever, if they die in their\npresent unregenerate state: To think of the gospel departing, the glory\ntaken from our Israel, poor souls left willingly dark and destitute, and\nblowing out the light that should guide them to salvation! Our day of\nrest will free us from all this, _and the days of mourning shall be\nended_; then _thy people_, O Lord, _shall be all righteous; they shall\ninherit the land for ever, the branch of thy planting, the work of thy\nhands, that thou mayest be glorified_.[178]\u2014Then we shall rest from all\nour own personal sufferings. This may seem a small thing to those that\nlive in ease and prosperity; but to the daily afflicted soul it makes\nthe thoughts of heaven delightful. O the dying life we now live! as full\nof sufferings as of days and hours! Our Redeemer leaves this measure of\nmisery upon us, to make us know for what we are beholden, to mind us of\nwhat we should else forget, to be serviceable to his wise and gracious\ndesigns, and advantageous to our full and final recovery. Grief enters\nat every sense, seizes every part and power of flesh and spirit. What\nnoble part is there, that suffereth its pain or ruin alone? But sin and\nflesh, dust and pain, will all be left behind together. O the blessed\ntranquillity of that region, where there is nothing but sweet, continued\npeace! O healthful place, where none are sick! O fortunate land, where\nall are kings! O holy assembly, where all are priests! How free a state,\nwhere none are servants, but to their supreme Monarch! The poor man\nshall no more be tired with his labors: _No more hunger or thirst_, cold\nor nakedness: No pinching frosts or scorching heats. Our faces shall no\nmore be pale or sad: No more breaches in friendship, nor parting of\nfriends asunder; no more trouble accompanying our relations, nor voice\nof lamentation heard in our dwellings: _God shall wipe away all tears\nfrom our eyes_.[179] O my soul, bear with the infirmities of thine\nearthly tabernacle; it will be thus but a little while; _the sound of_\nthy Redeemer's _feet is even at the door_.\u2014We shall also rest from all\n_the toil of duties_. The conscientious magistrate, parent, and\nminister, cries out, \"O the burden that lieth upon me!\" Every relation,\nstate, age, hath variety of duties; so that every conscientious\nChristian cries out, \"O the burden! O my weakness, that makes it\nburdensome!\" But our remaining rest will ease us of the burdens.\u2014Once\nmore we shall rest from all those troublesome afflictions which\nnecessarily accompany our absence from God. The trouble that is mixt in\nour desires and hopes, our longings and waitings, shall then cease. We\nshall no more look into our cabinet, and miss our treasure; into our\nhearts, and miss our Christ; no more seek him from ordinance to\nordinance; but all be concluded in a most full and blessed enjoyment.\n\n[Footnote 165] Dr. John Preston.\n\n[Footnote 166] Psalm lxxvii, 2, 3. lxxxviii, 7.\n\n[Footnote 167] Isaiah liv, 9.\n\n[Footnote 168] Matthew iv, 1, 5, 8.\n\n[Footnote 169] Revelation vi, 9, 10.\n\n[Footnote 170] 2 Timothy iii, 12.\n\n[Footnote 171] Romans viii, 17.\n\n[Footnote 172] Matthew x, 22.\n\n[Footnote 173] 2 Thessalonians i, 10.\n\n[Footnote 174] 1 Corinthians iv, 9, 13.\n\n[Footnote 175] Luke, vi, 22.\n\n[Footnote 176] Luke xxi, 19.\n\n[Footnote 177] 2 Thessalonians i, 6, 7.\n\n[Footnote 178] Isaiah lx, 20, 21.\n\n[Footnote 179] Revelation vii, 16, 17.\n\n\u00a7 13. (9.) The last jewel of our crown is, that it will be an\neverlasting rest. Without this all were comparatively nothing. The very\nthought of leaving it, would embitter all our joys. It would be a hell\nin heaven, to think of once losing heaven: As it would be a kind of\nheaven to the damned, had they but hopes of once escaping. Mortality is\nthe disgrace of all sublunary delights. How it spoils our pleasure, to\nsee it dying in our hands! But, O blessed eternity! where our lives are\nperplexed with no such thoughts, nor our joys interrupted with any such\nfears! where we shall be _pillars in the temple of our God, and go no\nmore out_.[180] While we were _servants_, we held by lease, and that but\nfor the term of a transitory life; _but the son abideth in the house for\never_.[181] \"O my soul, let go thy dreams of present pleasures, and\nloose thy hold of earth and flesh. Study frequently, study thoroughly,\nthis one word, _eternity_. What! Live, and never die! Rejoice, and ever\nrejoice!\" O happy souls in hell, should you but escape, after millions\nof ages! O miserable saints in heaven, should you be dispossessed, after\nthe age of millions of worlds! This word, _everlasting_, contains the\nperfection of their torment, and our glory. O that the sinner would\nstudy this word, methinks it would startle him out of his dead sleep! O\nthat the gracious soul would study it, methinks it should revive him in\nhis deepest agony! \"And must I, Lord, thus live for ever? Then will I\nalso love for ever. Must my joys be immortal? And shall not my thanks be\nalso immortal? Surely, if I shall never lose my glory, I will never\ncease thy praises. If thou wilt both perfect, and perpetuate me and my\nglory; as I shall be thine, and not my own; so shall my glory be thy\nglory. And as thy glory was thy ultimate end in my glory; so shall it\nalso be my end, when thou hast crowned me with that glory which hath no\nend. _Unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only-wise God, be\nhonor and glory, for ever and ever. Amen._\"[182]\n\n[Footnote 180] Revelation iii, 12.\n\n[Footnote 181] John viii, 35.\n\n[Footnote 182] 1 Timothy i, 17.\n\n\u00a7 14. Thus I have endeavored to shew you a glimpse of approaching glory.\nBut how short are my expressions of its excellency! Reader, if thou be\nan humble, sincere believer, and waitest with longing and laboring for\nthis rest, thou wilt shortly see, and feel the truth of all this. Thou\nwilt then have so high an apprehension of this blessed state, as will\nmake thee pity the ignorance and distance of mortals, and will tell\nthee, all that is here said falls short of the whole truth a thousand\nfold. In the mean time, let this much kindle thy desires and quicken thy\nendeavors: Up, and be doing, run, and strive, and fight, and hold on;\nfor thou hast a certain, glorious prize before thee. God will not mock\nthee; do not mock thyself, nor betray thy soul by delaying, and all is\nthine own. What kind of men, dost thou think, would Christians be in\ntheir lives and duties, if they had still this glory fresh in their\nthoughts? What frame would their spirits be in, if their thoughts of\nheaven were lively and believing? Would their hearts be so heavy? their\ncountenances be so sad? or would they have need to take up their\ncomforts from below? Would they be so loth to suffer; so afraid to die;\nor would they not think every day a year till they enjoy it? May the\nLord heal our carnal hearts, lest we _enter not into this rest because\nof unbelief_![183]\n\n[Footnote 183] Hebrews iii, 19.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. IV.\n\nThe Character of the Persons for whom this rest is designed.\n\n \u00a7 1. 'Tis wonderful that such rest should be designed for mortals. \u00a7 2.\n The people of God, who shall enjoy this rest, are, (1.) Chosen from\n eternity. \u00a7 3. (2.) Given to Christ. \u00a7 4. (3.) Born again. \u00a7 5-8. (4.)\n Deeply convinced of the evil of sin, their misery by sin, the vanity of\n the creature, and the all-sufficiency of Christ. \u00a7 9. (5.) Their will\n is proportionably changed. \u00a7 10. (6.) They engage in covenant with\n Christ. \u00a7 11. and, (7.) They persevere in their engagements. \u00a7 12. The\n reader invited to examine himself by these characteristics of God's\n people. \u00a7 13. Further testimony from Scripture that this rest shall be\n enjoyed by the people of God. \u00a7 14. Also that none but they shall enjoy\n it. \u00a7 15-16. And that it remains for them, and is not to be enjoyed\n till they come to another world. \u00a7 17. The chapter concludes with\n shewing, that their souls shall enjoy this rest while separated from\n their bodies.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. While I was in the mount, describing the excellencies of the\nsaint's rest, I felt it was good being there, and therefore tarried the\nlonger; and was there not an extreme disproportion between my\nconceptions and the subject, much longer had I been. Can a prospect of\nthat happy land be tedious? Having read of such an high and unspeakable\nglory, a stranger would wonder for what rare creature this mighty\npreparation should be made, and expect some illustrious sun should break\nforth. But behold! only a shellfull of dust, animated with an invisible,\nrational soul, and that rectified with as unseen a restored power of\ngrace; and this is the creature that must possess such glory. You would\nthink it must needs be some deserving piece, or one that brings a\nvaluable price: But behold! one that hath nothing; and can deserve\nnothing; yea, that deserves the contrary, and would, if he might proceed\nin that deserving; but being apprehended by love, he is brought to him\nthat _is All_;[184] and most affectionately receiving him, and resting\non him, he doth, in and through him, receive all this. More\nparticularly, the persons for whom this rest is designed, are\u2014chosen of\nGod from eternity;\u2014given to Christ, as their Redeemer;\u2014born\nagain;\u2014deeply convinced of the evil and misery of a sinful state, the\nvanity of the creature, and the all-sufficiency of Christ:\u2014their will is\nrenewed;\u2014they engage themselves to Christ in covenant;\u2014and they\npersevere in their engagements to the end.\n\n[Footnote 184] Colossians iii, 11.\n\n\u00a7 2. (1.) The persons for whom this rest is designed, whom the text\ncalls _the people of God_, are _the chosen of God from eternity_.[185]\nThat they are but a small part of mankind, is too apparent in Scripture\nand experience. They are the _little flock_, to whom _it is their\nFather's good pleasure to give the kingdom_.[186] Fewer they are than\nthe world imagines; yet not so few as some drooping spirits think, who\nare suspicious that God is unwilling to be their God, when they know\nthemselves willing to be his people.\n\n[Footnote 185] Ephesians i, 4, 5.\n\n[Footnote 186] Luke xii, 32.\n\n\u00a7 3. (2.) These persons are given of God to his Son, to be by him\nredeemed from their lost state, and advanced to this glory. God hath\ngiven all things to his Son, but not as he hath given his chosen to him.\n_God hath given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal\nlife to as many as the Father hath given him._[187] The difference is\nclearly expressed by the apostle; _he hath put all things under his\nfeet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church_.[188]\nAnd though Christ is, in some sense, _a ransom for all_,[189] yet not in\nthat special manner as for his people.\n\n[Footnote 187] John xvii, 2.\n\n[Footnote 188] Ephesians i, 22.\n\n[Footnote 189] Timothy ii, 6.\n\n\u00a7 4. (3.) One great qualification of these persons is, that they are\n_born again_.[190] To be the people of God without regeneration, is as\nimpossible as to be the children of men without generation. Seeing we\nare born God's enemies, we must be new born his sons, or else remain\nenemies still. The greatest reformation of life that can be attained to\nwithout this new life wrought in the soul, may procure our farther\ndelusion, but never our salvation.\n\n[Footnote 190] John iii, 3.\n\n\u00a7 5. (4.) This new life in the people of God discovers itself by\nconviction, or a deep sense of Divine things. As for instance.\u2014They are\nconvinced of the evil of sin. The sinner is made to know and feel, that\nthe sin, which was his delight, is a more loathsome thing than a toad or\na serpent, and a greater evil than plague or famine; being a breach of\nthe righteous law of the most high God, dishonorable to him, and\ndestructive to the sinner. Now the sinner no more hears the reproofs of\nsin as words of course; but the mention of his sin speaks to his very\nheart, and yet he is contented you should shew him the worst. He was\nwont to marvel, what made men keep such a stir against sin; what harm it\nwas for a man to take a little forbidden pleasure; he saw no such\nheinousness in it, that Christ must needs die for it, and a Christless\nworld be eternally tormented in hell. Now the case is altered, God hath\nopened his eyes to see the inexpressible vileness in sin.\n\n\u00a7 6. They are convinced of their own misery by reason of sin. They who\nbefore read the threats of God's law, as men do the story of foreign\nwars, now find it their own story, and perceive they read their own\ndoom; as if they found their names written in the curse, or heard the\nlaw say, as Nathan, _Thou art the man_.[191] The wrath of God seemed to\nhim before, but as a storm to a man in a dry house, or as the pains of\nthe sick to the healthful standerby; but now he finds the disease is his\nown, and feels himself a condemned man, that he is dead and damned in\npoint of law, and that nothing was wanting but mere execution to make\nhim absolutely and irrecoverably miserable. This is a work of the\nSpirit, wrought in some measure in all the regenerate. How should he\ncome to Christ for pardon, that did not first find himself guilty, and\ncondemned? or for life, that never found himself spiritually dead? _The\nwhole need not a physician, but they that are sick._[192] The discovery\nof the remedy, as soon as the misery, must needs prevent a great part of\nthe trouble. And perhaps the joyful apprehensions of mercy may make the\nsense of misery sooner forgotten.\n\n[Footnote 191] 2 Samuel xii, 7.\n\n[Footnote 192] Luke v, 31.\n\n\u00a7 7. They are also convinced of the creature's vanity and insufficiency.\nEvery man is naturally an idolater. Our hearts turned from God in our\nfirst fall, and ever since the creature hath been our god. This is the\ngrand sin of nature. Every unregenerate man ascribes to the creature\nDivine prerogatives, and allows it the highest room in his soul; or if\nhe is convinced of misery, he flies to it as his savior. Indeed, God and\nhis Christ shall be called Lord and Savior; but the real expectation is\nfrom the creature, and the work of God is laid upon it. Pleasure,\nprofit, and honor, are the natural man's trinity, and his carnal self is\nthese in unity. It was our first sin, to aspire to be as gods; and it is\nthe greatest sin that is propagated in our nature from generation to\ngeneration. When God should guide us, we guide ourselves; when he should\nbe our sovereign, we rule ourselves; the laws which he gives us we find\nfault with, and would correct; and if we had the making of them, we\nwould have made them otherwise; when he should take care of us, (and\nmust, or we perish) we will care for ourselves; when we should depend on\nhim in daily receivings, we had rather have our portion in our own\nhands; when we should submit to his providence, we usually quarrel at\nit, and think we could make a better disposal than God hath made. When\nwe should study and love, trust and honor God, we study and love, trust\nand honor, our carnal selves. Instead of God, we would have all men's\neyes and dependence on us, and all men's thanks returned to us, and\nwould gladly be the only men on earth extolled and admired by all. Thus\nwe are naturally our own idols. But down falls this Dagon, when God does\nonce renew the soul. It is the chief design of that great work, to bring\nthe heart back to God himself. He convinceth the sinner, that the\ncreature can neither be his God, to make him happy, nor his Christ, to\nrecover him from his misery, and restore him to God, who is his\nhappiness. God does this, not only by his word but by his providence\nalso. This is the reason, why affliction so frequently concurs in the\nwork of conversion. Arguments which speak to the quick, will force a\nhearing when the most powerful words are slighted. If a sinner made his\ncredit his god, and God shall cast him into the lowest disgrace, or\nbring him, who idolized his riches, into a condition wherein they cannot\nhelp him: or cause them to take wing and fly away; what a help is here\nto this work of conviction? If a man made pleasure his god, whatsoever a\nroving eye, a curious ear, a greedy appetite, or a lustful heart could\ndesire, and God should take these from him, or turn them into gall and\nwormwood; what a help is here to conviction? When God shall cast a man\ninto languishing sickness, and inflict wounds on his heart, and stir up\nagainst him his own conscience, and then, as it were, say to him, \"Try\nif your credit, riches, or pleasures, can help you. Can they heal your\nwounded conscience? Can they now support your tottering tabernacle? Can\nthey keep your departing soul in your body? or save you from mine\neverlasting wrath? or redeem your soul from eternal flames? Cry aloud to\nthem, and see now whether these will be to you instead of God and his\nChrist.\" O how this works now with the sinner! Sense acknowledges the\ntruth, and even the flesh is convinced of the creature's vanity, and our\nvery deceiver is undeceived.\n\n\u00a7 8. The people of God are likewise convinced of the absolute necessity,\nthe full sufficiency, and perfect excellency of Jesus Christ: As a man\nin famine is convinced of the necessity of food; or a man that had\nheard, or read, his sentence of condemnation, of the absolute necessity\nof pardon; or a man that lies in prison for debt, is convinced of his\nneed of a surety to discharge it. Now the sinner feels an insupportable\nburden upon him, and sees there is none but Christ can take it off. He\nperceives the law proclaims him a rebel, and none but Christ can make\nhis peace. He is as a man pursued by a lion, that must perish, if he\nfinds not a present sanctuary. He is now brought to this dilemma; either\nhe must have Christ to justify him, or be eternally condemned; have\nChrist to save him or burn in hell for ever; have Christ to bring him to\nGod, or be shut out of his presence everlastingly. And no wonder if he\ncry, as the martyr, \"None but Christ, none but Christ.\" Not gold, but\nbread, will satisfy the hungry; nor anything but pardon will comfort the\ncondemned. _All things_ are _counted but dung_ now, _that he may win\nChrist; and what was gain_, he _counts loss for Christ_.[193] As the\nsinner sees his misery, and the inability of himself, and all things to\nrelieve him, so he perceives there is no saving mercy but of Christ. He\nsees, though the creature cannot, and himself cannot, yet Christ can.\nThough the fig leaves of our own unrighteous, righteousness are too\nshort to cover our nakedness, yet the righteousness of Christ is large\nenough: Ours is disproportionate to the justice of the law, but Christ's\nextends to every tittle. If he intercede, there is no denial; such is\nthe dignity of his person, and the value of his merits, that the Father\ngrants all he desires. Before, the sinner knew Christ's excellency, as a\nblind man knows the light of the sun; but now, as one that beholds its\nglory.\n\n[Footnote 193] Philippians iii, 7, 8.\n\n\u00a7 9. (5.) After this deep conviction, the will discovers also its\nchange. As for instance,\u2014The sin, which the understanding pronounces\nevil, the will turns from with abhorrence. Not that the sensitive\nappetite is changed, or any way made to abhor its object: But when it\nwould prevail against reason, and carry us to sin against God, instead\nof Scripture being the rule, and reason the master, and sense the\nservant; this disorder and evil, the will abhors.\u2014The misery also which\nsin hath procured, is not only discerned, but bewailed. It is impossible\nthat the soul should now look, either on its trespass against God, or\nyet on its own self-procured calamity, without some contrition. He that\ntruly discerns that he hath killed Christ, and killed himself, will\nsurely in some measure be _pricked to the heart_.[194] If he cannot\nweep, he can heartily groan; and his heart feels what his understanding\nsees.\u2014The creature is renounced as vanity, and turned out of the heart\nwith disdain. Not that it is undervalued, or the use of it disclaimed;\nbut its idolatrous abase, and its unjust usurpation. Can Christ be the\nway where the creature is the end? Can we seek to Christ to reconcile us\nto God, while in our hearts we prefer the creature before him? In the\nsoul of every unregenerate man, the creature is both God and Christ. As\nturning from the creature to God and not by Christ, is no true turning;\nso believing in Christ, while the creature hath our hearts, is no true\nbelieving. Our aversion from sin, renouncing our idols, and our right\nreceiving Christ, is all but one work, which God ever perfects where he\nbegins.\u2014At the same time the will cleaves to God the Father, and to\nChrist. Having been convinced, that nothing else can be his happiness,\nthe sinner now finds it is in God. Convinced also, that Christ alone is\nable and willing to make peace for him, he most affectionately accepts\nof Christ for Savior and Lord. Paul's preaching was _repentance toward\nGod, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ_,[195] _And life eternal_\nconsists first in _knowing the only true God, and_ then _Jesus Christ\nwhom he hath sent_.[196] To take the Lord for our God, is the natural\npart of the covenant; the supernatural part is, to take Christ for our\nRedeemer. The former is first necessary, and implied in the latter. To\naccept Christ, without affection and love, is not justifying faith. Nor\ndoes love follow as a fruit, but immediately concurs; for faith is the\nreceiving of Christ with the whole soul. _He that loveth father or\nmother more than_ Christ, _is not worthy of him_,[197] nor is justified\nby him. Faith accepts him for Savior and Lord: For in both relations\nwill he be received, or not at all. Faith not only acknowledges his\nsufferings, and accepts of pardon and glory; but acknowledges his\nsovereignty, and submits to his government and way of salvation.\n\n[Footnote 194] Acts ii, 37.\n\n[Footnote 195] Acts xx, 21.\n\n[Footnote 196] John xvii, 3.\n\n[Footnote 197] Matthew x, 17.\n\n\u00a7 10. (6.) As an essential part of the character of God's people, they\nnow enter into a cordial covenant with Christ. The sinner was never\nstrictly, nor comfortably, in covenant with Christ till now. He is sure,\nby the free offers, that Christ consents; and now he cordially consents\nhimself; and so the agreement is fully made.\u2014With this covenant Christ\ndelivers up himself in all comfortable relations to the sinner; and the\nsinner delivers up himself, to be saved, and ruled by Christ. Now the\nsoul resolutely concludes, \"I have been blindly led by flesh and lust,\nby the world and the devil, too long, almost to my utter destruction: I\nwill now be wholly at the disposal of my Lord, who hath bought me with\nhis blood, and will bring me to his glory.\"\n\n\u00a7 11. (7.) I add, that the people of God persevere in this covenant to\nthe end. Though the believer may commit sins, yet he never disclaims his\nLord, renounces his allegiance, nor repents of his covenant; nor can he\nproperly be said to break that covenant, while that faith continues,\nwhich is the condition of it. Indeed, those that have verbally\ncovenanted, and not cordially, may _tread under foot the blood of the\ncovenant_, as _an unholy thing, wherewith they were sanctified_, by\nseparation from those without the church;[198] but _the elect_ cannot be\nso _deceived_.[199] Though this perseverance be certain to true\nbelievers, yet it is made a condition of their salvation; yea, of their\ncontinued life and fruitfulness, and of the continuance of their\njustification, though not of their first justification, itself.[200] But\neternally blessed be that hand of love, which hath drawn the free\npromise, and subscribed and sealed to that which ascertains us, both of\nthe grace which is the condition, and the kingdom which on that\ncondition is offered.\n\n[Footnote 198] Hebrews x, 29.\n\n[Footnote 199] Matthew xxiv, 24.\n\n[Footnote 200] John xv, 4, 6, 9, viii, 31. Revelation ii, 25, 26,\niii, 11, 12. Colossians i, 23. Romans xi, 22.\n\n\u00a7 12. Such are the essentials of this people of God: Not a full\nportraiture of them in all their excellencies, nor all the notes whereby\nthey may be discerned. I beseech thee, Reader, as thou hast the hope of\na Christian, or the reason of a man, judge thyself, as one that must\nshortly be judged by a righteous God, and faithfully answer these\nquestions. I will not inquire whether thou remember the time or the\norder of these workings of the Spirit: there may be much uncertainty and\nmistake in that: If thou art sure they are wrought in thee, the matter\nis not so great, though thou know not when nor how thou camest by them.\nBut carefully examine and inquire, hast thou been thoroughly convinced\nof a prevailing depravation through thy whole soul? and a prevailing\nwickedness through thy whole life? and how vile sin is? and that, by the\ncovenant thou hast transgressed, the least sin deserves eternal death?\nDost thou consent to the law, that it is true and righteous, and\nperceive thyself sentenced to this death by it? Hast thou seen the utter\ninsufficiency of every creature, either to be itself thy happiness, or\nthe means of removing this thy misery? Hast thou been convinced, that\nthy happiness is only in God, as the end; and in Christ as the way to\nhim? and that thou must be brought to God through Christ, or perish\neternally? Hast thou seen an absolute necessity of thy enjoying Christ,\nand the full sufficiency in him, to do for thee whatsoever thy case\nrequires? Hast thou discovered the excellency of this _pearl_, to be\nworth thy _selling all to buy it_?[201] Have thy convictions been like\nthose of a man that thirsts, and not merely a change in opinion,\nproduced by reading, or education? Have both thy sin and misery been the\nabhorrence and burden of thy soul? If thou couldest not weep, yet\ncouldest thou heartily groan under the insupportable weight of both?\nHast thou renounced all thy own righteousness? Hast thou turned thy\nidols out of thy heart, so that the creature hath no more the\nsovereignty, but is now a servant to God and Christ? Dost thou accept of\nChrist as thy only Savior, and expect thy justification, recovery, and\nglory, from him alone? Are his laws the most powerful commanders of thy\nlife and soul? Do they ordinarily prevail against the commands of the\nflesh, and against the greatest interest of thy credit, profit,\npleasure, or life? Has Christ the highest room in thy heart and\naffections, that though thou canst not love him as thou wouldest, yet\nnothing else is loved so much? Hast thou to this end made a hearty\ncovenant with him, and delivered up thyself to him? Is it thy utmost\ncare and watchful endeavor, that thou mayest be found faithful in this\ncovenant; and though thou fall into sin, yet wouldest not renounce thy\nbargain, nor change thy Lord, nor give up thyself to any other\ngovernment for all the world?\u2014If this be truly thy case, thou art one of\nthe people of God in my text; and as sure as the promise of God is true,\nthis blessed rest remains for thee. Only see thou _abide in\nChrist_,[202] and _endure to the end_;[203] for _if any man draw back,\nhis soul shall have no pleasure in him_.[204]\u2014But if no such work be\nfound within thee; whatever thy deceived heart may think, or how strong\nsoever thy false hopes may be; thou wilt find to thy cost, except\nthorough conversion prevent it, that the rest of the saints belongs not\nto thee. _O that thou wert wise, that thou wouldest understand this,\nthat thou wouldest consider thy latter end!_[205] That yet, while thy\nsoul is in thy body, and _a price in thy hand_,[206] and opportunity and\nhope before thee, thy ears may be open, and thy heart yield to the\npersuasions of God, that so thou mightest rest among his people, and\nenjoy _the inheritance of the saints in light_.[207]\n\n[Footnote 201] Matthew xiii, 46.\n\n[Footnote 202] John xv, 4.\n\n[Footnote 203] Matthew xxiv, 13.\n\n[Footnote 204] Hebrews x, 38.\n\n[Footnote 205] Deuteronomy xxxii, 29.\n\n[Footnote 206] Proverbs xvii, 16.\n\n[Footnote 207] Colossians i, 12.\n\n\u00a7 13. That this rest shall be enjoyed by the people of God, is a truth\nwhich the Scripture, if its testimony be further needed, clearly asserts\nin a variety of ways. As for instance, That they are _foreordained to\nit, and it for them. God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he\nhath prepared for them a city._[208] They are styled _vessels of mercy,\nafore prepared unto glory_.[209] _In Christ they have obtained an\ninheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who\nworketh all things after the counsel of his own will._[210] And _whom he\ndid predestinate, them he also glorified_.[211] Who can bereave his\npeople of that rest which is designed for them by God's eternal\npurpose?\u2014Scripture tells us, they are _redeemed to this rest. By the\nblood of Jesus we have boldness to enter into the holiest_;[212] whether\nthat entrance means by faith and prayer here, or by full possession\nhereafter. Therefore the saints in heaven _sing a new song_ unto him who\nhas _redeemed them to God by his blood, out of every kindred, and\ntongue, and people, and nation, and made them kings and priests unto\nGod_.[213] Either Christ then must lose his blood and sufferings, and\nnever _see of the travail of his soul_, or else _there remaineth a rest\nto the people of God_.\u2014In Scripture this rest is _promised to them_. As\nthe firmament with stars, so are the sacred pages bespangled with these\nDivine engagements. Christ says, _fear not, little flock, for it is your\nFather's good pleasure to give you the kingdom_.[214] _I appoint unto\nyou a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and\ndrink at my table in my kingdom_,[215] _&c. &c. &c._\u2014All the means of\ngrace, the operations of the Spirit upon the soul, and gracious actings\nof the saints, every command to repent and believe, to fast and pray, to\nknock and seek, to strive and labor, to run and fight, prove that there\nremains a rest for the people of God. The Spirit would never kindle in\nus such strong desires after heaven, such love to Jesus Christ, if we\nshould not receive what we desire and love. He that _guides our feet\ninto the way of peace_,[216] will undoubtedly bring us to the end of\npeace. How nearly is the means and end conjoined? _The kingdom of heaven\nsuffereth violence, and the violent take it by force._[217] They that\n_follow Christ in the regeneration, shall sit upon thrones of\nglory_.[218]\u2014Scripture assures us, that the saints have the _beginnings,\nforetastes, earnests, and seals_ of this rest here. _The kingdom of God\nis within them._[219] _Though they have not seen Christ, yet loving him,\nand believing in him, they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of\nglory; receiving the end of their faith, even the salvation of their\nsouls._[220] They _rejoice in hope of the glory of God_.[221] And does\nGod _seal them with that holy spirit of promise, which is the earnest of\ntheir inheritance_, and will he deny the full _possession_?[222]\u2014The\nScripture also mentions, by name, _those who have entered_ into this\nrest. As Enoch, Abraham, Lazarus, the thief that was crucified with\nChrist, &c. And if there be a rest for these, sure there is a rest for\nall believers. But it is vain to heap up Scripture proofs, seeing it is\nthe very end of Scripture to be a guide to lead us to this blessed\nstate, and to be the charter and grant by which we hold all our title to\nit.\n\n[Footnote 208] Hebrews xi, 16.\n\n[Footnote 209] Romans, ix, 23.\n\n[Footnote 210] Ephesians i, 11.\n\n[Footnote 211] Romans viii, 30.\n\n[Footnote 212] Hebrews x, 19.\n\n[Footnote 213] Revelation v, 8-10.\n\n[Footnote 214] Luke xii, 32.\n\n[Footnote 215] Luke xxii, 29, 30.\n\n[Footnote 216] Luke i, 79.\n\n[Footnote 217] Matthew xi, 12.\n\n[Footnote 218] Matthew xix, 28.\n\n[Footnote 219] Luke xvii, 21.\n\n[Footnote 220] 1 Peter i, 8, 9.\n\n[Footnote 221] Romans v, 2.\n\n[Footnote 222] Ephesians i, 13, 14.\n\n\u00a7 14. Scripture not only proves, that this rest remains for the people\nof God, but also that it remains for none but them, so that the rest of\nthe world shall have no part in it. _Without holiness no man shall see\nthe Lord._[223] _Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom\nof God. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath\nof God abideth on him._[224] _No whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor\ncovetous man, who is an idolator, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of\nChrist, and of God._[225] _The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all\nthe nations that forget God._[226] _They all shall be damned, who\nbelieve not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness._[227] _The\nLord Jesus shall come in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that\nknow not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who\nshall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the\nLord, and from the glory of his power._[228] Had the ungodly returned\nbefore their life was expired, and been heartily willing to accept of\nChrist for their Savior and their king, and to be saved by him in his\nway, and upon his most reasonable terms, they might have been saved. God\nfreely offered them life, and they would not accept it. The pleasures of\nthe flesh seemed more desirable to them than the glory of the saints.\nSatan offered them the one, and God offered them the other, and they had\nfree liberty to choose which they would, and they chose _the pleasures\nof sin for a season_, before the everlasting rest with Christ. And is it\nnot a righteous thing, that they should be denied that, which they would\nnot accept? When God pressed them so earnestly, and persuaded them so\nimportunately, to come in, and yet they would not, where should they be\nbut among the _dogs without_? Though man be so wicked, that he will not\nyield till the mighty power of grace prevail with him, yet still we may\ntruly say, that he may be saved, if he will, on God's terms. His\ninability, being moral, and lying in wilful wickedness, is no more\nexcuse to him, than it is to an adulterer, that he cannot love his own\nwife, or to a malicious person, that he cannot but hate his own brother:\nis he not so much the worse, and deserving of so much the sorer\npunishment? Sinners shall lay all the blame on their own wills in hell\nfor ever. Hell is a rational torment by conscience, according to the\nnature of the rational subject. If sinners could but then say, it was\nlong of God, and not of us, it would quiet their consciences, and ease\ntheir torments, and make hell to them to be no hell. But to remember\ntheir wilfulness, will feed the fire, and cause the worm of conscience\n_never to die_.[229]\n\n[Footnote 223] Hebrews xii, 14.\n\n[Footnote 224] John iii, 3, 36.\n\n[Footnote 225] Ephesians v, 5.\n\n[Footnote 226] Psalm ix, 17.\n\n[Footnote 227] 2 Thessalonians ii, 12.\n\n[Footnote 228] 2 Thessalonians i, 7-9.\n\n[Footnote 229] Mark ix, 44.\n\n\u00a7 15. If is the will of God, that this rest should yet remain for his\npeople and not be enjoyed till they come to another world.\u2014Who should\ndispose of the creatures, but he that made them? You may as well ask,\nwhy have we not spring and harvest without winter? or, why is the earth\nbelow, and the heavens above, as, why we have not rest on earth? All\nthings must come to their perfection by degrees. The strongest man must\nfirst be a child. The greatest scholar must first begin in his alphabet.\nThe tallest oak was once an acorn. This life is our infancy; and would\nwe be perfect in the womb, or born at full stature? If our rest was\nhere, most of God's providences must be useless. Should God lose the\nglory of his church's miraculous deliverances, and the fall of his\nenemies, that men may have their happiness here? If we were all happy,\ninnocent, and perfect, what use was there for the glorious works of our\nsanctification, justification, and future salvation?\u2014If we wanted\nnothing, we should not depend on God so closely, nor call upon him so\nearnestly. How little should he hear from us, if we had what we would\nhave? God would never have had such songs of praise from Moses at the\nRed Sea and in the wilderness from Deborah and Hannah, from David and\nHezekiah, if they had been the choosers of their own condition. Have not\nthy own highest praises to God, Reader, been occasioned by thy dangers\nor miseries? The greatest glory and praise God has through the world, is\nfor redemption, reconciliation, and salvation by Christ; and was not\nman's misery the occasion of that?\u2014And where God loses the opportunity\nof exercising his mercies, man must needs lose the happiness of enjoying\nthem. Where God loses his praise, man will certainly lose his comforts.\nO the sweet comforts the saints have had in return to their prayers! How\nshould we know what a tender-hearted Father we have, if we had not, as\nthe prodigal, been denied the husks of earthly pleasure and profit? We\nshould never have felt Christ's tender heart, if we had not felt\nourselves _weary and heavy laden, hungry and thirsty, poor and\ncontrite_. It is a delight to a soldier, or traveller, to look back on\nhis escapes when they are over: and for a saint in heaven to look back\non his sins and sorrows upon earth, his fears and tears, his enemies and\ndangers, his wants and calamities, must make his joy more joyful.\nTherefore the blessed, in praising the Lamb, mention his _redeeming them\nout of every nation, and kindred and tongue_; and so, out of their\nmisery, and wants, and sins, _and making them kings and priests to God_.\nBut if they had had nothing but content and rest on earth, what room\nwould there have been for these rejoicings hereafter?\n\n\u00a7 16. Besides, we are not capable of rest upon earth. Can a soul that is\nso weak in grace, so prone to sin, so nearly joined to such a neighbor\nas this flesh, have full content and rest in such a case? What is\nsoul-rest, but our freedom from sin, and imperfections, and enemies? And\ncan the soul have rest that is pestered with all these, and that\ncontinually? Why do Christians so oft cry out in the language of Paul,\n_O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me_?[230] What makes them\n_press towards the mark_, and _run that they may obtain_, and _strive to\nenter in_, if they are capable of rest in their present condition? And\nour bodies are incapable, as well as our souls. They are not now those\nsun-like bodies which they shall be, when _this corruptible_ hath _put\non incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality_. They are our\nprisons, and our burdens; so full of infirmities and defects, that we\nare fain to spend most of our time in repairing them, and supplying\ntheir continual wants. Is it possible that an immortal soul should have\nrest in such a distempered, noisome habitation? Surely these sickly,\nweary, loathsome bodies must be refined, before they can be capable of\nenjoying rest. The objects we here enjoy are insufficient to afford us\nrest. Alas! what is there in all the world to give us rest? They that\nhave most of it, have the greatest burden. They that set most by it, and\nrejoice most in it, do all cry out at last of its vanity and vexation.\nMen promise themselves a heaven upon earth; but when they come to enjoy\nit, it flies from them. He that has any regard to the works of the Lord,\nmay easily see that the very end of them is to take down our idols, to\nmake us weary of the world, and seek our rest in him. Where does he\ncross us most, but where we promise ourselves most content? If you have\na child you dote upon, it becomes your sorrow. If you have a friend you\ntrust in, and judge unchangeable, he becomes your scourge. Is this a\nplace or state of rest?\u2014And as the objects we here enjoy are\ninsufficient for our rest, so God, who is sufficient, is here little\nenjoyed. It is not here that he hath prepared the presence-chamber of\nhis glory. He hath drawn the curtain between us and him: We are far from\nhim as creatures, and farther as frail mortals, and farthest as sinners.\nWe hear now and then a word of comfort from him, and receive his\nlove-tokens, to keep up our hearts and hopes; but this is not our full\nenjoyment. And can any soul, that hath made God his portion, as every\none hath that shall be saved by him, find rest in so vast a distance\nfrom him, and so seldom and small enjoyment of him?\u2014Nor are we now\ncapable of rest, as there is a worthiness must go before it. Christ\n_will give the crown_ to none but the worthy. And are we fit for the\ncrown, before we have overcome? Or for the prize, before we have run the\nrace? Or to receive our penny before we have wrought in the vineyard; or\nto be rulers of ten cities, before we have improved our ten talents? Or\nto enter into the joy of our Lord, before we have well done, as good and\nfaithful servants? God will not alter the course of justice, to give you\nrest before you have labored for the crown of glory, till you have\n_overcome_.\u2014There is reason enough why our rest should _remain_ till the\nlife to come. Take heed then, Christian Reader, how thou darest to\ncontrive and care for a rest on earth; or to murmur at God for thy\ntrouble, and toil, and wants in the flesh. Doth thy poverty _weary_\nthee? Thy sickness? Thy bitter enemies and unkind friends? it should be\nso here. Doth the abominations of the times, the sins of professors, the\nhardening of the wicked, all _weary_ thee? It must be so while thou art\nabsent from thy rest. Doth thy sins, and thy naughty distempered heart\n_weary_ thee? Be thus _wearied_ more and more. But under all this\n_weariness_, art thou willing to go to God thy _rest_? And to have thy\nwarfare accomplished? and thy race and labor ended? If not, complain\nmore of thy own heart, and get it more weary till rest seem more\ndesirable.\n\n[Footnote 230] Romans vii, 24.\n\n\u00a7 17. I have but one thing more to add, for the close of this chapter,\nthat the souls of believers do enjoy inconceivable blessedness and\nglory, even while they remain separated from their bodies.\u2014What can be\nmore plain than those words of Paul? _We are always confident, knowing\nthat whilst we are at home_, or rather sojourning _in the body, we are\nabsent from the Lord. (For we walk by faith, not by sight.) We are\nconfident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to\nbe present with the Lord._[231] Or those? _I am in a strait betwixt two,\nhaving a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far\nbetter._[232]\u2014If Paul had not expected to enjoy Christ till the\nresurrection, why should he be in a strait; or desire to depart? Nay,\nshould he not have been loth to depart upon the very same grounds? For\nwhile he was in the flesh, he enjoyed something of Christ. Plain enough\nis that of Christ to the thief, _To-day shalt thou be with me in\nparadise_.[233] In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, it seems unlikely\nChrist would so evidently intimate and suppose the soul's happiness or\nmisery presently after death, if there were no such matter.[234]\u2014Our\nLord's argument for the resurrection supposes, that, _God being not the\nGod of the dead, but of the living_,[235] therefore Abraham, Isaac, and\nJacob, were then living in soul.\u2014If the _blessedness_ of _the dead that\ndie in the Lord_,[236] were only in resting in the grave, then a beast\nor a stone were as blessed; nay, it were evidently a curse, and not a\nblessing. For was not life a great mercy? Was it not a greater mercy to\nserve God and do good; to enjoy all the comforts of life, the fellowship\nof saints, the comfort of ordinances, and much of Christ in all; than to\nlie rotting in the grave? Therefore some farther blessedness is there\npromised.\u2014How else is it said, _We are come to the spirits of just men\nmade perfect_?[237] Sure, at the resurrection, the body will be made\nperfect as well as the spirit.\u2014Does not Scripture tell us, that Enoch\nand Elias are taken up already? And shall we think they possess that\nglory alone?\u2014Did not Peter, James, and John, see Moses also with Christ\non the mount? Yet the Scripture saith, Moses died. And is it likely that\nChrist deluded their senses in shewing them Moses, if he should not\npartake of that glory till the resurrection?\u2014And is not that of Stephen\nas plain as we can desire? _Lord Jesus receive my spirit._[238] Surely,\nif the Lord receive it, it is neither asleep, nor dead, nor annihilated;\nbut it is where he is, and beholds his glory.\u2014That of the wise man is of\nthe same import: _The spirit shall return unto God who gave it_.[239]\nWhy are we said _to have eternal life_, and that to _know God is life\neternal_; and that a believer _on the Son hath everlasting life_? Or how\nis _the kingdom of God within us_? If there be as great an interruption\nof our life, as till the resurrection, this is no eternal life, nor\neverlasting kingdom. _The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah_ are spoken of as\n_suffering the vengeance of eternal fire_.[240] And if the wicked\nalready suffer eternal fire, then no doubt, but the godly enjoy eternal\nblessedness.\u2014When John saw his glorious revelations, he is said to be\n_in the Spirit_, and to be _carried away in the Spirit_. And when Paul\nwas _caught up to the third heaven_, he knew not, _whether in the body,\nor out of the body_.[241] This implies, that spirits are capable of\nthese glorious things, without the help of their bodies.\u2014Is not so much\nimplied when John says, _I saw under the altar the souls of them that\nwere slain for the word of God_![242]\u2014When Christ says, _Fear not them\nwhich kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul_,[243] does it\nnot plainly imply, that when wicked men have killed our bodies, that is,\nhave separated the souls from them, yet the souls are still alive?\u2014The\nsoul of Christ was alive when his body was dead, and therefore so shall\nours too. This appears by his words to the thief, _To-day shalt thou be\nwith me in paradise_; and also by his voice on the cross, _Father into\nthy hands I commend my spirit_.[244] If _the spirits_ of those _that\nwere disobedient in the days of Noah_, were _in prison_,[245] that is,\nin a living and suffering state; then certainly the separate spirits of\nthe just are in an opposite condition of happiness.\u2014Therefore, faithful\nsouls shall no sooner leave their prisons of flesh, but angels will be\ntheir convoy; Christ, with all the perfected spirits of the just, will\nbe their companions; heaven will be their residence, and God their\nhappiness. When such die, they may boldly and believingly say, as\nStephen, _Lord Jesus, receive my spirit_; and _commend_ it, as Christ\ndid, _into a Father's hands_.\n\n[Footnote 231] 2 Corinthians v, 6-8.\n\n[Footnote 232] Philippians i, 23.\n\n[Footnote 233] Luke xxiii, 43.\n\n[Footnote 234] Luke xvi, 19-31.\n\n[Footnote 235] Matthew xxii, 32.\n\n[Footnote 236] Revelation xiv, 13.\n\n[Footnote 237] Hebrews xii, 22, 23.\n\n[Footnote 238] Acts vii, 59.\n\n[Footnote 239] Ecclesiastes xii, 7.\n\n[Footnote 240] Jude verse 7.\n\n[Footnote 241] Revelation i, 10. iv, 2. 2 Corinthians xii, 2.\n\n[Footnote 242] Revelation vi, 9.\n\n[Footnote 243] Matthew x, 28.\n\n[Footnote 244] Luke xxiii, 46.\n\n[Footnote 245] 1 Peter iii, 19, 20.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. V.\n\nThe Misery of those who lose the Saint's Rest.\n\n \u00a7 1. The Reader, if unregenerate, urged to consider what the loss of\n heaven will be. \u00a7 2. (I.) The loss of heaven particularly includes,\n \u00a7 3. (1.) The personal perfection of the saints; \u00a7 4. (2.) God himself;\n \u00a7 5. (3.) all delightful affections towards God; \u00a7 6. (4.) the blessed\n society of angels and glorified spirits. \u00a7 7. (II.) The aggravations of\n the loss of heaven. \u00a7 8. (1.) The understanding of the ungodly will\n then be cleared; \u00a7 9. (2.) also enlarged: \u00a7 10. (3.) Their consciences\n will make a true and close application: \u00a7 11 (4.) Their affections will\n be more lively; \u00a7 12-18. (5.) Their memories will be large and strong.\n \u00a7 19. Conclusion of the chapter.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. If thou, reader, art a stranger to Christ, and to the holy nature\nand life of his people, who are before described, and shalt live and die\nin this condition, let me tell thee, thou shalt never partake of the\njoys of heaven, nor have the least taste of the saint's eternal rest. I\nmay say, as Ehud to Eglon, _I have a message to thee from God_;[246]\nthat as the word of God is true, thou shalt never see the face of God\nwith comfort. This sentence I am commanded to pass upon thee; take it as\nthou wilt, and escape it if thou canst. I know thy humble and hearty\nsubjection to Christ would procure thy escape; he would then acknowledge\nthee for one of his people, and give thee a portion in the inheritance\nof his chosen. If this might be the happy success of my message, I\nshould be so far from repining, like Jonas, that the threatenings of God\nare not executed upon thee, that I should bless the day that ever God\nmade me so happy a messenger. But if thou end thy days in thy\nunregenerate state, as sure as the heavens are over thy head, and the\nearth under thy feet, thou shalt be shut out of the rest of the saints,\nand receive thy portion in everlasting fire. I expect thou wilt turn\nupon me, and say when did God shew you the Book of Life, or tell you who\nthey are that shall be saved, and who shut out? I answer, I do not name\nthee, nor any other; I only conclude it of the unregenerate in general,\nand of thee, if thou be such a one. Nor do I go about to determine who\nshall repent, and who shall not; much less, that thou shalt never\nrepent. I had rather shew thee what hopes thou hast before thee, if thou\nwilt not sit still, and lose them. I would far rather persuade thee to\nhearken in time, before the door is shut against thee, than tell thee\nthere is no hope of thy repenting and returning. But if the foregoing\ndescription of the people of God does not agree with the state of thy\nsoul, is it then a hard question, whether thou shalt ever be saved? Need\nI ascend up into heaven to know, that _without holiness no man shall see\nthe Lord_; or, that only _the pure in heart shall see God_, or, that\n_except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God_?\nNeed I go up to heaven, to inquire that of Christ, which he came down to\nearth to tell us; and sent his Spirit in his apostles to tell us; and\nwhich he and they have left upon record to all the world? And though I\nknow not the secrets of thy heart, and therefore cannot tell thee by\nname, whether it be thy state, or no; yet if thou art but willing and\ndiligent, thou mayest know thyself, whether thou art an heir of heaven\nor not. 'Tis the main thing I desire, that if thou art yet miserable,\nthou mayest discern and escape it. But _how_ canst thou _escape, if thou\nneglect_ Christ and _salvation_? 'Tis as impossible as for the devils\nthemselves to be saved. Nay, God has more plainly and frequently spoken\nit in Scripture of such sinners as thou art, than he has of the devils.\nMethinks a sight of thy case should strike thee with amazement and\nhorror. When Belshazzar _saw the fingers of a man's hand that wrote upon\nthe wall, his countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so\nthat the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one\nagainst the other_:[247] What trembling then should seize on thee, who\nhast the hand of God himself against thee, not in a sentence or two, but\nin the very scope of the Scriptures, threatening the loss of an\neverlasting kingdom? Because I would fain have thee lay it to heart, I\nwill shew thee\u2014\u2014the nature of thy loss of heaven,\u2014together with its\naggravations.\n\n[Footnote 246] Judges iii, 20.\n\n[Footnote 247] Daniel v, 5, 6.\n\n\u00a7 2. (1.) In their loss of heaven the ungodly lose\u2014the saint's personal\nperfection,\u2014God himself,\u2014all delightful affections towards God, and the\nblessed society of angels and saints.\n\n\u00a7 3. (1.) The glorious personal perfection which the saints enjoy in\nheaven, is the great loss of the ungodly. They lose that shining lustre\nof the body, surpassing the brightness of the sun at noon-day. Though\nthe bodies of the wicked will be raised more spiritual than they were\nupon earth, yet that will only make them capable of the more exquisite\ntorments. They would be glad then, if every member were a dead member,\nthat it might not feel the punishment inflicted on it; and if the whole\nbody were a rotten carcass, or might lie down again in the dust. Much\nmore do they want that moral perfection which the blessed partake of;\nthose holy dispositions of mind; that cheerful readiness to do the will\nof God; that perfect rectitude of all their actions. Instead of these,\nthey have that perverseness of will, that loathing of good, that love to\nevil, that violence of passion, which they had on earth. 'Tis true,\ntheir understandings will be much cleared by the ceasing of former\ntemptations, and experiencing the falsehood of former delusions. But\nthey have the same dispositions still; and fain would they commit the\nsame sins, if they could; they want but opportunity. There will be a\ngreater difference between these wretches, and the glorified Christian,\nthan there is betwixt a toad, and the sun in the firmament. The _rich\nman's purple, and fine linen, and sumptuous fare_, did not so exalt him\nabove _Lazarus, while at his gate full of sores_.\n\n\u00a7 4. (2.) They shall have no comfortable relation to God, nor communion\nwith him. _As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge_; but\nsaid unto him, _Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy\nways_; so God will abhor to retain them in his household. He will never\nadmit them to the inheritance of his saints, nor endure them to stand in\nhis presence, but _will profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from\nme, ye that work iniquity_. They are ready now to lay as confident\nclaim to Christ and heaven, as if they were sincere believing saints.\nThe swearer, the drunkard, the whore-master, the worldling, can say, Is\nnot God our Father, as well as yours? But when Christ separates his\nfollowers from his foes, and his faithful friends from his deceived\nflatterers, where then will be their presumptuous claims? Then they\nshall find, that God is not their Father, because they would not be his\npeople. As they would not consent that God by his Spirit should dwell in\nthem, so the tabernacle of wickedness shall have no fellowship with him,\nnor the wicked inhabit the city of God. Only they that walked with God\nhere, shall live and be happy with him in heaven. Little does the world\nknow what a loss that soul hath, who loses God! What a dungeon would\nearth be, if it had lost the sun? What a loathsome carrion the body, if\nit had lost the soul? Yet all these are nothing to the loss of God. As\nthe enjoyment of God is the heaven of the saints, so the loss of God is\nthe hell of the ungodly. And as the enjoying of God is the enjoying of\nall, so the loss of God is the loss of all.\n\n\u00a7 5. (3.) They also lose all delightful affections towards God. That\ntransporting knowledge; those delightful views of his glorious face; the\ninconceivable pleasure of loving him; the apprehensions of his infinite\nlove to us; the constant joys of his saints, and the rivers of\nconsolation with which he satisfies them. Is it nothing to lose all\nthis? The employment of a king in ruling a kingdom, does not so far\nexceed that of the vilest slave, as this heavenly employment exceeds\nthat of an earthly king. God suits men's employments to their natures.\nYour hearts, sinners, were never set upon God in your lives, never\nwarmed with his love, never longed after the enjoyment of him; you had\nno delight in speaking or hearing of him; you had rather have continued\non earth, if you had known how, than be interested in the glorious\npraises of God. Is it meet then that you should be members of the\ncelestial choir.\n\n\u00a7 6. (4.) They shall be deprived of the blessed society of angels and\nglorified saints. Instead of being companions of those happy spirits,\nand numbered with those triumphant kings, they must be members of the\ncorporation of hell, where they shall have companions of a far different\nnature and quality. Scorning and abusing the saints, hating them, and\nrejoicing in their calamities, was not the way to obtain their\nblessedness. Now you are shut out of that company, from which you first\nshut out yourselves; and are separated from them, with whom you would\nnot be joined. You could not endure them in your houses, nor towns, nor\nscarce in the kingdom. You took them as Ahab did Elijah, for the\n_troublers of the land_; and, as the apostles were taken, for _men that\nturned the world upside down_. If any thing fell out amiss, you thought\nall was owing to them. When they were dead or banished, you were glad\nthey were gone, and thought the country well rid of them. They molested\nyou by faithfully reproving your sins. Their holy conversation troubled\nyour consciences, to see them so far excel you. It was a vexation to\nyou, to hear them pray or sing praises in their families. And is it any\nwonder if you be separated from them hereafter? The day is near when\nthey will trouble you no more. _Betwixt them and you will a great gulf\nbe fixed._ Even in this life, while the saints were _mocked_,\n_destitute_, _afflicted_, _tormented_, and while they had their personal\nimperfections; yet, in the judgment of the Holy Ghost, they were such\n_of whom the world was not worthy_.[248] Much more unworthy will the\nworld be of their fellowship in glory.\n\n[Footnote 248] Hebrews xi, 36-38.\n\n\u00a7 7. (11.) I know many will be ready to think, they could spare these\nthings in this world well enough, and why may they not be without them\nin the world to come? Therefore to shew them that this loss of heaven\nwill then be most tormenting, let them now consider\u2014their understandings\nwill be cleared to know their loss, and have more enlarged apprehensions\nconcerning it\u2014their consciences will make a closer application of it to\nthemselves,\u2014their affections will no longer be stupefied,\u2014nor their\nmemories be treacherous.\n\n\u00a7 8. (1.) The understandings of the ungodly will then be cleared, to\nknow the worth of that which they have lost. Now they lament not their\nloss of God, because they never knew his excellence; nor the loss of\nthat holy employment and society, for they were never sensible what they\nwere worth. A man that has lost a jewel, and took it but for a common\nstone, is never troubled at his loss; but when he comes to know what he\nlost, then he laments it. Though the understandings of the damned will\nnot be sanctified, yet they will be cleared from a multitude of errors.\nThey now think that their honors, estates, pleasures, health, and life,\nare better worth their labor, than the things of another world; but when\nthese things have left them in misery, when they experience the things\nwhich before they did but read and hear of, they will be of another\nmind. They would not believe that water would drown, till they were in\nthe sea, nor the fire burn, till they were cast into it; but when they\nfeel, they will easily believe. All that error of mind which made them\nset light by God, and abhor his worship, and vilify his people, will\nthen be confuted and removed by experience. Their knowledge shall be\nincreased, that their sorrows may be increased. Poor souls! they would\ncomparatively be happy, if their understandings were wholly taken from\nthem, if they had no more knowledge than ideots, or brute beasts; or if\nthey knew no more in hell, than they did upon earth, their loss would be\nless trouble to them. How happy would they then think themselves, if\nthey did not know there is such a place as heaven! Now, when their\nknowledge would help to prevent their misery, they will but know, or\nwill not read and study that they may know; therefore, when their\nknowledge will but feed their consuming fire, they shall know whether\nthey will or not. They are now in a dead sleep, and dream they are the\nhappiest men in the world; but when death awakes them, how will their\njudgments be changed in a moment? and they that would not see, shall\nthen see, and be ashamed.\n\n\u00a7 9. (2.) As their understanding will be cleared, so it will be more\nenlarged, and made more capacious to conceive the worth of that glory\nwhich they have lost. The strength of their apprehensions, as well as\nthe truth of them, will then be increased. What deep apprehensions of\nthe wrath of God, the madness of sinning, the misery of sinners, have\nthose souls that now endure this misery, in comparison with those on\nearth, that do but hear of it? What sensibility of the worth of life has\nthe condemned man that is going to be executed, compared with what he\nwas wont to have in the time of his prosperity? Much more will the\nactual loss of eternal blessedness make the damned exceedingly\napprehensive of the greatness of their loss; and as a large vessel will\nhold more water than a shell, so will their more enlarged understandings\ncontain more matter to feed their torment, than their shallow capacity\ncan now do.\n\n\u00a7 10. (3.) Their consciences also will make a truer and closer\napplication of this doctrine to themselves, which will exceedingly tend\nto increase their torment. It will then be no hard matter to them to\nsay, \"This is my loss! and this is my everlasting remediless misery!\"\nThe want of this self-application is the main cause, why they are so\nlittle troubled now. They are hardly brought to believe that there is\nsuch a state of misery; but more hardly to believe that it is like to be\ntheir own. This makes so many sermons lost to them, and all threatenings\nand warnings in vain. Let a minister of Christ shew them their misery\never so plainly and faithfully, they will not be persuaded they are so\nmiserable. Let him tell them of the glory they must lose, and the\nsufferings they must feel, and they think he means not them, but some\nnotorious sinners. It is one of the hardest things in the world, to\nbring a wicked man to know that he is wicked, or to make him see himself\nin a state of wrath and condemnation. Though they may easily find by\ntheir strangeness to the new birth, and their enmity to holiness, that\nthey never were partakers of them; yet they as verily expect to _see\nGod_, and _be saved_, as if they were the most sanctified persons in the\nworld. How seldom do men cry out, after the plainest discovery of their\nstate, _I am the man_? or acknowledge, that if they die in their present\ncondition, they are undone for ever? But when they suddenly find\nthemselves in the land of darkness, feel themselves in scorching flames,\nand see they are shut out of the presence of God for ever; then the\napplication of God's anger to themselves, will be the easiest matter in\nthe world; they will then roar out these forced confessions, \"O my\nmisery! O my folly! O my inconceivable, irrecoverable loss!\"\n\n\u00a7 11. (4.) Then will their affections likewise be more lively, and no\nlonger stupified. A hard heart now makes heaven and hell seem but\ntrifles. We have shewed them everlasting glory and misery, and they are\nas men asleep; our words are as stones cast against a wall, which fly\nback in our faces: we talk of terrible things, but it is to dead men; we\nsearch their wounds, but they never feel us; we speak to rocks, rather\nthan to men; the earth will as soon tremble as they. But when these dead\nsouls are revived, what passionate sensibility! what working affections!\nwhat pangs of horror! what depth of sorrow will there then be! How\nviolently will they fly in their own faces! How will they rage against\ntheir former madness! The lamentations of the most affectionate wife for\nthe loss of her husband, or of the tenderest mother for the loss of her\nchildren, will be nothing to theirs for the loss of heaven. O the\nself-accusing and self-tormenting fury of those forlorn creatures! How\nwill they even tear their own hearts, and be God's executioners upon\nthemselves! As themselves were the only meritorious cause of their\nsufferings, so themselves will be the chief executioners. Even Satan, as\nhe was not so great a cause of their sinning as themselves, he will not\nbe so great an instrument of their torment. How happy would they think\nthemselves then, if they were turned into rocks, or any thing that had\nneither passion nor sense! How happy, if they could then feel, as\nlightly as they were wont to hear! if they could sleep out the time of\nexecution, as they did the time of the sermons, that warned them of it!\nBut their stupidity is gone; it will not be.\n\n\u00a7 12. (5.) Their memories will moreover be as large and strong as their\nunderstandings and affections. Could they but lose the use of their\nmemory, their loss of heaven being forgot, would little trouble them.\nThough they would account annihilation a singular mercy, they cannot lay\naside any part of their being. Understanding, conscience, affections,\nmemory, must all live to torment them, which should have helped to their\nhappiness. As by these they should have fed upon the love of God, and\ndrawn forth perpetually the joys of his presence, so by these must they\nfeed upon his wrath, and draw forth continually the pains of his\nabsence. Now they have no leisure to consider, nor any room in their\nmemories for the things of another life; but then they shall have\nnothing else to do; their memories shall have no other employment. God\nwould have had the doctrine of their eternal state _written on the posts\nof their doors, on their hands and hearts_; he would have had them mind\nit, and _mention it when they lay down and rose up, when they sat in\ntheir house, and when they walked by the way_; and seeing they rejected\nthis counsel of the Lord, therefore it shall be written always before\nthem in the place of their thraldom, that which way soever they look,\nthey may still behold it.\u2014It will torment them to think of the greatness\nof the glory they have lost. If it had been what they could have spared,\nor a loss to be repaired with any thing else, it had been a small\nmatter. If it had been health, or wealth, or friends, or life, it had\nbeen nothing. But, oh! to lose _that exceeding eternal weight of\nglory_!\u2014It will also torment them to think of the possibility they once\nhad of obtaining it. Then they will remember, \"Time was, when I was as\nfair for the kingdom as others. I was set upon the stage of the world,\nif I had played my part wisely and faithfully, I might now have had\npossession of the inheritance. I might have been among yonder blessed\nsaints, who am now tormented with these damned fiends. The Lord did _set\nbefore me life and death_; and having chose death, I deserve to suffer\nit. _The prize_ was held out before me; if I had _run well_, I might\nhave _obtained it_; if I had _striven_, I might have had _the victory_;\nif I had _fought_ valiantly, I had been _crowned_.\"\u2014It will yet more\ntorment them to remember, that their obtaining the crown was, not only\npossible, but very probable. It will wound them to think, \"I had once\nthe gales of the Spirit ready to have assisted me. I was purposing to\nbe another man, to have cleaved to Christ, and forsook the world. I was\nalmost resolved to have been wholly for God. I was once even turning\nfrom my base seducing lusts. I had cast off my old companions, and was\nassociating myself with the godly. Yet I turned back, lost my hold, and\nbroke my promises. I was _almost persuaded to be a real Christian_, yet\nI conquered those persuasions. What workings were in my heart, when a\nfaithful minister pressed home the truth! O how fair was I once for\nheaven! I almost had it, and yet I have lost it! Had I _followed on to\nseek the Lord_, I had now been blessed among the saints.\"\n\n\u00a7 13. It will exceedingly torment them to remember their lost\nopportunities. \"How many weeks, and months, and years, did I lose, which\nif I had improved I might now have been happy? Wretch that I was! could\nI find no time to study the work, for which I had all my time? no time\namong all my labors, to labor for eternity? Had I time to eat, and\ndrink, and sleep, and none to save my soul? Had I time for mirth and\nvain discourse, and none for prayer? Could I take time to secure the\nworld, and none to try my title to heaven? O precious time! I had once\nenough, and now I must have no more. I had once so much, I knew not what\nto do with it; and now it is gone, and cannot be recalled. O that I had\nbut one of those years to live over again! How speedily would I repent!