together and therefore cannot but be of mighty power to ravish our spirits and ennoble our natures by making them divine Hither let us vigorously and cheerfully bend our thoughts let our hearts send many and many a wish this way and then it will be as impossible for any thing to hinder us from being made heavenly as it is to keep the stone from its centre or the tenderest heart from becoming like to that which it dearly loves Here we see what God the Father Almighty will do for his Son Jesus and what our Lord Jesus will do for us who depend upon his Love We behold our selves here ranked among the Heavenly host changed into spirits made perfect in love crowned with immortality beautified with the light of Divine knowledge and with unspotted purity of heart brought into the presence of our Lord and unto the sight of God On which incomparable happiness while we fix our eyes it must needs snatch us quite from all other things and make us live out of our selves But it will be only to place us above our selves and by a most desireable departure from what we are to put us into so blessed a condition that we shall never wish to return to our selves any more And indeed the more or less our souls are drawn forth of themselves either way so much the harder or easier it is to go back into themselves again For if we be much ravished with these heavenly things if we love the Appearing of Christ exceedingly and attentively fix our minds in expectation of it we shall have little mind to turn our hearts towards corporeal enjoyments during the sense and lively relish of those Divine pleasures which have withdrawn us from them And when the inclinations and necessities of our earthly Nature call us back again unto them it will be with a remembrance of those celestial joys still remaining which will preserve our souls from immersing themselves in things below them Just as when a mans heart is engaged in the strictest bonds of love which have tied him fast to a very agreeable person whatsoever company he comes into he will secretly steal out of it to cast a glance upon that beloved object So will our mind be apt to look up towards Heaven even when we are in the charming society of that person if the Lord and the glory of his appearing be our chiefest love and highest delight As on the contrary if we have but a slight touch and taste of these heavenly truths we shall be the easier diverted from them and perswaded to yield up our selves to seek our satisfaction in the cold enjoyment of these earthly delights And thus it is in like manner when men follow brutal pleasures the more strongly they are ravisht with them and addict themselves to them the more they lose the use of their reason and understanding and the more uncapable they grow being so attentive to these delights to receive any gust of nobler enjoyments Whereas if our taste of these things be more superficial and we do not apply our minds with all their force unto them nor dwell upon them we shall be the easier called off from them and stand in need of fewer importunities to quit their company for better entertainments Which demonstrates how necessary it is that we should indeavour to be well acquainted with the coming of our Lord to believe it with an unshaken faith to perswade our selves of it as if we saw it to set our hearts upon it and place our comforts in it that so it may have the greater authority over us and command us irresistibly from all things beneath us and force us to give our selves intirely to our Lord Jesus CHAP. XVII Of the means whereby this Love may be setled in our hearts and the Benefit thereof AND for the better effecting this which so nearly concerns us we ought as to think frequently and seriously of it so to use all the means that are in our power to represent our blessed Lord and his glorious Appearing in the most lively manner unto our hearts Among which I believe you will find none more effectual than to frequent his society in the Communion of his Body and of his Blood Where we not only meet with a fair occasion both to imprint upon our hearts a sense of his love and to express all the love we have to him but have a most powerful instrument also put into our hands to enkindle and stir up the most hearty vehement and burning Affection towards him For there he is set before our eyes in such a posture of love as cannot but wound any heart that hath the grace to consider what it sees There we behold him hanging for our sake upon a Cross from whence his mighty love shoots the most piercing darts into our breasts We see him there in such flames as offered him up intirely to do the will of God and if we come near them will touch us so sensibly that we shall be disposed to make our selves also a devout oblation to him His Body broken his Blood shed his very Life sacrificed for our safety are there so evidently and distinctly set before our eyes that as it will be hard for us not to be tenderly affected with his astonishing love to us so we are hereby assured of his continued kindness till he bring us to eternal life We do not indeed behold him there as sitting on the throne of his glory nor as appearing again the second time to give us salvation But yet it plainly shows us what he underwent to purchase for us as well as for himself that glory wherein he is and bids us rest satisfied he will do more for us even all that he hath promised of which by these tokens and pledges of his love which he hath left behind him when he departed this world he doth most affectionately assure us And by partaking of them we become also one body with him and have communion with him in his death and passion