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
behind when we shall behold him personally present with us to bring us nearer into the very presence of God We have the same word passed for it which they had for the other he hath the same Will the same Power the same Empire and Soveraign Dominion And therefore why should we not have the same confidence and expect it with as much and full assurance as Holy men in old times waited for the first Consolation of Israel or pious Christians waited for deliverance from their Adversaries There is so little cause that our Faith should think it self less assured than theirs that we may rather look for this second appearing of our Lord and Saviour with much greater confidence than they could do for the first Because we have the advantage of seeing all those old Prophecies which foretold his Manifestation in our flesh actually fulfilled and the Lord hath shown since that how upright He is and that there is no unrighteousness in Him We may depend not only as the Apostle hath here told us upon His Goodness and perfect Happiness upon his Power upon his absolute Dominion over all Creatures whatsoever upon his Immortality upon his transcendent Glory and Majesty and upon his Faithfulness and Truth but I may add upon the evident Demonstrations he hath already given in the most remarkable instances that His Mercies are sure and that he keepeth Truth for ever xiii Acts 34. cxlvi Psal 6. For this Blessed and only Potentate this King of kings and Lord of lords who only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto whom no man hath seen or can see hath done great things for us already whereof we are glad He hath sent his Son after good men had long expected Him He sent Him to do for them more than they expected 1 Cor. ij 9. He raised him up out of his Grave and made him Lord of all He hath given him power to raise up us to eternal life as appears by the gift of the Holy Ghost which wrought in his Apostles and enabled them to raise the dead and do many other wonders His Judgments also have already been made manifest Revel vi 10. xi 15. xv 4. He hath in part avenged the blood of his servants and the Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. And therefore we may with a stedfast Faith look for another appearing of our Saviour when he will come in person to exercise this power himself wherewith we see he is invested so far as to change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body which then he will show to the world according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself iii. Phil. 20 21. CHAP. V. Containing the Vse we should make of what hath been delivered in the foregoing Chapter I Cannot think fit to pass on to what I further intend without some short Reflexion upon so weighty a subject as this of which I have been treating And therefore let us here pause a while and consider how mightily All this should move us to worship and adore this Blessed Potentate God the Father Almighty to acknowledge with the humblest submission His Supreme Authority to reverence admire and praise His most glorious Perfections who hath given us such a sure ground of faith and hope in Him For so S. Paul here concludes this incomparable description of him to whom be honour and power everlasting Amen Which is not said to exclude the other two Persons in the holy and undivided Trinity from receiving our worship and service no more than the giving eternal glory to our Saviour in the next Epistle 2 Tim. iv 18. and in other places takes it away from the Father but only to remember us of a peculiar prerogative which the Holy Scripture alway ascribes to the Father Almighty of being the Fountain and Beginning of all * So Epiphanius observes that the Scripture shows 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Haeres LXIX Num. 54. and Nazianz Orat xxix p. 489 c. to whom it properly and peculiarly belongs to show this appearing of Jesus Christ And therefore the Apostle invites us from the consideration of His most excellent Majesty and absolute Dominion to acknowledge and confess Him to acknowledge and praise Him First As worthy of all HONOUR worship veneration and service Because Secondly He hath all POWER and authority over us and over all Creatures an independent uncontroulable Power And that Thirdly EVERLASTINGLY to be celebrated not only by us but by all that shall come after us to the worlds end Nay to be praised and magnified by Saints and Angels in Heaven to Eternal Ages To this we should every one of us together with the Apostle most heartily say AMEN Let be so We give our consent unfeignedly to it and wish from the bottom of our souls that all men would honour and submit unto this blessed and only Potentate the King of kings and the Lord of lords What though No man ever saw him Nay what though No man can see Him Yet Glory Honour and Power is to be ascribed to Him because we see his works of Wonder every where The Heavens and the Earth declare the greatness of his glory and from all things that we behold we learn his rich Goodness his infinite Power his immortal Bliss and that He is such a Potentate as the greatest Kings and Princes upon earth nay the highest Thrones and Principalities in Heaven ought to worship and obey with the greatest reverence And much more is this due from us poor and inferior creatures especially since He hath shown Himself so gracious to us in our Saviour the most excellent demonstration of his blessed Nature and mighty Love and hath promised He shall appear once more in greater glory than ever and hath taught us to believe by all the Notions we have of Him that He will never fail to make that promise good And as we ought to Honour God the Father of all so this naturally moves us out of a particular obligation to honour and obey our Lord Jesus Christ as the Person whom this Great Majesty will show in wonderful honour and glory at the great day This is the very reason you must mark wherewith the Apostle backs his Charge to Timothy to keep the Commandment he gave him without spot unrebukable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ v. 14. because the blessed and only Potentate will certainly in his own time shew the glory wherein He lives by his appearing again in Royal Majesty in the sight of all the World It concerns us therefore as well as it did Timothy to have an exceeding great regard to this most glorious Person whom God will so highly honour and to take care that we behave our selves so as to be unreprovable at that day We must observe His Commandments that is as exactly as we can and