\nHow earnestly would I pray! How diligently would I hear! How closely\nwould I examine my state! How strictly would I live! But 'tis now too\nlate, alas! too late.\"\n\n\u00a7 14. It will add to their calamity to remember how often they were\npersuaded to return. \"Fain would the minister have had me escape these\ntorments. With what love and compassion did he beseech me! And yet I did\nbut make a jest of it. How oft did he convince me! And yet I stifled all\nthese convictions. How did he open to me my very heart! And yet I was\nloth to know the worst of myself. O how glad would he have been, if he\ncould have seen me cordially turn to Christ! My godly friends admonished\nme. They told me what would come of my wilfulness and negligence at\nlast; but I neither believed, nor regarded them. How long did God\nhimself condescend to entreat me! How did the _Spirit strive_ with my\nheart, as if he was loth to take a denial! How did _Christ stand\nknocking_ one Sabbath after another, and crying to me, _Open, sinner,\nopen thy heart to thy Savior, and I will come in, and sup with thee, and\nthou with me! Why dost thou delay? How long shall thy vain thoughts\nlodge within thee! Wilt thou not be pardoned, and sanctified, and made\nhappy? When shall it once be?_\" O how the recollection of such Divine\npleadings will passionately transport the damned with self-indignation!\n\"Must I tire out the patience of Christ? Must I make the God of heaven\nfollow me in vain, till I had wearied him with crying to me, _Repent,\nreturn_? O how justly is that patience now turned into fury, which falls\nupon me with irresistible violence? When the Lord cried to me, _Wilt\nthou not be made clean? when shall it once be?_ my heart, or at least my\npractice, answered, _Never_. And now when I cry, How long shall it be\ntill I am freed from this torment? How justly do I receive the same\nanswer, _Never, never_.\"\n\n\u00a7 15. It will also be most cutting to remember on what easy terms they\nmight have escaped their misery. Their work was not to remove mountains,\nnor conquer kingdoms, nor fulfil the law to the smallest tittle, nor\nsatisfy justice for all their transgressions. _The yoke was easy, and\nthe burden light_, which Christ would have laid upon them. It was but to\nrepent, and cordially accept him for their Savior; to renounce all other\nhappiness, and take the Lord for their supreme good; to renounce the\nworld and the flesh, and submit to his meek and gracious government; and\nto forsake the ways of their own devising, and walk in his holy\ndelightful way. \"Ah,\" thinks the poor tormented wretch, \"how justly do I\nsuffer all this, who would not be at so small pains to avoid it? Where\nwas my understanding, when I neglected that gracious offer; when I\ncalled _the Lord an hard master_, and thought his pleasant service a\nbondage, and the service of the devil and the flesh the only freedom?\nWas I not a thousand times worse than mad, when I censured the holy way\nof God as needless preciseness? when I thought the laws of Christ too\nstrict, and all too much that I did for the life to come? What would all\nsufferings for Christ and well doing have been, compared with these\nsufferings that I must undergo for ever! Would not the heaven, which I\nhave lost, have recompensed all my losses? And should not all my\nsufferings have been there forgotten? What if Christ had bid me do some\ngreat matter; whether to live in continual fears and sorrows, or to\nsuffer death an hundred times over; should I not have done it? How much\nmore, when he only said, _Believe and be saved. Seek my face, and thy\nsoul shall live. Take up thy cross, and follow me, and I will give thee\neverlasting life._ O gracious offer! O easy terms! O cursed wretch, that\nwould not be persuaded to accept them!\"\n\n\u00a7 16. This also will be a most tormenting consideration, to remember\nwhat they sold their eternal welfare for. When they compare the value of\nthe pleasures of sin, with the value of _the recompense of reward_, how\nwill the vast disproportion astonish them? To think of the low delights\nof the flesh, or the applauding breath of mortals, or the possessing\nheaps of gold; and then to think of everlasting glory. \"This is all I\nhad for my soul, my God, my hopes of blessedness!\" It cannot possibly be\nexpressed, how these thoughts will tear his very heart. Then will he\nexclaim against his folly. \"O miserable wretch! Did I set my soul to\nsale for so base a price? Did I part with my God for a little dirt and\ndross; and sell my Savior, as Judas, for a little silver? I had but a\ndream of delight, for my hopes of heaven; and now I am awaked, it is all\nvanished. My morsels are now turned to gall, and my cups to wormwood.\nWhen they were past my taste, the pleasure perished. And is this all\nthat I have had for the inestimable treasure? What a mad exchange did I\nmake? What if I had gained all the world, and lost my soul? But, alas!\nhow small a part of the world was it, for which I gave up my part in\nglory?\" O that sinners would think of this, when they are swimming in\nthe delights of the flesh, and studying how to be rich and honorable in\nthe world! When they are desperately venturing upon known transgression,\nand sinning against the checks of conscience!\n\n\u00a7 17. It will add yet more to their torment, when they consider that\nthey most wilfully procured their own destruction. Had they been forced\nto sin, it would much abate the rage of their consciences; or if they\nwere punished for another man's transgressions; or any other had been\nthe chief author of their ruin. But to think, it was the choice of their\nown will, and that none in the world could have forced them to sin\nagainst their wills; this will be a cutting thought: \"Had I not enemies\nenough in the world (thinks this miserable creature) but I must be an\nenemy to myself? God would never give the Devil, nor the world, so much\npower over me, as to force me to commit the least transgression. They\ncould but entice, it was myself that yielded, and did the evil. And must\nI lay hands upon my own soul; and embrue my hands in my own blood? Never\nhad I so great an enemy as myself. Never did God offer any good to my\nsoul, but I resisted him. He hath heaped mercy upon me, and renewed one\ndeliverance after another, to draw my heart to him: yea, he hath gently\nchastised me, and made me groan under the fruit of my disobedience; and\nthough I promised largely in my affliction, yet never was I heartily\nwilling to serve him.\" Thus will it gnaw the hearts of these sinners, to\nremember that they were the cause of their own undoing; and that they\nwilfully and obstinately persisted in their rebellion, and were mere\nvolunteers in the service of the Devil.\n\n\u00a7 18. The wound in their consciences will be yet deeper, when they shall\nnot only remember it was their own doing, but that they were at so much\ncost and pains for their own damnation. What great undertakings did they\nengage in to effect their ruin; to resist the Spirit of God; to overcome\nthe power of mercies, judgments, and even the word of God; to subdue the\npower of reason, and silence conscience? All this they undertook, and\nperformed. Though they walked in continual danger of the wrath of God,\nand knew he could lay them in the dust, and cast them into hell, in a\nmoment; yet would they run upon all this. Oh the labor it costs sinners\nto be damned! Sobriety, with health and ease, they might have had at a\ncheaper rate; yet they will rather have gluttony and drunkenness, with\npoverty, shame, and sickness. Contentment they might have, with ease and\ndelight; yet they will rather have covetousness and ambition, though it\ncosts them cares and fears, labor of body, and distraction of mind.\nThough their anger be self-torment, and revenge and envy consume their\nspirits; though uncleanness destroy their bodies, estates, and good\nnames; yet will they do and suffer all this, rather than suffer their\nsouls to be saved. With what rage will they lament their folly, and say,\n\"Was damnation worth all my cost and pains? Might I not have been damned\non free cost, but I must purchase it so dearly? I thought I could have\nbeen saved without so much ado; and could I not have been destroyed\nwithout so much ado? Must I so laboriously work out my own damnation,\nwhen God commanded me to _work out my salvation_? If I had done as much\nfor heaven, as I did for hell, I had surely had it. I cried out of the\ntedious way of godliness, and the painful course of self-denial; and yet\nI could be at a great deal more pains for Satan, and for death. Had I\nloved Christ as strongly as I did my pleasures, and profits, and honors,\nand thought on him as often, and sought him as painfully, O how happy\nhad I now been! But justly do I suffer the flames of hell, for buying\nthem so dear, rather than have heaven when it was purchased to my hands!\"\n\n\u00a7 19. O that God would persuade thee, reader, to take up these thoughts\nnow, for preventing the inconceivable calamity of taking them up in hell\nas thy own tormentor! Say not, that they are only imaginary. Read what\nDives thought, _being in torment_.[249] As the joys of heaven are\nchiefly enjoyed by the rational soul in its rational actings, so must\nthe pains of hell be suffered. As they will be men still, so will they\nfeel and act as men.\n\n[Footnote 249] Luke xvi.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. VI.\n\nThe misery of those, who, besides losing the Saint's Rest, lose the\nenjoyments of time, and suffer the torments of hell.\n\n \u00a7 1. The connexion of this with the preceding chapter. \u00a7 2. (I.) The\n enjoyments of time which the damned lose: \u00a7 3. (1.) Their presumptuous\n belief of their interest in God and Christ: \u00a7 4. (2.) All their hopes:\n \u00a7 5. (3.) All their peace of conscience: \u00a7 6. (4.) All their carnal\n mirth: \u00a7 7. (5.) All their sensual delights: \u00a7 8. (II.) The torments of\n the damned are exceeding great: \u00a7 9. (1.) The principal author of them\n is God himself: \u00a7 10. (2.) The place or state of torment: \u00a7 11. (3.)\n These torments are the effects of Divine vengeance: \u00a7 12. (4.) God will\n take pleasure in executing them: \u00a7 13. (5.) Satan and sinners\n themselves will be God's executioners: \u00a7 14. (6.) These torments will\n be universal: \u00a7 15. (7.) without any mitigation: \u00a7 16. (8.) and\n eternal: \u00a7 17. The obstinate sinner convinced of his folly in venturing\n on these torments: \u00a7 18. and entreated to fly for safety to Christ.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. As _godliness hath a promise of the life that now is, and of that\nwhich is to come_; and if we _seek first the kingdom of God and his\nrighteousness_, then _all_ meaner _things shall be added unto us_: So\nalso are the ungodly threatened with the loss both of spiritual and\ntemporal blessings, and because they sought not first God's kingdom and\nrighteousness, therefore shall they lose both it and that which they did\nseek, and there _shall be taken from them that_ little _which they\nhave_. If they could but have kept their present enjoyments, they would\nnot have much cared for the loss of heaven. If they had _lost and\nforsaken all for Christ_, they would have found all again in him; for he\nwould have been _all in all_ to them. But now they have forsook Christ\nfor other things, they shall lose Christ, and that also for which they\nforsook him; even\u2014the enjoyments of time\u2014besides suffering the torments\nof hell.\n\n\u00a7 2. (I.) Among the enjoyments of time, they shall particularly\nlose\u2014their presumptuous belief of their interest in the favor of God,\nand the merits of Christ;\u2014all their hopes;\u2014all their false peace of\nconscience;\u2014all their carnal mirth;\u2014and all their sensual delights.\n\n\u00a7 3. (1.) They shall lose their presumptuous belief of their interest in\nthe favor of God and the merits of Christ. This false belief now\nsupports their spirits, and defends them from the terrors that would\notherwise seize upon them. But what will ease their trouble, when they\ncan believe no longer, nor rejoice any longer? If a man be near to the\ngreatest mischief, and yet strongly conceit that he is in safety, he may\nbe as cheerful as if all were well. If there were no more to make a man\nhappy, but to believe that he is so, or shall be so, happiness would be\nfar more common than it is like to be. As true faith is the leading\ngrace in the regenerate, so is false faith the leading vice in the\nunregenerate. Why do such multitudes sit still, when they might have\npardon; but that they verily think they are pardoned already? If you\ncould ask thousands in hell, what madness brought them thither? they\nwould most of them answer, \"We made sure of being saved, till we found\nourselves damned. We would have been more earnest seekers of\nregeneration, and the power of godliness, but we verily thought we were\nChristians before. We have flattered ourselves into these torments, and\nnow there is no remedy.\" Reader, I must in faithfulness tell thee, that\nthe confident belief of their good state, which the careless, unholy,\nunhumbled multitude so commonly boast of, will prove in the end but a\nsoul-damning delusion. There is none of this believing in hell. It was\nSatan's stratagem, that being blindfold they might follow him the more\nboldly; but then he will uncover their eyes, and they shall see where\nthey are.\n\n\u00a7 4. (2.) They shall lose also all their hopes. In this life, though\nthey were threatened with the wrath of God, yet their hope of escaping\nit bore up their hearts. We can now scarce speak with the vilest\ndrunkard, or swearer, or scoffer, but he hopes to be saved for all this.\nO happy world, if salvation were as common as this hope! Nay, so strong\nare men's hopes, that they will dispute the cause with Christ himself at\njudgment, and plead their _having eat and drank in his presence, and\nprophesied in his name, and in his name cast out devils_; they will\nstiffly deny that ever they neglected Christ in _hunger_, _nakedness_,\nor _prison_, till he confutes them with the sentence of their\ncondemnation. O the sad state of these men, when they must bid farewell\nto all their hopes! _When a wicked man dieth, his expectations shall\nperish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth._[250] _The eyes of the\nwicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as\nthe giving up of the ghost._[251] The giving up the ghost, is a fit, but\nterrible resemblance of a wicked man's giving up his hopes. As the soul\ndeparteth not from the body without the greatest pain; so doth the hope\nof the wicked depart. The soul departs from the body suddenly, in a\nmoment, which hath there delightfully continued so many years; just so\ndoth the hope of the wicked depart. The soul will never more return to\nlive with the body in this world; and the hope of the wicked takes an\neverlasting farewell of the soul. A miracle of resurrection shall again\nunite soul and body, but there shall be no such miraculous resurrection\nof the damned's hope. Methinks, it is the most pitiable sight this world\naffords, to see such an ungodly person dying, and to think of his soul\nand his hopes departing together. With what a sad change he appears in\nanother world! Then if a man could but ask that hopeless soul, \"Are you\nas confident of salvation as you were wont to be?\" What a sad answer\nwould be returned! O that careless sinners would be awakened to think of\nthis in time! Reader, rest not till thou canst give a reason of all thy\nhopes, grounded upon Scripture promises; that they purify thy heart;\nthat they quicken thy endeavors in godliness; that the more thou hopest\nthe less thou sinnest, and the more exact is thy obedience. If thy hopes\nbe such as these, go on in the strength of the Lord, hold fast thy hope,\nand _never shall it make thee ashamed_. But if thou hast not one sound\nevidence of a work of grace on thy soul, cast away thy hopes. Despair of\never being saved, _except thou be born again_; or of _seeing God,\nwithout holiness_; or of having part in Christ, except thou _love him\nabove father, mother, or thy own life_. This kind of despair is one of\nthe first steps to heaven. If a man be quite out of his way, what must\nbe the first means to bring him in again? He must despair of ever coming\nto his journey's end in the way that he is in: if his home be eastward,\nand he is going westward, as long as he hopes he is right, he will go\non; and as long as he goes on hoping, he goes farther amiss: When he\ndespairs of coming home, except he turn back, then he will return, and\nthen he may hope. Just so it is, sinner, with thy soul: Thou art born\nout of the way to heaven, and hast proceeded many a year; thou goest on,\nand hopest to be saved, because thou art not so bad as many others.\nExcept thou throwest away those hopes, and see that thou hast all this\nwhile been quite out of the way to heaven, thou wilt never return and be\nsaved. There is nothing in the world more likely to keep thy soul out of\nheaven, than thy false hopes of being saved, while thou art out of the\nway to salvation. See then how it will aggravate the misery of the\ndamned, that with the loss of heaven, they shall lose all that hope of\nit, which now supports them.\n\n[Footnote 250] Proverbs xi, 7.\n\n[Footnote 251] Job xi, 20.\n\n\u00a7 5. (3.) They will lose all that false peace of conscience which makes\ntheir present life so easy. Who would think, that sees how quietly the\nmultitude of the ungodly live, that they must very shortly lie down in\neverlasting flames? They are as free from the fears of hell as an\nobedient believer; and for the most part have less disquiet of mind than\nthose who shall be saved. Happy men, if this peace would prove lasting!\n_When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh\nupon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not\nescape._[252] O cruel peace, which ends in such a war! The soul of every\nman by nature is Satan's garrison; all is at peace in such a man till\nChrist comes, and gives it terrible alarms of judgment and hell, batters\nit with the ordnance of his threats and terrors, forces it to yield to\nhis mere mercy, and take him for the Governor; then doth he cast out\nSatan, _overcome him, take from him all his armor wherein he trusted,\nand divideth his spoil_,[253] and then doth he establish a firm and\nlasting peace. If therefore thou art yet in that first peace, never\nthink it will endure. Can thy soul have lasting peace, in enmity with\nChrist? Can he have peace against whom God proclaims war? I wish thee no\ngreater good, than that God break in upon thy careless heart, and shake\nthee out of thy false peace, and make thee lie down at the feet of\nChrist, and say, _Lord what wouldst thou have me to do?_ and so receive\nfrom him a better and surer peace, which will never be quite broken, but\nbe the beginning of thy everlasting peace, and not perish in thy\nperishing, as the groundless peace of the world will do.\n\n[Footnote 252] 1 Thessalonians v, 3.\n\n[Footnote 253] Luke xi, 22.\n\n\u00a7 6. (4.) They shall lose all their carnal mirth. They will themselves\nsay of their _laughter, it is mad, and of their mirth, what doth\nit?_[254] It was but _as the crackling of thorns under a pot_.[255] It\nmade a blaze for a while, but it was presently gone, and returned no\nmore. The talk of death and judgment was irksome to them, because it\ndamped their mirth. They could not endure to think of their sin and\ndanger, because these thoughts sunk their spirits. They knew not what it\nwas to weep for sin, or to humble themselves under the mighty hand of\nGod. They could laugh away sorrow, and sing away cares, and drive away\nthose melancholy thoughts. To meditate, and pray, they fancied would be\nenough to make them miserable or run mad. Poor souls! what a misery will\nthat life be, where you shall have nothing but sorrow; intense,\nheart-piercing, multiplied sorrow; when you shall neither have the joys\nof saints, nor your own former joys? Do you think there is one merry\nheart in hell; or one joyful countenance, or jesting tongue? You now\ncry, _a little mirth is worth a great deal of sorrow_. But, surely, a\nlittle godly sorrow, which would have ended in eternal joy had been\nworth much more than all your foolish mirth; for the end of such mirth\nis sorrow.\n\n[Footnote 254] Ecclesiastes ii, 2.\n\n[Footnote 255] Ecclesiastes vii, 6.\n\n\u00a7 7. (5.) They shall also lose all their sensual delights. That which\nthey esteemed their chief good, their heaven, their God, must they lose,\nas well as God himself. What a fall will the proud ambitious man have\nfrom the top of his honors? As his dust and bones will not be known from\nthe dust and bones of the poorest beggar; so neither will his soul be\nhonored or favored more than theirs. What a number of the great, noble,\nand learned, will be shut out of the presence of Christ? They shall not\nfind their magnificent buildings, soft beds, and easy couches. They\nshall not view their curious gardens, their pleasant meadows, and\nplenteous harvests. Their tables will not be so furnished, nor attended.\nThe _rich man_ is there no more _clothed in purple and fine linen_, nor\n_fareth sumptuously every day_. _There_ is no expecting the admiration\nof beholders. They shall spend their time in sadness, and not in sports\nand pastimes. What an alteration will they _then_ find? The heat of\ntheir lust will be then abated. How will it even cut them to the heart\nto look each other in the face! What an interview will there then be,\ncursing the day that ever they saw one another? O that sinners would now\nremember and say! \"Will these delights accompany us into the other\nworld? Will not the remembrance of them be then our torment? shall we\nthen take this partnership in vice for true friendship? Why should we\nsell such lasting, incomprehensible joys for a taste of seeming\npleasure? Come, as we have sinned together, let us pray together, that\nGod would pardon us; and let us help one another toward heaven, instead\nof helping to deceive and destroy each other.\" O that men knew but what\nthey desire, when they would so fain have all things suited to the\ndesires of the flesh! It is but to desire their temptations to be\nincreased, and their snares strengthened.\n\n\u00a7 8. (II.) As the loss of the Saint's Rest will be aggravated by losing\nthe enjoyments of time, it will be much more so by suffering the\ntorments of hell. The exceeding greatness of such torments may appear by\nconsidering,\u2014the principal author of them, which is God himself;\u2014the\nplace or state of torment;\u2014that these torments are the fruit of Divine\nvengeance;\u2014that the Almighty takes pleasure in them;\u2014that Satan and\nsinners themselves shall be God's executioners;\u2014that these torments\nshall be universal,\u2014without mitigation,\u2014and without end.\n\n\u00a7 9. (1.) The principal Author of hell-torments is God himself. As it was\nno less than God whom the sinner had offended, so it is no less than God\nwho will punish them for their offences. He hath prepared those torments\nfor his enemies. His continued anger will still be devouring them. His\nbreath of indignation will kindle the flames. His wrath will be an\nintolerable burden to their souls. If it were but a creature they had to\ndo with, they might better bear it. Woe to him that falls under the\nstrokes of the Almighty! _it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands\nof the living God_.[256] It were nothing, in comparison to this, if all\nthe world were against them, or if the strength of all creatures were\nunited in one to inflict their penalty. They had now rather venture to\ndisplease God than displease a landlord, a customer, a master, a friend,\na neighbor, or their own flesh; but then they will wish a thousand times\nin vain, that they had been hated of all the world, rather than have\nlost the favor of God. What a consuming fire is his _wrath_? If it _be\nkindled_ here _but a little_, how do we _wither like the grass_? How\nsoon doth our strength decay, and turn to weakness, and our beauty to\ndeformity? The flames do not so easily run through the dry stubble, as\nthe wrath of God will consume these wretches. They that could not bear a\nprison, or a gibbet, or fire, for Christ, nor scarce a few scoffs, how\nwill they now bear the devouring flames of Divine wrath?\n\n[Footnote 256] Hebrews x, 31.\n\n\u00a7 10. (2.) The place or state of torment is purposely ordained to\nglorify the justice of God. When God would glorify his power, he made\nthe worlds. The comely order of all his creatures, declareth his wisdom.\nHis providence is shewn, in sustaining all things. When a spark of his\nwrath kindles upon the earth, the whole world, except only eight\npersons, are drowned; Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, are burnt with\nfire from heaven; the sea shuts her mouth upon some, the earth opens and\nswallows up others; the pestilence destroys by thousands. What a\nstanding witness of the wrath of God, is the present deplorable state of\nthe Jews? Yet the glorifying the mercy and justice of God is intended\nmost eminently for the life to come. As God will then glorify his mercy\nin a way that is now beyond the comprehension of the saints that must\nenjoy it; so also will he manifest his justice to be indeed the justice\nof God. The everlasting flames of hell will not be thought too hot for\nthe rebellious; and when they have there burned through millions of\nages, he will not repent him of the evil which is befallen them. Woe to\nthe soul that is thus set up as a butt, for the wrath of the Almighty to\nshoot at! and as a bush that must burn in the flames of his jealousy,\nand never be consumed!\n\n\u00a7 11. (3.) The torments of the damned must be extreme, because they are\nthe effect of Divine vengeance. Wrath is terrible, but revenge is\nimplacable. When the great God shall say, \"My rebellious creatures shall\nnow pay for all the abuse of my patience. Remember how I waited your\nleisure in vain, how I stooped to persuade and entreat you. Did you\nthink I would always be so slighted?\" Then will he be revenged for every\nabused mercy, and for all their neglects of Christ and grace. O that men\nwould foresee this, and please God better in preventing their woe!\n\n\u00a7 12. (4.) Consider also, that though God had rather men would accept of\nChrist and mercy, yet when they persist in rebellion, he will take\npleasure in their execution. He tells us, _fury is not in me_; yet he\nadds, _who would set the briars and thorns against me in battle: I would\ngo through them, I would burn them together_. Wretched creatures! when\n_he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them\nwill shew them no favor_.[257] _As the Lord rejoiced over them to do\nthem good; so the Lord will rejoice over them to destroy them, and to\nbring them to nought._[258] Woe to the soul whom God rejoiceth to\npunish! _He will laugh at their calamity, he will mock when their fear\ncometh; when their fear cometh as desolation, and their destruction\ncometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon them._[259]\nTerrible thing, when none in heaven or earth can help them but God, and\nhe shall rejoice in their calamity! Though Scripture speaks of _God's\nlaughing and mocking_, not literally, but after the manner of men; yet\nit is such an act of God in tormenting the sinner, which cannot\notherwise be more fitly expressed.\n\n[Footnote 257] Isaiah xxvii, 4, 11.\n\n[Footnote 258] Deuteronomy xxviii, 63.\n\n[Footnote 259] Proverbs i, 26, 27.\n\n\u00a7 13. (5.) Consider that Satan and themselves shall be God's\nexecutioners. He that was here so successful in drawing them from\nChrist, will then be the instrument of their punishment, for yielding to\nhis temptations. That is the reward he will give them for all their\nservices; for their rejecting the commands of God, and forsaking Christ,\nand neglecting their souls at his persuasion. If they had served Christ\nas faithfully as they did Satan, he would have given them a better\nreward. It is also most just, that they should be their own tormentors,\nthat they may see their whole destruction is of themselves; and then who\ncan they complain of but themselves?\n\n\u00a7 14. (6.) Consider also that their torment will be universal. As all\nparts have joined in sin, so must they all partake in the torment. The\nsoul, as it was the chief in sinning, shall be the chief in suffering,\nand as it is of a more excellent nature than the body, so will its\ntorments far exceed bodily torments; and as its joys far surpass all\nsensual pleasures, so the pains of the soul exceed corporal pains. It is\nnot only a soul, but a sinful soul, that must suffer. Fire will not\nburn, except the fuel be combustible; but if the wood be dry, how\nfiercely will it burn! The guilt of their sins will be to damned souls\nlike tinder to gun-powder, to make the flames of hell take hold upon\nthem with fury. The body must also bear its part. That body which was so\ncarefully looked to, so tenderly cherished, so curiously dressed; what\nmust it now endure! How are its haughty looks now taken down? How little\nwill those flames regard its comeliness and beauty? Those eyes which\nwere wont to be delighted with curious sights, must then see nothing but\nwhat shall terrify them; an angry God above them, with those saints whom\nthey scorned, enjoying the glory which they have lost; and about them\nwill be only devils and damned souls. How will they look back, and say,\n\"Are all our feasts, and games, and revels, come to this?\" Those ears\nwhich were accustomed to music and songs, shall hear the shrieks and\ncries of their damned companions; children crying out against their\nparents, that gave them encouragement and example in evil; husbands and\nwives, masters and servants, ministers and people, magistrates and\nsubjects, charging their misery upon one another, for discouraging in\nduty, conniving at sin, and being silent, when they should have plainly\nforetold the danger. Thus will soul and body be companions in woe.\n\n\u00a7 15. (7.) Far greater will these torments be, because without\nmitigation. In this life, when told of hell, or conscience troubled\ntheir peace, they had comforters at hand; their carnal friends, their\nbusiness, their company, their mirth. They could drink, play, or sleep\naway their sorrows. But now all these remedies are vanished. Their hard,\npresumptuous, unbelieving heart was a wall to defend them against\ntrouble of mind. Satan was himself their comforter, as he was to our\nfirst mother; \"_Hath God said, ye shall not eat? ye shall not surely\ndie._ Doth God tell you that you shall lie in hell? It is no such\nmatter. God is more merciful. Or if there be a hell, what need you fear\nit? Are not you Christians? Was not the blood of Christ shed for you?\"\nThus as the Spirit of Christ is the comforter of the saints, so Satan is\nthe comforter of the wicked. Never was a thief more careful lest he\nshould awake the people, when he is robbing the house, than Satan is not\nto awaken a sinner. But when the sinner is dead, then Satan hath done\nflattering and comforting. Which way then will the forlorn sinner look\nfor comfort? They that drew him into the snare, and promised him safety,\nnow forsake him, and are forsaken themselves. His comforts are gone, and\nthe righteous God, whose forewarnings he made light of, will now make\ngood his word against him to the least tittle.\n\n\u00a7 16. (8.) But the greatest aggravation of these torments will be their\neternity. When a thousand millions of ages are past, they are as fresh\nto begin as the first day. If there were any hope of an end, it would\nease the damned to foresee it; but _for ever_, is an intolerable\nthought. They were never weary of sinning, nor will God be weary of\nplaguing. They never heartily repented of sin, nor will God repent of\ntheir suffering. They broke the laws of the eternal God, and therefore\nshall suffer eternal punishment. They knew it was an everlasting kingdom\nwhich they refused, and what wonder if they are everlastingly shut out\nof it? Their immortal souls were guilty of the trespass, and therefore\nmust immortally suffer the pains. What happy men would they think\nthemselves, if they might have lain still in their graves, or might but\nthere lie down again! How will they call and cry? \"O death! whither art\nthou now gone? Now come, and cut off this doleful life. O that these\npains would break my heart, and end my being! O that I might once at\nlast die! O that I had never had a being!\" These groans will the\nthoughts of eternity wring from their hearts. They were wont to think\nsermons and prayers long! How long then will they think these endless\ntorments? What difference is there betwixt the length of their pleasures\nand their pains! The one continued but a moment, the other endureth\nthrough all eternity. Sinner, remember how time is almost gone. Thou art\nstanding at the door of eternity; and death is waiting to open the door,\nand put thee in. Go sleep out a few more nights, and stir about a few\nmore days on earth, and then thy nights and days shall end: thy\nthoughts, and cares, and pleasures, shall all be devoured by eternity;\nthou must enter upon the state which shall never be changed. As the joys\nof heaven are beyond our conception, so are the pains of hell.\nEverlasting torment is inconceivable torment.\n\n\u00a7 17. But methinks I see the obstinate sinner desperately resolving, \"If\nI must be damned, there is no remedy; rather than I will live as the\nScripture requires, I will put it to the venture; I shall escape as well\nas the rest of my neighbors, and we will even bear it as well as we\ncan.\" Alas! poor creature, let me beg this of thee, before thou dost so\nflatly resolve, that thou wouldst lend me thy attention to a few\nquestions, and weigh them with the reason of a man. Who art thou, that\nthou shouldst bear the wrath of God? Art thou a god, or a man? What is\nthy strength? Is it not as the strength of wax or stubble to resist the\nfire; or as chaff to the wind; or as dust before the fierce whirlwind?\nIf thy strength were as iron, and thy bones as brass; if thy foundation\nwere as the earth, and thy power as the heaven; yet shouldst thou perish\nat the breath of his indignation: How much more when thou art but a\npiece of breathing clay, kept a few days from being eaten with worms, by\nthe mere support and favor of Him whom thou art thus resisting?\u2014Why dost\nthou tremble at the signs of almighty power and wrath? At claps of\nthunder, or flashes of lightning; or that unseen power which rends in\npieces the mighty oaks, and tears down the strongest buildings; or at\nthe plague, when it rageth around thee? If thou hadst seen the plagues\nof Egypt, or the earth swallow up Dathan and Abiram; or Elijah bring\nfire from heaven to destroy the captains and their companies, would not\nany of these sights have daunted thy spirits? How then canst thou bear\nthe plagues of hell?\u2014Why art thou dismayed with such small sufferings as\nbefal thee here? A toothach; a fit of the gout, or stone, the loss of a\nlimb, or falling into beggary and disgrace? And yet all these laid\ntogether, will be one day accounted a happy state, in comparison of that\nwhich is suffered in hell. Why does the approach of death so much\naffright thee? O how cold it strikes to thy heart! And would not the\ngrave be accounted a paradise, compared with that place of torment which\nthou slightest?\u2014Is it an intolerable thing to burn part of thy body, by\nholding it in the fire? What then will it be to suffer ten thousand\ntimes more for ever in hell?\u2014Why does the thought or mention of hell\noccasion any disquiet in thy spirit?\u2014And canst thou endure the torments\nthemselves?\u2014Why doth the rich man complain to Abraham _of his torment in\nhell_? Or thy dying companions lose their courage, and change their\nhaughty language? Why cannot these make as light of hell as\nthyself?\u2014Didst thou never see or speak with a man under despair? How\nuncomfortable was his talk? How burdensome his life? Nothing he\npossessed did him good: he had no sweetness in meat or drink; the sight\nof friends troubled him: he was weary of life, and fearful of death. If\nthe misery of the damned can be endured, why cannot a man more easily\nendure these foretastes of hell?\u2014What if thou shouldst see the Devil\nappear to thee in some terrible shape? Would not thy heart fail thee,\nand thy hair stand on end? And how wilt thou endure to live for ever,\nwhere thou shalt have no other company but Devils, and the damned, and\nshalt not only see them, but be tormented with them and by them?\u2014Let me\nonce more ask, if the wrath of God be so light, why did the Son of God\nhimself make so great a matter of it? It made him _sweat as it were\ngreat drops of blood falling down to the ground_. The Lord of life\ncried, _My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death_. And on the\ncross, _My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?_ Surely if any one\ncould have born these sufferings easily, it would have been Jesus\nChrist. He had another measure of strength to bear it than thou hast.\nWoe to thee, sinner, for thy mad security! Dost thou think to find it\ntolerable to thee, which was so heavy to Christ? Nay, the Son of God is\ncast into a bitter agony, and bloody sweat, only under the _curse of the\nlaw_; and yet thou, feeble, foolish creature, makest nothing to bear\nalso the curse of the gospel, which requires a _much sorer\npunishment_.[260] The good Lord bring thee to thy right mind by\nrepentance, lest thou buy thy wit at too dear a rate!\n\n[Footnote 260] Hebrews x, 29.\n\n\u00a7 18. And now, reader, I demand thy resolution, what use wilt thou make\nof all this? Shall it all be lost to thee? or wilt thou consider it in\ngood earnest: Thou hast cast away many a warning of God; wilt thou do so\nby this also? Take heed, God will not always stand warning and\nthreatening. The hand of revenge is lifted up, the blow is coming, and\nwoe to him on whom it lighteth! Dost thou throw away the book, and say,\nit speaks of nothing but hell and damnation? Thus thou usest also to\ncomplain of the preacher. But wouldst thou not have us tell thee of\nthese things? Should we be guilty of the blood of thy soul, by keeping\nsilent that which God hath charged us to make known? Wouldst thou perish\nin ease and silence, and have us to perish with thee, rather than\ndisplease thee, by speaking the truth? If thou wilt be guilty of such\ninhuman cruelty, God forbid we should be guilty of such sottish folly.\nThis kind of preaching or writing is the ready way to be hated; and the\ndesire of applause is so natural, that few delight in such a displeasing\nway. But consider, are these things true, or are they not? If they were\nnot true, I would heartily join with thee against any that fright people\nwithout a cause. But if these threatenings be the word of God, what a\nwretch art thou, that wilt not hear it, and consider it? If thou art one\nof the people of God, this doctrine will be a comfort to thee, and not a\nterror. If thou art yet unregenerate, methinks thou shouldst be as\nfearful to hear of heaven, as of hell, except the bare name of heaven or\nsalvation be sufficient. Preaching heaven and mercy to thee, is\nentreating thee to seek them and not reject them; and preaching hell, is\nbut to persuade thee to avoid it. If thou wert quite past hope of\nescaping it, then it were in vain to tell thee of hell; but as long as\nthou art alive, there is hope of thy recovery, and therefore all means\nmust be used to awake thee from thy lethargy. Alas! what heart can now\npossibly conceive, or what tongue express, the pains of those souls,\nthat are under the wrath of God? Then, sinners, you will be crying to\nJesus Christ, \"O mercy! O pity, pity on a poor soul!\" Why, I do now, in\nthe name of the Lord Jesus, cry to thee, \"O have mercy, have pity, man,\nupon thy own soul!\" Shall God pity thee, who wilt not be entreated to\npity thyself? If thy horse see but a pit before him, thou canst scarcely\nforce him in; and wilt thou so obstinately cast thyself into hell, when\nthe danger is foretold thee? _Who can stand before the indignation of\nthe Lord? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?_[261]\nMethinks thou shouldst need no more words, but presently cast away thy\nsoul-damning sins, and wholly deliver up thyself to Christ. Resolve on\nit immediately, and let it be done, that I may see thy face in rest\namong the saints. May the Lord persuade thy heart to strike this\ncovenant without any longer delay! But if thou be hardened unto death,\nand there be no remedy, yet say not another day but that thou wast\nfaithfully warned, and hadst a friend, that would fain have prevented\nthy damnation.\n\n[Footnote 261] Nahum i, 6.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. VII.\n\nThe necessity of diligently seeking the Saint's Rest.\n\n \u00a7 1. The Saint's Rest surprizingly neglected; particularly, \u00a7 2. By the\n worldly-minded\u2014\u00a7 3. The profane multitude\u2014\u00a7 4. Formal professors\u2014\u00a7 5-8.\n and by the godly themselves, whether magistrates, ministers, or people.\n \u00a7 9. The author mourns the neglect, and excites the Reader to\n diligence, by considering, \u00a7 10. The ends we aim at, the work we have\n to do, the shortness and uncertainty of our time, and diligence of our\n enemies; \u00a7 11. Our talents, mercies, relations to God, and our\n afflictions; \u00a7 12. What assistances we have, what principles we\n profess, and our certainty never to do enough; \u00a7 13. That every grace\n tends to diligence, that to trifle is lost labor, that much time is\n mispent, and that our recompense and labor will be proportionable;\n \u00a7 14. That striving is the Divine appointment, all men do or will\n approve it, the best Christians at death lament their want of it,\n heaven is often lost for want of it, but never obtained without it;\n \u00a7 15. God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are in earnest; God is so in\n hearing and answering prayer, ministers in their instructions and\n exhortations, all the creatures in serving us, sinners in serving the\n devil, as we were once, and now are, in worldly things, and in heaven\n and hell all are in earnest. \u00a7 16. The chapter concludes with proposing\n some awakening questions to the ungodly, and, \u00a7 17. also to the godly.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. If there be so certain and glorious a rest for the saints, why is\nthere no more industrious seeking after it? One would think, if a man\ndid but once hear of such unspeakable glory to be obtained, and believed\nwhat he heard to be true, he should be transported with the vehemency of\nhis desire after it, and should almost forget to eat or drink, and\nshould care for nothing else, and speak of and inquire after nothing\nelse, but how to get this treasure. And yet the people who hear of it\ndaily, and profess to believe it as a fundamental article of their\nfaith, do as little mind it, or labor for it, as if they had never heard\nof any such thing, or did not believe one word they hear. This reproof\nis more particularly applicable to\u2014the worldly-minded,\u2014the profane\nmultitude,\u2014the formal professors,\u2014and even to the godly themselves.\n\n\u00a7 2. The worldly-minded are so taken up in seeking the things below,\nthat they have neither heart nor time to seek this rest. O foolish\nsinners, _who hath bewitched you?_ The world bewitches men into brute\nbeasts, and draws them some degrees beyond madness. See what riding and\nrunning, what scrambling and catching for a thing of naught, while\neternal rest lies neglected! What contriving and caring to get a step\nhigher in the world than their brethren, while they neglect the kingly\ndignity of the saints! What insatiable pursuit of fleshly pleasures,\nwhile they look on the praises of God, the joy of angels, as a tiresome\nburden! What unwearied diligence in raising their posterity, enlarging\ntheir possessions; perhaps for a poor living from hand to mouth; while\njudgment is drawing near; but, how it shall go with them then, never\nputs them to one hour's consideration! What rising early, and sitting up\nlate, and laboring from year to year, to maintain themselves and\nchildren in credit till they die; but, what shall follow after, they\nnever think on! Yet these men cry, \"May we not be saved without so much\nado?\" How early do they rouse up their servants to their labor! But how\nseldom do they call them to prayer, or reading the Scriptures! What hath\nthis world done for its lovers and friends, that it is so eagerly\nfollowed, and painfully sought after, while Christ and heaven stand by,\nand few regard them? or what will the world do for them for the time to\ncome? The common entrance into it is through anguish and sorrow. The\npassage through it is with continual care and labor. The passage out of\nit, is the sharpest of all. O unreasonable, bewitched men! Will mirth\nand pleasure stick close to you? Will gold and worldly glory prove fast\nfriends to you in the time of your greatest need? Will they hear your\ncries in the day of your calamity? At the hour of your death, will they\neither answer or relieve you? Will they go along with you to the other\nworld, and bribe the judge, and bring you off clear, or purchase you a\nplace among the blessed? Why then did the rich man want _a drop of water\nto cool his tongue_? Or are the sweet morsels of present delight and\nhonor of more worth than eternal rest? and will they recompense the loss\nof that _enduring treasure_? Can there be the least hope of any of\nthese? Ah, vile, deceitful world! How oft have we heard thy most\nfaithful servants at last complaining; \"Oh the world hath deceived me,\nand undone me! It flattered me in my prosperity, but now it turns me off\nin my necessity. If I had as faithfully served Christ, as I have served\nit, he would not have left me thus comfortless and hopeless.\" Thus they\ncomplain; and yet succeeding sinners will take no warning.\n\n\u00a7 3. As for the profane multitude, they will not be persuaded to be at\nso much pains for salvation, as to perform the common outward duties of\nreligion. If they have the gospel preached in the town where they dwell,\nit may be they will give the hearing to it one part of the day, and stay\nat home the other; or if the master come to the congregation, yet part\nof the family must stay at home. If they want the plain and powerful\npreaching of the gospel, how few are there in a whole town, who will\ntravel a mile or two to hear abroad; though they will go many miles to\nthe market for provisions for their bodies? They know the Scripture is\nthe law of God by which they must be acquitted or condemned in judgment;\nand that _the man is blessed who delights in the law of the Lord, and in\nhis law doth meditate day and night_; yet will they not be at pains to\nread a chapter once a day. If they carry a Bible to church, and neglect\nit all the week, this is the most use they make of it. Though they are\ncommanded to _pray without ceasing_, and to _pray alway_; yet they will\nneither pray constantly with their families, nor in secret. Though\nDaniel would rather be _cast to the lions_, than forbear _praying three\ntimes a day in his house_, where his enemies might hear him; yet these\nmen will rather venture to be an eternal prey to Satan, _the roaring\nlion_, than thus seek their own safety. Or their cold and heartless\nprayers invite God to a denial: For among men it is taken for granted,\nthat he who asks but slightly and seldom, cares not much for what he\nasks. They judge themselves unworthy of heaven, who think it is not\nworth their more constant and earnest requests. If every door was\nmarked, where families do not morning and evening earnestly seek the\nLord in prayer, that his wrath might be poured out upon such prayerless\nfamilies, our towns would be as places over-thrown by the plague, the\npeople being dead within, and the mark of judgment without. I fear where\none house would escape, ten would be marked out for death; and then they\nmight teach their doors to pray, _Lord, have mercy upon us_, because the\npeople would not pray themselves. But especially if we could see what\nmen do in their secret chambers, how few would you find in a whole town\nthat spend one quarter of an hour, morning and night, in earnest\nsupplication to God for their souls? O how little do these men set by\neternal rest! Thus do they slothfully neglect all endeavors for their\nown welfare, except some public duty in the congregation, which custom\nor credit engages them to. Persuade them to read good books, learn the\ngrounds of religion in their catechism, and sanctify the Lord's day in\nprayer, and meditation, and hearing the word, and forbearing all wordly\nthoughts and speeches; and what a tedious life do they take this to be?\nAs if they thought heaven were not worth doing so much for.\n\n\u00a7 4. Another sort are formal professors, who will be brought to any\noutward duty, but to the inward work of religion they will never be\npersuaded. They will preach, or hear, or read, or talk of heaven, or\npray in their families, and take part with the persons or causes that\nare good, and desire to be esteemed among the godly; but you can never\nbring them to the more spiritual duties; as to be constant and fervent\nin secret prayer and meditation; conscientious in self-examination;\nheavenly minded; and to watch over their hearts, words, and ways; to\nmortify the flesh, and not make provision to fulfil its lusts; to love\nand heartily forgive an enemy, and prefer their brethren before\nthemselves; to lay all they have, or do, at the feet of Christ, and\nprize his service and favor before all; to prepare to die, and willingly\nleave all to go to Christ. Hypocrites will never be persuaded to any of\nthese. If an hypocrite entertains the gospel with joy; it is only in the\nsurface of his soul, he never gives the seed any depth of earth: It\nchanges his opinion, but never melts and new moulds his heart, nor sets\nup Christ there in full power and authority. As his religion lies most\nin opinion, so does his chief business and conversation. He is usually\nan ignorant, bold, conceited dealer in controversies, rather than an\nhumble embracer of known truth, with love and obedience. By his\nslighting the judgments and persons of others, and seldom talking with\nseriousness and humility of the great things of Christ, he shews his\nreligion dwells in the brain, and not in his heart. The _wind of\ntemptation carries him away_ as a feather, because his heart is not\nestablished with Christ and grace. He never in private conversation\nhumbly bewails his soul's imperfections, or tenderly acknowledges his\nunkindnesses to Christ; but gathers his greatest comforts from his being\nof such a judgment or party. The like may be said of the worldly\nhypocrite, who choaks the gospel with the thorns of worldly cares and\ndesires. He is convinced, that he must be religious, or he cannot be\nsaved; and therefore he reads, and hears, and prays, and forsakes his\nformer company and courses; but he resolves to keep his hold of present\nthings. His judgment may say, God is the chief good; but his heart and\naffections never said so. The world hath more of his affections than\nGod, and therefore is his god. Though he does not run after opinions and\nnovelties, like the former, yet he will be of that opinion which will\nbest serve his worldly advantage. And as one whose spirits are enfeebled\nby some pestilential disease; so this man's spirits being possessed by\nthe plague of a worldly disposition, how feeble is he in secret prayer!\nHow superficial in examination and meditation! How poor in heart\nwatchings! How nothing at all in loving and walking with God, rejoicing\nin him, or desiring him! So that both these, and many other sorts of\nhypocrites, though they will go with you in the easy outside of\nreligion, yet will never be at the pains of inward and spiritual duties.\n\n\u00a7 5. And even the godly themselves are too lazy seekers of their\neverlasting rest. Alas! what a disproportion is there between our light\nand heat? our profession and prosecution? Who makes that haste, as if it\nwere for heaven? How still we stand? How idly we work? How we talk, and\njest, and trifle away our time? How deceitfully we perform the work of\nGod? How we hear, as if we heard not; and pray, as if we prayed not; and\nexamine, and meditate, and reprove sin, as if we did it not; and enjoy\nChrist, as if we enjoyed him not; as if we had learned to use the things\nof heaven, as the apostle teacheth us to _use the things of the world_?\nWhat a frozen stupidity hath benumbed us! We are dying, and we know it,\nand yet we stir not! we are at the door of eternal happiness, or misery,\nand yet we perceive it not; death knocks, and we hear it not; God and\nChrist call and cry to us \"_To-day, if ye will hear my voice, harden not\nyour hearts; work, while it is day, for the night cometh when none can\nwork_. Now ply your business, labor for your lives, lay out all your\nstrength and time; now or never;\" and yet we stir no more than if we\nwere half asleep. What haste doth death and judgment make? How fast do\nthey come on? They are almost at us, and yet what little haste we make?\nLord, what a senseless, earthly, hellish thing is a hard heart! Where is\nthe man that is in earnest a Christian? Methinks men every where make\nbut a trifle of their eternal state. They look after it but a little by\nthe bye; they do not make it the business of their lives. If I were not\nsick myself of the same disease, with what tears should I mix this ink?\nWith what groans should I express these complaints? And with what heart\ngrief should I mourn over this universal deadness?\n\n\u00a7 6. Do magistrates among us seriously perform their work? Are they\nzealous for God? Do they build up his house? Are they tender of his\nhonor? Do they second the word? And fly in the face of sin and sinners,\nas the disturbers of our peace, and the only cause of all our miseries?\nDo they improve all their power, wealth, and honor, and all their\ninfluence, for the greatest advantage to the kingdom of Christ, as men\nthat must shortly give an account of their stewardship?\n\n\u00a7 7. How thin are those ministers that are serious in their work! Nay,\nhow mightily do the very best fail in this! Do we cry out of men's\ndisobedience to the gospel _in the demonstration of the Spirit_, and\ndeal with sin as the destroying fire in our towns, and by force pull men\nout of it? Do we persuade our people, as those should, that _know the\nterrors of the Lord_? Do we press Christ, and regeneration, and faith,\nand holiness, believing that, without these, men can never have life? Do\nour bowels yearn over the ignorant, careless, and obstinate multitude?\nWhen we look them in the face, do our hearts melt over them, lest we\nshould never see their faces in rest? Do we, as Paul, _tell them\nweeping_, of their fleshly and earthly disposition? _And teach them\npublicly, and from house to house, at all seasons, and with many tears?_\nAnd do we entreat them as for their soul's salvation? Or rather, do we\nnot study to gain the approbation of critical hearers; as if a\nminister's business were of no more weight but to tell a smooth tale for\nan hour, and look no more after the people till the next sermon? Does\nnot carnal prudence control our fervor, and make our discourses\nlifeless, on subjects the most piercing? How gently we handle those\nsins, which will so cruelly handle our people's souls? In a word, our\nwant of seriousness about the things of heaven, charms the souls of men\ninto formality, and brings them to this customary, careless hearing,\nwhich undoes them. May the Lord pardon the great sin of the ministry in\nthis thing; and, in particular, my own!\n\n\u00a7 8. And are the people more serious than magistrates or ministers! How\ncan it be expected? Reader, look but to thyself, and resolve the\nquestion. Ask conscience, and suffer it to tell thee truly. Hast thou\nset thy eternal rest before thine eyes, as the great business thou hast\nto do in this world? Hast thou watched and labored, with all thy might,\n_that no man take thy crown_? Hast thou made haste, lest thou shouldst\ncome too late, and die before thy work be done? Hast thou pressed on\nthrough crowds of opposition, _towards the mark, for the prize of the\nhigh calling of God in Christ Jesus_, still _reaching forth unto those\nthings which are before_? Can conscience witness your secret cries, and\ngroans, and tears? Can your family witness, that you taught them the\nfear of the Lord, and warned them not to _go to that place of torment_?\nCan your minister witness, that he has heard you cry out, _What shall I\ndo to be saved?_ and that you have followed him with complaints against\nyour corruptions, and with earnest inquiries after the Lord? Can your\nneighbors about you witness, that you reprove the ungodly, and take\npains to save the souls of your brethren? Let all these witnesses judge\nthis day between God and you, whether you are in earnest about eternal\nrest. You can tell by his work, whether your servant has loitered,\nthough you did not see him; so you may by looking at your own work. Is\nyour love to Christ, your faith, your zeal, and other graces, strong or\nweak? What are your joys? What is your assurance? Is all in order within\nyou? Are you ready to die, if this should be the day? Do the souls,\namong whom you have conversed, _bless you_? Judge by this, and it will\nquickly appear whether you have been laborers or loiterers.\n\n\u00a7 9. O blessed rest, how unworthily art thou neglected! O glorious\nkingdom, how art thou undervalued! Little know the careless sons of men,\nwhat a state they set so light by. If they once knew it, they would\nsurely be of another mind. I hope thou, reader, art sensible, what a\ndesperate thing it is to trifle about eternal rest; and how deeply thou\nhast been guilty of this thyself. And I hope also, thou wilt not now\nsuffer this conviction to die. Should the physician tell thee, \"If you\nwill observe but one thing, I doubt not to cure your disease,\" wouldst\nthou not observe it? So I tell thee, if thou wilt observe but this one\nthing for thy soul, I make no doubt of thy salvation; shake off thy\nsloth, and put to all thy strength, and be a Christian indeed; I know\nnot then what can hinder thy happiness. As far as thou art gone from\nGod, seek him with all thy heart, and no doubt thou shalt find him. As\nunkind as thou hast been to Jesus Christ, seek him heartily, obey him\nunreservedly, and thy salvation is as sure as if thou hadst it already.\nBut full as Christ's satisfaction is, free as the promise is, large as\nthe mercy of God is; if thou only talk of these, when thou shouldst\neagerly entertain them, thou wilt be never the better for them; and if\nthou loiter, when thou shouldst labor, thou wilt lose the crown. Fall to\nwork, then speedily and seriously, and bless God that thou hast yet time\nto do it. And to shew that I urge thee not without cause, I will here\nadd a variety of animating considerations. Rouse up thy spirits, and, as\nMoses said to Israel, _set thy heart unto all the words which I testify\nunto thee this day; for it is not a vain thing, because it is your\nlife_.[262] May the Lord open thy heart, and fasten his counsel\neffectually upon thee!\n\n[Footnote 262] Deuteronomy xxxii, 46, 47.\n\n\u00a7 10. Consider how reasonable it is, that our diligence should be\nanswerable to the ends we aim at, to the work we have to do, to the\nshortness and uncertainty of our time, and to the contrary diligence of\nour enemies. The ends of a Christian's desires and endeavors are so\ngreat, that no human understanding on earth can comprehend them. What is\nso excellent, so important, or so necessary, as, the glorifying of God,\nthe salvation of our own and other men's souls, by escaping the torments\nof hell, and possessing the glory of heaven? And can a man be too much\naffected with things of such moment? Can he desire them too earnestly,\nor love them too strongly, or labor for them too diligently? Do not we\nknow, that if our prayers prevail not, and our labor succeeds not, we\nare undone for ever? The work of a Christian here is very great and\nvarious. The soul must be renewed; corruptions must be mortified;\ncustom, temptations, and worldly interests, must be conquered; flesh\nmust be subdued; life, friends, and credit must be slighted; conscience\non good grounds be quieted; and assurance of pardon and salvation\nattained. Though God must give us these without our merit, yet he will\nnot give them without our earnest seeking and labor. Besides, there is\nmuch knowledge to be got, many ordinances to be used, and duties to be\nperformed: every age, year, and day; every place we come to; every\nperson we deal with; every change of our condition, still require the\nrenewing of our labor; wives, children, servants, neighbors, friends,\nenemies, all of them call for duty from us. Judge then, whether men that\nhave so much business lying upon their hands, should not exert\nthemselves; and whether it be their wisdom either to delay or loiter.\nTime passeth on. Yet a few days, and we shall be here no more. Many\ndiseases are ready to assault us. We that are now preaching, and\nhearing, and talking, and walking, must very shortly be carried, and\nlaid in the dust, and there left to the worms in darkness and\ncorruption; we are almost there already, we know not whether we shall\nhave another sermon, or sabbath, or hour. How active should they be, who\nknow they have so short a space for so great a work?\u2014And we have\nenemies, that are always plotting and laboring for our destruction. How\ndiligent is Satan in all kind of temptations! Therefore _be sober, be\nvigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh\nabout, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the\nfaith._[263] How diligent are all the _ministers of Satan_! _False\nteachers_, _scoffers_, _persecutors_, and our inbred corruptions, the\nmost busy and diligent of all! Will a feeble resistance serve our turn?\nShould not we be more active for our own preservation, than our enemies\nare for our ruin!\n\n[Footnote 263] 1 Peter v, 8, 9.\n\n\u00a7 11. It should excite us to diligence, when we consider our talents,\nand our mercies, our relation to God, and the afflictions he lays upon\nus. The talents which we have received, are many and great. What people\nbreathing on earth have had plainer instructions, or more forcible\npersuasions, or more constant admonitions, in season and out of season?\nSermons, till we have been weary of them; and Sabbaths, till we profaned\nthem? Excellent books in such plenty, that we knew not which to read?\nWhat people have had God so near them? or have seen so much of Christ\ncrucified before their eyes? or have had heaven and hell so opened unto\nthem? What speed should such a people make for heaven? How should they\nfly that are thus winged? And how swiftly should they sail that have\nwind and tide to help them? A small measure of grace beseems not such a\npeople, nor will an ordinary diligence in the work of God excuse them.\nAll our lives have been filled with mercies. God hath mercifully poured\nout upon us the riches of sea and land, of heaven and earth. We are fed\nand clothed with mercy. We have mercies within and without. To number\nthem is to count the stars, or the sands of the sea shore. If there be\nany difference betwixt hell and earth; yea, or heaven and earth; then\ncertainly we have received mercy. If the blood of the Son of God be\nmercy, then we are engaged to God by mercy. Shall God think nothing too\nmuch, or too good for us: and shall we think all too much that we do for\nhim? When I compare my slow and unprofitable life, with the frequent and\nwonderful mercies received, it shames me, it silences me, and leaves me\ninexcusable. Besides our talents and mercies, our relations to God are\nmost endearing. Are we his children, and do we not owe him our most\ntender affections, and dutiful obedience? Are we _the spouse of Christ_,\nand should we not obey and love him? _If he be a Father, where is his\nhonor? and if he be a master, where is his fear?_[264] _We call him\nMaster, and Lord, and we say well._[265] But if our industry be not\nanswerable to our relations, we condemn ourselves in saying, we are his\nchildren, or his servants. How will the hard labor, and daily toil,\nwhich servants undergo to please their masters, judge and condemn those\nwho will not labor so hard for their Great Master? Surely there is no\nmaster like him; nor can any servants expect such fruit of their labors\nas his servants. And if we wander out of God's way or loiter in it, how\nis every creature ready to be his rod, to reduce us, or put us on! Our\nsweetest mercies will become our sorrows. Rather than want a rod, the\nLord will make us a scourge to ourselves: Our diseased bodies shall make\nus groan; our perplexed minds shall make us restless; our conscience\nshall be as a scorpion in our bosom. And is it not easier to endure the\nlabor than the spur? Had we rather be still afflicted, than be up and\ndoing? And though they that do most, meet also with afflictions; yet\nsurely, according to their peace of conscience, and faithfulness to\nChrist, the bitterness of their cup is abated.\n\n[Footnote 264] Malachi i, 6.\n\n[Footnote 265] John xiii, 13.\n\n\u00a7 12. To quicken our diligence in our work, we should also consider,\nwhat assistances we have, what principles we profess, and our certainty\nthat we can never do too much. For our assistance in the service of God,\nall the world are our servants. The sun, moon, and stars, attend us with\ntheir light and influence. The earth, with all its furniture of plants\nand flowers, fruits, birds, and beasts; the sea, with its inhabitants;\nthe air, the wind, the frost and snow, the heat and fire, the clouds and\nrain, all wait upon us while we do our work. Yea, _the angels are all\nour ministering spirits_.[266] Nay more, the patience of God doth wait\nupon us; the Lord Jesus Christ waiteth, in the offers of his blood; the\nHoly Spirit waiteth, by striving with our backward hearts; besides the\nministers of the gospel, who study and wait, preach and wait, pray and\nwait, upon careless sinners. And is it not an intolerable crime for us\nto trifle, while angels and men; yea, the Lord himself, stand by, and\nlook on, and, as it were, hold us the candle while we do nothing? I\nbeseech you, Christians, whenever you are praying, or reproving\ntransgressors, or upon any duty, remember what assistances you have for\nyour work, and then judge how you ought to perform it. The principles we\nprofess, are, that God is the chief good; that all our happiness\nconsists in his love, and therefore it should be valued and sought above\nall things; that he is our only Lord, and therefore chiefly to be\nserved; that we must love him with all our heart, and soul, and\nstrength; that our great business in the world is to glorify God, and\nobtain salvation. Are these doctrines seen in our practice? Or rather do\nnot our works deny what our words confess? But however our assistances\nand principles excite us to our work, we are sure we can never do too\nmuch. Could we _do all, we are unprofitable servants_;[267] much more\nwhen we are sure to fail in all. No man can obey, or serve God too much.\nThough all superstition, or service of our own devising, may be called a\n_being righteous overmuch_; yet as long as we keep to the rule of the\nword, we can never be righteous too much. The world is mad with malice,\nwhen they think, that faithful diligence in the service of Christ is\nfoolish singularity. The time is near when they will easily confess,\nthat God could not be loved, or served too much, and that no man can be\ntoo busy to save his soul. We may easily do too much for the world, but\nwe cannot for God.\n\n[Footnote 266] Hebrews i, 14.\n\n[Footnote 267] Luke xvii, 10.