When we so esteem it and look upon it with such a regard as it is presented to us in the glass of Gods Word immediately we shall feel our hearts begin to draw towards it This is the first business of a devout Christian who would love the appearing of his Saviour to perswade his heart to have a respect to it far above all other things That blessed day all pious hearts who have any hope of his favour should think of and look for as the brightest that ever shone The Coronation of a King the Triumph of a Conquerour the publick applause in the Olympick Games the most famous Showes that have ever been or can be made are all they must remember but as so many little Puppet-plays in comparison with that grand spectacle When all the world shall be in a gaze when Angels as well as men shall wonder and admire when the Sun shall blush to see it self out-shone and overcome in brightness when the hosts of blessed Spirits shall be the only Stars and our great Lord the only Sun that appears in the firmament when the righteous themselves shall shine in the same splendor by the reflection of his rayes upon them Thus we must discourse with our selves continually if we would be sensible of our happiness as St. Chrysostome * Tom. V. Orat. 1. in Pentecost p. 608. advises those who would understand their high birth and nobility We must look unto Heaven to the very Throne the Royal Throne for there sits says He the first-Fruit of mankind Who will come again will certainly come again leading all his Hosts along with Him the Legions of Angels the several Squadrons of Arch-Angels the Societies of the Martyrs the Quires of the Righteous the Tribes of the Prophets and Apostles and in the midst of these immaterial Camps the King Himself will appear 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a certain unutterable and inexpressible glory O Dark House or cave of Earth will every one who believes this heartily be apt to say How willingly would I leave thee if I might be transported to meet our blessed Lord thus royally incamped in the air O poor world How come I so far to value thee as to suffer thee to captivate this heart How glad should I rather be to see thee no more if I might but behold him whom my soul loveth appear Nay it ought not to grieve me to see this earth and all things in it in a flame if that coelestial glory would but show it self There is nothing here so dear which I should not chuse to part withal most chearfully for the sake of so great a Blessedness Come my Friends and my Relations the dearest goods in this world let us set our hearts on this and desire to meet together with our Lord. Let our hearts be united in this love as much as they are in all things else There is nothing we enjoy of such esteem but we ought to be content to see it vanish and disappear before that illustrious sight Happy will that time be which shall eclipse all that beauty which now presents it self unto us with so much address Blessed will be the day that shall put out the luster of the whole world which now so strangely dazzles our eyes A great deal better will that moment be which shall dissolve if God think good all our stately Palaces than that which reared them and built them up Away away you trifling Vanities Why do you thus bewitch our eyes and inchant our ears and draw aside our thoughts with your flattering inticements Trouble us no more you false or unsatisfying glories But leave our minds free to think of that great and solemn day when you must all be benighted not by the want but by an excess of light and brightness Awake awake and open thine eyes upon us O thou sweet morning of our happiness Arise shine forth O thou Sun of Righteousness and make us blessed with a sight of thy glory Nay it would content us more than if we had all the world if we might but see the clouds break if we could but behold the shadows of the night beginning to haste away if thou Lord wouldst but dissipate these dark vapours that now incompass us and cause the light of Divine Faith as the day-star to shine continually in our hearts II. But hitherto we have only laid the foundation of Love Which supposes moreover that we have some sympathy as I may call it with that which we apprehend to be so Good for us and that we take our selves to be very much concerned in it For there are some things that are excellent in themselves to which notwithstanding we find little or no inclination because they are not sutable to our dispositions necessities and desires The greatest Perfections and merits oftimes meet with more Admirers than they do Vassals and we see those every day who bow other hearts to their service but find us inflexible to their attractions As we have not an appetite to all sorts of meats even those which we judge to be wholesome and good so we have not an inclination to all persons and things even those which we hold to be well deserving We praise many things which we do not love We allow divers objects our approbation which we cannot much affect And that which in reason we needs must commend yet doth not always command our hearts and draw them to its embraces The Loadstone as is commonly observed which draws Iron to it finds Lead and Copper to have no perception of its touches and that face as I said before which bewitches some eyes leaves others insensible of its beauty The Love then which we contract with any Good arises from the convenience that is between us and it We perceive an agreeableness in it either to our needs or to our nature and thence affection springs The likeness and resemblance that there is between two beings is not the only cause of their readiness to embrace each the other but the correspondence also and proportion which the one bears to the others necessities is a sufficient ground of it A man that languishes under a dangerous sickness may conceive a great affection for an incomparable and very compassionate Physician though there be no similitude between them because he apprehends that sufficiency in him which is able to supply the great defects and wants that are at present in himself But when these two correspondence and similitude which several have such power over the affections shall both meet together in one thing so that what we want is that to which by nature we incline it cannot fail to produce a love exceeding all other in intire union ardency and perpetuity For how can we refuse to yield to that Good or what would we have more than that which our hearts feel at once to bear a great resemblance to them and to answer all or most of their needs a Good which is what we are
shall be an honour to him to have such subjects who by his Almighty Power are so nobly preferred The magnificence and greatness of his Kingdom will appear in the greatness and splendor of all his Friends and followers It shall be seen in them what he is and how highly God the Father hath exalted him whom he gave him to be the head over all things to the Church which is his body i. Ephes 22 23. the fulness of him that filleth all in all Certain it is he cannot be perfect as he is the Head of the Church without all his members In which regard several both of the Greek and Latine Fathers * V.S. Chrys Oecumenium S. Hieron think that his Body the Church is called his FULNESS because he will not be absolutely compleated and consummated till all his members be knit together in one body and joyned to him in such a glory as is befitting those that are so nearly related to him who is able to communicate to them out of his fulness what excellencies he pleases This says St. Chrysostom is the hope of our calling which the Apostle speaks of before the riches of the glory of the inheritance the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe For whom he hath such an affection and loves us with so great tenderness that he doth not think himself intirely happy unless we be promoted to be with him where he is and to reign with him for ever So much is his heart set upon our advancement that he accounts himself to be but in part glorious till we be numbred among his Saints in glory everlasting Then will he shine in greater splendor and majesty than ever according to those words of St. Paul in another place 2 Thess i. 10. where he saith He shall come to be GLORIFIED in his Saints and to be ADMIRED in all them that believe For first of all as Oecumenius hath collected the sense of the ancient Fathers about this business it will be a glory to him that he hath so many Saints to whom he will distribute his goods and make illustrious with him For as his riches saith he is our salvation so it will be a glory to him And secondly He will be glorified also by his Saints when they shall behold him sitting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. in his Fathers Glory the God and the Judge of all And thirdly We may add that the Saints will procure him glory from the spiritual powers when they shall see what a recompense of reward he hath vouchsafed to his servants Who as they shall give occasion to his being glorified so to his being admired also because it will be a most wonderful and amazing sight to see those who were thought so vile and abject in this present life that they were persecuted and murdered accounted worthy then of such and so great good things as he will bestow upon them And truly as our Lord will be thus magnified and admired at that day so this ought now to be very wonderful in our eyes Who have little consideration if we be not exceedingly in love with his appearing when self-love so strongly inclines and prompts our affection to it Can we find in our hearts to turn away our eyes from that or cease to long for it with ardent desire which Nature it self calls for as the greatest Good Here our own interest combines with his to make us wish for that blessed day which shall make him more illustrious by the brightness of our glory Here two great Seas meet and run into one to make our souls swell and rise up in bigger expectations of his happiness Come should your heart and mine say come O blessed Jesus and at once make us and thy self intirely glorious Arise O thou Sun of Righteousness and shed thy beams so plentifully upon us that we may shine with thee as the Sun in the Kingdom of the Father Great are the things which are spoken of thy coming when the exceeding greatness of thy power shall appear to us-ward who believe O come and compleat thine own fulness by filling us out of thine exuberant Goodness with all the blessings of thine heavenly Inheritance Do not want that happiness any longer which will make us happy too together with thee Delay not to put on those Kingly Robes wherein when thou appearest we shall be promoted to reign as Kings with thee for ever How will our ravisht spirits then rejoyce in that great salvation How will they triumph to see every knee bow to thine exalted Name Nay to see thee admired in us cxlviij Psal 14. when thou shall exalt the honour of thy people the praise of all thy Saints O come that the greatness of thy Glory and Majesty may appear in thy Saints and thy wonderful power and love in all those that believe And till thou comest lot all thy Saints be joyful in glory cxlix 4 5. Let them sing aloud in perfect quiet and repose Yea let the high praises of our God be in their mouth who hath given us hope of victory over all our enemies Let them never cease to praise him who takes pleasure in his people and will beautifie them with his Salvation Praise him who hath promised to come and visit us in greater love than ever praise him who is the head over all things to the Church and will prefent it to himself a glorious Church v. Eph. 27. not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing Let his name be alway engraven upon our hearts who hath comforted us with the blessed hope of seeing him in all his glory Let the memory of his transcendent love be ever most dear unto us who intends to lift us up to sit with him in Heavenly places Let us never forget to rejoyce in his holy Name with whom we expect to rejoyce in the highest happiness of endless Life And O blessed Jesus that we may be so happy now as to long for that day on thy account as well as our own May it delight us to think how thou wilt be admired and highly praised in our exaltation Make us so much in love with thee as to desire to see our selves raised unto honour because it will make thee also appear in greater glory CHAP. XII Other Reasons why we should love his appearing drawn from the love we have to our selves THus I have made a fair way to introduce the second thing which I propounded for the compleating of this Discourse Wherein I am to show how the natural Affection we all bear to our selves should powerfully dispose us to love the Appearing of our Lord Jesus And this will admit of no less than these TEN Considerations which will instantly at the very first hearing win our assent to the truth of them For I. First We cannot but passionately desire if we have any belief of this Appearing to see so great an honour as will then be done to our Nature So
in our eclipsed nature O when will that sweet breath come that shall make them shine and set them free to fly to their element above When shall those flashes of light which sometime break forth be blown up into a clearer and more constant flame Can one believe and not wish to find himself in the House of God in the midst of the heavenly Ministers surrounded with such glorious sights as eye never saw nor heart can possibly conceive I am not able to refrain from saying O when shall I see my mind incircled in the rays of divine light When shall it beam forth in such heavenly thoughts and make my heart burn and sparkle with such ardors of love that they shall cast a glory round about my head This is the Crown which my soul desires to wear This is the Garland I would win the glorious Diadem wherewith my restless mind would be adorned It is not Silver and Gold Pearls and Pretious-stones or any such like things whose rich names I borrow to express my present thoughts that I wish and desire But the brightness of the knowledge of God to fold it self about my head and that I may sit invironed in a Ring of admiring thoughts of pure undisturbed never ending thoughts of thee and of thy marvellous kindness towards me Which happiness till my mind enjoy the pain that I feel will not cease unless thou Lord wilt be pleased to asswage it by comfortable hopes and joyful expectations of such an eternal weight of glory Even when I have left this world and am come to those light some Tabernacles which thou hast prepared for those that truly love thee I shall long to know more of thee and desire still to be nearer to thee and look to see thee come out of thy Royal Palace to Crown the faith and hope of thine obedient Servants And in the mean time may I be so happy as to be disposed into the Order of those who perpetually talk of thy love and sing thy praises and rejoyce with perfect confidence and full assurance and are ever lifting up their heads to see thee and often saying one to another when will he come when will he appear in the highest and most exalted glory O blessed day I when mixed with the Quire of Saints we shall fly in their company to meet the Spouse and say every one of us I have found him whom my soul loveth I have found him the sight of whom I shall lose no more but indued with the glory of immortality and the splendor of incorruption shall live for ever with the Lord. O happy state of Saints Ex L. de Viro perfecto sub nom S. Hieron Tom. iv when they shall have flesh without earth a body without sense of pain a soul without fear life without death age without time light without night and blessedness without end Christianity will never let us be satiated with these delectable thoughts This is its refreshment this is its delight this is its pleasure and joy in mind and heart to go to the Seat of God and there to take its place and seize on its share in that Seat not by its own presumption but by the promise of God Who hath already exalted our Lord Christ in that blessed place and by our relation to him we challenge a right to be so happy For he is the Head of his body the Church He is the head of all principality and power From whom all the body by joynts and bands ii Col. 19. having nourishment ministred and knit together increaseth with the increase of God CHAP. XV. Three Considerations more to draw our Affections to the Appearing of our Lord. VIII I Have already said so much of the Happiness we expect when our Lord shall come again that here I might put an end to this Discourse if it would not be more profitable distinctly to consider that after we are caught up from this earth to meet the Lord in the air and he hath done us honour in the sight of all the world we shall all as I have already suggested march with him unto Heaven in goodly array and comely order with those Crowns of Glory which he hath given us upon our heads This should mightily move us to love his Appearing that we shall then appear together with him and not abide in the Air though incompassed with so much glory but be carried up with him far higher into the purest sky When our minds are made all Light we shall see a vast way before us and behold the Palace where God himself dwells inviting us unto it Thither our Lord will have us attend upon him and accompany him when he hath finished the judgement of the great day Where the Holy Books inform us we shall be sumptuously treated with no less kindness magnificence and joy than a King we may conceive would entertain his only Son when he brought home his beloved Bride whom he had long ago espoused to himself For whose reception he prepares the most Royal Supper a glorious Marriage-Feast to welcome her unto his house And will not this make every faithful soul who is a holy member of that Body the Church whom our Lord is pleased to own for his Bride still more desirous if not impatient of the coming of the celestial Bridegroom to perfect his love and complete the promises wherein he stands ingaged by the gracious covenant he made with us when he contracted us to himself What is there that we all so much covet as the excess of joy and the highest pitch of pleasure And where are these to be found in so much purity in such fulness and so perpetual as in his most blessed Presence Which should force us to burst out with the greatest earnestness when we think of that Heavenly Feast which he hath prepared for us into such expressions as those of David As the Hart panteth after the water-brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God My soul thirsteth for God even the living God O when shall I come and appear before God I have small satisfaction alas in these dull and short delights which I find on earth What taste is there in this green trash And there is little other fruit that grows in the garden of this world but what is sowre and harsh and sets my teeth on edge It is too far from thy beams to bring forth any thing very sweet Nothing can be ripened at this distance from thee to satisfie a font and yeild it all the contentment it desires Bring me therefore into thy Paradise above O conduct me into thy Eden the Garden of thy delights Lead me to those fruits which are brought to maturity by the constant presence of the Sun of righteousness Let me feast on those pleasures which are all pleasure and enter into the joy which is fulness of joy for evermore And till thou thinkest me meet for such entertainments may it please thy love but
