priviledg of the Resurrection which was an Arcanum or Mysterie not formerly made known to the Church But this is but a conjecture which carrieth with it little probability The Apostle telling us in the same place that the words he heard in that Extatical Vision were Vnspeakable words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. things which were either not lawful to be uttered or not possible to be uttered ineffable words had this Mysterie been that Revelation or any part of it the Apostle had in reporting it to the world either exceeded his commission or done impossibilities Others therefore conceive that this was a mystery revealed to none but to the Apostle himself and that not unto him until he wrote this Epistle and so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the word of Lord signifies only the Apostle his delivering this by divine Authority from divine inspiration quasi eo ipso loquente Bern. Christi mandato Grot. Others there are that waving both these Conjectures are apt to think this mystery so called because it was not commonly understood in the Church to be none other than the Doctrine which our Lord himself delivered by word of month in the dayes of his flesh concerning the Resurrection for which Some would make us beholding to Tradition but others more rationally suppose the Apostle to entitle this Doctrine to the Lord not as if any where delivered in terminis in so many express letters and syllables but as a divine Truth deduceable from the general doctrine which the Lord Jesus did deliver in his Sermons and discourses touching the raising of the dead And to this judgment I do much incline as the more safe and warrantable Christ's own words being a much more solid foundation to build an Article of Faith upon than either Tradition or Revelations Witness the Holy Ghost in the mouth of the Apostle St. Peter 2 Pet. 1.19 We have also a more sure word of Prophesie more sure then what Why more sure than the Voyce which the Disciples heard from Heaven when they were with Christ in the Mount ver 18. An infallible Oracle attested by infallible Witnesses and yet behold the written Word is a surer bottom for our Faith to stand upon in taking up divine doctrine than that because though the voyce from Heaven was in it self 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 infallible yet the holy Scriptures being the standing * Psal 19.7 God's Amen Testimony and Expositor of Gods mind to the world it is a more authentick Touch-stone to try Truth by then a Voyce from Heaven which may be Counterfeited by Satan and Satanical Imposture We shall reckon then this mystery delivered here by holy Paul as the Doctrine which Christ himself Preach'd unto the world and testified by the Evangelists and other Secretaries of the Holy Ghost until Revelation be more clearly revealed unto us in this point Amongst the passages of our Lords Doctrine recorded by the Evangelists concerning the Resurrection from which this particular mystery may be collected we may with safety and modesty select these Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man Math. 24.30 and they shall see him coming in the Clouds of Heaven with power and great glory And he shall send forth his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet and they shall gather his Elect from the four Winds from the one end of Heaven to another When they shall rise from the dead Mark 12.25 they neither marry nor are given in marriage And again As touching the Dead that they rise have ye not read in the book of Moses c Behold by the way Jesus Christ that he might give testimony to Moses quotes the testimony of Moses for the Doctrine of the Resurrection But yet further take another testimony or prediction of his own The hour is coming Jo. 5.28 in the which all that are in the Graves shall hear the voyce of the Son of man And shall come forth they that have done good unto the Resurrection of life c. To these Scriptures and the like it is most probably conjectured our Apostle doth refer when he doth here quote the Authority of our Lord for the Doctrine here delivered For although it doth not run verbatim word for word with any of the recited Texts yet these things are evident First That in these Scriptures our Blessed Saviour doth positively and expresly assert the doctrine of the Resurrection at the last day The dead must rise Secondly That the main care which Christ will take at his coming will be To gather unto himself all his Elect which have been upon the earth from the Creation until that blessed hour Math. 24.31 He shall send forth his Angels and they shall gather his Elect c. not one of them shall be wanting Thirdly Christ comprehends all these his Elect whether quick or dead under one and the same notion namely the dead and those that are in the Graves not the least mention made or notice taken of them that shall survive and be found alive at his coming whence two things are clearly deducible First That the Resurrection which the Saints that sleep in Jesus shall be made partakers of shall put them into as full a capacity of the glory of Christs coming as if they had remained alive in the body until that blessed hour Yea Secondly That the Saints then surviving can upon no other account become capable of that glory than as they fall under the notion of the dead Christ takes notice in the prediction of his coming of no other but the dead for whom that glory is reserved Whence Some are of opinion that the surviving Saints must dye in a literal sense and a real separation must pass upon them between their bodies and their souls Mirâ celeritate of which opinion Austin himself was though he conceived it would be transacted in a wonderful swift and speedy way But others