and all the benefits he hath thereby obtained for his Church Among which this is the last and the greatest that we shall be with him where he is and see the glory which the Father hath given him We ought not to doubt of it being thus incorporate with him and so united to him that in him we already live and reign and are glorious and can no more fail of appearing at last with him in his glory than the Members can fail to be advanced when the Head to which they are firmly and inseparably joyned is highly honoured and dignified As a loving Wife therefore married to an Husband most completely qualified but gone into a remote country cannot but fix her thoughts very much upon his coming and often wish for the happy day which will bring them nearer and make them meet and live together and in the mean time if she have his picture exactly taken cannot refrain from looking often on it and
ever beheld thy face that was not impatient to be conformed to thee None have tasted thy sweetness who could be satisfied till they came to the fountain of it Therefore suffer us Good Lord to beg some more of thee since thou hast given us so much Yea suffer us to ask when thou wilt come and give us all that so we may ask no more of thee O how joyful will that time be which shall make us so complete that all our business will be to praise and thank thee How comfortable will thy appearing be which shall make us appear with thee O come Dear Saviour that we may come to thee Come that we may so come to thee as to be for ever with thee CHAP. VII Two further steps in this Love of Christs appearing III. NOW when we feel our souls thus touched with any thing that seems very good and convenient for us the first approaches of it beget a complacence in the heart and give it a sense of no small joy and pleasure For when the Image you may observe of any good that imprinted it self is on the mind or imagination it instantly endeavours to proceed further and creeps into the heart the will and affections which cannot but turn themselves towards it to feel what this is which shows so fairly and comes so kindly to salute them Now when the heart thus looks about to see what it is that courts it you shall find if you mark it that at the very first greeting it is entertained with a certain delight and pleasure which this new-come guest brings along with it to invite us to it For if you examine things strictly and with such a curious eye as some have done you will perceive that this Image which imprints it self upon us is of the same nature with light or any shining body It casts as I may say its bright rays round about the soul it disperses it self by a kind of illumination into the will and affections that they may be sensible how amiable it is Which when they are the Light is not more pleasant to the eyes than this is to the heart It rejoyces in this good which presents it self to its enjoyment as a man doth in the welcome approach of an ancient Friend whom he is glad to see but much more glad to feel in his arms And such is the contentment that the belief of Christs appearing gives to all those who fix their thoughts upon it It chears and refreshes their spirits It smooths their minds and makes them so calm and still that the Halcyon days are but fabulous shadows of that rest and peace which then they feel in themselves Their heart is intirely delighted and satisfied with this belief It is so transported beyond it self with this comfortable perswasion that it can easily overlook all other joys when it lifts up it self in the contemplation of this incomparable blessedness No musick can then be so sweet to the ear as the sound of the trump of God No beauty so fair to the eye as that glory which shall be reveal'd No company so inviting and welcome to the heart as that great Assembly of Christ with all his holy Angels And heark O my soul do they not call upon thee to cast a look that way that thou may'st behold them in their surpassing glory Listen a while and hear if they do not say We are preparing our selves and making ready to come for thee and for all those that love His appearing O hearken again my soul what is it they say to thee Turn thy self about and lift up thine eyes towards Heaven that thou may'st know what it is that 's promised to thee Will thy Lord indeed come again in power and great glory Will He once more leave his heavenly place and descend to call us up to himself Shall we see Him who loves us so much and be transformed at the sight of Him O welcome news When didst thou meet with any tidings like to this which sheds such a sudden and transcendent joy and gladness abroad in thy heart and prevents my forward thoughts which were going to exhort thee to rejoyce What hadst thou lost if thou hadst turned away thine eyes from this blissful sight How great an happiness hadst thou been deprived of if thine heart had not opened when the report of His coming knockt at its door But O my soul how sweet then will this appearing it self be the hope of which is so delicious How will that sight intrance us the news of which at this distance is so comfortable to us Into what raptures will it cast us which now inspires such joy into our hearts What a bright day will that be which through all the clouds wherein we are wrapt spreads round about us such a cheerful light If the representation of our Lord in the holy Sacrament of His body and blood and that but in His sufferings and low estate give such satisfaction to the heart What will the sight of Himself do to us and that when he appears in his glorious Majesty as the Lord of Heaven and Earth O sweet Jesus come and let us see what that