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
and what we would be too a Good wherein we see the image of our selves in that perfection to which we desire to be advanced All they therefore who would be truly disposed to love the appearing of our Lord must have a deep apprehension of the meanness and vileness of this present state They must be possessed with a serious sense of their many imperfections and great weakness in the best condition that this world affords of the poverty and emptiness of all earthly enjoyments yea and of the scantiness and narrowness of all those Divine participations which their Souls are here capable to be blessed withal And then the Appearing of our Lord will seem a Good so suitable to them that they cannot chuse but have the same affection for it that a crazy and diseased person hath to the most skilful Physician In hope that He will perfect their nature cure the disorders under which they labour supply their defects fill their appetites nay enlarge their capacities and raise them to a greater pitch of true goodness and bliss Let us suppose such persons to be so much in the favour of God as to have a liberal share even in the blessings of this World as well as of those which are more peculiarly in the gift of our Saviour Christ yet it is impossible one would think they should be so much pleased in the highest Dignities that can be conferred on them in the rarest Delicates that the bounty of Nature or curiosity of Art can provide for them in the society of the choicest and dearest Friends or I may add in their own secret joy though descending from heaven to them as not to think still that it is far more desirable to see the Lord Jesus come to promote them and all their pious Relations and Friends to an incomparably better condition in his Coelestial Kingdom It is their interest to have Him appear again and besides they have such a likeness and resemblance to Him that the bent and inclination of their Souls cannot but make them long after the sight of Him as a good more delightful and agreeable than any other For there is another Coming of Christ before that which we expect Quo per totum tempus in Ecclesia sua venit c. as St. Austin speaks * L. xx de Civ Dei Cap. v. by which He comes through all the time between his first appearing and the last in His Church that is his members particulatim atque paulatim working in every one of them by little and little according to his promise xiv Joh. 21 23. that if any man keep His Commandments He will look upon it as such a testimony of his love that He will love that man and the Father will love him and we will come saith He unto him and make our abode with him Now when we heartily entertain Him and He is so truly setled there that we are made partakers of his Blessed nature and disposition and all the lineaments of Him if I may so speak are drawn upon our hearts We shall find them inclined to wish for the day when he will compleat his work and fill up the whole image of Himself to the very life and not only make us glad with the light of His countenance but make us look perfectly like Him and intirely assimilate us to His own most Blessed nature Do you not see how the holy Scriptures represent this Appearing of Jesus as the most lovely of all other things and therefore apt to draw our hearts with an irresistible force towards it It is expressed there I observe under the character of that which is wont to touch the Soul with such an agreeable stroke that it ravishes it from it self I mean Beauty For as that is nothing else according to Plato but the splendor and glittering of that which is good so this appearing is set forth as exceeding bright splendid and glorious and as that which will make us so also to the end we may be affected with it as the most beautiful sight that ever was Read ij Tit. 13. xiij Mat. 43. And St. Luke I told you before mentions a threefold glory wherein He will appear His own His Fathers and His holy Angels ix 26. which is said I believe to make this day appear the more illustrious and amiable in our eyes The only visage of Scipio we read made him Master of some barbarous Nations he piercing further into their hearts by his countenance than by his sword And Heliogabalus as bad as he was was no sooner shown by his Mother to the Souldiers but from Priest of the Sun he became Emperour of the World Why then should not the beauty of that day when the Prince of all the Kings of the Earth shall appear in the most glorious splendor attended by the greatest Principalities of Heaven with all their shining Hosts in admirable order captivate the hearts of all those that love Him since there is none so powerful did they but behold His glory as the Apostles did and look upon Him as the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth to draw those to his Religion who love Him not How can they refuse to yield to do Him homage and suffer themselves to be carried after Him as the Conquerour of all Souls and above all desire to wait upon Him at his appearing which they discern will be so glorious and render them so amiable that they will become as I doubt not to show a considerable addition to his Triumphs The hearts of all the faithful cannot chuse but leap for joy at the very thought of so great a Good though widely distant from them and wish it would come nearer to make them happy by its presence with them They are apt to sigh and say when they deeply ponder these things with the Prophet David in another case ci Psal 2. O when wilt thou come unto me It is a long time O Lord since thou didst promise to come We have waited for thee and for thy salvation more than they that wait for the morning I say more than they that wait for the morning May I not pray thee to hasten thy desired coming O when wilt thou display thy self and show thy glory more openly before us O when wilt thou be pleased to impress thine own image more fairly on us When shall those little touches that we have received of thee be perfected and figured into a more exact resemblance of thy beauty We cannot refrain but we must long to have all our defects supplied out of thy fulness to have all spots wiped off our souls to be rendred clear as the Sun free as the Air and as unstained as the pure influences of heaven For how should we think O blessed Lord that we bear any love to thee if we can be content to remain as we are so much unlike thee There is none can see thee and not ardently love thee There is none
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
so sweetly to it and this is properly Love As soon as ever we discover any thing that is suitable to us we feel our hearts instantly struck with a secret joy and are marvellously delighted in it And this delectable touch is no sooner perceived but it sweetly yet strongly draws us to go towards that thing which at first sight gave us such a pleasure and will yield we hope a far greater when we approach so near it as to get possession of it Complacence or delight then is but the first stirring or motion which a good thing causes in our heart This pleasing motion and agitation of the Spirits is attended presently with a melting and as it were effusion of the heart whereby we run out to meet that beloved object and entertain it into our souls and in this as I said properly consists the very being of Love Which is so manifest in an heart duly affected towards the appearing of our blessed Lord that there cannot be a greater proof of the truth of this description For it feels so great a pleasure in the lively belief of his coming that it is drawn thereby quite out of it self and cannot chuse but resign up it self intirely to that glorious Prince that He may make it appear together with Him It easily dissolves in that heavenly warmth and losing all its power to contain it self in its former bounds flows to Him the Lord of Life as to its proper place It is lifted up towards heaven and would fain be there where He is from whom this pleasure comes For with Him is the fountain of Life and therefore where should a devout soul set its affections but on those things which are above as S. Paul speaks 3 Col. i. 3 4. where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God Which when they mightily affect the heart it feels as if it were dissolving into that life which is hid with Christ in God That future life or bliss is safe indeed because it is in the custody of Christ and in a glorious place where God dwells in light inaccessible But who can abstain from desiring it should be no longer hid and reserved but made manifest and shown as it will be at the appearing of Christ For so the Apostle adds immediately as if He would answer their Question who might ask when shall this Life be discovered When Christ who is our Life i.e. the cause of it who will give us this life shall appear then shall we also appear with Him in glory O what a joyful word is this what should hinder an heart that is possessed with a full belief of it from running thither with all speed whither it is called by so great a joy as sent from thence into it Into whose arms should it leap but only His the expectation of whose appearing creates that exultation There is none in heaven it can desire but Him with whom its life is hid and whom is there on earth that it can desire besides Him Come saith such a soul to it self and lift up thy head Thy Lord I hear is coming let us arise and go and meet Him Let us leave this earth and ascend up towards heaven where He is who is our Life Let us raise up our dull thoughts thitherward and fix our minds as oft as we can on the glory that shall be revealed Let us stir up our selves and with the most ardent desires and affections of our heart get as near Him as ever we are able let us go O my Soul and at least make a present of our very heart to Him beseeching Him most earnestly to possess Himself intirely of it Let us invite Him to prevent His appearing and to come a little beforehand to manifest Himself unto us and to take up His abode with us O blessed Jesus let us say who art our Life be intreated to come hither now that we cannot come up to thee and live in us Show thy self in this soul and let not me live any longer but do thou live in me let the life I live in the flesh be by thy faith O thou Son of God Thou hast loved me and given thy self for me O love me so much I again beseech thee as to live in me I would begin that life which is hid with thee in resigning my self to thee that thy will may be done in me Never did I feel such complacence in following mine own as I have since I was inclined to follow after thee who wilt lead me I see to immortal glory Blessed be that day which made me sensible of such happiness Blessed be the day which directed mine eyes to look for thy appearing What can I wish for more than to be blessed with the sight of it and till it come to have my heart always in love with it I am going towards it by these desires and I will excite my self to go the faster because that blissful sight is still making nearer approaches What do we mean my soul to hang thus towards this earth Why do we stay here when we see Jesus preparing Himself to make another journey to us Why do we not advance towards Him as if we were desirous to have Him come and to let us see Him Why do we not with all speed make our selves ready to receive Him What is it that makes us so slow in our motions towards Him who when He appears will come as swift as the lightning unto us Vp up O my soul let not thy Lord find thee when He comes posting after these worldly vanities pursuing of thy sinful pleasures but onward in thy way gone very far in devout affections ardent desires and holy hopes to meet His Glorious Majesty CHAP. VIII The Progress of this Love to Christs Appearing in three steps more V. AND yet this Love cannot content it self with inward motions and aspirations of the Soul towards the appearing of our Lord but constantly excites all such actions as are requisite for the attaining of so great a Good If we esteem any thing highly and feel it exceeding agreeable to our hearts desire we do not willingly rest in the pleasing passions it raises up in our hearts but they carry us out in earnest endeavours to be owners of it And the influence it hath upon us is so powerful and it doth so strongly draw us after it that it will not suffer any thing to put a stop to the current of our affections when they are issuing out unto it There are certain imperfect motions in our hearts which we are apt to call Love that by no means deserve that name being only a good liking of that which we do not yet truly love They are called in the Schools Velleities wishes and wouldings as we speak half a will which we feel for divers excellent things but never come to any effect The reason is because the appearance of some extream great difficulty or the force of some contrary desire either holds the soul
thee Let the time come that there shall be no more night but a perpetual day with me O hasten the time when I my self shall shine like the Sun in thy Celestial glory VII Now in the mean time till love come to a perfect union as it is incessant in its motion so it grows more vehement in its desires and endeavours For as frequent agitations make the fire burn more fiercely so doth the stirring of this passion make it break out with a brighter flame The desire of union increases the swiftness of its motion and the more speed it makes the nearer it is like to come to its desired union And which is very considerable the more earnest and assiduous our motion is towards any Good the greater hopes we have that we shall enjoy it and the greater our hopes are the more are we still pricked on and spurred forward in the pursuit of that which we would fain enjoy A thing which is of exceeding great moment in this pious and devout love of Christian people For without a GOOD HOPE which St. Paul saith our Lord who is our Hope hath given us 2 Thess ii 16. 1 Tim. i. 1. our motion would slacken if not be extinguished We should have no heart to prosecute our design but let it fall immediately if it were not in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lye hath promised i. Tit. 2. As on the contrary by the help of this sure and certain Hope our diligence is doubled and such oyl poured on our wheels as makes them move not only more easily but with greater speed and quickness also All the lovers therefore of Christs Appearing are said to wait for it to expect it and to look for the coming of that blessed Hope as you shall see in the conclusion of this Argument from those well known places iij. Phil. 20. ij Tit. 13. and many other And if you examine the holy Scriptures carefully you shall find that this is comprehended in the love we ought to have for his Appearing being such a natural effect of love that they are put indifferently the one for the other As may be seen by comparing these two places together 1 Cor. ij 9. with lxiv. Isa 4. in the former of which the Apostle says the things which surpass our conception are prepared by God for them that love him and in the other the Prophet saith He hath prepared them for him that waiteth for Him Just as the people of Israel praying without the Sanctuary in the Court to which they were confined waited for the Priest when he should come from the Altar of Incense or rather for the High-Priest on the day of Atonement to return from the most holy place and the Ark of the Covenant to bestow the blessing on them So do all good Souls who are devoted sincerely to the service of Christ while they remain in this outward Court the Earth wherein we dwell which is at a great distance from the Heavens look up to the holy place where Jesus the great High-Priest of our profession is iij. Heb. 1. iv 15. and wait for the time when He will come forth to bless them saying Come ye blessed of my Father xxv Mat. 34. inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world They cannot but frequently cast their eyes and turn their hearts that way as the place of their Rest which He is gone before to prepare for them They are ever calling upon their Souls to follow hard after their dear Saviour as David says lxiij Psal 8. his heart did after the enjoyment of God in his Sanctuary For this they seek as he there speaks with thirsty desires to see his power and his glory so as they have never yet seen him nor can see him no not in their nearest approaches to him while they live in these earthly tabernacles They wish therefore He would come and bless them with a clear and full sight of Him After this their desires grow daily more ardent and they endeavour to stir up stronger and more affectionate motions towards so great an happiness They are apt to cry out saying Draw us and we will run after thee yea we will fly we will take the wings of an Eagle in our passionate desires that we may mount up aloft and get more and more above this world to be with thee And this gives them good Hopes likewise that they shall be with Him insomuch that they cannnot but say O blessed Jesus thou hast set our Souls into a longing for thee and now they cannot cease to desire to come to thee Thou hast made us believe the most excellent surpassing glory wherein thou shinest and ever since we cannot chuse but look towards it and wish to behold thee in that glory If we be very earnest for this sight if our Souls sigh and say xlij Psal 2. O when shall we come and appear before thee we do but return thine own breath who hast inspired us with these desires after thee And may we not hope to come thither where thou art when thou thy self attractest our souls to thee Wilt thou not satisfie those longings which not we but thou hast raised in our hearts Give us leave to remember thee of what thou thy self hast said who didst pronounce those BLESSED WHO HAVE NOT SEEN xx Joh. 29. AND YET HAVE BELIEVED O let it be unto thy servants according to thy word For we are such believers as thou hast blessed We never saw thee and yet believe thou camest forth from God xiij Joh. 3. and art gone to God and art most high in the glory of the Father ix Rom. 5. God blessed for evermore Do not our hearts cleave unto thee though they have only heard of thee Are not our eyes continually towards thee though they have never yet beheld thee Thou wilt not always sure absent thy self but turn our faith at last into a sight of thee For what is the BLESSEDNESS of which thou spakest and hast faithfully promised to such believers Is it not that they shall one day behold thy glorious face and reign with thee in thy glory Is it not that thou wilt manifest thy self unto them here and at last appear again to take them to thy self that they may live where thou art O dear Saviour as thou hast made us to BELIEVE in this manner so make us likewise thus BLESSED As we have received thee though we have not seen thee so let this be the reward of our receiving thee that we may see thee We will hope thou wilt make us thus happy as thou hast made us thus faithful We will expect till thou makest us see what thou hast promised as thou hast made us do what thou hast commanded We will rejoyce in hope of thy glory and do thou make our joy to be full yea bring us unto thee and bid us enter into the joy of thee our Lord. CHAP.
