shines in Glory that infinitely exceeds all the most solemn and magnificent Representations of Earthly Majesty all the Trophies and Triumphs of the most famous Conquerors To raise our Thoughts by a distinct Comparison of them consider The Glory of Saints is substantial and solid 't is inherent in them The Apostle says 'T is a Glory that shall be revealed in us A plenary Infusion of all glorious Endowments both in Soul and Body shall conform us to the Son of God The Glory of this World is but an aiery Opinion a verbal Sound without Substance empty Titles external Appearance and confers no real Dignity to the Person that receives it There is no Greatness in worldly Honour 'T is Fancy heightens some by comparison with those that are below them But Heaven is the Kingdom of true Glory and every Saint there is truly glorious The Psalmist declares God's Judgment of all the Honour and Prosperity of the World As a Dream when one awakes so O Lord when thou awakest thou wilt destroy their Image They are painted Shadows splendid Toyes What difference there is between the clear and sound Judgment of a Person throughly awake and the vain fugitive Fancies of one that dreams there is and much more between the swelling Images of Worldly Honour and the real Heavenly Honour of the Saints The Heavenly Glory brings entire Satisfaction As for me saith David I will behold thy Face in Righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy Likeness When the Morning of Glory arises and the Soul awakes from the heavy Eye-Lids of Flesh and sees the King of Spirits in his Beauty and the Impression of the Divine Excellencies conspicuous in it self what a joyful Satisfaction as sweet as Life is diffused through all its Powers What a Heavenly Sabbath composes all its vast and restless Desires The Glorified Saint sings with the Psalmist Return to thy Rest O my Soul for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee But how unsatisfactory is all secular Greatness and Honour Of this we have the fullest Testimony from some who ascended to the top of Worldly Glory Solomon whose calm and flourishing State was scarce ever parallel'd yet declares that all was Vanity And the Roman Triumphs wherein the World was represented in its highest Glory was but an empty Shew Vespasian the Emperor in his triumphant way often reflected upon his Folly in being induc'd to suffer such a tedious Vanity 'T is true the dreaming Minds of Men are deceived with vain complacence in it for a while and this makes them unwilling to be convinc'd of their foolish prizing it yet they cannot find any solid true Satisfaction They are charm'd with a superficial Pleasure that cannot reach to the Center of the Soul To sum up all The Honour of the Servants of Christ is Eternal They will shine like the Stars that never faint in their Watches and Influences with a durable Glory But the Glory of this World like a blaze in Straw presently vanishes Not one Ray of secular Glory shall enlighten the highest Monarchs in the shady Valley of Death nor in the Regions of Darkness beyond it The proper and main use of what has been spoken is 1. To direct our Ambitious Desires and Endeavours to seek Heavenly Honour Nature has instilled the Desire of Praise and Glory And this is like some Plants that in their native Soil have a poysonous Quality but transplanted into another Soil and Climate are not only innocent but healthful Pride ruines both Worlds The Angels were expelled from Heaven and Adam from Paradise for their Pride And ever since 't is a seminal Sin productive of innumerable Evils and Mischiefs Pride of Life is one of the great Corrupters in the World 'T is the cause of Envy and Emulation Of Envy that would degrade those that are above of Emulation that urges those who are below by any guilty means to ascend higher 'T is one of the great Destroyers of Men here and hereafter The Affectation of the Praise of Men makes so many ashamed of the Gospel of Christ of owning its Truths or subjecting themselves to its pure Rules This Account is given of the Infidelity of some in our Saviour's time they sought the Honour of Men and not the Honour that comes from God only But let the Desire of Glory be consecrated let our Aspirings be transported to a new and heavenly Object to the Incorruptible Crown and 't is a Saintly Ambition becoming the Breast of a Christian. The changing of the Object will be an excellent means to rectify our inordinate Desire of Honour of what is pompous and specious in this World There is some Resemblance in curing the Diseases of the Mind and those of the Body A Disease is not only cured by what is manifestly contrary but sometimes by what seems like to it yet has a secret Contrariety The feverish Heat is not only spent by cooling Julips but by Cordials that fortifie the natural Heat that consumes those Humours that are the inflamable Matter which foments the Fever Thus the sensual Desire of worldly Honour is extinguished by a pure Aethereal Affection the Desire of that Honour