conceive that the Saints whom Christ his coming shall find in the body 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall suffer only some thing analogical to death and to this opinion our faith must needs subscribe the Holy Ghost bearing witness to it in the mouth of the Apostle in the 15th Chapter to the Corenthians 1 Cor. 15.51 We shall not all sleep i. e. all shall not dye in a literal sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what then but we shall all dye or be changed i. e. they that dye not must be changed All must either dye or be changed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they that do not sleep must suffer a mutation that shall bear some proportion to death Verse 50 whereby the corruption of their nature must be abolished for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdome of God neither doth corruption inherit incorruption The body as it is corruptible much less as it is sinful is not capable of glory there must a refining change pass upon it they must put off their
Jesus Christ They shall neither go forth to meet this glorious Bridegroom one moment sooner than their Brethren that are in their Graves nor shall they see him coming in his Glory one moment sooner nor consequently be owned by Christ or received by him or taken up to him or be placed upon Thrones with him or receive their absolution and justification from him or their glorification with him one moment before their fellow-Saints that are yet in their dormitories And truly this is a comfortable word even in the negative part of it Believers may lye down to sleep in their beds of dust not only with the Psalmist's even-Song I will both lay me down in peace and rest Psal 4.8 for thou Lord only wilt make we dwell in safety but with the Lord Jesus his Triumph Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoyceth Psal 16.9 10. my flesh also shall rest in hope for thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell c. Christ will not forget his dead in the Grave the living Saints at his coming shall not be made happy without them nor one moment sooner happy in any of the Beatitudes of Christ his coming at the end of the world This comfort I say the very negative part of the Apostles answer to the Objection doth import But then How much stronger Consolation doth the affirtive part afford which although it lye in the close of the next verse yet it being the main branch of the Apostle's accompt whereby he satisfieth the doubt of the dying Servants of God ut suprà we must of necessity speak of it here also with the Negative at least so far as it referrs to the Apostle's scope reserving the consideration of what special and peculiar Import the words carry in them to their own place We are therefore to take notice that the affirmative part of the Apostles satisfaction to the Saints doubt or objection lieth in these words The dead in Christ shall rise first He doth exactly state the method of Christ's procedure at the last Judgment Affirmatively vers 16. viz. That the first business which shall be then transacted shall be the awakening and raising all the Saints of God out of their Graves which from Adam until that moment have slept in the dust The dead in Christ shall rise first nothing shall be done till that be done The very first work Christ will do at his Coming will be to send forth his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet first to awaken the Elect out of their sleep Math. 24.31 Awake you that sleep in the dust and then to gather them from the four winds from the one end of Heaven to the other and when they shall have put on their Wedding garments to conduct them in State and Triumph to meet with their Royal Bridegroom now comn forth more than half way to meet them and to consummate the Marriage which was long since Contracted in the day of their Espousals It were easie to enlarge here but in a word the sum of this Affirmative account is this That the Saints who sleep in the Grave at Christ's coming shall be so far from being made less happy or later happy in the coming of Christ than the Saints who then shall be found alive that they shall be first remembred the first care Christ will take when he comes in the Clouds shall be not about the living Primitiae Resurrectionis but the dead Saints The dead in Christ shall rise first They shall be the first Fruits of the Resurrection They that have slept so long in their beds of dust Ab illis ordo Resurrectionis incipiet shall be first awakened before any thing be done about them that never slept They that were uncloathed and saw corruption in the Grave must first have their bodies cloathed upon with incorruption and then the surviving-Saints at Christ's coming shall be joyned to them that have for so many years and ages slept in Jesus The dead in Christ shall rise first and both be presented together before the Judge It were too little to say Use This may much alleviate the bieterness of death our own or our godly Relations surely it may greatly augment our joy They and we shall be so far from being losers by laying down our earthly Tabernacles in the dust before we see Christ coming in his Glory that it shall be our advantage If there be any priviledg any joy any glory any triumph at that day it shall be theirs who sleep in Jesus and theirs as soon as their surviving-Brethrens The first dawnings of the Sun of Righteousness coming in his Majesty shall shine upon their faces the first-fruits of that Jubilee shall be reserved for a recompence of their long sleep in the Grave they shall begin the health in this cup of Salvation the primacy of all that blessed solemnity belongs to the departed Saints The dead in Christ shall rise first Oh Christians Comfort