Majesty and Glory is come and draw aside the veil do away the shadows and present thy self as the King of Glory before our eyes They have long looked for thee They would gladly know what it is to behold thee in thy glory O how gladly would they understand what the meaning is of thy coming in the Clouds of Heaven The brightness of them we believe is infinitely beyond all that eye ever saw The thoughts of it revive our hearts and make our faces shine Our souls are drawn out and run to meet thee by the joy we have conceived at the promise of thy coming Though we have not seen thee yet we love thee and though we now see thee not 1 Pet. i. 8. yet believing we rejoyce O that we could say with joy unspeakable and full of glory O blessed Lord do not deny to compleat our joys by hastning thy coming to let us see thee Come and fill our eyes which cannot here be satisfied with seeing Come and shew us thy glory that we may say it sufficeth And let our hearts in the mean time rejoyce in nothing so much as in the hope of thy glory Let them always prefer this above their chiefest joy and never wish for any thing with so much fervour as for thy coming IV. Now from this pleasant sense which is excited in us by the appearance of any Good to us there naturally follows not only a desire but a vehement motion and as it were an effusion of the heart towards that which is so agreeable and promises it so much satisfaction Complacence you must know is but the beginning of love For by that delicious pleasure which the heart feels when any good approaches it is invited further and even forced to pour forth it self upon that fair thing which presents it self
come Suffer me to wish most passionately that thou wouldest appear Be not angry with me if in the agonies of my soul I desire thou wouldst haste thine appearing And in the mean time increase my belief that thou O compassionate Saviour pitiest my weaknesses and art not insensible of all my miseries that so I may more comfortably hope thou wilt come and ease me and thy self both together Bear up my sinking spirit till I be so happy and by thine almighty power support me under the weight of all the fears and all the doubts that are apt to trouble me And let not the dulness of my mind or the heaviness of my heart the distraction of my thoughts or the deadness of my affections in thy most delightsome service utterly deject me But raise me up with a chearful hope of thy salvation to a pitch of joy and gladness under all the burdens that oppress me I am forced indeed to sigh when I think of the many temptations to which on every side I am exposed And more sad it is to think that they at any time have shaken though not overthrown me O the childish follies of a mind which doth so much as listen to the treacherous allurements which would steal away my heart from its happiness O the intolerable weakness of an heart which doth so much as waver in its resolved choice of so reasonable a service as that of thine wherein I am engaged Pardon me Good Lord that I call it intolerable For I know I ought to bear it in hope of greater strength and of eternal settlement and that I ought to rejoyce I am not overcome by all the temptation wherewith I have been assaulted Blessed be thy Almighty Grace that I have stood hitherto so stedfast so unmoveable in my duty and that I have thy word for it thou wilt never leave me nor forsake me It is only my love to thee which makes me complain though not of the inconstancy yet of the weakness of my love The coldness of my affections the listlessness of my devotions my aptness to be tired and soon weary of the divinest pleasure and satisfaction the unevenness of my temper the sudden discomposures I feel in my spirit are the things that often trouble me But I ought to remember that I am now in a body full of disorders and that my life is a warfare which I ought patiently to accomplish And I have great reason to bless thy name O thou most glorious Conqueror of the Devil and sin by whose gracious aids my will standeth firm and doth not yield or in the least consent to displease thy Majesty By thy power I have and shall do valiantly Thou shalt still tread down all mine enemies My soul shall make her boast in thee O Lord and be glad in thy salvation For I am continually with thee who hast holden me by my right hand Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory Thus will I always hope in thee if thou wilt but be pleased mercifully to bear with my incurable infirmities to relieve my fainting spirit in this tedious pilgrimage and to permit me to sigh sometime and say O when will this long contest be ended when will this war which my passions raise in my breast be concluded and suffer me to live in tranquillity and enjoy the sweetest pleasures of perfect peace Yea when shall all thine enemies throughout the world be disarmed and there be no more rebellions against thy most sacred Authority and thy soveraign will O come sweet Jesus come thou Lord of peace get thy self and us the Victory that we may be more than Conquerors and triumph in thy praise Come and bring this troubled spirit into thy serene and undisturbed regions above Come and give it the wings of an Angel that I may flee away and be at rest That I may flee away from all the follies and from all the sorrows of this sinful life and be at rest with thee my Dearest Lord. At rest in that peaceful place in that Paradise above where is no dangerous Fruit to invite no temping Eve to solicite no subtile Serpent to deceive But we shall all live like so many Gods indeed perfectly wise and perfectly good inviting one another only to praise and love thee with