to see God To that the Apostle answers in my Text by calling it the Inheritance of the Saints in light It is true All men are born at sirst spiritually blind and so generally live in the dark seeing no more of God or any spiritual object than as if there was no such thing in being But when a man is born again his eyes are opened and he is turned from darkness to light as well as from the power of Satan unto God And therefore all such are called the Children of light and the Children of the day because they have a marvellous light as St. Peter calls it constantly shining in them whereby they discover many glorious things which lye perfectly hid to all other mortals By this Elisha's servant when his eyes were opened saw the Mountain full of Horses and Chariots of sire even a whole Legion of the heavenly Host round about his Master By this St. Stephen saw the Heavens opened and Christ standing at the right hand of God yea by this Moses saw him that is invisible God himself And thus all that are real Saints being the Children of light see more or less of God at least so much as to make them love and desire and fear and trust on him above all things in the world Indeed they cannot see his face and live as he himself told Moses But they see him as Moses did in his back-parts in his works the effects and products of his divine Perfections And the reason why they cannot see his face and live in this world is because they are still in their imperfect state and therefore cannot possibly have a perfect sight of so glorious a being or if they had it would strike them dead for they could not possibly bear it or as Job expresseth it by reason of his highness they could not endure so as to live under it But seeing God himself saith that no man shall see his face and live he thereby gives us to understand that some shall see his face when they are dead and departed out of this life And so questionless do all the Saints that are in Heaven For they live in a City which hath no need of the Sun nor of the Moon to shine in it For the glory of God doth lighten it and the lamb is the light thereof Or as the Prophet Isaiah words it The Lord is to them an everlasting light So that as the Sun is to us upon Earth the fountain of all that light whereby we see any object here below so to the Saints that are above in Heaven God himself is pleased to issue forth light immediately from himself which exceeds the light of the Sun infinitely more than that exceeds the glimmering of a Glo-worm Neither doth it only shine as the Sun doth upon them but into them and so enlightens themselves too as well as all things that are about them And what is there in the world which they cannot see by such a glorious such an insinite light as this is By this light they see not only the supersicies but the very substance and contexture of every creature they have a mind to look upon as exactly as if it was perfectly anatomized and laid open before them By this they see the several vertues qualities and operations of things here below and the great ends and purposes for which they are designed By this they see the causes of the ebbing and flowing of the Sea and other great Phoenomena of nature which so much puzzle Philosophy and make it but a meer conjecture By this they see the secret and wonderfull Powers that God hath put into all Animals and Vegetables of propagating their respective Species so that none of them ever did or can ever fail to be in the world By this they see both the composition and the several motions of the Sun and all the other Planets as well as fixed Stars and what insluences they have upon terrestrial bodies By this they see the wise establishment of second Causes how they depend upon one another and all upon the first The sight of which and such-like things must needs be an extraordinary pleasure to them by reason of the most admirable Art and Contrivance they observe in them and also because their faculties are by this means employed to the proper uses for which they were made and to which they therefore tend For as God made all things for the manifestation of his own glory he endued men with reason on purpose that they might behold and admire the glory of those Perfections which he manifested in them And hence it is that all things naturally tending to their end all men naturally desire to know and many apply their minds wholly to find out such things as those are And if they can but guess at any of them with the least shew of reason or so much as probability they are mightily pleased with it But what a pleasure then must it be to have a full view and prospect of them and of that infinite Wisedom Power and Goodness which appeareth in them as the Saints in Heaven have by that light which shines upon their inheritance Moreover by this light they look back upon their former lives and see the steady hand of providence ordering and over-ruling not only the greater occurrences but even the least circumstances in them and the holy Spirit of God making some use or other of every one of them to work them over to himself By this they see God's infinite love and goodness to his Church militant here on earth in all the straits and difficulties he brings it into and how good and necessary it is for it that every thing should be just as it is By this they see the holy Angels and all their fellow Citizens in the new Hierusalem and converse familiarly with them as we do with one another By this they see their ever blessed Saviour the eternal Son of God in their nature exalted at the right hand of the Father far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named in Heaven or Earth By this they see all the glory which the Father hath given him as he himself once prayed they might Yea by this they see the most high God face to face even as we see the Sun by his own light and that too as clearly as fully as perfectly as it is possible for creatures to doe it Which so refreshes enlivens elevates and cheers their Spirits that they are always rejoycing and singing and praising God admiring adoring magnifying and giving thanks to his almighty all-glorious and all-gracious Majesty Father Son and Holy Ghost for his creating redeeming and sanctifying them so as to bring them through the various changes and chances of this mortal life to such an inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away eternal in the heavens in glory in bliss in