one another with this word And the rather because this is not an uncertain conjecture which the Apostle laies down here but an assertion of infallible certainty which he had from the divine Oracle Second branch of this Comfort The Authority quoted the Word of the Lord which brings me to the second branch in this seaventh word of Comfort and that is The Authority which the Apostle brings for this Doctrine sc the Word of God This I say unto you by the word of the Lord. He quotes divine Authority for what he delivereth It being a Doctrine of so much encouragement and satisfaction unto dying Saints Praefatur nihil se preferre vel suum vel humanum Calv. a Doctrine above humane capacity and it seemeth not commonly understood by the Churches Saints of God at that time he doth not pass it in his own name or upon his own Authority When he speaks as one that hath obtained mercy to be saithful then it is 1 Cor. 7.12 I speak not the Lord i.e. not by express dictate of the Spirit but by way of Faith Christivice as agreeable to the word but when he speaks as an Apostle insallibly inspired then it is not I but the Lord and so it is here but tells us from whence he had it q.d. What I deliver now unto you I speak not of my self sed ex ore Domini from the mouth of him that is the truth it self the mouth of Jesus Christ This we say unto you in the word of the Lord. Qu. But where or when had the Apostle this Doctrine from Jesus Christ Ans Others are of opinion he had it by immediate Revelation but as to the time they differ Some conjecture 1 Cor. 12.2.4 the Apostle had this mysterie revealed to him at what time he was rapt up to the third Heaven and there heard unspeakable words amongst which one was this comfortable Doctrine that the living Saints shall not prevent the dead Saints in any glorious
shall bring them together Math. 24.31 The incineration dissipation of their dust shall have a Recollection in the Resurrection not so much as one dust wanting for he that numbers the Stars doth number also the dust and ashes of his Redeemed as not an hair of their heads so not a dust of their resolved flesh shall perish Thus gathered together Christ by his mighty power shall unite dust to dust every dust in its own proper place and form it up into the same numerical body it was when it was dissolved and laid down in the Grave And thus made up into a beautiful Structure more beautiful than ever it was in its first Creation as I shall shew hereafter Christ will put each Soul into its own body again and unite them together into the same sweet conjugal society and fellowship they possessed before their separation this friendly espoused Pair shall now be solemnly Married together before God and Men and Angels never to suffer Divorce any more and they shall become one entire person a totum compositum as they were in the days of their first contract And this excellent person will Christ animate and quicken with the influences of that blessed Union with himself which during all this long interval of their sleeping in the Grave was not dissolved but hidden only and suspended Now shall the Saints know and feel the meaning of that word which Christ spake to Martha I am the Resurrection and the Life Martha in the verse immediately before had professed her Faith of a Resurrection I know that my Brother shall rise again in the Resurrection at the last day Presently Christ replieth Jo. 11.25 I am the Resurrection and the Life discovering to her the Fountain and Cause of that Resurrection namely that Life and Vertue shall then go forth from himself to animate and quicken all his Members and shall cause them to stand upon their feet again as the Children of the Resurrection Thirdly Soul and body thus Vnited Christ God-man shall bring with him unto the place where the great Assizes of the quick and dead shall be solemnly kept which the 17th v. tells us will be in the Air of which more distinctly when we come to that verse Thither Christ will bring with him all his Elect whose bodies to that moment have slept in him Christ will carry the risen Saints with him to the Judgment when he hath awakened them And that upon a Twosold Accompt First For the greater Honour of that Day For the greater solemnity of that last and tremendous Judgment The Saints shall be brought out of their Graves to attend the Judge for his greater State and Grandeur to strike the greater Terrour into the hearts of Reprobate men and Angels who then shall be brought forth in Chains to the Tribunal of Christ to see and suffer the severity and impartiality of that last Tryal The Glory of a King consists in the multitude of his Nobles and Royal Attendants The Judge of Assize is brought in with the Posse Comitatus the power and gallantry of the Country for the striking of the greater terror and aw into the hearts of offenders Angels and Saints shall be Christ's Life-guard as it were Christi Satellitium or as his Troops and Legions which shall conduct him in State and Triumph to the Judgment Seat Secondly when Christ shall have raised his sleeping Saints out of their beds of dust he shall bring them with him from the Grave to the place of Judgment That they may accompany him and be with him throughout the whole carriage and conduct of the last judicial process to hear and applaud his righteous proceedings This is that which the Apostle calls The Saints judging of the World and judging of Angels yea 1 Cor. 6.2 3. it seems that is not all our Saviour tells his Apostles that in that day Math. 19.