to give satisfactory reasons that our Lord Jesus will appear again and in so glorious a manner as hath been related It is in his former Epistle to this very Person his beloved Son Timothy Chap. vj. where he charges him v. 13 14. to keep the Commandment he had given him without the least violation of it until the APPEARING of our Lord Jesus Christ That is till his coming from Heaven with all the glorious train of Angels to recompense men according to their works Now that Timothy might be fully perswaded there would be such a blessed time and to be more ready and cheerful in his obedience to this exhortation the Apostle assures him that this is no such spectacle as is formed meerly in the imagination but which God the Possessor of Heaven and Earth will really exhibit in his time So the words are v. 15 16. Which Appearing in his times He shall shew who is the blessed and only Potentate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who only hath Immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto whom no man hath seen nor can see Where we are first to observe well those words which begin this description of Him who will shew our Lord Christ in such excellent Glory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in his times we render it or rather in the proper seasons for it That is in the time or season which God in his unsearchable Wisdom hath appointed From which phrase three things offer themselves to our consideration First That the time indeed of this APPEARING is not revealed and made known to us We must be content to be ignorant of it for it is kept as a secret in his own breast and it becomes not us to determine the season which he hath reserved to himself Some great men it is true have adventured upon it and Saint Hilary * Canon xvij in Matth. for instance hath delivered his opinion that the Transfiguration of our Lord Six days after he had spoken of his coming in his Kingdom xvij Mat. 1. prefigured the Honour of the Coelestial Kingdom as his words are after the World had continued six thousand years But this and the current fancy among many in ancient times that because the World was six days in making it should last just six thousand years had no better foundation than those misapplied words of St. Peter 2. iij. 8. That one day with the Lord is as a thousand years And therefore it is deservedly censured by St. Augustine upon xc Psal 4. as a presumption reprehended by our Lord himself when he told his Apostles i. Act. 7. It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power And yet there have been those who would needs be medling and conclude this from no better reason than the Translation of Enoch who was the seventh from Adam And there is one of great note in these later times to name no more who hath been so bold as from a slighter ground to conjecture the time of the Coming of our Lord. Who having said in iv Luk. 19. that according to Isaiah's Prophecy he was come to preach the acceptable year of the Lord or to proclaim a Jubilee to the World Cusanus thence concluded that for every year of our Saviours life the Church should continue a Jubilee that is fifty years And therefore he rising again in the 34th year of his Age the Church should have its blessed Resurrection when the 34th Jubilee was past That is after the year 1700. before the year 1734. which he endeavours to make more probable from the similitude of the flood which our Saviour he observes uses when he speaks of his coming Fancying that as from the first Adam to the destruction of the World by water there passed according to Philo just 34. Jubilees so there shall be the like number of years from the second Adam to the consumption of it by fire There are several other little fancies whereby he studies to strengthen this conceit But I shall not mention them because as St. Austin hath rightly pronounced again in another place Epist LXXVIII from that saying of our Saviour before mentioned it is better to confess our Ignorance than to profess a false knowledge And this we have reason to think is no better because such supputations of the times as he speaks that we may know when will be the end of the World and the coming of the Lord seem to be nothing else but a desire to know that which he himself hath said the Father hath reserved only to himself Which words our Saviour did not speak because he was ignorant of the time about which the Apostles enquired but as Oecumenius well notes because it would contribute nothing to their salvation to be acquainted with it And it is the office of an excellent Master to teach 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. not what the Scholars desire but what it is profitable for them to learn This was the only reason he denied to satisfie them for he himself knew very well the times and seasons as the same Writer adds because All that the Father hath is the Sons also Now We are to consider in the second place that God the Father hath determined and set down a time for this appearing of his Son Jesus though he hath not thought fit to have us acquainted with it It is not the less certain because he hath not revealed when it will be since he hath fore-appointed in his own secret counsel a season proper for this business This ought to give no small strength to our Faith and Hope for we are wont always to make the surer account of a thing and look for it the more confidently when we know there is a time limited and prefixed for its performance The Apostle indeed supposes which is the third thing that many Ages might pass before this appointed time arrived but yet it will not fail to come at last The Phrase being in the Plural number * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 times seems naturally to denote a long time hence And if we observe the use of the very same phrase in another place of this Epistle Chap. ij v. 6. where he saith our Saviour gave himself a ransome for all a testimony 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in due season as we there translate it we cannot well allow it any other meaning in this For there it signifies that our Lord at last did give a most memorable testimony of the exceeding great Grace of God though several Ages were passed by since the first promise made of his coming before he appeared in flesh to die for us And therefore here in all reason it must be conceived to denote the revolution of several Ages more from that first coming of his till the second Appearing in astonishing Glory as Oecumenius justly calls it How many Ages we cannot tell and some of those who thought
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