IX This Love to the Appearing of our Lord further described in three other fruits or marks of it VIII AND now can any Soul chuse but think of that perpetually which it most dearly loves Doth not every Good use to present it self continually to the mind that is inamour'd of it and remember us of its beauty There is no question to be made of it The very ardency of our affection for it doth more imprint and engrave it on our mind and when by any participation of it we feel how good it is we press it harder and sink it deeper into our hearts There is no man for instance who hath setled his love upon an agreeable person but He finds the image of that friend always before his eyes It accompanies him every where and cleaves inseparably to his thoughts It is a great part of his pleasure to entertain himself with the shadow of that in which he hath lodg'd his heart And therefore if we love the appearing of our Lord we shall solace our selves often with the kind In the multitude especially or tumult of our thoughts within us as the Psalmist speaks xciv 19. the comforts of it will delight our souls We shall be daily calling upon them and exhorting them to look towards it and to fix their thoughts and affections upon it We shall be inclin'd to say as the voice is in the Song of Songs Come my fair one come away O my chiefest Good what shall I desire or wish for so much as for thy coming What is it that I ever saw which should detain my eyes from thy incomparable beauty Or where can I expect to satisfie their hunger but only with the filling sight of thee at thy appearing The spacious Heavens hope to be filled with the Majesty of thy Glory The Sun is but a weak image of thy brightness and will be content to go out to make room for thee when thou appearest All the Stars of light are ready to resign their places and leave the skie to be illuminated by thee alone Whatsoever is lovely and surprises us with its beauty here confesses it is but thy shadow and that when thou breakest forth it must disappear Fix my mind therefore upon thy glory and let it henceforth imploy my busie thoughts Possess thy self O Lord of life and glory intirely of this heart which hath been too long estranged from thee Impress such a lively sense of thee and of thy glory there that I may sooner forget my self than thee and thy appearing Make it my greatest pleasure to sit hours and days and years to think of thy so much desired coming When I meet with my dearest Relations and Friends let nothing entertain us with such delight as to think of being caught up together in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the air Let us love to speak of the glory of thy Kingdom and to talk of thy power to utter abundantly the memory of thy great goodness and to sing of thy righteousness Let us wish with united hearts to see thy power and glory and to behold thee coming according to thy faithful promise out of thy heavenly Sanctuary Let it be our sweetest joy to inspire each others hearts with these holy hopes and to stir up one another to love and to good works And when thou comest O Lord may every one of us be found so doing IX These are some of the pantings of an heart which loves and bears in mind the appearing of Christ For to say the truth Love is the original and source of all the passions that we feel in our hearts They all flow from this as from their spring-head They are but several motions which have their rise from Love Or if you will so conceive it nothing but different figures and shapes wherein it appears It is love which fears and love which grieves and love which hopes and love which rejoyces there would be none of these were it not for some good which we love to which these and all the rest of their kindred owe their birth and nourishment When this is hindred in its designes it breeds anger or impatience or fear or sadness or some such like commotion And when this succeeds and prospers in the pursuance of its ends there arises hope and contentment and joy and gladness as the natural issue of it They that love then Christs appearing will fear nothing so much as to lose the blessedness which He will bring along with Him Nothing will excite such a displeasure in their hearts as that evil which would rob and defraud them of his favour at that happy day And what is there that can give them such a touch of sadness as the thought that they are so far distant from their Dearest Lord Or what can create such joy such exultation of spirit as to hope they shall one day see Him so as never to part from Him any more In one word all the passions of their Souls will run this way and be concern'd for nothing so highly as this that they may be presented faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy True indeed O blessed Saviour doth such an heart meditate in it self I have had a thousand fears in my breast I have dreaded every small danger in this world as if it would prove my utter ruin The terrors that have affrighted me are as innumerable as the things I have fancied to be my happiness But now all these are willing to be gone that they may make way for one greater fear lest I should not enter with thee when thou appearest into thy rest O prevent so intolerable a mischief Whatsoever I lose I shall account my self a gainer if I lose not the blessing which thou wilt give us Take all if thou pleasest I am content so thou wilt give me a share in thy glory when thou comest I have been too long pestered with a world of sensual passions Sometimes sadness hath oppressed me and then anger hath set me all on fire Now vain joyes have swelled my heart and puffed me up and again they have given place to grief and sorrow hath shrunk up my soul and dried up my spirit Fears and Hopes have tossed me up and down as in a tempestuous Sea A small matter hath created me much trouble and I have longed for things which promised much but gave me little satisfaction What a comfort is it but to expect the day which will settle and compose these tumults in perpetual peace and quiet I feel the thoughts of it already appeasing my spirit and bringing a ealm into my breast And if the brightness of thy appearing did but always shine in my mind it would dispel all the clouds and scatter the darkness wherein all this confusion reigns O let the splendor of that day irradiate my soul even at this distance from it and leave no space void of its light and comfort Yea let it eclipse all other joyes and by
so bright and glorious an object And happy were it for us if it were nothing else but mere Love that made me resume this Discourse and begin it again and that made those who read it to be willing or rather desirous to know further what are the causes of this heavenly affection to the appearing of our Lord. For that is it wherein I intend to imploy the remainder of my thoughts upon this subject Love is a passion that is very desirous to feel it self and to be satisfied of its own sincerity by the strength and force and restlesness of its motion It fills the heart also with such a secret joy that it would fain know the very spring of all its delectable motions and be led to the rise of every one of its desires and inclinations Both the strangeness and the variety of its surprising pleasures are so great that our hearts cannot but be invited thereby to the very bottom of it to see from whence it flows as we perceive whither it tends And therefore as I have touched upon the general cause and reason of this passion of love in the foregoing part of this small Treatise so it is not fit to deny it in the following part a brief consideration of the particular reasons why it should be set upon the appearing of Christ And they may be reduced to these two Heads First The great affection that all good souls have for our blessed Saviour himself And Secondly The natural affection we all bear to our own good and welfare Which when we have considered we shall be ashamed that we do not with greater fervour say with respect to this in our daily prayers THY KINGDOM COME And be mightily excited to call upon our souls more frequently to meditate on that blessed hope and to look with much affection for the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Who will be so much honoured thereby himself and then confer such upon us as should make us long for the accomplishment of both CHAP. XI Reasons for our Love to this Appearing drawn from the respect we ought to have to our Lord himself AS for the first of these the affection that is due to our blessed Saviour it ought to be strong you will easily confess that death it self should not be an equal match for it That which conquers all things should it self be conquered by this and the king of terrors should yield all his force and yield himself a Captive to the love of the King of Love For since there is so great a power in hearty and unfeigned love to beget love in those to whom it is expressed and since the love whereby our Lord attracts our affection doth so vastly exceed all other it is a prodigious obstinacy or negligence that the dullest and heaviest souls are not drawn by so big a Loadstone Do we not feel as I have said elsewhere some motions of kindness in our hearts for the most contemptible creatures when they constantly fawn upon us and follow us and lye down by us and will by no means leave us but take our part if any body assault us Are we not much pleased with this affection they have to us and concerned for their safety and ready to reward them with tokens of our love to them We must be infidels then or very inconsiderate and regardless of our blessed Saviour or else find our hearts put into the greatest passion when we read and seriously weigh the strange expressions which our Saviour hath made of the most endearing love to us When we remember Low he neglected himself to serve us how he indured hunger and thirst that we might be satisfied how he gave the people the very bread out of his mouth and forgot to feed himself that he might nourish them when we see how he addresses himself unto us how he wooes and courts us to speak in our own language with the greatest kindness to come to him how solicitous he is for our happiness how he sighed for us how he groaned in spirit to see men so obstinate how he sweat how he bled how he gave his very life for us and was content to be exposed to the greatest shame rather than we should perish what heart can be so insensible as not to be mightily affected with it and to think of returning back his love and that in some proportion to the wonderful greatness of it But then alas it must be confessed that we find when our passion is stirred up and our hearts begin to burn within us we have little or nothing there that is worthy of him A present we would fain make to him but have none fit to be offered to so great a Majesty Nay so void many times and empty are our hearts of all that is good that we may well be ashamed to let him see them Our thoughts are so dull and the resentments we have of his kindness so feeble and weak that we our selves in whom they are can scarce feel them And at the best our affections are so small and so short that we cannot but blush to come furnished with no better oblation to him What shall we do in this case How shall we behave our selves with some due regard to his incomprehensible love Love him we must but love him as he is worthy and as we would we are not able We cannot choose but bring him our hearts and yet we are sensible they are not worth the bringing We shall find our selves naturally inclined in these circumstances to do just as a grateful Poor man doth who being unable himself to requite a Friends courtesies rejoyces to hear that so very great a Person will take that care upon him Or as the Divine Psalmist doth who finding his own thoughts too short and low calls upon the Angels who excel in strength to set forth the praises of him whose name is highly exalted above all blessing and praise That is since we our selves cannot requite the benefits our Lord hath done us nor worthily magnifie his goodness towards us we ought in all reason to be exceeding desirous that God the Father of glory as St. Paul calls him would be pleased to reward his love and make his praise glorious Since there is nothing here whereby we can considerably honour him we must needs wish the day would come when the Blessed and only Potentate will show the respect he bears unto him As it is a joy to think that he is gone to the Father and there is recompensed for his sufferings so it is a matter of greater gladness if we have any love for him to remember that at his appearing which he who is able will in due time show he shall still be more magnified This therefore all serious Christians cannot but much desire to see For this they cannot but long extreamly and call with earnest expectation for the coming of that joyful day That since they cannot laud and
great that no soul who is possessed with a lively sense of it can be tempted any longer to envy the greatness of the noblest Persons no not the high dignity of the blessed Angels The brightest of the Cherubins should not be so grievous to us as to hurt our eyes nor the flames of the Seraphims touch us with the least spark of indignation to see our selves so much excelled by them But we should rather wish they were more glorious and illustrious because the greater they are the greater will the advancement of our nature be which at the appearing of Christ will shine in a place so far above the highest of them Those heavenly Creatures indeed are so splendid that we poor mortals even the holiest of us were wont to be afraid at their appearance They are too glittering for our weak eyes to behold too full of lustre for us who dwell in these caves of darkness to converse withall Whence it was that some pious people in ancient times presently concluded they should dye if they saw an Angel imagining that his business when he appeared was to fetch their souls from their bodies in which while they lived they were not fit for such Society And other excellent persons were so amazed at the glory of these celestial Ministers that they thought of paying them no less than religious honour and prepared themselves to fall down before them and worship them as Gods O what an happiness then will it be to see our Natures so improved and exalted that we shall be able to entertain their company without any trembling at all and instead of those paralytick fears be only struck with a delightful sense of the most harmonious joyes What a glory will it be unto us what a joy to find our selves made equal to those whom we took for Gods To behold our selves as bright as those celestial fires which were wont to dazzle the eyes of the greatest souls and possess them with an apprehension that they were Divine Beings But especially we ought to consider what an honour what a satisfaction it will be to behold not so few as one or two or a thousand of those beautiful Creatures but the whole Heavenly Court whom we were ready to adore come all with bended knees and humbly prostrate themselves in the most profound adorations at the feet of our ever blessed Saviour Christ Jesus Into what a rapture will it cast us to behold our Nature so advanced that all the Gods shall approach and worship this same Jesus who was so debased and abused A most glorious and delightful sight it will be to behold him in the head of all those Heavenly Hosts to see all the air filled with the several Legions of Holy Angels to behold every Troop in that glorious Camp paying their respect to our far more glorious Lord and with their shouts and joyful acclamations following him as their General and chief Commander And all the Powers of Darkness likewise crouching at his feet quaking at his Majestick Presence disarmed of all their weapons and confessing themselves the Captives and Slaves of this victorious Prince Christ Jesus O my ambitious desires where are you What is become of you O my aspiring thoughts You that used to be ever climbing aloft and perpetually heaving up my heart whither are you gone or into what dulness are you now sunk down What is the matter that you lye asleep when so fair an object presents it self to awaken and rouze you up What ailes you that I do not feel you stir who were wont with less temptations to be all on fire Is there any thing we can reasonably thirst after with so much ardor as to have all the world behold us made the companions of Angelical Natures What is there that you can fancy a higher glory than to see this flesh of ours taking place of the Heavenly Spirits To behold all the Armies of Heaven and Earth waiting upon the supreme Judge of the World the Man Christ Jesus Get up then get up and pray perpetually that this most blessed time may come Rouze up your selves and in your most passionate wishes fly before-hand thitherward Let this be the But at which you shoot the mark at which you alwayes aim O my winged thoughts and hasty desires Let this be the end of all your labours O my busie and restless powers And content your selves in any conditino till this most happy state shall come Live upon this joyful hope Chear up your selves with these most comfortable expectations They cannot be utterly miserable no they must needs be very happy whatsoever their troubles be who look for such an incomparable glory Rejoyce therefore and more than that make your boast in this perpetually that one day Angels themselves who are out of the reach of our present calamities shall not excel you But if there be any difference it shall be only such as was between the men of Judah and the men of Israel at the bringing back of King David to his Throne that you shall be able to call this great Son of David BONF OF YOVR BONE AND FLESH OF YOVR FLESH when the highest Angels can challenge no such interest in him O most blessed Hope the staff of our Life the stay and the strength of our Hearts The security of the happy and the sanctuary of the afflicted that which preserves our joyes from becoming sowre and which sweetens the bitterness of all our miseries Our Rest our Peace our highest Satisfaction It is enough that I am owner of such a glorious Hope Be thou ever in mine eye be thou ever in my heart I will walk and labour all the dayes of my life in this holy Hope And I will lye down at last in hope that Thou who now sendest down thy Angels to minister unto us wilt call us up unto thy self and make us to sit with thee in those Heavenly Regions O come come Lord Jesus that we may be all so happy And till thou comest descend sometimes into this heart which loves thee and longs for thee and lift it up unto thee in more ardent desires earnest indeavours and holy hopes to see thy glory and to appear in glory together with thee II. It will be very strange if we believe in Christ and be not possessed with these desires when we attend to the secret inclinations there are in every one of our hearts to wish we might be blessed with the sight of him who is so lovely and who hath loved us so much whom hitherto our eyes have never seen For did any body ever hear of a most excellently accomplisht person full of the most obliging kindness to him and that had infinitely merited of him and designed all the honour in the world for him and not feel a most passionate longing desire burning in him to behold the face of this Great man who had an heart so tender so noble and so graciously affected towards him This is our case who