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nâ—mpe ut Christi vere propâ—è Judicis Assâ—ssâ—res Bern. in â—oe they shall sit on twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes c. judging or condemning how certainly not as bare Spectators only but as Assessors to sit with Him on the Bench to justifie and consent to the judgment of Christ the great and Supream Judg giving in their full and free suffrages to the final sentence which he shall pass upon the Reprobate world of Jews and Gentiles of Men and Devils probably in some such language as we hear from the Saints upon the downfall of Antichrist Great and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty And by that Doctrine they shall be judged also in the general judgment Math. 13.18 Jo. 12.48 Heb. 117. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He condemned the world partly as the building of the Ark was a visible prediction of the Flood partly as it was a witness and conviction of their infidelity just and true are thy waies thou King of Saints for thy judgments are made manifest Here the Apostles and Ministers of the Gospel judged the Wicked of the world by their Doctrine and both Ministers and others of Gods faithful Servants judged them by their Holy lives and patient bearing of the Cross as it is said of Noah that by his Faith in believing the warning and obeying the Command of God in preparing the Ark he judged or condemned the unbelieving World The holiness of the Saints is a tacit reproach and conviction upon the Consciences of Wicked men whereby they condemn them before hand yea whereby wicked men become 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Self-condemned But now the Preachers of the Gospel with the rest of the Saints shall Judge the world judicially and probably by an audible Vote to and with the Judgment of Jesus Christ * Rev. 16.5 Thou art Righteous O Lord which art and wast and shalt be because thou hast judged thus This honour shall all the Saints have at that Day Thus Christ shall bring the raised Saints with him to the place of Judgment But Fourthly Fourthly God shall bring them with him i. e. that last and solemn Judgment being finished Christ shall carry all his Saints back with him from the place of Judgment the neather Heavens into the upper the supreme Heavens where the Throne of God is and the seat of glorified Angels and Saints All the Saints of God shall follow the Judg in a Triumphant manner into the streets of the New Jerusalem the gates whereof shall be set wide open to receive them An abundant entrance shall be administred unto them into the everlasting Kingdome of the Lord and Saivour Jesus Christ where they shall be welcomed home with lowd Acclamations of joy Heaven will ring again with Triumphant shoutings Thus also God shall bring them with him that sleep in Jesus he will bring them into the Glory of his Father but of this I shall have occasion to speak more largely hereafter This is another Word of Comfort and there is great need
Rags of mortality before they put on the Robes of Glory and this must be done Partly that the Statute of Heaven may not be broken Heb. 9.27 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 decreed wherein it is appointed for all men once to dye It was a Statute Law past in the Parliament of Heaven Gen. 2.17 In the day that thou eatest thou shalt surely dye Heb. in dying thou shalt dye Christ himself as man submitted himself to this Statute and so must all the Sons and Daughters of Adam they must dye either literally or analogically Death makes a change in some and this change is a death in others a death to mortality and a death to corruption Partly that hereby they may also be made partakers of the Resurrection Our Saviour's prediction of the Resurrection comprehends all the Saints of God and the living Saints at that day can by no other means be counted the Children of the Resurrection than as they are begotten again as it were by this mysterious and ineffable change Math. 19.28 whence possibly it is called the Regeneration because all the Elect of God shall then begin to live their new perfect life all over in their bodies and Souls both the quick and the dead From these Premises we draw this Conclusion c. That our Apostle here doth not start any new doctrine of his own or as * 1 Cor. 7.12 somewhere he doth deliver his own judgment as an holy knowing man and not as one infallibly inspired from above but he doth expound Christ unto us and gives us the sense of His words who was both the Truth and the Resurrection So that the doctrine here laid down as it is a word of exceeding comfort to dying Saints and to their surviving Relations Non primi extitimus Resurrectionis testâ—s 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so here is a consideration which may adde great weight to it and make it so much the stronger consolation in as much as it hath the stamp and sanction of Christ's own Authority Christ himself hath made assidavit to it we have the word of him that cannot lye the Apostle being in this but Christs Interpreter From hence by the way we are informed of these two things Use of Inform. worth our notice First Vse 1 There is no sure and infallible foundation for our faith to stand upon but the word of God Thither therefore the Holy Ghost sends us Isa 8.20 To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them The Apostle himself would not aver such a solemn truth as this is but from the mouth of Christ himself Uncertain Revelations dubitable Traditions Authority of the Church and all humane Testimony whatsoever is too weak a foundation to build our Faith upon in any Article of Religion Search the Scriptures for in them ye hope to have Eternal Life Jo. 5.39 Secondly We gather hence that Scripture-Inference Vse 2 is Scripture that is to say That which may be inferr'd from Scripture by natural and necessary consequence is to be received as the Scripture it self The word of God rightly