light it self And now we are got upon the Mount how well may we say with the Apostles It is good for us to be here Let us set up our Tents and dwell continually upon the Contemplation of this glorious inheritance of the Saints in light But alas how far as yet are we distant from it how unworthy of it how unmeet for it What a deal of work have we to do before we can get thither But blessed be God we are in the ready way living in such a Church wherein we have all things that can be desired in order to it Let us not then despair but use the utmost of our care and study to qualifie our selves aright sor it and we cannot miss of it For which purpose therefore let us consider in the next place how we may be rightly qualified or as the Apostle here speaks made meet to be partâ—kers of this inheritance of the Saints in light Where we may observe by the way that the Apostle here supposeth or rather takes it for granted that all men are not meet for it Than which nothing can be more certain None being meet to partake of the inheritance of the Saints but only they who are Saints themselves God himself hath excluded all others from it by his eternal and irrevocable decree that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. And indeed none but Saints are subjects capable of it For all others being still in their natural and sinfull estate their minds are so stuffed with vitious and gross humours that they cannot see the light and so wholly inclined and bent upon sensual objects that they can take no pleasure in the joys of Heaven But rather being altogether unclean and carnal they have an utter aversion if not an antipathy against such pure and spiritual delights as being directly contrary to their corrupt nature Insomuch that Heaven it self would seem more like Hell than Heaven to them The place would seem melancholly the company irksome the work tedious the light troublesome every thing uneasie and disagreeable As suppose it should please Almighty God to take us all up immediately from this place into the highest Heavens and there set us all just at our Saviour's elbow All such who are real Saints among us who love God above all things how glad would they be to see him they love to see their Saviour shining in all his glory How suddenly would they strike up with the Choir of Heaven in singing forth the praises of him that brought them thither What infinite pleasure would they take in the place the work the company and every thing they see there But as for others who are still in their sins and mind only earthly things how sad and disconsolate would they be they would wonder to see the Saints so pleasant and joyfull for as for their parts they can see nothing there which they care for In the midst of light they would be still in darkness In sorrow in the midst of joys They cannot hear that heavenly musick or if they did it would sound harsh all discords to them They cannot tast of those spiritual dainties or if they did they could not relish nor find any sweetness in them They cannot see the face of God or if they did they would not be pleased but terrified and confounded at it and wish with all their souls to be out of that sad place again that they might mind the business and enjoy the pleasures they like better If that be Heaven they never desire to come there any more And all because they want that principle of true grace and holiness which should make them Saints and so capacitate them for the enjoyment of those holy pleasures without which a blind man may as well delight in Pictures the deaf in Musick yea a brute beast in Metaphysicks as they in Heaven or in God himself By this therefore we may see how necessary it is to be holy before we can be happy pure in heart before we can see God real and true Saints before we can partake of their inheritance in light And by consequence as ever we desire to go to Heaven when we dye we must take care while we live to get our Hearts purged from all corrupt affections our Minds enlightened and our Souls sanctified throughout and inclined wholly unto God so as to prefer him at least in some degree before all things else that so we may go out of this world rightly disposed and fitted to behold the light of his countenance and to solace our selves in it as the highest object of our Souls desires And then we may be sure that our desires shall be fully satisfied For our Souls will be no sooner loosned from our Bodies but they will be immediately carried up to Heaven and there partake of the inheritance of the Saints in light And at the last day our bodies shall be united to our souls again and then both in soul and body we shall enjoy all we can desire for evermore But who is sufficient for these things How can we who were born and have lived so long in Sin ever be made so pure and holy as to be meet to live with Saints and Angels with Christ and God himself in the world to come It is I confess no easie matter but howsoever it is possible for every one here present to be so Nay more than that none of us can fail of it unless we be failing to our selves in our endeavours after it As we may easily perceive if we do but consider how others have been and so how we our selves may be sanctified or made Saints if we do but set our selves in good earnest about it For which end we may observe that this being too great a work for us to do by our own strength the eternal Son of God himself was pleased to undertake it for us And for that purpose having taken our nature upon him he gave himself for us as to redeem us from all iniquity so to purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works And so he is made unto us Wisedom as well as Righteousness Sanctification as well as Redemption that as we are justified and redeemed from our sins so we may be made wise and holy through him who is the fountain as of all the good things we do or can enjoy so likewise of all the goodness and vertue we are or can be endued with It all flows from him who therefore tells us that without him we can do nothing But by him there is nothing but we can do As St. Paul found by experience saving I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me Hence therefore if we desire to be made holy we must apply our selves to Christ who although he be now in Heaven as to his Humane Nature yet he is always present with us here below both in his Divine Person and also by his Holy Spirit and so