\n\n\u00a7 13. Let us further consider, that it is the nature of every grace to\npromote diligence, that trifling in the way to heaven is lost labor,\nthat much precious time is already mispent, and that in proportion to\nour labor will be our recompense. See the nature and tendency of every\ngrace. If you loved God you would think nothing too much that you could\npossibly do to serve him, and please him still more. Love is quick and\nimpatient, active and observant. If you loved Christ, you would keep his\ncommandments, nor accuse them of too much strictness. If you had faith,\nit would quicken and encourage you. If you had the hope of glory, it\nwould as the spring in the watch, set all the wheels of your soul\na-going. If you had the fear of God, it would rouse you out of your\nslothfulness. If you had zeal, it would inflame, and eat you up. In what\ndegree soever thou art sanctified, in the same degree thou wilt be\nserious and laborious in the work of God. But they that trifle, lose\ntheir labor. Many, who like Agrippa, are but almost Christians, will\nfind in the end they shall be but almost saved. If two be running in a\nrace, he that runs slowest loses both prize and labor. A man that is\nlifting a weight, if he put not sufficient strength to it, had as good\nput none at all. How many duties have Christians lost, for want of doing\nthem thoroughly? _Many will seek to enter in and shall not be\nable_,[268] who, if they had striven, might have been able. Therefore,\nput to a little more diligence and strength, that all you have done\nalready be not in vain. Besides, is not much precious time already lost?\nWith some of us childhood and youth are gone; with some, their middle\nage also, and the time before us is very uncertain. What time have we\nslept, talked, and played away, or spent in worldly thoughts and cares?\nHow little of our work is done? The time we have lost cannot be\nrecalled; should we not then redeem and improve the little which\nremains? If a traveller sleep, or trifle most of the day, he must travel\nso much faster in the evening, or fall short of his journey's end. Doubt\nnot but the recompense will be according to your labor. The seed which\nis buried and dead, will bring forth a plentiful harvest. Whatever you\ndo, or suffer, everlasting rest will pay for all. There is no repenting\nof labors or sufferings in heaven. There is not one says, \"Would I had\nspared my pains, and prayed less, or been less strict, and done as the\nrest of my neighbors did.\" On the contrary, it will be their joy to look\nback upon their labors and tribulations, and to consider how the mighty\npower of God brought them through all. We may all say, as Paul, _I\nreckon, that the sufferings_, and labors _of this present time, are not\nworthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in\nus_.[269] We labor but for a moment, but we shall rest for ever. Who\nwould not put forth all his strength for one hour, when for that hour's\nwork he may be a prince while he lives? _God is not unrighteous, to\nforget our work and labor of love._[270] Will not _all our tears be\nwiped away_, and all the sorrow of our duties be then forgotten?\n\n[Footnote 268] Luke xiii, 24.\n\n[Footnote 269] Romans viii, 18.\n\n[Footnote 270] Hebrews vi, 10.\n\n\u00a7 14. Nor does it less deserve to be considered, that striving is the\ndivinely appointed way of salvation, that all men either do or will\napprove it, that the best Christians at death lament their negligence,\nand that heaven itself is often lost for want of striving, but is never\nhad on easier terms. The sovereign wisdom of God has made striving\nnecessary to salvation. Who knows the way to heaven better than the God\nof heaven? When men tell us we are too strict, whom do they accuse, God,\nor us? If it were a fault, it would lie in him that commands, and not in\nus who obey. These are the men that ask us, whether we are wiser than\nall the world beside? and yet they will pretend to be wiser than God.\nHow can they reconcile their language with the laws of God? _The kingdom\nof heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force._[271]\n_Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many will seek to enter in,\nand shall not be able._[272] _Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it\nwith thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor\nwisdom, in the grave whither thou goest._[273] _Work out your own\nsalvation with fear and trembling._[274] _Give diligence to make your\ncalling and election sure._[275] _If the righteous scarcely be saved,\nwhere shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?_[276] Let them bring all\nthe seeming reasons they can, against the holy violence of the saints;\nthis sufficeth me to confute them all, that God is of another mind, and\nhe hath commanded me to do much more than I do? and though I could see\nno other reason for it, his will is reason enough. Who should make laws\nfor us, but he that made us? And who should point out the way to heaven,\nbut he that must bring us thither? and who shall fix the terms of\nsalvation, but he that bestows the gift of salvation? So that let the\nworld, the flesh, or the Devil, speak against a holy, laborious life,\nthis is my answer, God hath commanded it. Nay, there never was, or ever\nwill be, a man, but will approve such a life, and will one day justify\nthe diligence of the saints. And who would not go that way, which every\nman shall finally applaud? True, it is now a _way every where spoken\nagainst_. But let me tell you, most that speak against it, in their\njudgments approve of it; and those that are now against it, will shortly\nbe of another mind. If they come to heaven their mind must be changed\nbefore they come there. If they go to hell, their judgment will then be\naltered, whether they will or no. Remember this, you that love the\nopinion and way of the multitude; why then will you not be of the\nopinion that all will be of? Why will you be of a judgment, which you\nare sure all of you shortly to change? Oh that you were but as wise in\nthis, as those in hell!\u2014Even the best of Christians, when they come to\ndie, exceedingly lament their negligence. They then wish, \"Oh that I had\nbeen a thousand times more holy, more heavenly, more laborious for my\nsoul! The world accuses me for doing too much, but my own conscience\naccuses me for doing too little. It is far easier bearing the scoffs of\nthe world, than the lashes of conscience. I had rather be reproached by\nthe Devil for seeking salvation, than reproved of God for neglecting\nit.\" How do their failings thus wound and disquiet them, who have been\nthe wonders of the world for their heavenly conversation?\u2014It is for want\nof more diligence, that heaven itself is often lost. When they that have\n_heard the word, and anon with joy received it, and have done many\nthings, and heard_ the ministers of Christ _gladly_,[277] shall yet\nperish; should not this rouse us out of our security? How far hath many\na man followed Christ, and yet forsook him, when all worldly interests\nand hopes were to be renounced?\u2014God hath resolved, that heaven shall not\nbe had on easier terms. Rest must always follow labor. _Without holiness\nno man shall see the Lord._[278] Seriousness is the very thing wherein\nconsists our sincerity. If thou art not serious, thou art not a\nChristian. It is not only a high degree in Christianity, but the very\nlife and essence of it. As fencers upon a stage differ from soldiers\nfighting for their lives, so hypocrites differ from serious Christians.\nIf men could be saved without this serious diligence, they would never\nregard it; all the excellencies of God's ways would never entice them.\nBut when God hath resolved, that, without serious diligence here, you\nshall not rest hereafter, is it not wisdom to exert ourselves to the\nutmost?\n\n[Footnote 271] Matthew xi, 12.\n\n[Footnote 272] Luke xiii, 24.\n\n[Footnote 273] Ecclesiastes ix, 10.\n\n[Footnote 274] Philippians ii, 12.\n\n[Footnote 275] 2 Peter i, 10.\n\n[Footnote 276] 1 Peter iv, 18.\n\n[Footnote 277] Matthew xiii, 20. Mark vi, 20.\n\n[Footnote 278] Hebrews xii, 14.\n\n\u00a7 15. But to persuade thee, if possible, reader, to be serious in thy\nendeavors for heaven, let me add more considerations. As for instance,\nconsider\u2014God is in earnest with you; and why should not you be so with\nhim? In his commands, his threatenings, his promises, he means as he\nspeaks. In his judgments he is serious. Was he not so, when he drowned\nthe _world_? When he _consumed Sodom and Gomorrah_? And when he\n_scattered the Jews_? Is it time then to trifle with God?\u2014Jesus Christ\nwas serious in purchasing our redemption. In teaching, he neglected his\nmeat and drink. In prayer, _he continued all night_. In doing good, _his\nfriends_ thought _him beside himself_. In suffering, _He fasted forty\ndays, was tempted, betrayed, spit upon, buffeted, crowned with thorns,\nsweat drops of blood, was crucified, pierced, died_; there was no\njesting in all this. And should not we be serious in seeking our own\nsalvation! The Holy Spirit is serious in soliciting us to be happy. His\nmotions are frequent, pressings and importunate. _He striveth with_ us.\nHe is _grieved_, when we resist him. And should not we be serious then\nin obeying, and yielding to his motions?\u2014God is serious in hearing our\nprayers, and bestowing his mercies. He is _afflicted with us_. He\n_regardeth every groan and sigh_, and _puts every tear into his bottle_.\nThe next time thou art in trouble, thou wilt beg for a serious regard of\nthy prayers. And shall we expect real mercies, when we are slight and\nsuperficial in the work of God?\u2014The ministers of Christ are serious in\nexhorting and instructing you. They beg of God, and of you, and long\nmore for the salvation of your souls than for any worldly good. If they\nkill themselves with their labor, or suffer martyrdom for preaching the\ngospel; they think their lives are well bestowed, so that they prevail\nfor the saving your souls. And shall other men be so painful and careful\nfor your salvation, and you be so careless and negligent of your\nown?\u2014How diligent and serious are all the creatures in serving you? What\nhaste makes the sun to compass the world? The fountains are always\nflowing for thy use; the rivers still running; spring and harvest keep\ntheir times. How hard does thy ox labor for thee from day to day? How\nspeedily does thy horse travel with thee? And shalt thou only be\nnegligent? Shall all these be so serious in serving thee, and thou so\ncareless in thy service to God?\u2014The servants of the world and the Devil\nare serious and diligent. They work, as if they could never do enough.\nThey make haste, as if afraid of coming to hell too late. They bear down\nministers, sermons, and all before them. And shall they be more diligent\nfor damnation, than thou for salvation? Hast thou not a better master,\nsweeter employment, greater encouragement, and a better reward?\u2014Time was\nwhen thou wast serious thyself in serving Satan and the flesh, if it be\nnot so yet. How eagerly didst thou follow thy sports, thy evil company,\nand sinful delights? And wilt thou not now be as earnest and violent for\nGod?\u2014You are to this day in earnest about the things of this life. If\nyou are sick, or in pain, what serious complaints do you utter? If you\nare poor, how hard do you labor for a livelihood? And is not the\nbusiness of your salvation of far greater moment?\u2014There is no jesting in\nheaven or hell. The saints have a real happiness, and the damned a real\nmisery. There are no remiss or sleepy praises in heaven, nor such\nlamentations in hell. All there are in earnest. When thou, reader, shalt\ncome to death and judgment, O what deep, heart-piercing thoughts wilt\nthou have of eternity! Methinks I foresee thee already astonished, to\nthink how thou couldst possibly make so light of these things. Methinks\nI even hear thee crying out of thy stupidity and madness.\n\n\u00a7 16. And now, reader, having laid down these undeniable arguments, I\ndo, in the name of God, demand thy resolution; wilt thou yield\nobedience, or not? I am confident thy conscience is convinced of thy\nduty. Darest thou now go on in thy common careless course, against the\nplain evidence of reason, and commands of God, and against the light of\nthy own conscience? Darest thou live as loosely, sin as boldly, and pray\nas seldom, as before? Darest thou profane the Sabbath, slight the\nservice of God, and think of thine everlasting state as carelessly as\nbefore? Or dost thou not rather resolve to _gird up the loins of thy\nmind_, and set thyself wholly to the work of thy salvation, and break\nthrough the oppositions, and slight the scoffs and persecutions of the\nworld, and _lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily\nbeset thee, and run with patience the race that is set before thee_? I\nhope these are thy full resolutions! Yet, because I know the obstinacy\nof the heart of man, and because I am solicitous thy soul might live, I\nonce more entreat thy attention to the following questions; and I\ncommand thee from God, that thou stifle not thy conscience, nor resist\nconviction; but answer them faithfully, and obey accordingly\u2014If, by\nbeing diligent in godliness, you could grow rich, get honor or\npreferment in the world, be recovered from sickness, or live for ever in\nprosperity on earth; what lives would you lead, and what pains would you\ntake in the service of God? And is not the saint's rest a more excellent\nhappiness than all this?\u2014If it were felony to break the Sabbath, neglect\nsecret or family worship, or be loose in your lives, what manner of\npersons would you then be? And is not eternal death more terrible than\ntemporal?\u2014If God usually punished with some present judgment every act\nof sin, as he did the lie of Ananias and Sapphira, what kind of lives\nwould you lead? And is not eternal wrath far more terrible?\u2014If one of\nyour acquaintance should come from the dead, and tell you, that he\nsuffered the torments of hell for those sins you are guilty of; what\nmanner of persons would you afterwards be? How much more should the\nwarnings of God affright you?\u2014If you knew that this were the last day\nyou had to live in the world, how would you spend it? And you know not\nbut it may be your last, and are sure your last is near. If you had seen\nthe general dissolution of the world, and all the pomp and glory of it\nconsumed to ashes, what would such a sight persuade thee to do? Such a\nsight you shall certainly see. If you had seen the judgment set, and the\nbooks opened, and the wicked stand trembling on the left hand of the\nJudge, and the godly rejoicing on the right hand, and their different\nsentence pronounced; what persons would you have been after such a\nsight? This sight you shall one day surely see. If you had seen hell\nopen, and all the damned there in their endless torments; also heaven\nopened, as Stephen did, and all the saints there triumphing in glory;\nwhat a life would you lead after such sights? These you will see before\nit be long. If you had lain in hell but one year, or one day, or hour,\nand there felt the torments you now hear of; how seriously would you\nthen speak of hell, and pray against it? And will you not take God's\nword for the truth of this, except you feel it?\u2014Or if you had possessed\nthe glory of heaven but one year; what pains would you take, rather than\nbe deprived of such incomparable glory?\u2014Thus I have said enough, if not\nto stir up the sinner to a serious working out his salvation, yet at\nleast to silence him, and leave him inexcusable at the judgment of God.\nOnly as we do by our friends when they are dead, and our words and\nactions can do them no good, yet to testify our affection for them we\nweep and mourn; so will I also do for these unhappy souls. It makes my\nheart tremble, to think how they will stand before the Lord confounded\nand speechless! When he shall say, \"Was the world, or Satan, a better\nfriend to you than I? Or had they done more for you than I had done? Try\nnow whether they will save you, or recompense you for the loss of\nheaven, or be as good to you as I would have been.\" What will the\nwretched sinner answer to any of this? But though man will not hear, we\nmay hope in speaking to God. \"O thou that didst weep and groan in spirit\nover a dead Lazarus, pity these dead and senseless souls, till they are\nable to weep and groan in pity to themselves! As thou hast bid thy\nservant speak, so speak now thyself; they will hear thy voice speaking\nto their hearts, who will not hear mine speaking to their ears. Lord,\nthou hast long knocked at these hearts in vain; now break the doors, and\nenter in.\"\n\n\u00a7 17. Yet to shew the godly why they, above all men, should be laborious\nfor heaven, I desire to ask them,\u2014What manner of persons should those\nbe, whom God hath chosen to be vessels of mercy? Who have felt the smart\nof their negligence, in their new birth, in their troubles of\nconscience, in their doubts and fears, and in other sharp afflictions?\nWho have often confessed their sin of negligence to God in prayer? Who\nhave bound themselves to God by so many covenants? What manner of\npersons should they be, who are near to God as the children of his\nfamily? who have tasted such sweetness in diligent obedience? who are\nmany of them so uncertain what shall everlastingly become of their\nsouls? What manner of persons should they be in holiness, whose\nsanctification is so imperfect? Whose lives and duties are so important\nto the saving or destroying a multitude of souls? and on whom the glory\nof the great God so much depends?\u2014Since these things are so, I charge\nthee, Christian, in thy Master's name, to consider and resolve the\nquestion, _What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy\nconversation and godliness?_ And let thy life answer the question as\nwell as thy tongue.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. VIII.\n\nHow to discern our Title to the Saint's Rest.\n\n \u00a7 1. The folly of men in not inquiring after a title to the Saint's\n Rest; \u00a7 2. and their cause for terror, as long as they are destitute of\n a title. \u00a7 3. Self examination is urged upon them; \u00a7 4. (1.) from the\n possibility of arriving at certainty; \u00a7 5-9. (2.) from the hindrances\n which will be thrown in our way by Satan, sinners, our own hearts, and\n many other causes; \u00a7 10. (3.) from considering how easy, common, and\n dangerous it is to be mistaken: that trying will not be so painful as\n the neglect; that God will soon try us, and that to try ourselves will\n be profitable; \u00a7 11. and therefore the reader is entreated no longer to\n delay the trial. \u00a7 12. Then (4.) Directions are given how to try: \u00a7 13.\n and (5.) Marks for trial are added, particularly, \u00a7 14. Do we make God\n our chief good? \u00a7 15. Do we heartily accept of Christ for our Lord and\n Savior? \u00a7 16, 17. The chapter concludes with illustrating the great\n importance of these two marks.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. Is there such a glorious rest so near at hand? And shall none enjoy\nit but the people of God? What mean most of the world then, to live so\ncontentedly without assurance of their interest in this rest, and\nneglect the trying of their title to it? When the Lord hath so fully\nopened the blessedness of that kingdom, which none but obedient\nbelievers shall possess; and so fully expressed those torments, which\nthe rest of the world must eternally suffer; methinks they that believe\nthis to be certainly true, should never be at any quiet in themselves,\ntill they were fully assured of their being heirs of the kingdom. Lord,\nwhat a strange madness is this, that men, who know they must presently\nenter upon unchangeable joy or pain, should yet live as uncertain what\nshall be their doom, as if they had never heard of any such state; yea,\nand live as quietly and merrily in this uncertainty, as if all were made\nsure, and there were no danger! Are these men alive or dead? Are they\nawake or asleep? What do they think on? Where are their hearts? If they\nhave but a weighty suit at law, how careful are they to know whether it\nwill go for or against them; if they were to be tried for their lives at\nan earthly bar, how careful would they be to know whether they should be\nsaved or condemned, especially if their care might surely save them? If\nthey be dangerously sick, they will inquire of the physician, what think\nyou, Sir, shall I escape, or no? But in the business of their salvation,\nthey are content to be uncertain! If you ask most men _a reason of the\nhope that is in them_, they will say, \"Because God is merciful, and\nChrist died for sinners,\" and the like general reasons, which any man in\nthe world may give as well as they: but put them to prove their interest\nin Christ, and in the saving mercy of God, and they can say nothing to\nthe purpose. If God or man should say to them, what case is thy soul in,\nman? Is it regenerate, sanctified and pardoned, or no? He would be ready\nto say, as Cain of Abel, \"_I know not, am I my_ soul's _keeper_? I hope\nwell; I trust God with my soul; I shall speed as well as other men do; I\nthank God, I never made any doubt of my salvation.\" Thou hast cause to\ndoubt, because thou never didst doubt; and yet more, because thou hast\nbeen so careless in thy confidence. What do thy expressions discover,\nbut a wilful neglect of thy own salvation? As a shipmaster that should\nlet his vessel alone, and say, \"I will venture it among the rocks, and\nwaves, and winds; I will trust God with it; it will speed as well as\nother vessels.\" What horrible abuse of God is this, to pretend to trust\nGod, to cloak their own wilful negligence? If thou didst really trust\nGod, thou wouldst also be ruled by him, and trust him in his own\nappointed way. He requires thee to give _diligence to make thy calling\nand election sure_,[279] and so to trust him. He hath marked thee out a\nway in Scripture, by which thou art charged to _search and try thyself_\nand mayest arrive at certainty. Were he not a foolish traveller, that\nwould hold on his way, when he does not know whether he be right or\nwrong; and say, \"I hope I am right, I will go on, and trust God?\" Art\nnot thou guilty of this folly in thy travels to eternity? Not\nconsidering that a little serious inquiry, whether thy way be right,\nmight save thee a great deal of labor, which thou bestowest in vain, and\nmust undo again, or else thou wilt miss of salvation, and undo thyself.\n\n[Footnote 279] 2 Peter i, 10.\n\n\u00a7 2. How canst thou think or speak of the great God without terror, as\nlong as thou art uncertain whether he be thy Father, or thy enemy, and\nknowest not but all his perfections may be employed against thee? Or of\nJesus Christ, when thou knowest not whether his blood hath purged thy\nsoul; whether he will condemn, or acquit thee in judgment; nor whether\nhe be the foundation of thy happiness, or _a stone of stumbling_ to\n_break_ thee, and _grind thee to powder_? How canst thou open the Bible\nand read a chapter, but it should terrify thee? Methinks every leaf\nshould be to thee as Belshazzar's writing on the wall, except only that\nwhich draws thee to try and reform. If thou readest the promises, thou\nknowest not whether they shall be fulfilled to thee. If thou readest the\nthreatenings, for any thing thou knowest, thou readest thy own sentence.\nNo wonder thou art an enemy to plain preaching, and say of the minister,\nas Ahab of the prophet, _I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good\nconcerning me, but evil_. How canst thou without terror join in prayer?\nWhen thou receivest the sacrament, thou knowest not whether it be thy\nbane or bliss. What comfort canst thou find in thy friends, and honors,\nand houses, and lands, till thou knowest thou hast the love of God with\nthem, and shalt have rest with him when thou leavest them? Offer a\nprisoner, before he knows his sentence, either music, or clothes, or\npreferment; what are they to him, till he knows he shall escape with his\nlife? for if he knows he must die the next day, it will be small comfort\nto die rich or honorable. Methinks it should be so with thee, till thou\nknowest thy eternal state. When thou liest down to take thy rest,\nmethinks the uncertainty of thy salvation should keep thee waking, or\namaze thee in thy dreams, and trouble thy sleep. Doth it not grieve thee\nto see the people of God so comfortable in their way to glory, when thou\nhast no good hope of ever enjoying it thyself? How canst thou think of\nthy dying hour? Thou knowest it is near, and there is no avoiding it,\nnor any medicine found out that can prevent it. If thou shouldest die\nthis day, (and who _knows what a day may bring forth_) thou art not\ncertain whether thou shalt go to heaven or hell. And canst thou be\nmerry, till thou art got out of this dangerous state? What shift dost\nthou make to preserve thy heart from horror, when thou rememberest the\ngreat judgment day, and everlasting flames? When thou hearest of it,\ndost thou not tremble as Felix? If the _keepers shook, and became as\ndead men_, when they saw _the angel come and roll back the stone from\nChrist's sepulcher_; how canst thou think of living in hell with Devils,\ntill thou hast got some well-grounded assurance that thou shalt escape\nit? Thy bed is very soft, or thy heart is very hard, if thou canst sleep\nsoundly in this uncertain case.\n\n\u00a7 3. If this general uncertainty of the world about their salvation were\nremediless, then must it be born as other unavoidable miseries. But,\nalas! the common cause is wilful negligence. Men will not be persuaded\nto use the remedy. The great means to conquer this uncertainty is\nself-examination, or the serious and diligent trying of a man's heart\nand state by the rule of Scripture. Either men understand not the nature\nand use of this duty, or else they will not be at the pains to try. Go\nthrough a congregation of a thousand men, and how few of them shall you\nmeet with, that ever bestowed one hour in all their lives in a close\nexamination of their title to heaven? Ask thy own conscience, Reader,\nwhen was the time, and where was the place, that ever thou solemnly\ntookest thy heart to task, as in the sight of God, and didst examine it\nby Scripture, whether it be renewed or not? Whether it be holy or not?\nWhether it be set most on God or the creatures, on heaven or earth? And\nwhen didst thou follow on this examination till thou hadst discovered\nthy condition, and passed sentence on thyself accordingly? But became\nthis is a work of so high importance, and so commonly neglected, I will\ntherefore shew,\u2014that it is possible by trying to come to certainty;\u2014what\nhinders men from trying and knowing their state;\u2014then offer motives to\nexamine;\u2014and directions;\u2014together with some marks out of Scripture, by\nwhich you may try, and certainly know, whether you are the people of God\nor not.\n\n\u00a7 4. (1.) Scripture shews, that certainty of salvation may be attained;\nand ought to be labored for: when it tells us so frequently, that the\nsaints before us have known their justification and future salvation:\nWhen it declares, that _whosoever believeth in Christ shall not perish,\nbut have everlasting life_; which it would be in vain to declare, if we\ncannot know ourselves to be believers or not: When it makes such a wide\ndifference between the children of God, and the children of the Devil:\nWhen it bids us _give diligence to make our calling and election sure_;\nand earnestly urges us to _examine, prove, know our own selves, whether\nwe be in the faith_ and whether _Jesus Christ be in us, except we be\nreprobates_: Also when its precepts require us to _rejoice always_, to\ncall _God our father_, to _live in his praises_, to _love Christ's\nappearing_, to wish that he may _come quickly_, and to _comfort\nourselves with_ the mention of _it_. But who can do any of these\nheartily, that is not in some measure sure that he is the child of God?\n\n\u00a7 5. (2.) Among the many hindrances which keep men from\nself-examination, we cannot doubt but Satan will do his part. If all the\npower he hath, or all the means and instruments he can employ, can do\nit, he will be sure above all duties to keep you from this. He is loth\nthe godly should have that joy, assurance, and advantage against\ncorruption, which the faithful performance of self-examination would\nprocure them. As for the ungodly, he knows if they should once earnestly\nexamine, they would find out his deceits and their own danger, and so be\nvery likely to escape him. How could he get so many millions to hell\nwillingly, if they knew they were going thither! And how could they\navoid knowing it, if they did but thoroughly try; having such a clear\nlight and sure rule in the Scripture to discover it? If the snare be not\nhid, the bird will escape it. Satan knows how to angle for souls better\nthan to shew them the hook and line, or fright them away with a noise,\nor with his own appearance. Therefore he labors to keep them from a\nsearching ministry; or to keep the minister from helping them to search,\nor to take off the edge of the word, that it may not _pierce and\ndivide_; or to turn away their thoughts; or to possess them with\nprejudice. Satan knows when the minister hath provided a searching\nsermon, fitted to the state and necessity of an hearer; and therefore he\nwill keep him away that day, if it be possible; or cast him into a\nsleep; or steal away the Word by the cares and talk of the world, or\nsome way prevent its operation.\n\n\u00a7 6. Another great hindrance to self-examination arises from wicked men.\nTheir examples; their merry company and discourse; their continually\ninsisting on worldly concerns; their raillery and scoffs at godly\npersons; also their persuasions, allurements, and threats, are each of\nthem exceeding great temptations to security. God doth scarce ever open\nthe eyes of a poor sinner, to see that his way is wrong, but presently\nthere is a multitude of Satan's apostles ready to deceive and settle him\nagain in the quiet possession of his former master. \"What,\" say they,\n\"do you make a doubt of your salvation, who have lived so well, and done\nno body any harm? God is merciful, and if such as you shall not be\nsaved, God help a great many! What do you think of all your forefathers?\nAnd what will become of all your friends and neighbors that live as you\ndo? Will they all be damned? Come, come, if you hearken to these\npreachers, they will drive you out of your wits. Are not all men\nsinners? And did not Christ die to save sinners? Never trouble your head\nwith these thoughts, and you shall do well.\" O how many thousands have\nsuch charms kept asleep in deceit and security, till death and hell have\nawakened them! The Lord calls to the sinner, and tells him, _The gate is\nstrait, the way is narrow, and few find it: Try and examine, give\ndiligence to make sure_. The world cries, Never doubt, never trouble\nyourselves with these thoughts. In this strait, sinner, consider, it is\nChrist, and not your forefathers, or neighbors, or friends, that must\njudge you at last; and if Christ condemn you, these cannot save you.\nTherefore common reason may tell you, that it is not from the words of\nignorant men, but from the Word of God, you must fetch your hopes of\nsalvation. When Ahab would inquire among the multitude of flattering\nprophets, it was his death. They can flatter men into the snare, but\nthey cannot tell how to bring them out. _Let no man deceive you with\nvain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the\nchildren of disobedience; be not ye therefore partakers with them._[280]\n\n[Footnote 280] Ephesians v, 6, 7.\n\n\u00a7 7. But the greatest hinderances are in men's own hearts. Some are so\nignorant, that they know not what self-examination is, nor what a\nminister means when he persuadeth them to try themselves: Or they know\nnot that there is any necessity for it; but think every man is bound to\nbelieve that his sins are pardoned, whether it be true or false, and\nthat it is a great fault to make any question of it: Or they do not\nthink that assurance can be attained: Or that there is any great\ndifference between one man and another, but that we are all Christians,\nand therefore need not trouble ourselves any further: Or at least they\nknow not wherein the difference lies. They have as gross an idea of\nregeneration, as Nicodemus had. Some will not believe, that God will\never make such a difference betwixt men in the life to come, and\ntherefore will not search themselves whether they differ here. Some are\nso stupified, say what you can to them, that they lay it not to heart,\nbut give us the hearing, and there's an end. Some are so possessed with\nself-love and pride, that they will not so much as suspect they are in\nany danger, like a proud tradesman, who scorns the prudent advice of\ncasting up his books. As fond parents will not believe or hear any evil\nof their children. Some are so guilty, that they dare not try; and yet\nthey dare venture on a more dreadful trial. Some are so in love with\nsin, and so dislike the ways of God, that they dare not try their ways,\nlest they be forced from the course they love, to that which they\nloathe. Some are so resolved never to change their present state, that\nthey neglect examination as an useless thing. Before they will seek a\nnew way when they have lived so long, and gone so far, they will put\ntheir eternal state to the venture, come of it what will. Many men are\nso busy in the world, that they cannot set themselves to the trying\ntheir title to heaven. Others are so clogged with slothfulness of\nspirit, that they will not be at the pains of an hour's examination of\ntheir own hearts. But the most common and dangerous impediment is that\nfalse faith and hope, commonly called presumption, which bears up the\nhearts of the greatest part of the world, and so keeps them from\nsuspecting their danger.\n\n\u00a7 8. And if a man should break through all these hinderances, and set\nupon the duty of self-examination, yet assurance is not presently\nattained. Too many deceive themselves in their inquiries after it,\nthrough one or other of the following causes. There is such confusion\nand darkness in the soul of man, especially of an unregenerate man, that\nhe can scarcely tell what he doth, or what is in him. As in a house,\nwhere nothing is in its proper place, it will be difficult to find what\nis wanted; so it is in the heart where all things are in disorder.\u2014Most\nmen accustom themselves to be strangers at home, and too little observe\nthe temper and motions of their own hearts. Many are resolved what to\njudge before they try. Like a bribed judge, who examines as if he would\njudge uprightly, when he is previously resolved which way the cause\nshall go. Men are partial in their own cause; ready to think their great\nsins small, and their small sins none; their gifts of nature to be the\nwork of grace, and to say, _All these have I kept from my youth; I am\nrich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing_. Most men search\nbut by the halves. If it will not easily and quickly be done, they are\ndiscouraged, and leave off. They try themselves by false marks and\nrules: not knowing wherein the truth of Christianity doth consist; some\nlooking beyond, and some short of the Scripture-standard. And frequently\nthey miscarry in this work, by attempting it in their own strength. As\nsome expect the Spirit should do it without them, so others attempt it\nthemselves, without seeking or expecting the help of the Spirit. Both\nthese will certainly miscarry in their assurance.\n\n\u00a7 9. Some other hinderances keep even true Christians from comfortable\ncertainty. As for instance: The weakness of grace. Small things are\nhardly discerned. Most Christians content themselves with a small\nmeasure of grace, and do not follow on to spiritual strength and\nmanhood. The chief remedy for such would be to follow on their duty,\ntill their graces be increased. Wait upon God in the use of his\nprescribed means, and he will undoubtedly bless you with increase. Oh\nthat Christians would bestow most of that time in getting more grace\nwhich they bestow in anxious doubtings whether they have any or none;\nand lay out those serious affections in praying for more grace, which\nthey bestow in fruitless complaints! I beseech thee, Christian, take\nthis advice as from God; and then, when thou believest strongly, and\nlovest fervently, thou canst no more doubt of thy faith and love, than a\nman that is very hot can doubt of his warmth, or a man that is strong\nand lusty can doubt of his being alive.\u2014\u2014Christians hinder their own\ncomfort by looking more at signs, which tell them what they are, than at\nprecepts, which tell them what they should do. As if their present case\nmust needs be their everlasting case; and if they be now unpardoned,\nthere were no remedy. Were he not mad, that would lie weeping because he\nis not pardoned, when his prince stands by all the while offering him a\npardon, and persuading him to accept of it? Justifying faith, Christian,\nis not thy persuasion of God's special love to thee, but thy accepting\nChrist to make thee lovely. It is far better to accept Christ as\noffered, than spend so much time in doubting whether we have Christ or\nno. Another cause of distress to Christians is, their mistaking\nassurance for the joy that sometimes accompanies it. As if a child\nshould take himself for a son no longer, than while he sees the smiles\nof his father's face, or hears the comfortable expressions of his mouth:\nAnd as if the father ceased to be a father, whenever he ceased those\nsmiles and speeches. The trouble of souls is also increased by their not\nknowing the ordinary way of God's conveying comfort. They think they\nhave nothing to do but wait when God will bestow it. But they must know,\nthat the matter of their comfort is in the promises, and thence they\nmust fetch it as often as they expect it, by daily and diligently\nmeditating upon the promises, and in this way they may expect the Spirit\nwill communicate comfort to their souls. The joy of the promises, and\nthe joy of the Holy Ghost are one. Add to this, their expecting a\ngreater measure of assurance than God usually bestows. As long as they\nhave any doubting, they think they have no assurance. They consider not\nthat there are many degrees of certainty. While they are here, they\nshall _know but in part_. And also, their deriving their comfort at\nfirst from insufficient grounds. This may be the case of a gracious\nsoul, who hath better grounds, but doth not see them. As an infant hath\nlife before he knoweth it, and many misapprehensions of himself and\nother things, yet it will not follow that he hath no life. So when\nChristians find a flaw in their first comforts, they are apt to judge it\na flaw in their safety. Many come under doubting, through the exceeding\nweakness of their natural parts. Many honest hearts have weak heads, and\nknow not how to perform the work of self-trial. They will acknowledge\nthe premises, and yet deny the apparent conclusion. If God do not some\nother way supply the defect of their reason, I see not how they should\nhave clear and settled peace. One great and too common cause of distress\nis, the secret maintaining some known sin. This abates the degree of our\ngraces, and so makes them more undiscernible. It obscureth that which it\ndestroyeth not; for it beareth such sway, that grace is not in action,\nnor seems to stir, nor is scarce heard speak for the noise of this\ncorruption. It puts out, or dimmeth the eye of the soul, and stupifies\nit, that it can neither see nor feel its own condition. But especially\nit provokes God to withdraw himself, his comforts, and the assistance of\nhis Spirit, without which we may search long enough before we have\nassurance. God hath made a separation between sin and peace. As long as\nthou dost cherish thy pride, thy love of the world, the desires of the\nflesh, or any unchristian practice, thou expectest comfort in vain. If\nany man _setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the\nstumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a_\nminister, or to God, _to inquire_ for comfort; instead of comforting\nhim, God _will answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his\nidols_.[281] Another very great and common cause of the want of comfort\nis, when grace is not kept in constant and lively exercise. The way of\npainful duty, is the way of fullest comfort. Peace and comfort are\nChrist's great encouragements to faithfulness and obedience; and\ntherefore, though our obedience does not merit them, yet they usually\nrise and fall with our diligence in duty. As prayer must have faith and\nfervency to procure it success, besides the blood and intercession of\nChrist, so must all other parts of our obedience. If thou growest\nseldom, and customary, and cold in duty, especially in thy secret\nprayers to God, and yet findest no abatement in thy joys, I cannot but\nfear thy joys are either carnal or diabolical. Besides grace is never\napparent and sensible to the soul, but while it is in action; therefore\nwant of action must cause want of assurance. And the action of the soul\nupon such excellent objects, naturally bringeth consolation with it. The\nvery act of loving God in Christ is inexpressibly sweet. The soul that\nis best furnished with grace, when it is not in action, is like a lute\nwell stringed and tuned, which while it lieth still, maketh no more\nmusic than a common piece of wood; but when it is handled by a skilful\nmusician, the melody is delightful. Some degree of comfort follows every\ngood action, as heat accompanies fire, and as beams and influence issue\nfrom the sun. A man that is cold, should labor till heat be excited; so\nhe that wants assurance, must not stand still, but exercise his graces,\ntill his doubts vanish.\u2014\u2014The want of consolation in the soul is also\nvery commonly owing to bodily melancholy. It is no more wonder for a\nconscientious man, under melancholy, to doubt, and fear, and despair,\nthan for a sick man to groan, or a child to cry when it is chastised.\nWithout the physician in this case, the labors of the divine are usually\nin vain. You may silence, but you cannot comfort them. You may make them\nconfess they have some grace, and yet cannot bring them to the\ncomfortable conclusion. All the good thoughts of their state which you\ncan possibly help them to, are seldom above a day or two old. The cry\nout of sin, and the wrath of God, when the chief cause is in their\nbodily distemper.\n\n[Footnote 281] Ezekiel xiv, 3-9.\n\n\u00a7 10. (3.) As for the motives to persuade to the duty of\nself-examination, I entreat you to consider the following. To be\ndeceived about your title to heaven is very easy. Many are now in hell,\nthat never suspected any falsehood in their hearts, that excelled in\nworldly wisdom, that lived in the clear light of the gospel, and even\npreached against the negligence of others.\u2014\u2014To be mistaken in this great\npoint is also very common. It is the case of most in the world. In the\nold world, and in Sodom, we find none that were in any fear of judgment.\nAlmost all men among us verily look to be saved; yet Christ tells us,\n_there be few that find the strait gate, and narrow way, which leadeth\nunto life_.[282] And if such multitudes are deceived, should not we\nsearch the more diligently, lest we should be deceived as well as\nthey?\u2014\u2014Nothing is more dangerous than to be thus mistaken. If the godly\njudge their state worse than it is, the consequences of this mistake\nwill be sorrowful; but the mischief flowing from the mistake of the\nungodly is unspeakable. It will exceedingly confirm them in the service\nof Satan. It will render ineffectual the means that should do them good.\nIt will keep a man from compassionating his own soul. It is a case of\nthe greatest moment, where everlasting salvation or damnation is to be\ndetermined. And if you mistake till death, you are undone for ever.\nSeeing then the danger is so great, what wise man would not follow the\nsearch of his heart both night and day, till he were assured of his\nsafety.\u2014Consider how small the labor of this duty is, in comparison of\nthat sorrow which followeth its neglect. You can endure to toil and\nsweat from year to year, to prevent poverty; and why not spend a little\ntime in self-examination, to prevent eternal misery? By neglecting this\nduty, you can scarce do Satan a greater pleasure, nor yourself a greater\ninjury. It is the grand design of the Devil, in all his temptations, to\ndeceive you, and keep you ignorant of your danger, till you feel the\neverlasting flames; and will you join with him to deceive yourself? If\nyou do this for him, you do the greatest part of his work. And hath he\ndeserved so well of you, that you should assist him in such a design as\nyour damnation?\u2014The time is nigh when God will search you. If it be but\nin this life by affliction, it will make you wish, that you had tried\nand judged yourselves, that you might have escaped the judgment of God.\nIt was a terrible voice to Adam, _Where art thou? Hast thou eaten of the\ntree?_ And to Cain, _Where is thy brother?_ Men _consider not in their\nhearts that I_, saith the Lord, _remember all their wickedness; now\ntheir own doings have beset them about, they are before my face_.[283]\nConsider also, what would be the sweet effects of this self-examination.\nIf thou be upright and godly, it will lead thee straight towards\nassurance of God's love; if thou be not, though it will trouble thee at\nthe present, yet it will tend to thy happiness, and at length lead thee\nto the assurance of that happiness. Is it not a desirable thing to know\nwhat shall befal us hereafter? especially what shall befal our souls?\nand what place and state we must be in for ever? And as the very\nknowledge itself is desirable, how much greater will the comfort be of\nthat certainty of salvation? What sweet thoughts wilt thou have of God?\nAll that greatness, and justice, which is the terror of others, will be\nthy joy. How sweet may be thy thoughts of Christ, and the blood he hath\nshed, and the benefits he hath procured? How welcome will the word of\nGod be to thee, and _how beautiful the_ very _feet of those that bring\nit_? How sweet will be the promises when thou art sure they are thy own?\nThe very threatenings will occasion thy comfort, to remember that thou\nhast escaped them. What boldness and comfort mayest thou then have in\nprayer, when thou canst say, _Our Father_, in full assurance? It will\nmake the Lord's Supper a refreshing feast to thy soul. It will multiply\nthe sweetness of every common mercy. How comfortably mayest thou then\nundergo all afflictions? How will it sweeten thy forethoughts of death\nand judgment, of heaven and hell? How lively will it make thee in the\nwork of the Lord, and how profitable to all around thee? What vigor will\nit infuse into all thy graces and affections, kindle thy repentance,\ninflame thy love, quicken thy desires, and confirm thy faith, be a\nfountain of continual rejoicing, overflow thy heart with thankfulness,\nraise thee high in the delightful work of praise, help thee to be\nheavenly minded, and render thee persevering in all? All these sweet\neffects of assurance would make thy life a heaven upon earth.\n\n[Footnote 282] Matthew vii, 14.\n\n[Footnote 283] Hosea vii, 2.\n\n\u00a7 11. Though I am certain these motives have weight of reason in them,\nyet I am jealous, reader, lest you lay aside the book, as if you had\ndone, and never set yourself to the practice of the duty. The case in\nhand is of the greatest moment, whether thou shalt everlastingly live in\nheaven or hell! I here request thee, in behalf of thy soul; nay, I\ncharge thee, in the name of the Lord, that thou defer no longer, but\ntake thy heart to task in good earnest, and think with thyself, \"Is it\nso easy, so common, and so dangerous to be mistaken? Are there so many\nwrong ways? Is the heart so deceitful? Why then do I not search into\nevery corner, till I know my state? Must I so shortly undergo the trial\nat the bar of Christ? And do I not presently try myself? What a case\nwere I in, if I should then miscarry? May I know by a little diligent\ninquiry now? And do I stick at the labor?\" But perhaps thou wilt say, \"I\nknow not how to do it.\" In that I am now to give thee directions; but,\nalas! it will be in vain, if thou art not resolved to practise them.\nWilt thou, therefore, before thou goest any further, here promise before\nthe Lord, to set thyself upon the speedy performance of the duty,\naccording to the directions I shall lay down from the word of God. I\ndemand nothing unreasonable or impossible. It is but to bestow a few\nhours to know what shall become of thee for ever. If a neighbor, or\nfriend, desire but an hour's time of thee in conversation, or business,\nor any thing in which thou mayest be of service, surely thou wouldst not\ndeny it; how much less shouldst thou deny this to thyself in so great an\naffair? I pray thee take from me this request, as if, in the name of\nChrist, I presented it to thee on my knees; and I will betake me on my\nknees to Christ again, to beg that he will persuade thy heart to the\nduty.\n\n\u00a7 12. (4.) The directions how to examine thyself are such as\nthese:\u2014Empty thy mind of all other cares and thoughts, that they may not\ndistract or divide thy mind. This work will be enough at once, without\njoining others with it. Then fall down before God in hearty prayer,\ndesiring the assistance of his Spirit, to discover to thee the plain\ntruth of thy condition, and to enlighten thee in the whole progress of\nthis work. Make choice of the most convenient time and place. Let the\nplace be the most private; and the time, when you have nothing to\ninterrupt you; and, if possible, let if be the present time. Have in\nreadiness, either in memory or writing, some Scriptures, containing the\ndescriptions of the saints, and the gospel terms of salvation; and\nconvince thyself thoroughly of their infallible truth. Proceed then to\nput the question to thyself. Let it not be, whether there be any good in\nthee at all? Nor, whether thou hast such or such a degree and measure of\ngrace? But, whether such or such a saving grace be in thee in sincerity\nor not?\u2014If thy heart draw back from the work, force it on. Lay thy\ncommand upon it. Let reason interpose, and use its authority. Yea, lay\nthe command of God upon it, and charge it to obey upon pain of his\ndispleasure. Let conscience also do its office, till thy heart be\nexcited to the work. Nor let thy heart trifle away the time, when it\nshould be diligently at the work. Do as the psalmist, _my spirit made\ndiligent search_. He that can prevail with his own heart, shall also\nprevail with God. If, after all thy pains, thou art not resolved then\nseek out for help. Go to one that is godly, experienced, able, and\nfaithful, and tell him thy case, and desire his best advice. Use the\njudgment of such a one, as that of a physician for thy body; though this\ncan afford thee no full certainty, yet it may be a great help to stay\nand direct thee. But do not make it a pretence to put off thy own\nself-examination: Only use it as one of the last remedies, when thy own\nendeavors will not serve. When thou hast discovered thy true state, pass\nsentence on thyself accordingly; either that thou art a true Christian,\nor that thou art not. Pass not this sentence rashly, nor with self\nflattery, nor from melancholy terrors; but deliberately, truly, and\naccording to thy conscience convinced by Scripture and reason. Labor to\nget thy heart affected with its condition, according to the sentence\npassed on it. If graceless, think of thy misery. If renewed and\nsanctified, think what a blessed state the Lord hath brought thee into.\nPursue these thoughts till they have left their impression on thy heart.\nWrite this sentence, at least in thy memory. \"At such a time, upon\nthorough examination, I found my state to be thus, or thus.\" Such a\nrecord will be very useful to thee hereafter. Trust not to this one\ndiscovery, so as to try no more: Nor let it hinder thee in the daily\nsearch of thy ways: Neither be discouraged, if the trial must be often\nrepeated. Especially take heed, if unregenerate, not to conclude of thy\nfuture state by the present. Do not say, \"because I am ungodly, I shall\ndie so; because I am an hypocrite, I shall continue so.\" Do not despair.\nNothing but thy unwillingness can keep thee from Christ, though thou\nhast hitherto abused him, and dissembled with him.\n\n\u00a7 13. (5.) Now let me add some marks by which you may try your title to\nthe saint's rest. I will only mention these two\u2014taking God for thy chief\ngood\u2014and heartily accepting Christ for thy only Savior and Lord.\n\n\u00a7 14. Every soul that hath a title to this rest, doth place his chief\nhappiness in God. This rest consisteth in the full and glorious\nenjoyment of God. He that maketh not God his chief good, and ultimate\nend, is in heart a pagan and a vile idolater. Let me ask then, dost thou\ntruly account it thy chief happiness to enjoy the Lord in glory, or dost\nthou not? Canst thou say, _the Lord is my portion? Whom have I in heaven\nbut thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee._ If\nthou be an heir of rest, it is thus with thee. Though the flesh will be\npleading for its own delights, and the world will be creeping into thine\naffections; yet in thy ordinary, settled, prevailing judgment and\naffections, thou preferrest God before all things in the world. Thou\nmakest him the very end of thy desires and endeavors. The very reason\nwhy thou hearest and prayest, and desirest to live on earth, is chiefly\nthis, that thou mayest seek the Lord, and make sure of thy rest. Though\nthou dost not seek it so zealously as thou shouldst; yet hath it the\nchief of thy desires and endeavors; so that nothing else is desired or\npreferred before it. Thou wilt think no labor or suffering too great to\nobtain it. And though the flesh may sometimes shrink, yet thou art\nresolved and contented to go through all. Thy esteem for it will also be\nso high, and thy affections to it so great, that thou wouldst not\nexchange thy title to it, and hopes of it, for any worldly good\nwhatsoever. If God should set before thee an eternity of earthly\npleasure on one hand, and the saint's rest on the other, and bid thee\ntake thy choice; thou wouldst refuse the world and choose this rest. But\nif thou art yet unsanctified, then thou dost in thy heart prefer thy\nworldly happiness before God; and though thy tongue may say, that God is\nthy chief good, yet thy heart doth not so esteem him. For the world is\nthe chief end of thy desires and endeavors. Thy very heart is set upon\nit. Thy greatest care and labor is to maintain thy credit, or fleshly\ndelights. But the life to come hath little of thy care or labor. Thou\ndidst never perceive so much excellency in that unseen glory of another\nworld, as to draw thy heart after it, and set thee a laboring heartily\nfor it. The little pains thou bestowest that way, is but in the second\nplace. God hath but the world's leavings, only that time and labor which\nthou canst spare from the world, or those few, cold, and careless\nthoughts, which follow thy constant, earnest, and delightful thoughts of\nearthly things. Neither wouldst thou do any thing at all for heaven, if\nthou knewest how to keep the world. But lest thou shouldst be turned\ninto hell, when thou canst keep the world no longer, therefore thou wilt\ndo something. For the same reason thou thinkest the way of God too\nstrict, and wilt not be persuaded to the constant labor of walking\naccording to the gospel rule; and when it comes to the trial, that thou\nmust forsake Christ, or thy worldly happiness, then thou wilt venture\nheaven rather than earth, and so wilfully deny thy obedience to God. And\ncertainly if God would but give thee leave to live in health and wealth\nfor ever on earth, thou wouldst think it a better state than rest. Let\nthem seek for heaven that would, thou wouldst think this thy chief\nhappiness. This is thy case, if thou art yet an unregenerate person, and\nhast no title to the saint's rest.\n\n\u00a7 15. And as thou takest God for thy chief good, so thou dost heartily\naccept of Christ for thy only Savior and Lord to bring thee to this\nrest. The former mark was the sum of the first and great command of the\nlaw, _Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart_. This second\nmark, is the sum of the command of the gospel, _Believe in the Lord\nJesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved_. And the performance of these two\nis the whole of godliness and Christianity. This mark is but the\ndefinition of faith. Dost thou heartily consent that Christ alone shall\nbe thy Savior? and no further trust to thy duties and works, than as\nmeans appointed in subordination to him? not looking at them as in the\nleast measure able to satisfy the curse of the law, or as a legal\nrighteousness, or any part of it? but content to trust thy salvation on\nthe redemption made by Christ? Art thou also content to take him for thy\nonly Lord and King, to govern and guide thee by his laws and Spirit? And\nto obey him, even when he commandeth the hardest duties, and those which\nmost cross the desires of the flesh? Is it thy sorrow when thou breakest\nthy resolution herein? and thy joy when thou keepest closest in\nobedience to him? Wouldst thou not change thy Lord and Master for all\nthe world? Thus it is with every true Christian. But if thou be an\nhypocrite, it is far otherwise. Thou mayest call Christ thy Lord and thy\nSavior; but thou never foundest thyself so lost without him, as to drive\nthee to seek him and trust him, and lay thy salvation on him alone. At\nleast thou didst never heartily consent that he should govern thee as\nthy Lord, nor resign up thy soul and life to be ruled by him, nor take\nhis word for the law of thy thoughts and actions. It is likely thou art\ncontent to be saved from hell by Christ when thou diest? but in the mean\ntime he shall command thee no farther than will stand with thy credit;\nor pleasure, or other worldly ends. And if he would give thee leave,\nthou hadst far rather live after the world and flesh, than after the\nword and Spirit. And though thou mayest now and then have a motion or\npurpose to the contrary; yet this that I have mentioned is the ordinary\ndesire and choice of thy heart. Thou art therefore no true believer in\nChrist; for though thou confess him in words, yet _in works_ thou dost\n_deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work\nreprobate_. This is the case of those that shall be shut out of the\nsaint's rest.\n\n\u00a7 16. Observe, it is the consent of your hearts, or wills, which I\nespecially lay down to be inquired after. I do not ask, whether thou be\nassured of salvation? nor, whether thou canst believe that thy sins are\npardoned, and that thou art beloved of God in Christ? These are no parts\nof justifying faith, but excellent fruits of it, and they that receive\nthem, are comforted by them; but perhaps thou mayest never receive them\nwhilst thou livest, and yet be a true heir of rest. Do not say then, \"I\ncannot believe that my sins are pardoned, or that I am in God's favor,\nand therefore I am no true believer.\" This is a most mistaken\nconclusion. The question is, whether thou dost heartily accept of\nChrist, that thou mayest be pardoned, reconciled to God, and so saved?\nDost thou consent that he shall be thy Lord who hath bought thee, and\nthat he shall bring thee to heaven in his own way? This is justifying,\nsaving faith, and the mark by which thou mayest try thyself. Yet still\nobserve, that all this consent must be hearty and real, not feigned or\nwith reservations. It is not saying, as that dissembling son, _I go,\nSir; and went not_. If any have more of the government of thee than\nChrist, thou art not his disciple. I am sure these two marks are such as\nevery Christian hath, and none but sincere Christians. O that the Lord\nwould now persuade thee to the close performance of this self-trial?\nThat thou mayest not tremble with horror of soul, when the Judge of all\nthe world shall try thee; but be so able to prove thy title to rest,\nthat the prospect and approach of death and judgment may raise thy\nspirits, and fill thee with joy!\n\n\u00a7 17. On the whole, as ever Christians would have comforts that will not\ndeceive them, let them make it the great labor of their lives to grow in\ngrace, to strengthen and advance the interest of Christ in their souls,\nand to weaken and subdue the interest of the flesh. Deceive not\nyourselves with a persuasion, that Christ hath done all, and left you\nnothing to do. To _overcome the world_, the _flesh_, and the _Devil_;\nand in order to that, to stand always armed upon our watch, and\nvaliantly and patiently to fight it out, is of great importance to our\nassurance and salvation. Indeed it is so great a part of our baptismal\nvow, that he, who performeth it not, is no more than a nominal\nChristian. Not to every one that presumptuously believeth, but _to him\nthat overcometh, will Christ give to eat of the hidden manna, and will\ngive him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no\nman knoweth saving him that receiveth it: He shalt eat of the tree of\nlife, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, and shall not be\nhurt of the second death. Christ will confess his name before his\nFather, and before his angels, and make him a pillar in the temple of\nGod, and he shall go no more out, and will write upon him the name of\nhis God, and the name of the city of his God, which is New Jerusalem,\nwhich cometh down out of heaven from his God, and will write upon him\nhis new name._ Yea, _He will grant to him to sit with him on his throne,\neven as he also overcame, and is set down with his Father on his throne.\nHe that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the\nchurches._[284]\n\n[Footnote 284] Revelation ii, 7, 11, 17. iii, 5, 12, 21, 22.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. IX.\n\nThe Duty of the people of God to excite others to seek this Rest.\n\n \u00a7 1. The Author laments that Christians do so little to help others to\n obtain the Saint's Rest; \u00a7 2. (I.) Shews the nature of this duty;\n particularly, \u00a7 3. (1.) In having our hearts affected with the misery\n of our brethren's souls, \u00a7 4-6. (2.) In taking all opportunities to\n instruct them in the way of salvation, \u00a7 7. (3.) In promoting their\n profit by public ordinances; \u00a7 8. (II.) He assigns various reasons why\n this duty is so much neglected, \u00a7 9. And answers some objections\n against it. \u00a7 10-13. Then (III.) Urges to the discharge of it, by\n several considerations, \u00a7 14. Addressed to such as have knowledge,\n learning, and utterance, \u00a7 15. Those that are acquainted with sinners,\n \u00a7 16. Physicians that attend dying men, \u00a7 17. Persons of wealth and\n power, \u00a7 18. Ministers, \u00a7 19. And those that are intrusted with the\n care of children or servants, \u00a7 20. The chapter concludes with an\n earnest request to Christian parents to be faithful to their trust.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. Hath God set before us such a glorious prize as the saint's rest,\nand made us capable of such inconceivable happiness? Why then do not all\nthe children of this kingdom exert themselves more to help others to the\nenjoyment of it? Alas, how little are poor souls about us beholden to\nmost of us! We see the glory of the kingdom, and they do not: We see the\nmisery of those that are out of it, and they do not: We see them\nwandering quite out of the way, and know, if they hold on, they can\nnever come there; and they themselves discern it not: and yet we will\nnot seriously shew them their danger and error, and help to bring them\ninto the way, that they may live. Alas, how few Christians are there to\nbe found, that set themselves with all their might to save souls! No\nthanks to us, if heaven be not empty, and if the souls of our brethren\nperish not for ever. Considering how important this duty is, to the\nglory of God, and the happiness of men, I will shew\u2014how it is to be\nperformed;\u2014why it is so much neglected; and then offer some\nconsiderations to persuade to it.\n\n\u00a7 2. (I.) The duty of exciting and helping others to obtain the saint's\nrest doth not mean, that every man should turn a public preacher, or\nthat any should go beyond the bounds of their particular callings; much\nless does it consist in promoting a party spirit; and least of all in\nspeaking against men's faults behind their backs, and be silent before\ntheir faces. This duty is of another nature, and consists of the\nfollowing things;\u2014in having our hearts affected with the misery of our\nbrethren's souls,\u2014in taking all opportunities to instruct them in the\nway of salvation,\u2014and in promoting their profit by public ordinances.\n\n\u00a7 3. (1.) Our hearts must be affected with the misery of our brethren's\nsouls. We must be compassionate towards them, and yearn after their\nrecovery and salvation. If we earnestly longed after their conversion,\nand our hearts were solicitous to do them good, it would set us on work,\nand God would usually bless it.\n\n\u00a7 4. (2.) We must take all opportunities we possibly can to instruct\nthem how to attain salvation. If the person be ignorant, labor to make\nhim understand the chief happiness of man, how far he was once possessed\nof it; the covenant God then made with him; how he broke it; what\npenalty he incurred; and what misery he brought himself into: Teach him\nhis need of a Redeemer; how Christ did mercifully interpose and bear the\npenalty; what the new covenant is; how men are drawn to Christ; and what\nare the riches and privileges which believers have in him. If he is not\nmoved by these things, then shew him the excellency of the glory he\nneglects; the extremity and eternity of the torments of the damned; the\njustice of enduring them for wilfully refusing grace; the certainty,\nnearness, and terrors of death and judgment; the vanity of all things\nbelow; the sinfulness of sin; the preciousness of Christ; the necessity\nof regeneration, faith, and holiness, and the true nature of them. If\nafter all you find him entertaining false hopes, then urge him to\nexamine his state; shew him the necessity of doing so; help him in it;\nnor leave him till you have convinced him of his misery and remedy. Shew\nhim how vain and destructive it is to join Christ and his duties, to\ncompose his justifying righteousness. Yet be sure to draw him to the use\nof all means; such as hearing and reading the word, calling upon God,\nand associating with the godly; persuade him to forsake sin, avoid all\ntemptations to sin, especially evil companions, and to wait patiently on\nGod in the use of means, as the way in which God will be found.\n\n\u00a7 5. But because the manner of performing this work is of great moment,\nobserve therefore these rules. Enter upon it with right intentions. Aim\nat the glory of God in the person's salvation. Do it not to get a name,\nor esteem to thyself, or to bring men to depend upon thee, or to get\nthee followers, but in obedience to Christ, in imitation of him, and\ntender love to men's souls. Do not as those, who labor to reform their\nchildren or servants from such things as are against their own profit or\nhumor, but never seek to save their souls in the way which God hath\nappointed. Do it speedily. As you would not have them delay their\nreturn, do not you delay to seek their return. While you are purposing\nto teach and help him, the man goes deeper in debt; wrath is heaping up;\nsin taking root; custom fastens him; temptations to sin multiply;\nconscience grows seared; the heart hardened; the Devil rules; Christ is\nshut out; the Spirit is resisted; God is daily dishonored; His law\nviolated; He is without a servant, and that service from Him which He\nshould have; time runs on; death and judgment are at the door; and what\nif the man die, and drop into hell, while you are purposing to prevent\nit? If in the case of his bodily distress, you must _not say to him, Go,\nand come again, and to-morrow I will give, when thou hast it by\nthee_;[285] how much less may you delay the succor of his soul? That\nphysician is no better than a murderer, who negligently delayeth till\nhis patient be dead, or past cure. Lay by excuses then, and all lesser\nbusiness, and _exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day; lest\nany be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin_.[286] Let your\nexhortation proceed from compassion and love. To jeer and scoff, to rail\nand vilify, is not a likely way to reform men, or convert them to God.\nGo to poor sinners with tears in your eyes, that they may see you\nbelieve them to be miserable, and that you unfeignedly pity their case.\nDeal with them with earnest humble entreatings. Let them perceive it is\nthe desire of your hearts to do them good; that you have no other end\nbut their everlasting happiness; and that it is your sense of their\ndanger, and your love to their souls, that forceth you to speak; even\nbecause you _know the terrors of the Lord_, and for fear you should see\nthem in eternal torments. Say to them, \"Friend, you know I seek no\nadvantage of my own: The method to please you, and keep your friendship,\nwere to soothe you in your way, or let you alone; but love will not\nsuffer me to see you perish, and be silent. I seek nothing at your\nhands, but that which is necessary to your own happiness. It is yourself\nthat will have the gain and comfort, if you come to Christ.