that comes from the God of Glory who is the absolute and eternal Fountain of Honour 2. Let us be effectually excited our selves to choose Christ for our Master and devote our selves to his Service for ever Tho his Dominion is Supreme and his Right in us unalienable yet he will be glorified by our free Obedience Our Resolution and Consent to serve him that it may be acceptable must be deliberate intire and everlasting 1. Deliberate from the Conviction and Sense of our Duty and Interest For the Ignorance and Deception of the Mind the suddain Surprisal of the Will is contrary to that clear Consent that is requisite to establish a Covenant There is a Competition between the Son of God and the God of this World who shall reign over us One we must serve 't is therefore our highest Wisdom to choose a gracious Master and most just to serve him who by full Right may claim due Service If with free Judgment we ponder things if our carnal Senses and Passions have not the decisive Vote we shall readily yield our selves to Christ who by so many dear Titles has a Right in us For to this end Christ dyed and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living He is the true Vine that left his Sweetness the good Olive that left his Fatness to reign over us and shall we choose the Bramble to domineer He requires our Service not for his Profit but that his Love and Bounty may take a rise to reward us But Satan will torment them most who are most obsequious to him And what Charm what Impression upon the human mind can induce us to prefer a Murderer before our Saviour 2. Our Consent must be intire without exception against any of his Laws or his Providential
Esteem and Affections of Men unless they are prodigiously degenerate and corrupted by their Lusts. The Heathens were convinc'd that Honour is the extrinsick Tribute always due to Vertue and some were so strict and had such Divine Thoughts as to maintain that Vertue is the only true Nobility 'T is foretold in Scripture The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance They leave an honourable Evidence of their Graces and Vertues in their Works and are of precious memory when the Name of the Wicked shall rot But the Reward our Saviour promises is the Honour that comes from God only And as his Majesty infinitely transcends all Earthly Principalities so in proportion the Honour that he confers upon his Servants is above all the Titles of Honour all the swelling Praises of Men. This Reward is given in the next World Here the Servants of Christ are sometimes darkened with many Afflictions and buried in sad Obscurity before they are dead They are the Objects of Scorn and Contempt St. Paul who was an incarnate Seraphim whose Zeal in the Service of his Divine Master exceeded all the Apostles yet was as he declares vilified as the off-scouring of the World Now such is the excellent Goodness of God that he will certainly in the next Life reward with the highest Honour all who have advanced his Honour The Honour and Glory of the future state is concealed at present 't is wrapt up in a Cloud only some glimmerings of it glance upon our Eyes Light is sowed for the Righteous the plenary Revelation is hereafter 'T is true the Apostle tells us that Life and Immortality are brought to Light through the Gospel But that is only to be understood of a Comparative Revelation to what was under the Law 'T is brought to the Light of Faith which is like to Break of Day when the Shadows of the Earth and the Light of Heaven are mixt There is a Veil between us and the Glory of Heaven partly to try our Faith whether we will believe the Promise of God without sensible Discoveries of it and to try the sincerity of our Love whether we love God for Himself without the distinct unfolding of that excellent Glory and to comply with the weakness whilst we are in such temper'd Tabernacles of Flesh. If the Beams of his Glory were display'd before our Eyes we should be struck with blindness as Saul was at the brightness of Christ's appearing to him The Flood of Light would swallow us up in Extasy and Amazement Our faint Faculties cannot sustain his Glorious Presence As God told Moses No Man can see my Face and live St. John tells Believers Now we are the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be Now our Names are written in the Book of Life in the Rolls of Eternity now we are Adopted into the Line of Heaven now we are cloathed with the Righteousness of Christ the Royal Purple Robe dyed in his Blood we have the Priviledges of the justified State we have a Right to the Eternal Kingdom by our Saviour's Purchase and the firm Covenant of Grace we have the Holy Spirit of Promise who is the earnest of our Inheritance and the Seal of God's Love to us But the full partaking of that Glory is reserved till we leave this visible World I will briefly glance at the several Degrees of the Reward that shall be conferred upon all whom the King of Glory delights to honour in the next World 1. The Scripture reveals that