thee by whose Wisdom all things are governed thee by whose infinite kindness mankind was redeemed What a joy will it be to me to see thee who didst conduct me in my way direct me at every turn support me in every step assist me in all the various passages of my life secure me from innumerable temptations preserve me from as many dangers and at last broughtest me safe to see thee and rejoyce with thee for ever CHAP. XVI Of the mighty power and pleasure of Love when it is setled in the heart AND thus I am come to the end of this other part of my Discourse Wherein the reasons of placing our best affections on the appearing of Christ have been so plainly deduced that as they cannot but be understood so they cannot but move those hearts which do not quite turn away their minds from all consideration of them And that it should be hard to do one would think if we have the least acquaintance with the Christian Religion Which hereby most strongly recommends it self unto us that it gives us such great and glorious hopes and entertains our tiresome Pilgrimage with such delightful contemplations of the joys and pleasures we shall have in another world especially when we come to rest with our Lord for ever No man that is in his wits would be without the comfort of this expectation It far exceeds all our present enjoyments and is in it self so desireable that we may truly say Faith doth not beg to be admitted by us but rather commands us to open our hearts and let it in if we would have any constant pleasure and setled peace and satisfaction there which nothing but the Christian belief can establish in us And this is the misery of all those who do not faithfully receive the Gospel that as they shall miss of the greatest blessings hereafter so they want the highest comfort in the world at present Which is to wait with assured hope for those good things which our Lord will give us at his appearing By the expectance of which we are not only a little pleased while we imploy our minds in such meditations as these but they put us into a state of pleasure and constant satisfaction by drawing our hearts to Heaven and placing us out of the power though not out of the reach of all worldly accidents For such is the condition of man as the Disciples of Plato's School have well expressed it that there are two effusions and ecstasies as we may call them of his soul two sorts of inebriation as some of them love to speak whereby he is dispossessed of himself By the one which is a Divine rapture we are carried out and placed above our selves by the other which is the witchery of sense we are hurried away and thrust down into a condition below our selves Their meaning is that man being of a middle nature between Angels and Beasts by his intellectual part partaking of the nature of those heavenly beings and by his sensitive of the nature of the brutes he may so apply himself either to the one or to the other that he come in great measure out of his middle condition and go either upward to the former or downward to the later And this strange feat is wrought by nothing else but by the power of Love which evidently intrances our souls and transports us out of our selves either to the celestial natures if it be Divine or to the brutish if it be founded only in the flesh By exercising our minds in the actions of spiritual life and placing our affections on things above we may deliver and infranchise our selves from a servile base condition and approach nearer to the degree of Angels than of ordinary men As on the contrary by applying our minds and hearts wholly to corporeal actions and addressing all our services to the things of this world we may so inthrall our selves and bring our souls into such bondage that we shall sink down into a vile estate and become more like beasts than men O strange power of Love which makes such transformations turning men either into Angels or into the most sordid creatures How careful should we be to observe its motions What diligence should we use to watch whither it goes and to see that this mighty passion be directed to the most excellent good And if we do but open our eyes to receive the light of the glorious Gospel and all the beauties that it presents unto us we cannot easily be deceived There are a world of noble enjoyments to which our Saviour invites us if we will vouchsafe to look upon them and not be so sottish as to fasten our eyes only on a few objects here before us He hath opened to us the Kingdom of Heaven and tells us he will show us all the glory of his Fathers house if we will but wait a while till he be ready to come and fetch us thither Why should we not believe him and daily look up unto him with hearts full of joy that we are beloved of the Lord of life and have a good hope to live together with him What a change would this work in us And how happy should we be to think of the far more glorious change which the sight of him will make when by seeing him we shall become what he is O the joy that begins to spring up in my heart O what ravishing words are those WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM FOR WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS How sweetly they enter into mine ears How deliciously they spread and diffuse themselves all over my mind and strongly penetrate to my very heart I am changed already I am not what I was but quite another man All light and joy all spirit and life while I think of these things And can I ever so forget them as to be allured and drawn away from my self and my Saviour from my enjoyments and my hopes by any earthly pleasures What comparison is there between those two states I now described that I should be in danger of such temptations Is there any need to ask which is most to be chosen To suffer my heart to be touched with such a sense of Divine pleasures as to be ravisht out of my self and become more than man or to expose it so to the solicitations of sensible delights as to be inticed by them another way out of my self and transformed into the nature of the beasts that perish We are all desirous and forward enough to climb higher and our ambition tempts us to mount to as noble a station as it is possible to reach And therefore let us ascend O my soul to the Lord Jesus let us lift up our thoughts still towards the holy place where he reigns and look for the time of his appearing to make us reign with him for ever This is the most pleasant object we can behold or rather is a coliection of innumerable pleasures which all here meet
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
his death before he was crowned with glory and honour was a place of very much happiness it will not be compleated till he come again to bring us that Great Salvation which the Scripture speaks of at the Resurrection of the dead When we are at rest from our labours in the other world I cannot but think we shall long for that happy day and that it will be part of our joy to expect it with perfect assurance of its coming And therefore it cannot but be a very delightful entertainment to think of it to hope and wish for it now as the greatest refreshment we have of our labours here in this life For while our thoughts and desires are thus imployed we tread if I may so speak upon the threshold of Paradise and begin to enter into the joy of our Lord. But there is one expression of St. Paul which I mentioned in the conclusion of the second Advice to a Friend p. 64. which excels all the rest for he makes it the proper mark of a Christian to LOVE his appearing Which I have undertaken therefore to explain in this Discourse that devout Christians may know what the Blessedness of that time will be and what the Affection is we should have for it and what Reason there is we should be so affected towards it The subject is so unusual that I have not seen it any where handled which made me the more willing to set about it that I might in part both satisfie the desire I have to do all the honour and service I am able to our Blessed Lord and Master Christ Jesus and the delight I take in explaining his holy Scriptures Of which to be ignorant is to be ignorant of Christ himself as St. Hierom's words are in the beginning of his first Book of Commentaries upon Isaiah I do not expect indeed nor is it possible that you should have your minds alwayes possessed with such thoughts and that your hearts should perpetually burst out into such passions as I have here expressed I my self cannot think them over again nor any like them whensoever I please It is enough good Readers and as much as we can reach if you be thus affected at certain times when your spirit is most serious and retired into it self and if you indeavour to habituate your selves to such thoughts and desires that they may be so familiar and natural as to become easie and delightful when you will stand most in need of them More particularly when the days wherein you live are evil or when you are under any private trouble or when you would at any time retreat from the world and solace your self in angello cum libello in a nook with a Book to speak with Tho. à Kempis who thought this the highest pleasure upon earth or when the Church calls upon you to sequester your self for devotion and especially when old age you feel creeping upon you and you think of drawing your selves by degrees out of this life At all such seasons as these and chiefly when you come near to your journeys end this Prospect cannot but be most pleasant and such aspirations and sighs after the day of Christs appearing be the most ravishing musick and to be transported with such ardent longings as are here represented make Afflictions light and easie solitary retirements exceeding sweet and delightful old age cheerful and death it self very comfortable But you must not imagine that Love can arrive at its highest pitch presently nor must you be troubled or discouraged because you cannot instantly or when you would raise in your selves such passionate longings after Christs appearing Love is a thing that grows and as I may say steals upon us by degrees and the passion we feel at certain seasons disposes us by little and little to be perfectly in love with that Good which is set before us A Good so great and so desireable that we do not follow our own best inclinations if we use not our utmost indeavours to be so happy as to behold that admirable Countenance to speak in the language of St. Chrysostom of our blessed Saviour the King of Glory For if saith he * Homil. penult in S. Johan p. 925. when we read the story of his life death and resurrection we are so inflamed that our hearts burn within us and we wish we had lived in those days when he was conversant on earth that we might have heard his voice and seen his face and kept his company and touched him and ministred unto him think with your selves what it will be to see him not any longer in a mortal body nor doing humane things but attended with the hosts of Angels when we also our selves shall be freed from this mortality and beholding him shall enjoy such felicity as exceeds all expression Let us do all we can I beseech you that we may not miss of so great a glory There is nothing too hard for us if we have a will to it nothing too burdensom if our mind be not averse from it For if we suffer or endure we shall also reign with him And what is it to suffer If we bear afflictions if we endure persecutions if we walk in the narrow way which to nature indeed is laborious but to them who chuse it and have a good will to it is light and easie by the hope of things to come For our light affliction which is but for a moment works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory whilst we look not at the things which are seen but at those which are not seen Let us lift up our eyes then from these things here and direct them towards Heaven let us imagine always these unseen joyes and look upon them For if we be conversant with these things we shall neither be inticed with the sweet things of this world nor sink under the load of those that are grievous to be born But we shall laugh these and all such like to scorn and never suffer any thing either to depress us or to puff us up provided we still stretch forth that desire and look towards that love What did I say that we shall not feel the evil things of this world to be grievous to us More than that we shall scarce mind them or think that we see them For such is the nature of love that it makes us imagine we see even those who are absent from us but much desired by us every day with us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for great is the soveraign power and as we speak the tyranny of love It neglects all things and tyes the soul fast to those it loves And therefore if we thus love Christ Jesus all things here will seem but a shadow but an image but a dream and we also shall say Who shall separate us from the love of Christ I pray God increase it and make it abound more and more in all our hearts that it may draw
word for it Because God the Father Almighty the blessed and only Potentate who authorized Him to make this promise and hath since that raised him from the dead is immortal and hath an indefectible life in himself of his own nature His will as I have said doth not alter and his power cannot be impaired or suffer any decay and therefore He can and will continue and perpetuate the Kingdom He hath given to our blessed Mediator Christ Jesus and keep him in full power and authority till that great day And when the fulness of time is come bring Him again upon the stage of the World if I may so speak and shew Him openly as the great Lord of all whom He hath honoured already with his own high title of KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS xix Revel 16. All this is as easie for Him to do as it was at first to raise him out of his grave and then advance him to the Throne of his Glory where he now sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high And there is the greater reason to believe that He will both perpetuate the Kingdom of Christ to the worlds end and conclude it with the glorious exaltation of all his subjects when he shall appear again it being no more difficult than it was to carry him to heaven because as the Apostle further notes V. HE DWELLS IN LIGHT INACCESSIBLE which no man that is can enter into or approach This signifies the inconceivable brightness of the Divine Majesty both as to His Essence which cannot by us be comprehended and as to the place where He more eminently manifests Himself in an amazing splendor He is the Great King who lives above in the highest Heavens as in His Palace where he represents Himself in a Glory so shining and dazeling called in Scripture his Majesty that it is not for such as we till there be a marvellous change wrought in us to come nigh it Nor is it so beseeming that He should descend Himself from thence in that most Glorious MAJESTY to judg the World and to transform all those who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that better world and the resurrection from the dead And therefore we may be confident our Blessed Saviour who long ago was ordained to be the person will according to his word come as His Commissioner to do it in his stead It is not so agreeable to His state and greatness if I may so express it to come Himself out of His Orb of Light to fetch us to his house and dwelling-place But since He hath appointed a day of recompences we may be sure He will send his Son in the glory of the Father as he tells us ix Luk. 26. that is in a Majesty like that I now spake of and in the glory of his holy Angels who use to attend him to meet us and conduct us safely thither Or we may conceive of this expression after this manner GOD the Father that is the Son and the Holy Ghost is in that high and holy place the Sanctuary above into which no man hath yet entred save only the great High-Priest of our Salvation the Lord Jesus And yet GOD hath made us a promise by him before He went to heaven that we also shall live with Him and be there where He is From whence we may conclude that this great High-Priest will certainly come in his Royal Majesty out of that place into which He is gone to bless us by bringing us to that region of Light and Glory which He himself only as yet inherits and which is not any way accessible but only by his means In whose power we may be satisfied it is to promote us thither being in such favour with the Divine Majesty and sitting at His right hand who inhabits or possesses this glorious place as His own proper Dwelling and therefore can dispose of a Mansion in it to whom He pleases VI. And indeed the Apostle bids us remember which is the last thing that no man hath SEEN GOD nor CAN SEE HIM is capable that is to be in his glorious presence Which signifies partly the same with the former and also may suggest among other things the faithfulness of Him who hath promised to show us this Appearing of Christ Jesus of GOD that is the Father Almighty Who we see here plainly is the person of whom the Apostle hath all this time been speaking as St. Ambrose and St. Chrysostome also if his gloss be well weighed understand him not of our Saviour who hath been seen already and shall be seen again at his second appearing And you know He hath promised to the pure in heart that they shall SEE GOD v. Mat. 8. A favour which in this state no man hath enjoyed or can enjoy as St. Paul here tells us It is not for such as we to see God and therefore there must be a time when according to his faithful promise Christ Jesus shall appear again to change us and put us in such a condition that He may bring us to that sight of Him which no man in this World can have Either we must remain for ever without the sight of Him and then God would not be true who hath said by His Son that we shall see him or we must be carried up from hence unto His heavenly Palace and then our Lord must appear to fit us for it and make us capable of such a blessedness and to transport us thither For how we should otherways be conveyed to a place so much above us but by the coming of our Lord to lift us up and promote us to it we cannot understand Since this is the way that He hath described and our Lord Jesus is to have the honour of doing all the good to his faithful servants which GOD in his infinite goodness designs to bestow upon them This I take to be intimated in these words Whom no man hath seen nor can see which declare still more fully than was said before the super-eminent excellence and perfection of the Divine Nature and the astonishing brightness of his Majesty Which whilst we are here we cannot reach or attain any considerable sight of and therefore Christ Jesus who hath promised we shall see Him will appear again to fit us for conversation with Him And indeed since God hath already fulfilled his promise of the first appearance of His Son and sent Him born of a Woman to bring the glad tydings of Salvation to us by which he did in one sense make us see God that is understand His Mind Counsels and Will i. Joh. 18. and since another promise likewise of his coming to destroy his Crucifiers when every eye he saith should see him i. Rev. 8. that is his power and glory at Gods right hand should be abundantly thereby manifested to the world is punctually and exactly made good What reason have we to doubt of the certainty of his other appearing which is still