\" If we were\nthus to go to every ignorant, wicked neighbor, what blessed fruit should\nwe quickly see!\u2014Do it with all possible plainness and faithfulness. Do\nnot make their sins less than they are, nor encourage them in a false\nhope. If you see the case dangerous, speak plainly; \"Neighbor I am\nafraid God hath not yet renewed your soul; I doubt you are not yet\nrecovered _from the power of Satan to God_; I doubt you have not chosen\nChrist above all, nor unfeignedly taken him for your sovereign Lord. If\nyou had, surely you durst not so easily disobey him, nor neglect his\nworship in your family, and in public: You could not so eagerly follow\nthe world, and talk of nothing but the things of the world. If you were\n_in Christ_, you would be _a new creature; old things_ would be _passed\naway, and all things_ would _become new_. You would have new thoughts,\nnew talk, new company, new endeavors, and a new conversation: Certainly\nwithout these you can never be saved: You may think otherwise, and hope\nbetter as long as you will, but your hopes will all deceive you and\nperish with you.\" Thus must you deal faithfully with men, if ever you\nintend to do them good. It is not in curing men's souls, as in curing\ntheir bodies, where they must not know their danger, lest it hinder the\ncure. They are here agents in their own cure, and if they know not their\nmisery, they will never bewail it, nor know their need of a Savior. Do\nit also seriously, zealously, and effectually. Labor to make men know\nthat heaven and hell are not matters to be played with, or passed over\nwith a few careless thoughts. \"Is it most certain, that one of these\ndays thou shalt be in everlasting joy or torment; and doth it not awaken\nthee? Are there so few that find the way of life? So many that go the\nway of death? Is it so hard to escape? So easy to miscarry? And yet do\nyou sit still and trifle? What do you mean? The world is passing away:\nIts pleasures, honors, and profits are fading and leaving you: Eternity\nis a little before you: God is just and jealous: His threatenings are\ntrue: The great day will be terrible: Time runs on: Your life is\nuncertain: You are far behind-hand: Your case is dangerous: If you die\nto-morrow, how unready are you! With what terror will your souls go out\nof your bodies! And do you yet loiter? Consider, God is all this while\nwaiting your leisure: His patience beareth: His long-suffering\nforbeareth: His mercy entreateth you: Christ offers you his blood and\nmerits: The Spirit is persuading: Conscience is accusing: Satan waits to\nhave you: This is your time: Now or never. Had you rather burn in hell,\nthan repent on earth? have Devils your tormentors, than Christ your\ngovernor? Will you renounce your part in God and glory, rather than\nrenounce your sins? O friends, what do you think of these things? God\nhath made you men; do not renounce your reason where you should chiefly\nuse it.\" Alas, it is not a few dull words between jest and earnest,\nbetween sleep and awake, that will rouse a dead-hearted sinner. If a\nhouse be on fire, you will not make a cold oration on the nature and\ndanger of fire; but will run, and cry, fire, fire. To tell a man of his\nsins as softly as Eli did his sons; or reprove him, as gently as\nJehoshaphat did Ahab, _Let not the king say so_, usually doth as much\nharm as good. Lothness to displease men, makes us undo them.\n\n[Footnote 285] Proverbs iii, 28.\n\n[Footnote 286] Hebrews iii, 13.\n\n\u00a7 6. Yet, lest you run into extremes, I advise you to do it with\nprudence and discretion. Choose the fittest season. Deal not with men\nwhen they are in a passion, or where they will take it for a disgrace.\nWhen the earth is soft, the plough will enter. Take a man when he is\nunder affliction, or newly impressed under a sermon. Christian\nfaithfulness requires us, not only to do good when it falls in our way,\nbut to watch for opportunities. Suit yourself also to the quality and\ntemper of the person. You must deal with the ingenious, more by argument\nthan persuasion. There is need of both to the ignorant. The affections\nof the convinced should be chiefly excited. The obstinate must be\nsharply reproved. The timorous must be dealt with tenderly. Love, and\nplainness, and seriousness, take with all; but words of terror some can\nscarce bear. Use also the aptest expressions. Unseemly language makes\nthe hearers loathe the food they should live by; especially if they be\nmen of curious ears, and carnal hearts. Let all your reproofs and\nexhortations be backed with the authority of God. Let sinners be\nconvinced that you speak not of your own head. Turn them to the very\nchapter and verse where their sin is condemned, and their duty\ncommanded. The voice of man is contemptible, but the voice of God is\nawful and terrible. They may reject your words, that dare not reject the\nwords of the Almighty. Be frequent with men in this duty of exhortation.\nIf we are _always to pray and not to faint_, because God will have us\nimportunate with himself: the same course, no doubt, will be most\nprevailing with men. Therefore we are commanded to _exhort one another\ndaily_;[287] and _with all long-suffering_.[288] The fire is not always\nbrought out of the flint at one stroke; nor men's affections kindled at\nthe first exhortation. And if they were, yet if they be not followed,\nthey will soon grow cold again. Follow sinners with your loving and\nearnest entreaties, and give them no rest in their sin. This is true\ncharity, the way to save men's souls, and will afford you comfort upon\nreview. Strive to bring all your exhortations to an issue. If we speak\nthe most convincing words, but all our care is over with our speech, we\nshall seldom prosper in our labors: But God usually blesses their\nlabors, whose very heart is set upon the conversion of their hearers,\nand who are therefore inquiring after the success of their work. If you\nreprove a sin, cease not till the sinner promises you to leave it, and\navoid the occasions of it. If you are exhorting to a duty, urge for a\npromise to set upon it presently. If you would draw men to Christ, leave\nnot, till you have made them confess the misery of their present\nunregenerate state, and the necessity of Christ, and of a change, and\nhave promised you to fall close to the use of means. O that all\nChristians would take this course with all their neighbors that are\nenslaved to sin, and strangers to Christ!\u2014Once more, be sure your\nexample exhort as well as your words. Let them see you constant in all\nthe duties you persuade them to. Let them see in your lives that\nsuperiority to the world, which your lips recommend. Let them see by\nyour constant labors for heaven, that you indeed believe what you would\nhave them believe. A holy and heavenly life, is a continual pain to the\nconsciences of sinners around you, and continually solicits them to\nchange their course.\n\n[Footnote 287] Hebrews iii, 13.\n\n[Footnote 288] 2 Timothy iv, 2.\n\n\u00a7 7. (3.) Besides the duty of private admonition, you must endeavor to\nhelp men to profit by the public ordinances. In order to that, endeavor\nto procure for them faithful ministers, where they are wanting. _How\nshall they hear without a preacher?_[289] Improve your interest and\ndiligence to this end, till you prevail. Extend your purses to the\nutmost. How many souls may be saved by the ministry you have procured?\nIt is a higher and nobler charity, than relieving their bodies. What\nabundance of good might great men do, if they would support in\nacademical education, such youth as they have first carefully chosen for\ntheir ingenuity and piety, till they should be fit for the ministry?\u2014And\nwhen a faithful ministry is obtained, help poor souls to receive the\nfruit of it. Draw them constantly to attend it. Remind them often what\nthey have heard, and if it be possible, let them hear it repeated in\ntheir families, or elsewhere. Promote their frequent meeting together,\nbesides publicly in the congregation; not as a separate church, but as\npart of the church more diligent than the rest in redeeming time, and\nhelping the souls of each other heaven-ward. Labor also to keep the\nordinances, and ministry in esteem. No man will be much wrought on by\nthat which he despiseth. An apostle says, _We beseech you, brethren, to\nknow them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and\nadmonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's\nsake_.[290]\n\n[Footnote 289] Romans x, 14.\n\n[Footnote 290] 1 Thessalonians v, 12, 13.\n\n\u00a7 8. (II.) Let us now a little inquire, what may be the causes of the\ngross neglect of this duty; that the hinderances being discovered, may\nthe more easily be overcome. One hinderance is, men's own sin and guilt.\nThey have not themselves been ravished with heavenly delights; how then\nshould they draw others so earnestly to seek them? They have not felt\ntheir own lost condition, nor their need of Christ; nor the renewing\nwork of the Spirit, how then can they discover these to others? They are\nguilty of the sins they should reprove, and this makes them ashamed to\nreprove. Another is a secret infidelity prevailing in men's hearts. Did\nwe verily believe, that all the unregenerate and unholy shall be\neternally tormented, how could we hold our tongues, or avoid bursting\ninto tears, when we look them in the face? Especially when they are our\nnear and dear friends? Thus doth secret unbelief consume the vigor of\neach grace and duty. O Christians, if you did verily believe, that your\nungodly neighbors, wife, husband, or child, should certainly lie for\never in hell, except they be thoroughly changed before death shall\nsnatch them away, would not this make you address them day and night\ntill they were persuaded? Were it not for this cursed unbelief, our own\nand our neighbor's souls would gain more by us than they do. These\nattempts are also much hindered by our want of charity and compassion\nfor men's souls. We _look on_ miserable souls, _and pass by_, as the\npriest and Levite by the _wounded man_. What though the sinner, wounded\nby sin, and captivated by Satan, do not desire thy help himself; yet his\nmisery cries aloud. If God had not heard the cry of our miseries, before\nhe heard the cry of our prayers, and been moved by his own pity, before\nhe was moved by our importunity, we might long have continued the slaves\nof Satan. You will pray to God for them, to open their eyes, and turn\ntheir hearts; and why not endeavor their conversion, if you desire it?\nAnd if you do not desire it, why do you ask it? Why do you not pray them\nto consider and return, as well as pray God to convert and turn them? If\nyou should see your neighbor fallen into a pit, and should pray to God\nto help him out, but neither put forth your hand to help him, nor once\ndirect him to help himself, would not any man censure you for your\ncruelty and hypocrisy? It is as true of the soul as the body. If any man\n_seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion\nfrom him, how dwelleth the love of God in him_? Or what love hath he to\nhis brother's soul? We are also hindered by a base, man-pleasing\ndisposition. We are so desirous to keep in credit and favor with men,\nthat it makes us most unconscionably neglect our known duty. He is a\nfoolish and unfaithful physician, that will let a sick man die for fear\nof troubling him. If our friends are distracted, we please them in\nnothing that tends to their hurt. And yet when they are beside\nthemselves in point of salvation, and in their madness posting on to\ndamnation, we will not stop them, for fear of displeasing them. How can\nwe be Christians, that _love the praise of men more than the praise of\nGod_? For if we _seek to please men, we shall not be the servants of\nChrist_. It is common to be hindered by sinful bashfulness. When we\nshould shame men out of their sins, we are ourselves ashamed of our\nduties. May not these sinners condemn us, when they blush not to swear,\nbe drunk, or neglect the worship of God; and we blush to tell them of\nit, and persuade them from it? Bashfulness is unseemly in cases of\nnecessity. It is not a work to be ashamed of, to obey God in persuading\nmen from their sins to Christ. Reader, hath not thy conscience told thee\nof thy duty many a time, and put thee on to speak to poor sinners; and\nyet thou hast been ashamed to open thy mouth, and so let them alone to\nsink or swim? O read and tremble, _Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and\nmy words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall\nthe Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father,\nwith the holy angels_.[291] An idle and impatient spirit hindereth us.\nIt is an ungrateful work, and sometimes makes men our enemies. Besides,\nit seldom succeeds at the first, except it be followed on. You must be\nlong teaching the ignorant, and persuading the obstinate. We consider\nnot what patience God used towards us, when we were in our sins. Woe to\nus, if God had been as impatient with us, as we are with others. Another\nhinderance is self-seeking. _All seek their own, not the things which\nare Jesus Christ's_,[292] and their brethren's. With many, pride is a\ngreat impediment. If it were to speak with a great man, and it would not\ndisplease him, they would do it. But to go among the poor, and take\npains with them in their cottages; where is the person that will do it?\nMany will rejoice in being instrumental to convert a gentleman; and they\nhave good reason; but overlook the multitude; as if the souls of all\nwere not alike to God. Alas, these men little consider how low Christ\nstooped to us! Few _rich_, and _noble_, and _wise are called_. It is the\npoor that receive the glad tidings of the gospel. And with some their\nignorance of the duty hindereth them from performing it. Either they\nknow it not to be a duty, or at least not to be their duty. If this be\nthy case, reader, I am in hope thou art now acquainted with thy duty,\nand wilt set upon it.\n\n[Footnote 291] Mark viii, 38.\n\n[Footnote 292] Philippians ii, 21.\n\n\u00a7 9. Do not object to this duty, that you are unable to manage an\nexhortation, but either set those on the work who are more able, or\nfaithfully and humbly use the small ability you have, and tell them, as\na weak man may do, what God says in his word. Decline not the duty,\nbecause it is your superior who needs advice and exhortation. Order must\nbe dispensed with in cases of necessity. Though it be a husband, a\nparent, a minister, you must teach him in such a case. If parents are in\nwant, children must relieve them. If a husband be sick, the wife must\nfill up his place in family affairs. If the rich are reduced to beggary,\nthey must receive charity. If the physician be sick, somebody must look\nto him. So the meanest servant must admonish his master, and the child\nhis parent, and the wife her husband, and the people their minister; so\nthat it be done when there is real need, and with all possible humility,\nmodesty, and meekness. Do not say, \"this will make us all preachers;\"\nfor every good Christian is a teacher, and hath a charge of his\nneighbor's soul. Every man is a physician, when a regular physician\ncannot be had, and when the hurt is so small that any man may relieve\nit; and in the same cases every man must be a teacher. Do not despair of\nsuccess. Cannot God give it? And must it not be by means?\u2014Do not plead,\nit will only be casting pearls before swine. When you are in danger to\nbe torn in pieces, Christ would have you forbear; but what is that to\nyou that are in no such danger? As long as they will hear, you have\nencouragement to speak, and may not cast them off as contemptible swine.\nSay not, \"It is a friend on whom I much depend, and by telling him his\nsin and misery, I may lose his love, and be undone.\" Is his love more to\nbe valued than his safety? or thy own benefit by him, than the salvation\nof his soul? or wilt thou connive at his damnation, because he is thy\nfriend? Is that thy best requital of his friendship? Hadst thou rather\nhe should burn in hell for ever, than thou shouldst lose his favor, or\nthe maintenance thou hast from him?\n\n\u00a7 10. (III.) But that all who fear God may be excited to do their utmost\nto help others to this blessed rest, let me entreat you to consider the\nfollowing motives. As, for instance,\u2014not only nature, but especially\ngrace, disposes the soul to be communicative of good. Therefore to\nneglect this work is a sin both against nature and grace. Would you not\nthink him unnatural, that would suffer his children or neighbors to\nstarve in the streets, while he has provision at hand? And is not he\nmore unnatural, that will let them eternally perish, and not open his\nmouth to save them? An unmerciful, cruel man, is a monster to be\nabhorred of all. If God had bid you give them all your estates, or lay\ndown your lives, to save them, you would surely have refused, when you\nwill not bestow a little breath to save them. Is not the soul of a\nhusband, or wife, or child, or neighbor, worth a few words? Cruelty to\nmen's bodies is a most damnable sin; but to their souls much more, as\nthe soul is of greater worth than the body, and eternity than time.\nLittle know you what many a soul may now be feeling in hell, who died in\ntheir sins, for want of your faithful admonition. Consider what Christ\ndid towards the saving of souls. He thought them worth his blood; and\nshall we not think them worth our breath? Will you not do a little,\nwhere Christ hath done so much?\u2014Consider what fit objects of pity\nungodly souls are. They are dead in trespasses and sins, have not hearts\nto feel their miseries, nor to pity themselves. If others do not pity\nthem, they will have no pity; for it is the nature of their disease to\nmake them pitiless to themselves, yea, their own most cruel destroyers.\nConsider it was once thy own case. It was God's argument to the\nIsraelites, to be kind to strangers, because themselves had been\n_strangers in the land of Egypt_. So should you pity them that are\nstrangers to Christ, and to the hopes and comforts of the saints,\nbecause you were once strangers to them yourselves. Consider your\nrelation to them. It is thy neighbor, thy brother, whom thou art bound\nto love as thyself. _He that loveth not his brother whom he seeth_\ndaily, _doth not love God whom he_ never _saw_. And doth he love his\nbrother, that will see him go to hell, and never hinder him?\n\n\u00a7 11. Consider what a load of guilt this neglect lays upon thy own soul.\nThou art guilty of the murder and damnation of all those souls whom thou\ndost thus neglect; and of every sin they now commit; and of all the\ndishonor done to God thereby; and of all those judgments which their\nsins bring upon the town or country where they live. Consider what it\nwill be, to look upon your poor friends in eternal flames, and to think\nthat your neglect was a great cause of it. If you should there perish\nwith them, it would be no small aggravation of your torment. If you be\nin heaven it would sure be a sad thought, were it possible that any\nsorrow could dwell there, to hear a multitude of poor souls cry out for\never, \"O, if you would but have told me plainly of my sin and danger,\nand set it home, I might have escaped all this torment, and been now in\nrest!\" What a sad voice will this be!\u2014Consider what a joy it will be in\nheaven, to meet those there, whom you have been the means to bring\nthither. To see their faces, and join with them for ever in the praises\nof God, whom you were the happy instruments of bringing to the knowledge\nand obedience of Jesus Christ! Consider how many souls you may have\ndrawn into the way of damnation, or hardened in it. We have had, in the\ndays of our ignorance, our companions in sin, whom we enticed, or\nencouraged. And doth it not become us, to do as much to save men, as we\nhave done to destroy them?\u2014Consider how diligent are all the enemies of\nthese poor souls to draw them to hell. The Devil is tempting them day\nand night: their inward lusts are still working for their ruin: the\nflesh is still pleading for its delights: their old companions are\nincreasing their dislike of holiness. And if nobody be diligent in\nhelping them to heaven, what is like to become of them?\n\n\u00a7 12. Consider how deep the neglect of this duty will wound, when\nconscience is awakened. When a man comes to die, conscience will ask\nhim, \"What good hast thou done in thy lifetime? The saving of souls is\nthe greatest good work; what hast thou done towards it? How many hast\nthou dealt faithfully with?\" I have oft observed, that the consciences\nof dying men very much wound them for this omission. For my own part,\nwhen I have been near death, my conscience hath accused me more for this\nthan for any sin: It would bring every ignorant, profane neighbor to my\nremembrance, to whom I never made known their danger. It would tell me,\n\"thou shouldst have gone to them in private, and told them plainly of\ntheir desperate danger, though it had been when thou shouldst have eaten\nor slept, if thou hadst no other time.\" Conscience would remind me how\nat such or such a time, I was in company with the ignorant, or was\nriding by the way with a wilful sinner, and had a fit opportunity to\nhave dealt with him; but did not; or at least did it to little purpose.\nThe Lord grant I may better obey conscience while I have time, that it\nmay have less to accuse me of at death!\u2014Consider what a seasonable time\nyou now have for this work. There are times in which it is not safe to\nspeak, it may cost you your liberties or your lives. Besides, your\nneighbors will shortly die, and so will you. Speak to them therefore\nwhile you may. Consider, though this is a work of greatest charity, yet\nevery one of you may perform it. The poorest as well as the rich. Every\none hath a tongue to speak to a sinner. Once more, consider the happy\nconsequences of this work, where it is faithfully done. You may be\ninstrumental of saving souls, for which Christ came down and died, and\nin which the angels of God rejoice. Such souls will bless you here and\nhereafter, God will have much glory by it. The church will be multiplied\nand edified by it. Your own souls will enjoy more improvement and vigor\nin a Divine life, more peace of conscience, more rejoicing in spirit. Of\nall the personal mercies that I ever received, next to the love of God\nin Christ to my own soul, I must most joyfully bless him for the\nplentiful success of my endeavors upon others. O what fruits then might\nI have seen, if I had been more faithful! I know we need to be very\njealous of our deceitful hearts in this point, lest our rejoicing should\ncome from our pride. Naturally we would have the praise of every good\nwork ascribed to ourselves: Yet to imitate our Father in goodness and\nmercy, and to rejoice in the degree of them we attain to, is the duty of\nevery child of God. I therefore tell you my own experience, to persuade\nyou, that if you did but know what a joyful thing it is, you would\nfollow it night and day through the greatest discouragements.\n\n\u00a7 13. Up then, every man that hath a tongue, and is a servant of Christ,\nand do something of your Master's work. Why hath he given you a tongue,\nbut to speak in his service? And how can you serve him more eminently,\nthan in saving souls? He that will pronounce you blessed at the last\nday, and invite you to _the kingdom prepared for you_, because you _fed\nhim, and clothed him, and visited him_, in his poor members, will surely\npronounce you blessed for so great a work as bringing souls to his\nkingdom. He that saith _the poor you have always with you_, hath left\nthe ungodly always with you, that you might still have matter to\nexercise your charity upon. If you have the hearts of Christians or of\nmen, let them yearn towards your ignorant, ungodly neighbors. Say as the\nlepers of Samaria, _We do not well; this day is a day of good tidings,\nand we hold our peace_. Hath God had so much mercy on you, and will you\nhave no mercy on your poor neighbors?\u2014But as this duty belongs to all\nChristians, so especially to some, according as God hath called them to\nit, or qualified them for it. To them therefore I will more particularly\naddress the exhortation.\n\n\u00a7 14. God especially expects this duty at your hands to whom he hath\ngiven more learning and knowledge, and endued with better utterance,\nthan your neighbors. The strong are made to help the weak; and those\nthat see must direct the blind. God looketh for this faithful\nimprovement of your parts and gifts, which, if you neglect, it were\nbetter you had never received them; for they will but aggravate your\ncondemnation, and be as useless to your own salvation, as they were to\nothers.\n\n\u00a7 15. All those that are particularly acquainted with some ungodly men,\nand that have peculiar interest in them, God looks for this duty at your\nhands. Christ himself did eat and drink with publicans and sinners; but\nit was only to be their physician, and not their companion. Who knows\nbut God gave you interest in them to this end, that you might be the\nmeans of their recovery? They that will not regard the words of a\nstranger, may regard a brother, or sister, or husband, or wife, or near\nfriend: Besides that the bond of friendship engageth you to more\nkindness and compassion than ordinary.\n\n\u00a7 16. Physicians that are much about dying men, should in a special\nmanner make conscience of this duty. It is their peculiar advantage,\nthat they are at hand; that they are with men in sickness and dangers,\nwhen the ear is more open, and the heart is less stubborn than in time\nof health; and that men look upon their physician as a person in whose\nhand is their life; or at least, who may do much to save them; and\ntherefore they will the more regard his advice. You that are of this\nhonorable profession, do not think this a work beside your calling, as\nif it belonged to none but ministers; except you think it beside your\ncalling to be compassionate, or to be Christians. O help therefore to\nfit your patients for heaven? And whether you see they are for life or\ndeath, teach them both how to live and die, and give them some physic\nfor their souls, as you do for their bodies. Blessed be God, that very\nmany of the chief physicians of this age have, by their eminent piety\nvindicated their profession from the common imputation of atheism and\nprofaneness.\n\n\u00a7 17. Men of wealth and authority, and that have many dependants, have\nexcellent advantages for this duty. O what a world of good might lords\nand gentlemen do, if they had but hearts to improve their influence over\nothers? Have you not all your honor and riches from God? Doth not Christ\nsay, _unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required_? If\nyou speak to your dependants for God and their souls, you may be\nregarded, when even a minister shall be despised. As you value the honor\nof God, your own comfort, and the salvation of souls, improve your\ninfluence over tenants and neighbors; visit their houses; see whether\nthey worship God in their families; and take all opportunities to press\nthem to their duty. Despise them not. Remember God is no respecter of\npersons. Let men see that you excel others in piety, compassion, and\ndiligence in God's work, as you do in the riches and honors of the\nworld. I confess you will by this means be singular, but then you will\nbe singular in glory; for few of the _mighty and noble are called_.\n\n\u00a7 18. As for the ministers of the gospel, it is the very work of their\ncalling, to help others to heaven. Be sure to make it the main end of\nyour studies and preaching. He is the able, skilful minister, that is\nbest skilled in the art of instructing, convincing, persuading, and\nconsequently of winning souls; and that is the best sermon that is best\nin these. When you seek not God, but yourselves, God will make you the\nmost contemptible of men. It is true of your reputation, what Christ\nsays of your life, _He that loveth it, shall lose it_. Let the vigor of\nyour persuasions shew, that you are sensible on how weighty a business\nyou are sent. Preach with that seriousness and fervor, as men that\nbelieve their own doctrine, and that know their hearers must be\nprevailed with, or be damned. Think not that all your work is in your\nstudies and pulpit. You are shepherds and must know every sheep, and\nwhat is their disease, and mark their strayings, and help to cure them\nand fetch them home. Learn of Paul, not only to _teach your people\npublicly_, but _from house to house_. Inquire how they grow in knowledge\nand holiness, and on what grounds they build their hopes of salvation,\nand whether they walk uprightly, and perform the duties of their several\nrelations. See whether they worship God in their families, and teach\nthem how to do it. Be familiar with them, that you may maintain your\ninterest in them, and improve it all for God. Know of them how they\nprofit by public teaching. If any too little _favor the things of the\nspirit_, let them be pitied, but not neglected. If any walk disorderly,\nrecover them with diligence and patience. If they be ignorant, it may be\nyour fault as much as theirs. Be not asleep while the wolf is waking.\nDeal not slightly with any. Some will not tell their people plainly of\ntheir sins, because they are great men: and some because they are godly;\nas if none but the poor and the wicked should be dealt plainly with. Yet\nlabor to be skilful and discreet, that the manner may answer to the\nexcellency of the matter. Every reasonable soul hath both judgment and\naffection; and every rational, spiritual sermon, must have both. Study\nand pray, and pray and study, till you are become _workmen that need not\nbe ashamed, rightly dividing the truth_; that your people may not be\nashamed, not weary in hearing you. Let your conversation be teaching, as\nwell as your doctrine. Be as forward in a holy and heavenly life, as you\nare in pressing others to it. Let your discourse be edifying and\nspiritual. Suffer any thing rather than the gospel and men's souls\nshould suffer. Let men see that you use not the ministry only for a\ntrade to live by; but that your hearts are set upon the welfare of\nsouls. Whatsoever meekness, humility, condescension, or self-denial you\nteach them from the gospel, teach it them also by your undissembled\nexample. Study and strive after unity and peace. If ever you would\npromote the kingdom of Christ, and your people's salvation, do it in a\nway of peace and love. It is as hard a thing to maintain in your people\na sound understanding, a tender conscience, a lively, gracious, heavenly\nframe of spirit, and an upright life, amidst contention, as to keep your\ncandle lighted in the greatest storms. _Blessed is that servant, whom\nhis Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing._\n\n\u00a7 19. All you whom God hath entrusted with the care of children or\nservants, I would also persuade to this great work of helping others to\nthe heavenly rest. Consider what plain and pressing commands of God\nrequire this at your hands. _These words thou shalt teach diligently\nunto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine\nhouse, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and\nwhen thou risest up._[293] _Train up a child in the way he should go;\nand when he is old, he will not depart from it._[294] _Bring up your\nchildren in the nurture and admonition of the Lord._[295] Joshua\nresolved, that _he and his house would serve the Lord_.[296] And God\nhimself says of Abraham, _I know him, that he will command his children,\nand his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the\nLord_.[297] Consider it is a duty you owe your children in point of\njustice. From you they received the defilement and misery of their\nnatures; and therefore you owe them all possible help for their\nrecovery. Consider, how near your children are to you. They are parts of\nyourselves. If they prosper when you are dead, you take it as if you\nlived and prospered in them; and should you not be of the same mind for\ntheir everlasting rest?\u2014Otherwise you will be witnesses against your own\nsouls. Your care, and pains, and cost for their bodies, will condemn you\nfor your neglect of their precious souls. Yea, all the brute creatures\nmay condemn you. Which of them is not tender of their young?\u2014Consider,\nGod hath made your children your charge, and your servants too. Every\none will confess they are the minister's charge. And have not you a\ngreater charge of your own families, than any minister can have of them?\ndoubtless at your hands God will require the blood of their souls. It is\nthe greatest charge you were ever entrusted with, and woe to you, if you\nsuffer them to be ignorant or wicked for want of your instruction or\ncorrection. Consider, what work there is for you in their dispositions\nand lives. There is not one sin, but thousands. They are hereditary\ndiseases, bred in their natures. The things you must teach them are\ncontrary to the interest and desires of their flesh. May the Lord make\nyou sensible what a work and charge lieth upon you!\u2014Consider what\nsorrows you prepare for yourselves by the neglect of your children. If\nthey prove thorns in your eyes, they are of your own planting. If you\nshould repent and be saved, is it nothing to think of their damnation;\nand yourselves the occasion of it? But if you die in your sin, how will\nthey cry out against you in hell? \"All this was long of you, you should\nhave taught us better, and did not; you should have restrained us from\nsin, and corrected us, but did not.\" What an addition will such outcries\nbe to your misery? On the other side, think what a comfort you may have,\nif you be faithful in this duty. If you should not succeed, you have\nfreed your own souls, and have peace in your own consciences. If you do,\nthe comfort is inexpressible, in their love and obedience, their\nsupplying your wants, and delighting you in all your remaining path to\nglory. Yea, all your family may fare the better for one pious child or\nservant. But the greatest joy will be, when you shall say, _Lord, here\nam I, and the children thou hast given me_; and shall joyfully live with\nthem for ever. Consider how much the welfare of church and state depends\non this duty. Good laws will not reform us, if reformation begin not at\nhome. This is the cause of all our miseries in church and state, even\nthe want of a holy education of children. I also entreat parents to\nconsider, what excellent advantages they have for saving their children.\nThey are with you while they are tender and flexible. You have a twig to\nbend, not an oak. None in the world have such interest in their\naffections as you have. You have also the greatest authority over them.\nTheir whole dependence is upon you for a maintenance. You best know\ntheir temper and inclinations. And you are ever with them, and can never\nwant opportunities: Especially you, mothers, remember this, who are more\nwith your children, while young, than their fathers. What pains are you\nat for their bodies? What do you suffer to bring them into the world?\nAnd will you not be at as much pains for the saving of their souls? Your\naffections are tender; and will it not move you to think of their\nperishing for ever? I beseech you, for the sake of the children of your\nbowels, teach them, admonish them, watch over them, and give them no\nrest till you have brought them to Christ.\n\n[Footnote 293] Deuteronomy vi, 6, 7.\n\n[Footnote 294] Proverbs xxii, 6.\n\n[Footnote 295] Ephesians vi, 4.\n\n[Footnote 296] Joshua xxiv, 15.\n\n[Footnote 295] Genesis xviii, 19.\n\n\u00a7 20. I shall conclude with this earnest request to all Christian\nparents that read these lines: that they would have compassion on the\nsouls of their poor children, and be faithful to the great trust that\nGod hath put on them. If you cannot do what you would for them, yet do\nwhat you can. Both church and state, city and country, groan under\nneglect of this weighty duty. Your children know not God, nor his laws,\nbut _take his name in vain_, and slight his worship, and you neither\ninstruct them nor correct them; and therefore God corrects both them and\nyou. You are so tender of them, that God is the less tender both of\nthem, and you. Wonder not if God make you smart for your children's\nsins; for you are guilty of all they commit, by your neglect of your\nduty to reform them. Will you resolve therefore to set upon this duty,\nand neglect it no longer? Remember Eli. Your children are like Moses in\nthe bulrushes, ready to perish if they have not help. As ever you would\nnot be charged before God as murderers of their souls, nor have them cry\nout against you in everlasting fire, see that you teach them how to\nescape it, and bring them up in holiness, and the fear of God. I charge\nevery one of you, upon your allegiance to God, as you will very shortly\nanswer the contrary at your peril, that you will neither refuse nor\nneglect this most necessary duty. If you are not willing to do it, now\nyou know it to be so great a duty, you are rebels, and not true subjects\nof Jesus Christ. If you are willing, but know not how, I will add a few\nwords of direction to help you. Lead them by your examples, to prayer,\nreading, and other religious duties. Inform their understandings. Store\ntheir memories. Rectify their wills. Quicken their affections. Keep\ntender their consciences. Restrain their tongues, and teach them\ngracious speech. Reform and watch over their outward conversation. To\nthese ends, get them Bibles and pious books, and see that they read\nthem. Examine them often what they learn: Especially spend the Lord's\nday in this work, and suffer them not to spend it in sports or idleness.\nShew them the meaning of what they read or learn. Keep them out of evil\ncompany, and acquaint them with the godly, and fail not to make them\nlearn their catechism. Especially shew them the necessity, excellency,\nand pleasure of serving God; and labor to fix all upon their hearts.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. X.\n\nThe Saint's Rest is not to be expected on Earth.\n\n \u00a7 1. In order to shew the sin and folly of expecting rest here, \u00a7 2.\n (I.) the reasonableness of present afflictions is considered; \u00a7 3. (1.)\n that they are the way to rest, \u00a7 4. (2.) keep us from mistaking our\n rest, \u00a7 5. (3.) from losing our way to it, \u00a7 6. (4.) quicken our pace\n towards it, \u00a7 7. (5.) chiefly incommode our flesh, \u00a7 8, 9. and (6.)\n under them the sweetest foretastes of rest are often enjoyed; \u00a7 10.\n (II.) How unreasonable to rest in present enjoyments; \u00a7 11. (1.) that\n 'tis idolatry; \u00a7 12. (2.) that it contradicts God's end in giving them;\n \u00a7 13. (3.) is the way to have them refused, withdrawn, or embittered;\n \u00a7 14. (4.) that to be suffered to take up our rest here is the greatest\n curse; \u00a7 15. (5.) that it is seeking rest where it is not. \u00a7 16 (6.)\n that the creatures without God, would aggravate our misery. \u00a7 17. (7.)\n and all this is confirmed by experience. \u00a7 18. The Author laments that\n this is nevertheless a most common sin. \u00a7 19-23 (III.) How unreasonable\n our unwillingness to die, and possess the saint's rest, is largely\n considered. \u00a7 24. The Author apologizes for saying so much on this last\n head.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. We are not yet come to our resting place. Doth it remain? How great\nthen is our sin and folly to seek and expect it here? Where shall we\nfind the Christian that deserves not this reproof? We would all have\ncontinual prosperity, because it is easy and pleasing to the flesh; but\nwe consider not the unreasonableness of such desires. And when we enjoy\nconvenient houses, goods, lands, and revenues? or the necessary means\nGod hath appointed for our spiritual good; we seek rest in these\nenjoyments. Whether we are in an afflicted, or prosperous state, it is\napparent, we exceedingly make the creature our rest. Do we not desire\ncreature enjoyments more violently, when we want them, than we desire\nGod himself? Do we not delight more in the possession of them, than in\nthe enjoyment of God? And if we lose them, doth it not trouble us more\nthan our loss of God? Is it not enough, that they are refreshing helps\nin our way to heaven, but they must also be made our heaven itself?\nChristian reader, I would as willingly make thee sensible of this sin,\nas of any sin in the world, if I could tell how to do it; for the Lord's\ngreatest quarrel with us is in this point. In order to this, I most\nearnestly beseech thee to consider,\u2014the reasonableness of present\nafflictions,\u2014and the unreasonableness of resting in present\nenjoyments;\u2014as also of our unwillingness to die, that we may possess\neternal rest.\n\n\u00a7 2. (I.) To shew the reasonableness of present afflictions,\nconsider,\u2014they are the way to rest;\u2014they keep us from mistaking our\nrest,\u2014and from losing our way to it;\u2014they quicken our pace towards\nit;\u2014they chiefly incommode our flesh;\u2014and under them God's people have\noften the sweetest foretastes of their rest.\n\n\u00a7 3. (1.) Consider, that labor and trouble are the common way to rest,\nboth in the course of nature and grace. Can there possibly be rest\nwithout weariness? Do you not travel and toil first, and rest after? The\nday for labor is first, and then follows the night for rest. Why should\nwe desire the course of grace to be perverted, any more than the course\nof nature? It is an established decree, _that we must through much\ntribulation enter into the kingdom of God_.[298] And that _if we suffer,\nwe shall also reign with Christ_.[299] And what are we that God's\nstatutes should be reversed for our pleasure?\n\n[Footnote 298] Acts xiv, 22.\n\n[Footnote 299] 2 Timothy ii, 12.\n\n\u00a7 4. (2.) Afflictions are exceeding useful to us, to keep us from\nmistaking our rest. A Christian's motion towards heaven is voluntary,\nand not constrained. Those means therefore are most profitable, which\nhelp his understanding and will. The most dangerous mistake of our souls\nis, to take the creature for God, and earth for heaven. What warm,\naffectionate, eager thoughts have we of the world, till afflictions cool\nand moderate them? Afflictions speak convincingly, and will be heard\nwhen preachers cannot. Many a poor Christian is sometimes bending his\nthoughts to wealth, or flesh pleasing, or applause; and so loses his\nrelish of Christ, and the joy above; till God break in upon his riches,\nor children, or conscience, or health, and break down his mountain which\nhe thought so strong: And then, when he lieth in Manasseh's fetters; or\nis fastened to his bed with pining sickness, the world is nothing, and\nheaven is something. If our dear Lord did not put these thorns under our\nhead, we should sleep out our lives, and lose our glory.\n\n\u00a7 5. (3.) Afflictions, are also God's most effectual means to keep us\nfrom losing our way to our rest. Without this hedge of thorns, on the\nright hand, and left, we should hardly keep the way to heaven. If there\nbe but one gap open, how ready are we to find it, and turn out at it?\nWhen we grow wanton, or worldly, or proud, how doth sickness, or other\naffliction, reduce us? Every Christian, as well as Luther, may call\naffliction one of his best schoolmasters; and with David may say,\n_Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now have I kept thy\nword_.[300] Many thousand recovered sinners may cry, \"O healthful\nsickness! O comfortable sorrows! O gainful losses! O enriching poverty!\nO blessed day that ever I was afflicted!\" Not only the _green pastures_,\nand _still waters_, but _the rod and staff, they comfort us_. Though the\nword and Spirit do the main work, yet suffering so unbolts the door of\nthe heart, that the word hath easier entrance.\n\n[Footnote 300] Psalm cxix, 67.\n\n\u00a7 6. (4.) Afflictions likewise serve to quicken our pace in the way to\nour rest. It were well if mere love would prevail with us, and that we\nwere rather drawn to heaven, than driven. But seeing our hearts are so\nbad, that mercy will not do it; it is better be put on with the sharpest\nscourge, than loiter, like the _foolish virgins_, till _the door is\nshut_. O what difference is there, betwixt our prayers in health, and in\nsickness; betwixt our repentings in prosperity and adversity! Alas! if\nwe did not sometime feel the spur, what a slow pace would most of us\nhold towards heaven? Since our vile natures require it, why should we be\nunwilling that God should do us good by sharp means? Judge, Christian,\nwhether thou dost not go more watchfully and speedily in the way to\nheaven, in thy sufferings, than in thy more pleasing and prosperous\nstate.\n\n\u00a7 7. (5.) Consider further, it is but the flesh that is chiefly troubled\nand grieved by affliction. In most of our sufferings the soul is free,\nunless we ourselves wilfully afflict it. \"Why then, O my soul, dost thou\nside with this flesh, and complain, as it complaineth? It should be thy\nwork to _keep it under, and bring it into subjection_, and if God do it\nfor thee, shouldst thou be discontented? Hath not the pleasing of it\nbeen the cause of almost all thy spiritual sorrows? Why then may not the\ndispleasing of it further thy joys? Must not _Paul and Silas sing_,\nbecause _their feet are in the stocks_? Their spirits were not\nimprisoned. Ah, unworthy soul! is this thy thanks to God for preferring\nthee so far before thy body? When it is rotting in the grave, thou shalt\nbe a companion of the perfected spirits of the just. In the mean time,\nhast thou not consolation which the flesh knows not of? Murmur not then\nat God's dealings with thy body; if it were not for want of love to\nthee, he would not have dealt so by all his saints. Never expect thy\nflesh should truly expound the meaning of the rod. It will call love,\nhatred; and say, God is destroying, when he is saving. It is the\nsuffering party, and therefore not fit to be the judge.\" Could we once\nbelieve God, and judge of his dealings by his word, and by their\nusefulness to our souls, and reference to our rest, and could we stop\nour ears against all the clamors of the flesh, then we should have a\ntruer judgment of our afflictions.\n\n\u00a7 8. (6.) Once more consider, God seldom gives his people so sweet a\nforetaste of their future rest, as in their deep afflictions. He keeps\nhis most precious cordials for the time of our greatest faintings and\ndangers. He gives them, when he knows they are needed, and will be\nvalued: and when he is sure to be thanked for them, and his people\nrejoiced by them. Especially when our sufferings are more directly for\nhis cause, then he seldom fails to sweeten the bitter cup. The martyrs\nhave possessed the highest joys. When did Christ preach such comforts to\nhis disciples, as when _their hearts were sorrowful_ at his departure?\nWhen did he appear among them, and say, _Peace be unto you_, but when\nthey were shut up for fear of the Jews? When did Stephen _see heaven\nopened_, but when he was giving up his life for the testimony of Jesus?\nIs not that our best state, wherein we have most of God? Why else do we\ndesire to come to heaven? If we look for a heaven of fleshly delights,\nwe shall find ourselves mistaken. Conclude then, that affliction is not\nso bad a state for a saint in his way to rest. Are we wiser than God?\nDoth he not know what is good for us as well as we? Or is he not as\ncareful of our good, as we are of our own? Woe to us, if he were not\nmuch more so! and if he did not love us better, than we love either him,\nor ourselves!\n\n\u00a7 9. Say not, \"I could bear any other affliction but this.\" If God had\nafflicted thee where thou canst bear it, thy idol would neither have\nbeen discovered, nor removed. Neither say, \"If God would deliver me out\nof it, I could be content to bear it.\" Is it nothing that he hath\npromised it _shall work for thy good_? Is it not enough that thou art\nsure to be delivered at death? Nor let it be said, \"If my affliction did\nnot disable me for duty, I could bear it.\" It doth not disable thee for\nthat duty which tendeth for thy own personal benefit, but is the\ngreatest quickening help thou canst expect. As for thy duty to others,\nit is not thy duty when God disables thee. Perhaps thou wilt say, \"The\ngodly are my afflictors: if it were ungodly men, I could easily bear\nit.\" Whoever is the instrument, the affliction is from God, and the\ndeserving cause thyself; and is it not better to look more to God and\nthyself? Didst thou not know that the best men are still sinful in part?\nDo not plead, \"If I had but that consolation, which you say God\nreserveth for suffering times, I should suffer more contentedly; but I\ndo not perceive any such thing.\" The more you suffer for righteousness'\nsake, the more of this blessing you may expect; and the more you suffer\nfor your own evil doing, the longer it will be before that sweetness\ncomes. Are not the comforts you desire, neglected or resisted? Have your\nafflictions wrought kindly with you, and fitted you for comfort? It is\nnot mere suffering that prepares you for comfort, but the success and\nfruit of sufferings upon your hearts.\n\n\u00a7 10. (II.) To shew the unreasonableness of resting in present\nenjoyments, consider,\u2014it is idolizing them;\u2014it contradicts God's end in\ngiving them;\u2014it is the way to have them refused, withdrawn, or\nembittered;\u2014to be suffered to take up our rest here, is the greatest\ncurse;\u2014it is seeking rest where it is not to be found;\u2014the creatures,\nwithout God, would aggravate our misery;\u2014and to confirm all this, we may\nconsult our own and others' experience.\n\n\u00a7 11. (1.) It is gross idolatry to make any creature or means our rest.\nTo be the rest of the soul, is God's own prerogative. As it is apparent\nidolatry to place our rest in riches or honors; so it is but a more\nrefined idolatry to take up our rest in excellent means of grace. How\nill must our dear Lord take it, when we give him cause to complain as he\ndid of our fellow idolaters, _My people have been lost sheep, they have\nforgotten their resting place_?[301] \"My people can find rest in any\nthing, rather than in me. They can delight in one another, but not in\nme. They can rejoice in my creatures and ordinances, but not in me. Yea,\nin their very labors and duties they seek for rest, but not in me. They\nhad rather be any where, than be with me. Are these their gods? Have\nthese redeemed them? Will these be better to them, than I have been, or\nthan I would be?\" If yourselves have a wife, a husband, a son, that had\nrather be any where than in your company, and be never so merry as when\nfurthest from you, would you not take it ill? So must our God needs do.\n\n[Footnote 301] Jeremiah l, 6.\n\n\u00a7 12. (2.) You contradict the end of God in giving these enjoyments. He\ngave them to help thee to him, and dost thou take up with them in his\nstead? He gave them to be refreshments in thy journey, and wouldst thou\ndwell in thy inn, and go no further? It may be said of all our comforts\nand ordinances, as it is said of the Israelites, _The ark of the\ncovenant of the Lord went before them, to search out a resting place for\nthem_.[302] So do all God's mercies here. They are not that rest; as\nJohn professed _he was not the Christ_; but they are _voices crying in\nthis wilderness_, to bid us _prepare, for the kingdom of God_, our true\nrest _is at hand_. Therefore, to rest here, were to turn all mercies\ncontrary to their own ends, and to our own advantages, and to destroy\nourselves with that which should help us.\n\n[Footnote 302] Numbers x, 33.\n\n\u00a7 13. (3.) It is the way to cause God, either to deny the mercies we\nask, or take from us those we enjoy, or at least embitter them to us.\nGod is no where so jealous as here. If you had a servant, whom your wife\nloved better than yourself, would you not take it ill of such a wife,\nand rid your house of such a servant? So, if the Lord see you begin to\nsettle in the world, and say, \"Here I will rest?\" no wonder if he soon\nin his jealousy unsettle you. If he love you, no wonder if he take that\nfrom you with which he sees you are destroying yourselves. It hath long\nbeen my observation of many, that when they have attempted great works,\nand have just finished them; or have aimed at great things in the world,\nand have just obtained them; or have lived in much trouble, and have\njust overcome it; and begin to look on their condition with content, and\nrest in it; they are then usually near to death or ruin. When a man is\nonce at this language, _Soul, take thy ease_; the next news usually is,\n_Thou fool, this night_, or this month, or this year, _thy soul shall he\nrequired, and then whose shall these things be_? What house is there\nwhere this fool dwelleth not? Let you and I consider, whether it be not\nour own case? Many a servant of God hath been destroyed from the earth,\nby being over-valued and over-loved. I am persuaded, our discontents and\nmurmurings are not so provoking to God, nor so destructive to the\nsinner, as our too sweet enjoying, and resting in, a pleasing state. If\nGod hath crossed you in wife, children, goods, friends, either by taking\nthem away, or the comfort of them; try whether this be not the cause:\nFor wheresoever your desires stop, and you say, \"Now I am well;\" that\ncondition you make your God, and engage the jealousy of God against it.\nWhether you be friends to God or enemies, you can never expect that God\nshould suffer you quietly to enjoy your idols.\n\n\u00a7 14. (4.) Should God suffer you to take up your rest here, it is one of\nthe greatest curses that could befal you. It were better never to have a\nday of ease in the world; for then weariness might make you seek after\nthe true rest. But if you are suffered to sit down and rest here, a\nrestless wretch you will be through all eternity. To _have their portion\nin this life_, is the lot of the most miserable, perishing sinners. Doth\nit become Christians then to expect so much here? Our rest is our\nheaven; and where we take our rest, there we make our heaven. And\nwouldst thou have but such a heaven as this?\n\n\u00a7 15. (5.) It is seeking rest where it is not to be found. Your labor\nwill be lost, and, if you proceed, your soul's eternal rest too. Our\nrest is only in the full obtaining of our ultimate end. But that is not\nto be expected in this life; neither is rest therefore to be expected\nhere. Is God to be enjoyed in the best church here, as he is in heaven?\nHow little of God the saints enjoy under the best means, let their own\ncomplainings testify. Poor comforters are the best ordinances, without\nGod. Should a traveller take up his rest in the way? No, because his\nhome is his journey's end. When you have all that creatures and means\ncan afford, have you that which you believed, prayed, suffered for? I\nthink you dare not say so. We are like little children strayed from\nhome, and God is now fetching us home, and we are ready to turn into any\nhouse, stay and play with every thing in our way, and sit down on every\ngreen bank, and much ado there is to get us home. We are also in the\nmidst of our labors and dangers; and is there any resting here? What\npainful work doth lie upon our hands? Look to our brethren, to our\nsouls, and to God; and what a deal of work, in respect to each of these,\ndoth lie before us? And can we rest in the midst of all our labors?\nIndeed we may rest on earth, as _the ark_ is said to have _rested in the\nmidst of Jordan_; a short and small rest. Or as Abraham desired the\n_Angels to turn in, and rest themselves_ in his tent, where they would\nhave been loth to have taken up their dwelling. Should Israel have fixed\ntheir rest in the wilderness, among serpents, and enemies, and\nweariness, and famine? Should Noah have made the ark his home, and have\nbeen loth to come forth when _the waters were assuaged_? Should the\nmariner choose his dwelling on the sea, and settle his rest in the midst\nof rocks, and sands, and raging tempests? Should a soldier rest in the\nthickest of his enemies? And are not Christians such travellers, such\nmariners, such soldiers? Have you not fears within, and troubles\nwithout? Are we not in continual dangers? We cannot eat, drink, sleep,\nlabor, pray, hear, converse, but in the midst of snares; and shall we\nsit down and rest here? O Christian, follow thy work, look to thy\ndangers, and hold on to the end, win the field, and come off the ground,\nbefore thou think of a settled rest. Whenever thou talkest of rest on\nearth, it is like _Peter on the mount_, thou _knowest not what thou\nsayest_. If, instead of telling the converted thief, _this day shalt\nthou be with me in paradise_, Christ had said, he should rest there on\nthe cross; would he not have taken it for a derision? Methinks it should\nbe ill resting in the midst of sickness and pains, persecutions and\ndistresses. But if nothing else will convince us, yet sure the\nremainders of sin, which do so easily beset us, should quickly satisfy a\nbeliever, that here is not his rest. I say therefore to every one that\nthinketh of rest on earth, _Arise ye, and depart, for this is not your\nrest, because it is polluted_.[303] These things cannot in their nature\nbe a true Christian's rest. They are too poor, to make us rich; too low,\nto raise us to happiness; too empty, to fill our souls; and of too short\ncontinuance to be our eternal content. If prosperity, or whatsoever we\nhere desire, be too base to make gods of, they are too base to be our\nrest. The soul's rest must be sufficient to afford it perpetual\nsatisfaction. But the content which creatures afford, waxes old, and,\nabates after a short enjoyment. If God should rain down _Angel's food_,\nwe should soon _loathe the manna_. If novelty support not, our delights\non earth grow dull. All creatures are to us, as the flowers to the bee;\nthere is but little honey on any one, and therefore there must be a\nsuperficial taste, and so to the next. The more the creature is known,\nthe less it satisfieth. Those only are taken with it, who see no further\nthan its outward beauty, without discerning its inward vanity. When we\nthoroughly know the condition of other men, and have discovered the evil\nas well as the good, and the defects as well as the perfections, we then\ncease our admiration.\n\n[Footnote 303] Micah ii, 10\n\n\u00a7 16. (6.) To have creatures and means without God, is an aggravation of\nour misery. If God should say, \"Take my creatures, my word, my servants,\nmy ordinances, but not myself;\" would you take this for happiness? If\nyou had the word of God, and not the word, which is God; or the bread of\nthe Lord, and not the Lord, which _is the true bread_; or could cry with\nthe Jews, _The temple of the Lord_, and had not the Lord of the temple;\nthis were a poor happiness. Was Capernaum the more happy or the more\nmiserable, for _seeing the mighty works which they had seen, and hearing\nthe words of Christ which they did hear_? Surely that, which aggravates\nour sin and misery, cannot be our rest.\n\n\u00a7 17. (7.) To confirm all this, let us consult our own and others's\nexperience. Millions have made trial, but did any ever find a sufficient\nrest for his soul on earth? Delights I deny not but they have found, but\nrest and satisfaction they never found. And shall we think to find that\nwhich never man could find before us? Ahab's kingdom is nothing to him,\nwithout _Naboth's vineyard_: and did that satisfy him when he obtained\nit? Were you like Noah's dove, to look through the earth for a resting\nplace, you would return confessing, that you could find none. Go ask\nhonor, is there rest here? You may as well rest on the top of\ntempestuous mountains, or in \u00c6tna's flames. Ask riches, is there rest\nhere? Even such as is in a bed of thorns. If you inquire for rest of\nworldly pleasure; it is such as the fish hath in swallowing the bait,\nwhen the pleasure is sweetest, death is nearest. Go to learning, and\neven to Divine ordinances, and inquire whether there your souls may\nrest? You might indeed receive from these an olive-branch of hope, as\nthey are means to your rest, and have relation to eternity; but in\nregard of any satisfaction in themselves, you would remain as restless\nas ever. How well might all these answer us, as Jacob did Rachel, _Am I\nin God's stead_, that you come to me for soul-rest? Not all the states\nof men in the world; neither court nor country, towns nor cities, shops\nnor fields, treasuries, libraries, solitude, society, studies, nor\npulpits, can afford any such thing as this rest. If you could inquire of\nthe dead of all generations, or of the living through all dominions,\nthey would all tell you, \"Here is no rest.\" Or if other men's\nexperiences move you not, take a view of your own. Can you remember the\nstate that did fully satisfy you, or if you could, will it prove\nlasting? I believe we may all say of our earthly rest, as Paul of our\nhope, _If it were in this life only, we are of all men most miserable_.\n\n\u00a7 18. If then either Scripture, or reason, or the experience of\nourselves, and all the world, will satisfy us, we may see there is no\nresting here. And yet how guilty are the generality of us of this sin?\nHow many halts and stops do we make, before we will make the Lord our\nrest? How must God even drive us, and fire us out of every condition,\nlest we should sit down and rest there? If he give us prosperity,\nriches, or honor, we do in our hearts dance before them, as the\nIsraelites before their calf, and say, _These are thy gods_, and\nconclude, _it is good to be here_. If he embitter all these to us, how\nrestless are we till our condition be sweetened, that we may sit down\nagain, and rest where we were? If he proceed in the cure, and take the\ncreature quite away, then how do we labor, and cry, and pray, that God\nwould restore it, that we may make it our rest again? And while we are\ndeprived of our former idol, yet rather than come to God, we delight\nourselves in the hope of recovering it, and make that very hope our\nrest; or search about from creature to creature, to find out something\nto supply the room; yea, if we can find no supply, yet we will rather\nsettle in this misery, and make a rest of a wretched being, than leave\nall and come to God. O the cursed averseness of our souls from God! If\nany place in hell were tolerable, the soul would rather take up its rest\nthere than come to God. Yea, when he is bringing us over to him, and\nhath convinced us of the worth of his ways and service, the last deceit\nof all is here, we will rather settle upon those ways that lead to him,\nand those ordinances that speak of him, and those gifts which flow from\nhim, than we will come entirely over to himself. Christian, marvel not\nthat I speak so much of resting in these; beware lest it prove thy own\ncase. I suppose thou art so far convinced of the vanity of riches,\nhonor, and pleasure, that thou canst more easily disclaim these, and it\nis well if it be so; but the means of grace thou lookest on with less\nsuspicion, and thinkest thou canst not delight in them too much,\nespecially seeing most of the world despise them, or delight in them too\nlittle. I know they must be loved and valued, and he that delighteth in\nany worldly thing more than in them, is not a Christian. But when we are\ncontent with ordinances without God, and had rather be at a sermon than\nin heaven, and a member of the church here, than of the perfect church\nabove, this is a sad mistake. So far let thy soul take comfort in\nordinances, as God doth accompany them; remembering, this is not heaven,\nbut the first fruits. _While we are present in the body, we are absent\nfrom the Lord_; and while we are absent from him we are absent from our\nrest. If God were as willing to be absent from us, as we from him, and\nas loth to be our rest, as we to rest in him, we should be left to an\neternal restless separation. In a word, as you are sensible of the\nsinfulness of your earthly discontents, so be you also of your irregular\nsatisfactions, and pray God to pardon them much more. And above all the\nplagues on this side hell, see that you watch and pray against settling\nany where short of heaven, or reposing your souls on any thing below God.\n\n\u00a7 19. (III.) The next thing to be considered is, our unreasonable\nunwillingness to die that we may possess the saint's rest. We linger,\nlike Lot in Sodom, till _the Lord, being merciful unto us_, doth pluck\nus away against our wills. I confess that death of itself is not\ndesirable; but the soul's rest with God is, to which death is the common\npassage. Because we are apt to make light of this sin, let me set before\nyou its nature and remedy in a variety of considerations. As for\ninstance,\u2014It has in it much infidelity. If we did but verily believe,\nthat the promise of this glory is the word of God, and that God doth\ntruly mean as he speaks, and is fully resolved to make it good; if we\ndid verily believe, that there is indeed such blessedness prepared for\nbelievers; surely we should be as impatient of living, as we are now\nfearful of dying, and should think every day a year till our last day\nshould come. Is it possible that we can truly believe, that death will\nremove us from misery to such glory, and yet be loth to die? If the\ndoubts of our own interest in that glory make us fear, yet a true belief\nof the certainty and excellency of this rest would make us restless till\nour title to it be cleared. Though there is much faith and Christianity\nin our mouths, yet there is much infidelity and paganism in our hearts,\nwhich is the chief cause that we are so loth to die. It is also much\nowing to the coldness of our love. If we love our friend, we love his\ncompany; his presence is comfortable, his absence is painful, when he\ncomes to us we entertain him with gladness; when he dies, we mourn, and\nusually over mourn. To be separated from a faithful friend, is like the\nrending a member from our body. And would not our desires after God be\nsuch, if we really loved him? Nay, should it not be much more than such,\nas he is above all friends most lovely? May the Lord teach us to look\nclosely to our hearts, and take heed of self-deceit in this point!\nWhatever we pretend, if we love either father, mother, husband, wife,\nchild, friend, wealth, or life itself more than Christ, we are yet _none\nof his_ sincere _disciples_. When it comes to the trial, the question\nwill not be, who hath preached most, or heard most, or talked most; but,\nwho hath loved most? Christ will not take sermons, prayers, fastings,\nno, nor the _giving our goods_, nor the _burning our bodies_, instead of\nlove. And do we love him, and yet care not how long we are from him? Was\nit such a joy to Jacob to see the face of Joseph in Egypt? and shall we\nbe contented without the sight of Christ in glory, and yet say we love\nhim? I dare not conclude, that we have no love at all, when we are so\nloth to die; but I dare say, were our love more, we should die more\nwillingly. If this holy flame were thoroughly kindled in our breasts, we\nshould cry out with David, _As the hart panteth after the water brooks,\nso panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the\nliving God; when shall I come and appear before God?_\u2014By our\nunwillingness to die, it appears we are little weary of sin. Did we take\nsin for the greatest evil, we should not be willing to have its company\nso long. \"O foolish, sinful heart! Hast thou been so long _a cage of all\nunclean_ lusts, a fountain incessantly streaming forth the bitter waters\nof transgression, and art thou not yet weary? Wretched soul! Hast thou\nbeen so long wounded in all thy faculties, so grievously languishing in\nall thy performances, so fruitful a soil of all iniquities, and art thou\nnot yet more weary? Wouldst thou still lie under thy imperfections? Hath\nthy sin proved so profitable a commodity, so necessary a companion, such\na delightful employment, that thou dost so much dread the parting day?\nMay not God justly grant thee thy wishes and seal thee a lease of thy\ndesired distance from him, and _nail thy ears to these doors_ of misery,\nand exclude thee eternally from his glory?