the Souls of just Men first come to the perfection of Glory If Adam had continued in his holy State after a short Immortality upon Earth he had been translated Alive and entire in Soul and Body to Heaven The everlasting Doors had been opened wide for his Reception But since our Disobedience tho our Guilt be pardoned the Gate is so strait that the gross Spoils of our Flesh must be left behind us Now immediately upon the dissolution of the Saints God sends a Guard of Angels his most noble Creatures to convoy their Souls into the Courts of his Honour into the Chamber of his glorious Presence Divine Dignity This is the priviledg of his chosen Friends and Favourites of the most illustrious and blessed Creatures In Heaven the Divine Majesty is seen in its Glory And if one Ray of it reflecting upon Suffering Stephen adorn'd him with Angelical Glory how much more will the Face of God most radiant and resplendent transform the Soul into an admirable Similitude of his Perfections When we shall see him as he is we shall be like him by his everliving Spirit the principle of the Divine Life and Beauty in the Soul as the Soul is of the natural Life and Beauty in the Body There will remain no shadow of Error in the Mind no mixture of Evil in the Will no Pollution in the Affections but the full Likeness of God in Holiness and Joy This is the highest Honour an immortal Spirit is capable of The State of Innocence wherein Man was created is call'd a State of Honour The Angels are dignified with the Title of Saints And God is glorious in Holiness It follows therefore when the Spirits of just Men are made perfect they partake of the Heavenly and Divine Honour If the Joy that springs from believing whilst we are in this Vale of Tears be unspeakable and full of Glory how glorious is the Joy that springs from the clearest Sight and the most intimate Fruition of the blessed God the Joy that is without defect or end as the Psalmist expresses In thy Presence is fulness of Joy at thy right Hand are Pleasures for evermore 2. At the last day their Bodies shall be raised and refined to a Spiritual Excellency and transformed into the Likeness of Christ's glorious Body The Apostle declares That the Consummation of the Saints Glory shall be at Christ's Appearance Then their Souls shall be reinvested with shining Robes of Immortality They shall be placed at the right Hand of the everlasting King which implies the highest Honour as God's being at our right Hand implies Protection and Defence They shall then receive a most glorious Testimony of his Acceptance Well done good and faithful Servants enter into your Master's Joy After they are approved they shall sit upon Thrones and judg the the World even the Prince of Darkness with all his Apostate Trains they shall give their solemn Suffrages to the Judgment pronounced by our Saviour saying Hallelujah Salvation and Glory and Honour and Power unto the Lord our God for true and righteous are his Judgments And after the last Act of his Regal Office our Saviour will lead them into the Kingdom of his Glory to reign with him for ever and ever Who is able to unfold this excellent Glory all Humane Words are unworthy and too narrow to express it only the lively and ravishing Experience of that Glory can fully reveal it to us The meanest Saint in that Kingdom
What the Service of Christ implies In the general Notion to serve Christ implies Obedience to his Will as the Rule of our Actions with aims at his Glory as the End of them His Will revealed in the Scriptures is a Rule eminently and exclusively Eminently for it has all the Perfections of a Rule 'T is clear and compleat sufficient to make us wise to Salvation and to direct us in the Way everlasting 'T is called the holy acceptable and perfect Will of God 'T is a Rule Exclusively To speak strictly no Creature can be a Rule to another for they are all in an equal Line of Subjection to the Creator One may be a Guide or Governour to another according to the Rule of God's Word The Laws of Men cannot reach and bind the Conscience immediately but by virtue of God's Command nor unlimitedly but as they are consonant with his Laws Now a universal respect to the Will of Christ as the Rule of our Lives is truly to serve him And the aiming at his Glory in all our Desires and Endeavours either actually or habitually is an essential Ingredient in his Service The actual Intention in every performance is not absolutely necessary Many good Actions may proceed from the Influence of the habitual Intention An Arrow that is directed by aim may hit the Mark tho in its flight the Eye be turned off from it But the ultimate scope of our Life which ought to be often renewed in our Minds must be to please and glorify Christ according to the Apostle's Expression To me to live is Christ. I will more distinctly open these Things under the following Heads 1. The Church is a distinct Society from the World of which Christ is the Head and the State of Christianity is a high and holy Calling and all