endeavour to render our selves as a beautiful body without any spot and blemish and thereby be found acceptable in His sight at His appearing And if you would know what Commandments they were which He would have Timothy in consideration of this appearing of Christ and the certainty thereof to keep without spot you need but look back to the eleventh and twelfth verses and there you may find them Follow after righteousness godliness faith love patience meekness Fight the good fight of faith lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou art also called c. That is Shun Covetousness and all the vices that issue from it ever rendring to every man what is his due Have God always before thine eyes and put thy trust and confidence in him Deceive no man that relies on thy word exercise mercy and charity to all suffer wrongs rather than do them and suffer them with a patient humble mind bridle anger repress all Cholerick motions and use such gentleness to others as thou wouldst desire thy self in the like cases And for this end contend earnestly for the Christian faith that is suffer not thy faith in Christ to be shaken much less overthrown by any persecution pain or death it self As thou hast begun to show thy self a good Christian so continue Remember thy Calling and Profession and resolve to quit all thou hast rather than fall short of Eternal Life And this I give thee in charge v. 13. as thou wilt answer it before God who raises even the dead and before our Lord Jesus Christ who constantly professed the truth before Pontius Pilate that thou keep these things inviolable and endeavour to be found pure and holy when Christ shall appear again As certainly He will for we have his word for it and God the blessed and only Potentate the King of kings and Lord of lords c. is able and lives for ever to make it good These two Uses you see the Apostle plainly directs us to make of the Doctrine here delivered And there is a Third which he teaches us in the place I am now treating of when he describes all good Christians who keep the faith by the Name of those who LOVE this APPEARING of Christ Jesus All they who observe the Commandments of our Lord and Saviour with seriousness and care ought to set their hearts upon this glorious appearing which they expect as the most goodly sight the most blessed spectacle that eyes can behold This is the very Character you see that St. Paul gives of the faithful and so it hath ever since been esteemed by all those who understood our Religion Which disposes and inclines all those that heartily embrace it and live according to it to have a great affection for that happy day which so many pious souls through so many Ages have most passionately longed to see So Andreas Caesariensis hath most excellently expressed the sense of all right Christians when he sets this down for the Contents of the last Chapter of the Revelation according to the old division * Chap. lxxii 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. How the Church and that Spirit which is in it wishes for and desires the glorious appearing of Christ Which will bring with it so transcendent a bliss that they have little faith or little goodness who do not only wait for it but rejoyce in hope of it before it come For when the Apostle calls this appearing of Christ his Revelation saith an ancient Writer in Oecumenius * In 2 Thes i. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. He bids them look for the greatest things and please themselves in the very thoughts of his coming before they receive the recompence of the reward For as his appearing will be infinitely affrighting to the wicked and they have reason to dread it before-hand so it will be no less comfortable to the godly who ought now to entertain themselves with delightful hopes of it and fetch great contentment and consolation from it because they shall then see and hear such things as will ravish their hearts with joy unconceivable That 's the chiefest thing of all and which is principally by me intended in these Papers Unto which therefore without any further evidence that might be produced of the certainty of this appearing I shall apply my self in the remaining Third Part of this Discourse CHAP. VI. Of the means to excite that LOVE in our hearts which we ought to have for Christs APPEARING I Have passed over the other two with the greater speed because I intend to take the more pains in this by endeavouring to show and to express as lively as I can what the LOVE is which we should bear to this Appearing if we hope to partake in the comforts of it And how to do this better than by describing the original and progress of this passion I cannot devise And therefore I shall use that Method for the conveying this Appearing of Christ into your minds under such a notion and character as shall not fail to stir up in your heart the devoutest affection for it I. Let it then in the first place be remembred that there cannot be the least beginning of this love unless we look upon the appearing of our Saviour as a GOOD and that of the greatest size For else it will be so far from touching us with any inclinations towards it that it will excite either our hatred or our contempt of it It is the GOOD which we discern in any thing that charms our souls and attracts our desires Though an object be never so near us and present it self to our very hands and would thrust it self upon us yet if we see no good in it we either hate it for disturbing our quiet or at least are perfectly cold to it as feeling no power it hath to stir up any passion for it Nay though we do perceive a thing to be good for us and defirable to be enjoyed yet if it stand at such a great distance and seem so very far off as the Appearing of Jesus Christ for any thing we know may be it will not sensibly affect our hearts nor move us to bear much regard to it unless it have the face of a very great happiness and promise us exceeding much contentment This Appearing therefore of our Lord is called by this Apostle in another place li. Tit. 13. that BLESSED HOPE to express the incomparable happiness and bliss which it will bring along with it He would have us look upon it as a thing that far more imports us than all our present enjoyments or all that is possible to be here enjoyed For there is nothing in this world that is worthy to be spoken of with such an Emphasis as to be called that blessed thing that happy possession This is a peculiar respect belonging only to the appearing of Christ which is the summ of all a Christians Hopes and those Hopes the great treasure of his soul
conduct it to take up its lodging there This is the meaning of that effusion of the Soul which I spoke of before whereby it would dissolve it self into that which it loves and be so mingled as to become perfectly one with it When an agreeable object I told you hath imprinted its image on the mind it casts a certain light into the soul and shines so comfortably on the affections that they are powerfully warmed and excited by it Now when the heart is full of this splendor it doth not satisfie it self with those rays and emissions of light and heat which are imparted to it but strives to unite it self to the very center of it and would feel the spring from whence such life and pleasure flows Just as Iron when it is impregnated with the vertue of the Loadstone is not contented with those effluxes it hath received but moves towards the body from which they stream so is it with an heart which receives this joyful news from our Lord that He will appear again in glory It amuses not it self in those delightful thoughts it sits not down in those ravishing joys nor thinks it enough to be melted in the passion of love to Him and to so great a blessedness But it seeks to knit it self to the very mind and spirit of Christ that it may feel how blessed He intends to make it It studies I mean to be changed and transformed more and more into His likeness and by an intire agreement of will with his will to begin its transfiguration and be prepared for a perfect and eternal union with Him It is not sufficient to a heart that is in love with that great day to live in a constant expectation of it which is excited by the Revelation He hath made of it in his Gospel and is the light which he now sends from heaven into us but it would gladly prevent as I have already noted that happy time by feeling Him appear every day more gloriously there It longs to shine more clearly in the light of his heavenly knowledge to burn more brightly in the ardors of his love and by being more richly adorned with the Graces of His Spirit to be recommended to all in the beauty of His Holiness There is nothing can better explain all that hath been hitherto said than the example of the Loadstone which I just now mentioned As soon as a piece of Iron feels the power of it we see how it turns it self towards it and by its quivering declares the complacence and pleasure as we may call it that it takes in its touches Then we behold how it creeps a little towards it still advancing and bearing it self more and more that way till it come to join it self with that thing from whence it first received those inclinations Here you have all the parts of love that have been already mentioned most lively represented First the mind apprehends and is made sensible of some Good which communicates an image or picture of it self unto it Then the heart is secretly surprised with a certain delight by which the agreeableness of that image intices it from its self And then it moves towards it and goes to see it And at last when it finds it to be what it appeared it flies as I may say into its embraces and endeavours to knit it self so fast unto it that they may never hereafter be divided And just such like is the temper of that soul which heartily loves our Lords Appearing Which it perceives to be a happiness so great that it cannot be satisfied with any entertainment it finds in this world but presses forward to the blessed sight of Him in all his glory Nothing can quiet it nor hinder its motion till it become one spirit with Him All that it hath as yet attained all the wisdom wherewith it is filled all the joys of piety which it sometime feels are little and inconsiderable in comparison with what it desires to feel And therefore on it proceeds in a serious study to be more like Him out of a design never to cease its earnest endeavours till it come to be for ever with Him O thou great and most Magnetick Good should every pious heart say O thon soveraign attractive of all souls I feel my self wonderfully touched by thee Thou hast put my spirit which was foolishly wandring after other things in a setled motion unto thee O what an inclination hast thou awakned in my heart to be with thee Thou hast mightily stirred all the powers of my soul which is wholly turned about to look most earnestly towards thee O cease not to shine perpetually into this cloudy mind which is all in darkness without thee Cease not to invigorate this dull and sluggish spirit which is thus excited by thee O spare not those mighty effluxes of thy love but draw me still after thee I cannot be willing to stand at any distance from thee nor to stop my progress till I be closely united to thee Therefore still continue to make me feel thy power till I be so happy as to move no more but to rest in thee Couldst not thou be pleased O blessed Lord with any thing less than an union with such sinful flesh as this of ours is would it not suffice thee to look down from heaven upon us and show us a glympse of thy glory but thou must come also and dwell among us and make thy self to be bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh that we might be one with thee How can I be contented then only with looking up unto thee How should I be satisfied if I have nothing more but meerly some glances from thee O my most gracious Lord give me leave to imitate thy love Suffer me to desire and seek to become what thou art by being perfectly transformed into thy likeness And do not think it too great a presumption if I wish and long to be so united to thee My Love as to be for ever with thee Let me have the happiness at least to sigh and mourn after thine Appearing Affect my heart so sensibly with it that I may groan in spirit if I can do no better for that blessed time when I shall lose the sight of thy face no more when I shall lye under the warm beams of the light of thy countenance when I shall live in the very element of love when I shall be so near thee that I shall feel my self to move in the very same Orb with thee thou bright Sun of Righteousness I seem now alas to be a great way off from thee I feel my self like the cold earth in the winter which turns towards the Sun and looks upon that glorious Light of Heaven that great lover of all the world but alas is very far removed from its comfortable rays O that I might be so happy as to approach nearer to thee O that I were fixed and might never turn about any more from
is in our wishes most ardent longings and gaspings for it For so that phrase is observed to be used by good Authors in which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies I wish thy good so heartily that is that I would make it fly hither if I were able as swift as my desires VII This declares the highest passion they had for it looking upon themselves as imperfectly happy till they and their Saviour met together at his coming Only they had a perfect hope of it which was an exceeding great comfort to them So St. Peter also expresses it which is the next word Hope to the end or rather as the translation in the margin renders the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HOPE PERFECTLY And with very good reason because of the grace that is to be brought unto you at the Revelation of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. i. 13. There are great favours to be then bestowed most ample rewards to be distributed which may justly make us value the hope of them more than all the present possessions of this world and rejoyce before we have them that he hath given us such solid and firm grounds of hope one day to receive them Which whosoever understands as he ought to live upon that hope and support himself with a perfect trust in him that lives for ever to make good his promise So he cannot but desire and pray continually to see it accomplished VIII Which is the last thing they cry unto our Saviour and call upon him beseeching with fervent desires that he would come So some understand those words xxij Rev. 17. to be the voice of Christian people not inviting strangers to come and embrace their Religion but earnestly inviting our Saviour Christ to come to perfect their happiness In this they all agreed the SPIRIT that is prophetical persons indowed with the most eminent gifts of the Holy-Ghost and the BRIDE that is the whole body of the Church with one consent say COME And they exhort all others who should read this and receive Christianity to joyn with them in these prayers for so it follows Let him that heareth say COME And let every soul that 's their conclusion who thirsts after divine knowledge especially of future things come and read this Prophecy and partake of that refreshment that water of Life which is here freely offered to him But if that verse should have another meaning yet it is certain that St. John himself who was a fit pattern to all those who believed his Book concludes all his Visions with a Prayer to Christ that he would hasten his coming For when our Lord had said v. 20. Surely I COME quickly He answers AMEN to this promise and echoes back his own words to him Even so let it be so COME LORD JESVS Thy word is all our wishes There is nothing so desireable as that thou would'st come and fulfil thy gracious Word It will be very fit then for us who are come a great deal nearer to the day of the Lord to descend down into our selves and see what passions we have like to these which were of old in Christian breasts Let us call our selves to a strict account and examine whether we be in the number of those thirsty souls that have this hearty affection for the appearing of Christ It is safe for us to feel the pulse of our souls and by these tokens make a judgement of them whether they beat Heaven-ward or no. What is it may every one say to himself what is it that I most admire and holds the principal place in my esteem On what is it that I have fixt my mind and set mine heart What is the chiefest Loadstone of my affections and whither doth the main current of them run To what is it that my actions are addressed What is my Hope and the strength and support of my heart If I might have my wish what would I now see The whole world fall down at my feet to worship me or all these things vanish and disappear before the Glory of the Lord Jesus that we might go and fall down and worship His Majesty What am I content to suffer and endure for this though I stay long before I enjoy it Hath patience had its perfect work and do I rejoyce though in tribulation in hope of this Glory Is this my satisfaction also in the greatest fulness of worldly goods and are mine eyes even then ever towards the Lord Am I still looking up unto Jesus sighing for him and saying Come Lord Jesus come quickly I can appeal to thee that thou knowest there is nothing I so much long for as that thou would'st come O come make haste to come and satisfie the desires of thy Church which have long cryed Come Lord Jesus Let us not deceive our selves this great Apostle hath pronounced a curse upon every one that loves not the Lord Jesus 1 Cor. xvj 20. And he that loves Him loves his appearing and he that loveth his appearing sets his thoughts his heart his design so much upon it as to contrive by all means whatsoever become of him here that when Jesus who is our life shall appear he may appear with him in his glory Riches Greatness Pleasures Fame Long-life and all the train that waits upon them are but as so many big names loud but empty sounds which signifie nothing to him in comparison with these exceeding great things the COMING the APPEARING the KINGDOM and the GLORY of Christ Jesus The sweetest Friend in this world to whom he hath conceived the most passionate love will not hinder him from seeking these but rather by that love he will be excited to remember with what inexpressible affection he ought to pursue such divine enjoyments not only for his own soul but for his second self The best wish he can make for both is that they may be carried with the same eager desires and hasty speed to perfect their love in the incomparably greater joys and blessedness of Christs heavenly kingdom So great they are that having now finished all that was at first propounded to be considered on this subject this Love will not be content that I should here make an end It being such a masterly affection and governing the soul so absolutely as hath been related will not suffer us to lay that presently out of our thoughts which it hath once planted very deep in our hearts It is one of its greatest pleasures to think very much of that Good whose company it doth not yet enjoy and when it is far distant of it self to make it present by a constant image of it in the Mind And therefore it cannot be any wonder if we bear a true love to the appearing of Christ that it will not permit us to be willing to cease our Meditations on so delightful an argument It doth but act according to its nature if it require us again to take another view of it and spend a few more thoughts upon