our united strength Thee who art the first and the last the beginner of our Faith and the finisher of our Hope the Guide of our Pilgrimage through the troublesom wilderness of this World and the eternal rest of our wearied souls in that heavenly country which overflows with pleasures for evermore CHAP. XIV Two Reasons more to induce us to raise our thoughts and affections to the Appearing of our Lord. VI. AND the very first step we shall take towards our heavenly Rest will be so surprizing and advance us so far above our present imperfections that it must needs if we seriously consider it make this Appearing of his extreamly desireable Because all good men shall have the favour then to be snatcht from this earth and carried up into the air to meet our Lord Jesus there when he appears in his glory And who is there that understands himself who would not wish to be thus translated rather than to stay here though it were to see our Lord come to reign with his Saints a thousand years upon the earth Which Judaical conceit as St. Hierom truly calls it was embraced by many great men in ancient times as a piece of the most Orthodox faith So Justin Martyr esteemed it and Irenaeus with many others were very zealous for it And if they had thought more of spiritual delights which the Saints should have in that Sabbath as they termed it by the presence of our Lord St. Austin * L. xx deliv Dei c. 7. for his part acknowledges it would have been a tolerable opinion to which he himself was sometimes inclined For all good men as I said before would be glad to see righteousness planted more universally in the earth and prevailing over vice and wickedness before the dissolution of all things And yet even then should we suppose them to be so happy here they would be far more glad to behold our Lord appear in his glory to take them quite away from this earth Where as long as they continue they must needs be dull and heavy cloudy and dark and enjoy but little of him till they quit this gross body of flesh and blood and go up into a purer state of light and vigorous life Which St. Paul hath given us hope we shall enter into at the appearing of our Lord. Who will descend from Heaven with great acclamations you heard before from 1 Thess iv 16. to raise the dead and judge the World And then his Saints are not to remain any longer here but a sudden change being made in them 1 Cor. xv 52. both they who are then alive and all those who are newly raised from the
behind when we shall behold him personally present with us to bring us nearer into the very presence of God We have the same word passed for it which they had for the other he hath the same Will the same Power the same Empire and Soveraign Dominion And therefore why should we not have the same confidence and expect it with as much and full assurance as Holy men in old times waited for the first Consolation of Israel or pious Christians waited for deliverance from their Adversaries There is so little cause that our Faith should think it self less assured than theirs that we may rather look for this second appearing of our Lord and Saviour with much greater confidence than they could do for the first Because we have the advantage of seeing all those old Prophecies which foretold his Manifestation in our flesh actually fulfilled and the Lord hath shown since that how upright He is and that there is no unrighteousness in Him We may depend not only as the Apostle hath here told us upon His Goodness and perfect Happiness upon his Power upon his absolute Dominion over all Creatures whatsoever upon his Immortality upon his transcendent Glory and Majesty and upon his Faithfulness and Truth but I may add upon the evident Demonstrations he hath already given in the most remarkable instances that His Mercies are sure and that he keepeth Truth for ever xiii Acts 34. cxlvi Psal 6. For this Blessed and only Potentate this King of kings and Lord of lords who only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto whom no man hath seen or can see hath done great things for us already whereof we are glad He hath sent his Son after good men had long expected Him He sent Him to do for them more than they expected 1 Cor. ij 9. He raised him up out of his Grave and made him Lord of all He hath given him power to raise up us to eternal life as appears by the gift of the Holy Ghost which wrought in his Apostles and enabled them to raise the dead and do many other wonders His Judgments also have already been made manifest Revel vi 10. xi 15. xv 4. He hath in part avenged the blood of his servants and the Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. And therefore we may with a stedfast Faith look for another appearing of our Saviour when he will come in person to exercise this power himself wherewith we see he is invested so far as to change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body which then he will show to the world according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself iii. Phil. 20 21. CHAP. V. Containing the Vse we should make of what hath been delivered in the foregoing Chapter I Cannot think fit to pass on to what I further intend without some short Reflexion upon so weighty a subject as this of which I have been treating And therefore let us here pause a while and consider how mightily All this should move us to worship and adore this Blessed Potentate God the Father Almighty to acknowledge with the humblest submission His Supreme Authority to reverence admire and praise His most glorious Perfections who hath given us such a sure ground of faith and hope in Him For so S. Paul here concludes this