interpreted is the word of God Thus our Lord himself Luk. 12.27 proves the Resurrection out of the old Testament by inference and deduition from the words which God spake to Moses I am the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob he thence inferrs God being not the God of the dead but of the living that Abraham Isaac and Jacob are alive in their better part sc their Souls and shall live again in their inferiour part sc their bodies So the holy Apostle here inferreth this comfortable truth that the dead Saints shall lose nothing by their not being found alive at Christs coming from Christ's own doctrine of the Resurrection in general And doubts not to honour it with this Title The Word of the Lord This I say unto you by the Word of the Lord. Let the Ministers of the Gospel take heed how they Preach any doctrine opinion or practise 1 Caution to Ministers which cannot either in terminis or at least by just and necessary consequence be justified to be the word of God lest they incurre the brand and censure of false Prophets Jer. 29.9 And let Christians take heed how they reject any doctrine which is so evidenced 2 Caution to private Christians lest they be found to reject the Word of the Lord Jer. 8.9 I have done with the second branch of the seventh word of Comfort sc the Authority quoted for it save only that there is one scruple yet to be removed and that is Quest Why the Apostle in delivering this truth doth use this phrase we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord and not rather they which are alive for Did the Apostle indeed think that he himself should live to see Christ coming in glory to judg the quick and the dead Ans Certainly No for 1. Grotius aliter opinatur quem vide in loc arque etiam Bez. The event shews that that had been a mistaken presumption in him that day is not yet come and the Apostle is long since fallen asleep 2. We hear him Prophesying of his own dissolution and that as a thing hard by 2 Tim. 4.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand Gr. it is instant upon me See the Apostle was far from flattering himself with any such conceit of being one of them that should live and remain unto the coming of the Lord. What means the expression then Ans The holy Apostle divides all the Elect of God into two ranks sc 1. Such as are fallen asleep from the fall of the first Adam to the coming of the second or 2. Such as should survive and remain unto that day not making himself of the number of either the one or of the other but one of the whole number of Gods Elect some of whom should sleep some should live till Christ's last coming and when he saith we that are alive and remain it signifies no more but this in general such of us as are then alive shall not prevent such of us as are then asleep this is all he intends in this expression Beza and others spy out a mystery in this manner of speech Doct. as if hereby the Apostle would hint unto us the uncertainty of Christ's Coming Vult omnes suspensos tenere ne sibi tempus aliquod promittant that for ought that was revealed of that day Christ might come while some of that generation were superstites living upon the face of the earth If that doctrine be in the Text Vse Christ himself hath made the use of it Lanet ultimus dies ut expectetuâ— singulis ut fideles emnibus horis parati essent Math. 24.36 of that day and hour knoweth no man no not
his own Power and Authority shall assemble all his Elect that ever have been upon the face of the Earth into one general Assembly 2. Yet doth not this exclude the Ministry of the Angels Christ may make use of them in the separation of the Elect from the Reprobate and this is expresly affirmed by our Lord Himself The Angels shall come forth Mat. 13.49 Or from the mid'st of the Just and sever the Wicked from the Just This same full and final separation of the precious from the vile the Sheep from the Goats the Seed of the Woman from the Seed of the Serpent it belongs to the Angels Office the Angels shall come forth and sever Christ doth it Authoritatively but the blessed Angels do it Ministerially Christ gives out the Commission He shall send his Angels but they shall execute the Commission Christ gives out the word Gather my Saints together unto me But the Angels those Ministring Spirits they go forth and gather 3. There is yet another Cause mentioned sc the Instrumental or signal Cause and that is the Alarm of a Trumpet He shall send his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet It seemeth not improbable that the Congregation shall be called together by sound of Trumpet for though some both Antient and Modern do understand all that is said concerning the Trumpet sounding metaphorically yet doth the phrase of Scripture favour their opinion more who understand the speech of a literal sounding the Trumpet Schindler in his Lexicon and Schindler tells us that the Jews thought this to be one end of the feast of Trumpets to put them in mind of the last day in the which the dead shall rise with the noise of a Trumpet and be gathered together not otherwise than as when people do hear the sound of a Trumpet they assemble themselves together into some place And why may we not think that as the Trump is used in order to the Saints Resurrection so also there may be use made of it in order to their gathering together when they are raised May not this be suggested from Math. 24.31 though neither the Resurrection nor the Congregating of them together are effected properly by this sound it being not a Physical but a moral instrument only or signal 'T is not the sound of the Angels Joh. 5.28 but the voyce of Christ which the dead hear and live That voyce being the voyce not of a meer man but of God-man may