\"\u2014It shews that we are\ninsensible of the vanity of the creature, when we are so loth to hear or\nthink of a removal. \"Ah foolish, wretched soul! doth every prisoner\ngroan for freedom? and every slave desire his jubilee? and every sick\nman long for health? and every hungry man for food? and dost thou alone\nabhor deliverance? Doth the sailor wish to see the land? Doth the\nhusbandman desire the harvest, and the laborer to receive his pay? Doth\nthe traveller long to be at home, and the racer to win the prize, and\nthe soldier to win the field? and art thou loth to see thy labors\nfinished, and to receive the end of thy faith and sufferings? Have thy\ngriefs been only dreams? If they were, yet methinks thou shouldst not be\nafraid of waking. Or is it not rather the world's delights that are all\nmere dreams and shadows? Or is the world become of late more kind? We\nmay, at our peril, reconcile ourselves to the world, but it will never\nreconcile itself to us. O unworthy soul! who hadst rather dwell in this\nland of darkness, and wander in this barren wilderness, than be at rest\nwith Jesus Christ! who hadst rather stay among the wolves, and daily\nsuffer the scorpion's stings, than praise the Lord with the host of\nheaven!\"\n\n\u00a7 20. This unwillingness to die, doth actually impeach us of high\ntreason against the Lord. Is it not choosing of earth before him, and\ntaking present things for our happiness, and consequently making them\nour very God? If we did indeed make God our end, our rest, our portion,\nour treasure, how is it possible but we should desire to enjoy him?\u2014It\nmoreover discovers some dissimulation. Would you have any man believe\nyou, when you call the Lord your only hope, and speak of Christ as all\nin all, and of the joy that is in his presence, and yet would endure the\nhardest life, rather than die, and enter into his presence? What\nself-contradiction is this, to talk so hardly of the world, and the\nflesh, to groan and complain of sin and suffering; and yet fear no day\nmore than that, which we expect should bring our final freedom? What\nhypocrisy is this, to profess to strive and fight for heaven, which we\nare loth to come to; and spend one hour after another in prayer, for\nthat which we would not have?\u2014\u2014Hereby we wrong the Lord and his\npromises, and disgrace his ways in the eyes of the world. As if we would\npersuade them to question, whether God be true to his word or no?\nWhether there be any such glory as the Scripture mentions? When they see\nthose so loth to leave their hold of present things, who have professed\nto live by faith, and have boasted of their hopes in another world, and\nspoken disgracefully of all things below, in comparison of things above;\nhow doth this confirm the world in their unbelief and sensuality?\n\"Sure,\" say they, \"if these professors did expect so much glory, and\nmake so light of the world as they seem, they would not themselves be so\nloth to change.\" O how are we ever able to repair the wrong which we do\nto God and souls by this scandal? And what an honor to God, what a\nstrengthening to believers, what a conviction to unbelievers, would it\nbe, if Christians in this did answer their professions, and cheerfully\nwelcome the news of rest.\u2014It also evidently shews, that we have spent\nmuch time to little purpose. Have we not had all our lifetime to prepare\nto die? So many years to make ready for one hour, and are we so unready\nand unwilling yet? What have we done? Why have we lived? Had we any\ngreater matters to mind? Would we have wished for more frequent\nwarnings? How oft hath death entered the habitations of our neighbors?\nHow oft hath it knocked at our own doors? How many distempers have vexed\nour bodies, that we have been forced to receive _the sentence of death_?\nAnd are we unready and unwilling after all this? O careless,\ndead-hearted sinners! unworthy neglecters of God's warnings! faithless\nbetrayers of our own souls!\n\n\u00a7 21. Consider, not to die, is, never to be happy; to escape death, is,\nto miss of blessedness; except God should translate us, as Enoch and\nElijah; which he never did before, or since. _If in this life only we\nhave hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable._ If you would not\ndie, and go to heaven, what would you have more than an epicure, or a\nbeast? Why do we pray, and fast, and mourn? Why do we suffer the\ncontempt of the world? Why are we Christians, and not Pagans and\nInfidels, if we do not desire a life to come? Wouldst thou lose thy\nfaith and labor, Christian, all thy duties and sufferings, all the end\nof thy life, and all the blood of Christ, and be contented with the\nportion of a worldling or a brute? Rather say, as one did on his\ndeath-bed, when he was asked whether he was willing to die or no, \"Let\nhim be loth to die, who is loth to be with Christ.\"\n\nIs God willing by death to glorify us, and are we unwilling to die, that\nwe may be glorified? Methinks, if a prince were willing to make you his\nheir, you would scarce be unwilling to accept it; the refusing such a\nkindness would discover ingratitude and unworthiness. As God hath\nresolved against them, who make excuses when they should come to Christ,\n_none of those men, which were bidden, shall taste of my supper_; so it\nis just with him to resolve against us, who frame excuses when we should\ncome to glory. The Lord Jesus was willing to come from heaven to earth\nfor us, and shall we be unwilling to remove from earth to heaven for\nourselves and him? He might have said, \"What is it to me, if these\nsinners suffer? If they value their flesh above their spirits, and their\nlust above my Father's love, if they will sell their souls for nought,\nwho is it fit should be the loser? Should I, whom they have wronged?\nMust they wilfully transgress my law, and I undergo their deserved pain?\nMust I come down from heaven to earth, and clothe myself with human\nflesh, be spit upon and scorned by man, and fast, and weep, and sweat,\nand suffer, and bleed, and die a cursed death; and all this for wretched\nworms, who would rather hazard their souls, than forbear one forbidden\nmorsel? Do they cast away themselves so slightly, and must I redeem them\nso dearly?\" Thus we see Christ had reason enough to have made him\nunwilling; and yet did he voluntarily condescend. But we have no reason\nagainst our coming to him; except we will reason against our hopes, and\nplead for the perpetuity of our own calamities. Christ came down to\nfetch us up; and would we have him lose his blood and labor, and go\nagain without us? Hath he bought our rest at so dear a rate? Is our\ninheritance _purchased with his blood_? And are we, after all this, loth\nto enter? Ah, Sirs! it was Christ, and not we, that had cause to be\nloth. May the Lord forgive, and heal this foolish ingratitude!\n\n\u00a7 22. Do we not combine with our most cruel foes in their most malicious\ndesigns, while we are loth to die, and go to heaven? What is the Devil's\ndaily business? Is it not to keep our souls from God? And shall we be\ncontent with this? Is it not the one half of hell, which we wish to\nourselves, while we desire to be absent from heaven? What sport is this\nto Satan, that his desires and thine, Christian, should so concur? that\nwhen he sees he cannot get thee to hell, he can so long keep thee out of\nheaven, and make thee the earnest petitioner for it thyself? O gratify\nnot the Devil so much to thy own injury!\u2014Do not our daily fears of death\nmake our lives a continual torment? Those lives which might be full of\njoy, in the daily contemplations of the life to come, and the sweet\ndelightful thoughts of bliss; how do we fill them up with causeless\nterrors? Thus we consume our own comforts, and prey upon our truest\npleasures. When we might lie down, and rise up, and walk abroad, with\nour hearts full of the joys of God, we continually fill them with\nperplexing fears. For he that fears dying, must be always fearing;\nbecause he hath always reason to expect it. And how can that man's life\nbe comfortable, who lives in continual fear of losing his comforts? Are\nnot these fears of death self-created sufferings? As if God had not\ninflicted enough upon us, but we must inflict more upon ourselves. Is\nnot death bitter enough to the flesh of itself, but we must double and\ntreble its bitterness? The sufferings laid upon us by God, do all lead\nto happy issues; the progress, is from tribulation to _patience_, from\nthence to _experience_, and so to _hope_, and at last to _glory_. But\nthe sufferings we make for ourselves are circular and endless, from sin\nto suffering, from suffering to sin, and so to suffering again; and not\nonly so, but they multiply in their course; every sin is greater than\nthe former, and so every suffering also: so that, except we think God\nhath made us to be our own tormentors, we have small reason to nourish\nour fears of death. And are they not useless, unprofitable fears? As all\nour care _cannot make one hair white or black_, nor _add one cubit to\nour stature_; so neither can our fear prevent our sufferings, nor delay\nour death one hour; willing, or unwilling, we must away. Many a man's\nfears have hastened his end, but no man's did ever avert it. 'Tis true,\na cautious fear, concerning the danger after death, hath profited many,\nand is very useful to the preventing of that danger; but for a member of\nChrist, and an heir of heaven, to be afraid of entering his own\ninheritance, is a sinful, useless fear. And do not our fears of dying\nensnare our souls, and add strength to many temptations? What made Peter\ndeny his Lord? What makes apostates in suffering times forsake the\ntruth? Why doth the green blade of unrooted faith wither before the heat\nof persecution? fear of imprisonment and poverty may do much, but fear\nof death will do much more. So much fear as we have of death, so much\ncowardice we usually have in the cause of God: Beside the multitude of\nunbelieving contrivances, and discontents, at the wise disposals of God,\nand hard thoughts of most of his providences, which this sin doth make\nus guilty of.\n\n\u00a7 23. Let us farther consider, what a competent time most of us have\nhad. Why should not a man, that would die at all, be as willing at\nthirty or forty, if God see fit, as at seventy or eighty? Length of time\ndoth not conquer corruption; it never withers nor decays, through age.\nExcept we receive an addition of grace, as well as time, we naturally\ngrow worse. \"O my soul, depart in peace! As thou wouldst not desire an\nunlimited state in wealth and honor, so desire it not in point of time.\nIf thou wast sensible, how little thou deservest an hour of that\npatience which thou hast enjoyed, thou wouldst think thou hast had a\nlarge part. Is it not Divine wisdom that sets the bounds? God will honor\nhimself by various persons, and several ages, and not by one person or\nage. Seeing thou hast acted thine own part, and finished thine appointed\ncourse, come down contentedly, that others may succeed, who must have\ntheir turns as well as thyself. Much time hath much duty. Beg therefore\nfor grace to improve it better; but be content with thy share of time.\nThou hast also had a competency of the comforts of life. God might have\nmade thy life a burden, till thou hadst been as weary of possessing it,\nas thou art now afraid of losing it. He might have suffered thee to have\nconsumed thy days in ignorance, without the saving knowledge of Christ:\nBut he hath opened thine eyes in the morning of thy days, and acquainted\nthee betimes with the business of thy life. Hath thy heavenly Father\ncaused thy lot to fall in Europe, not in Asia, Africa, or America; in\nEngland, not in Spain or Italy? Hath he filled up all thy life with\nmercies, and dost thou now think thy share too small? What a multitude\nof hours of consolation, of delightful Sabbaths, of pleasant studies, of\nprecious companions, of wonderful deliverances, of excellent\nopportunities, of fruitful labors, of joyful tidings, of sweet\nexperiences, of astonishing providences, hath that life partaken of?\nHath thy life been so sweet, that thou art loth to leave it? Is this thy\nthanks to him, who is thus drawing thee to his own sweetness? O foolish\nsoul! would thou wast as covetous after eternity, as thou art for a\nfading, perishing life! and after the presence of God in glory, as thou\nart for continuance on earth! Then thou wouldst cry, _Why is his chariot\nso long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?_ How long,\nLord! how long!\u2014What if God should let thee live many years, but deny\nthee the mercies which thou hast hitherto enjoyed? Might he not give\nthee life, as he gave the murmuring Israelites quails? He might give\nthee life, till thou art weary of living, and as glad to be rid of it as\nJudas or Achitophel; and make thee like many miserable creatures in the\nworld, who can hardly forbear laying violent hands on themselves. Be not\ntherefore so importunate for life, which may prove a judgment, instead\nof a blessing. How many of the precious servants of God, of all ages and\nplaces, have gone before thee? Thou art not to enter an untrodden path,\nnor appointed first to break the ice. Except Enoch and Elijah, which of\nthe saints have escaped death? And art thou better than they? There are\nmany millions of saints dead, more than now remain on earth. What a\nnumber of thine own bosom friends, and companions in duty, are now gone,\nand why shouldst thou be so loth to follow? Nay, hath not Jesus Christ\nhimself gone this way? Hath he not sanctified the grave to us, and\nperfumed the dust with his own body, and art thou loth to follow him\ntoo? Rather say as Thomas, _Let us also go, that we may die with him_.\"\n\n\u00a7 24. If what hath been said, will not persuade, Scripture and reason\nhave little force. And I have said the more on this subject, finding it\nso needful to myself and others; finding among so many Christians, who\ncould do and suffer so much for Christ, so few that can willingly die;\nand of many, who have somewhat subdued other corruptions, so few have\ngot the conquest of this. I persuade not the ungodly from fearing death:\n'Tis a wonder rather, that they fear it no more, and spend not their\ndays in continual horror.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XI.\n\nThe Importance of leading a heavenly Life upon Earth.\n\n \u00a7 1. The reasonableness of delighting in the thoughts of the saint's\n rest. \u00a7 2. Christians exhorted to it, by considering; \u00a7 3. (1.) It will\n evidence their sincere piety; \u00a7 4. (2.) It is the highest excellence of\n the Christian temper; \u00a7 5. (3.) It leads to the most comfortable life;\n \u00a7 6-9 (4.) It will be the best preservative from temptations to sin;\n \u00a7 10. (5.) It will invigorate their graces and duties; \u00a7 11. (6.) It\n will be their best cordial in all afflictions; \u00a7 12. (7.) It will\n render them most profitable to others; \u00a7 13. (8.) It will honor God;\n \u00a7 14. (9.) Without it, we disobey the commands and lose the most\n gracious and delightful discoveries of the word of God; \u00a7 15. (10.) It\n is the more reasonable to have our hearts with God, as his is so much\n on us; \u00a7 16, 17. and (11.) In heaven, where we have so much interest\n and relation; \u00a7 18. (12.) Besides, there is nothing but heaven worth\n setting our hearts upon. \u00a7 19. Transition to the subject of the next\n chapter.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. Is there such a rest remaining for us? Why then are our thoughts no\nmore upon it? Why are not our hearts continually there? Why dwell we not\nthere in constant contemplation? What is the cause of this neglect? Are\nwe reasonable in this, or are we not? Hath the eternal God provided us\nsuch a glory, and promised to take us up to dwell with himself, and is\nnot this worth thinking of? Should not the strongest desires of our\nhearts be after it? Do we believe this, and yet forget and neglect it?\nIf God will not give us leave to approach this light, what mean all his\nearnest invitations? Why doth he so condemn our earthly-mindedness, and\ncommand us to set our affections on things above? Ah vile hearts! If God\nwere against it, we were likelier to be for it; but when he commands our\nhearts to heaven, then they will not stir one inch: Like our\npredecessors, the sinful Israelites; when God would have them march for\nCanaan, then they mutiny, and will not stir; but when God bids them not\ngo, then they will be presently marching. If God say, _Love not the\nworld, nor the things of the world_; we dote upon it. How freely, how\nfrequently can we think of our pleasures, our friends, our labors, our\nflesh and its lusts, yea, our wrongs and miseries, our fears and\nsufferings? But where is the Christian, whose heart is on his rest? What\nis the matter? Are we so full of joy, that we need no more? Or is there\nnothing in heaven for our joyous thoughts? Or rather, are not our hearts\ncarnal and stupid? Let us humble these sensual hearts that have in them\nno more of Christ and glory. If this world was the only subject of our\ndiscourse, all would count us ungodly; why then may we not call our\nhearts ungodly, that have so little delight in Christ and heaven?\n\n\u00a7 2. But I am speaking only to those, whose portion is in heaven, whose\nhopes are there, and who have forsaken all to enjoy this glory; and\nshall I be discouraged from persuading such to be heavenly minded?\nFellow Christians, if you will not hear and obey, who will? Well may we\nbe discouraged to exhort the blind, ungodly world, and may say, as Moses\ndid, _Behold the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me, how then\nshall Pharaoh hear me?_ I require thee, reader, as ever thou hopest for\na part in this glory, that thou presently take thy heart to task, chide\nit for its wilful strangeness to God, turn thy thoughts from the pursuit\nof vanity, bend thy soul to study eternity, busy it about the life to\ncome, habituate thyself to such contemplations, and let not those\nthoughts be seldom and cursory, but bathe thy soul in heaven's delights;\nand if thy backward soul begin to flag, and thy thoughts to scatter,\ncall them back, hold them to their work, bear not with their laziness,\nnor connive at one neglect. And when thou hast, in obedience to God,\ntried this work, got acquainted with it, and kept a guard on thy\nthoughts till they are accustomed to obey, thou wilt then find thyself\nin the suburbs of heaven, and that there is, indeed, a sweetness in the\nwork and way of God, and that the life of Christianity is a life of joy.\nThou wilt meet with those abundant consolations which thou hast prayed,\npanted, and groaned after, and which so few Christians do ever here\nobtain, because they know not this way to them, or else make not\nconscience of walking in it. Say not, \"We are unable to set our own\nhearts on heaven; this must be the work of God only.\" Though God be the\nchief Disposer of your hearts, yet next under him you have the greatest\ncommand of them yourselves. Though without Christ you can do nothing,\nyet under him you may do much, and must, or else it will be undone, and\nyourselves undone through your neglect. Christians, if your souls were\nhealthful and vigorous, they would perceive incomparably more delight\nand sweetness in the believing joyful thoughts of your future\nblessedness, than the soundest stomach finds in its food, or the\nstrongest senses in the enjoyment of their objects; so little painful\nwould this work be to you. But because, I know, while we have flesh\nabout us, and any remains of that _carnal mind, which is enmity to God_,\nand to this noble work, that all motives are little enough, I will here\nlay down some considerations; which, if you will deliberately weigh,\nwith an impartial judgment, I doubt not, but they will prove effectual\nwith your hearts, and make you resolve on this excellent duty. More\nparticularly consider;\u2014it will evidence your sincere piety;\u2014it is the\nhighest excellence of the Christian temper;\u2014it is the way to live most\ncomfortably;\u2014it will be the best preservative from temptations and\nsin;\u2014it will enliven your graces and duties;\u2014it will be your best\ncordial in all afflictions;\u2014it will render you most profitable to\nothers;\u2014it will honor God;\u2014without it you will disobey the commands, and\nlose the most gracious and delightful discoveries of the word of God;\u2014it\nis also the more reasonable to have your hearts with God, as his is so\nmuch on you;\u2014and in heaven where you have so much interest and\nrelation;\u2014besides, there is nothing, but heaven, worth setting your\nhearts upon.\n\n\u00a7 3. (1.) Consider, a heart set upon heaven will be one of the most\nunquestionable evidences of your sincerity, and a clear discovery of a\ntrue work of saving grace upon your souls. You are often asking, \"How\nshall we know that we are truly sanctified?\" Here you have a sign,\ninfallible, from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself; _where your treasure\nis, there will your hearts be also_.[304] God is the saint's treasure\nand happiness; heaven is the place where they must fully enjoy him. A\nheart therefore set upon heaven, is no more but a heart set upon God;\nand surely, a heart set upon God through Christ, is the truest evidence\nof saving grace. When learning will be no proof of grace; when\nknowledge, duties, gifts, will fail; when arguments from thy tongue, or\nhand may be confuted; yet then will this from the bent of thy heart\nprove thee sincere. Take a poor Christian, of a weak understanding, a\nfeeble memory, a stammering tongue; yet his heart is set on God, he hath\nchosen him for his portion, his thoughts are on eternity, his desires\nthere, he cries out, \"O that I were there!\" He takes that day for a time\nof imprisonment, in which he hath not had one refreshing view of\neternity; I had rather die in this man's condition, than in the case of\nhim who hath the most eminent gifts, and is most admired for his\nperformances, while his heart is not thus taken up with God. The man\nthat Christ will find out at the last day, and condemn for want of _a\nwedding-garment_, will be one that wants this frame of heart. The\nquestion will not then be how much have you _known_, or _professed_, or\n_talked_? but, how much have you _loved_, and where was your heart?\nChristians, as you would have a proof of your title to glory, labor to\nget your hearts above. If sin and Satan keep not your affections from\nthence, they will never be able to keep away your persons.\n\n[Footnote 304] Matthew vi, 21.\n\n\u00a7 4. (2.) A heart in heaven, is the highest excellence of your Christian\ntemper. As there is a common excellence, by which Christians differ from\nthe world; so there is this peculiar dignity of spirit, by which the\nmore excellent differ from the rest. As the noblest creatures, so the\nnoblest of Christians are they, whose faces are set most direct for\nheaven. Such an heavenly saint, who hath been wrapt up to God in his\ncontemplations, and is newly come down from the views of Christ, what\ndiscoveries will he make of those superior regions! how high and sacred\nis his discourse! Enough to convince an understanding hearer, that he\nhath seen the Lord, and that no man could speak such words, except he\nhad been with God. This, this is the noble Christian. The most famous\nmountains and trees are those that reach nearest to heaven; and he is\nthe choicest Christian, whose heart is most frequently and most\ndelightfully there. If a man hath lived near the king, or hath seen the\nSultan of Persia, or the Great Turk, he will be thought a step higher\nthan his neighbors. What then shall we judge of him that daily travels\nas far as heaven, and there hath seen _the King of kings_, hath frequent\nadmittance into the Divine presence, and feasteth his soul upon the tree\nof life? For my part, I value this man before the noblest, the richest,\nthe most learned in the world.\n\n\u00a7 5. (3.) A heavenly mind is the nearest and truest way to a life of\ncomfort. The countries far north are cold and frozen because they are\ndistant from the sun. What makes such frozen uncomfortable Christians,\nbut their living so far from heaven? And what makes others so warm in\ncomforts, but their living higher, and having nearer access to God? When\nthe sun in the spring draws near our path of the earth, how do all\nthings congratulate its approach? The earth looks green, the trees shoot\nforth, the plants revive, the birds sing, and all things smile upon us.\nIf we should but try this life with God, and keep these hearts above,\nwhat a spring of joy would be within us? How should we forget our winter\nsorrows? How early should we rise to sing the praise of our great\nCreator? O Christian, get above. Those that have been there, have found\nit warmer; and I doubt not but thou hast sometimes tried it thyself.\nWhen have you largest comforts? Is it not, when thou hast conversed with\nGod, and talked with the inhabitants of the higher world, and viewed\ntheir mansions, and filled thy soul with the forethoughts of glory? If\nthou knowest by experience what this practice is, I dare say thou\nknowest what spiritual joy is. If, as David professes, _the light of\nGod's countenance more gladdens the heart than corn and wine_; then\nsurely they that draw nearest, and most behold it, must be fullest of\nthese joys. Whom should we blame then, that we are so void of\nconsolation, but our own negligent hearts? God hath provided us a crown\nof glory, and promised to set it shortly on our heads, and we will not\nso much as think of it; He bids us behold and rejoice, and we will not\nso much as look at it; and yet we complain for want of comfort. It is by\n_believing_ that we are _filled with joy and peace_, and no longer than\nwe continue our believing. It is _in hope_ the saints _rejoice_, and no\nlonger than they continue hoping. God's Spirit worketh our comforts, by\nsetting our spirits on work upon the promises, and raising our thoughts\nto the place of our comforts. As you would delight a covetous man by\nshewing him gold; so God delights his people by leading them, as it\nwere, into heaven, and shewing them himself, and their rest with him. He\ndoes not cast in our joys while we are idle, or taken up with other\nthings. He gives the fruits of the earth while we plough, and sow, and\nweed, and water, and dung, and dress, and with patience expect his\nblessing; so doth he give the joys of the soul. I entreat thee, reader,\nin the name of the Lord, and as thou valuest the life of constant joy,\nand that good conscience, which is a continual feast, to set upon this\nwork seriously, and learn the art of heavenly-mindedness, and thou shalt\nfind the increase an hundred fold, and the benefit abundantly exceed thy\nlabor. But this is the misery of man's nature; though every man\nnaturally hates sorrow, and loves the most merry and joyful life, yet\nfew love the way to joy, or will endure the pains by which it is\nobtained; they will take the next that comes to hand, and content\nthemselves with earthly pleasures, rather than they will ascend to\nheaven to seek it; and yet when all is done, they must have it there, or\nbe without it.\n\n\u00a7 6. (4.) A heart in heaven will be a most excellent preservative\nagainst temptation to sin. It will keep the heart well employed. When we\nare idle, we tempt the Devil to tempt us; as careless persons make\nthieves. A heart in heaven can reply to the tempter, as Nehemiah did, _I\nam doing a great work, so that I cannot come_. It hath no leisure to be\nlustful or wanton, ambitious, or worldly. If you were but busy in your\nlawful callings, you would not be so ready to hearken to temptations;\nmuch less if you were also busy above with God. Would a judge be\npersuaded to rise from the bench, when he is sitting upon life and\ndeath, to go and play with children in the streets? No more will a\nChristian, when he is taking a survey of his eternal rest, give ear to\nthe alluring charms of Satan. The children of the kingdom should never\nhave time for trifles, especially when they are employed in the affairs\nof the kingdom; and this employment is one of the saint's chief\npreservatives from temptations.\n\n\u00a7 7. A heavenly mind is the freest from sin, because it hath truer and\nlivelier apprehensions of spiritual things. He hath so deep an insight\ninto the evil of sin, the vanity of the creature, the brutishness of\nfleshly, sensual delights, that temptations have little power over him.\n_In vain the net is spread_, says Solomon, _in the sight of any bird_.\nAnd usually in vain doth Satan lay his snares to entrap the soul that\nplainly sees them. Earth is the place for his temptations, and earth the\nordinary bait; and how shall these ensnare the Christian, who hath left\nthe earth, and walks with God? Is converse with wise and learned men,\nthe way to make one wise? Much more is converse with God. If travellers\nreturn home with wisdom and experience, how much more he that travels to\nheaven? If our bodies are suited to the air and climate we must live in;\nhis understanding must be fuller of light, who lives with the Father of\nlights. The men of the world, that dwell below, and know no other\nconversation but earthly, no wonder if their _understanding be\ndarkened_, and Satan _takes them captive at his will_. How can worms and\nmoles see, whose dwelling is always in the earth? While this dust is in\ntheir eyes, no wonder they mistake gain for godliness, sin for grace,\nthe world for God, their own wills for the law of Christ, and, in the\nissue, hell for heaven. But when a Christian withdraws himself from his\nworldly thoughts, and begins to converse with God in heaven, methinks he\nis, as Nebuchadnezzar, taken from the beast of the field to the throne,\nand _his reason returneth unto him_. When he hath had a glimpse of\neternity, and looks down on the world again, how doth he charge with\nfolly his neglects of Christ, his fleshly pleasures, his earthly cares?\nHow doth he say of his _laughter it is mad_; and of his vain _mirth,\nwhat doth it_? How doth he verily think there is no man in bedlam so\ntruly mad, as wilful sinners, and unworthy slighters of Christ and\nglory? This makes a dying man usually wiser than others, because he\nlooks on eternity as near, and hath more heart-piercing thoughts of it,\nthan he ever had in health and prosperity. Then many of the most bitter\nenemies of the saints have their eyes opened, and, like Balaam, cry out\n_O that I might die the death of the righteous, and that my last end\nmight be like his_! Yet let the same men recover, and lose their\napprehensions of the life to come, and how quickly do they lose their\nunderstandings with it? Tell a dying sinner of the riches, honors, or\npleasures of the world, and would he not answer, \"What is all this to\nme, who must presently appear before God, and give account of all my\nlife?\" Christian, if the apprehended nearness of eternity will work such\nstrange effects upon the ungodly, and make them so much wiser than\nbefore; O what rare effects would it produce in thee, if thou couldst\nalways dwell in the views of God, and in lively thoughts of thy\neverlasting state! Surely a believer, if he improve his faith, may\nordinarily have more quickening apprehensions of the life to come, in\nthe time of his health, than an unbeliever hath at the hour of his death.\n\n\u00a7 8. A heavenly mind is also fortified against temptations, because the\naffections are thoroughly prepossessed with the high delights of another\nworld. He that loves most, and not he that only knows most, will most\neasily resist the motions of sin. The will doth as sweetly relish\ngoodness, as the understanding doth truth; and here lies much of a\nChristian's strength. When thou hast had a fresh delightful taste of\nheaven, thou wilt not be so easily persuaded from it. You cannot\npersuade a child to part with his sweetmeats, while he hath the taste in\nhis mouth. O that you would be much in feeding on _the hidden manna_,\nand be frequently tasting the delights of heaven! How would this confirm\nthy resolutions, and make thee despise the fooleries of the world, and\nscorn to be cheated with such childish toys? If the Devil had set upon\nPeter in the mount of transfiguration, when he saw Moses and Elias\ntalking with Christ, would he so easily have been drawn to deny his\nLord? What, with all that glory in his eye? No. So if he should set upon\na believing soul, when he is taken up in the mount with Christ, what\nwould such a soul say? \"Get thee behind me, Satan; wouldst thou persuade\nme hence with trifling pleasures, and steal my heart from this my rest?\nWouldst thou have me sell these joys for nothing? Is there any honor or\ndelight like this? or can that be profit, for which I must lose this?\"\nBut Satan stays till we are come down, and the taste of heaven is out of\nour mouths, and the glory we saw is even forgotten, and then he easily\ndeceives our hearts. Though the Israelites below, eat and drink, and\nrise up to play before their idol, Moses in the mount will not do so. O\nif we could keep the taste of our souls continually delighted with the\nsweetness above, with what disdain should we spit out the baits of sin?\n\n\u00a7 9. Besides, whilst the heart is set on heaven, a man is under God's\nprotection. If Satan then assault us, God is more engaged for our\ndefence, and will doubtless stand by us, and say, _My grace is\nsufficient for thee_. When a man is in the way of God's blessing, he is\nin the less danger of sin's enticing. Amidst thy temptations, Christian\nreader, use much this powerful remedy; keep close with God by a\n_heavenly mind_; follow your business above with Christ, and you will\nfind this a surer help than any other. _The way of life is above to the\nwise, that he may depart from hell beneath._[305] Remember that _Noah\nwas a just man, and perfect in his generation_; for he _walked with\nGod_: And that God said to Abraham, _Walk before me, and be thou\nperfect_.\n\n[Footnote 305] Proverbs xv, 24.\n\n\u00a7 10. (5.) The diligent keeping your hearts in heaven, will maintain the\nvigor of all your graces, and put life into all your duties. The\nheavenly Christian is the lively Christian. 'Tis our strangeness to\nheaven that makes us so dull. How will the soldier hazard his life, and\nthe mariner pass through storms and waves, and no difficulty keep them\nback, when they think of an uncertain, perishing treasure? What life\nthen would it put into a Christian's endeavors, if he would frequently\nthink of his everlasting treasure? We run so slowly, and strive so\nlazily, because we so little mind the prize. Observe but the man who is\nmuch in heaven, and you shall see he is not like other Christians; there\nis something of what he hath seen above, appeareth in all his duty and\nconversation. If a preacher, how heavenly are his sermons! If a private\nChristian, what heavenly converse, prayers, and deportment! Set upon\nthis employment, and others will see _the face_ of your conversation\n_shine_, and say, surely he hath been _with God in the mount_. But if\nyou lie complaining of deadness and dulness, that you cannot love\nChrist, nor rejoice in his love, that you have no life in prayer, nor\nany other duty; and yet neglect this quickening employment; you are the\ncause of your own complaints. Is not thy life hid with Christ in God?\nWhere must thou go, but to Christ for it? And where is that, but to\nheaven, _where Christ is_? _Thou wilt not come to Christ, that thou\nmayest have life._ If thou wouldst have light and heat why art thou no\nmore in the sunshine? For want of this recourse to heaven, thy soul is\nas a lamp that is not lighted, and thy duties as a sacrifice which hath\nno fire. Fetch one coal daily from this altar, and see if thy offering\nwill not burn. Light thy lamp at this flame, and feed it daily with oil\nfrom hence, and see if it will not gloriously shine. Keep close to this\nreviving fire, and see if thy affections will not be warm. In thy want\nof love to God, lift up thy eye of faith to heaven, behold his beauty,\ncontemplate his excellencies, and see whether his amiableness and\nperfect goodness will not ravish thy heart. As exercise maintaineth\nappetite, strength, and vigor to the body; so these heavenly exercises\nwill quickly cause the increase of grace and spiritual life. Besides, it\nis not false or strange fire, which you fetch from heaven for your\nsacrifices. The zeal which is kindled by your meditations on heaven, is\nmost likely to be a heavenly zeal. Some men's fervency is only drawn\nfrom their books, and some from the sharpness of affliction, and some\nfrom the mouth of a moving minister, and some from the attention of an\nauditory; but he that knows this way to heaven, and derives it daily\nfrom the true fountain, shall have his soul revived with the water of\nlife, and enjoy that quickening which is peculiar to the saints. _By\nthis faith_ thou mayest _offer Abel's sacrifice, more excellent than_\nthat of common men, and _by it obtain witness, that thou art righteous,\nGod testifying of thy gifts_, that they are sincere. When others are\nready, like Baal's priests, to _cut themselves_, because their sacrifice\nwill not burn; thou mayest breathe the spirit of Elijah, and in the\nchariot of contemplation soar aloft, till thy soul and sacrifice\ngloriously flame, though the flesh and the world should cast upon them\nall the water of their opposing enmity. Say not, how can mortals ascend\nto heaven? Faith hath wings, and meditation is its chariot. Faith is as\na burning glass to thy sacrifice, and meditation sets it to the face of\nthe sun; only take it not away too soon, but hold it there a while, and\nthy soul will feel the happy effect. Reader, art thou not thinking, when\nthou seest a lively Christian, and hearest his lively, fervent prayers,\nand edifying discourse, \"O how happy a man is this! O that my soul were\nin this blessed condition!\" Why, I here advise thee from God, set thy\nsoul conscientiously to this work, _wash thee_ frequently _in_ this\nJordan, and thy leprous, dead soul will revive, _and thou shalt know\nthat there is a God in Israel_, and that thou mayest live a vigorous and\njoyful life, if thou dost not wilfully neglect thy own mercies.\n\n\u00a7 11. (6.) The frequent believing views of glory are the most precious\ncordials in all afflictions. These cordials, by cheering our spirits,\nrender our sufferings far more easy; enable us to bear them with\npatience and joy; and so strengthen our resolutions, that we forsake not\nChrist for fear of trouble. If the way be ever so rough, can it be\ntedious, if it lead to heaven? O sweet sickness, reproaches,\nimprisonments, or death, accompanied with these tastes of our future\nrest! This keeps the suffering from the soul, so that it can only touch\nthe flesh. Had it not been for that little (alas, too little) taste\nwhich I had of rest, my sufferings would have been grievous, and death\nmore terrible. I may say, _I had fainted, unless I had believed to see\nthe goodness of the Lord in the land of the living_. _Unless_ this\npromised rest _had been my delight, I should then have perished in mine\naffliction. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek\nafter, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my\nlife, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.\nFor in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion; in the\nsecret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me upon a rock.\nAnd now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me.\nTherefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices if joy; I will sing,\nyea, I will sing praises unto the Lord._[306] All sufferings are nothing\nto us, so far as we have these supporting joys. When persecution and\nfear hath _shut the doors, Christ_ can _come in, and stand in the midst,\nand say to his disciples, Peace be unto you_. Paul and Silas can be in\nheaven, even when they are _thrust into the inner prison_, their bodies\nscourged with _many stripes, and their feet fast in the stocks_. The\nmartyrs find more rest in their flames, than their persecutors in their\npomp and tyranny; because they foresee the flames they escape, and the\nrest which their fiery chariot is conveying them to. If _the Son of God_\nwill _walk with us_, we are safe _in the midst of those flames_, which\nshall devour them that cast us in. _Abraham went out_ of his country,\n_not knowing whither he went_; because _he looked for a city which hath\nfoundations, whose builder and maker is God. Moses esteemed the reproach\nof Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt_, because _he had\nrespect unto the recompense of reward. He forsook Egypt, not fearing the\nwrath of the king_; because _he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.\nOthers were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain\na better resurrection._ Even _Jesus, the author and finisher of our\nfaith, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising\nthe shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God_. This\nis the noble advantage of faith, it can look on the means and end\ntogether. This is the great reason of our impatience, and censuring of\nGod, because we gaze on the evil itself, but fix not our thoughts on\nwhat is beyond it. They that saw Christ only on the cross, or in the\ngrave, _do shake their heads_, and think him lost; but God saw him\ndying, buried, rising, glorified, and all this at one view. Faith will\nin this imitate God, so far as it hath the glass of a promise to help\nit. We see God burying us under ground, but we foresee not the spring,\nwhen we shall all revive. Could we but clearly see heaven, as the end of\nall God's dealings with us, surely none of his dealings could be so\ngrievous. If God would once raise us to this life, we should find, that\nthough heaven and sin are at a great distance; yet heaven and a prison,\nor banishment, heaven and the _belly of a whale_, or a _den of lions_,\nheaven and consuming sickness, or invading death, are at no such\ndistance. But as _Abraham saw Christ's day, and rejoiced_; so we, in our\nmost forlorn state, might see that day when Christ shall give us rest,\nand therein rejoice. I beseech thee, Christian, for the honor of the\ngospel, and for thy soul's comfort, be not to learn this heavenly art,\nwhen in thy greatest extremity thou hast most need to use it. He that,\nwith Stephen, _sees the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right\nhand of God_, will comfortably bear the shower of stones. _The joy of\nthe Lord is our strength_, and that joy must be fetched from the place\nof our joy! and if we walk without our strength, how long are we like to\nendure?\n\n[Footnote 306] Psalm xxvii, 13. cxix, 92. xxvii, 4-6.\n\n\u00a7 12. (7.) He that hath his conversation in heaven, is the profitable\nChristian to all about him. When a man is in a strange country, how glad\nis he of the company of one of his own nation? How delightful is it to\ntalk of their own country, their acquaintance, and affairs at home? With\nwhat pleasure did Joseph talk with his brethren, and inquire after his\nfather, and his brother Benjamin? Is it not so to a Christian, to talk\nwith his brethren that have been above, and inquire after his Father,\nand Christ his Lord? When a worldly man will talk of nothing but the\nworld, and a politician of state affairs, and a mere scholar of human\nlearning, and a common professor of his duties; the heavenly man will be\nspeaking of heaven, and the strange glory his faith hath seen, and our\nspeedy and blessed meeting there. O how refreshing and useful are his\nexpressions! How his words pierce and melt the heart, and transform the\nhearers into other men! How doth his _doctrine drop as the rain_, and\nhis _speech distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb,\nand as the showers upon the grass_, while his _lips publish the name of\nthe Lord_, and _ascribe greatness unto his God_! Is not his sweet\ndiscourse of heaven, like the _box of precious ointment_, which, being\n_poured on the head of Christ, filled the house with the odor_? All that\nare near may be refreshed by it! Happy the people that have a heavenly\nminister! Happy the children and servants that have a heavenly father or\nmaster! Happy the man that hath a heavenly companion, who will watch\nover thy ways, strengthen thee when thou art weak, cheer thee when thou\nart drooping, and _comfort thee with the comfort wherewith he himself_\nhath been so often _comforted of God_! This is he that will be always\nblowing at the spark of thy spiritual life, and drawing thy soul to God,\nand will say to thee, as the Samaritan woman, \"_Come and see one that\nhath told me all that ever I did_; one that hath loved our souls to the\ndeath. _Is not this the Christ?_ Is not _the knowledge of God and him,\neternal life_? Is it not the glory of the saints, to _see his glory_?\"\nCome to this man's house and sit at his table, and he will feast thy\nsoul with the dainties of heaven: Travel with him by the way, and he\nwill direct and quicken thee in thy journey to heaven: Trade with him in\nthe world, and he will counsel thee to buy _the pearl of great price_.\nIf thou wrong him, he can pardon thee, remembering that Christ hath\npardoned his greater offences: If thou be angry, he is meek, considering\nthe meekness of his heavenly Pattern: Or if he fall out with you, he is\nsoon reconciled, when he recollects that in heaven you must be\neverlasting friends. This is the Christian of the right stamp, and all\nabout him are the better for him. How unprofitable is the society of all\nother sorts of Christians in comparison with this! If a man should come\nfrom heaven, how would men long to hear what reports he would make of\nthe other world, and what he had seen, and what the blessed there enjoy?\nWould they not think this man the best companion, and his discourse the\nmost profitable? Why then do you value the company of saints no more,\nand inquire no more of them, and relish their discourse no better? For\nevery saint shall go to heaven in person, and is frequently there in\nspirit, and hath often viewed it in the glass of the gospel. For my\npart, I had rather have the company of a heavenly minded Christian, than\nof the most learned disputants, or princely commanders.\n\n\u00a7 13. (8.) No man so highly honoreth God, as he whose conversation is in\nheaven. Is not a parent disgraced, when children feed on husks, are\nclothed in rags, and keep company with none but rogues and beggars? Is\nit not so to our heavenly Father, when we, who call ourselves his\nchildren, feed on earth, and the garb of our souls is like that of the\nnaked world; and our hearts familiarly converse with, and _cleave to the\ndust_, rather than stand continually in our Father's presence? Surely we\nlive below the children of a king, not according to the height of our\nhopes, nor the provision of our Father's house, and the great\npreparations made for his saints. It is well we have a Father of tender\nbowels, who will own his children in rags. If he did not first challenge\nhis interest in us, neither ourselves, nor others could know us to be\nhis people. But when a Christian can live above, and rejoice his soul\nwith the things that are unseen; how is God honored by such a one! The\nLord will testify for him, \"This man believes me, and takes me at my\nword; he rejoiceth in my promise, before he hath possession; he can be\nthankful for what his bodily eyes never saw; his rejoicing is not in the\nflesh; his heart is with me; he loves my presence; and he shall surely\nenjoy it in my kingdom for ever. _Blessed are they that have not seen,\nand yet have believed. Them that honor me, I will honor._\" How did God\nesteem himself honored by Caleb and Joshua, when they went into the\npromised land, and brought back to their brethren a taste of the fruits,\nand spake well of the good land, and encouraged the people? What a\npromise and recompense did they receive?\n\n\u00a7 14. (9.) A soul that doth not set its affections on things above,\ndisobeys the commands, and loses the most gracious and delightful\ndiscoveries of the Word of God. The same God that hath commanded thee to\nbelieve, and to be a Christian, hath commanded thee to _seek those\nthings which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God_,\nand to _set your affection on things above, not on things on the\nearth_.[307] The same God that hath forbidden thee to murder, steal, or\ncommit adultery, hath forbidden thee the neglect of this great duty; and\ndarest thou wilfully disobey him? Why not make conscience of one, as\nwell as the other? He hath made it thy duty, as well as the means of thy\ncomfort, that a double bond may engage thee not to forsake thy own\nmercies. Besides, what are all the most glorious descriptions of heaven,\nall those discoveries of our future blessedness, and precious promises\nof our rest, but lost to thee? Are not these the stars in the firmament\nof Scripture, and the golden lines in that book of God? Methinks thou\nshouldst not part with one of those promises, no not for a world. As\nheaven is the perfection of all our mercies, so the promises of it in\nthe gospel, are the very soul of the gospel. Is a comfortable word from\nthe mouth of God of such worth, that all the comforts in the world are\nnothing to it? And dost thou neglect and overlook so many of them? Why\nshould God reveal so much of his counsel, and tell us beforehand of the\njoys we shall possess, but to make us know it for our joy? If it had not\nbeen to fill us with the delights of our foreknown blessedness, he might\nhave kept his purpose to himself, and never have let us know it till we\ncome to enjoy it. Yea, when we had got possession of our rest, he might\nstill have concealed its eternity from us, and then the fears of losing\nit would have much diminished the sweetness of our joys. But it hath\npleased our Father to open his counsel, and let us know the very intent\nof his heart, that our joy might be full, and that we might live as the\nheirs of such a kingdom. And shall we now overlook all? Shall we live in\nearthly cares and sorrows, and rejoice no more in these discoveries,\nthan if the Lord had never wrote them? If thy prince had but sealed thee\na patent of some lordship, how oft wouldst thou cast thine eye upon it,\nand make it thy delightful study, till thou shouldst come to possess the\ndignify itself? And hath God sealed thee a patent of heaven, and dost\nthou let it lie by thee, as if thou hadst forgot it? O that our hearts\nwere as high as our hopes, and our hopes as high as these infallible\npromises!\n\n[Footnote 307] Colossians iii, 1, 2.\n\n\u00a7 15. (10.) It is but equal that our hearts should be on God, when the\nheart of God is so much on us. If the Lord of glory can stoop so low, as\nto set his heart on sinful dust, methinks we should easily be persuaded\nto set our hearts on Christ and glory, and ascend to him, in our daily\naffections, who so much condescends to us. Christian, dost thou not\nperceive, that the heart of God is set upon thee, and that he is still\nminding thee with tender love, even when thou forgettest both thyself\nand him? Is he not following thee with daily mercies, moving upon thy\nsoul, providing for thy body, preserving both? Doth he not bear thee\ncontinually in the arms of love, and promise that _all shall work\ntogether for thy good_, and suit all his dealings to thy greatest\nadvantage, and _give his angels charge over thee_? And canst thou be\ntaken up with the joys below, and forget thy Lord, who forgets not thee!\nUnkind ingratitude! When he speaks of his own kindness for us, hear what\nhe says: _Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath\nforgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not\nhave compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I\nnot forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;\nthy walls are continually before me._[308] But when he speaks of our\nregards to him, the case is otherwise. _Can a maid forget her ornaments,\nor a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without\nnumber._[309] As if he should say, \"You will not rise one morning, but\nyou will remember to cover your nakedness, nor forget your vanity of\ndress; and are these of more worth than your God; of more importance\nthan your eternal life? And yet you can forget these day after day.\"\nGive not God cause thus to expostulate with us. Rather let our souls get\nup to God, and visit him every morning, and our hearts be towards him\nevery moment.\n\n[Footnote 308] Isaiah xlix, 14-16.\n\n[Footnote 309] Jeremiah ii, 32.\n\n\u00a7 16. (11.) Should not our interest in heaven, and our relation to it,\ncontinually keep our hearts upon it? There our Father keeps his court.\nWe call him, _Our Father which art in heaven_. Unworthy children! that\ncan be so taken up in their play, as to be mindless of such a Father.\nThere also is Christ, our _Head_, our _Husband_, our _Life_; and shall\nwe not look towards him, and send to him, as oft as we can, till we come\nto see him face to face? Since _the heavens must receive him, until the\ntimes of restitution of all things_; let them also receive our hearts\nwith him. There also is _New Jerusalem, which is the mother of us\nall_.[310] And there are multitudes of our elder brethren. There are our\nfriends and old acquaintance, whose society, in the flesh, we so much\ndelighted in, and whose departure hence we so much lamented; and is this\nno attractive to thy thoughts? If they were within thy reach on earth,\nthou wouldst go and visit them, and why not oftener visit them in\nspirit, and rejoice beforehand to think of meeting them there? \"Socrates\nrejoiced that he should die, because he believed he should see Homer,\nHesiod, and other eminent persons. How much more do I rejoice, said a\npious old minister, who am sure to see Christ my Savior, the eternal Son\nof God, in his assumed flesh; besides so many wise, holy, and renowned\npatriarchs, prophets, apostles,\" &c. A believer should look to heaven,\nand contemplate the blessed state of the saints, and think with himself,\n\"Though I am not yet so happy as to be with you, yet this is my daily\ncomfort, you are my brethren and fellow-members in Christ, and therefore\nyour joys are my joys, and your glory by this near relation is my glory;\nespecially while I believe in the same Christ, and hold fast the same\nfaith and obedience, by which you were thus dignified, and rejoice in\nspirit with you, and congratulate your happiness in my daily\nmeditations.\"\n\n[Footnote 310] Galatians iv, 26.\n\n\u00a7 17. Moreover, our house and home is above. _For we know, that if our\nearthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of\nGod, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens._ Why do we\nthen look no oftener towards it, and _groan earnestly, desiring to be\nclothed upon with our house which is from heaven_?[311] If our home were\nfar meaner, sure we should remember it, because it is our home. If you\nwere but banished into a strange land, how frequently would your\nthoughts be at home. And why is it not thus with us in respect of\nheaven? Is not that more truly and properly our home, where we must take\nup our everlasting abode, than this, which we are every hour expecting\nto be separated from, and to see no more? We are strangers, and that is\nour country. We are heirs, and that is our inheritance; even _an\ninheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,\nreserved in heaven for us_.[312] We are here in continual distress and\nwant, and there lies our substance; even _a better and an enduring\nsubstance_.[313] Yea, the very hope of our souls is there; all our hope\nof relief from our distresses; all our hope of happiness, when here we\nare miserable; all this _hope is laid up for us in heaven_.[314] Why,\nbeloved Christians, have we so much interest, and so few thoughts there?\nSo near relation, and so little affection! Doth it become us to be\ndelighted in the company of strangers, so as to forget our Father, and\nour Lord! Or to be so well pleased with those that hate and grieve us,\nas to forget our best and dearest friends? Or to be so fond of borrowed\ntrifles, as to forget our own possession and treasure? Or to be so much\nimpressed with tears and wants, as to forget our eternal joy and rest?\nGod usually pleads his propriety in us; and thence concludes he will do\nus good, even because we are his own people whom he hath chosen out of\nall the world: Why then do we not plead our interest in him, and so\nraise our hearts above; even because he is our own God, and because the\nplace is our own possession? Men commonly over-love and over-value their\nown things, and mind them too much. O that we could mind our own\ninheritance, and value it half as much as it deserves!\n\n[Footnote 311] 2 Corinthians v, 1, 2.\n\n[Footnote 312] 1 Peter i, 4.\n\n[Footnote 313] Hebrews x, 34.\n\n[Footnote 314] Colossians i, 5.\n\n\u00a7 18. (12.) Once more consider, there is nothing, but heaven, worth\nsetting our hearts upon. If God have them not, who shall? If thou mind\nnot thy rest, what wilt thou mind? Hast thou found out some other god?\nOr something that will serve thee instead of rest? Hast thou found on\nearth an eternal happiness? Where is it? What is it made of? Who was the\nman that found it out? Who was he that last enjoyed it? Where dwelt he?\nWhat was his name? Or art thou the first that ever discovered heaven on\nearth? Ah wretch! trust not to thy discoveries, boast not of thy gain,\ntill experience bid thee boast. Disquiet not thyself, in looking for\nthat which is not on earth; lest thou learn thy experience with the loss\nof thy soul, which thou mightest have learned on easier terms; even by\nthe warnings of God in his Word, and the loss of thousands of souls\nbefore thee. If Satan should _take thee up to the mountain_ of\ntemptation, _and shew thee all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory\nof them_; he could shew thee nothing that is worthy thy thoughts, much\nless to be preferred before thy rest. Indeed, so far as duty and\nnecessity require it, we must be content to mind the things below; but\nwho is he that contains himself within the compass of those limits? And\nyet if we ever so diligently contract our cares and thoughts, we shall\nfind the least to be bitter and burdensome. Christian, see the emptiness\nof all these things, and the preciousness of the things above. If thy\nthoughts should, like the laborious bee, go over the world from flower\nto flower, from creature to creature, they would bring no honey or\nsweetness home, save what they gathered from their relations to\neternity. Though every truth of God is precious, and ought to be\ndefended; yet even all our study of truth should be still in reference\nto our rest: For the observation is too true, \"that the lovers of\ncontroversies in religion, have never been warmed with one spark of the\nlove of God. And as for minding the affairs of church and state;\" so far\nas they illustrate the providence of God, and tend to the settling of\nthe gospel, and the government of Christ, and consequently to the saving\nour own souls, and those of our posterity, they are well worth our\ndiligent observation; but these are only their relations to eternity.\nEven all our dealings in the world, our buying and selling, our eating\nand drinking, our building and marrying, our peace and war, so far as\nthey relate not to the life to come, but tend only to the pleasing of\nthe flesh, are not worthy the frequent thoughts of a Christian. And now\ndoth not thy conscience say, that there is nothing but heaven, and the\nway to it, that is worth thy minding?\n\n\u00a7 19. Now, reader, are these considerations weighty, or not? Have I\nproved it thy duty to keep thy heart on things above, or have I not? If\nthou say, not; I am confident thou contradictest thy own conscience. If\nthou acknowledge thyself convinced of the duty; that very tongue of\nthine shall condemn thee, and that confession be pleaded against thee,\nif thou wilfully neglectest such a confessed duty. Be thoroughly\nwilling, and the work is more than half done. I have now a few plain\ndirections to give you for your help in this great work; but, alas! it\nis in vain to mention them, except you be willing to put them in\npractice. However, I will propose them to thee, and may the Lord\npersuade thy heart to the work!\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XII.\n\nDirections how to lead a heavenly Life upon Earth.\n\n \u00a7 1. (I.) Hinderances to a heavenly life must be avoided; such as \u00a7 2.\n (1.) Living in any known sin; \u00a7 3. (2.) An earthly mind; \u00a7 4. (3.)\n Ungodly companions; \u00a7 5. (4.) A notional religion; \u00a7 6. (5.) A haughty\n spirit; \u00a7 7. (6.) A slothful spirit; \u00a7 8. And (7.) resting in\n preparatives for a heavenly life, without the thing itself\u2014\u00a7 9. (II.)\n The duties which will promote a heavenly life are these; \u00a7 10. (1.) Be\n convinced that heaven is the only treasure and happiness; \u00a7 11, 12.\n (2.) Labor to know your interest in it; \u00a7 13. (3.) And how near it is;\n \u00a7 14. (4.) Frequently and seriously talk of it; \u00a7 15. (5.) Endeavor in\n every duty to raise your affections nearer to it; \u00a7 16. (6.) To the\n same purpose improve every object and event; \u00a7 17, 18. (7.) Be much in\n the angelical work of praise; \u00a7 19. (8.) Possess your souls with\n believing thoughts of the infinite love of God; \u00a7 20. (9.) Carefully\n observe and cherish the motions of the Spirit of God; \u00a7 21. (10.) Nor\n even neglect the due care of your bodily health.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. As thou valuest the comforts of a heavenly conversation, I must\nhere charge thee from God,\u2014to avoid carefully some dangerous\nhinderances; and then\u2014faithfully and diligently to practise such duties\nas will especially assist thee in attaining to a heavenly life. And,\n(I.) the hinderances to be avoided with all possible care, are,\u2014living\nin any known sin,\u2014an earthly mind,\u2014the company of the ungodly,\u2014a\nnotional religion,\u2014a proud and lofty spirit,\u2014a slothful spirit,\u2014and\nresting in mere preparatives for this heavenly life, without any\nacquaintance with the thing itself.\n\n\u00a7 2. (1.) Living in any known sin, is a grand impediment to a heavenly\nconversation. What havoc will this make in thy soul! O the joys that\nthis hath destroyed! The ruin it hath made amongst men's graces! The\nsoul-strengthening duties it hath hindered! Christian reader, art thou\none that hast used violence with thy conscience? Art thou a wilful\nneglecter of known duties, either public, private, or secret? Art thou a\nslave to thine appetite, or to any other commanding sense? Art thou a\nproud seeker of thine own esteem? Art thou a peevish and passionate\nperson, ready to take fire at every word, or look, or supposed slight?\nArt thou a deceiver of others in thy dealings, or one that _will be\nrich_, right or wrong? If this be thy case, I dare say, heaven and thy\nsoul are very great strangers. These _beams in thine eyes_ will not\nsuffer thee to look to heaven; they will be _a cloud between thee and\nthy God_. When thou dost but attempt to study eternity, and gather\ncomforts from the life to come, thy sin will presently look thee in the\nface, and say, \"These things belong not to thee. How shouldst thou take\ncomfort from heaven, who takest so much pleasure in the lusts of the\nflesh?\" How will this damp thy joys, and make the thoughts of that day,\nand state, become thy trouble, and not thy delight! Every wilful sin\nwill be to thy comforts, as water to the fire; when thou thinkest to\nquicken them, this will quench them. It will utterly indispose and\ndisable thee, that thou canst no more ascend in Divine meditation, than\na bird can fly when its wings are clipped. Sin cuts the very sinews of\nthis heavenly life. O man! what a life dost thou lose? What daily\ndelights dost thou sell for a vile lust? If heaven and hell can meet\ntogether, and God become a lover of sin, then mayest thou live in thy\nsin, and in the tastes of glory; and have a conversation in heaven,\nthough thou cherish thy corruption. And take heed, lest it banish thee\nfrom heaven, as it does thy heart. And though thou be not guilty, and\nknowest no reigning sin in thy soul, think what a sad thing it would be,\nif ever this should prove thy case. Watch therefore; especially resolve\nto keep from the occasions of sin, and out of the way of temptations.\nWhat need have we daily to pray, _Lead us not into temptation, but\ndeliver us from evil_?\n\n\u00a7 3. (2.) An earthly mind is another hinderance to be carefully avoided.\n_God and Mammon_, earth and heaven, cannot both have the delight of thy\nheart. When the heavenly believer is blessing himself in his God, and\n_rejoicing in hope_ of the glory to come; perhaps thou art blessing\nthyself in thy worldly prosperity, and rejoicing in hope of thy thriving\nhere. When he is comforting his soul in the views of Christ, of angels,\nand saints, whom he shall live with for ever; then thou art comforting\nthyself with thy wealth, in looking over thy bills and bonds, thy goods,\nthy cattle, or thy buildings, and in thinking of the favor of the great,\nof the pleasure of a plentiful estate, of larger provision for thy\nchildren after thee, of the advancement of thy family, or the increase\nof thy dependants. If Christ pronounced him a fool, that said, _Soul,\ntake thy ease, thou hast enough laid up for many years_; how much more\nso art thou, who knowingly speakest in thy heart the same words? Tell\nme, what difference between this fool's expressions, and thy affections?\nRemember, thou hast to do with the Searcher of hearts. Certainly, so\nmuch as thou delightest, and takest up thy rest, on earth, so much of\nthy delight in God is abated. Thine earthly mind may consist with thy\noutward profession and common duties; but it cannot consist with this\nheavenly duty. Thou thyself knowest how seldom and cold, how cursory and\nreserved, thy thoughts have been of the joys above, ever since thou\ndidst trade so eagerly for the world. O the cursed madness of many that\nseem to be religious! They thrust themselves into a multitude of\nemployments, till they are loaded with labors, and clogged with cares,\nthat their souls are as unfit to converse with God, as a man to walk\nwith a mountain on his back; and as unapt to soar in meditation, as\ntheir bodies to leap above the sun! And when they have lost that heaven\nupon earth, which they might have had, they take up with a few rotten\narguments to prove it lawful: though, indeed, they cannot. I advise\nthee, Christian, who hast tasted the pleasures of a heavenly life, as\never thou wouldst taste of them any more, avoid this devouring gulf of\nan earthly mind. If once thou come to this, that thou _wilt be rich_,\nthou _fallest into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish and\nhurtful lusts_.[315] Keep these things loose about thee, like thy upper\ngarments, that thou mayest lay them by whenever there is need; but let\nGod and glory be next thy heart. Ever remember, _that the friendship of\nthe world is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of\nthe world, is the enemy of God._[316] _Love not the world, neither the\nthings that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the\nFather is not in him._[317] This is plain dealing, and happy he that\nfaithfully receives it!\n\n[Footnote 315] 1 Timothy vi, 9.\n\n[Footnote 316] James iv, 4.\n\n[Footnote 317] 1 John ii, 15.\n\n\u00a7 4. (3.) Beware of the company of the ungodly. Not that I would\ndissuade thee from necessary converse, or from doing them any office of\nlove; especially, not from endeavoring the good of their souls, as long\nas thou hast any opportunity or hope: Nor would I have thee conclude\nthem to be dogs and swine, in order to evade the duty of reproof: Nor\neven to judge them such at all, as long as there is any hope for the\nbetter: Much less can I approve of their practice, who conclude men dogs\nor swine, before ever they faithfully and lovingly admonish them, or\nperhaps before they have known them, or spoke with them. But it is the\nunnecessary society of ungodly men, and too much familiarity with\nunprofitable companions, that I dissuade you from. Not only the open\nprofane, the swearer, the drunkard, and the enemies of godliness, will\nprove hurtful companions to us, though these indeed are chiefly to be\navoided; but too frequent society with persons merely civil and moral,\nwhose conversation is empty and unedifying, may much divert our thoughts\nfrom heaven. Our backwardness is such that we need the most constant and\npowerful helps. A stone, or a clod, is as fit to arise and fly in the\nair, as our hearts are naturally to move toward heaven. You need not\nhinder the rocks from flying up to the sky; it is sufficient that you do\nnot help them. And surely if our spirits have not great assistance, they\nmay easily be kept from soaring upward, though they never should meet\nwith the least impediment. O think of this in the choice of your\ncompany! When your spirits are so disposed for heaven, that you need no\nhelp to lift them up, but, as flames, you are always mounting, and\ncarrying with you all that is in your way; then you may, indeed, be less\ncareful of your company; but till then, as you love the delights of a\nheavenly life, be careful herein. What will it advantage thee in a\nDivine life, to hear how the market goes, or what the weather is, or is\nlike to be, or what news is stirring? This is the discourse of earthly\nmen. What will it conduce to the raising thy heart God-ward, to hear\nthat this is an able minister, or that an eminent Christian, or this an\nexcellent sermon, or that an excellent book, or to hear some difficult\nbut unimportant controversy? Yet this for the most part, is the sweetest\ndiscourse thou art like to have from a formal, speculative, dead-hearted\nprofessor. Nay, if thou hadst newly been warming thy heart in the\ncontemplation of the blessed joys above, would not this discourse benumb\nthy affections, and quickly freeze thy heart again? I appeal to the\njudgment of any man that hath tried it, and maketh observations on the\nframe of his spirit. Men cannot well talk of one thing, and mind\nanother, especially things of such different natures. You, _young men_,\nwho are most liable to this temptation, think seriously of what I say;\ncan you have your hearts in heaven, among your roaring companions in an\nale house, or tavern? Or when you work in your shops with those, whose\ncommon language is oaths, _filthiness, or foolish talking, or jesting_?