incomparable description of him to whom be honour and power everlasting Amen Which is not said to exclude the other two Persons in the holy and undivided Trinity from receiving our worship and service no more than the giving eternal glory to our Saviour in the next Epistle 2 Tim. iv 18. and in other places takes it away from the Father but only to remember us of a peculiar prerogative which the Holy Scripture alway ascribes to the Father Almighty of being the Fountain and Beginning of all * So Epiphanius observes that the Scripture shows 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Haeres LXIX Num. 54. and Nazianz Orat xxix p. 489 c. to whom it properly and peculiarly belongs to show this appearing of Jesus Christ And therefore the Apostle invites us from the consideration of His most excellent Majesty and absolute Dominion to acknowledge and confess Him to acknowledge and praise Him First As worthy of all HONOUR worship veneration and service Because Secondly He hath all POWER and authority over us and over all Creatures an independent uncontroulable Power And that Thirdly EVERLASTINGLY to be celebrated not only by us but by all that shall come after us to the worlds end Nay to be praised and magnified by Saints and Angels in Heaven to Eternal Ages To this we should every one of us together with the Apostle most heartily say AMEN Let be so We give our consent unfeignedly to it and wish from the bottom of our souls that all men would honour and submit unto this blessed and only Potentate the King of kings and the Lord of lords What though No man ever saw him Nay what though No man can see Him Yet Glory Honour and Power is to be ascribed to Him because we see his works of Wonder every where The Heavens and the Earth declare the greatness of his glory and from all things that we behold we learn his rich Goodness his infinite Power his immortal Bliss and that He is such a Potentate as the greatest Kings and Princes upon earth nay the highest Thrones and Principalities in Heaven ought to worship and obey with the greatest reverence And much more is this due from us poor and inferior creatures especially since He hath shown Himself so gracious to us in our Saviour the most excellent demonstration of his blessed Nature and mighty Love and hath promised He shall appear once more in greater glory than ever and hath taught us to believe by all the Notions we have of Him that He will never fail to make that promise good And as we ought to Honour God the Father of all so this naturally moves us out of a particular obligation to honour and obey our Lord Jesus Christ as the Person whom this Great Majesty will show in wonderful honour and glory at the great day This is the very reason you must mark wherewith the Apostle backs his Charge to Timothy to keep the Commandment he gave him without spot unrebukable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ v. 14. because the blessed and only Potentate will certainly in his own time shew the glory wherein He lives by his appearing again in Royal Majesty in the sight of all the World It concerns us therefore as well as it did Timothy to have an exceeding great regard to this most glorious Person whom God will so highly honour and to take care that we behave our selves so as to be unreprovable at that day We must observe His Commandments that is as exactly as we can and
live in these remote places and ages of the world and have heard indeed with the hearing of the ear of Christ Jesus our Dearest Saviour and of his incomparable love and of the honour he hath done us and still intends to do us But have not yet been so happy as to have our eyes intertained much less satisfied with the blissful sight of him as theirs were who lived near him and conversed with him at his first appearing If we had any hope therefore of his appearing again though in less splendor than I have told you we could not but look up unto Heaven where he lives with earnest expectations and say When will he come when will he come and manifest himself visibly unto us Because as yet we know nothing of him but by the report of those who had the honour to be EYE-WITNESSES OF HIS MAJESTY We have been told by them that they saw this amiable and gracious person and clearly discerned that he was God manifested in the flesh They have assured us that he was born of a spotless Virgin that his name was Jesus that he was acknowledged the Son of God by voices from Heaven and by the descent of the Holy-Ghost in a visible manner upon his head and yet that he was contented to become poor and mean that he might inrich us to suffer his hands and his feet and his heart to be pierced that he might heal our wounds yea we have heard that he descended into the lowermost parts of the Earth for our Salvation and that he rose from the dead again after three dayes and that he ascended up on high and now sits at the right hand of the Father and will come again to judge the world and to take up his faithful Servants unto himself And most comfortable news all this is which hath arrived at our ears and we must needs with all thankfulness dutifully acknowledge that we are marvellously beholden to the Almighty Goodness which hath taken such care to perswade and fully assure us of its truth But still every pious heart that sincerely and ardently loves Him is apt to say When will he come again that then we may see as now we believe the certain truth of all this which we have heard of him with our ears When shall we be satisfied by such evidence as the Apostles and other of his Attendants had who beheld his person and saw his glory as the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth May not we also hope to be as they were eye-witnesses of his Majesty O when will his holy Angels descend unto us and say as they did to them Come and see that he is risen When shall we hear a voice from Heaven saying come up hither and behold my beloved Son in whom I am ever well pleased When will the trump of the Archangel sound and proclaim in all our ears that he is Judge of quick and dead O how many days must we stay and wait before we rise again to ascend up to him where he is How long will it be before we leave this earth to behold him exalted at the right hand of the Majesty on high O most gracious Saviour who hast done such great things for us Come and let us see that thou art alive and still lovest us Come and put us out of all doubt that thou livest for evermore Let us behold those bright those loving eyes which wept so oft and with so much kindness over us Let us see that sweet and now most glorious face which sweat as it had been drops of blood for our sake Stretch forth those hands that were wounded in our service O stretch them out to lay hold on us and lift us up to the vision of thee Do not long defer before thou lettest us enjoy what we now believe Make no long tarrying O blessed Lord but turn the faith of thy servants into sight And by thy second appearing be pleased to make us as sure as thou didst those who then lived by thy first We are perswaded that the fame of those things which we wait for is nothing comparable to the sight of them We cannot but think that all present reports fall far short infinitely short of future enjoyment Thy type the great Solomon O Lord puts us in mind of thee and makes us more desirous to see thee We would fain go like the Queen of Sheba from these furthermost parts of the earth that we may stand before thee in thy heavenly Jerusalem Not the half we believe of thy Magnificence hath been related to us No not the shadow of thy glory and Majesty hath been brought to these far distant climates where we hear little or nothing of thee Nay we believe we cannot now understand thy greatness if it should be all related to us If we should see thee as thou art in thy royal apparel on the Throne of thy Glory with all thy Heavenly Attendants and noble Ministers round about thee there would be no more spirit left within us We should faint away under the weight of that sight unless thou O Lord wouldst disburden us of this flesh and make us become all Spirit And that 's the happiness indeed which we desire and groan in Spirit till we injoy There is no greater good we can wish than to be caught up from this earth and have eyes bestowed upon us bright and strong enough to behold thy Majesty We cannot but long for this that we may stand in thy presence and be satisfied with thee that we may see thee who hast loved us and given thy self for us thee whose love hath won our hearts and conducted us thus far in our way towards thee thee who art our hope and with whom our life is hid That we may see thee O Lord in the height of thy glory and thy face may shine upon us and our eyes sparkle for joy with the light of thy Countenance Of which we are the more desirous because we never yet had the favour to see thee who art so dear unto us O favour us therefore so much most gracious Lord as to come and gratifie our desires with that unknown that long lookt for sight of thee III. And there is still a greater reason to desire it and to be in love with his appearing because then we hope to be perfected and consummated in Love This is an affection you have heard so pleasurable that we are inticed thereby or rather sweetly forced to strain our souls to the utmost expression of it When we have found an object worthy of this passion the delight it gives us invites nay compels our hearts to the most abundant effusion of it that so we may not want the highest degree of delight and joy But alas Love in this world though exceeding sweet is not as we usually speak all Hony but there is some bitterness mingled together with it The heart that is struck with it receives a wound which
brightness of his appearing Do we pity our Palaces and costly Furniture which we think are then in danger to be consumed Are we concerned for our Money and Jewels our ancient Demesn and places of pleasure our Pictures and Statues with such like things which we strive to perpetuate to all posterity Will all these do we fear be in a flame and serve for no other use than those great Fires do wherewith we honour the Coronations and Victories of Kings or any other such like noble spectacle Let it be so I see no cause to be troubled at it when I remember that together with these the Graves and the Sepulchres the Tombs and such like Monuments of Deaths conquests the Vaults and the Charnel-houses with every other Trophee that sin hath erected shall be cast into this huge Bonfire which shall be made we conceive by the conflagration of this Globe of earth to adorn our Saviours Triumph Why should we dread O my soul to behold such Flames as these Let us look and fix our eyes upon them as most cheerful blazes Let us warm our hearts at the very thoughts of such fires And though they should prove to be this worlds Funeral yet let us rejoyce in them as accompanying our most happy Resurrection O Death I fear none of thy threatnings O Grave I am not astonisht any longer at thy darkness I see the fatal day is coming which shall put an end to both your dominions And till then I yield my self your subject and intend not to struggle against your power But I fear it not because unless you can prevent that day or prevail against my Saviour as well as over me I am