well be allowed to have both quickning and congregating power in it Hence in some Churches it is sung Tuba mirum spargens sonum Per Sepulchra regionum Coget omnes ante Thronum The Trump of God diffusing sound Through all the Graves now under ground Shall cause the Dead Christ's Throne surround To this end it is observable in the Text 1. That in the Original it is not as in other places the sound of a Trumpet only but the Voyce of a Trumpet implying it to be a Vocal Trumpet giving out not only an audible but even an Articulate Voyce speaking in a Language which the Saints shall understand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So in 4 Copies Bez. and therefore some Greek Copies as Beza observeth make the Voyce additional to the Trump sc with the Trumpet and a Voyce 2. It is observable It is not a Voyce only but a great Voyce a Voyce of some unusual terribleness and power a Voyce it seemeth that can do what it speaketh that when it saith Rise ye Dead they Rise and when it saith Come they Come it shall not only summon but bring them together before the Throne of Christ and this probably is the very same with this in the Context verse 16. The Voyce of the Arch-Angel and the Trump of God That Voyce which before raised the Dead shall now bring them together by a sweet compulsion into one Triumphant Assembly The Church of the first-born Heb. 12.23 Quomodo primâ—genitus esse potuit nisi quoniam sâ—cundum divinitatem ante emnem creaturam ex Deo pâ—â—â—e Sermo esset Tert de Trin. Use not Children only but Heirs Heirs of God and co-Heirs with Christ who being the First-born of every Creature hath invested all the Children of Promise into the same prerogative of Primogeniture with himself and are therefore stiled the Church of the first-born But as the Scripture would have us take notice of this Antecedent of the Saints Ascension so it doth teach us also how to improve it to A three-fold Comfort 1. In case of undue mixtures of Saints and Sinners whether in Church-Assemblies or in Civil-Societies How far either of them may be lawful is not an Enquiry proper for this place sure I am much in both is unavoidable A total separation from impure Society in either may well be the object of our wishes but it cannot be of our hope while we are in the world we may separate from Church to Church we may remove from Country to Country roll up and down from the one end of the world unto another But the Apostle tells us we must go one step further if we will avoyd the society of Sinners 1 Cor. 5.10 then must ye needs go out of the World Yea But here is the Comfort and it is the signal use our Lord makes of this very Doctrine The time is coming when a thorow separation shall be made Under that double parable of the Seed and the Net Math. 13. Ver. 26. In the one the Tares grow up with the Wheat Vers 47. In the other all kind of Fishes are gathered good and bad Concerning the former the Servants of the Housholder were offended at it it grieved them at the heart to see the Weeds growing yea and it may be over-growing the good Corn and so hindring the maturing of it They make their addresses to him for a present separation verse 27. and offer their faithful service for an utter radication of the Tares verse 28. verse 29. Wilt thou that we gather them up Nay saith the Lord a total extirpation of the Tares may do more hurt than ye are aware of Better it seems it is that some Tares should remain then the least grain of Wheat to perish The distinguishing-Time is at hand In the time of Harvest I will give order to the Reapers for a perfect separation All this our blessed Redeemer expounds for the comfort and encouragement of his offended Servants to be accomplished at the Resurrection So shall it be at the end of the world the Son of man shall send forth his Angels and they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend and they that do iniquity As if he should say Be of good chear The time is coming when impure mixtures will no more be a temptation to the Saints of God for ever Saints and Sinners shall no more be burdensome one to another The Seed of the Serpent shall no more be an offence to the
Heaven there is eternity but no old age the joyes of heaven are alwayes young The flowers of Paradise of which the Saints Posie is made do neither wither nor change colour the drops of their morning dew standing thick upon them like orient Pearls preserve them in their perpetual verdure and odoriferousness God himself the fountain and spring of all those glorious beings is not a moment older than he was from all eternity and therefore all their fresh springs being in God their roots feed their branches with continual and unchangeable moisture and influence God who is an Object of infinite fulness doth alwayes feast the glorified Saints and Angels with fresh visions of delight and wonder Yea God himself the fountain and spring-head of all those glorious Beatitudes doth wash their roots perpetually with fresh moisture and influence though God be but one and the same ineffable essence yet he being an Object of such infinite fulness it cannot be conceived but he must needs feast the eye of the glorified Angels and Saints with fresh discoveries of delight and wonder to all eternity so that they can never be cloyed or furfeited with the same beatifical vision All the joyes of Heaven are present 9. Property Present there is nothing in the beatifical vision antecedaneous or future but as God himself is but one pure Act or Being alwayes the same from eternity to eternity so are all the felicities of Heaven There are no fragments in glory There is nothing in glory which shall be and is not nor any thing in fruition which shall ever cease or change Glory borrows that immense title of the God of Glory what the Jews say of the ten Commandements is Rev. 1.