\nNay, let me tell you, if you choose such company when you might have\nbetter, and find most delight in such, you are so far from a heavenly\nconversation, that as yet you have no title to heaven at all, and in\nthat state shall never come there. If your treasure was there, your\nheart could not be on things so distant. In a word, our company will be\npart of our happiness in heaven, and it is a singular part of our\nfurtherance to it, or hinderance from it.\n\n\u00a7 5. (4.) Avoid frequent disputes about lesser truths, and a religion\nthat lies only in opinions. They are usually least acquainted with a\nheavenly life, who are violent disputers about the circumstantials of\nreligion. He, whose religion is all in his opinions, will be most\nfrequently and zealously speaking his opinions; and he, whose religion\nlies in the knowledge and love of God and Christ, will be most\ndelightfully speaking of that happy time when he shall enjoy them. He is\na rare and precious Christian, who is skilful to improve well known\ntruths. Therefore let me advise you, who aspire after a heavenly life,\nnot to spend too much of your thoughts, your time, your zeal, or your\nspeech, upon disputes that less concern your souls; but when hypocrites\nare feeding on husks, or shells, do you feed on the joys above. I wish\nyou were able to defend every truth of God, and to this end would read\nand study; but still I would have the chief truths to be chiefly\nstudied, and none to cast out your thoughts of eternity. The least\ncontroverted points are usually most weighty, and of most necessary\nfrequent use to our souls. Therefore study well such Scripture precepts\nas these; _him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful\ndisputations_.[318] _Foolish and unlearned questions, avoid, knowing\nthat they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not\nstrive._[319] _Avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and\ncontentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and\nvain._[320] _If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome\nwords, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine\nwhich is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but\ndoting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy,\nstrife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt\nminds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness;\nfrom such withdraw thyself._[321]\n\n[Footnote 318] Romans xiv, 1.\n\n[Footnote 319] 2 Timothy ii, 23, 24.\n\n[Footnote 320] Titus iii, 9.\n\n[Footnote 321] 1 Timothy vi, 3-5.\n\n\u00a7 6. (5.) Take heed of a proud and lofty spirit. There is such an\nantipathy between this sin and God, that thou wilt never get thy heart\nnear him, nor get him near thy heart, as long as this prevaileth in it.\nIf it cast the angels out of heaven, it must needs keep thy heart from\nheaven. If it cast our first parents out of paradise, and separated\nbetween the Lord and us, and brought his curse on all the creatures here\nbelow; it will certainly keep our hearts from paradise, and increase the\ncursed separation from our God. Intercourse with God will keep men low,\nand that lowliness will promote their intercourse. When a man is used to\nbe much with God, and taken up in the study of his glorious attributes,\nhe _abhors himself in dust and ashes_; and that self-abhorrence is his\nbest preparative to obtain admittance to God again. Therefore after a\nsoul-humbling day, or in times of trouble, when the soul is lowest, it\nuseth to have free access to God, and savor most of the life above. The\ndelight of God is in _him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and\ntrembleth at his word_;[322] and the delight of such a soul is in God;\nand where there is mutual delight, there will be freest admittance,\nheartiest welcome, and most frequent converse. But God is so far from\ndwelling in the soul that is proud, that he will not admit it to any\nnear access; _the proud he knoweth afar off_;[323] _God resisteth the\nproud and giveth grace to the humble_.[324] A proud mind is high in\nconceit, self-esteem, and carnal aspiring; a humble mind is high,\nindeed, in God's esteem, and in holy aspiring. These two sorts of\nhigh-mindedness are most of all opposite to each other, as we see most\nwars are between princes and princes, not between a prince and a\nploughman. Well then, art thou a man of worth in thine own eyes? Art\nthou delighted when thou hearest of thy esteem with men, and much\ndejected when thou hearest that they slight thee? Dost thou love those\nbest that honor thee, and think meanly of them that do not, though they\nbe otherwise men of godliness and honesty? Must thou have thy humors\nfulfilled, and thy judgment be a rule, and thy word a law to all about\nthee? Are thy passions kindled, if thy word or will be crossed? Art thou\nready to judge humility to be sordid baseness, and knowest not how to\nsubmit to humble confession, when thou hast sinned against God; or\ninjured thy brother? Art thou one that lookest strange at the godly\npoor, and art almost ashamed to be their companion? Canst thou not serve\nGod in a low place, as well as a high? Are thy boastings restrained more\nby prudence or artifice than humility? Dost thou desire to have all\nmen's eyes upon thee, and to hear them say, \"_This is he?_\" Art thou\nunacquainted with the deceitfulness and wickedness of thy heart? Art\nthou more ready to defend thy innocence, than accuse thyself, or confess\nthy fault? Canst thou hardly bear a close reproof, or digest plain\ndealing? If these symptoms be undeniably in thy heart, thou art a proud\nperson. There is too much of hell abiding in thee, to have any\nacquaintance with heaven; thy soul is too like the Devil, to have any\nfamiliarity with God. A proud man makes himself his God, and sets up\nhimself as his idol; how then can his affections be set on God? How can\nhe possibly have his heart in heaven? Invention and memory may possibly\nfurnish his tongue with humble and heavenly expressions, but in his\nspirit there is no more heaven than there is humility. I speak the more\nof it, because it is the most common and dangerous sin in morality, and\nmost promotes the great sin of infidelity. O Christian! if thou wouldst\nlive continually in the presence of thy Lord, lie in the dust, and he\nwill thence take thee up. _Learn of him to be meek and lowly, and thou\nshalt find rest unto thy soul._[325] Otherwise thy soul will be _like\nthe troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and\ndirt_;[326] and instead of these sweet delights in God, thy pride will\nfill thee with perpetual disquiet. As he _that humbleth himself as a\nlittle child_, shall hereafter _be greatest in the kingdom of\nheaven_;[327] so shall he now be greatest in the foretastes of that\nkingdom. God _dwells with a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the\nspirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite\nones_.[328] Therefore _humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and\nhe shall lift you up_.[329] And _when others are cast down, then thou\nshalt say, there is lifting up, and he shall save the humble\nperson_.[330]\n\n[Footnote 322] Isaiah lxvi, 2.\n\n[Footnote 323] Psalm cxxxviii, 6.\n\n[Footnote 324] 1 Peter v, 5.\n\n[Footnote 325] Matthew xi, 29.\n\n[Footnote 326] Isaiah lvii, 20.\n\n[Footnote 327] Matthew xviii, 4.\n\n[Footnote 328] Isaiah lvii, 15.\n\n[Footnote 329] James iv, 10.\n\n[Footnote 330] Job xvii, 29.\n\n\u00a7 7. (6.) A slothful spirit is another impediment to this heavenly life.\nAnd I verily think there is nothing hinders it more than this in men of\na good understanding. If it were only the exercise of the body, the\nmoving of the lips, the bending of the knee; men would as commonly step\nto heaven, as they go to visit a friend. But to separate our thoughts\nand affections from the world, to draw forth all our graces, and\nincrease each in its proper object, and hold them to it till the work\nprospers in our hands; this, this is the difficulty. Reader, heaven is\nabove thee, and dost thou think to travel this steep ascent without\nlabor and resolution? Canst thou get that earthly heart to heaven, and\nbring that backward mind to God, while thou liest still, and takest\nthine ease? If lying down at the foot of a hill, and looking toward the\ntop, and wishing we were there, would serve the turn, then we should\nhave daily travellers for heaven. _But the kingdom of heaven suffereth\nviolence, and the violent take it by force._[331] There must be violence\nused to get these first fruits, as well as to get the full possession.\nDost thou not feel it so, though I should not tell thee? Will thy heart\nget upwards, except thou drive it? Thou knowest that heaven is all thy\nhopes, that nothing below can yield thee rest, that a heart seldom\nthinking of heaven, can fetch but little comfort thence; and yet dost\nthou not lose thy opportunities, and lie below, when thou shouldst walk\nabove, and live with God? Dost thou not commend the sweetness of a\nheavenly life, and judge those the best Christians that use it, and yet\nnever try it thyself? As the sluggard that stretches himself on his bed,\nand cries, O that this were working! So dost thou talk, and trifle, and\nlive at thy ease, and say, O that I could get my heart to heaven! How\nmany read books, and hear sermons, expecting to hear of some easier way,\nor to meet with a shorter course to comfort, than they are ever like to\nfind in Scripture? Or they ask for directions for a heavenly life, and\nif the hearing them will serve, they will be heavenly Christians; but if\nwe shew them their work, and tell them, they cannot have these delights\non easier terms, then they leave us, as _the young man_ left Christ\n_sorrowful_. If thou art convinced, reader, that this work is necessary\nto thy comfort, set upon it resolutely: If thy heart draw back, force it\non with the command of reason: If thy reason begin to dispute, produce\nthe command of God, and urge thy own necessity, with the other\nconsiderations suggested in the former chapter. Let not such an\nincomparable treasure lie before thee, with thy hand in thy bosom; nor\nthy life be a continual vexation, when it might be a continual feast,\nonly because thou wilt not exert thyself. Sit not still with a\ndisconsolate spirit, while comforts grow before thine eyes, like a man\nin the midst of a garden of flowers, that will not rise to get them, and\npartake of their sweetness. This I know, Christ is the fountain; but the\nwell is deep, and thou must get forth this water before thou canst be\nrefreshed with it. I know, so far as you are spiritual, you need not all\nthis striving and violence; but in part you are carnal, and as long as\nit is so, there is need of labor. It was a custom of the Parthians, not\nto give their children any meat in the morning, before they saw the\nsweat on their faces with some labor. And you shall find this to be\nGod's usual course, not to give his children the taste of his delights,\ntill they begin to sweat in seeking after them. Judge therefore whether\na heavenly life, or thy carnal ease, be better; and as a wise man, make\nthy choice accordingly. Yet let me add for thy encouragement, _Thou\nneedest not employ thy thoughts more than thou now dost; it is only to\nfix them upon better and more pleasant objects_. Employ but as many\nserious thoughts every day upon the excellent glory of the life to come,\nas thou now dost on worldly affairs, yea, on vanities and\nimpertinencies, and thy heart will soon be at heaven. On the whole, it\nis _the field of the slothful_, that is _all grown over with thorns and\nnettles_; and _the desire of the slothful killeth his_ joys, _for his\nhands refuse to labor_; and it is _the slothful man saith, there is a\nlion in the way, a lion in the streets. As the door turneth upon its\nhinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. The slothful hideth his hand\nin his bosom, it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth_,[332]\nthough it be to feed himself with the food of life. What is this but\nthrowing away our own consolations, and consequently the precious blood\nthat bought them? For _he that is slothful in his work, is brother to\nhim that is a great waster_.[333] Apply this to thy spiritual work, and\nstudy well the meaning of it.\n\n[Footnote 331] Matthew xi, 12.\n\n[Footnote 332] Proverbs xxvi, 30. 31. xxi, 25. xxvi, 13-15.\n\n[Footnote 333] Proverbs xviii, 9.\n\n\u00a7 8. (7.) Contentment with the mere preparatives to this heavenly life,\nwhile we are utter strangers to the life itself, is also a dangerous and\nsecret hinderance. When we take up with the mere study of heavenly\nthings, and the notions of them, or the talking with one another about\nthem; as if this were enough to make us heavenly. None are in more\ndanger of this snare, than those that are employed in leading the\ndevotions of others, especially preachers of the gospel. O how easily\nmay such be deceived! while they do nothing so much as read and study of\nheaven; preach, and pray, and talk of heaven; is not this the heavenly\nlife? Alas! all this is but mere preparation: This is but collecting the\nmaterials, not erecting the building itself: It is but gathering the\nmanna for others, and not eating and digesting it ourselves. As he that\nsits at home may draw exact maps of countries, and yet never see them,\nnor travel toward them; so may you describe to others the joys of\nheaven, and yet never come near it in your own hearts. A blind man, by\nlearning, may dispute of light and colors; so may you set forth to\nothers that heavenly light, which never enlightened your own souls, and\nbring that fire for the hearts of your people, which never warmed your\nown hearts. What heavenly passages had Balaam in his prophecies, yet how\nlittle of it in his spirit? Nay, we are under a more subtle temptation,\nthan any other men, to draw us from this heavenly life. Studying and\npreaching of heaven more resembles a heavenly life, than thinking and\ntalking of the world does; and the resemblance is apt to deceive us.\nThis is to die the most miserable death, even to famish ourselves,\nbecause we have bread on our tables; and to die for thirst, while we\ndraw water for others, thinking it enough that we have daily to do with\nit, though we never drink for the refreshment of our own souls.\n\n\u00a7 9. (II.) Having thus shewed thee what hinderances will resist thee in\nthe work, I expect that thou resolve against them, consider them\nseriously, and avoid them faithfully, or else thy labor will be in vain.\nI must also tell thee, that I here expect thy promise, as thou valuest\nthe delights of these foretastes of heaven, to make conscience of\nperforming the following duties: the reading of which, without their\nconstant practice, will not bring heaven into thy heart. Particularly,\nbe convinced that heaven is the only treasure and happiness;\u2014labor to\nknow that it is thy own\u2014and how near it is;\u2014frequently and seriously\ntalk of it;\u2014endeavor to raise thy affections nearer to it in every\nduty;\u2014to the same purpose improve every object and event;\u2014be much in the\nangelical work of praise; possess thy soul with believing thoughts of\nthe infinite love of God; carefully observe and cherish the motions of\nthe Spirit of God;\u2014nor even neglect the due care of thy bodily health.\n\n\u00a7 10. (1.) Be convinced that heaven is the only treasure and happiness,\nand labor to know what a treasure and happiness it is. If thou do not\nbelieve it to be the chief good, thou wilt never set thy heart upon it;\nand this conviction must sink into thy affections; for if it be only a\nnotion, it will have little efficacy. If Eve once supposes she sees more\nworth in the forbidden fruit, than in the love and enjoyment of God, no\nwonder if it have more of her heart than God. If your judgment once\nprefers the delights of the flesh, before the delights in the presence\nof God, it is impossible your heart should be in heaven. As it is\nignorance of the emptiness of things below, that makes men so over-value\nthem; so it is ignorance of the high delights above, which is the cause\nthat men so little mind them. If you see a purse of gold, and believe it\nto be but counters, it will not entice your affections to it. It is not\nthe real excellence of a thing itself, but its known excellence, that\nexcites desire. If an ignorant man see a book, containing the secrets of\narts or sciences, he values it no more than a common piece, because he\nknows not what is in it; but he that knows it, highly values it, and can\neven forbear his meat, drink, and sleep to read it. As the Jews killed\nthe Messiah, while they waited for him, because they did not know him;\nso the world cries out for rest, and busily seeks for delight and\nhappiness, because they know it not; for did they thoroughly know what\nit is, they could not so slight the everlasting treasure.\n\n\u00a7 11. (2.) Labor also to know that heaven is thy own happiness. We may\nconfess heaven to be the best condition, though we despair of enjoying\nit; and we may desire and seek it, if we see the attainment but\nprobable; but we can never delightfully rejoice in it, till we are in\nsome measure persuaded of our title to it. What comfort is it to a man\nthat is naked, to see the rich attire of others? What delight is it for\na man that hath not a house to put his head in, to see the sumptuous\nbuildings of others? Would not all this rather increase his anguish, and\nmake him more sensible of his own misery? So for a man to know the\nexcellencies of heaven, and not know whether ever he shall enjoy them,\nmay raise desire, and urge pursuit, but he will have little joy. Who\nwill set his heart on another man's possessions? If your houses, your\ngoods, your cattle, your children, were not your own, you would less\nmind them, and less delight in them. O Christian! rest not therefore,\ntill you can call this rest your own: Bring thy heart to the bar of\ntrial: Set the qualifications of the saints on one side, and of thy soul\non the other, and then judge how near they resemble. Thou hast the same\nword to judge thyself by now, as thou must be judged by at the great\nday. Mistake not the Scripture's description of a saint, that thou\nneither acquit, nor condemn thyself upon mistakes. For as groundless\nhopes tend to confusion, and are the greatest cause of most men's\ndamnation; so groundless doubts tend to, and are the great cause of the\nsaints perplexity and distress. Therefore lay thy foundation for trial\nsafely, and proceed in the work deliberately, and resolutely, nor give\nover till thou canst say, either thou hast, or hast not yet, a title to\nthis rest. O! if men did truly know, that God is their own Father, and\nChrist their own Redeemer and Head, and that those are their own\neverlasting habitations, and that there they must abide and be happy for\never; how could they choose but be transported with the forethoughts\nthereof? If a Christian could but look upon sun, moon, and stars, and\nreckon all his own in Christ, and say, \"These are the blessings that my\nLord hath procured me, and things incomparably greater than these;\" what\nholy raptures would his spirit feel?\n\n\u00a7 12. The more do they sin against their own comforts, as well as\nagainst the grace of the gospel, who plead for their unbelief, and\ncherish distrustful thoughts of God, and injurious thoughts of their\nRedeemer; who represent the covenant, as if it were of works, and not of\ngrace; and Christ as an enemy, rather than a Savior; as if he were\nwilling they should die in their unbelief, when he hath invited them so\noften, and so affectionately, and suffered the agonies that they should\nsuffer. Wretches that we are! to be keeping up jealousies of our Lord,\nwhen we should be rejoicing in his love. As if any man could choose\nChrist, before Christ hath chosen him, or any man were more willing to\nbe happy, than Christ is to make him happy. Away with these injurious,\nif not blasphemous thoughts! if ever thou hast harbored such thoughts in\nthy breast, cast them from thee, and take heed how thou ever\nentertainest them more. God hath written the names of his people in\nheaven, as you use to write your names, or marks, on your goods; and\nshall we be attempting to raze them out, and to write our names on the\ndoors of hell? But blessed be _God, whose foundation standeth\nsure_;[334] and who _keepeth us by his power through faith unto\nsalvation_.[335]\n\n[Footnote 334] 2 Timothy ii, 19.\n\n[Footnote 335] 1 Peter i, 5.\n\n\u00a7 13. (3.) Labor to apprehend how near thy rest is. What we think near\nat hand, we are more sensible of, than that which we behold at a\ndistance. When judgments or mercies are far off, we talk of them with\nlittle concern; but when they draw close to us, we tremble at, or\nrejoice in them. This makes men think on heaven so insensibly, because\nthey conceit it at too great a distance; they look on it as twenty,\nthirty, or forty, years off. How much better were it to receive _the\nsentence of death in ourselves_,[336] and to look on eternity as near at\nhand? While I am thinking, and writing of it, it hasteth near, and I am\neven entering into it before I am aware. While thou art reading this,\nwhoever thou art, time posteth on, and thy life will be gone, _as a tale\nthat is told_. If you verily believed you should die to-morrow, how\nseriously would you think of heaven to-night? When Samuel had told Saul,\n_To-morrow shalt thou be with me_; this struck him to the heart. And if\nChrist should say to a believing soul, To-morrow shalt thou be with me;\nthis would bring him in spirit to heaven beforehand. Do but suppose that\nyou are still entering into heaven, and it will greatly help you more\nseriously to mind it.\n\n[Footnote 336] 2 Corinthians i, 9.\n\n\u00a7 14. (4.) Let thy eternal rest be the subject of thy frequent serious\ndiscourse; especially with those that can speak from their hearts, and\nare seasoned themselves with a heavenly nature. It is pity Christians\nshould ever meet together, without some talk of their meeting in heaven,\nor of the way to it, before they part: It is pity so much time is spent\nin vain conversation, and useless disputes, and not a serious word of\nheaven among them. Methinks we should meet together on purpose, to warm\nour spirits with discoursing of our rest. To hear a Christian set forth\nthat blessed, glorious state, with life and power, from the promises of\nthe gospel; methinks should make us say, _Did not our hearts burn within\nus, while he opened to us the Scriptures?_[337] If a Felix will\n_tremble_, when he hears his judgment powerfully represented, why should\nnot the believer be revived, when he hears his eternal rest described?\nWicked men can be delighted in talking together of their wickedness; and\nshould not Christians then be delighted in talking of Christ? and the\nheirs of heaven in talking of their inheritance? This may make our\nhearts revive, as it did Jacob's to hear the message that called him to\nGoshen, and to see the chariots that should bring him to Joseph. O that\nwe were furnished with skill and resolution, to turn the stream of men's\ncommon discourse to these more sublime and precious things! And when men\nbegin to talk of things unprofitable, that we could tell how to put in a\nword for heaven, and say, as Peter of his bodily food, _Not so, for I\nhave never eaten any thing that is common or unclean!_ O the good that\nwe might both do and receive by this course! Had it not been to deter us\nfrom unprofitable conversation, Christ would not have talked of our\n_giving an account of every idle word in the day of judgment_.[338] Say\nthen, as the Psalmist, when you are in company, _Let my tongue cleave to\nthe roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief\njoy_.[339] Then you shall find it true, that _a wholesome tongue is a\ntree of life_.[340]\n\n[Footnote 337] Luke xxiv, 32.\n\n[Footnote 338] Matthew xii, 36.\n\n[Footnote 339] Psalm cxxxvii, 6.\n\n[Footnote 340] Proverbs xv, 4.\n\n\u00a7 15. (5.) Endeavor, in every duty, to raise thy affections nearer to\nheaven. God's end in the institution of his ordinances was, that they\nshould be as so many steps to advance us to our rest, and by which, in\nsubordination to Christ, we might daily ascend in our affections. Let\nthis be thy end in using them, and doubtless they will not be\nunsuccessful. How have you been rejoiced by a few lines from a friend,\nwhen you could not see him face to face? And may we not have intercourse\nwith God in his ordinances, though our persons be yet so far remote? May\nnot our spirits rejoice in reading those lines, which contain our legacy\nand charter for heaven? With what gladness and triumph may we read the\nexpressions of Divine love, and hear of our celestial country, though we\nhave not yet the happiness to behold it? Men that are separated by sea\nand land, can by letters carry on great and gainful trades; and may not\na Christian, in the wise improvement of duties, drive on this happy\ntrade for rest? Come then, renounce formality, custom, and applause, and\nkneel down in secret or public prayer, with hope to get thy heart nearer\nto God before thou risest up. When thou openest the Bible, or other\nbook, hope to meet with some passage of Divine truth, and such blessing\nof the Spirit with it, as will give thee a fuller taste of heaven. When\nthou art going to the house of God, say, \"I hope to meet with somewhat\nfrom God to raise my affections, before I return; I hope the Spirit will\ngive me the meeting, and sweeten my heart with those celestial delights;\nI hope Christ will _appear to me in that way, and shine about me with\nlight from heaven_, let me hear his instructing and reviving voice, and\ncause the _scales to fall from my eyes_, that I may see more of the\nglory than I ever yet saw. I hope, before I return, my Lord will bring\nmy heart within the view of rest, and set it before his Father's\npresence, that I may return, as _the shepherds_, from the heavenly\nvision, _glorifying and praising God for all the things I have heard and\nseen_.\" When the Indians first saw that the English could converse\ntogether by letters, they thought there was some spirit enclosed in\nthem. So would by-standers admire, when Christians have communion with\nGod in duties, what there is in those Scriptures, in that sermon, in\nthis prayer, that fills their hearts so full of joy, and so transports\nthem above themselves. Certainly God would not fail us in our duties, if\nwe did not fail ourselves. Remember, therefore, always to pray for your\nminister, that God would put some Divine message into his mouth, which\nmay leave a heavenly relish on your spirit.\n\n\u00a7 16. (6.) Improve every object and every event, to mind thy soul of its\napproaching rest. As all providences and creatures are means to our\nrest, so they point us to that, as their end. God's sweetest dealings\nwith us at the present, would not be half so sweet as they are, if they\ndid not intimate some further sweetness. Thou takest but the bare\nearnest, and overlookest the main sum, when thou receivest thy mercies,\nand forgettest thy crown. O that Christians were skilful in this art!\nYou can open your Bibles; learn to open the volumes of creatures and\nprovidences, to read there also of God and glory. Thus we might have a\nfuller taste of Christ and heaven in every common meal, than most men\nhave in a sacrament. If thou prosper in the world, let it make thee more\nsensible of thy perpetual prosperity. If thou art weary with labor, let\nit make the thoughts of thy eternal rest more sweet. If things go cross,\nlet thy desires be more earnest to have sorrows and sufferings for ever\ncease. Is thy body refreshed with food, or sleep? remember the\nunconceivable refreshment with Christ. Dost thou hear any good news?\nremember what glad tidings it will be, to hear _the trump of God_, and\nthe applauding sentence of Christ. Art thou delighted with the society\nof the saints? remember what the perfect society in heaven will be. Is\nGod communicating himself to thy spirit? remember the time of thy\nhighest advancement, when both thy communion and joy shall be full. Dost\nthou hear the raging noise of the wicked, and the confusions of the\nworld? think of the blessed harmony in heaven. Dost thou hear the\ntempest of war? remember the day when thou shalt be in perfect peace,\nunder the wings of the Prince of peace for ever. Thus, every condition,\nand creature, affords us advantages for a heavenly life, if we had but\nhearts to improve them.\n\n\u00a7 17. (7.) Be much in the angelical work of praise. The more heavenly\nthe employment, the more will it make the spirit heavenly. Praising God\nis the work of angels and saints in heaven, and will be our own\neverlasting work; and if we were more in it now, we should be liker to\nwhat we shall be then. As desire, faith, and hope, are of shorter\ncontinuance than love and joy; so also preaching, prayer, and\nsacraments, and all means for expressing and confirming our faith and\nhope, shall cease, when our triumphant expressions of love and joy shall\nabide for ever. The liveliest emblem of heaven that I know upon earth,\nis, when the people of God, in the deep sense of his excellency and\nbounty, from hearts abounding with love and joy, join together both in\nheart and voice, in the cheerful and melodious singing of his praises.\nThese delights, like the testimony of the Spirit, witness themselves to\nbe of God, and bring the evidences of their heavenly parentage along\nwith them.\n\n\u00a7 18. Little do we know how we wrong ourselves by shutting out of our\nprayers the praises of God, or allowing them so narrow a room as we\nusually do, while we are copious enough in our confessions and\npetitions. Reader, I entreat thee, remember this, let praises have a\nlarger room in thy duties; keep matter ready at hand to feed thy praise,\nas well as matter for confession and petition. To this end, study the\nexcellencies and goodness of the Lord, as frequently as thy own wants\nand unworthiness; the mercies thou hast received, and those which are\npromised, as often as the sins thou hast committed. _Praise is comely\nfor the upright. Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth God. Praise ye the\nLord, for the Lord is good; sing praises unto his name, for it is\npleasant._[341] _Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God\ncontinually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his\nname._[342] Had not David a most heavenly spirit, who was so much in\nthis heavenly work? Doth it not sometimes raise our hearts, when we only\nread the Song of Moses, and the Psalms of David? How much more would it\nraise and refresh us, to be skilful and frequent in the work ourselves?\nO the madness of youth, that lay out their vigor of body and mind upon\nvain delights and fleshly lusts, which is so fit for the noblest work of\nman! And O the sinful folly of many of the saints, who drench their\nspirits in continual sadness, and waste their days in complaints and\ngroans, and so make themselves, both in body and mind, unfit for this\nsweet and heavenly work! Instead of joining with the people of God in\nhis praises, they are questioning their worthiness, and studying their\nmiseries; and so rob God of his glory, and themselves of their\nconsolation. But the greatest destroyer of our comfort in this duty, is\nour taking up with the tune and melody, and suffering the heart to be\nidle, which ought to perform the principal part of the work, and use the\nmelody to revive and exhilarate itself.\n\n[Footnote 341] Psalm xxxiii, 1. l, 23. cxxxv, 3.\n\n[Footnote 342] Hebrews xiii, 15.\n\n\u00a7 19. (8.) Ever keep thy soul possessed with believing thoughts of the\ninfinite love of God. Love is the attractive of love. Few so vile, but\nwill love those that love them. No doubt it is the death of our heavenly\nlife, to have hard thoughts of God, to conceive of him as one that would\nrather damn, than save us. This is to put the blessed God into the\nsimilitude of Satan. When our ignorance and unbelief have drawn the most\ndeformed picture of God in our imaginations, then we complain, that we\ncannot love him, nor delight in him. This is the case of many thousand\nChristians. Alas, that we should thus blaspheme God, and blast our own\njoys! Scripture assures us, that _God is love_;[343] that _fury is not\nin him_;[344] that _he hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but\nthat the wicked turn from his way and live_.[345] Much more hath he\ntestified his love to his chosen, and his full resolution effectually to\nsave them. O that we could always think of God, as we do of a friend; as\nof one that unfeignedly loves us, even more than we do ourselves; whose\nvery heart is set upon us to do us good, and hath therefore provided for\nus an everlasting dwelling with himself; it would not then be so hard to\nhave our hearts ever with him! Where we love most heartily, we shall\nthink most sweetly, and most freely. I fear most Christians think higher\nof the love of a hearty friend, than of the love of God; and what wonder\nthen if they love their friends better than God, and trust them more\nconfidently than God, and had rather live with them than with God?\n\n[Footnote 343] 1 John iv, 16.\n\n[Footnote 344] Isaiah xxvii, 4.\n\n[Footnote 345] Ezekiel xxxiii, 11.\n\n\u00a7 20. (9.) Carefully observe and cherish the motions of the Spirit of\nGod. If ever thy soul get above this earth, and get acquainted with this\nheavenly life, the Spirit of God must be to thee, as the chariot to\nElijah; yea, the very living principle by which thou must move and\nascend. O then, grieve not thy guide, quench not thy life, knock not off\nthy chariot wheels! You little think how much the life of all your\ngraces, and the happiness of your souls, depend upon your ready and\ncordial obedience to the Spirit. When the Spirit urges thee to secret\nprayer; or forbids thee thy known transgressions; or points out to thee\nthe way in which thou shouldst go: and thou wilt not regard, no wonder\nif heaven and thy soul be strange. If thou wilt not follow the Spirit,\nwhile it would draw thee to Christ and thy duty; how should it lead thee\nto heaven, and bring thy heart into the presence of God? What\nsupernatural help, what bold access, shall the soul find in its\napproaches to the Almighty, that constantly obeys the Spirit? And how\nbackward, how dull, how ashamed, will he be in these addresses, who hath\noften broke away from the Spirit that would have guided him? Christian\nreader, dost thou not feel sometimes a strong impression to retire from\nthe world, and draw near to God? Do not disobey, but take the offer, and\nhoist up thy sails while this blessed gale may be had. The more of the\nSpirit we resist, the deeper will it wound; and the more we obey, the\nspeedier will be our pace.\n\n\u00a7 21. (10.) I advise thee as a farther help to this heavenly life, not\nto neglect the due care of thy bodily health. Thy body is an useful\nservant, if thou give it its due, and no more than its due; but it is a\nmost devouring tyrant, if thou suffer it to have what it unreasonably\ndesires; and it is as a blunted knife, if thou unjustly deny it what is\nnecessary to its support. When we consider, how frequently men offend on\nboth extremes, and how few use their bodies aright, we cannot wonder if\nthey be much hindered in their converse with heaven. Most men are slaves\nto their appetite, and can scarce deny any thing to the flesh, and are\ntherefore willingly carried by it to their sports, or profits, or vain\ncompanions, when they should raise their minds to God and heaven. As you\nlove your souls, _make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts\nthereof_;[346] but remember, _to be carnally minded, is death; because\nthe carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law\nof God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot\nplease God. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to\nlive after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but\nif ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall\nlive._[347] There are a few, who much hinder their heavenly joy, by\ndenying the body its necessaries, and so making it unable to serve them:\nIf such wronged their flesh only, it would be no great matter; but they\nwrong their souls also; as he that spoils the house, injures the\ninhabitants. When the body is sick, and the spirits languish, how\nheavily do we move in the thoughts and joys of heaven.\n\n[Footnote 346] Romans xiii, 14.\n\n[Footnote 347] Romans viii, 6-8, 12, 13.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XIII.\n\nThe Nature of heavenly Contemplation; with the Time,\nPlace, and Temper fittest for it.\n\n \u00a7 1. The duty of heavenly contemplation is recommended to the reader;\n \u00a7 2. And defined \u00a7 3-6. (I.) The definition is illustrated: \u00a7 7. (II.)\n The time fittest for it is represented, as, \u00a7 8. (1.) Stated; \u00a7 9-12.\n (2.) Frequent; \u00a7 13. and (3.) Seasonable, every day, and particularly\n every Lord's day; \u00a7 14-17. But more especially, when our hearts are\n warmed with a sense of Divine things; or when we are afflicted or\n tempted; or when we are near death: \u00a7 18. (III.) The fittest place for\n it, is the most retired; \u00a7 19. (IV.) And the fittest temper for it, is,\n \u00a7 20. (1.) When our minds are most clear of the world; \u00a7 21. (2.) And\n most solemn and serious.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. Once more I entreat thee, reader, as thou makest conscience of a\nrevealed duty, and darest not wilfully resist the Spirit; as thou\nvaluest the high delights of a saint, and the soul-ravishing exercise of\nheavenly contemplation; that thou diligently study, and speedily and\nfaithfully practise, the following directions. If, by this means, thou\ndost not find an increase of all thy graces, and dost not grow beyond\nthe stature of common Christians, and art not made more serviceable in\nthy place, and more precious in the eyes of all discerning persons, if\nthy soul enjoy not more communion with God, and thy life be not fuller\nof comfort, and hast it not readier by thee at a dying hour; then cast\naway these directions, and exclaim against me for ever as a deceiver.\n\n\u00a7 2. The duty which I press upon thee so earnestly, and in the practice\nof which I am now to direct thee, is, \"The set and solemn acting of all\nthe powers of thy soul in meditation upon thy everlasting rest.\" More\nfully to explain the nature of this duty, I will here\u2014illustrate a\nlittle the description itself,\u2014then point out the fittest\ntime,\u2014place,\u2014and temper of mind for it.\n\n\u00a7 3. (I.) It is not improper to illustrate a little the manner in which\nwe have described this duty of meditation, or the considering and\ncontemplating of spiritual things. It is confessed to be a duty by all,\nbut practically denied by most. Many that make conscience of other\nduties, easily neglect this; they are troubled if they omit a sermon, a\nfast, or a prayer in public or private; yet were never troubled that\nthey have omitted meditation perhaps all their lifetime to this very\nday; though it be that duty, by which all other duties are improved, and\nby which the soul digesteth truths for its nourishment and comfort. It\nwas God's command to Joshua, _This book of the law shall not depart out\nof thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou\nmayest observe to do according to all that is written therein_.[348] As\ndigestion turns food into chyle and blood, for vigorous health; so\nmeditation turns the truths received and remembered into warm affection,\nfirm resolution, and holy conversation.\n\n[Footnote 348] Joshua i, 8.\n\n\u00a7 4. This meditation is, the acting of all the powers of the soul. It is\nthe work of the living, and not of the dead. It is the work of all\nothers the most spiritual and sublime, and therefore not to be well\nperformed by a heart that is merely carnal and earthly. They must\nnecessarily have some relation to heaven, before they can familiarly\nconverse there. I suppose them to be such as have a title to rest, when\nI persuade them to rejoice in the meditations of rest. And supposing\nthee to be a Christian, I am now exhorting thee to be an active\nChristian. And it is the work of the soul I am setting thee to, for\nbodily exercise doth here profit but little. And it must have all the\npowers of the soul, to distinguish it from the common meditation of\nstudents; for the understanding is not the whole soul, and therefore\ncannot do the whole work. As in the body, the stomach must turn the food\ninto chyle, and prepare for the liver; the liver and spleen turn it into\nblood, and prepare for the heart and brain; so in the soul, the\nunderstanding must take in truths, and prepare them for the will, and\nthat for the affections. Christ and heaven have various excellencies,\nand therefore God hath formed the soul with different powers for\napprehending those excellencies. What the better had we been for\nodoriferous flowers, if we had no smell? Or what good would language or\nmusic have done us, if we could not hear? Or what pleasure should we\nhave found in meats and drinks, without the sense of taste? So, what\ngood could all the glory of heaven have done us, or what pleasure should\nwe have had in the perfections of God himself, if we had been without\nthe affections of love and joy? And what strength or sweetness canst\nthou possibly receive by thy meditations on eternity, while thou dost\nnot exercise those affections of the soul, by which thou must be\nsensible of the sweetness and strength? It is the mistake of Christians,\nto think that meditation is only the work of the understanding and\nmemory; when every school-boy can do this, or persons that hate the\nthings which they think of. So that you see, there is more to be done\nthan barely to remember and think of heaven; as some labors not only\nstir a hand, or a foot, but exercise the whole body, so doth meditation\nthe whole soul. As the affections of sinners are set on the world, are\nturned to idols, and fallen from God, as well as their understanding; so\nmust their affections be reduced to God, as well as the understanding;\nand as their whole soul was filled with sin before, so the whole must be\nfilled with God now. See David's description of the blessed man, _His\ndelight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day\nand night_.[349]\n\n[Footnote 349] Psalm i, 2.\n\n\u00a7 5. This meditation is set and solemn. As there is solemn prayer, when\nwe set ourselves wholly to that duty; _ejaculatory prayer_, when in the\nmidst of other business, we send up some short request to God, so also\nthere is solemn meditation, when we apply ourselves wholly to that work;\nand transient meditation, when in the midst of other business we have\nsome good thoughts of God in our minds. And as solemn prayer is either\nset in a constant course of duty; or occasional, at an extraordinary\nseason; so also is meditation. Now, though I would persuade you to that\nmeditation, which is mixed with your common labors, and also that which\nspecial occasions direct you to; yet I would have you likewise make it a\nconstant standing duty, as you do by hearing, praying, and reading the\nScriptures; and no more intermix other matters with it, than you would\nwith prayer, or other stated solemnities.\n\n\u00a7 6. This meditation is upon thy everlasting rest. I would not have you\ncast off your other meditations; but surely, as heaven hath the\npre-eminence in perfection, it should have it also in our meditation.\nThat which will make us most happy when we possess it, will make us most\njoyful when we meditate upon it. Other meditations are as numerous as\nthere are lines in the Scriptures, or creatures in the universe, or\nparticular providences in the government of the world. But this is a\nwalk to mount Sion; from the kingdoms of this world, to the kingdom of\nsaints; from earth to heaven; from time to eternity; it is a walking\nupon sun, moon, and stars, in the garden and paradise of God. It may\nseem far off; but spirits are quick; whether in the body or out of the\nbody, their motion is swift. You need not fear like the men of the\nworld, lest these thoughts should make you mad. It is heaven, and not\nhell, that I persuade you to walk in. It is joy, and not sorrow, that I\npersuade you to exercise. I urge you to look on no deformed objects, but\nonly upon the ravishing glory of saints, and the unspeakable\nexcellencies of the God of glory, and the beams that stream from the\nface of his Son. Will it distract a man to think of his only happiness?\nWill it distract the miserable to think of mercy, or the prisoner to\nforesee deliverance, or the poor to think of approaching riches and\nhonor? Methinks it should rather make a man mad, to think of living in a\nworld of woe, and abiding in poverty and sickness, among the rage of\nwicked men; than to think of living with Christ in bliss. _But wisdom is\njustified of all her children._[350] Knowledge hath no enemy but the\nignorant. This heavenly course was never spoke against by any, but those\nthat never knew it, or never used it. I fear more the neglect of men\nthat approve it, than the opposition or arguments of any against it.\n\n[Footnote 350] Luke viii, 35.\n\n\u00a7 7. (II.) As to the fittest time for this heavenly contemplation, let\nme only advise, that it be,\u2014stated,\u2014frequent,\u2014and seasonable.\n\n\u00a7 8. (1.) Give it a stated time. If thou suit thy time to the advantage\nof the work, without placing any religion in the time itself, thou hast\nno need to fear superstition. Stated time is a hedge to duty, and\ndefends it against many temptations to omission. Some have not their\ntime at command, and therefore cannot set their hours; and many are so\npoor, that the necessities of their families deny them this freedom;\nsuch persons should be watchful to redeem time as much as they can, and\ntake their vacant opportunities as they fall, and especially join\nmeditation and prayer, as much as they can, with the labors of their\ncallings. Yet those that have more time to spare from their worldly\nnecessities, and are masters of their time, I still advise, to keep this\nduty to a stated time. And indeed, if every work of the day had its\nappointed time, we should be better skilled, both in redeeming time, and\nin performing duty.\n\n\u00a7 9. (2.) Let it be frequent, as well as stated. How oft it should be, I\ncannot determine, because men's circumstances differ. But in general,\nScripture requires it to be frequent, when it mentions _meditating day\nand night_. For those, therefore, who can conveniently omit other\nbusiness, I advise, that it be once a day at least. Frequency in\nheavenly contemplation is particularly important.\n\n\u00a7 10. To prevent a shyness between God and thy soul. Frequent society\nbreeds familiarity, and familiarity increases love and delight, and\nmakes us bold in our addresses. The chief end of this duty is, to have\nacquaintance and fellowship with God, and therefore if thou come but\nseldom to it, thou wilt keep thyself a stranger still. When a man feels\nhis need of God, and must seek his help in a time of necessity, then it\nis great encouragement to go to a God we know, and are acquainted with.\n\"O!\" saith the heavenly Christian, \"I know both whither I go and to\nwhom. I have gone this way many a time before now. It is the same God\nthat I daily converse with: and the way has been my daily walk. God\nknows me well enough, and I have some knowledge of him.\" On the other\nside, what a horror and discouragement will it be to the soul, when it\nis forced to fly to God in straits, to think, \"Alas! I know not whither\nto go. I never went the way before. I have no acquaintance at the court\nof heaven. My soul knows not that God that I must speak to, and I fear\nhe will not know my soul.\" But especially when we come to die, and must\nimmediately appear before this God, and expect to enter into his eternal\nrest, then the difference will plainly appear; then what a joy will it\nbe to think, \"I am going to the place that I daily conversed in; to the\nplace from whence I tasted such frequent delights; to that God whom I\nhave met in my meditation so often. My heart hath been at heaven before\nnow, and hath often tasted its reviving sweetness; and if my eyes were\nso enlightened, and my spirits so refreshed, when I had but a taste,\nwhat will it be when I shall feed on it freely?\" On the contrary, what a\nterror will it be to think, \"I must die, and go I know not whither; from\na place where I am acquainted, to a place where I have no familiarity or\nknowledge!\" It is inexpressible horror to a dying man, to have strange\nthoughts of God and heaven. I am persuaded the neglect of this duty so\ncommonly makes death, even to godly men, unwelcome and uncomfortable.\nTherefore I persuade to frequency in this duty. And as it will prevent\nshyness between thee and God, so also,\n\n\u00a7 11. It will prevent unskilfulness in the duty itself. How awkwardly do\nmen set their hands to a work they are seldom employed in? Whereas\nfrequency will habituate thy heart to the work, and make it more easy\nand delightful. The hill which made thee pant and blow at first going\nup, thou mayest easily run up, when thou art once accustomed to it.\n\n\u00a7 12. Thou wilt also prevent the loss of that heat and life thou hast\nobtained. If thou eat but once in two or three days, thou wilt lose thy\nstrength as fast as it comes. If in holy meditation thou get near to\nChrist, and warm thy heart with the fire of love, and then come but\nseldom, thy former coldness will soon return; especially as the work is\nso spiritual, and against the bent of depraved nature. It is true, the\nintermixing of other duties, especially secret prayer, may do much to\nthe keeping thy heart above; but meditation is the life of most other\nduties, and the view of heaven is the life of meditation.\n\n\u00a7 13. (3.) Choose also the most seasonable time. All things are\nbeautiful and excellent in their season. Unseasonableness may lose the\nfruit of thy labor, may raise difficulties in the work, and may turn a\nduty to a sin. The same hour may be seasonable to one, and unseasonable\nto another. Servants and laborers must take that season which their\nbusiness will best afford: either while at work, or in travelling, or\nwhen they lie awake in the night. Such as can choose what time of the\nday they will, should observe, when they find their spirits most active\nand fit for contemplation, and fix upon that as the stated time. I have\nalways found that the fittest time for myself is, the evening, from\nsun-setting to the twilight. I the rather mention this, because it was\nthe experience of a better and wiser man; for it is expressly said,\n_Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide_.[351] The\nLord's day is exceeding seasonable for this exercise. When should we\nmore seasonably contemplate our rest, than on that day of rest which\ntypifies it to us? It being a day appropriated to spiritual duties,\nmethinks we should never exclude this duty which is so eminently\nspiritual. I verily think this is the chief work of a Christian Sabbath,\nand most agreeable to the design of its positive institution. What\nfitter time to converse with our Lord, than on the Lord's day? What\nfitter day to ascend to heaven, than that on which he arose from earth,\nand fully triumphed over death and hell. The fittest temper for a true\nChristian, is, like John, to _be in the Spirit on the Lord's day_.[352]\nAnd what can bring us to this joy in the Spirit, but the spiritual\nbeholding of our approaching glory? Take notice of this, you that spend\nthe Lord's Day only in public worship; your allowing no time to private\nduty, and therefore neglecting this spiritual duty of meditation, is\nvery hurtful to your souls. You also that have time on the Lord's Day\nfor idleness, and vain discourse, were you but acquainted with this duty\nof contemplation, you would need no other pastime; you would think the\nlongest day short enough, and be sorry that the night had shortened your\npleasure. Christians, let heaven have more share in your Sabbaths, where\nyou must shortly keep your everlasting Sabbath. Use your Sabbaths as\nsteps to glory, till you have passed them all, and are there arrived.\nEspecially you that are poor, and cannot take time in the week as you\ndesire, see that you well improve this day; as your bodies rest from\ntheir labors, let your spirits seek after rest from God.\n\n[Footnote 351] Genesis xxiv, 63.\n\n[Footnote 352] Revelation i, 10.\n\n\u00a7 14. Besides the constant seasonableness of every day, and particularly\nevery Lord's day, there are also more peculiar seasons for heavenly\ncontemplation. As for instance,\n\n\u00a7 15. When God hath more abundantly warmed thy spirit with fire from\nabove. Then thou mayest soar with greater freedom. A little labor will\nset thy heart a going at such a time as this; whereas, at another time;\nthou mayest take pains to little purpose. Observe the gales of the\nSpirit, and how the Spirit of Christ doth move thy spirit. _Without\nChrist we can do nothing_; and therefore let us be doing, while he is\ndoing; and be sure not to be out of the way, nor asleep when he comes.\nWhen the Spirit finds thy heart, like Peter, in prison, and in irons,\nand smites thee, and says, _Arise up quickly and follow me_; be sure\nthou then arise, and follow, and thou shalt find thy _chains fall off_,\nand all _doors will open_, and thou wilt be at heaven before thou art\naware.\n\n\u00a7 16. Another peculiar season for this duty is, when thou art in a\nsuffering, distressed, or tempted state. When should we take our\ncordials, but in times of fainting? When is it more seasonable to walk\nto heaven, than when we know not in what corner of earth to live with\ncomfort? Or when should our thoughts converse more above, than when they\nhave nothing but grief below? Where should Noah's dove be but in the\nark, when the waters cover all the earth, and she cannot find rest for\nthe sole of her foot? What should we think on, but our _Father's house_,\nwhen we have not even the husks of the world to feed upon? Surely God\nsends thy afflictions to this very purpose. Happy art thou, poor man, if\nthou make this use of thy poverty! and _thou that art sick_, if thou so\nimprove thy sickness! It is seasonable to go to the promised land, when\nour burdens are increased in Egypt, and our straits in the wilderness.\nReader, if thou knewest what a cordial to thy griefs the serious views\nof glory are, thou wouldst less fear these harmless troubles, and more\nuse that preserving, reviving remedy. _In the multitude of my_ troubled\n_thoughts within me_, saith David, _thy comforts delight my soul_.[353]\n_I reckon_, saith Paul, _that the sufferings of this present time, are\nnot worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in\nus._[354] _For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man\nperish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light\naffliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more\nexceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things\nwhich are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things\nwhich are seen, are temporal; but the things which are not seen, are\neternal._[355]\n\n[Footnote 353] Psalm xciv, 19.\n\n[Footnote 354] Romans viii, 18.\n\n[Footnote 355] 2 Corinthians iv, 16-18.\n\n\u00a7 17. And another season peculiarly fit for this heavenly duty, is, when\nthe messengers of God summon us to die. When should we most frequently\nsweeten our souls with the believing thoughts of another life, than when\nwe find that this is almost ended? No men have greater need of\nsupporting joys than dying men; and those joys must be fetched from our\neternal joy. As heavenly delights are sweetest, when nothing earthly is\njoined with them; so the delights of dying Christians are oftentimes the\nsweetest they ever had. What a prophetical blessing had dying Isaac, and\nJacob, for their sons? With what a heavenly song, and Divine\nbenediction, did Moses conclude his life? what heavenly advice and\nprayer had the disciples from their Lord, when he was about to leave\nthem? When Paul was _ready to be offered up_, what heavenly exhortations\nand advice did he give the Philippians, Timothy, and the Elders of\nEphesus? How near to heaven was John in Patmos, but a little before his\ntranslation thither? It is the general temper of the saints, to be then\nmost heavenly, when they are nearest to heaven. If it be thy case,\nreader, to perceive thy dying time draw on, O where should thy heart now\nbe, but with Christ! Methinks thou shouldst even behold him standing by\nthee and shouldst bespeak him as thy father, thy husband, thy physician,\nthy friend. Methinks thou shouldst, as it were, see the angels about\nthee, waiting to perform their last office to thy soul; even those\nangels, which disdained not to _carry into Abraham's bosom_ the soul of\nLazarus, nor will think much to conduct thee thither. Look upon thy pain\nand sickness, as Jacob did on Joseph's chariots, and let thy _spirit\nrevive_ within thee, and say, \"_It is enough, Christ is yet alive;\nbecause he lives, I shall live also_.\"[356] Dost thou need the choicest\ncordials? Here are choicer than the world can afford; here are all the\njoys of heaven, even the vision of God, and Christ, and whatsoever the\nblessed there possess; these dainties are offered thee by the hand of\nChrist, he hath written the receipt in the promises of the gospel; he\nhath prepared the ingredients in heaven; only put forth the hand of\nfaith, and feed upon them, and rejoice, and live. The Lord saith to\nthee, as to Elijah, _Arise, and eat, because the journey is too great\nfor thee_. Though it be not long, yet the way is miry; therefore obey\nhis voice, arise and eat, _and in the strength of that meat_ thou mayest\n_go to the mount of God_; and, like Moses, _die in the mount whither\nthou goest up_; and say, as Simeon, _Lord, now lettest thou thy servant\ndepart in peace; for mine eye_ of faith _hath seen thy salvation_.[357]\n\n[Footnote 356] John xiv, 19.\n\n[Footnote 357] Luke ii, 29, 30.\n\n\u00a7 18. (III.) Concerning the fittest place for heavenly contemplation, it\nis sufficient to say, that the most convenient is some private\nretirement. Our spirits need every help, and to be freed from every\nhinderance in the work. If in private prayer, Christ directs us to\n_enter into our closet, and shut the door_, that _our Father may see us\nin secret_,[358] so should we do in this meditation. How often did\nChrist himself retire to some mountain, or wilderness, or other solitary\nplace? I give not this advice for occasional meditation, but for that\nwhich is set and solemn. Therefore withdraw thyself from all society,\neven the society of godly men, that thou mayest awhile enjoy the society\nof thy Lord. If a student cannot study in a crowd, who exerciseth only\nhis invention and memory; much less shouldst thou be in a crowd, who art\nto exercise all the powers of thy soul, and upon an object so far above\nnature. We are fled so far from superstitious solitude, that we have\neven cast off the solitude of contemplative devotion. We seldom read of\nGod's appearing by himself, or by his angels, to any of his prophets or\nsaints in a crowd; but frequently when they were alone. But observe for\nthyself, what place best agrees with thy spirit; whether within doors,\nor without. Isaac's example in _going out to meditate in the field_,\nwill, I believe best suit with most. Our Lord so much used a solitary\ngarden, that even Judas, when he came to betray him, _knew_ where to\nfind him: And though he took his disciples thither with him, yet he _was\nwithdrawn from them_ for more secret devotions:[359] And though his\nmeditations be not directly named, but only his praying, yet it is very\nclearly implied; for _his soul is_ first made _sorrowful_ with the\nbitter meditations on his sufferings and death, and then he poureth it\nout in prayer.[360] So that Christ had his accustomed place, and\nconsequently accustomed duty, and so must we; he hath a place that is\nsolitary, whither he retireth himself, even from his own disciples, and\nso must we; his meditations go further than his thoughts, they affect\nand pierce his heart and soul, and so must ours. Only there is a wide\ndifference in the object; Christ meditates on the sufferings that our\nsins had deserved, so that the wrath of his Father passed through all\nhis soul: But we are to meditate on the glory he hath purchased, that\nthe love of the Father, and the joy of the spirit, may enter at our\nthoughts and revive our affections, and overflow our souls.\n\n[Footnote 358] Matthew vi, 6.\n\n[Footnote 359] John xviii, 2. Luke xxii, 41.\n\n[Footnote 360] Mark xiv, 35.\n\n\u00a7 19. (IV.) I am next to advise thee concerning the preparations of thy\nheart for this heavenly contemplation. The success of the work much\ndepends on the frame of thy heart. When man's heart had nothing in it to\ngrieve the Spirit, it was then the delightful habitation of his Maker.\nGod did not quit his residence there, till man expelled him by unworthy\nprovocations. There was no shyness or reserve, till the heart grew\nsinful, and too loathsome a dungeon for God to delight in. And was this\nsoul reduced to its former innocency, God would quickly return to his\nformer habitation; yea, so far as it is renewed and repaired by the\nSpirit, and purged from its lusts, and beautified with his image, the\nLord will yet acknowledge it as his own; Christ will manifest himself\nunto it, and the Spirit will take it for his temple and residence. So\nfar as the heart is qualified for conversing with God, so far it usually\nenjoys him. Therefore, _with all diligence keep thy heart, for out of it\nare the issues of life_.[361] More particularly,\n\n[Footnote 361] Proverbs iv, 23.\n\n\u00a7 20. (1.) Get thy heart as clear from the world as thou canst. Wholly\nlay by the thoughts of thy business, troubles, enjoyments, and every\nthing that may take up any room in thy soul. Get it as empty as thou\npossibly canst, that it may be the more capable of being filled with\nGod. If thou couldst perform some outward duty with a piece of thy\nheart, while the other is absent, yet this duty above all I am sure thou\ncanst not. When thou shalt go into the mount of contemplation, thou wilt\nbe like the covetous man at the heap of gold, who, when he might take as\nmuch as he could, lamented that he was able to carry no more; so thou\nwilt find as much of God and glory as thy narrow heart is able to\ncontain, and almost nothing to hinder thy full possession, but the\nincapacity of thy own spirit. Then thou wilt think, \"O that this\nunderstanding, and these affections, could contain more! It is more my\nunfitness than any thing else, that even this place is not my heaven.\n_God is in this place and I know it not._ This _mount is full of\nchariots of fire_, but mine eyes are shut, and I cannot see them, O the\nwords of love Christ hath to speak, and wonders of love he hath to shew,\nbut I cannot bear them yet! Heaven is ready for me, but my heart is\nunready for heaven.\" Therefore, reader, seeing thy enjoyment of God in\nthis contemplation much depends on the capacity and disposition of thy\nheart, seek him here, if ever, with all thy soul. Thrust not Christ into\n_the stable, and the manger_, as if thou hadst better guests for the\nchief rooms. Say to all thy worldly business and thoughts, as Christ to\nhis disciples, _Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder_. Or as Abraham\nto his servants, when he went to offer Isaac, _Abide ye here, and I will\ngo yonder and worship, and come again to you_. Even as _the priests\nthrust king Uzziah out of the temple_, where he presumed _to burn\nincense_, when they saw _the leprosy_ upon him; so do thou thrust those\nthoughts from the temple of thy heart, which have the badge of God's\nprohibition upon them.\n\n\u00a7 21. (2.) Be sure to set upon this work with the greatest solemnity of\nheart and mind. There is no trifling in holy things. _God will be\nsanctified in them that come nigh him._[362] These spiritual, excellent,\nsoul-raising duties, are if well used, most profitable; but when used\nunfaithfully, most dangerous. Labor therefore to have the deepest\napprehensions of the presence of God, and his incomprehensible\ngreatness. If queen Esther must not draw near, till _the king hold out\nthe sceptre_; think, then, with what reverence thou shouldst approach\nHim, who made the worlds with the word of his mouth, who upholds the\nearth as in the palm of his hand, who keeps the sun, moon, and stars in\ntheir courses, and who sets bounds to the raging sea. Thou art going to\nconverse with Him, before whom the earth will quake, and Devils do\ntremble, and at whose bar thou and all the world must shortly stand, and\nbe finally judged. O think! \"I shall then have lively apprehensions of\nHis Majesty. My drowsy spirits will then be awakened, and my irreverence\nbe laid aside; and why should I not now be roused with the sense of his\ngreatness, and the dread of his name possess my soul?\" Labor also to\napprehend the greatness of the work which thou attemptest, and to be\ndeeply sensible both of its importance and excellency. If thou wast\npleading for thy life at the bar of an earthly judge, thou wouldst be\nserious; and yet that would be a trifle to this. If thou wast engaged in\nsuch a work as David against Goliath, on which the welfare of a kingdom\ndepended; in itself considered, it were nothing to this. Suppose thou\nwast going to such a _wrestling_ as Jacob's, or to see the sight which\nthe _three disciples saw in the mount_; how seriously, how reverently,\nwouldst thou both approach and behold! If but an angel from heaven\nshould appoint to meet thee, at the same time and place of thy\ncontemplations; with what dread wouldst thou be filled? Consider then,\nwith what a spirit thou shouldst meet the Lord, and with what\nseriousness and awe thou shouldst daily converse with him. Consider also\nthe blessed issue of the work, if it succeed: it will be thy admission\ninto the presence of God, and the beginning of thy eternal glory on\nearth; a means to make thee live above the rate of other men, and fix\nthee in the next room to the angels themselves, that thou mayest both\nlive and die joyfully. The prize being so great, thy preparations should\nbe answerable. There is none on earth live such a life of joy and\nblessedness, as those that are acquainted with this heavenly\nconversation. The joys of all other men are but like a child's play, a\nfool's laughter, or a sick man's dream of health. He that trades for\nheaven is the only gainer, and he that neglects it is the only loser.\nHow seriously, therefore, should this work be done?\n\n[Footnote 362] Leviticus x, 3.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XIV.\n\nWhat use heavenly contemplation makes of consideration, affections,\nsoliloquy, and prayer.\n\n \u00a7 1. The reader is invited to engage in heavenly contemplation; \u00a7 2.\n And to that end is, (I.) Directed in the use of consideration; \u00a7 3-8.\n The great influence of which over the heart is represented in several\n instances: \u00a7 9. Then (II.) it is shewn how heavenly contemplation is\n promoted by the affections; particularly, \u00a7 10-12. (1.) By Love; \u00a7 13.\n (2.) Desire; \u00a7 14. (3.) Hope; \u00a7 15. (4.) Courage or Boldness; \u00a7 16-18.\n and (5.) Joy. \u00a7 19. A caution is added concerning this exercise of the\n affections. \u00a7 20-22. (III.) The chapter concludes with some account of\n the usefulness of soliloquy and prayer, in heavenly contemplation.