safe enough It is not much you can rob me of at present The pleasures we enjoy in this crazy body are not so considerable that we should mightily lament the loss of them Our Friends indeed have taken such fast hold of our hearts that we cannot easily consent to leave them but setting them aside what is it that you can take away which I am loth to part withal And they I consider shall at last triumph together with me over your now prevailing power We shall only part to meet again and see you swallowed up in victory And we shall be revived in bodies far more glorious with hearts full of more vigorous love In which we shall live with endless pleasure without any fears of being severed any more Amen I wish thou wouldst come O blessed Jesus and carry us all to a place of secure and peaceful love where we might sit together and chaunt thy praises for ever V. We cannot but be inclined to such meditations and bear an affectionate love to our Lords appearing unless we be in love with Sin which at that time we should further consider shall quite cease and not have so much as the least shadow of it remaining Are not all pious souls very much afflicted to think that God is every where so much dishonoured Is it not exceeding grievous to them to see his most high authority daily affronted without any remedy for it and that Image he hath placed of himself in man after such a lamentable manner and without any remorse continually mangled Nay is it not a considerable part of their trouble that they are afraid lest through the violence of temptations or the weakness of their nature or the inadvertency of their minds by sudden surprises they should add to the number of those disorders which are already so prodigiously increased What is there then for which they can more reasonably wish than that they may be delivered out of this fearful danger and the Heavens may be secured from this rude violence A blessing to be desired and expected not only upon their own account but in respect to our blessed Lord and Saviour also who is now we read in the most holy place above there presenting himself with his pretious blood before God for us Which he must continue to do till the time of his Appearing be fulfilled when he shall come out from thence without sin ix Heb. 28. as having discharged all his Office in that heavenly Sanctuary While he stayes therefore in that place the care of all the people lies upon his shoulders there is a daily charge he is to attend that he may cure and expiate the sins of men This is the constant imployment of his high and Royal Priesthood and it cannot cease till he come out again on the day of his appearing which it is manifest will free both him and the world from this great burden of transgressions Then there shall never be any more objects of his pity and compassion He shall have no sense then of our infirmities no feeling of our pains our grief and our anguish Then he will cease to be afflicted with us and be put to no further trouble about us But be all delight all joy all complacence and pleasure in his members who will be so well as to call for none of his care any more for ever And shall not the thoughts of this blessed time be our joy and pleasure too We have very much reason to suspect our faith if we can find such contentment here that we would not have it make too much haste For nothing is so sad to pious hearts as that it seems to be so far off and comes so slowly to them They groan and sigh here under many weaknesses They complain most heavily and mourn under the weight of many imperfections From which they would fain be delivered that they may turn their sighs into songs of praise to the triumphant Captain of their salvation Christ Jesus Nay should we suppose there will be a time before the end of all things when righteousness will more universally prevail which is the best sense that can be made of the Saints reigning upon the earth with Christ a thousand years which some are perswaded is still to come Yet such and so many are the weaknesses that will hang upon us and so great are the dangers to which they will make us subject while we dwell in these earthly Tabernacles that Good men would but be the more desirous our Lord would appear to perfect what they saw so happily begun in their intire reformation to a better state O what a long time am I like to stay cries such an oppressed soul before I be eased of this burden which is too heavy for me How many days and years more must I spend under the load and pressure of this flesh and blood Give me patience Dear Lord to wait for that day which shall free me from it Make me able to support my self in contentment with the hopes that the time of release at last will come I am so far from being unwilling that thou shouldest come that I beseech thee to make me willing to stay till thou canst come Only give me leave sometime to sigh and say when wilt thou come O when wilt thou