who are brought into it by the outward Ministry of the Word or in Conjunction with it by the internal Grace of the Spirit are obliged to the Faith and Obedience of the Gospel the same Duties and the same Rewards are common to all And living according to that Spiritual State in Godliness Righteousness and Sobriety is to serve Christ. Thus the Adoration the Honour the Homage we render to God the making him the sole Object of our highest Love an entire relyance on the Mediator for our Salvation an earnest desire to please him in all Things and an equal fear to displease him the exercise of compassionate beneficent Charity towards Men briefly a Holy and Heavenly Conversation is the universal Duty of Christ's Servants And that our Service be accepted it must be performed with Humility Zeal and Constancy With Humility and Dependance upon the Mediator for Divine Grace and Acceptance Every spiritual Act requires a Supernatural Power Not a holy Thought or Word springs from naked Nature Our Saviour tells his Disciples Without me you can do nothing As the Branches derive Life and active Sap from the Root that makes them flourishing and fruitful so from his sanctifying Spirit that was purchased by his meritorious Sufferings and is conferr'd by him in his Glory we are made fruitful in every good Work And in the beloved Son we are only accepted This general Service due to Christ must be done with Zeal We are commanded to be fervent in Spirit serving the Lord to work out our own Salvation as the Apostle with most lively Emphasis enforces the Duty Our most ardent Affections and active Powers are to be imploy'd in this work remembring that our Lives are short and uncertain Time flies upon the swiftest Wings That the Work is of infinite and everlasting Consequence in comparison of which our fervent Diligence in worldly Affairs is like the throwing of Straws and Feathers with our utmost strength remembring that we are always under the pure Eye of our Divine Master that will call us to an exact Account To be cold and careless in his Service disparages his Excellency and will defeat our hopes The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by violence With Constancy He delivered us from the Hands of our Enemies that we might serve him without Fear in Holiness and Righteousness before him all the Days of our Lives The travail of Faith continues till heavenly Vision be brought forth and the Labour of Love till the Reward be obtained I will not insist on this being to resume the consideration of it afterwards 2. In the various Conditions of Life in this World we are to serve Christ. The entire Man is the Object of God's tender Care and Providence and accordingly he has wisely ordered divers Conditions and special Callings of Men wherein they are engaged and employed for the Support and Comfort of themselves and the publick Good And as in a Circle from every Point of it a streight Line may be drawn to the Centre so in the vast Sphere of this World from every lawful Calling there may be a direct prosecution of our last and blessed End the Glory of God in conjunction with our Salvation There is no state of Life so low and mean but a Christian may so manage it as to excel in Holiness and consequently Honour Christ As Phidias that famous Sculptor expres'd his Art to Admiration not only in Gold and Marble and Ivory but in mean Materials in Wood or ordinary Stone The Apostle often inculcates this Lesson upon Servants to obey their Masters with Fidelity and Cheerfulness for ye serve the Lord Christ Col. 3.24 Eph. 6.7 It was to a mortal Man and if it might be of a perverse humour their Service was immediately addres'd but if from Conscience of their Duty to Christ and a direct intention to please him they performed it that Respect sweetened and ennobled the Service 'T is the Spirit and Perfection of Christianity to transform and elevate the lowest Actions it makes the Service of a Slave to be Divine Obedience which is the most free and noble Act of the reasonable Creature From hence the same Apostle enforces the Duties of Servants that they may adorn the Gospel of God our Saviour The faithful Discharge of their Service redoubles the Lustre of the glorious Gospel and recommended it to their Pagan Masters And 't is equally true that in every lawful Condition of Life when Men are conversant in the Duties proper to it with a respect to the Command of Christ when their civil Actions are ultimately resolved into his Glory they perform Religious Obedience This is enjoyned in that comprehensive Precept Whatsoever you do in word or deed do it in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ that is with a respect to his Will and for his Honour I shall only add that Diligence in our civil Callings must always be in Subserviency to the great End of our general Calling the Salvation of our Souls to which we are primarily and indispensably obliged The Life of a Christian is a walking with God and the way is in the performance of holy and civil Duties And