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. Having set thy heart in tune, we now come to the music itself.\nHaving got an appetite, now approach to the feast, and delight thy soul,\n_as with marrow and fatness. Come, for all things are now ready._\nHeaven, and Christ, and _the exceeding weight of glory_, are before you.\nDo not make light of this invitation, nor _begin to make excuses_;\nwhatever thou art, rich or poor, though in alms-houses and hospitals,\nthough in _highways and hedges_, my commission is, if possible, to\n_compel you to come in_; and _blessed is he that shall eat bread in the\nkingdom of God!_ The _manna_ lieth about your tents, walk out, gather it\nup, take it home, and feed upon it. In order to this, I am only to\ndirect you\u2014how to use your consideration,\u2014and affections,\u2014your\nsoliloquy,\u2014and prayer.\n\n\u00a7 2. (I.) Consideration is the great instrument by which this heavenly\nwork is carried on. This must be voluntary, and not forced. Some men\nconsider unwillingly; so God will make the wicked _consider_ their sins,\nwhen he shall _set them in order before their eyes_,[363] so shall the\ndamned consider of the excellency of Christ, whom they once despised,\nand of the eternal joys which they have foolishly lost. Great is the\npower which consideration hath for moving the affections, and impressing\nthings on the heart; as will appear by the following particulars.\n\n[Footnote 363] Psalm l, 21, 22.\n\n\u00a7 3. (1.) Consideration, as it were, opens the door between the head and\nthe heart. The understanding having received truths, lays them up in the\nmemory, and consideration conveys them from thence to the affections.\nWhat excellency would there be in much learning and knowledge, if the\nobstructions between the head and the heart were but opened, and the\naffections did but correspond to the understanding? He is usually the\nbest scholar, whose apprehension is quick, clear, and tenacious; but he\nis usually the best Christian, whose apprehension is the deepest, and\nmost affectionate, and who has the readiest passages, not so much from\nthe ear to the brain, as from that to the heart. And though the Spirit\nbe the principal cause; yet, on our part, this passage must be opened by\nconsideration.\n\n\u00a7 4. (2.) Consideration presents to the affections those things which\nare most important. The most delightful object does not entertain where\nit is not seen, nor the most joyful news affect him that does not hear\nit; but consideration presents to our view those things which were as\nabsent, and brings them to the eye and ear of the soul. Are not Christ\nand glory affecting objects? Would they not work wonders upon the soul,\nif they were but clearly discovered, and our apprehensions of them were\nin some measure answerable to their worth? It is consideration that\npresents them to us: This is the Christian's perspective, by which he\ncan see from earth to heaven.\n\n\u00a7 5. (3.) Consideration also presents the most important things in the\nmost affecting way. Consideration reasons the case with a man's own\nheart. When a believer would reason his heart to heavenly contemplation,\nhow many arguments offer themselves from God and Christ, from each of\nthe Divine perfections, from our former and present state, from\npromises, from present sufferings and enjoyments, from hell and heaven?\nEvery thing offers itself to promote our joy, and consideration is the\nhand to draw them all out: it adds one reason to another, till the\nscales turn: This it does, when persuading to joy, till it hath silenced\nall your distrust and sorrows, and your cause for rejoicing lies plain\nbefore you. If another's reasoning is powerful with us, though we are\nnot certain whether he intends to inform, or deceive us; how much more\nshould our own reasoning prevail with us, when we are so well acquainted\nwith our own intentions? Nay, how much more should God's reasoning work\nupon us, which we are sure cannot deceive, or be deceived? Now\nconsideration is but the reading over, and repeating God's reasons to\nour hearts. As the prodigal had many and strong reasons to plead with\nhimself, why he should return to his _father's house_; so have we to\nplead with our affections, to persuade them to our Father's everlasting\nmansions.\n\n\u00a7 6. (4.) Consideration exalts reason to its just authority. It helps to\ndeliver it from its captivity to the senses, and sets it again on the\nthrone of the soul. When reason is silent, it is usually subject; for\nwhen it is asleep, the senses domineer. But consideration awakens our\nreason, till, like Sampson, it rouses up itself, and breaks the bonds of\nsensuality, and bears down the delusions of the flesh. What strength can\nthe lion exert while asleep? What is a king, when deposed from his\nthrone, more than another man? Spiritual reason, excited by meditation,\nand not fancy or fleshly sense, must judge of heavenly joys.\nConsideration exalts the objects of faith, and comparatively disgraces\nthe objects of sense. The most inconsiderate men are the most sensual.\nIt is too easy and common to sin against knowledge; but against sober,\nstrong, persevering consideration, men seldom offend.\n\n\u00a7 7. (5.) Consideration makes reason strong and active. Before, it was\nas a standing water, but now as a stream, which violently bears down all\nbefore it. Before, it was as the stones in the brook, but now like that\nout of David's sling, which smites the Goliath of our unbelief in the\nforehead. As wicked men continue wicked, because they bring not reason\ninto action and exercise; so godly men are uncomfortable, because they\nlet their reason and faith lie asleep, and do not stir them up to action\nby this work of meditation. What fears, sorrows, and joys, will our very\ndreams excite? How much more then would serious meditation affect us?\n\n\u00a7 8. (6.) Consideration can continue and persevere in this rational\nemployment. Meditation holds reason and faith to their work, and blows\nthe fire till it thoroughly burns. To run a few steps will not get a man\nheat, but walking an hour may; and though a sudden, occasional thought\nof heaven will not raise our affections to any spiritual heat, yet\nmeditation can continue our thoughts till our hearts grow warm. Thus you\nsee the powerful tendency of consideration to produce this great\nelevation of the soul in heavenly contemplation.\n\n\u00a7 9. (II.) Let us next see how this heavenly work is promoted by the\nparticular exercise of the affections.\u2014It is by consideration that we\nfirst have recourse to the memory, and from thence take those heavenly\ndoctrines, which we intend to make the subject of our meditation; such\nas, promises of eternal life, descriptions of the saint's glory, the\nresurrection, &c. &c. &c. We then present them to our judgment, that it\nmay deliberately view them over, and take an exact survey, and determine\nuprightly concerning the perfection of our celestial happiness, against\nall the dictates of flesh and sense, and so as to magnify the Lord in\nour hearts, till we are filled with a holy admiration. But the principal\nthing is to exercise, not merely our judgment, but our faith in the\ntruth of our everlasting rest; by which I mean, both the truth of the\npromises, and of our own personal interest in them, and title to them.\nIf we did really and firmly believe, that there is such a glory, and\nthat within a few days our eyes shall behold it, O what passions would\nit raise within us! What astonishing apprehensions of that life would it\nproduce! What love, what longings, would it excite within us! O how\nwould it actuate every affection! How it would transport us with joy,\nupon the least assurance of our title! Never expect to have love and joy\nmove, when faith stands still, which must lead the way. Therefore daily\nexercise faith, and set before it the freeness of the promise, God's\nurging all to accept it. Christ's gracious disposition, all the\nevidences of the love of Christ, his faithfulness to his engagements,\nand the evidences of his love in ourselves; lay all these together, and\nthink, whether they do not testify the good will of the Lord concerning\nour salvation, and may not properly be pleaded against our unbelief.\nThus, when the judgment hath determined, and faith hath apprehended, the\ntruth of our happiness, then may our meditation proceed to raise our\naffections, and particularly,\u2014love,\u2014desire,\u2014hope,\u2014courage or\nboldness,\u2014and joy.\n\n\u00a7 10. (1.) Love is the first affection to be excited in heavenly\ncontemplation. The object of it is goodness. Here, Christian, is the\nsoul-reviving part of thy work. Go to thy memory, thy judgment, and thy\nfaith, and from them produce the excellencies of thy rest; present these\nto thy affection of love, and thou wilt find thyself, as it were, in\nanother world. Speak out, and love can hear. Do but reveal these things,\nand love can see. It is the brutish love of the world that is blind;\nDivine love is exceeding quick-sighted. Let thy faith take hold of thy\nheart, and shew it the sumptuous buildings of thy eternal habitation,\nand the glorious ornaments of thy Father's house, even the mansions\nChrist is preparing, and the honors of his kingdom; let thy faith lead\nthy heart into the presence of God, and as near as thou possibly canst,\nand say to it, \"Behold the Ancient of Days, the Lord Jehovah, whose name\nis, I AM: This is he, who made all worlds with his word, who upholds the\nearth, who rules the nations, who disposes of all events, who subdues\nhis foes, who controls the swelling waves of the sea, who governs the\nwinds, and causes the sun to run its race, and the stars to know their\ncourses: This is he, who loved thee from everlasting, formed thee in the\nwomb, gave thee this soul, brought thee forth, shewed thee the light,\nand ranked thee with the chief of his earthly creatures, who endued thee\nwith thy understanding, and beautified thee with his gifts, who\nmaintains thy life and all its comforts, and distinguishes thee from the\nmost miserable and vilest of men. O here is an object worthy thy love!\nHere shouldst thou even pour out thy soul in love! Here it is impossible\nfor thee to love too much! This is the Lord who hath blessed thee with\nhis benefits, _spread thy table in the sight of thine enemies, and made\nthy cup overflow_! This is he whom angels and saints praise, and the\nheavenly host for ever magnify!\" Thus do thou expatiate on the praises\nof God, and open his excellencies to thine heart, till the holy fire of\nlove begins to kindle in thy breast.\n\n\u00a7 11. If thou feelest thy love not yet burn, lead thy heart farther, and\nshew it the Son of the living God, whose name is, _Wonderful_,\n_Counsellor_, _the mighty God_, _the everlasting Father_, _the Prince of\nPeace_; shew it the King of saints on the throne of his glory, _the\nFirst and the Last_; _who is, and was, and is to come_; _who liveth, and\nwas dead, and behold, he lives for evermore_; _who hath made thy peace,\nby the blood of his cross_, and hath prepared thee with himself an\nhabitation of peace; His office is the great Peace-Maker; His kingdom is\nthe kingdom of peace; His gospel is the tidings of peace; His voice to\nthee now is the voice of peace: Draw near and behold him. Dost thou not\nhear his voice? He that bid Thomas come near, and see the print of the\nnails, and put his finger into his wounds; He it is that calls to thee,\n\"Come near and view the Lord thy Savior, _and be not faithless, but\nbelieving; Peace be unto thee, fear not, it is I_.\" Look well upon him.\nDost thou not know him? It is he that brought thee up from the pit of\nhell, reversed the sentence of thy damnation, bore the curse which thou\nshouldst have born, restored thee to the blessing thou hadst forfeited,\nand purchased the advancement which thou must inherit for ever. And dost\nthou not yet know him? His hands were pierced, his head, his side, his\nheart were pierced, that by these marks thou mightest always know him.\nDost thou not remember when he _found thee lying in thy blood, and took\npity on thee, and dressed thy wounds, and brought thee home, and said\nunto thee, Live_? Hast thou forgotten since he wounded himself to cure\nthy wounds, and let out his own blood to stop thy bleeding? If thou\nknowest him not by the face, the voice, the hands, thou mayest know him\nby the heart; that soul pitying heart is his; it can be none but his:\nLove and compassion are its certain signatures: This is he, who chose\nthy life before his own; who pleads his blood before his Father, and\nmakes continual intercession for thee. If he had not suffered, what\nhadst thou suffered? There was but a step between thee and hell, when he\nstept in, and bore the stroke. And is not here fuel enough for thy love\nto feed on? Doth not thy throbbing heart stop here to ease itself, and,\nlike Joseph, _seek for a place to weep in_? Or do not the tears of thy\nlove bedew these lines? Go on then, for the field of love is large; it\nwill be thy eternal work to behold and love; nor needest thou want work\nfor thy present meditation.\n\n\u00a7 12. How often hath thy Lord found thee, like Hagar, sitting, and\nweeping, and giving up thy soul for lost, and he opened to thee a well\nof consolation, and also opened thine eyes to see it? How often, in the\nposture of Elijah, desiring to die out of thy misery, and he hath spread\nthee a table of unexpected relief, and sent thee on his work refreshed\nand encouraged? How often, in the case of the prophet's servant, crying\nout, _Alas! what shall we do, for an host doth encompass us_; and he\nhath _opened thine eyes to see more for thee, than against thee_? How\noften, like Jonah, peevish, and weary of thy life, and he hath mildly\nsaid, _Dost thou well to be angry_ with me, or murmur against me? How\noften hath he set thee on _watching and praying_, repenting and\nbelieving, _and when he hath returned, hath found thee asleep_, and yet\nhath covered thy neglect with a mantle of love, and gently pleaded for\nthee, that _the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak_. Can thy heart\nbe cold, when thou thinkest of this? Can it contain, when thou\nrememberest those boundless compassions? Thus, reader, hold forth the\ngoodness of Christ to thy heart; plead thus with thy frozen soul, till,\nwith David, thou canst say, _My heart was hot within me; while I was\nmusing, the fire burned._ If this will not rouse up thy love, thou hast\nall Christ's personal excellencies to add, all his particular mercies to\nthyself, all his sweet and near relations to thee, and the happiness of\nthy everlasting abode with him. Only follow them close to thy heart.\nDeal with it, as Christ did with Peter, when he thrice asked him,\n_Lovest thou me?_ till he was _grieved_, and answers, _Lord, thou\nknowest that I love thee_. So grieve and shame thy heart out of its\nstupidity, till thou canst truly say, \"I know, and my Lord knows, that I\n_love_ him.\"\n\n\u00a7 13. (2.) The next affection to be exercised in heavenly contemplation,\nis desire. The object of it is goodness considered as absent, or not yet\nattained. If love be hot, desire will not be cold. Think with thyself,\n\"What have I seen? O the incomprehensible glory! O the transcendant\nbeauty! O blessed souls that now enjoy it! who see a thousand times more\nclearly, what I have seen at a distance, and through dark interposing\nclouds. What a difference between my state and theirs! I am sighing, and\nthey are singing. I am offending, and they are pleasing God. I am a\nspectacle of pity, like a Job, or a Lazarus, but they are perfect, and\nwithout blemish. I am here entangled in the love of the world, while\nthey are swallowed up in the love of God. They have none of my cares and\nfears; they weep not in secret; they languish not in sorrows; these\n_tears_ are _wiped away from their eyes_. O happy, a thousand times\nhappy souls! Alas, that I must dwell in sinful flesh, when my brethren\nand companions dwell with God! How far out of sight and reach of their\nhigh enjoyments do I here live? What poor feeble thoughts have I of God?\nWhat cold affections toward him? How little have I of that life, that\nlove, that joy, in which they continually live? How soon doth that\nlittle depart, and leave me in thicker darkness? Now and then a spark\nfalls upon my heart, and while I gaze upon it, it dies, or rather my\ncold heart quenches it. But they have their _light in his light_, and\ndrink continually at the spring of joys. Here we are vexing each other\nwith quarrels, when they are of one heart and voice, and daily sound\nforth the hallelujahs of heaven with perfect harmony. O what a feast\nhath my faith beheld, and what a famine is yet in my spirit! O blessed\nsouls! I may not, I dare not envy your happiness; I rather rejoice in my\nbrethren's prosperity, and am glad to think of the day when I shall be\nadmitted into your fellowship. I wish not to displace you, but to be so\nhappy as to be with you. Why must I stay, and weep, and wait? My Lord is\ngone; He hath left this earth, and is entered into his glory; my\nbrethren are gone; my friends are there; my house, my hope, my all is\nthere. When I am so far distant from my God, wonder not _what aileth\nme_, if I now complain; an ignorant Micah will do so for his idol, and\nshall not my soul do so for the living God! Had I no hope of enjoyment,\nI would go hide myself in the deserts, and lie and howl in some obscure\nwilderness, and spend my days in fruitless wishes; but since it is the\nland of my promised rest, and the state I must myself be advanced to,\nand my soul draws near, and is almost at it, I will love and long, I\nwill look and desire, I will be breathing, How long, Lord! how long wilt\nthou suffer this soul to pant and groan, and not open to him who waits,\nand longs to be with thee!\" Thus, Christian Reader, let thy thoughts\naspire, till thy soul longs, as David, _O that one would give me to\ndrink of the wells of salvation_! And till thou canst say as he did, _I\nhave longed for thy salvation, O Lord_![364] And as the mother and\nbrethren of Christ, when they could not come at him because of the\nmultitude, sent to him, saying, _Thy mother and brethren stand without,\ndesiring to see thee_; so let thy message to him be, and he will own\nthee; for he hath said, _They that hear my word, and do it, are my\nmother, and my brethren_.[365]\n\n[Footnote 364] Psalm cxix, 174.\n\n[Footnote 365] Luke viii, 20, 21.\n\n\u00a7 14. (3.) Another affection to be exercised in heavenly contemplation,\nis hope. This helps to support the soul under sufferings, animates it to\nthe greatest difficulties, gives it firmness in the most shaking trials,\nenlivens it in duties, and is the very spring that sets all the wheels\na-going. Who would believe or strive for heaven, if it were not for the\nhope that he hath to obtain it? Who would pray, but for the hope to\nprevail with God? If your hope dies, your duties die, your endeavors\ndie, your joys die, and your souls die. And if your hope be not in\nexercise, but asleep, it is next to dead. Therefore, Christian Reader,\nwhen thou art winding up thy affections to heaven, forget not to give\none lift to thy hope. Think thus, and reason thus with thy own heart;\n\"Why should I not confidently and comfortably hope, when my soul is in\nthe hands of so compassionate a Savior? And when the kingdom is at the\ndisposal of so bountiful a God? Did he ever discover the least\nbackwardness to my good, or inclination to my ruin? hath he not sworn,\nthat _he delights not in the death of him that dieth, but, rather that\nhe should repent and live_? Have not all his dealings witnessed the\nsame? Did he not mind me of my danger, when I never feared it, because\nhe would have me escape it? Did he not mind me of my happiness, when I\nhad no thoughts of it, because he would have me enjoy it? How often hath\nhe drawn me to himself, and his Christ, when I have drawn backward? How\nhath his Spirit incessantly solicited my heart? And would he have done\nall this, if he had been willing that I should perish? Should I not\nhope, If an honest man had promised me something in his power? And shall\nI not hope, when I have the covenant and oath of God? It is true, the\nglory is out of sight; we have not beheld the mansions of the saints;\nbut is not the promise of God more certain than our sight? _We_ must not\nbe _saved_ by sight, but _by hope, and hope that is seen is not hope;\nfor what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that\nwe see not, then do we with patience wait for it._[366] I have been\nashamed of my hope in the arm of flesh, but _hope_ in the promise of God\n_maketh not ashamed_.[367] In my greatest sufferings I will say, _The\nLord is my portion, therefore will I hope in him; the Lord is good unto\nthem that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a\nman should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. For\nthe Lord will not cast off for ever. But though he cause grief, yet will\nhe have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies._[368]\nThough I languish and die, yet will I hope; for _the righteous hath hope\nin his death_.[369] Though I must lie down in the dust and darkness, yet\nthere _my flesh shall rest in hope_.[370] And when my flesh hath nothing\nto rejoice in, yet will I _hold fast the rejoicing of the hope firm unto\nthe end_;[371] for _the hope of the righteous shall be gladness_.[372]\nIndeed, If I was to satisfy Divine justice, then there had been no hope;\nbut Christ _hath brought in a better hope, by the which we draw nigh\nunto God_.[373] Or, if I had to do with a feeble creature, there were\nsmall hope; for how could he raise this body from the dust, and lift me\nabove the sun? But what is this to the Almighty Power, which made the\nheavens and the earth out of nothing? Cannot that power which raised\nChrist from the dead, raise me? and that, which hath glorified the head,\nglorify also the members? _Doubtless, by the blood of his covenant, God\nwill send forth his prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water_;\ntherefore will I _turn to the stronghold_, as _a prisoner of hope_.\"[374]\n\n[Footnote 366] Romans vii, 24, 25.\n\n[Footnote 367] Romans v, 5.\n\n[Footnote 368] Lamentations iii, 24-26, 31, 32.\n\n[Footnote 369] Proverbs xiv, 32.\n\n[Footnote 370] Psalm xvi, 9.\n\n[Footnote 371] Hebrews iii, 6.\n\n[Footnote 372] Proverbs x, 28.\n\n[Footnote 373] Hebrews vii, 19.\n\n[Footnote 374] Zechariah ix, 11, 12.\n\n\u00a7 15. (4.) Courage or boldness is another affection to be exercised in\nheavenly contemplation. It leadeth to resolution and concludeth in\naction. When you have raised your love, desire, and hope, go on, and\nthink thus with yourself; \"_Will God indeed dwell with men?_ And is\nthere such a glory within the reach of hope? Why then do I not lay hold\nupon it? Where is the cheerful vigor of my spirit? Why do I not _gird up\nthe loins of my mind_?[375] Why do not I set upon my enemies on every\nside, and valiantly break through all resistance? What should stop me,\nor intimidate me? Is God with me, or against me in the work? Will Christ\nstand by me, or will he not? _If God_ and Christ _be for me, who can be\nagainst me_[376] In the work of sin, almost all things are ready to help\nus, and only God and his servants are against us, yet how ill doth that\nwork prosper in our hands? But in my course to heaven, almost all things\nare against me, but God is for me; and therefore how happily doth the\nwork succeed? Do I set upon this work in my own strength, or rather in\nthe strength of Christ my Lord? and _cannot I do all things through him\nthat strengthens me_?[377] Was he ever foiled by an enemy? He hath\nindeed been assaulted, but was he ever conquered? Why then doth my flesh\nurge me with the difficulties of the work? Is any thing too hard for\nOmnipotence? May not Peter boldly walk on the sea, if Christ gives the\nword of command? If he begin to sink, is it from the weakness of Christ,\nor the smallness of his faith? Do I not well deserve to be turned into\nhell, if mortal threats can drive me thither? Do I not well deserve to\nbe shut out of heaven, if I will be frighted from thence with the\nreproach of tongues? What if it were father, or mother, or husband, or\nwife, or the nearest friend I have in the world, (if they may be called\nfriends that would draw me to damnation) should not I forsake all that\nwould keep me from Christ? Will their friendship countervail the enmity\nof God, or be any comfort to my condemned soul? Shall I be yielding to\nthe desires of men, and only harden myself against the Lord? Let them\nbeseech me upon their knees, I will scorn to stop my course to behold\nthem; I will shut my ears to their cries: Let them flatter, or frown;\nlet them draw out tongues or swords against me; I am resolved in the\nstrength of Christ to break through, and look upon them as dust: If they\nwould entice me with preferment, even with the kingdoms of the world, I\nwill no more regard them than the dung of the earth. O blessed rest! O\nglorious state! Who would sell thee for dreams and shadows? Who would be\nenticed or affrighted from thee? Who would not strive, and fight, and\nwatch, and run, and that with violence, even to the last breath, in\norder to obtain thee? Surely none but those that know thee not, and\nbelieve not thy glory.\"\n\n[Footnote 375] 1 Peter i, 13.\n\n[Footnote 376] Romans viii, 31.\n\n[Footnote 377] Philippians iv, 13.\n\n\u00a7 16. (5.) The last affection to be exercised in heavenly contemplation\nis joy. Love, desire, hope, and courage, all tend to raise our joy. This\nis so desirable to every man by nature, and so essentially necessary to\nconstitute our happiness, that I hope, I need not say much to persuade\nyou to any thing that would make your life delightful. Supposing you\ntherefore already convinced, that the pleasures of the flesh are brutish\nand perishing, and that your solid and lasting joy must be from heaven,\ninstead of persuading, I will proceed in directing. Reader, if thou hast\nmanaged well the former work, thou art got within sight of thy rest;\nthou believest the truth of it; thou art convinced of its excellency,\nthou art fallen in love with it; thou longest after it; thou hopest for\nit; and thou art resolved to venture courageously for obtaining it. But\nis here any work for joy in this? We delight in the good we possess; it\nis present good that is the object of joy; and thou wilt say, \"Alas! I\nam yet without it.\" But think a little farther with thyself. Is it\nnothing to have a deed of gift from God? Are his infallible promises no\nground of joy? Is it nothing to live in daily expectation of entering\ninto the kingdom? Is not my assurance of being hereafter glorified, a\nsufficient ground for inexpressible joy? Is it not a delight to the heir\nof a kingdom, to think of what he must soon possess, though at present\nhe little differ from a servant? Have we not both command, and example,\nfor _rejoicing in hope of the glory of God_.[378]\n\n[Footnote 378] Romans v, 2. xii, 12.\n\n\u00a7 17. Here, then, Reader, take thy heart once more, and carry it to the\ntop of the highest mount; _shew it the kingdom of Christ, and the glory\nof it_, and say to it, \"_All this will thy Lord give thee_ who hast\n_believed in him_, and been a _worshipper of him. It is the Father's\ngood pleasure to give thee this kingdom._[379] Seest thou this\nastonishing glory which is above thee? All this is thy own inheritance.\nThis crown is thine, these pleasures are thine; this company, this\nbeautiful place, all are thine; because thou art Christ's, and Christ is\nthine; when thou wast united to him, thou hadst all these with him.\"\nThus take thy heart into the _land of promise_; shew it the pleasant\nhills and fruitful vallies; shew it the clusters of grapes which thou\nhast gathered, to convince it that it is a blessed land, _flowing\nwith_ better than _milk and honey_; Enter the gates of the _Holy City_,\nwalk through the streets of the _new Jerusalem; walk about Sion, and go\nround about her; tell the towers thereof; mark well her bulwarks;\nconsider her palaces; that thou mayest tell it to_ thy soul.[380] _Hath_\nit not _the glory of God, and_ is not _her light like unto a stone most\nprecious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal_? See the _twelve\nfoundations of her walls, and in them the names of the twelve apostles\nof the Lamb. And the building of the walls of it are of jasper; and the\ncity is pure gold, like unto clear glass; and the foundations are\ngarnished with all manner of precious stones. And the twelve gates are\ntwelve pearls, every several gate is of one pearl; and the street of the\ncity is pure gold, as it were transparent glass. There is no temple in\nit; for the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb are the temple of it. It\nhath no need of the sun, neither of the moon in it; for the glory of God\ndoth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof; and the nations of\nthem which are saved, shall walk in the light of it. These sayings are\nfaithful and true: And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his\nangels_ and his own Son, _to shew unto his servants the things which\nmust shortly be done_.[381] Say now to all this, \"This is thy rest, O my\nsoul! And this must be the place of thy everlasting habitation. Let all\nthe sons of _Sion rejoice, let the daughters of Jerusalem be glad_; for\n_great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in\nthe mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the\nwhole earth is Mount Sion. God is known in her palaces for a\nrefuge._\"[382]\n\n[Footnote 379] Luke xii, 32.\n\n[Footnote 380] Psalm xlviii, 12, 13.\n\n[Footnote 381] Revelation xxi, 11-24. xxii, 6.\n\n[Footnote 382] Psalm xlviii, 11, 1-3.\n\n\u00a7 18. Yet proceed on. The soul that loves, ascends frequently, and runs\nfamiliarly through the streets of the _heavenly Jerusalem_, visiting the\nPatriarchs and prophets, saluting the apostles, and admiring the armies\nof martyrs: So do thou lead on thy heart as from street to street; bring\nit into the palace of the Great King; lead it, as it were, from chamber\nto chamber. Say to it; \"Here must I lodge; here must I live; here must I\npraise; here must I love, and be beloved. I must shortly be one of this\nheavenly choir, and be better skilled in the music. Among this blessed\ncompany must I take up my place, my voice must join to make up the\nmelody. My tears will then be wiped away; my groans be turned to another\ntune; my cottage of clay be changed to this palace; my prison-rags to\nthese splendid robes; and my sordid flesh shall be put off, and such a\nsun-like spiritual body be put on: _For the former things are_ here\n_passed away_.[383] _Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of\nGod!_[384] When I look upon this glorious place, what a dunghill and\ndungeon, methinks is earth? O what difference betwixt a man feeble,\npained, groaning, dying, rotting in the grave, and one of these\ntriumphant, shining saints? Here shall I _drink of the river of\npleasures, the streams whereof make glad the city of God_.[385] Must\nIsrael, under the bondage of the law, _serve the Lord with joyfulness,\nand with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things_.[386]\nSurely I shall serve him with joyfulness and gladness of heart, for the\nabundance of glory. Did persecuted saints _take joyfully the spoiling of\ntheir goods_?[387] And shall not I take joyfully such a full reparation\nof all my losses? Was it a celebrated _day wherein the Jews rested from\ntheir enemies_, because it _was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and\nfrom mourning into a good day_?[388] What a day then will that be to my\nsoul, whose rest and change will be unconceivably greater? _When the\nwise men saw the star_ that led to Christ, _they rejoiced with exceeding\ngreat joy_.[389] But I shall shortly see him, who is himself _the bright\nand morning star_.[390] If the disciples _departed from the sepulchre\nwith great joy_, when they had but heard that their Lord _was risen from\nthe dead_;[391] what will be my joy, when I see him reigning in glory,\nand myself raised to a blessed communion with him? Then shall I indeed\nhave _beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of\npraise for the spirit of heaviness_; and _Sion_ shall be _made an\neternal excellency, a joy of many generations_.[392] Why then do I not\nrise from the dust, and cease my complaints? Why do I not trample on\nvain delights, and feed on the foreseen delights of glory? Why is not my\nlife a continual joy, and the savor of heaven perpetually upon my\nspirit?\"\n\n[Footnote 383] Revelation xxi, 4.\n\n[Footnote 384] Psalm lxxxvii, 3.\n\n[Footnote 385] Psalm xxxvi, 8. xlvi, 4.\n\n[Footnote 386] Deuteronomy xxviii, 47.\n\n[Footnote 387] Hebrews x, 34.\n\n[Footnote 388] Esther ix, 22.\n\n[Footnote 389] Matthew ii, 10.\n\n[Footnote 390] Revelation, xxii, 16.\n\n[Footnote 391] Matthew xxviii, 7, 8.\n\n[Footnote 392] Isaiah lxi, 3. lx, 15.\n\n\u00a7 19. Let me here observe, that there is no necessity to exercise these\naffections, either exactly in this order, or all at one time. Sometimes\none of thy affections may need more exciting, or may be more lively than\nthe rest; or, if thy time be short, one may be exercised one day, and\nanother upon the next; all which must be left to thy prudence to\ndetermine. Thou hast also an opportunity, if inclined to make use of it,\nto exercise opposite and more mixed affections; such as\u2014hatred of sin,\nwhich would deprive thy soul of these immortal joys;\u2014godly fear, lest\nthou shouldst abuse thy mercy;\u2014godly shame and grief, for having abused\nit;\u2014unfeigned repentance;\u2014self-indignation;\u2014jealousy over thy heart;\u2014and\npity for those who are in danger of losing these immortal joys.\n\n\u00a7 20. (III.) We are also to take notice, how heavenly contemplation is\npromoted by soliloquy and prayer. Though consideration be the chief\ninstrument in this work, yet, by itself, it is not so likely to affect\nthe heart. In this respect contemplation is like preaching, where the\nmere explaining of truths and duties is seldom attended with such\nsuccess, as the lively application of them to the conscience; and\nespecially when a Divine blessing is earnestly sought to accompany such\napplication.\n\n\u00a7 21. (1.) By soliloquy, or a pleading the case with thyself, thou must\nin thy meditation quicken thy own heart. Enter into a serious debate\nwith it. Plead with it in the most moving and affecting language, and\nurge it with the most powerful and weighty arguments. It is what holy\nmen of God have practised in all ages. Thus David, _Why art thou cast\ndown, O my soul! And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in\nGod, for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance,\nand my God._[393] And again, _Bless the Lord, O my soul! and all that is\nwithin me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul! and forget\nnot all his benefits_,[394] &c. This soliloquy is to be made use of\naccording to the several affections of the soul, and according to its\nseveral necessities. It is a preaching to one's self: For as every good\nmaster or father of a family is a good preacher to his own family; so\nevery good Christian is a good preacher to his own soul. Therefore the\nvery same method which a minister should use in his preaching to others,\nevery Christian, should endeavor after in speaking to himself. Observe\nthe matter and manner of the most heart-affecting minister; let him be\nas a pattern for your imitation; and the same way that he takes with the\nhearts of his people, do thou also take with thy own heart. Do this in\nthy heavenly contemplation; explain to thyself the things on which thou\ndost meditate; confirm thy faith in them from Scripture; and then apply\nthem to thyself, according to their nature, and thy own necessity. There\nis no need to object against this, from a sense of thy own inability.\nDoth not God command thee to _teach the Scriptures diligently unto thy\nchildren, and talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when\nthou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest\nup_?[395] And if thou must have some ability to teach thy children, much\nmore to teach thyself; and if thou canst talk of Divine things to\nothers, why not also to thine own heart?\n\n[Footnote 393] Psalm xliii, 11.\n\n[Footnote 394] Psalm ciii, 1-5.\n\n[Footnote 395] Deuteronomy vi, 7.\n\n\u00a7 22. (2.) Heavenly contemplation is also promoted, by speaking to God\nin prayer; as well as by speaking to ourselves in soliloquy. Ejaculatory\nprayer may very properly be intermixed with meditation, as a part of the\nduty. How often do we find David, in the same Psalm, sometimes pleading\nwith his soul, and sometimes with God? The apostle bids us _speak to\nourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs_;[396] and no\ndoubt we may also speak to God in them. This keeps the soul sensible of\nthe Divine presence, and tends greatly to quicken and raise it. As God\nis the highest object of our thoughts, so our viewing of him, speaking\nto him, and pleading with him, more elevates the soul, and excites the\naffections, than any other part of meditation. Though we remain\nunaffected, while we plead the case with ourselves; yet, when we turn\nour speech to God, it may strike us with awe; and the holiness and\nmajesty of Him whom we speak to, may cause both the matter and words to\npierce the deeper. When we read, that _Isaac went out to meditate in the\nfield_, the margin says, _to pray_; for the Hebrew word signifies both.\nThus in our meditations, to intermix soliloquy and prayer; sometimes\nspeaking to our own hearts, and sometimes to God, is, I apprehend, the\nhighest step we can advance to in this heavenly work. Nor should we\nimagine, it will be as well to take up with prayer alone, and lay aside\nmeditation. For they are distinct duties, and must both of them be\nperformed. We need one as well as the other, and therefore shall wrong\nourselves by neglecting either. Besides the mixture of them, like music,\nwill be more engaging; as the one serves to put life into the other. And\nour speaking to ourselves in meditation, should go before our speaking\nto God in prayer. For want of attending to this due order, men speak to\nGod with far less reverence and affection than they would speak to an\nangel, if he should appear to them; or to a judge, if they were speaking\nfor their lives. Speaking to the God of heaven in prayer, is a weightier\nduty than most are aware of.\n\n[Footnote 396] Ephesians v, 19.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XV.\n\nHeavenly contemplation assisted by sensible objects, and guarded against\na treacherous heart.\n\n \u00a7 1. As it is difficult to maintain a lively impression of heavenly\n things, therefore, \u00a7 2. (I.) Heavenly contemplation may be assisted by\n sensible objects; \u00a7 3. (1.) If we draw strong suppositions from sense;\n and, \u00a7 4-11. (2.) If we compare the objects of sense with the objects\n of faith, several instances of which are produced. \u00a7 12. (II.) Heavenly\n contemplation may also be guarded against a treacherous heart, by\n considering, \u00a7 13, 14. (1.) The great backwardness of the heart to this\n duty; \u00a7 15. (2.) Its trifling in it; \u00a7 16. (3.) Its wandering from it;\n and, \u00a7 17. (4.) Its too abruptly putting an end to it.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. The most difficult part of heavenly contemplation, is to maintain a\nlively sense of heavenly things upon our hearts. It is easier, merely to\nthink of heaven a whole day, than to be lively and affectionate in those\nthoughts a quarter of an hour. Faith is imperfect, for we are renewed\nbut in part; and goes against a world of resistance; and, being\nsupernatural, is prone to decline and languish, unless it be continually\nexcited. Sense is strong, according to the strength of the flesh; and\nbeing natural, continues while nature continues. The objects of faith\nare far off; but those of sense are nigh. We must go as far as heaven\nfor our joys. To rejoice in what we never saw, nor ever knew the man\nthat did see, and this upon a mere promise in the Bible; is not so easy,\nas to rejoice in what we see and possess. It must therefore be a point\nof spiritual prudence, to call in sense to the assistance of faith. It\nwill be a good work, if we can make friends of these usual enemies, and\nmake them instruments for raising us to God, which are so often the\nmeans of drawing us from him. Why hath God given us either our senses,\nor their common objects, if they might not be serviceable to his praise?\nWhy doth the Holy Spirit describe the glory of the New Jerusalem, in\nexpressions that are grateful to the flesh? Is it that we might think\nheaven to be made of gold and pearl? or that saints and angels eat and\ndrink? No, but to help us to conceive of them as we are able, and to use\nthese borrowed phrases as a glass, in which we must see the things\nthemselves imperfectly represented, till we come to an immediate and\nperfect sight. And besides shewing how heavenly contemplation may be\nassisted by sensible objects,\u2014this chapter will also shew how it may be\npreserved from a wandering heart.\n\n\u00a7 2. (I.) In order that heavenly contemplation may be assisted by\nsensible objects, let me only advise\u2014to draw strong suppositions from\nsense,\u2014and to compare the objects of sense with objects of faith.\n\n\u00a7 3. (1.) For the helping of thy affections in heavenly contemplation,\ndraw as strong suppositions as possible from thy senses. Think on the\njoys above, as boldly as Scripture hath expressed them. Bring down thy\nconceptions to the reach of sense. Both love and joy are promoted by\nfamiliar acquaintance. When we attempt to think of God and glory,\nwithout the Scripture-manner of representing them, we are lost, and have\nnothing to fix our thoughts upon; we set them so far from us, that our\nthoughts are strange, and we are ready to say, what is above us, is\nnothing to us. To conceive of God and glory, only as above our\nconception, will beget but little love; or as above our love, will\nproduce little joy. Therefore put Christ no farther from you, than he\nhath put himself, lest the Divine nature be again inaccessible. Think of\nChrist, as in our own glorified nature. Think of glorified saints, as\nmen made perfect. Suppose thyself a companion with John in his survey of\nthe new Jerusalem, and viewing the thrones, the Majesty, the heavenly\nhosts, the shining splendor, which he saw. Suppose thyself his\nfellow-traveller into the celestial kingdom, and that thou hadst seen\nall the saints in their _white robes_, with _palms in their hands_; and\nthat thou hadst heard those _Songs of Moses, and of the Lamb_. If thou\nhadst really seen and heard these things, in what a rapture wouldst thou\nhave been? and the more seriously thou puttest this supposition to\nthyself, the more will thy meditation elevate thy heart. Do not, like\nthe papists, draw them in pictures; but get the liveliest picture of\nthem in thy mind that thou possibly canst, by contemplating the\nScripture-account of them, till thou canst say, \"Methinks I see a\nglimpse of glory! methinks I hear the shouts of joy and praise, and even\nstand by Abraham and David, Peter and Paul, and other triumphant souls!\nMethinks I even see the Son of God appearing in the clouds, and the\nworld standing at his bar to receive their doom; and hear him say _Come\nye blessed of my Father_; and see them go rejoicing into the joy of\ntheir Lord! My very dreams of these things have sometimes greatly\naffected me, and should not these just suppositions much more affect me?\nWhat if I had seen, with Paul, those _unutterable things_! Or, with\nStephen, had seen _heaven opened, and Christ sitting at the right hand\nof God_? Surely that one sight was worth his storm of stones. What if I\nhad seen, as Isaiah did, _the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the\nhost of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left_? Such things\ndid these men of God see; and I shall shortly see far more than ever\nthey saw, till they were loosed from flesh, as I must be.\" Thus you see\nhow it excites our affections in this heavenly work, if we make strong\nand familiar suppositions from our bodily senses, concerning the state\nof blessedness, as the Spirit hath in condescending language expressed\nit.\n\n\u00a7 4. (2.) The other way in which our senses may promote this heavenly\nwork, is by comparing the objects of sense with the objects of faith. As\nfor instance:\u2014You may strongly argue with your hearts from the corrupt\ndelights of sensual men, to the joys above. Think with yourselves; \"Is\nit such a delight to a sinner to do wickedly? And will it not be\ndelightful indeed to live with God? Hath the drunkard such delight in\nhis cups, that the fears of damnation will not make him forsake them?\nWill the whore-master rather part with his credit, estate, and\nsalvation, than with his brutish delight? If the way to hell can afford\nsuch pleasure, what then are the pleasures of the saints in heaven? if\nthe covetous man hath so much pleasure in his wealth, and the ambitious\nman in places of power and titles of honor; what then have the saints in\neverlasting treasures, and in heavenly honors, where we shall be set\nabove principalities and powers, and be made the glorious spouse of\nChrist? How delightfully will the voluptuous follow their recreations\nfrom morning to night, or sit at their cards and dice, nights and days\ntogether? O the delight we shall have, when we come to our rest, in\nbeholding the face of the living God, and in singing forth praises to\nhim and the Lamb!\"\u2014Compare also the delights above, with the lawful and\nmoderate delights of sense. Think with thyself, \"How sweet is food to my\ntaste when I am hungry; especially if it be, as Isaac said, _such as I\nlove_, which my temperance and appetite incline to? What delight then\nmust my soul have in feeding upon _Christ, the living bread_, and in\n_eating with him at his table in his kingdom_? Was a _mess of pottage_\nso sweet to Esau in his hunger, that he would buy it at so dear a rate\nas his _birth-right_? How highly then should I value this\nnever-perishing food? How pleasant is drink in the extremity of thirst,\nscarcely to be expressed; enough to make the _strength of Sampson\nrevive_? O how delightful will it be to my soul to drink of that\n_fountain of living water, which whoso drinketh it shall thirst no\nmore_? How delightful are grateful odors to the smell; or music to the\near; or beautiful sights to the eye? What fragrance then hath _the\nprecious ointment which is poured on the head_ of our glorified Savior,\nand which must be poured on the head of all his saints, and will fill\nall heaven with its odor? How delightful is the music _of the heavenly\nhost_? How pleasing will be those real beauties above? How glorious the\n_building not made with hands_, the house that God himself dwells in,\nthe walks and prospects in _the city of God_; and the celestial\nparadise!\"\n\n\u00a7 5. Compare also the delights above, with those we find in natural\nknowledge. These are far beyond the delights of sense; but how much\nfarther are the delights of heaven? Think then, \"Can an Archimedes be so\ntaken up with his mathematical invention, that the threats of death\ncannot disengage him, but he will die in the midst of his\ncontemplations? Should I not be much more taken up with the delights of\nglory, and die with these contemplations fresh upon my soul; especially\nwhen my death will perfect my delights, while those of Archimedes die\nwith him? What exquisite pleasure is it to dive into the secrets of\nnature, and find out the mystery of arts and sciences; especially if we\nmake a new discovery in any one of them? What high delights are there\nthen in the knowledge of God and Christ? If the face of human learning\nbe so beautiful, as to make sensual pleasures appear base and brutish;\nhow beautiful then is the face of God? When we meet with some choice\nbook, how could we read it day and night, almost forgetful of meat,\ndrink, or sleep? What delights are there then at God's right hand, where\nwe shall know in a moment all that is to be known?\"\u2014Compare also the\ndelights above, with the delights of morality, and of the natural\naffections. What delight had many sober heathens in the rules and\npractice of moral duties, so that they took him alone for an honest man,\nwho did well through the love of virtue, and not merely for fear of\npunishment; yea, so much valued was this moral virtue, that they thought\nman's chief happiness consisted in it? Think then \"What excellency will\nthere be in our heavenly perfection and in that uncreated perfection of\nGod which we shall behold? What sweetness is there in the exercise of\nnatural love, whether to children, parents, yoke-fellows, or intimate\nfriends? Does David say of Jonathan, _thy love to me was wonderful,\npassing the love of women_? Did _the soul of Jonathan cleave to David_?\nHad Christ himself one _disciple whom he especially loved, and who was\nwont to lean on his breast_? If then the delights of close and cordial\nfriendship be so great, what delight shall we have in the friendship of\nthe Most High, and in our mutual intimacy with Jesus Christ, and in the\ndearest love of the saints? Surely this will be a stricter friendship,\nand these more lovely and desirable friends, than ever the sun beheld;\nand both our affections to our Father and Savior, and especially theirs\nto us, will be such as we never knew here. If one angel could destroy an\nhost, the affections of spirits must also be proportionably stronger, so\nthat we shall then love a thousand times more ardently than we can now.\nAs all the attributes and works of God are incomprehensible, so is this\nof love: He will love us infinitely beyond our most perfect love to him.\nWhat then will there be in this mutual love?\"\n\n\u00a7 6. Compare also the excellencies of heaven, with those glorious works\nof creation which our eyes now behold. What wisdom, power, and goodness,\nare manifested therein? How does the majesty of the Creator shine in\nthis fabric of the world? _His works are great, sought out of all them\nthat have pleasure therein._ What Divine skill in forming the bodies of\nmen or beasts? What excellency in every plant? What beauty in flowers?\nWhat variety and usefulness in herbs, fruits, and minerals? What wonders\nare contained in the earth and its inhabitants; the ocean of waters,\nwith its motions and dimensions; and the constant succession of spring\nand autumn, of summer and winter? Think then, \"If these things, which\nare but servants to sinful man, are so full of mysterious worth, what is\nthat place where God himself dwells, and which is prepared for _just men\nmade perfect_ with Christ? What glory is there in the least of yonder\nstars? What a vast resplendent body is yonder moon, and every planet?\nWhat an inconceivable glory hath the sun? But all this is nothing to the\nglory of heaven. Yonder sun must there be laid aside as useless. Yonder\nis but darkness to the lustre of my Father's house. I shall myself be as\nglorious as that sun. This whole earth is but my Father's footstool.\nThis thunder is nothing to his dreadful voice. These winds are nothing\nto the breath of his mouth. If the _sending rain, and making the sun to\nrise on the just, and on the unjust_, be so wonderful; how much more\nwonderful and glorious will that sun be, which must shine on none but\nsaints and angels?\"\u2014Compare also the enjoyments above, with the wonders\nof Providence in the church and world. Would it not be an astonishing\nsight to see _the sea stand as a wall on the right hand and on the left,\nand the dry land appear in the midst, and the people of Israel pass\nsafely through, and Pharaoh and his host drowned_? or to have seen the\nten _plagues of Egypt_? or _the rock gushing forth streams_? or _manna\nand quails rained from heaven_? or _the earth opening and swallowing up\nthe wicked_? But we shall see far greater things than these; not only\nsights more wonderful, but more delightful: There shall be no blood, nor\nwrath, intermingled; nor shall we cry out, as _the men of Bethshemesh,\nWho is able to stand before this holy Lord God?_ How astonishing, to see\nthe _sun stand still_ in the firmament; or _the dial of Ahaz go back ten\ndegrees_? But we shall see when _there shall be no sun_; or rather shall\nbehold forever a sun of infinitely greater brightness. What a life\nshould we live, if we could have _drought or rain_ at our prayers; or\nhave _fire from heaven_ to destroy our enemies, as Elijah had; or raise\nthe dead, as Elisha; or miraculously _cure diseases_, and _speak all\nlanguages_, as the Apostles? Alas, these are nothing to the wonders we\nshall see and possess with God; and all of them wonders of goodness and\nlove? We shall ourselves be the subjects of more wonderful mercies than\nany of these. Jonah was raised but from a three day's burial _in the\nbelly of a fish_; but we shall be raised from many years rottenness and\ndust; and that dust exalted to the glory of the sun; and that glory\nperpetuated through eternity. Surely, if we observe but common\nprovidences; as, the motion of the sun; the tides of the sea; the\nstanding of the earth; the watering it with rain, as a garden; the\nkeeping in order a wicked confused world; with many others; they are all\nadmirable. But what are these to the Sion of God, the vision of the\nDivine Majesty, and the order of the heavenly hosts?\u2014Add to these those\nparticular providences which thou hast thyself enjoyed and recorded\nthrough thy life, and compare them with the mercies thou shalt have\nabove. Look over the mercies of thy youth and riper age, of thy\nprosperity and adversity, of thy several places and relations; are they\nnot excellent and innumerable, rich and engaging? How sweet was it to\nthee, when God resolved thy doubts; scattered thy fears; prevented the\ninconveniences into which thy own counsel would have cast thee; eased\nthy pains; healed thy sickness; and raised thee up, as from death and\nthe grave? Think then, \"Are all these so sweet and precious, that\nwithout them my life would have been a perpetual misery? Hath his\nprovidence on earth lifted me so high, _and his gentleness made me\ngreat_? How sweet then will his glorious presence be? How high will his\neternal love exalt me? and how great shall I be made in communion with\nhis greatness? If my pilgrimage and warfare have such mercies, what\nshall I find in my home, and in my triumph? If God communicates so much\nto me while I remain a sinner; what will he bestow when I am a perfected\nsaint? If I have had so much at such a distance from him; what shall I\nhave in his immediate presence, where I shall ever stand before his\nthrone?\"\n\n\u00a7 7. Compare the joys above, with the comforts thou hast here received\nin ordinances. Hath not the Bible been to thee as an open fountain,\nflowing with comforts day and night? What suitable promises have come\ninto thy mind; so that with David, thou mayest say, _Unless thy law had\nbeen my delight, I should then have perished in mine affliction_? Think\nthen, \"If his word be so full of consolations, what overflowing springs\nshall we find in God himself? If his letters are so comfortable, what\nwill the glories of his presence be? If the promise is so sweet, what\nwill the performance be? If the testament of our Lord, and our charter\nfor the kingdom, be so comfortable, what will be our possession of the\nkingdom itself?\"\u2014Think farther, \"What delights have I also found in the\n_word preached_? When I have sat under a heavenly, heart-searching\nteacher, how hath my heart been warmed? Methinks I have felt myself\nalmost in heaven. How often have I gone to the congregation troubled in\nspirit, and returned joyful? How often have I gone doubting, and God\nhath sent me home persuaded of his love in Christ? What cordials have I\nmet with to animate me in every conflict? If but the face of Moses shine\nso gloriously, what glory is there in the face of God? If _the feet of\nthem that publish peace, that bring good tidings of salvation, be\nbeautiful_; how beautiful is the face of the Prince of Peace? If _this\ntreasure_ be so precious _in earthen vessels_; what is that treasure\nlaid up in heaven? _Blessed are the eyes that see_ what is seen there,\n_and the ears that hear the things_ that are heard there. There shall I\nhear Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John, Peter, Paul; not preaching to\ngainsayers, in imprisonment, persecution, and reproach; but triumphing\nin the praises of him that hath raised them to honor and glory.\" Think\nalso, \"What joy is it to have access and acceptance in prayer; that I\nmay always go to God, and open my case, and unbosom my soul to him, as\nto my most faithful friend? But it will be a more unspeakable joy, when\nI shall receive all blessings without asking, and all my necessities and\nmiseries will be removed, and when God himself will be the portion and\ninheritance of my soul.\" As for the Lord's supper, \"What a privilege is\nit to be admitted to sit at his table, to have his covenant sealed to me\nthere? But all the life and comfort there, is to assure me of the\ncomforts hereafter. O the difference between the last supper of Christ\non earth, and the marriage-supper of the Lamb at the great day! Then his\nroom will be the glorious heavens; his attendants, all the hosts of\nangels and saints; no Judas, no unfurnished guest, comes there; but the\nhumble believers must sit down by him, and their feast will be their\nmutual loving and rejoicing.\" Concerning the communion of saints, think\nwith thyself, \"What a pleasure is it to live with intelligent and\nheavenly Christians? David says of such, _they were all his delight_. O\nwhat a delightful society then shall I have above? Had I but seen Job on\nthe dunghill, what a mirror of patience? and what will it be to see him\nin glory? How delightful to have heard Paul and Silas singing in the\nstocks? How much more to hear them sing praises in heaven? What melody\ndid David make on his harp? But how much more melodious to hear that\nsweet singer in the heavenly choir? What would I have given for an\nhour's free converse with Paul, when he was just come down from the\nthird heaven? But I must shortly see those things myself, and possess\nwhat I see.\" Once more, think of praising God in concert with his\nsaints. \"What if I had been in the place of those shepherds, who saw,\nand heard the heavenly host singing, _Glory to God in the highest, and\non earth peace, good will towards men_? But I shall see and hear more\nglorious things. How blessed should I have thought myself, had I heard\nChrist in his _thanksgivings to his Father_? How much more, when I shall\nhear him pronounce me blessed? If there was such joy at _bringing back\nthe ark_, or at _rebuilding the temple_; what will there be in the _New\nJerusalem_? If the _earth rent_, when the people rejoiced at Solomon's\ncoronation; what a joyful shout will there be at the appearing of the\nKing of the church? If, _when the foundations of the earth were laid,\nthe morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for\njoy_; what a joyful song will there be, when the world of glory is both\nfounded and finished, when the top-stone is laid, and when _the holy\ncity is adorned as the bride, the Lamb's wife_?\"\n\n\u00a7 8. Compare the joy thou shalt have in heaven, with what the saints\nhave found in the way to it, and in the foretastes of it. When did God\never reveal the least of himself to any of his saints, but the joy of\ntheir hearts was answerable to the revelation? In what an ecstacy was\nPeter on the mount of transfiguration? _Master_, says he, _it is good\nfor us to be here; let us make three tabernacles! one for thee, and one\nfor Moses, and one for Elias_. As if he had said, \"O let us not go down\nagain to yonder persecuting rabble; let us not return to our mean and\nsuffering state. Is it not better to stay here now we are here? Is not\nhere better company, and sweeter pleasure?\" How was Paul lifted up with\nwhat he saw? How did the face of Moses shine, when he had been talking\nwith God? These were all extraordinary foretastes; but little to the\nfull beatifical vision. How often have we read and heard of dying\nsaints, who have been as full of joy as their hearts could hold; and\nwhen their bodies have felt the extremity of sickness and pain, have had\nmuch of heaven in their spirits, and their joy hath far exceeded their\nsorrows? If a spark of this fire be so glorious, even amidst the sea of\nadversity; what then is glory itself? O the joy that the martyrs have\nfelt in the flames! They were flesh and blood, as well as we; it must\ntherefore be some excellent thing that filled their spirits with joy\nwhile their bodies were burning. Think, reader, in thy meditations,\n\"Sure it must be some wonderful foretaste of glory that made the flames\nof fire easy, and the king of terrors welcome. What then is glory\nitself. What a blessed rest, when the thoughts of it made _Paul desire\nto depart and be with Christ_; and makes the saints never think\nthemselves well, till they are dead? Shall Saunders embrace the stake,\nand cry _Welcome cross_? And shall not I more delightfully embrace my\nblessedness, and cry, _Welcome crown_? Shall Bradford kiss the faggot?\nAnd shall not I kiss the Savior? Shall another poor martyr rejoice to\nhave her foot in the same hole of the stocks, in which Mr. Philpot's had\nbeen before her? And shall not I rejoice, that my soul shall live in the\nsame place of glory, where Christ and his apostles are gone before me?\nShall fire and faggot, prisons and banishment, cruel mockings and\nscourgings, be more welcome to others, than Christ and glory to me? God\nforbid.\"\n\n\u00a7 9. Compare the glory of the heavenly kingdom, with the glory of the\nchurch on earth, and of Christ in his state of humiliation. If Christ\nsuffering in the room of sinners had such excellency, what is Christ at\nhis Father's right hand? If the church under her sins and enemies have\nso much beauty, what will she have at the marriage of the Lamb? How\nwonderful was the Son of God in the form of a servant? When he is born,\na new star must appear, and conduct the strangers to worship him in a\nmanger; heavenly hosts with their songs must celebrate his nativity;\nwhile a child, he must dispute with doctors; when he enters upon his\noffice, he turns water into wine; feeds thousands with a few loaves and\nfishes; cleanses the lepers, heals the sick, restores the lame, gives\nsight to the blind, and raises the dead. How wonderful then is his\ncelestial glory? If there be such _cutting down of boughs, and spreading\nof garments, and crying Hosanna_, for one that _comes into Jerusalem\nriding on an ass_; what will there be when he comes with his angels in\nhis glory? If they that heard him _preach the gospel of the kingdom_,\nconfess, _Never man spake like this man_; they then that behold his\nmajesty in his kingdom, will say, _There was never glory like this\nglory_. If, when his enemies came to apprehend him, _they fell to the\nground_; if when he is dying, _the earth quakes, the veil of the temple\nis rent, the sun eclipsed, the dead bodies of the saints arise, and the\nstanders-by acknowledge, Verily this was the Son of God_? O what a day\nwill it be, when the dead must all arise, and stand before him; when he\nwill once more _shake, not the earth only, but the heavens also_; when\nthis sun shall be taken out of the firmament, and be everlastingly\ndarkened with his glory; and when every tongue shall confess him to be\nLord and King! If, when he rose again, death and the grave lost their\npower; if angels must _roll away the stone_, terrify _the keepers_ till\nthey are _as dead men_, and send the tidings to his disciples; if he\nascend to heaven in their sight; what power, dominion, and glory, is he\nnow possessed of, and which we must for ever possess with him! When he\nis gone, can a few poor fishermen and tent-makers cure the lame, blind,\nand sick, open prisons, destroy the disobedient, raise the dead, and\nastonish their adversaries? What a world will that be, where every one\ncan do greater works than these! If the preaching of the gospel be\naccompanied with such power as to discover the secrets of the heart;\nhumble the proud sinner, and make the most obdurate tremble; if it can\nmake men _burn their books, sell their lands, bring in the price and lay\nit down at the preacher's feet_; if it can convert thousands, and _turn\nthe world upside down_; if its doctrine, from the prisoner at the bar,\ncan make the judge on the bench tremble; if Christ and his saints have\nthis power and honor in the day of their abasement, and in the time\nappointed for their suffering and disgrace; what then will they have in\ntheir absolute dominion, and full advancement in their kingdom of glory?\n\n\u00a7 10. Compare the glorious change thou shalt have at last, with the\ngracious change which the Spirit hath here wrought on thy heart. There\nis not the smallest sincere grace in thee, but is of greater worth than\nthe riches of the Indies; not a hearty desire and groan after Christ,\nbut is more to be valued than the kingdoms of the world. A renewed\nnature is the _very image of God; Christ dwelling in us_; and _the\nSpirit of God abiding in us_: It is a beam from the face of God; _the\nseed of God remaining us_; the only inherent beauty of the rational\nsoul: It ennobles man above all nobility; fits him to understand his\nMaker's pleasure, do his will, and receive his glory. If this _grain of\nmustard seed_ be so precious, what is _the tree of life in the midst of\nthe paradise of God_? If a spark of life, which will but strive against\ncorruptions, and flame out a few desires and groans, be of so much\nworth; how glorious then is the fountain of this life? If we are said to\nbe _like God_, when we are pressed down with a body of sin; sure we\nshall be much more like God, when we have no such thing as sin within\nus. Is the desire after, and love of heaven so excellent; what then is\nthe thing itself? Is our joy in foreseeing and believing so sweet; what\nwill be the joy of full possession! How glad is a Christian when he\nfeels his heart begin to melt and be dissolved with the thoughts of\nsinful unkindness? Even this sorrow yields him joy. O what then will it\nbe, when we shall know, and love, and rejoice, and praise in the highest\nperfection? Think with thyself, \"What a change was it, to be taken from\nthat state wherein I was born, and in which I was rivetted by custom,\nwhen thousands of sins lay upon my score, and if I had so died, I had\nbeen damned forever? What an astonishing change, to be justified from\nall these enormous crimes, and freed from all these fearful plagues, and\nmade an heir of heaven? How often, when I have thought of my\nregeneration, have I cried out, O blessed day! and blessed be the Lord\nthat ever I saw it! How then shall I cry out in heaven, O blessed\neternity! and blessed be the Lord that brought me to it! Did the angels\nof God rejoice to see my conversion? Surely they will congratulate my\nfelicity in my salvation. Grace is but a spark raked up in the ashes,\ncovered with flesh from the sight of the world, and sometimes covered\nwith corruption from my own sight; but my everlasting glory will not be\nso clouded, nor my light be _under a bushel, but on a hill_, even upon\nMount Sion, the Mount of God.\"\n\n\u00a7 11. Once more, compare the joys which thou shalt have above, with\nthose foretastes of it which the Spirit hath given thee here. Hath not\nGod sometimes revealed himself extraordinarily to thy soul, and let a\ndrop of glory fall upon it? Hast thou not been ready to say, \"O that it\nmight be thus with my soul continually?\" Didst thou never cry out with\nthe martyr, after thy long and mournful expectations, \"He is come, He is\ncome?\" Didst thou never, under a lively sermon of heaven, or in thy\nretired contemplations on that blessed state, perceive thy drooping\nspirits revive, and thy dejected heart lift up the head, and the light\nof heaven dawn on thy soul? Think with thyself, \"What is this earnest to\nthe full inheritance? Alas, all this light, that so amazeth and\nrejoiceth me, is but a candle lighted from heaven, to lead me thither\nthrough this world of darkness: If some godly men have been overwhelmed\nwith joy, till they have cried out, _Hold, Lord, stay thy hand; I can\nbear no more_: What then will be my joys in heaven, when my soul shall\nbe so capable of seeing and enjoying God, that though the light be ten\nthousand times greater than the sun, yet my eyes shall be able for ever\nto behold it?