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and was and is to come a name that is not to be divided or taken asunder but must be spoken all together in one word So Is as that it was so was as that it shall be so shall be as that it is Eternity is a single Point such are all the blessednesses of the Saints were and are and shall be so Past as to come and so to come as present this is a mystery and it is marvellous in our eyes Out of these nine Ingredients or Properties there ariseth a tenth the very top of all scil Delight and Complacency 10 Property Complacency and this makes Heaven to be Heaven indeed the joy of the Lord even the same joy which God himself possesseth the same for kind though not for degree Propriety Possession Intimacy Suitableness Satiety Reflexion Immutability they all meet in God essentially making up an infinite delight and complacency in the Saints and Angels they are perfectly though bounded and limitted according to the capacity of the Creature We cannot conceive it until it receive us making up a delight and joy which on this side Heaven passeth all understanding of which the Psalmist sings In thy presence is fulness of joy Psal 16.11 and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore Behold faith in the glorious Redeemer doth at times raise the Soul of the poor Believer to a marvellous high pitch of joy and ravishment 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love in whom though ye now see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory The expression is very full faith brings the Soul in love with an unseen Christ and fills the heart with joy not ordinary joy such as men do easily express upon all occasions but unspeakable the heart conceives such joy that the tongue cannot utter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ineffabilis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yea it is not to be uttered by the tongue of men or Angels it cannot be spoken it is ineffable and that is not all it follows it is glorious and our translation gives it an addition very emphatical Of the Saints jâ—y and delight in heaven see incomparable Mr. Baxter's Saints everlasting rest p. 41 part 1. And else where abundantly full of glory and yet that reacheth not the top of this joy for the Greek signifieth not glorious only but Glorified faith fills the heart with glorified joy a joy that rivals as it were the joy of the glorified Saints a joy which sets the Soul for the present above it self and puts it into Heaven before its time Oh Christians if faith which must not enter in within the veil can transport the Soul into such extatical raptures what can vision and fruition do Oh the mountings of mind the ravishing joys of heart the solace of soul which glorified Saints possess in the beatifical vision The Soul shall live in joy and be filled with delight in the mirrour of all delights love and joy shall run in a circle and mutually empty themselves into one another love shall dissolve into joy and joy shall resolve into love a River an Ocean of unmixed Complacency wherein the Soul shall bathe it self for ever The Saints are so pleased with their own beatitudes that as they cannot spare any joy they have so they know not what their souls can wish for more This is pure complacency there are none above them that they need envy none beneath them capable of their pity Oh blessed state The fourth and last Priviledge contained in cohabitation is Conformity Even in the Evangelical state below Conformity is the fruit of vision vision produceth Assimilation We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord 2 Cor. 3.18 are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Surely the heavenly vision will beget so much more full and perfect conformity by how much the mirrour is more vital and energetical The Apostle reacheth forth this blessed truth and the reason of it together as a known Doctrine Beloved now we are the Sons of God 1 John 3 2. that were dignity enough for a poor sinner one would think I but that 's not all it is well and it shall be better God hath laid out much upon us but how much glory he hath laid up for us we cannot conceive it doth not yet appear what we shall be This only we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him That 's infinite honour indeed But how doth he prove it Why he proves our conformity from our vision we shall be like him for we shall see him Him ver 3. God in Christ the Godhead in the glorified humane nature of Jesus Christ even while he was here in the dayes of his flesh the flesh of Christ was a veil 1 Tim. 3 1â— through which the deity of Christ did appear 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God was conspicuous in the humane nature John 1.14 the invisible God was as it were made visible in a body of flesh We beheld his glory sayes the Evangelist if it were so upon earth how much more will it be verified in heaven The