Scriptures THus have I put an end to the third enquiry about the nature of this Love which St. Paul supposes good Christians feel in their souls to the appearing of Christ In satisfying of which I have not followed mine own fancy but the common sentiments of all those hearts who have so much good nature as to know what this passion means And there hath been nothing said but what may be fully justified by the Holy Scriptures if we diligently observe in what terms they speak of the passion and fervent desire which all pious Believers have for the coming of our Lord. I. For which they are first said to LOOK or to expect it with such a greediness as men do that of which they are extreamly desirous So those words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifie which are used in the 1 Cor. 1.7 iij. Phil. 20. ij Tit. 13. ix Heb. 28. where they are said to look for the Revelation of Jesus Christ to have their conversation in Heaven from whence they look for the Saviour to be looking for that blessed Hope the coming of Christ who will appear the second time to them that look for him with that earnestness that is and concernment which one hath for the greatest good in the world Or with such a longing as I have explained it before as the children of Israel had to see their High-Priest return out of the most holy place into which he went on the day of expiation to make reconciliation for their sins For if he came out alive it was a token that God had accepted him and with the greatest joy they received the blessing which then he brought and pronounced to them in his name There is a manifest allusion to this in the last of those places now mentioned Heb. ix where the Apostle saith vers 26. that when Christ appeared in this world it was to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself Which bloody sacrifice as you read vers 24. He carried not into the holy places made with hands which were only figures of the true but into Heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us that is by vertue of this Sacrifice to perfect the expiation of our sins and obtain for us the Divine Blessing Now he being thus offered vers 28. to bear the sins of many as a publick Sacrifice that is for the whole body of mankind not a particular for one or a few persons unto them that look for him he shall appear visibly the second time without sin as having made a complete expiation to give salvation to his people who expect his coming out of Heaven to bless them II. Expect it did I say yea this Apostle calls it a most earnest expectation So the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the creature viij Rom. 19. is expounded by Oecumenius * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be its exceeding intense and vehement desire and expectance of the revelation of the Sons of God that is sayes he of the conclusion of all when it shall be clearly seen who are the sons of God and who the sons of the Devil Which is a Good to be wisht for so much above all other that the Heaven the Earth the Sea the Air the Sun the Moon all the visible Creation together with all that is invisible the Angels Archangels Powers Principalities Dominions all these expect our perfection They are the words of Theodoret who with other of the Ancients looks upon the whole Creation as brought in here expecting our future happiness by such a figure * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oecum as the Prophets use when they introduce the Woods rejoycing the Mountains leaping the Floods clapping their hands to express the exceeding great joy that should be among mankind at the first coming of our Lord. But because it is controverted what the Apostle means by the Creature and this is not a fit place to discuss it I shall pass by this expression and not mention the sighs and the groans which there follow as the natural effect of an exceeding great desire to see the day of redemption come III. Let us rather consider that the glory which shall be revealed at the coming of Christ out of this holy place to give salvation to his faithful worshippers is the cause that as St. Paul speaks in this place which I have taken for the rise of this Discourse they look for it as a thing that hath very strongly engaged their hearts and is the object of their dearest affection They declare by the fixing of their eyes upon it how much they love it that is esteem it are inclined to it and think long till they enjoy it For whatsoever touches us so nearly we are wont to expect it with some impatience IV. But as the greatness of this Good is such as will make those that believe it earnestly long for it so it is able to quiet and still their souls by the mere hope of its enjoyment though it stay long before it come And therefore 4. they are said to WAIT for his Son from Heaven 1 Thess i. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to tarry to stay till he come Which implies both longing and patient abiding till he please to send so great a Blessing V. Nay fifthly St. James exhorts them to be PATIENT with long-suffering to the coming of the Lord V. 7. For so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there used imports a patient abiding though he stay long and we suffer much before he come We could not suffer and indure what we must on some occasions if we did not expect him as Oecumenius notes out of the ancient Greek Expositors * In 1 Th. i. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And our sufferings would not be very valuable if we were not content to expect him long as he likewise observes upon another place in that Epistle For if it were manifest saith he * In 1 Th. v. 1. that the day of the Lord or the consummation of all things would be within three years and it could not be otherwise all would despise dangers and make nothing of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and what great vertue would this be when they knew that within so short a space they should receive their full reward The vertue of a Christian is to suffer long as well as to suffer much waiting with long patience as the Husbandman doth for the precious fruit of the Earth VI. And yet it is not such a patience we are to exercise but St. Peter gives us leave to HASTEN it which is a sixth word whereby the holy writings express this pious affection unto and vehement desire of the appearing of Christ Jesus 2 Pet. iij. 12. Looking for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and HASTING unto the coming of the day of God In the Greek it is not hasting unto the coming but hasting the coming and so we render it in the margin that
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