\" Or, if thou hast not yet felt these sweet foretastes,\n(for every believer hath not felt them,) then make use of such delights\nas thou hast felt, in order the better to discern what thou shalt\nhereafter feel.\n\n\u00a7 12. (II.) I am now to shew how heavenly contemplation may be preserved\nfrom a wandering heart. Our chief work is here to discover the danger,\nand that will direct to the fittest remedy. The heart will prove the\ngreatest hinderance in this heavenly employment; either, by backwardness\nto it;\u2014or, by trifling in it;\u2014or, by frequent excursions to other\nobjects;\u2014or, by abruptly ending the work before it is well begun. As you\nvalue the comfort of this work, these dangerous evils must be faithfully\nresisted.\n\n\u00a7 13. (1.) Thou wilt find thy heart as backward to this, I think, as to\nany work in the world. O what excuses will it make! What evasions will\nit find out! What delays and demurs, when it is ever so much convinced!\neither it will question, whether it be a duty or not, or, if it be so to\nothers, whether to thyself. It will tell thee, \"This is a work for\nministers, that have nothing else to study; or for persons that have\nmore leisure than thou hast.\" If thou be a minister, it will tell thee,\n\"This is the duty of the people; it is enough for thee to meditate for\ntheir instruction, and let them meditate on what they have heard.\" As if\nit was thy duty only to cook their meat, and serve it up, and they alone\nmust eat it, digest it, and live upon it. If all this will not do, thy\nheart will tell thee of other business, or set thee upon some other\nduty; for it had rather go to any duty than this. Perhaps it will tell\nthee, \"Other duties are greater, and therefore this must give place to\nthem, because thou hast no time for both. Public business is more\nimportant; to study and preach for the saving of souls, must be\npreferred before these private contemplations.\" As if thou hadst not\ntime to care for thy own salvation, for looking after that of others. Or\nthy charity to others were so great, that it obliges thee to neglect thy\nown eternal welfare. Or as if there were any better way to fit us to be\nuseful to others, than making this proof of our doctrine ourselves.\nCertainly heaven is the best fire to light our candle at, and the best\nbook for a preacher to study; and if we would be persuaded to study that\nmore, the church would be provided with more heavenly lights; and when\nour studies are divine, and our spirits divine, our preaching will also\nbe divine, and we may be called divines indeed. Or, if thy heart have\nnothing to say against the work, it will trifle away the time in delays,\nand promise this day and the next, but still keep off from the business.\nOr, it will give thee a flat denial, and oppose its own unwillingness to\nthy reason. All this I speak of the heart, so far as it is still carnal;\nfor I know, so far as it is spiritual, it will judge this the sweetest\nwork in the world.\n\n\u00a7 14. What is now to be done? Wilt thou do it, if I tell thee? Wouldst\nthou not say in a like case, \"What should I do with a servant that will\nnot work? or with a horse that will not travel? Shall I keep them to\nlook at?\" Then faithfully deal thus with thy heart; persuade it to the\nwork; take no denial; chide it for its backwardness; use violence with\nit. Hast thou no command of thy own thoughts? Is not the subject of thy\nmeditations a matter of choice, especially under this conduct of thy\njudgment? Surely God gave thee, with thy new nature, some power to\ngovern thy thoughts. Art thou again become a slave to thy depraved\nnature? Resume thy authority. Call in the Spirit of Christ to thine\nassistance, who is never backward to so good a work, nor will deny his\nhelp in so just a cause. Say to him, \"Lord, thou gavest my reason the\ncommand of my thoughts and affections; the authority I have received\nover them is from thee; and now behold, they refuse to obey thine\nauthority: Thou commandest me to set them to the work of heavenly\nmeditation, but they rebel and stubbornly refuse the duty. Wilt thou not\nassist me to exercise that authority which thou hast given me? O send\ndown thy Spirit, that I may enforce thy commands, and effectually compel\nthem to obey thy will!\" Thus thou shalt see thy heart will submit, its\nresistance be overcome, and its backwardness be turned into cheerful\ncompliance.\n\n\u00a7 15. (2.) Thy heart will also be likely to betray thee by trifling,\nwhen it should be effectually meditating. Perhaps, when thou hast an\nhour for meditation, the time will be spent before thy heart will be\nserious. This doing of duty, as if we did it not, ruins as many as the\nomission of it. Here let thine eye be always upon thy heart. Look not so\nmuch to the time it spends in the duty, as to the quantity and quality\nof the work that is done. You can tell by his work, whether a servant\nhath been diligent. Ask yourself, \"What affections have been yet\nexercised? How much am I yet got nearer to heaven?\" Think not, since thy\nheart is so trifling, it is better to let it alone: for, by this means,\nthou wilt certainly banish all spiritual obedience; because the best\nhearts, being but sanctified in part, will resist, so far as they are\ncarnal. But rather consider well the corruption of thy nature; and that\nits sinful indispositions will not supersede the commands of God; nor\none sin excuse for another; and that God has appointed means to excite\nour affections. This self-reasoning, self-considering duty of heavenly\nmeditation, is the most singular means, both to excite and increase\nlove. Therefore stay not from the duty, till thou feelest thy love\nconstrain thee; any more than thou wouldst stay from the fire, till thou\nfeelest thyself warm; but engage in the work, till love is excited, and\nthen love will constrain thee to further duty.\n\n\u00a7 16. (3.) Thy heart will also be making excursions from thy heavenly\nmeditation to other objects. It will be turning aside, like a careless\nservant, to talk with every one that passeth by. When there should be\nnothing in thy mind but heaven, it will be thinking of thy calling, or\nthy afflictions, or of every bird, or tree, or place thou seest. The\ncure is here the same as before; use watchfulness and violence. Say to\nthy heart, \"What, did I come hither to think of my worldly business, of\npersons, places, news, or vanity, or of any thing but heaven, be it ever\nso good? _Canst thou not watch one hour?_ Wouldst thou leave this world,\nand dwell for ever with Christ in heaven, and not leave it one hour to\ndwell with Christ in meditation? _Is this thy love to thy friend?_ Dost\nthou love Christ, and the place of thy eternal, blessed abode, no more\nthan this?\" If _the_ ravening _fowls_ of wandering thoughts devour the\nmeditations intended for heaven, they devour the life and joy of thy\nthoughts: Therefore _drive them away_ from thy sacrifice, and strictly\nkeep thy heart to the work.\n\n\u00a7 17. (4.) Abruptly ending thy meditation before it is well begun, is\nanother way in which thy heart will deceive thee. Thou mayest easily\nperceive this in other duties. In secret prayer, is not thy heart urging\nthee to cut it short, and frequently making a motion to have done? So in\nheavenly contemplation, thy heart will be weary of the work, and will\nstop thy heavenly walk before thou art well warm. But charge it in the\nname of God to stay, and not do so great a work by halves. Say to it,\n\"Foolish heart! if thou beg a while, and goest away before thou hast thy\nalms, is not thy begging a lost labor? If thou stoppest before the end\nof thy journey, is not thy travel lost? Thou camest hither in hope to\nhave a sight of the glory which thou must inherit; and wilt thou stop\nwhen thou art almost at the top of the hill, and turn back before thou\nhast taken thy survey? Thou camest hither in hope to speak with God, and\nwilt thou go before thou hast seen him? Thou camest to bathe thyself in\nthe streams of consolation, and to that end didst unclothe thyself of\nthy earthly thoughts, and wilt thou only touch the bank and return? Thou\ncamest to _spy out the land of promise_; go not back without _one\ncluster of grapes, to shew thy brethren_ for their encouragement. Let\nthem see that thou hast tasted of the wine, by the gladness of thy\nheart; and that thou hast been anointed with the oil, by the\ncheerfulness of thy countenance: and hast fed of the milk and honey, by\nthe mildness of thy disposition, and the sweetness of thy conversation.\nThis heavenly fire would melt thy frozen heart, and refine and\nspiritualize it; but it must have time to operate.\" Thus pursue the work\ntill something be done, till thy graces be in exercise, thy affections\nraised, and thy soul refreshed with the delights above; or if thou canst\nnot obtain these ends at once, be the more earnest at another time.\n_Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so\ndoing._\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XVI.\n\nHeavenly contemplation exemplified, and the whole Work concluded.\n\n \u00a7 1. The reader's attention excited to the following example of\n meditation. \u00a7 2. \"The excellencies of heavenly rest. \u00a7 3. Its nearness,\n \u00a7 4. Dreadful to sinners \u00a7 5. And joyful to saints; \u00a7 6. Its dear\n purchase; \u00a7 7. Its difference from earth. \u00a7 8. The heart pleaded with.\n \u00a7 9. Unbelief banished. \u00a7 10. A careless world pitied. \u00a7 11-13.\n Heavenly rest the object of love, \u00a7 14-21. And joy. \u00a7 22. The heart's\n backwardness to heavenly joy lamented. \u00a7 23-27. Heavenly rest the\n object of desire.\" \u00a7 28. Such meditations as this urged upon the\n reader: \u00a7 29. The mischief of neglecting it: \u00a7 30. The happiness of\n pursuing it. \u00a7 31. The Author's concluding prayer for the success of\n his work.\n\n\n\u00a7 1. And now reader, according to the above directions, make conscience\nof daily exercising thy graces in meditation, as well as prayer: Retire\ninto some secret place, at a time the most convenient to thyself, and\nlaying aside all worldly thoughts, with all possible seriousness and\nreverence, look up toward heaven, remember there is thine everlasting\nrest, study its excellency and reality, and rise from sense to faith, by\ncomparing heavenly with earthly joys: Then mix ejaculations with thy\nsoliloquies; till having pleaded the case reverently with God, and\nseriously with thy own heart, thou hast pleaded thyself from a clod to a\nflame, from a forgetful sinner, and a lover of the world, to an ardent\nlover of God, from a fearful coward, to a resolved Christian, from an\nunfruitful sadness, to a joyful life: In a word, till thou hast pleaded\nthy heart from earth to heaven, from conversing below to walking with\nGod; and till thou canst lay thy heart to rest, as in the bosom of\nChrist, by some such meditation of thy everlasting rest as is here added\nfor thy assistance.\n\n\u00a7 2. \"Rest! How sweet the sound! It is melody to my ears! It lies as a\nreviving cordial at my heart, and from thence sends forth lively\nspirits, which beat through all the pulses of my soul! Rest,\u2014not as the\nstone that rests on the earth, nor as the flesh shall rest in the grave,\nnor such a rest as the carnal world desires. O blessed rest! When we\n_rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty_!\nWhen we shall rest from sin, but not from worship; from suffering and\nsorrow, but not from joy! O blessed day! When I shall rest with God!\nWhen I shall rest in the bosom of my Lord! When I shall rest in knowing,\nloving, rejoicing, and praising! When my perfect soul and body shall\ntogether perfectly enjoy the most perfect God! When God, _who is love_\nitself, shall perfectly love me, and _rest in his love_ to me, as I\nshall rest in my love to him; and _rejoice over me with joy_, and _joy\nover me with singing_, as I shall rejoice in him!\n\n\u00a7 3. \"How near is that most blessed, joyful day! It comes apace. _He\nthat shall come, will come, and will not tarry._ Though _my Lord_ seems\nto _delay his coming_, yet _a little while_ and he will be here. What is\na few hundred years, when they are over? How surely will _his sign\nappear_? How suddenly will he seize upon the careless world, even _as\nthe lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth unto the west_? He who\nis gone hence _shall so come_. Methinks I hear his _trumpet sound_!\nMethinks I _see him coming with clouds_; with his attending angels in\nmajesty and glory!\n\n\u00a7 4. \"O secure sinners! What now will you do? Where will you _hide\nyourselves_? What shall _cover_ you? _mountains_ are gone; _the heavens\nand the earth, which were_, are _passed away_; the devouring fire hath\nconsumed all, except yourselves, who must be the fuel for ever. O that\nall could consume as soon as the earth; and _melt_ away as did _the\nheavens_! Ah, these wishes are now but vain! The Lamb himself would have\nbeen your friend; he would have loved you, and ruled you, and now have\nsaved you; but you would not _then_, and _now_ it is too late. Never cry\n_Lord, Lord_; too late, too late, man. Why dost thou look about? Can any\nsave thee? Whither dost thou run? Can any hide thee? O wretch, that hast\nbrought thyself to this!\n\n\u00a7 5. \"Now, blessed saints, that have believed and obeyed! This is the\nend of faith and patience. This is it for which you prayed and waited.\nDo you now repent your sufferings and sorrows, your self-denying and\nholy walking? Are your tears of repentance now bitter or sweet! See how\nthe Judge smiles upon you; there is love in his looks; the titles of\n_Redeemer_, _Husband_, _Head_, are written in his amiable, shining face.\nHark, he calls you, he bids you stand here _on his right-hand_; fear\nnot, for there _he sets his sheep_. O joyful sentence! _Come, ye blessed\nof My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation\nof the world._ He takes you by the hand, the door is open, the kingdom\nis his, and therefore yours; there is your place before his throne; the\nfather receives you as the spouse of his Son, and bids you welcome to\nthe crown of glory. Ever so unworthy, you must be crowned. This was the\nproject of free redeeming grace, the purpose of eternal love. O blessed\ngrace! O blessed love! O how love and joy will rise! but I cannot\nexpress it, I cannot conceive it.\n\n\u00a7 6. \"This is that joy which was produced by sorrow, that crown which\nwas procured by the cross. My Lord _wept_, that now my _tears might be\nwiped away_; He bled, that I might now rejoice; he was _forsaken_, that\nI might not now be forsook; he then _died, that I might_ now _live_. O\nfree mercy, that can exalt so vile a wretch! Free to me though dear to\nChrist! Free grace, that hath chosen me, when thousands were forsaken!\nWhen my companions in sin must burn in hell, I must here rejoice in\nrest! Here must I live with all these saints! O comfortable meeting of\nmy old acquaintance, with whom I prayed, and wept and suffered, and\n_spoke often_ of this day and place! I see the grave could not detain\nyou; the same love hath redeemed and saved you also.\n\n\u00a7 7. \"This is not like our cottages of clay, our prisons, our earthly\ndwellings. This voice of joy is not like our old complaints, our\nimpatient groans and sighs; nor this melodious praise like the scoffs\nand revilings, or the oaths and curses, which we heard on earth. This\nbody is not like that we had, nor this soul like the soul we had, nor\nthis life like the life we lived. We have changed our place and state,\nour clothes and thoughts, our looks, language, and company. Before, a\nsaint was weak and despised; so proud and peevish, we could often scarce\ndiscern his graces: but now how glorious a thing is a saint! Where is\nnow their body of sin, which wearied themselves and those about them?\nWhere are now our different judgments, reproachful names, divided\nspirits, exasperated passions, strange looks, uncharitable censures? Now\nwe are all of one _judgment_, of one _name_, of one _heart_, _house_,\nand _glory_. O sweet reconciliation! Happy union! Now the gospel shall\nno more be dishonored through our folly. No more, my soul, shalt thou\nlament the sufferings of the saints, or the church's ruins, nor mourn\nthy suffering friends, nor weep over their dying beds, or their graves.\nThou shalt never suffer thy old temptations from Satan, the world, or\nthy own flesh. Thy pains and sicknesses are all cured; thy body shall no\nmore burden thee with weakness and weariness; thy aching head and heart,\nthy hunger and thirst, thy sleep and labor, are all gone. O what a\nmighty change is this! From the dunghill, to the throne! from\npersecuting sinners, to praising saints! From a _vile body_, to this\nwhich _shines as the brightness of the firmament_! From a sense of God's\ndispleasure, to the perfect enjoyment of him in love! From all my doubts\nand fears, to this possession, which puts me out of doubt! From all my\nfearful thoughts of death, to this joyful life! Blessed change!\nFarewell, sin, and sorrow, for ever: Farewell, my rocky, proud,\nunbelieving heart; my worldly, sensual, carnal heart: And welcome now my\nmost holy, heavenly nature. Farewell, repentance, faith, and hope; and\nwelcome, love, and joy, and praise. I shall now have my harvest, without\nploughing or sowing; my joy without a preacher, or a promise; even all\nfrom the face of God himself. Whatever mixture is in the streams, there\nis nothing but pure joy in the Fountain. Here shall I be encircled with\neternity and ever live, and ever, ever praise the Lord. My face will not\nwrinkle, nor my hair be grey; _for this corruptible_ shall have _put on\nincorruption, and this mortal immortality_, and _death_ shall be\n_swallowed up in victory. O death, where is_ now _thy sting? O grave,\nwhere is thy victory?_ The date of my lease will no more expire, nor\nshall I trouble myself with thoughts of death, nor lose my joys through\nfear of losing them. When millions of ages are passed, my glory is but\nbeginning; and when millions more are passed, it is no nearer ending.\nEvery day is all noon, every month is harvest, every year is a jubilee,\neven age is full manhood, and all this is one eternity. O blessed\neternity! The glory of my glory! the perfection of my perfection!\n\n\u00a7 8. \"Ah drowsy, earthly heart! How coldly dost thou think of this\nreviving day? Hadst thou rather sit down in dirt, than walk in the\npalace of God? Art thou now remembering thy worldly business, or\nthinking of thy lusts, earthly delights and merry company? Is it better\nto be here, than above with God? Is the company better? Are the\npleasures greater? Come away; make no excuse, nor delay; God commands,\nand I command thee; gird up thy loins; ascend the mount; look about thee\nwith faith and seriousness. Look not back upon the way of the\nwilderness; except it be to compare the kingdom with that howling\ndesert, more sensibly to perceive the wide difference. Yonder is thy\nFather's glory; yonder, O my soul! must thou remove, when thou departest\nfrom this body; and when the power of thy Lord hath raised it again, and\njoined thee to it, yonder must thou live with God for ever. There is the\nglorious new Jerusalem, the gates of pearl, the foundations of pearl,\nthe streets and pavement of transparent gold. That sun, which lighteth\nall this world, will be useless there; even thyself shall be as bright\nas yonder shining sun; God will be the sun, and Christ the light, and in\nhis light shalt thou have light.\n\n\u00a7 9. \"O my soul! dost thou _stagger at the promise of God through\nunbelief_? I much suspect thee, didst thou believe indeed thou wouldst\nbe more affected with it. Is it not under the hand, and seal, and oath\nof God? Can God lie? Can he that is truth itself be false? What need\nhath God to flatter or deceive thee? Why should he promise thee more\nthan he will perform? Dare not to charge the wise, almighty, faithful\nGod with this. How many of the promises have been performed to thee in\nthy conversion? Would God so powerfully concur with a feigned word? O\nwretched heart of unbelief? Hath God made thee a promise of rest, and\nwilt thou come short of it? Thine eyes, thy ears, and all thy senses,\nmay prove delusions, sooner than a promise of God can delude thee. Thou\nmayest be surer of that which is written in the word, than if thou see\nit with thine eyes, or feel it with thine hands. Art thou sure thou art\nalive, or that this is earth thou standest on, or that thine eyes see\nthe sun? As sure is all this glory to the saints; as sure shall I be\nhigher than yonder stars, and live for ever in the _holy city_, and\njoyfully sound forth the praise of my Redeemer; if I be not shut out by\nthis _evil heart of unbelief_, causing me to _depart from the living\nGod_.\n\n\u00a7 10. \"And is this rest so sweet, and so sure? Then what means the\ncareless world? Know they what they neglect? Did they ever hear of it,\nor are they yet asleep, or are they dead? Do they certainly know that\nthe crown is before them, while they thus sit still or follow trifles?\nUndoubtedly they are beside themselves, to mind so much their provision\nby the way, when they are hasting so fast to another world, and their\neternal happiness lies at stake. Were there left one spark of reason,\nthey would never sell their rest for toil, nor their glory for worldly\nvanities, nor venture heaven for sinful pleasure. Poor men! O that you\nwould once consider what you hazard, and then you would scorn these\ntempting baits! Blessed for ever be that love, which hath rescued me\nfrom this bewitching darkness!\n\n\u00a7 11. \"Draw yet nearer, O my soul! with thy most fervent love. Here is\nmatter for it to work upon, something worth thy loving. O see what\nbeauty presents itself! Is not all the beauty in the world united here?\nIs not all other beauty but deformity? Dost thou now need to be\npersuaded to love? Here is a feast for thine eyes, and all the powers of\nthy soul; dost thou need entreaties to feed upon it? Canst thou love a\nlittle shining earth, a walking piece of clay? And canst thou not love\nthat God, that Christ, that glory, which is so truly and unmeasurably\nlovely? Thou canst love thy friend, because he loves thee; and is the\nlove of a friend like the love of Christ? Their weeping or bleeding for\nthee, do not ease thee, nor stay the course of thy tears or blood: But\nthe tears and blood that fell from thy Lord, have a sovereign healing\nvirtue. O my soul! if love _deserves_, and should beget love, what\nincomprehensible love is here before thee? Pour out all the store of thy\naffections here, and all is too little. O that it were more; O that it\nwere many thousand times more! Let him be first served, that served thee\nfirst. Let him have the first-born, and strength of thy soul! who parted\nwith strength and life in love for thee. O my soul! Dost thou love for\nexcellency? Yonder is the region of light; this is a land of darkness.\nYonder twinkling stars, that shining moon, and radiant sun, are all but\nlanthorns hung out of thy Father's house, to light thee while thou\nwalkest in this dark world: But how little dost thou know the glory and\nblessedness that is within?\u2014Dost thou love for suitableness? What person\nmore suitable than Christ? His godhead and humanity, his fulness and\nfreeness, his willingness and constancy, all proclaim him thy suitable\nfriend. What state more suitable to thy misery, than mercy? Or to thy\nsin and pollution, than honor and perfection? What place more suitable\nto thee than heaven? Does this world agree with thy desires; hast thou\nnot a sufficient trial of it?\u2014Or dost thou love for interest and near\nrelation? Where hast thou better interest than in heaven, or nearer\nrelation than there?\n\n\u00a7 12. \"Dost thou love for acquaintance and familiarity? Though thine\neyes have never seen thy Lord, yet thou hast heard his voice, received\nhis benefits, and lived in his bosom; He taught thee to know thyself and\nhim; he opened thee that first window through which thou sawest into\nheaven. Hast thou forgotten since thy heart was careless, and he\nawakened it; hard, and he softened it; stubborn, and he made it yield;\nat peace, and he troubled it; whole, and he broke it; and broken, till\nhe healed it again? Hast thou forgotten the times when he found thee in\ntears; when he heard thy secret sighs and groans, and left all to come\nand comfort thee; when he took thee, as it were, in his arms, and asked\nthee, poor soul, what ails thee? Dost thou weep, when I have wept so\nmuch? Be of good cheer; thy wounds are saving, and not deadly; It is I\nhave made them, who mean thee no hurt; though I let out thy blood, I\nwill not let out thy life.\" I remember his voice. How gently did he take\nme up? How carefully did he dress my wounds? Methinks I hear him still\nsaying to me, \"poor sinner, though thou hast dealt unkindly with me, and\ncast me off; yet I will not do so by thee. Though thou hast set light by\nme and all my mercies, yet they and myself are all thine. What wouldst\nthou have that I can give thee? And what dost thou want that I cannot\ngive thee? If any thing I have will pleasure thee, thou shalt have it.\nWouldst thou have pardon? I freely forgive thee all thy debt. Wouldst\nthou have grace and peace? Thou shalt have them both. Wouldst thou have\nmyself? Behold I am thine, thy Friend, thy Lord, thy Brother, Husband,\nand Head. Wouldst thou have the Father? I will bring thee to him, and\nthou shalt have him, in and by me.\" These were my Lord's reviving words.\nAfter all, when I was doubtful of his love, methinks I yet remember his\novercoming arguments. \"Have I done so much, sinner, to testify my love,\nand yet dost thou doubt? Have I offered thee myself and love so long and\nyet dost thou question my willingness to be thine? At what dearer rate\nshould I tell thee that I love thee? Wilt thou not believe my bitter\npassion proceeded from love? Have I made myself in the gospel a lion to\nthine enemies, and a lamb to thee, and dost thou overlook my lamb-like\nnature? Had I been willing to let thee perish, what need I have done and\nsuffered so much? What need I follow thee with such patience and\nimportunity? Why dost thou tell me of thy wants; have I not enough for\nme and thee? Or of thy unworthiness; for if thou wast thyself worthy,\nwhat shouldst thou do with my worthiness? Did I ever invite, or save,\nthe worthy and the righteous; or is there any such upon earth? Hast thou\nnothing; art thou lost and miserable, helpless and forlorn? Dost thou\nbelieve I am an all-sufficient Savior, and wouldst thou have me? Lo, I\nam thine, take me; if thou art willing, I am; and neither sin, nor\nSatan, shall break the match.\" These, O these, were the blessed words\nwhich his Spirit from his gospel spoke unto me, till he made me cast\nmyself at his feet, and cry out, \"My Savior, and my Lord, thou hast\nbroke, thou hast revived my heart; thou hast overcome, thou hast won my\nheart; take it, it is thine; if such a heart can please thee, take it;\nif it cannot, make it such as thou wouldst have it.\" Thus, O my soul!\nMayest thou remember the sweet familiarity thou hast had with Christ;\ntherefore, if acquaintance will cause affection, let out thy heart unto\nhim. It is he hath stood by thy bed of sickness, hath eased thy pains,\nrefreshed thy weariness, and removed thy fears. He hath been always\nready, when thou hast earnestly sought him? hath met thee in public and\nprivate; hath been found of thee in the congregation, in thy house, in\nthy closet, in the field, in thy waking nights, in thy deepest dangers.\n\n\u00a7 13. \"If bounty and compassion be an attractive of love, how\nunmeasurably then am I bound to love him? All the mercies that have\nfilled up my life, all the places that ever I abode in, all the\nsocieties and persons I have been conversant with, all my employments\nand relations, every condition I have been in, and every change I have\npassed through, all tell me, that the fountain is _overflowing\ngoodness_. Lord what a sum of Love am I indebted to thee? And how does\nmy debt continually increase? How should I love again for so much love?\nBut shall I dare to think of requiting thee, or of recompensing all thy\nlove with mine? Will my mite requite thee for thy golden mines; my\nseldom wishes, for thy constant bounty, mine which is nothing, or not\nmine, for thine which is infinite and thine own? Shall I dare to contend\nin love with thee? or set my borrowed languid spark against the Sun of\nlove? Can I love as high, as deep, as broad, as long, as Love itself; as\nmuch as he that made me, and that made me love, and gave me all that\nlittle which I have? As I cannot match thee in the works of power, nor\nmake, nor preserve, nor rule the worlds; no more can I match thee in\nlove. No, Lord, I yield; I am overcome. O blessed conquest! Go on\nvictoriously, and still prevail, and triumph in thy love. The captive of\nlove shall proclaim thy victory! when thou leadest me in triumph from\nearth to heaven, from death to life, from the tribunal to the throne;\nmyself, and all that see it, shall acknowledge thou hast prevailed, and\nall shall say, _behold how he loved him_! Yet let me love in subjection\nto thy love; as thy redeemed captive, though not thy peer. Shall I not\nlove at all, because I cannot reach thy measure? O that I could\nfeelingly say, _I love thee_, even as I love my friend, and myself!\nThough I cannot say, as the Apostle, _Thou knowest that I love thee_;\nyet I can say, Lord, thou knowest that I would love thee; I am angry\nwith my heart, that it doth not love thee; I chide it, yet it doth not\nmend; I reason with it, and would fain persuade it, yet I do not\nperceive it stir; I rub and chafe it in the use of thy ordinances, and\nyet I feel it not warm within me. Unworthy soul! Is not thine eye now\nupon the only lovely object? Art thou not beholding the ravishing glory\nof the saints? And dost thou not love? Art thou not a rational soul, and\nshould not reason tell thee, that earth is a dungeon to the celestial\nglory? Art thou not thyself a spirit, and shouldst thou not love God,\n_who is a spirit, and the Father of spirits_? Why dost thou love so much\nthy perishing clay, and love no more the heavenly glory? Shalt thou love\nwhen thou comest there; when the Lord shall take thy carcase from the\ngrave, and make thee shine as the sun in glory for ever and ever; shalt\nthou then love, or shalt thou not? Is not the place a meeting of lovers?\nIs not the life a state of love? Is it not the great marriage day of the\nLamb? Is not the employment there the work of love, where the souls with\nChrist take their fill? O then, my soul, begin it here! _Be sick of\nlove_ now, that thou mayest be well with love there. _Keep thyself now\nin the love of God_; and let _neither life, nor death, nor any thing\nseparate thee from it_; and thou shalt be kept in the fulness of love\nfor ever, and nothing shall embitter or abate thy pleasure; for the Lord\nhath prepared a city of love, a place for communicating love to his\nchosen, _and they that love his name shall dwell therein_.\n\n\u00a7 14. \"Awake then, O my drowsy soul! To sleep under the light of grace\nis unreasonable, much more in the approach of the light of glory. Come\nforth, my dull congealed spirit, thy Lord bids thee _rejoice and again\nrejoice_. Thou hast lain long enough in thy prison of flesh, where Satan\nhath been thy jailor, cares have been thy irons, fears thy scourges, and\nthy food the bread and water of affliction: where sorrows have been thy\nlodging, and thy sins and foes have made the bed, and an unbelieving\nheart hath been the gates and bars that have kept thee in: The angel of\nthe covenant now calls thee, and strikes thee, and bids thee, _arise and\nfollow him_. Up, O my soul! and cheerfully obey, and thy bolts and bars\nshall all fly open; _follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth_. Shouldst\nthou fear to follow such a guide? Can the sun lead thee to a state of\ndarkness? Will he lead thee to death, who died to save thee from it?\nFollow him, and he will shew thee _the paradise of God_; He will give\nthee a sight of the _New Jerusalem_, and a taste of _the tree of life_.\nCome forth, my drooping soul, and lay aside thy winter-dress; let it be\nseen by thy _garments of joy and praise_, that the spring is come, and\nas thou now seest thy comforts green; thou shalt shortly see them _white\nand ripe for harvest_, and then thou shalt be called to reap, and\ngather, and take possession. Should I suspend and delay my joys till\nthen? Should not the joys of the spring go before the joys of harvest?\nIs title nothing before possession? Is the heir in no better a state\nthan a slave? My Lord hath taught me to _rejoice_ in _hope of his\nglory_; and how to see it through the bars of a prison; for _when I am\npersecuted for righteousness' sake_, he commands me to _rejoice, and be\nexceeding glad_, because _my reward in heaven is great_. I know he would\nhave my joys exceed my sorrows; and as much as he delights in the humble\nand contrite he yet more delights in the soul that _delights in him_.\nHath my Lord spread me a table in this wilderness, and furnished it with\nthe promises of everlasting glory, and set before me angels' food? Doth\nhe frequently and importunately invite me to sit down, and feed, and\nspare not? Hath he, to that end, furnished me with reason, and faith,\nand a joyful disposition; and is it possible that he should be unwilling\nto have me rejoice? Is it not his command, to _delight thyself in the\nLord_; and his promise, to _give thee the desires of thine heart_? Art\nthou not charged, to _rejoice evermore_: yea, to _sing aloud, and shout,\nfor joy_? Why should I then be discouraged? My God is willing, if I were\nbut willing. He is delighted in my delights. He would have it my\nconstant frame, and daily business, to be near him in my believing\nmeditations, and to live in the sweetest thoughts of his goodness. O\nblessed employment, fit for the sons of God! But thy feast, my Lord, is\nnothing to me without an appetite: Thou hast set the dainties of heaven\nbefore me; but, alas! I am blind, and cannot see them; I am sick, and\ncannot relish them; I am so benumbed, that I cannot put forth a hand to\ntake them. I therefore humbly beg this grace, that as thou hast opened\nheaven to me in thy word, so thou wouldst _open mine eyes to see_ it,\nand my heart to delight in it; else heaven will be no heaven to me. O\nthou Spirit of life, breathe upon thy graces in me; take me by the hand,\nand lift me from earth, that I may see what glory _thou hast prepared\nfor them that love thee_!\n\n\u00a7 15. \"Away then, ye soul-tormenting cares and fears, ye heart-vexing\nsorrows: At least forbear a little while; stand by; stay here below,\ntill I go up, and see my rest. The way is strange to me, but not to\nChrist. There was the eternal abode of his glorious Deity; and thither\nhath he also brought his glorified flesh. It was his work to purchase\nit; it is his to prepare it, and prepare me for it, and bring me to it.\nThe eternal God of truth hath given me his promise, his seal, and oath,\n_that, believing in Christ, I shall not perish, but have everlasting\nlife_. Thither shall my soul be speedily removed, and my body very\nshortly follow. And can my tongue say, that I shall shortly and surely\nlive with God; and yet my heart not leap within me? Can I say it with\nfaith, and not with joy! Ah! faith, how sensibly do I now perceive thy\nweakness! But though unbelief darken my light, and dull my life, and\nsuppress my joys, it shall not be able to conquer, and destroy me;\nthough it envy all my comforts, yet some in spite of it I shall even\nhere receive; and if that did not hinder, what abundance might I have?\nThe light of heaven would shine into my heart; and I might be almost as\nfamiliar there, as I am on earth. Come away then, my soul; stop thine\nears to the ignorant language of infidelity; thou art able to answer all\nits arguments; or if thou art not, yet tread them under thy feet. Come\naway; stand not looking on that grave, nor turning those bones, nor\nreading thy lesson now in the dust; those lines will soon be wiped out.\nBut lift up thy head, and look to heaven, and see thy name in golden\nletters, _written before the foundation of the world, in the book of\nlife of the Lamb that was slain_. What if an angel should tell thee,\nthat there is a mansion in heaven prepared for thee, that it shall\ncertainly be thine for ever, would not such a message make thee glad?\nAnd dost thou make light of the infallible word of promise, which was\ndelivered by the Spirit, and even by the Son himself? Suppose thou hadst\nseen a _fiery chariot_ come for thee, and fetch thee up to heaven, like\nElijah; would not this rejoice thee? But thy Lord assures thee, that the\nsoul of a Lazarus hath a convoy of _angels_ to _carry_ it _into\nAbraham's bosom_. Shall a drunkard be so merry among his cups, or the\nglutton in his delicious fare, and shall not I rejoice who must shortly\nbe in heaven? Can meat and drink delight me when I hunger and thirst;\ncan I find pleasure in walks and gardens, and convenient dwellings; can\nbeautiful objects delight mine eyes; or grateful odors my smell; or\nmelody my ears: and shall not the forethought of celestial bliss delight\nme? Methinks among my books I could employ myself in sweet content, and\nbid the world farewell, and pity the rich and great that know not this\nhappiness; what then will my happiness in heaven be, where my knowledge\nwill be perfect? If _the Queen of Sheba came from the utmost parts of\nthe earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon_, and see his glory; how\ncheerfully should I pass from earth to heaven, to see the glory of the\neternal Majesty, and attain the height of wisdom; compared with which\nthe most learned on earth are but fools and ideots? What if God had made\nme commander of the earth; what if I could _remove mountains_, _heal\ndiseases with a word or a touch_, or _cast out Devils_; should I not\nrejoice in such privileges and honors as these; and shall I not much\nmore _rejoice that_ my name is written in heaven? I cannot here enjoy my\nparents, or my near and beloved friends, without some delight;\nespecially when I did freely let out my affection to my friend, how\nsweet was that exercise of my love! O what will it then be to live in\nthe perpetual love of God! _For brethren to dwell together in unity_\nhere, _how good and how pleasant is it_! To see a family live in love,\nhusband and wife, parents, children, and servants, doing all in love to\none another; to see a town live together in love, without any envyings,\nbrawlings or contentions, law-suits, factions, or divisions, but every\nman loving his neighbor as himself, thinking they can never do too much\nfor one another, but striving to go beyond each other in love; how\nhappy, how delightful a sight is this! O then, what a blessed society\nwill the family of heaven be, and those peaceful inhabitants of the New\nJerusalem, where there is no division, nor differing judgments, no\ndisaffection nor strangeness, no deceitful friendship, no, not one\nunkind expression, nor any angry look or thought; but _all are one in\nChrist_, who is one with the Father, and all live in the love of him,\nwho is love itself! The soul is not more where it lives, than where it\nloves. How near then will my soul be united to God, when I shall so\nheartily, strongly, and incessantly love him! Ah, wretched, unbelieving\nheart, that can think of such a day, and work, and life as this, with\nsuch low and feeble joys! But my future enjoying joys will be more\nlively!\n\n\u00a7 16. \"How delightful is it to me to behold and study these inferior\nworks of creation? What a beautiful fabric do we here dwell in; the\nfloor so dressed with herbs, and flowers, and trees, and watered with\nsprings and rivers; the roof so wide expanded, so admirably adorned!\nWhat wonders do sun, moon, and stars, seas, and winds, contain! And hath\nGod prepared such a house for corruptible flesh, for a soul imprisoned;\nand doth he bestow so many millions of wonders upon his enemies! O what\na dwelling must that be, which he prepares for his dearly beloved\nchildren; and how will the glory of the new Jerusalem exceed all the\npresent glory of the creatures? Arise then, O my soul, in thy\ncontemplation; and let thy thoughts of that glory as far exceed in\nsweetness thy thoughts of the excellencies below! Fear not to go out of\nthis body, and this world, when thou must make so happy a change; but\nsay, as one did when he was dying, I am glad, and even leap for joy,\nthat the time is come in which that mighty JEHOVAH, whose Majesty, in my\nsearch of nature I have admired, whose goodness I have adored, whom by\nfaith I have desired and panted after, will now shew himself to me face\nto face.\n\n\u00a7 17. \"How wonderful also are the works of Providence? How delightful to\nsee the great God interest himself in the safety and advancement of a\nfew humble, praying, but despised persons; and to review those special\nmercies with which my own life hath been adorned and sweetened? How\noften have my prayers been heard, my tears regarded, my troubled soul\nrelieved? How often hath my Lord bid me _be of good cheer_? What a\nsupport are these experiences, these clear testimonies of my Father's\nlove, to my fearful unbelieving heart? O then, what a blessed day will\nthat be, when I shall have all mercy, perfection of mercy, and fully\nenjoy the Lord of mercy; when I shall stand on the shore, and look back\non the raging seas I have safely passed; when I shall review my pains\nand sorrows, my fears and tears, and possess the glory which was the end\nof all? If one drop of lively faith was mixed with these considerations,\nwhat a heaven-ravishing heart should I carry within me? Fain would _I\nbelieve; Lord, help my unbelief_.\n\n\u00a7 18. \"How sweet, O my soul, have ordinances been to thee? What delight\nhast thou had in prayer, and thanksgiving, under heavenly sermons, and\nin the society of saints, and to see _the Lord adding to the church such\nas should be saved_? How can my heart then conceive the joy, which I\nshall have to see the perfected church in heaven, and to be admitted\ninto the celestial temple, and with the heavenly host praise the Lord\nforever? If the _word of God_ was sweeter to Job than _his necessary\nfood_; and to David, _than honey and the honey-comb_; and _was the joy\nand rejoicing of Jeremiah's heart_; how blessed a day will that be, when\nwe fully enjoy the Lord of this word, and shall no more need these\nwritten precepts and promises, nor read any book but the face of the\nglorious God? If they that heard Christ speak on earth, _were astonished\nat his wisdom and answers_, and _wondered at the gracious words which\nproceeded out of his mouth_; how shall I then be affected to behold him\nin his majesty?\n\n\u00a7 19. \"Can the prospect of this glory make others _welcome the cross_,\nand even refuse deliverance; and cannot it make thee cheerful under\nlesser sufferings? Can it sweeten the flames of martyrdom; and not\nsweeten thy life, or thy sickness, or thy natural death? Is it not the\nsame heaven which they and I must live in? Is not their God, their\nChrist, their crown, and mine the same? And shall I look upon it with an\neye so dim, a heart so dull, a countenance so dejected? Some small\nforetastes of it have I myself had; and how much more delightful have\nthey been, than any earthly things ever were; and what then will the\nfull enjoyment be?\n\n\u00a7 20. \"What a beauty is there here in the imperfect graces of the\nSpirit? Alas! how small are these, to what we shall enjoy in our perfect\nstate? What a happy life should I here live, could I but love God as\nmuch as I would; could I be all love, and always loving? O my soul! what\nwouldst thou give for such a life? had I such apprehensions of God, such\nknowledge of his word as I desire? could I fully trust him in all my\nstraits; could I be as lively as I would in every duty; could I make God\nmy constant desire and delight; I would not envy the world their honors\nor pleasures. What a blessed state, O my soul! wilt thou shortly be in,\nwhen thou shalt have far more of these than thou canst now desire, and\nshalt exercise thy perfected graces in the immediate vision of God, and\nnot in the dark, and at a distance, as now?\n\n\u00a7 21. \"Is the sinning, afflicted, persecuted church of Christ, so much\nmore excellent than any particular gracious soul? What then will the\nchurch be, when it is fully gathered and glorified; when it is ascended\nfrom the valley of tears to mount Sion; when it shall sin and suffer no\nmore! The glory of the old Jerusalem will be darkness and deformity to\nthe glory of the _new_. What cause shall we have then to shout for joy,\nwhen we shall see how glorious the heavenly temple is, and remember the\nmeanness of the church on earth?\"\n\n [N. B. _If this Chapter seems too long to be read at once, it may be\n properly divided here._]\n\n\u00a7 22. \"But alas! what a loss am I at in the midst of my contemplations?\nI thought my heart had all the while attended, but I see it doth not.\nWhat life is there in empty thoughts and words, without affections?\nNeither God, nor I, find pleasure in them. Where hast thou been,\nunworthy heart, while I was opening to thee the everlasting treasures?\nArt thou not ashamed to complain so much of an uncomfortable life, and\nto murmur at God for filling thee with sorrows; when he in vain offers\nthee the delights of angels? Hadst thou now but followed me close, it\nwould have made thee revive and leap for joy, and forget thy pains and\nsorrows. Did I think my heart had been so backward to rejoice?\n\n\u00a7 23. \"Lord, thou hast reserved my perfect joys for heaven: therefore,\nhelp me to desire till I may possess, and let me long when I cannot, as\nI would rejoice. O my soul, thou knowest to thy sorrow, that thou art\nnot yet at thy rest. When shall I arrive at that safe and quiet harbor,\nwhere there are none of these storms, waves, and dangers; when I shall\nnever more have a weary restless night or day! Then my life will not be\nsuch a mixture of hope and fear, of joy and sorrow; nor shall flesh and\nspirit be combatting within me; nor faith and unbelief, humility and\npride, maintain a continual conflict. O when shall I be past these\nsoul-tormenting fears, and cares, and griefs? When shall I be out of\nthis soul-contradicting, ensnaring, deceitful flesh; this corruptible\nbody, this vain, vexatious world! Alas, that I must stand and see the\nchurch and cause of Christ tossed about in contention, and made\nsubservient to private interests, or deluded fancies! There is none of\nthis disorder in the heavenly Jerusalem; there I shall find an\nharmonious consent of perfected spirits, in obeying and praising their\neverlasting King. O how much better to be a _door-keeper_ there, than\nthe commander of this tumultuous world? Why am I no more weary of this\nweariness? Why do I so forget my resting place? Up then, O my soul, in\nthy most raised and fervent desires! Stay not till this flesh can desire\nwith thee; expect not that sense should apprehend thy blessed object,\nand tell thee when and what to desire. Doth not the dulness of thy\ndesires after rest, accuse thee of most detestable ingratitude and\nfolly? Must thy Lord procure thee a rest at so dear a rate, and dost\nthou no more value it? Must he go before to prepare so glorious a\nmansion for such a wretch, and art thou loth to go and possess it? Shall\nthe Lord of Glory be desirous of thy company, and thou not desirous of\nhis? Must earth become a very hell to thee, before thou art willing to\nbe with God? Behold the most lovely creature, or the most desirable\nstate, and tell me, where wouldst thou be, if not with God? Poverty is a\nburden; riches a snare; sickness unpleasing; health unsafe; the frowning\nworld _bruises thy heel_; the smiling world _stings_ thee to the heart;\nso much as the world is loved and delighted in, it hurts and endangers\nthe lover; and, if it may not be loved, why should it be desired? If\nthou art applauded, it proves the most contagious breath; if thou art\nvilified, or unkindly used, methinks this should not entice thy love. If\nthy successful labors, and thy godly friends, seem better to thee than a\nlife with God, it is time for God to take them from thee. If thy studies\nhave been sweet, have they not also been bitter? And at best, what are\nthey to the everlasting views of the God of truth? Thy friends here have\nbeen thy delight; and have they not also been thy vexation and grief?\nThey are gracious, and are they not also sinful? They are kind, and are\nthey not soon displeased? They are humble, but, alas, how proud also?\nTheir graces are sweet, and their gifts helpful; but are not their\ncorruptions bitter, and their imperfections hurtful? And art thou so\nloth to go from them to thy God?\n\n\u00a7 24. \"O my soul, look above this world of sorrows! Hast thou so long\nfelt the smarting rod of affliction, and no better understood its\nmeaning? Is not every stroke to drive thee hence? Is not its voice like\nthat to Elijah, _what dost thou here_? Dost thou forget thy Lord's\nprediction. _In the world ye shall have tribulation, in me ye may have\npeace._ Ah! my dear Lord, I feel thy meaning; it is written in my flesh,\nengraved in my bones. My heart thou aimest at; thy rod drives, thy\nsilken cord of love draws; and all to bring it to thyself. Lord, can\nsuch a heart be worth thy having? Make it worthy, and then it is thine;\ntake it to thyself, and then take me. This clod hath life to stir, but\nnot to rise. As the feeble child to the tender mother, it looketh up to\nthee, and stretcheth out the hands, and fain would have thee take it up.\nThough I cannot say, _my soul longeth after thee_; yet I can say, I long\nfor such a longing heart. _The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak._ My\nspirit cries, _let thy kingdom come_, or let me come to thy kingdom; but\nthe flesh is afraid thou shouldst hear my prayer, and take me at my\nword. O blessed be thy grace, which makes use of my corruptions to kill\nthemselves; for I fear my fears, and sorrow for my sorrows, and long for\ngreater longings; and thus the painful means of attaining my desires\nincrease my weariness, and that makes me groan to be at rest.\n\n\u00a7 25. \"Indeed, Lord, my soul itself is _in a strait_, and _what to\nchoose I know not_; but thou knowest what to give: _to depart, and be\nwith thee, is far better_. But _to abide in the flesh_ seems _needful_.\nThou knowest I am not weary of thy work, but of sorrow and sin; I am\nwilling to stay while thou wilt employ me, and dispatch the work thou\nhast put into my hands: But, I beseech thee, stay no longer when this is\ndone; and while I must be here, let me be still amending and ascending;\nmake me still better and take me at the best. I dare not be so\nimpatient, as to importune thee to cut off my time, and snatch me hence\nunready; because I know my everlasting state so much depends on the\nimprovement of this life. Nor would I stay when my work is done; and\nremain here sinning, while my brethren are triumphing. Thy footsteps\nbruise this worm, while those stars shine in the firmament of glory. Yet\nI am thy child as well as they; Christ is my Head as well as theirs; why\nis there then so great a distance? But I acknowledge the equity of thy\nways; though we are all children, yet I am the prodigal, and therefore\nmore fit in this remote country to _feed on husks_, while they are\n_always with thee_, and possess thy glory. They were once themselves in\nmy condition, and I shall shortly be in theirs. They were of the lowest\nform, before they came to the highest; they _suffered_, before they\n_reigned_; they _came out of great tribulation, who are_ now _before thy\nthrone_; and shall not I be content to come to the crown as they did;\nand to _drink of their cup_; before I _sit with them in the kingdom_?\nLord, I am content to stay thy time, and go thy way, so thou wilt exalt\nme also in thy season, and take me _into thy barn_, when thou seest me\nripe. In the mean time I may desire, though I am not to repine; I may\nbelieve and wish, though not make any sinful haste: I am willing to wait\nfor thee, but not to lose thee; and when thou seest me too contented\nwith thine absence, then quicken my languid desires, and blow up the\ndying spark of love; and leave me not till I am able unfeignedly to cry\nout, '_As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul\nafter thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when\nshall I come and appear before God? My conversation is in heaven, from\nwhence I look for a Savior. My affections are set on things above, where\nChrist sitteth, and my life is hid. I walk by faith, and not by sight;\nwilling rather to be absent from the body, and present with the Lord._'\n\n\u00a7 26. \"What interest hath this empty world in me; and what is there in\nit that may seem so lovely, as to entice my desires from my God, or make\nme loth to come away? Methinks, when I look upon it with a deliberate\neye, it is a howling wilderness, and too many of its inhabitants are\nuntamed monsters; I can view all its beauty as deformity; and drown all\nits pleasures in a few penitent tears; or the wind of a sigh will\nscatter them away. O let not this flesh so seduce my soul, as to make it\nprefer this weary life before the joys that are about thy throne! And\nthough death itself be unwelcome to nature, yet let thy grace make thy\nglory appear to me so desirable, that the king of terrors may be the\nmessenger of my joy! Let not my soul be ejected by violence, and\ndispossessed of its habitation against its will; but draw it to thyself\nby the secret power of thy love as the sunshine in the spring draws\nforth the creatures from their winter cells; meet it half way and entice\nit to thee, as the load-stone doth the iron, and as the greater flame\nattracts the less! Dispel therefore the clouds that hide thy love from\nme; or remove the scales that hinder mine eyes from beholding thee; for\nthe beams that stream from thy face, and the foretaste of thy great\nsalvation, and nothing else can make a soul unfeignedly say _now let thy\nservant depart in peace_! But it is not thy ordinary discoveries that\nwill here suffice; as the work is greater, so must thy help be. O turn\nthese fears into strong desires, and this lothness to die into longings\nafter thee! While I must be absent from thee, let my soul as heartily\ngroan, as my body doth under its want of health! If I have any more time\nto spend on earth, let me live, as without the world, in thee, as I have\nsometime lived as _without thee in the world_! While I have a thought to\nthink, let me not forget thee; or a tongue to move, let me mention thee\nwith delight; or a breath to breathe, let it be after thee, or for thee;\nor a knee to bend, let it daily bow at thy footstool; and when by\nsickness thou confinest me, do thou _make my bed, number my pains, and\nput all my tears into thy bottle_!\n\n\u00a7 27. \"As my flesh desired what my spirit abhorred, so now let my spirit\ndesire that day which my flesh abhorreth; that my friends may not with\nso much sorrow wait for the departure of my soul, as my soul with joy\nshall wait for its own departure! Then _let me die the death of the\nrighteous, and let my last end be like his_; even a removal to that\nglory that shall never end! Then let thy convoy of angels bring my\ndeparting soul among _the perfected spirits of the just_, and let me\nfollow my dear friends that have died _in Christ before me_; and while\nmy sorrowing friends are weeping over my grave, let my spirit be reposed\nwith thee in rest; and while my corpse shall lie rotting in the dark,\nlet my soul be in _the inheritance of the saints in light_! O thou that\n_numberest the very hairs of my head_, number all the days that my body\nlies in the dust; and thou that _writest all my members in thy book_,\nkeep an account of my scattered bones! O my Savior, hasten the time of\nthy return; _send forth thy angels_, and let that dreadful, joyful\n_trumpet sound_! Delay not, lest the living give up their hopes; delay\nnot, lest earth should grow like hell, and thy church, by division, be\nall crumbled to dust; delay not, lest thy enemies get advantage of thy\nflock, and lest pride, hypocrisy, sensuality, and unbelief prevail\nagainst thy _little remnant_, and share amongst them thy whole\ninheritance, and _when thou comest_, thou _find_ not _faith on the\nearth_; delay not, lest the grave should boast of victory, and having\nlearned rebellion of its guest, should refuse to deliver thee up thy\ndue! O hasten that great resurrection day, when thy command shall go\nforth, and none shall disobey; when _the sea and earth shall yield up\ntheir_ hostages, _and all that sleep in the grave shall awake, and the\ndead in Christ shall rise first_; when _the seed_ which thou sowedst\n_corruptible, shall_ come forth _incorruptible_; and graves that\nreceived rottenness and dust, shall return thee glorious stars and suns!\nTherefore dare I lay down my carcass in the dust, entrusting it, not to\na grave, but to thee, and _therefore my flesh shall rest in hope_, till\nthou shalt raise it to the possession of _everlasting rest. Return, O\nLord, how long? O let thy kingdom come!_ Thy desolate _bride saith,\nCome!_ for thy _Spirit_ within her _saith_, Come; and teacheth her thus\nto _pray with groanings which cannot be uttered_; yea, _the whole\ncreation_ saith, Come, _waiting to be delivered from the bondage of\ncorruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God_; thou\nthyself hast _said, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, Come Lord\nJesus?_\"\n\n\u00a7 28. Thus, reader, I have given thee my best advice for maintaining a\nheavenly conversation, If thou canst not thus meditate methodically and\nfully, yet do it as thou canst: only be sure to do it seriously and\nfrequently. Be acquainted with this heavenly work, and thou wilt, in\nsome degree, be acquainted with God; thy joys will be spiritual,\nprevalent, and lasting, according to the nature of their blessed object;\nthou wilt have comfort in life and death: When thou hast neither wealth,\nnor health, nor the pleasure of this world, yet wilt thou have comfort:\nWithout the presence, or help of any friend, without a minister, without\na book, when all means are denied thee, or taken from thee, yet mayest\nthou have vigorous, real comfort. Thy graces will be mighty, active, and\nvigorous; and the daily joy, which is thus fetched from heaven _will be\nthy strength_. Thou wilt be as one that stands on the top of an\nexceeding high mountain; he looks down on the world as if it were quite\nbelow him; fields and woods, cities and towns, seem to him but little\nspots. Thus despicably wilt thou look on all things here below. The\ngreatest princes will seem but as grashoppers; the busy, contentious,\ncovetous world, but as a heap of ants. Men's threatenings will be no\nterror to thee; nor the honors of this world any strong enticement;\ntemptations will be more harmless, as having lost their strength; and\nafflictions less grievous, as having lost their sting; and every mercy\nwill be better known, and relished. It is now, under God, in thy own\nchoice, whether thou wilt live this blessed life or not; and whether all\nthis pains I have taken for thee shall prosper, or be lost. If it be\nlost through thy laziness, thou thyself wilt prove the greatest loser. O\nman, what hast thou to mind but God and heaven? Art thou not almost out\nof this world already? Dost thou not look every day, when one disease or\nother will let out thy soul? Does not _the grave wait to be thine\nhouse_; and worms to feed upon thy face and heart? What if thy pulse\nmust beat a few strokes more? What if thou hast a little longer to\nbreathe, before thou breathe out thy last; a few more nights to sleep,\nbefore thou sleepest in the dust? Alas! what will this be, when it is\ngone? And is it not almost gone already? Very shortly thou wilt see thy\nglass run out, and say to thyself, \"My life is done! My time is gone!\n'Tis past recalling! There's nothing now but heaven or hell before me!\"\nWhere then should thy heart be now, but in heaven? Didst thou know what\na dreadful thing it is, to have a doubt of heaven when a man is dying it\nwould rouse thee up. And what else but doubt can that man then do, that\nnever seriously thought of heaven before?\n\n\u00a7 29. Some there be that say, \"It is not worth so much time and trouble,\nto think of the greatness of the joys above; so that we can make sure\nthey are ours; we know they are great.\" But as these men obey not the\ncommand of God, which requires them to have _their conversation in\nheaven_, and to _set their affections on things above_; so they wilfully\nmake their own lives miserable, by refusing the delights which God hath\nset before them. And if this were all, it were a small matter; but see\nwhat abundance of other mischiefs follow the neglect of these heavenly\ndelights. This neglect\u2014will damp, if not destroy, their love to\nGod;\u2014will make it unpleasant to them to think or speak of God, or engage\nin his service;\u2014it tends to pervert their judgments concerning the ways\nand ordinances of God;\u2014it makes them sensual and voluptuous;\u2014it leaves\nthem under the power of every affliction and temptation, and is a\npreparative to total apostasy;\u2014it will also make them fearful and\nunwilling to die. For who would go to a God, or a place, he hath no\ndelight in? Who would leave his pleasure here, if he had not better to\ngo to? Had I only proposed a course of melancholy and fear, and sorrow,\nyou might reasonably have objected. But you must have heavenly delights,\nor none that are lasting. God is willing you should daily walk with him,\nand fetch in consolations from the everlasting fountain; if you are\nunwilling, even bear the loss; and when you are dying, seek for comfort\nwhere you can get it, and see whether fleshly delights will remain with\nyou; then conscience will remember, in spite of you, that you was once\npersuaded to a way for more excellent pleasures, pleasures that would\nhave followed you through death, and have lasted to eternity.\n\n\u00a7 30. As for you, whose hearts God hath weaned from all things here\nbelow, I hope you will value this heavenly life, and take one walk every\nday in the new Jerusalem. God is your love, and your desire, you would\nfain be more acquainted with your Savior; and I know it is your grief,\nthat your hearts are not nearer to him, and that they do not more\nfeelingly love him, and delight in him. O try this life of meditation on\nyour heavenly rest! Here is the mount, on which the fluctuating ark of\nyour souls may rest. Let the world see by your heavenly lives that\nreligion is something more than opinions and disputes, or a task of\noutward duties. If ever a Christian is like himself, and answerable to\nhis principles and profession, it is when he is most serious and lively\nin this duty. As Moses before he died, went up unto mount Nebo, to take\na survey of the land of Canaan; so the Christian ascends this mount of\ncontemplation, and by faith surveys his rest. He looks upon the glorious\nmansions, and says, \"_Glorious things are_ deservedly _spoken of thee,\nthou city of God_!\" He hears, as it were, the melody of the heavenly\nchoir, and says, \"_Happy is the people that is in such a case; yea,\nhappy is that people, whose God is the Lord!_\" He looks upon the\nglorified inhabitants, and says, \"_Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like\nunto thee, O people, saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who\nis the sword of thine excellency!_\" When he looks upon the Lord himself,\nwho is their glory, he is ready with the rest, to _fall down, and\nworship him, that liveth for ever and ever_, and _say, \"Holy, holy, holy\nLord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come! Thou art worthy, O\nLord, to receive glory, and honor, and power!\"_ When he looks on the\nglorified Savior, he is ready to say, _Amen_, to that _new Song,\n\"Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon\nthe throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever: For thou wast slain,\nand hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and\ntongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us, unto our God, kings\nand priests!_\" When he looks back on the wilderness of this world, he\nblesses the believing, patient, despised saints; he pities the ignorant,\nobstinate, miserable world; and for himself, he says, as Peter, \"_It is\ngood to be here_\"; or as Asaph, \"_It is good for me to draw near to God;\nfor lo, they that are far from thee, shall perish._\" Thus, as Daniel, in\nhis captivity, daily opened his window toward Jerusalem, though far out\nof sight, when he went to God in his devotions; so may the believing\nsoul, in this captivity of the flesh, look towards _Jerusalem which is\nabove_: And as Paul was to the Colossians, so may the believer be with\nthe glorified spirits, _though absent in the flesh, yet with them in the\nspirit, joying and beholding their_ heavenly _order_. And as the lark\nsweetly sings, while she soars on high, but is suddenly silenced when\nshe falls to the earth; so is the frame of the soul most delightful and\ndivine, while it keeps in the views of God by contemplation: Alas, we\nmake there too short a stay, fall down again, and lay by our music!\n\n\u00a7 31. But, \"O thou, the merciful Father of Spirits, the attractive of\nlove, and ocean of delights, draw up these drossy hearts unto thyself,\nand keep them there till they are spiritualized and refined; and second\nthy servant's weak endeavors, and persuade those that read these lines\nto the practice of this delightful, heavenly work! O suffer not the soul\nof thy most unworthy servant to be a stranger to those joys, which he\ndescribes to others; but keep me, while I remain on earth, in daily\nbreathings after thee, and in a believing, affectionate walking with\nthee! And when thou comest, let me be found so doing; not serving my\nflesh, nor asleep with my lamp unfurnished; but waiting and longing for\nmy Lord's return! Let those who shall read these heavenly directions,\nnot merely read the fruit of my studies; but the breathings of my active\nhope and love: That, if my heart were open to their view, they might\nthere read the same most deeply engraven with a beam from the face of\nthe Son of God; and not find _vanity_, or _lust_, or _pride_ within,\nwhen the _words of life_ appear without; that so these lines may not\nwitness against me; but, proceeding from the heart of the _writer_, may\nbe effectual, through thy grace, upon the heart of the reader, and so be\nthe savor of life to both! Amen.\"\n\n _Glory be to God in the highest; on earth peace; good will towards men._\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: PHILLIPS]\n\n\nThe Trustees of Phillips Academy, to whom is committed the distribution\nof the pious bounty of the late Lt. Gov. PHILLIPS wishing to co-operate\nin the same benevolent and useful design, affectionately recommend this\ninestimable book to the serious and careful perusal of every person into\nwhose hands it may fall.\n\nReader, whoever thou art, the work before you is the production of one\nof the ablest and best of men, whose praise is in all the churches.\nThough dead, he is instructing thousands by his numerous and excellent\npractical writings, which have survived him. Among these, his _Saints'\nRest_, has been most highly esteemed. He wrote it in the near view of\ndeath, when in feeble health, and for his own immediate use; and he\ntestifies that he derived \"more benefit from it, than from all the other\nstudies of his life.\" Few books have ever received higher commendations,\nbeen translated into more languages, passed through more numerous\neditions, been more read, or more useful in the Christian church than\nthis. No person of a serious mind can read it without profit.\n\n\"To _allure our desires_, it unveils the sanctuary above, and discovers\nthe glories and joys of the blessed in the Divine presence, by a light\nso strong and lively, that all the glittering vanities of this world\nvanish in the comparison, and a sincere believer will despise them, as\none of mature age does the toys and baubles of children. To _excite our\nfears_, he removes the screen, and represents the tormenting passions of\nthe damned in those dreadful colors, that, if duly considered, would\ncheck and control the unbridled licentious appetites of the most\nsensual[397].\"\n\nReader, the book is in your hands, read, meditate, and then judge for\nyourself. May the Lord bless the instructions for your spiritual\nbenefit. So will the good design of the pious donor be answered, and the\nAgents of his bounty have their desired reward.\n\n[Footnote 397] _Dr. Bates._","title":"The Saint's Everlasting Rest: A Treatise of the Blessed State of the Saints in Their Enjoyment of God in Heaven","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":122460}