pleasing her eyes and her mind with the very shadow of that dear Person or if she have any token of his love left or sent her whereby to remember him is ever and anon taking it into her hands and imprinting her kisses on it so it becomes all those to do who pretend any love to our Lord Jesus who hath endeared himself to us by such incomparable loving kindness and merited so highly of us that it would be exceeding strange if we should be either insensible of his favours or let them slip out of our minds when among the rest of the expressions of his wonderful love he hath taken great care to preserve the remembrance of them there Our gracious Lord the Bridegroom of our souls is gone a long journey even as far as Heaven He hath espoused us to himself it is true in great love most assured love but hath left us for a time here in this world and removed himself so far from us that though there be nothing so desireable as his company to those who are acquainted with him and have any affection for him yet they find the distance is so exceeding great between them that they cannot attain their much wisht for enjoyment of him And therefore every good soul should look towards him and sighing within it self should often say When will he come when will he come and let me have the long desired sight of him When will he come and finish what he hath so graciously begun O that he would come and take me to him O that he would come and satisfie this soul which is ready to dissolve and sweetly melt into that blissful union with him And till he please to grant this desire we should often fasten our expecting eyes on the Picture he hath left us of himself drawn as I may say by his own hand which tells us he will certainly come and requires us to rest assured he will be as good as his word and give us immortal life in the glory where he is We should frequent I mean the holy Sacrament of his body and blood we should love there to communicate with him and knit our selves to him it should be our greatest pleasure to solace our selves in that representation of him till he comes We should affectionately receive into our hands those tokens and pledges of his love which he continually sends us by his Ministers we should take them into our mouths yea let them into our hearts and embracing him in those signs and seals of his grace towards us should rejoyce in his love till he himself appear and lay our souls to rest in his bosom for ever If there were no other benefit we should receive by this means than that thereby our love will be mightily excited towards him who hath loved us so dearly it were sufficient to commend this duty to us But we shall also grow thereby more confident of his appearing again to perfect his love towards us and in the mean time be still receiving fresh tokens of the affection he now hath for us For as the thoughts of his love hath the greatest power over our hearts so we need not fear to say that the love he sees in us is of such force and efficacy with him that it strongly moves his tender compassions towards us If any man love me saith he himself xiv Joh. 21 23. he shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him O what a word is this I will love him How it pierces into the heart How it stirs and works how it revives and refreshes there Can there be any thing greater than this to be beloved of the Lord of Heaven the Prince of Life the King of Glory What will not he do for those whom he loves when we see he did not stick to dye for them even before they loved him You know that when Lazarus was sick as I think I have somewhere observed in another Treatise his Sisters sent this news to our Saviour saying Lord behold he whom thou lovest is sick xi Joh. 3. This was a very short Letter And their grief perhaps would not permit them to write a longer But they did not fare the worse because they were not more ceremonious in their addresses this alone did the business O how great a power was there in these few words They say no more to move him but only this Lord thou lovest him and what doth not our Saviour do to show they were not mistaken Up he rises away he goes to the place of his abode there needed no more prayers to bring him thither And though there were many dangers in the way as the story relates though to go thither his Disciples thought was to cast himself into a showr of stones v. 8. though the Jews he knew very well sought to take him and kill him x. 39. yet love being as strong as death carried him through all impediments He could not chuse but go when he heard this charming word he whom thou lovest is sick By which we may learn that to obtain the favour and grace the help and assistance the comfort and the presence of our blessed Saviour we need no long Petitions no great address of words no courtship nor studied complements Let us be able only to tell him that he loves us and it is enough If we can but win his good affection we need no more We may then remember to him his own dear love more than ours We may tell him how much good he hath done us and that is argument sufficient to move him to do more We may relate his graciousness and sweet disposition when we can perceive in our own hearts but disgusts at our selves We may say O my Lord I have seen by many arguments the wonderful great good will thou bearest to me For thou hast instructed my ignorance pitied my weaknesses cured many of my diseases delivered me from the power of temptations I cannot tell what thou hast done for me O most merciful Saviour who art still going on by innumerable ways to testifie thou lovest me And this humble devout acknowledgement will certainly invite a further effusion of his favours For it is a pleasure to him to do benefits especially to those he loves He rejoyces over them to do them good He loves to accomplish his own good purposes and delights as much as they can desire to perfect what he hath happily begun in them And therefore we may intreat him to give himself that pleasure not to lose any of that joy which will so much please and rejoyce us also and make us his debtors his admirers his adorers and lovers to all eternity We may desire him even that it would please him to come again according to his promise because he loves us and because he loves to finish his works of love and we may be confident he will and bring his rewards with him Though he stay we think