for the suffering of death CROWNED with glory and honour So St. John saw him in a vision as he tells us xiv Rev. 14. sitting upon a white i. e. a bright and shining cloud having on his head A GOLDEN CROWN And thus our Lord hath caused it to be proclaimed in the Gospel of his Grace it shall be done to all those whom God delights to honour He hath shown in our blessed Saviour what he will bestow upon his constant followers And in what he hath done for him he hath shown also that he is upright and that there is no unrighteousness in him They may depend upon his word and be confident he will not fail their expectation but crown their faith and patience with immortal glory I say their patience because he will have them wait long and stay a great while before they receive this Crown which cannot be set upon their heads till the day of his Appearing He will take up all pious Souls indeed into a state of joy and bliss surpassing all that we can now conceive as soon as they depart this life but the perfection of it they must wait for till he have gathered the whole body of the faithful to him that he may crown them all together So the Ancients understand that place xi Heb. 39 40. as may be seen in Theodoret Oecumenius Theophylact and others And so the last named Writer discourses at large upon the xxiij Luke 43. according to the doctrine of St. Chrysostom whom he constantly follows Who pronounces that the soul lies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * In 1 Cor. xv 19. uncrowned till the resurrection of the dead which is the time when we shall all receive according to what we have done in the body whether it be good or whether it be evil Which was not his opinion alone or the sense of some few others but the current doctrine of the ancient Fathers Who look upon that invisible place and state wherein the souls of good men are before the Resurrection as so much inferiour to that wherein they shall be afterward that they have bestowed very different names upon them expressing the imperfect though very happy condition in which we must remain till our Lord will be pleased to appear for our consummation It will not be amiss to mention the descriptions they give of both The place and state before the Resurrection they call Paradise the Bosom of Abraham the feast of the Patriarchs the outward Altar below the Altar the Porch of the Sanctuary the Courts of the Lord the Custody and the storehouse of Souls secret receptacles the hidden seats or Tabernacles of the godly convenient or due places places meet for them or worthy of them the place of refreshment of Light of Peace a portion of the spiritual Rest the rest of security a certain retiring place of everlasting Rest the port of eternal security the bright the fragrant the royal Tabernacles the earnest or pledge of the Kingdom the White rayment a Chamber in the Palace Royal an Habitation with God the Asylum or place of refuge with other such like names which are so obvious that none can fail to be acquainted with them who read the ancient Doctors of our Religion Among whom St. Ambrose hath adventured to give us a very particular account of this state which I shall set down because it will be very pleasing to those who are desirous of some distinct conception of the happiness we hope for before the Resurrection in the celestial Tabernacles Where the joy of just souls L. de Bone Mortis c. xj saith he will be disposed per Ordines quosdam by certain orders ranks or degrees First there is the joy that they have overcome the flesh and were not crooked by its inticements Secondly that at the rate of their industry and innocence they enjoy security and are not intangled like the souls of the wicked in errors and perturbations and are neither tortured with the memory of their vices nor vexed with the rage of solicitude and cares Thirdly that they are supported with the Divine Testimony of their having observed the Law so that they are not in fear of the uncertain event of their deeds in the last judgement Fourthly because they begin to understand their Rest and Ease and to foresee their future glory and pleasing themselves with that consolation in their dwelling places they live at ease with great tranquillity invironed with the guards of Angels And the Fifth Order or Rank hath the sweetness of a most plentiful exultation or triumph that they are escaped out of the prison of this corruptible body into light and liberty and possess the promised inheritance For there is an order of the rest as there is of the resurrection We shall all rise but every one in his order Christ the first-fruits then they that are Christs who believe his coming and then is the end There shall be therefore a different order of dignity and glory as there will be an order of deserts So that in the sixth Order their Countenance will begin to shine as the Sun and to be compared to the lights of the stars but is such a brightness as cannot decay And the seventh Order will be that they may exult with confidence and full assurance and confide without any doubting and rejoyce without trembling making haste to see his Countenance to whom they have devoted the Obedience of a most diligent service From whence by the remembrance of an innocent Conscience they may presume a glorious reward of a small labour which they beginning to receive shall know that the sufferings of this present time are unworthy that so great a glory of an eternal recompense should be compared with them This is the Order wherein he places just souls before our Lord come to bring them into his heavenly Kingdom And some body under the name of St. Austin hath more briefly expressed it thus * L. de salutaribus Documentis c. xl Tom. 4. We believe that when our soul is freed from the bonds of the flesh if we have lived well and uprightly before God the Quire of Angels will presently come to meet us and troops of all the Saints will run into our embraces and bring us to supplicate the true Judge Then peace will incompass us and deep security We shall fear no more the fiery darts of the Devil nor any other enemy that desires to cast our souls into danger Not sword not fire not the cruel face of the Tormentor not hunger not thirst nor any sickness The flesh shall no longer be contrary to the spirit nor shall we fear any danger but having cast off the burden of the flesh the holy Spirit to whom we had before given a mansion in our body will give us a mansion in Heaven And so we shall joyfully and gladly expect the day of judgement in which the souls of all men shall receive rewards according to their deeds Now