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
and sensless heart as this of mine With what thanks ought I to receive the smallest testimony of thine inestimable love Which is so sweet that it makes us sigh because we can enjoy no more of it Ah! that this vessel should be so narrow and strait as to contain so little of thy love Ah the dulness of this heart which entertains thee so poorly that it is no wonder thou makest so short a stay so exceeding short a stay with me How sad is it to think of this heavy clog which will never let me follow thee far when I have the strongest attractions from thee Fain would my soul climb up unto thee but when I have got a little way down I come and have lost that glorious sight I had of thee And if thou art pleased to lift me up as high as Heaven how soon is the mind weighed down again while it museth upon those celestial things O the constant joyes which I hoped to have how are they vanished O the satisfaction which began to be in this heart which now lyes groveling in the dust filled with nothing but sighings after thee And blessed be thy Goodness that it doth sigh after thee I thank thee that I feel such love such vehement desire there as makes it long for more of thee I will never cease to sigh after thee I will still long for that time when thou Lord wilt be pleased to appear and make all sighing fly away by a constant sight and enjoyment of thee For this I will groan that I may be so happy as to see thee and that thou wilt make me as strong as sometime thou makest me desirous to accompany thee I will pray for this that thou wouldest come and heal those wounds which love hath made by making me perfect in thy love O come therefore Dearest Lord and turn my desires into enjoyment my sickness into health my weakness into strength these flutterings of my soul into a flight into a flight I say from this earth into the air where I may no sooner wish to be with thee but I may feel my soul snatcht away and leap for joy to find it self in thy embraces Come O my Lord come thou lover of Souls and let me not languish in these longings any more Come and leave no place for any fears that I shall lose thy company Come and give me the full satisfaction I promise my self in thy sweetest society I am content to suffer one pain that I may thereby put an end to all Death is no longer dreadful to me when I think it will bring me something nearer to thee Thou maiest rend my soul when thou pleasest from this flesh that it may be torn no more as it uses to be when it is pulled back by other things and would gladly follow thee O joyn me perfectly most perfectly to thee that I may love thee as much as the most enlarged spirit is capable to love thee Happy should I be if I could do nothing else but love thee and feel that thou lovest me O hasten the day when my time shall be divided between these two sweetest employments of expressing my most ardent love to thee and rejoycing in the full satisfaction of thy love to me CHAP. XIII Two other Reasons why if we love our selves we must needs love this Appearing IV. SO we ought to wish if we seriously believe there will be such a day because we naturally love Life and Immortality which till then cannot be perfectly bestowed on us Our Lord indeed hath brought these to light and given us an assured hope that none of those who believe in him shall perish But as the everlasting Life he puts us in possession of when we depart from hence I shall show in the next Chapter is not presently compleated so it is out of all question that we must stay till the last day before he perform his so frequently repeated promise vi Joh. 40.54 c. of raising our bodys out of the dust and making them incorruptible that they may live for ever Which is a thing we so much desire that we are prone to please our selves with the meer shadow of it studying when we dye to make our memory survive our ashes We would fain record our Names in the Legend of fame by the performance of some remarkable exploit Or by some memorable work we contrive that the world may speak of us when we are gone down into silence And for fear it should not we teach Marble-stones and Pillars to tell what we were and by this means we fancy we shall live as long as the world shall last But alas this is no better than an imaginary life which we cannot secure neither but must leave the World without any assurance of that for which we are so solicitous and imploy such serious pains No mans Name can be so loudly sounded by the trumpet of fame but it may chance that succeeding ages shall not hear the least whisper of him Or if they do it may fare with him as it doth with Hercules and Bacchus who were as great Souldiers and Conquerers it is likely as Alexander and Caesar and yet now their notable atchievements do but serve to fill up the number of Fables Epitaphs and Escutchions Books and Monuments do all dye as well as men Our Names in all likelihood will at last be buried and perish as well as our selves For this world is the place where death reigns and plays the Rex not only over us but over all the reliques that we leave behind us What should we wish for then what should be the ardent desire of all Nations if they were believers but the time of our Lords appearing when this mortality as the Apostle speaks shall be swallowed up of life and we shall receive from his hands Laurels and Crowns that are incorruptible and never fade away a Name that shall never dye a Glory that shall live and continue in its splendor as long as God himself For as this is the time wherein Death hath dominion so that will be the time of abolishing its Kingdom and putting an end to all its tyranny by setting up Life and Immortality in its stead O welcome time sayes the heavenly minded soul when this great devourer of the world shall have nothing left to feed upon unless it be the Grave which shall dye eternally and never be heard of more O what a joyful name is this of Life and of life for evermore How sweetly doth even the word IMMORTALITY sound in this land of death and destruction What is it that makes our hearts so cold and to feel so few desires to see the Prince of Life appear To see Him who shall raise up that in glory and power which was put into the earth in dishonour and weakness and shall turn this natural this corruptible body into one that is spiritual and incorruptible Are we afraid this world will be burnt up by the
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
dead shall be CAUGHT UP TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR v. 17. There he will shew himself and not upon this earth Thither they shall be carried up unto him and not he come down hither unto them And if you well observe it the Apostle teaches you to believe that this ascent of the Saints unto him will bein a very glorious manner Just as he comes from Heaven shall they go up thither For St. Paul saith we shall be caught up IN THE CLOUDS as so many triumphal chariots sent to fetch us from this earth and transport us to himself Who when he stood before his Judges to receive his sentence from them thus describes his own coming to judge them xxvj Matth. 64. Hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the CLOVDS of Heaven Though now that is I am arraigned and condemned by you as if I were the vilest of men you shall one day see that I am the Son of God by whom you shall be judged for with amazement you shall behold me clothed with Divine Majesty and coming as the Vicegerent of the supreme Lord of all to call you to an account For every one knows that clouds are called the Chariot of God civ Psal 3. and therefore his coming in the CLOVDS of Heaven can signifie nothing else but his appearing in the glory and with the Authority of his Father as Lord of the world that hath conquered all his enemies and is come to pronounce the sentence of God upon them In such a splendid manner with the like pomp and state shall we be carried up to him as so many Princes going to wait upon him and to receive the honour he will delight to confer upon us in the sight of all the world Nay it will be part of our honour to be conveighed to him just as Elias yea he himself ascended into Heaven For a Chariot of Fire appeared for the transportation of the one 2 Kings ij 11. and a cloud which is the same received the other out of the Apostles sight i. Act. 9. O blessed Day O happy Appearing doth an heavenly minded Christian often think with himself when a sight of my Saviour will draw me up to him to be where he is O most glorious most beautiful Spectacle when his beams which fall upon me shall make me ascend from this earth as the Vapors do before the rayes of the Sun O the joy that will fill my heart when I shall see those gilded Chariots sent from my Saviour to fetch me unto himself How shall I sing when I am uncooped and let out of this Cage wherein I am now confined to accompany the free people of the air in their heavenly melodies What a pleasure will it be to look behind me as I fly up unto Jesus and see what a poor spot this Earth is of which I shall then have taken my leave for ever O how glad shall I be that I am to return no more to a place so dull so dark and so full of miseries How happy shall I think my self that I am gone quite away from this vile Orb which will not seem then to my exalted soul so big as a pins-head Nay how joyful will it make me to find that I am at last ascended up so high as to have lost the sight of this little Globe and of all the Kingdoms and Empires that it contains O my Gracious Lord pardon me if I be sometime apt to think that thou stayest too long before thou comest to call me up unto those heavenly places This flesh is too unweildly a load when I think of that aerial state It hath made me groan ever since thou madest me believe that thou wilt bestow a lighter garment upon my soul Heretofore indeed I fancied nothing more than a body fresh and plump a tall and proper stature a fair face and beautiful features and I was prone to envy those who dwelt in such fine and goodly Palaces But ever since the time that I heard of going into the air to meet with thee my Lord all the love they excite in my heart makes such habitations seem no better than stately Prisons I have lookt upon my self and sweetest Friends in our most healthy estate and sighed to think that we were in Chains and Fetters Nay the best of these houses I tell them at certain seasons are but painted Sepulchres wherein the mind lies dead and buried It is thou therefore O most blessed Lord who hast made me to wish so earnestly for thine appearing I owe these longings to the discovery which thou hast made to me of another and better world whither thou intendest to transport me And if I have a mind to begin my journey thither presently if I would fain feel my wings so grown that they might be able to bear me up above this earth if my soul sometimes would willingly be released from these chains and have the freedom to leave this flesh and if I wish withal that this flesh may be changed and turned into a kind of spiritual being I must ascribe it unto thee who hast begot these desires in me by telling me of a building of God eternal in the Heavens when this earthly tabernacle is dissolved Thou hast revealed these things to me that I might desire them and who can desire them and not wish withal that he might presently enjoy them Let it not displease thee therefore I beseech thee again O my Dearest Lord if I say sometimes I am weary of being here Do not esteem me impatient if in the agonies and pangs of Love I long to come up higher and get as near as may be to thy self Suffer me to pray thee that these walls of flesh may not long immure me and exclude me from thy face At least open a window for my gasping soul that I may look into the purer air and please my self in the thoughts of the flight which I shall one day take to see thee and enjoy thee in unclouded Bliss VII But there is something beyond all this to draw our affections from all things here and to make us love and long for the coming of our Lord And that is the CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS which the Apostle tells us in this very place shall then be given to all those who are thus piously disposed for it I cannot tell you how much is contained in these two words unless I should make another Treatise little less than this For a CROWN denotes the highest degree of honour and RIGHTEOUSNESS signifies in the holy language not only freedom from all pain and punishment but the enjoyment of the greatest felicity that the most bounteous goodness of God will bestow upon his faithful servants No less than such a glory and happiness as our Lord himself hath received for a reward of his labours For we see Jesus saith the Apostle ij Heb. 9. who was made a little lower than the Angels
that place and state into which we shall be admitted then they call the Highest Heaven the Inner Altar above the Altar the House of God the Seat of Christ the Celestial Kingdom the Heavenly Inheritance the goods of the Kingdom the consummation of glory the reward of immortality the distribution of royal donatives perfect joy the expected reward the end of all good the intire reward of deserts the time of Crowns the kingdom of fruition the perfect participation of good things with other names of the like import which signifie something much beyond what we shall enjoy before our Lords appearing I shall conclude what they say of both these states with the words of St. Austin Tract xlix in his exposition upon St. John All souls saith he when they go out of this world have their different receptions the good have joy and the evil have torment But when there shall be a resurrection the joy of the good shall be more ample and the torment of the bad more grievous The holy Patriarchs are received in peace and so are Prophets Apostles Martyrs and the good Faithful but all these are still in the end to receive that which God hath promised For even the resurrection of the flesh is promised the consumption of death and eternal life with the Angels This we shall all receive together But as for the Rest which is given presently after death every man receives it if he be worthy of it when he departs from hence The Patriarchs received it first afterwards the Prophets and more lately the Apostles and still more lately the holy Martyrs and every day the good Faithful c. And with these more ancient words of Irenaeus who discourses in this manner Since our Lord went away in the midst of the shadow of death to that place where the souls of the dead are and afterward was raised corporally and after his resurrection was taken up into Heaven It is manifest that the souls of his Disciples also for whom the Lord wrought these things shall go into the invisible place appointed to them by God and shall stay there till the Resurrection expecting the Resurrection Afterward receiving their bodies and rising again perfectly that is corporally as our Lord also rose again so they shall come to the sight of God For no Disciple is above his Master but every one that is perfect shall be as his Master As our Lord therefore did not straightway flying from hence depart to Heaven but expecting the time of the Resurrection appointed of the Father which was fore-signified in Jonas after three days rising again was taken up into Heaven even so we also ought to wait with patience the time appointed by God for our Resurrection fore-told by the Prophets and so rising again be taken up as many of us as the Lord shall account worthy of it And whosoever shall be thought worthy of that world as our Lord speaks and of the resurrection of the dead they will be filled no doubt with inconceivable joy to meet so many pious souls and so many Friends who will be all assembled at that time to receive the reward they have so long waited for For if all the Faithful be one body as St. In xi Heb. 40. Chrysostom or the Author of the Commentary on the Hebrews * under his name speaks it will be a greater pleasure to this body to be Crowned all together than if it should be done by parts For the righteous even in this are admirable that they rejoyce in the good of their Brethren as well as their own and therefore this will be according to their hearts desire that they shall be Crowned with their fellow members For it is a great satisfaction to be glorified together Of which since we have so sure an expectation and the just as St. Ambrose speaks in the place fore-mentioned have such a recompense that they shall see the face of God and behold that light which inlightens every man what should we all do from hence forward but as he says put on this resolution and study that our souls may draw near to God that our prayer may draw near to him that our desire may cleave unto him and we may never be separated from him Even while we remain here let us be fast knit to God by meditating by reading by seeking and endeavour to know him as we are able For we know here but in part because all things here are imperfect there in their perfection Here we are little Children there we shall be strong men We see here saith St. Paul as in a glass darkly but there face to face There with open face we shall behold the glory of God which here our souls being involved in flesh and blood and sullied with their spots cannot behold sincere For who saith he can see my face and live How should we since our eyes cannot endure so much as the rayes of the Sun which would put them out if we should fix them on so great a light How can we behold then the shining Countenance of our Creator while we are wrapt up in the rags of this flesh We must stay for so glorious a sight till that happy day when we shall be unclothed or rather clothed upon with the garments of celestial light That 's the time and not till then when he designs to do us the great honour of setting the Crown of righteousness upon our heads Now is the time of toils as he speaks in another place of agonies of combates of conflicts of strife for Victory then is the time of refreshments of crowns of retributions of rewards of resurrection and of the restitution of all things Which ought to make all serious Believers look for that day with carnest longings and lift up their heads above this visible world as men desirous to receive this glorious Diadem In comparison with which the most goodly fillets that ever bound any Imperial brow are not worthy so much as to be named O that glorious Crown purer than the finest Gold is a pious heart inclined to say that Crown of righteousness and of life which my Lord hath so dearly purchased for me with his pretious blood how do I covet it how desirous am I how do I long to be partaker of it My head beats and akes and cannot be at rest till this Crown by his royal hand be set upon it It is in pain till in stead of these clouds wherewith it is surrounded it be incompassed in a circle of purer and brighter thoughts It is sorely oppressed till these vain dreams and frivolous imaginations which gather about it fly away and it be infolded in a wreath of nobler contemplations O how heavy is it till this giddiness of mind wherein I am whirl'd be exchanged for a steady Orb of light wherein my soul I hope one day shall be unmoveably centred I long to have these ashes blown away wherein the sparks of divinity lye raked up