thy self nor set any of the houshold of Faith at work for an higher Boon than for Assurance Oh get some special Favourite under the great Mediator some Noah some Job some Daniel c. Men or Women of great acquaintance and much communion with God Christians of large experience and eminent holiness to such God usually denyeth nothing And Heb. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him Psal 25.14 his Covenant to make them know it Speaks to others as men and women ordinarily bespeak prayers Pray pray for me and the like and truly for the most part it passeth for a common if not a vain Complement and there 's an end of it speak to some not Heathen and they will laugh at thee they know not what thou sayest speak to others and they 'l forget thee He that makes not assurance his own concernment how can he make it thine Speak to serious solid broken-hearted Christians who know what assurance is and what it is worth earnestly beg of them If there be any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the Spirit if any bowels and mercies That they would plead hard for that in the interest of our Lord Jesus if God would remember your poor thirsty soul for one draught of this wine of this consolation Assurance and they cannot yea they dare not forget thee They know whose prayers have prevailed for themselves in the like petitions and they dare not but pay their debts But whilst thou settest others to pray for thee Caution forget not to pray for thy self forget not to pray for thy self If thou settest others to pray for thee and prayest not thy self thou art an Hypocrite and God will account thee as one that mockest and thou wilt get a curse and not a blessing wherefore pray pray constantly and pray instantly Vehementia constantia in istu petitionibus requiritur c. knock hard at the gate of heaven for this grand mercy and if God open not the first or second or twentieth or the hundreth time yet with Peter continue knocking let God know as it were that thou art resolved to take no denial to thy Petition for assurance This was the greatness of the poor woman of Canaans Faith Mat. 15.27 she would not be denied Be constant and conscientious in your attendance upon Christs Table 9. Help behold it is the sealing Ordinance his Banquetting-house his Presence-chamber his Marriage-feast his Bed of love where he doth use to give out to his Spouse his Loves Cant. 6.12 〈◊〉 Behold the Spirits run in the blood and the sealing Spirit of Christ is not seldom conveyed in the precious streams of Christs blood in that mysterious Ordinance The holy Supper was the pledge of his dying Love a Seal of his last coming to receive home his Spouse to himself This Cup is the New Testament in my blood 1 Cor. 11.25 26. this do ye as est as ye drink it in remembrance of me As oft as ye eat c. Christ would have his Spouse perpetuate the remembrance of his dying love 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 3.12 that thereby they might look for a hastning of his coming Oh let not thy place be empty at such a glorious festivity who can tell whether the Lord may come in the very hour of this solemn Ordinance which he hath appointed to be the very sanction and pledge of his glorious and triumphant coming Sam. 20.27 and say concerning thee Where is the son of Jesse to day Oh at such a time for the Bridegroom to find thee absent how unkindly may he take it Who that he might be sure not to miss thy company at this Love-feast hath said As oft as ye eat c. Lastly Wait. This is blessedness in assurance 10. Help next to the beatifical vision it self and there wants not blessedness in waiting for it while short spirited Christians can find no sweetness but in a plerophâ—ry gracious souls can tast blessedness in waiting for it Lam. 3.26 The Saints in Scripture have been not only a praying generation but a waiting generation the old Testament Believers waited for the Promise of the Messiah Luke 2.25 It is said of good old Simeon He waited for the consolation of Israel And the Primitive believers in the new Testament after Christs Ascention were commanded by our Lord to wait for the Promise of the Father Acts 1.4 which said he ye have heard of me namely the Promise of the Holy Ghost which should fill their hearts with assurance and seal them up to the day of Redemption Indeed there is Patience in Faith as well as Power it knoweth as well how to stay the Lords leasure as to wrestle with him for the blessing Indeed it is a rare temper to be importunate with God and Christ willing to stay Gods leisure but it is most excellent and there is nothing lost by it Holy David gives us his own experience Psal 40.1 I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined unto me and heard my cry Go you and do likewise Pray and wait wait and wait patiently and if the Lord answer not as soon as your souls could wish know this that you do not so much wait for God as God for you Isai 30 18. The Lord waits to be gracious God doth but wait the fittest season of mercy and therefore blessed are they that wait for him And let me tell you this for your unspeakable encouragement that if assurance come not till your dying hour nor then neither to your own or others sence and observation yet vigorous and persevering indeavours shall wear the same Crown with assurance in heaven not want of assurance but the neglect of it is the sin which God takes unkindly It was the last words wherewith holy Jacob went triumphing out of the world I have waited for thy salvation Gen. 49.18 O Lord. And thus I have done with the second Use of this Ever I come to a third Ever with the Lord. Use 3. 1 Cor. 15 ult It may serve as a spur to diligence and activity in the wayes of God It is the very use the Apostle makes of this blessed Doctrine Therefore my brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as ye know your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Not in vain a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more is to be understood than is exprest the meaning is your reward shall be great and glorious What is that this motive hath relation to the glorious resurrection treated on in the whole foregoing Chapter q. d. on the other side of the resurrection God hath prepared an eternity of glory for you and therefore bestir your selves in good earnest do somewhat for God on this side the grave that may if possible bear some proportion with your future expectation Whatever thy hand findeth to do do