xvj 17. when he declares the joy he had by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 coming of Stephanas Fortunatus and Achaicus who as Theodoret there notes were the persons that brought the Letter to him from the Church of Corinth In such a manner he believed Christ would come and that he and those Christians he had converted appearing before him it would prove the greatest joy and honour to him to be able to present to that great King such a number of persons who had been perswaded by his Ministry to become his Subjects 1 Thes ij 19. In short this is the word that is used in most other places where we read of the Coming of Christ And presently after that last named iij. 13. he tells us He will come attended with all his Saints and therefore will personally appear and shew himself in that Royal Majesty wherein He now reigns 2. Thus the second Word still more fully informs us which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the REVELATION of Jesus Christ or his discovering himself again to the World by coming out of that high and holy place where He now lives but is not seen So Theophylact expounds the word both upon 1 Cor. i. 7. and 2 Thess i. 7. where he says the Apostle calls the coming of Christ by the name of his Revelation to denote that though He be now with us yet He is hid and then shall be openly discovered Which he borrows from S. Chrysostome whose words * In 1 Cor. i. 7. are these The Apostle indicates that though He be not seen yet He is and is present even now and then will appear or show himself visibly to the world Oecumenius also writes to the same effect and we may still further establish this Truth by considering another word of the same import with this and therefore I shall not mention it distinctly by it self very much used by St. John who exhorts his Disciples to abide in Christ that when 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall be made manifest or be shown to the world we may not be ashamed before him at his coming 1 Joh. ii 28. So we translate the word in other places though here it be rendred only appear i. Joh. 31. iij. 21. especially in that remarkable place xxj Joh. 1. where we read how he shewed himself to them at the Sea of Tiberias and that this v. 14. was the third time that He shewed or made himself manifest to them after that He was risen from the dead In the very same visible manner will He once more appear and be as really manifested to raise us from the dead and to give us life as He was manifested in the flesh at first 1 Tim. iij. 16 and again shewed himself after his Crucifixion to be alive from the dead For though our Life be now hid with Christ in God yet when Christ who is our Life shall appear or be manifested then shall we also appear with him in glory iij. Col. 4. Upon which words Theophylact hath this pertinent gloss At his second coming Christ shall be openly manifested and showed to all as God though now he be so hid that it is the thing which is objected against him and a pretence for mens unbelief And to the same purpose Theodoret bids us note how exceeding appositely * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the Apostle speaks when he saith Christ will then be manifested who now is not seen by Christians nor so much as known by Infidels But then will let no man remain ignorant of him because every eye shall see him and all men be forced to confess that He is the Lord of all 3. For lastly to make this still more evident it is called here in the words I have undertaken to explain and in many other places his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 APPEARING in so clear and illustrious a manner that St. Paul bids us look for it as that blessed Hope of Christian people far more splendid than any thing that hath yet been manifested For it is the glorious Appearing or the appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour ij Tit. 13. Which Epithete is to be carefully observed because it distinguishes this Appearing from a former and teaches us how we are to conceive of it For every body knows who hath any skill in these things that there is at least a double Appearing of Christ spoken of in the Holy Writings One past when he came and sensibly appeared and was manifested in mortal flesh for these two ends to preach the Gospel and to dye for our sins Let the Reader consult the 1 Tim. i. 10. and ix Hebr. 26. This is called the Appearing of Gods Grace ij Tit. 11. which was so manifested at this time that it eclipsed all former discoveries that had been made of it The other is yet to come when the same Lord will as sensibly appear to reward men according to the entertainment they have given his Gospel and show himself as a Royal Priest who hath so perfectly expiated our sins and conquered all our Enemies that He hath nothing then to do but to give complete Salvation to his Servants So you read ix Hebr. 28. that to them who expect him He will appear the second time 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 make himself be seen appear visibly without sin unto salvation As in the former coming He was seen in our flesh but appeared like a mean person in the form of a servant So in this He will personally appear in our Nature but in greater splendour in the form of a Prince even as the Lord of all the World And therefore in the first verse of this Chapter 2 Tim. iv 1. his KINGDOM and his APPEARING are both put together as things Contemporary And as before there was an Appearance of his Grace so hereafter he is said to appear in his Glory iij. Col. 4. To these two Appearings some add a Third in the middle between them and that was His appearing to destroy Jerusalem and therewith the Persecutors of his Disciples to whom at that time it must be acknowledged He gave a mighty Salvation or Deliverance And the very Truth is then He is said in the Gospel to come xxj Joh. 22. What if I will that he tarry 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 till I come And i. Revel 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Behold he cometh Nay in a looser sense of the Word that time is called by S. Matthew his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 xxiv 27 37 39. And by S. Luke the Kingdom of God xxj 31. because then He did exercise one part of his Royal Power in punishing offenders But I do not find that in any place it is called the Revelation or the Appearing of the Lord Jesus For He did not appear in person when he came to destroy Jerusalem as He did at his first coming and will at his next but only virtually in such a desolation as made it apparent that His
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.
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
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
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
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
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