to give me some tasts of their incomparable sweetness May I relish no joys so much as those May I always have the remembrance of them fresh upon my soul And may I be so happy as to be preserved by the savour of them from the sinful allurements of all other pleasures Hence hence all you beggerly delights which would have me forget my happiness Stand aside you Images of true joy and hinder not my prospect of that heavenly Paradise Lend me your help or else get you gone and trouble me no more Assist my benighted thoughts and represent that blissful place to them or else I desire not your company I have eaten of all your dainties but still am empty and void of satisfaction I know what you have to say the very utmost you can offer me therefore follow me with no further importunities For my heart is set on that fair that delicious place where the Great Lord keeps his Court and entertains his Friends with endless pleasures O holy City of God what glorious things are spoken of thee How free how sprightly and how full of joy are all thy happy Inhabitants What heart is there that is so dull as not to long to dwell in that blessed place where every head wears a Crown of Life and every hand carries a Palm of Victory Where every eye overflows with joy and every tongue with Psalms of praise Where light shines in every face and love smiles in every Countenance Where every heart is perfectly satisfied in the fulness of its own bliss and satisfied again with the pleasure it hath to see the felicity of others It is too much trouble to me that I am not there O let me not lose the thought of it too I sigh to think that I stand at such a distance from my Fathers House and shall I suffer a further remove by turning away my eyes from thence Go O my soul go thither in thy thoughts and daily meditations Send a thousand wishes before thee thither to tell thy Lord that thou art coming to him Say whom have I in Heaven but thee who wentest thither to open it to all thy faithful Followers What have I on Earth but my hope by following thee to arrive at last where thou art gone before me Whither should I look but unto Heaven now that thou my Dearest Lord art ascended thither to prepare a place for me A place of rest and secure peace a place of joy and constant enjoyment a place from whence I am loth my thoughts or my heart should descend to return to this poor earth again for there they grow so dull that it is hard to lift them up to look to thee O keep them with thee keep them with thee thou King of Heaven Settle and fix them there where I my self expect to be where thou also expectest me where they shall find ease for every grief and joy in the midst of the greatest tribulation O fix them unmoveably in this quiet place this eternal Rest And when they must attend the affairs of this lower life may they only look not come down to them and still remain and stay with thee IX And when these things shall be fulfilled the Apostle tells us in the place before named 1 Thess iv 17. that we shall be ALWAYS WITH THE LORD who passed his promise to his Disciples a little before he left the world that he would come again and receive them to himself that where he is there they may be also xiv John 3. Of which promise he was so mindful after he went to Heaven that he further informs St. Paul who spake this by the word of the Lord that he will not part with us when he hath conducted us to his Fathers house but keep us ever with him there in joys and pleasures that never fade away A condition which we cannot but love and passionately long for if we have any love for him or for our selves For there are none of our enjoyments here but must be frequently intermitted and are too often interrupted even the enjoyment of our blessed Lord himself and the sense he gives us of celestial things we find to our sorrow suffers this inconvenience Neither are we diverted from them only by the troubles of this life or the violence of other worldly temptations which press too boldly and rudely upon us but by the most necessary occasions and the most innocent fruitions to which nature not only inclines us but requires our frequent attendance Of how much of our time doth sleep possess it self though we desire never so earnestly to continue awake How little do we live in the account of reason if we do but remember this Image of Death which hath us so many hours every night in its arms And yet besides this eating and drinking journeys and visits the businesses and cares of this life which challenge some of our thoughts devour no body knows how great a portion of every day To say nothing of those hours when we are fit for little or nothing but are forced to find as we significantly speak some pastime for the entertainment of our wearied minds O blessed Jesus how few are the minutes that these souls inclosed in flesh can spend in thy company Into what a little room are the thoughts of thee and of thy unmeasurable love most wretchedly crowded How soon are we weary and how often are we forced away when we have the greatest mind to thy sweet Society O the cares that not only divert but sometimes oppress us O the multitude of troubles which are wont to disquiet us the sicknesses and infirmities of our bodies which indispose us besides the great weakness and feebleness of these spirits which are not able long to bear thee company It is but a wish I see that I may always stay with thee I feel my self pulled away and cannot keep my soul above even when thou hast lifted it up unto thee And therefore I cannot but renew my desires that thou wouldest be pleased to hasten thy coming That 's the time I long to see because I would be ever with thee and always behold thy face and perpetually speak of thee and declare thy love without ceasing in the height of love and devotion to thee O what a change will that day make in me when I shall be all Life and see not so much as the image or shadow of death any more When I shall neither slumber nor sleep much less be sick or grow old and dye but always wake and enjoy a perfect health a vigorous youth and immortal life O the blessedness of that change when I shall be hungry no more nor have my head disturbed with the fumes and clouds of food When all my journeys will be at an end and I shall never lose nor leave the company I love When I shall neither be crost by others nor vext with the violence of my own passions When I shall be no more perplext
with cares nor dampt with fears but dwell secure in assured joys for evermore Joys in the perfection of a glorified body and of an exalted inlarged spirit Joys to find my self in the company of thy Saints and welcomed into the noble society of Angels Joy at the sight of my dearest Friends the greatest joys in thy presence and in the light of thy countenance from whom I hope for all this joy O come most blessed Saviour that we may all be nothing but joy and love and peace without any end Come and bring us to our beloved Rest and where can our souls find any rest but in thy bosom Come that we may rest from our labours and where can we lay down our selves in perfect repose but only in thy love O come and fill our hearts therewith that we may hunger and thirst no more Come that we may perfectly know what the new Wine of thy Kingdom is Come that we may desire to feed on nothing else but the sweetest comforts of seeing thy blessed face smileing on us And that we may have no other business nothing else to do but to enjoy thee in all that we see not so much imployment besides as to spend any time as now we are forced to do in wishing to enjoy thee X. And yet there is still a greater reason remaining why we should love our Lords appearing because we shall be brought by that to the very top and highest pitch of bliss which is to SEE GOD Matth. v. 8. and to SEE HIM AS HE IS 1 John iij. 2. Not as the old Prophets saw him in visions and dreams nor as others saw him in the Angels of his presence But alas who can tell what this sight is What tongue unless touched as the Apostles were by the Holy-Ghost can declare any thing of such a bliss The day of Pentecost must return again if we expect to have any language to express or thoughts to conceive the meaning of these words We must intreat some Angel to come and tell us if he can what it is to see God Or rather we must confess that if he should we cannot understand such celestial language It is above our reach and we do but babble we do not speak when we adventure to discourse of it Nay when we depart this world and shall be admitted into the blessed company above we may not be able to comprehend much of it if the opinion of many of the Ancient Fathers be true that the Saints shall not enjoy that which is properly meant by the Vision of God till after the great day of our Lord. And therefore it will be our best way now to do as the Painter did who being to make a picture of Love drew nothing on his Table but a Veil which covered no body knew what under the shadow of it Not so much to show as some have poorly conceived that Love is blind as to declare that it is an ineffable thing a mysterious passion not to be described by humane art Such I am sure is this Vision of God and such is the love that it will beget It is a secret never to be known but by the enjoyment of it A mysterie reserved in the holy Place to be beheld only by entring into it We have all a natural desire indeed to pry into this as well as all other secrets A strong appetite we find within us to be admitted into an intimate acquaintance with those things which are closely lockt up from us We cannot chuse but long to go within the Veil and would fain have the curtain drawn aside that the glorious face of the Divine Majesty may appear But after all our search and busie enquiry we are able to say no more at present but this O happy Darkness O blessed O most glorious obscurity For I do not know what else to call thee How joyful is it to think that thou art more than we can ask or think What a pleasure is it to know that thou surpassest all that can now be known How comfortable is it to believe that thou art hid from our eyes only because we are not capable to behold thy brightness Thou shamest indeed hereby our small understanding but publishest thine own most excellent Greatness We are laid very low when we hear thee speaking thus at present but it lifts us up and highly exalts us in our future hopes We have no means to comprehend this gracious promise nor know we what to think when we read these words you shall SEE GOD. We must confess our weakness which is absolutely puzled with so few and so plain words If we have any thing to boast of it is only this advantageous ignorance All that we have to glory in is that such our hopes we know not what to conceive of this dark so we must now speak this unseen and hidden brightness But this we know because thou O God hast told us that when this present darkness is done away and we shall see thee as thou art WE SHALL BE LIKE THEE O most desireable sight which will so happily transform us O much wisht for day which will set us in such a light as will make us all bright and shining too Shining in the light of the wisdom of God in the light of his Purity and of his Bliss and Immortality In the light which makes the eyes of Angels shine so brightly and which preserves the youth of Saints The light which no man can approach unto till thou O God who art that Light shalt finish our hope and bring us to see thee face to face And may we not be confident of this also though we know so little that when thou O blessed God shalt cause thy Son to appear and shalt show thy self unto us the very first glimpse of thy glory at the greatest distance from thee will mightily attract our hearts unto thee No arrow sure flies more swiftly from the strongest bow no bullet can be sent with greater violence from the bended force of steel than our souls shall then move or rather shoot themselves towards thee that they may know what it is to see thee and that they may be like thee And till that joyful day shall come shine thou O blessed Light perpetually in these eyes Strike through all the clouds that incompass me round about and by the bright hopes of thee chase away all my gloomy thoughts and put out the false lustre of this deceitful world Shed O thou blessed light thy glorious beams into this heart and kindle there such holy flames as may consume all sinful desires and purifie my soul as thou art pure Let me burn continually with an ardent love of thee till thy bright day appear Till not only these walls of flesh be pulled down which intercept thee from me but my spirit fly up in a lightsome body that I may see thee That I may see thee by whose power the Heavens and the Earth were made
continually nearer towards its perfection and make us likewise to abound in all the fruits of the spirit which are the highest expressions of our love and the best preparation for the day of Christs Appearing For true Devotion doth not terminate in the heart it goes further and hath its effect in the life and actions And especially excites us to love or charity towards all mankind and above all to our Christian Brethren as that which bears the greatest resemblance to him whom we love The Commandment which St. Paul charges Timothy to keep without spot till our Lords appearing was for the most part acts of Charity as you will find briefly touched in this Book And therefore these we should labour to inliven by our Devotion which is then truly Great when it makes us so and raises our spirits above all anger and peevishness covetousness and eager desire of wealth envy and vain ambition evil surmises and jealousies fretfulness and impatience with all those other mean qualities which are the enemies of Christian Charity Some Readers perhaps may think that I strain Devotion here unto too great an height and may be apt at the entrance to lay this Book aside because they imagine I have expressed that passion of love which we should indeavour after towards Christs appearing beyond the truth But I must intreat them to do me the right and themselves the kindness to read on and they will find in conclusion the whole description of it made good by the plain words of the holy Scriptures In the study of which if we did all conscientiously imploy our selves it is to be hoped God would still preserve to us that inestimable Treasure which contains such admirable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the forenamed Father speaks Medicines of the soul both to cure our diseases and to comfort and restore our tired or languishing spirits For they are that living water our Lord speaks of which whosoever drinks hath in himself a Well or Fountain of comfort and perpetual refreshment springing up into everlasting life xxij Rev. 20. COME LORD JESVS St. Chrysostom Tom. vj. p. 709. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IMPRIMATUR Hic Liber cui titulus The Glorious Epiphany c. Geo. Thorp Reverendissimo in Christo Patri D no D no Gulielmo Archiep Cantuar. à Sacris Domesticis April 30. 1678. THE CONTENTS CHAP. I. COntaining an Introduction to the ensuing Discourse CHAP. II. Shewing what is meant by the APPEARING of our Lord Jesus Christ CHAP. III. A further Illustration of the APPEARING of our Lord Jesus Christ CHAP. IV. The certainty of this APPEARING of our Lord Jesus Christ CHAP. V. Containing the Vse we should make of what hath been delivered in the foregoing Chapter CHAP. VI. Of the means to excite that LOVE in our hearts which we ought to have for Christs APPEARING CHAP. VII Two further steps in this Love of Christs Appearing CHAP. VIII The Progress of this Love to Christs Appearing in three steps more CHAP. IX This Love to the Appearing of our Lord further described in three other fruits or marks of it CHAP. X. All this shown to be the sense of the Holy Scriptures CHAP. XI Reasons for our Love to this Appearing drawn from the respect we ought to have to our Lord himself CHAP. XII Other Reasons why we should love his appearing drawn from the love we have to our selves CHAP. XIII Two other Reasons why if we love our selves we must needs love this Appearing CHAP. XIV Two Reasons more to induce us to raise our thoughts and affections to the Appearing of our Lord. CHAP. XV. Three Considerations more to draw our Affections to the Appearing of our Lord. CHAP. XVI Of the mighty power and pleasure of Love when it is setled in the heart CHAP. XVII Of the means whereby this Love may be setled in our hearts and the Benefit thereof CHAP. XVIII A continuation of the former Argument concerning the mighty power of the Divine Love and the Benefit we have by loving our Lords Appearing CHAP. XIX More expressions of this devout affection towards our Lords Appearing and the way whereby we may excite them CHAP. XX. The Conclusion The Glorious Epiphany with the Devout Christians love to it CHAP. I. Containing an Introduction to the ensuing Discourse WHEN we observe how the desire of life is so deeply fixed in all mankind both in old and young in Kings and Beggars in Wise men and Fools that as Lactantius * L. III. In stit C. 12. well noteth they will endure any miseries to preserve and prolong it we are led thereby to this Consideration That the highest and most perfect Good to which the soul of man aspires is a life without end and without those laborious toils and troubles which attend us here in this present world We are naturally form'd to wish that we may be so happy and find no thought so sad and dismal as this of being quite extinct and never enjoying any more pleasure after we are laid in our graves Upon which account it must be acknowledged that we are infinitely indebted to the Grace of God who hath made that so sure which is so desirable and that our Blessed Saviour justly challenges our most ardent love and cheerful obedience whose Religion is nothing else but an acknowledgment of the Truth which is after godliness in hope of eternal life They are the words of St. Paul Tit. i. 1 2. which import that the Gospel is a Doctrine which teaches us to be pious and promises to reward our piety with an happy immortality This is the glorious hope of Christians whose Master Christ Jesus who is our Hope 1. Tim. i. 1. hath brought life and immortality to light and made that which was but obscurely delivered in times past as clear and bright as the Sun at noon-day There are so many Witnesses of this that their Testimonies have filled a large Volume The FATHER the WORD the HOLY-GHOST have all declared that we have eternal life and this life is in our Saviour the Son of God So say the WATER also the BLOOD and the SPIRIT they all consent in this Truth That Jesus is alive from the dead and lives for evermore and because he lives we shall live also Which welcome news filled the hearts of all those who believed it with excessive joy even when they were in heaviness through manifold temptations 1 Pet. i. 6 8. And why it should not have the same effect on us there is no other reason can be given but because we do not believe as they did For they of whom S. Peter speaks had never seen our Lord when he was on earth no more than we nor had they any such sight of him as S. Stephen and S. Paul had after he went to Heaven and yet believing they rejoyced with joy unspeakable and full of glory All our business therefore is to settle this belief stedfastly in our minds Which will have the greater power upon our
hearts when we consider the abundant grace of our Lord Jesus Christ towards us and how excellent the Hope is which he hath given us For he hath not only assured us that He hath all power in heaven and in earth and that he will bestow the inestimable gift of immortality upon us But that he himself will once more come from heaven to crown us with it We know as I have shown in two former Treatises that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding to know him that is true and This is the true God and Eternal Life which he hath revealed to us But besides this first coming to teach us the will of God to dye for our sins and to open to us the Kingdom of Heaven after He had shown us the way to it He hath bid us believe there is a Second When He will come to judg us by those Laws which he hath left his Church and to put the observers of them into the possession of that Heavenly Kingdom which He hath promised And there are none of the Witnesses who testifie that He is the King of Glory but assure us of this also that He will appear in that glory to take us up unto Himself More especially the HOLY-GHOST who as Epiphanius * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Haeres LXXIV n. 10. admirably speaks is the only Guide of Truth the Expounder of holy Laws the Inspirer of the Spiritual or Christian Law the Leader of the Prophets the Teacher of the Apostles the Luminary of the Evangelical Doctrines He made his Apostles and Evangelists clearly understand this to be our Saviour's meaning and authorized them to proclaim this comfortable news to all Believers Insomuch that S. Paul triumphs in this when he was ready to be offered for the service of Christ and the time of his departure was at hand that there was laid up for him a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord saith he the righteous Judg shall give me at that day and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing 2 Tim. iv 6 7 8. In the last part of which words there seems to me to be contained so much of the Christian Hope that they deserve to be explained with the same care and labour that I have bestowed upon the RECORD which the Father the Son the Holy-Ghost and all the other Witnesses have left us to testifie that Jesus is the Son of God and that in Him we have Eternal Life For as it transports all true Believers with joy to read of a Crown of Life a Crown of Glory a Crown of Righteousness which is laid up safe with our Lord in his Heavenly Sanctuary as He himself and his Apostles in this and other places confidently assure us So it very much raises and encreases that joyful Hope to know from their own mouths that He who hath receiv'd and keeps it safely will condescend so much as to appear again one day to confer the very same felicity upon us which He hath obtained himself who is crowned with glory and honour Next to the belief of the truth of this report there is nothing we are so much concerned to know as who the persons are that shall wear this Crown and have their heads eternally honoured with it Piety it self indeed is very apt to perswade those in whom it lives that the unfeigned practice of it shall meet at last with some considerable recompence But that it shall receive such a Royal such a magnificent Reward as deserves the name of a Crown of Eternal Glory is a thing which that great Modesty and Humility which is essential to true Piety and its highest Ornament and Crown forbids us to be too forward to conclude A Person perhaps of such eminence and lustre as S. Paul one of the Stars of the first Magnitude in our Saviour's right hand may be advanced hereafter to shine in such Majesty But that we dull heavy souls should be thought worthy of the like favour none but a man so divinely illuminated as He was by the power of the HOLY-GHOST is sufficient to secure us And blessed be God we do not want such a Divine Testimony For after this great Apostle had related what a course he had run what agonies he had sustained with what difficulties he had wrestled in the service of his blessed Master Jesus and that he nothing doubted but He would remember him at his coming again and confer the honour on him which was laid up in Heaven for such victorious souls He encourages all other Christians to comfort themselves with the same expectations and not imagine they should lose the Crown though they came far behind him in the holy race if they did but LOVE THE APPEARING * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epiph Haeres LIV. n 5. of Christ Jesus That 's the particular Mark and Character which he gives of the persons to whom this honour shall be done For the understanding of which and that we may the better comprehend both the happiness it self and that pious affection we ought to have for it which is the principal drift of this Discourse we are to make an enquiry into these three things First What may be conceived to be the meaning of this APPEARING of our Lord. Secondly What certainty there is of it And Thirdly What the LOVE is which they should bear to it who hope to enjoy the blessings of it CHAP. II. Shewing what is meant by the APPEARING of our Lord Jesus Christ IT is not hard to give an account of the first of these if we carefully observe and examine the Words whereby the Holy Books express it And there are Three of them every one of which signify that our Blessed Lord who now reigns in unseen Glory will once more appear visibly to all Mankind 1. The first is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render only his Coming but it is a different word from that in our Creed and in its proper signification denotes his presenting himself to us after he hath been thus long absent from us In the Creed we profess to believe that He is ascended into Heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence he shall come c. But that we may know what kind of Coming we are to expect and not imagine it is meerly by an invisible power as he came to destroy Jerusalem we are to mind how the Apostles speak of it as a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and teach us to understand that word in the strictest sense concerning his personal appearance to us Thus St. Paul discourses to the Corinthians 1. xv 23. where we first meet with this word in the Apostolical Writings that every man shall arise from the dead but in due order Christ the first-fruits and then they that are Christs at his coming in person that is as the King and the Judg of the World For so he presently after directs us to expound the word
praise him enough now the whole world may then be gathered together in one general assembly all Angels and all Men and with joynt consent bow themselves before him and humbly acknowledge him to be the LORD OF ALL. And here I shall take the liberty for the clearer understanding of this to give a distinct account in a few considerations of that which we may justly conceive will accrue to our blessed Saviour by his glorious Appearing I. And first of all there is no doubt but at his second appearing our Lord will be publickly honoured and thereby have an amends made him for the open shame and the publick disgrace to which he was here exposed No Varlet was ever used so basely as the world treated him when he first came to visit us in much humility No man was ever the subject of so much scorn of so many sorrows and of so great pains as he endured Would it not then be acceptable to you to see his honour every where vindicated his credit as I may say repaired and his glory made no less notorious than his reproaches were Who would not wish to see that sweet face which by rude hands was so contemptuously blinded and buffeted appear in an unveiled brightness looking with the fairest the most beautiful and gracious eyes upon us How is it possible to refrain from desiring to see that countenance which was spit upon and all bespawled by the filthy mouths of wicked men shining with rayes brighter than the Sun and glistring in the Glory and Majesty of God the Father Are you not impatient to behold that Head which was inviron'd with Thorns show it self with a royal Crown upon it Would you not fain see him as much admired as he was despised as highly praised and extolled as he was vilely mockt and flouted O that I might behold that time arrive is every devout lover of the Lord Jesus apt to say O that I might be blessed with a sight of that Glory and Honour wherewith we believe thou art already crowned Thou wast sorely wounded and grosly abused O dear Saviour by those whom thou camest to heal and to save They barbarously smote and besmeared thy holy face they nailed thee to a Cross they pierced thy hands and thy feet they thrust a spear into thy side and left thee all in gore they condemned thee as the foulest Malefactor and crucified thy Name and Reputation as well as thy self And which is worse how have thine own followers grieved thee and pricked thy very heart by their base ingratitude to thee who wast pleased to be thus vilely used for their sake And what reparation are the best among us able to make thee What does it amount unto that such poor wretches as we can do for thee How mean and inconsiderable is all the honour and all the praise that we little and worthless things can pretend to give thee O thou God of love thou Father of mercies we must address our desires to thee and beseech thee that thou wouldst be pleased to do it for us Thou who art the Blessed and only Potentate who hast already appointed him to be heir of all things who hast given him a more excellent inheritance than the Angels and when thou broughtest him into the world didst command them all to worship him finish I beseech thee according to the riches of thy glory the recompenses thou hast begun to make him Let me and all men else see how Thou lovest him and what honour thou hast conferred on him Behold how this soul sighs out its desires to thee that thou wouldst vouchsafe to hasten his Appearing and to show him to the world in the glory which thou hast given him Let us all behold him as highly exalted as he was lowly depressed and abased Let us SEE HIM AS HE IS the Prince of Life the King of Glory O perfect that which concerneth him Let him come and receive our universal acknowledgements Let all Kings fall down before him and all nations serve him Let them all call him blessed and Heaven and Earth be filled with his glory Amen and Amen II. They may well pray after this manner and speak of his perfecting that which is begun because secondly till the day of his glorious appearing it is most certain his conquests will not be compleated over all his enemies The very greatest of them will remain unsubdued till he come then to tread them under his feet Which cannot but dispose us to love that time above all other because it will make him perfectly victorious He is sat down saith the Apostle at Gods right hand x. Heb. 12 13. from thenceforth EXPECTING till his enemies be made his footstool Though he be highly advanced that is above all creatures yet all his enemies do not presently fall down before him but he must stay sometime before not only all the adverse Empires on earth submit themselves to him but the Principalities also in the Air and Death it self which is the last enemy saith St. Paul which shall be destroyed and put under his feet He rules and reigns indeed but still he hath many opposers of his Kingdom He waits likewise for their utter subversion and looks for their total ruine but still they spoil and commit many wastes within his territories The Devil tyrannizes and rages in a number of places and Death as I must show anon devours all How can we choose then but wait for that of which he himself is in expectation Where is our love to him if we can cease to wish that all those foes who despise or refuse his Government were perfectly brought in subjection to him Is there any thing more desireable to those who pray seriously his Kingdom may come than to see those put under his feet who now proudly trample upon his soveraign Authority What more joyful sight can there be to them than to behold the Devil who now insults so insolently in his Dominions despoiled of all his power and thrust down into the eternal Prisons and Chains of Darkness to which he is reserved To say nothing yet of the glory it will be to him to overcome Death it self to which even all his subjects are forced at present to submit O blessed Saviour should all Christian souls say with one consent it afflicts us to hear thine enemies roar in the midst of thy Congregation to see them thus triumph and set up their banners And far more grievous it is to think that we have ever been in the number of them and given the least countenance and support to this hellish Kingdom The remembrance of it is bitter to us that there was a time wretches that we were when we were drawn aside to joyn our selves to this wicked faction and abett the Apostate spirits in their rebellion against thee their soveraign Creator But blessed be thy Goodness thou hast overcome our disobedient hearts and restored us to an happy accord with thee We thank thee for it
with all our souls and wish we might likewise see all Nations fall down before thee and worship thee What a joy would it be to see all the kingdoms of the earth become the kingdoms of thee O Christ What greater pleasure can our hearts desire which are not able to express the satisfaction it would give them to behold the kingdom of darkness which is shaken already falling flat upon the ground Overturn it overturn it O thou most Mighty utterly overturn it O come and do that which we endeavour but cannot do Come and let us see thee vindicate thy self from the affronts of all thine insolent enemies Let us see all the Legions of Evil-Spirits haled as Captives at the wheels of thy triumphant Chariot Let us see all the Powers of the Air flying away at thy presence to hide themselves in the pit of Hell for ever O thou who hast subdued us unto thee subdue them likewise and bring them under thee Thou who didst wrest us out of their hands wrest from them all their power and leave them none to get any more into their hands As thou hast conquered so we would gladly see thee triumph As thou hast overcome so we would fain see thee carried in magnificent and royal state as the most victorious LORD OF HOSTS Haste thee therefore O sweet Saviour to receive our Ovations Come that all the world may give thee the acclamations which thou deservest Why is thy Chariot so long in coming Why stay the wheels of thy Chariot O that it would please thee to come while our souls are peeping out of their windows to look for thee while they call and cry and sigh after thee while they are full charged with shouts and praises to bestow upon thee III. There is very great reason you cannot but see that they should be thus desirous of his appearing because it is manifest by what hath been now said it will bring along with it some addition of Glory to our Dearest Lord. If we had a Friend who was elected to be a King should we not often call for the day that would place him on his Throne Or if he were seated there but had some rebellious Subjects still in arms in a corner of his Country should we not be in some pain till we saw his conquering banners return with their spoils Or if that were done and a time then prefixt for a solemn meeting of all the Estates of his Realm in the midst of which he intended to sit himself with the greatest Pomp should we not think it long till we saw him shine there and receive the homage of so many illustrious Persons Tell your selves then with what ardors you should wait for the coming of your Lord. Who though he be now Crowned yet doth not for the present see all his enemies sudued nor appears as yet in the grand assembly not only of the Angels and mighty men but of all people whatsoever who shall be gathered before his Majesty It is true indeed he being inthroned in the Heavens sits there in royal Honour and Glory But St. Luke tells us as you heard before ix 26. that he will appear in the end of the world not only in his own glory but in the glory of his Father also As if that were something more than what he hath already received at his right hand That is he will come from thence to judge the quick and the dead Which will be an exceeding great glory such an high honour as was never conferred upon any person whatsoever to have all judgement committed unto him and sustain the very place of the Supreme Lord and Governour of the World to whom Men and Angels are accountable for their actions This is a thing that is still behind and there are it seems some royal Majestick robes belonging to this high Office which he hath not yet put on O how much should we desire to have Him clothed with them How earnestly should we look to behold him decked with that Majesty and arrayed in his most glorious attire It should not be enough to us to believe that he reigns but we should long to see the last exercise and the greatest proof of his Kingly Authority which is to judge the world in righteousness and to reward all men according to their works O God should every true Christian say who according to thy faithful word hast glorified thy Son Jesus and committed all Judgement to him hasten the day when thou wilt complete the glory thou hast given him and gather all nations before him Cloath him in the Glorious Robes of thy Majesty and let him appear in his Meridian brightness Send him forth of thy Sanctuary and let him outshine the Sun in his strength O that he would shine forth and shoot his rayes as far as this earth Let them not be confined to the highest Heavens but let the air and these inferiour regions be all gilded with the splendor of his beams O blessed Jesus that we might behold thy light breaking out to banish all this smoak and disperse these vapours wherein we are inclosed Let the Troops of thy holy Angels come and expel those evil Spirits which have possessed themselves of these aerial places Let thy glorious throne be set there where they have so long ruled Arise and show thy self O thou Judge of the World Let them all know that they are subject to thy tribunal And sentence them to their proper habitations that after thy appearing they may disappear and never break loose to infest or trouble us any more Then will thy faithful servants shout aloud for joy and triumph in thy praise They will sing a new Song before thy Throne and magnifie thee in some such words as these Who in the Heavens can be compared unto the Lord Who among the Sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord lxxxix Psal 6. xv Rev. 3 4. Great and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints Who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorifie thy Name For thou only art holy All Nations are come to worship before thee for thy judgements are made manifest IV. And upon this account we should be the more desirous to see that great day because till then he will want the glory of having us and all his faithful Subjects attend upon him in his heavenly Kingdom It is a very small glory indeed you may be apt to think that he can receive from such poor things as we are Who must acknowledge that we are unworthy utterly unworthy of the favour to approach unto him and if we should be so vain as to think otherwise deserve to be banished for ever from his blessed presence But when we remember how great his love is and what he hath promised to do for us we must likewise confess to the glory of his Grace that he can and will raise us so much above our selves that it