is ready upon all occasions to assist us in our endeavours after piety and to crown them with that sâ—ccess as to make us sincerely pious For which purpose as he sanctified our humane nature in general by assuming it into his divine person so he sanctifieth our humane persons in particular by making us partakers of his divine nature which he doth by sending his Holy Spirit of the same divine nature with himself into our Hearts which by degrees makes us also holy and spiritual and so in our capacities like unto himself and partakers of his own nature Now the great thing which he requires of us in order to his doing this great work for us is that we believe in him For he himself faith that we are sanctified by faith that is in him Not by believing only his Gospel in general to be true but by believing particularly in himself so as to have a sure trust and confidence on him to give us such illuminations and assistances of his Holy Spirit whereby we may be turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God and so be made sincerely as he is infinitely pure and holy And indeed this is the first and great thing that we ought to believe and trust in our Saviour for and that which is the foundation of all our other expectations from him For we have no ground to expect either pardon or any other blessing at his hands untill we repent and be converted But if we firmly believe and depend upon him in the first place for grace to repent and turn to God and so to become holy and new creatures according to the promises that he hath made us to that purpose as he will then most certainly perform such promises to us so all the other blessings that he hath purchased for us will then follow in course For if we be truly sanctified and made holy then our sins will be all pardoned our persons justified our duties accepted God reconciled to us and at length our Souls eternally saved But all these things depend upon our being first sanctified by him as that doth upon our believing in him But Faith as the Apostle saith is the Gift of God and therefore if we desire to beliâ—ve so as to be sanctified we must ask and expâ—ct it from him in the use of those means which he hath appointed both for the begetting and increasing of it We must reade and hear and medi are upon his Holy Word We must fast and pray and receive the Sacrament of our Lord's Supper For these are the ordinary means which God hath established in his Church whereby to make known himself unto us to convince us of the truth and certainty of his Promises and so work and confirm in us a true belief of them by the power of the Holy Ghost which for that purpose doth continually assist and influence the administration and performance of such duties which therefore are not onely holy duties in themselves but the means too whereby we may become holy But for that purpose we must perform not onely one or more but all of them so as to go through the whole course that God hath prescribed for the healing of our spiritual distempers and for the restoring us to a sound frame and constitution of mind wherein as I have shewn the nature of true holiness properly consists And that we must doe too not onely now and then but through the whole course of our lives so as to be constantly as much as possibly we can employed in some or other of these holy exercises not in a careless and supersicial manner but heartily sincerely earnestly as for our lives for our lives our eternal lives in a great measure depend upon it For it is by our continual exercise of those holy duties and the Grace of God always accompanying of them that our hearts are insensibly taken off from sin and the world and raised up higher and higher towards God and Heaven till at length our whole Souls being sanctified by a quick and lively Faith in Christ we are made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light And what cause have they who are so to give thanks as St. Paul here doth to God the Father for it For the whole of our Salvation from first to last must be ascribed unto him It is begun continued and ended all in him For it was he who so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life It was he who spared not this his Son but delivered him up to be tempted to be scourged to be spit upon to be arraigned condemned crucified and all for us and for our Salvation It was he who having raised up this his Son Jesus sent him to bless us by turning every one of us from his iniquities And made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him It was he who hath exalted him with his own right hand to be both a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance and remission of sins It is he who hath passed by the greatest part of mankind and hath revealed himself and his Son to us the unworthiest of all his creatures It was he who caused us to be born and bred within the Pale of his Holy Catholick Church and in one of the soundest and purest parts of it upon the face of the whole Earth It is he who still continues the means of grace to us and us to them and his blessing both to them and us It is he who gives us his holy spirit to mortifie the deeds of the flesh and to quicken us with newness of life to raise up our minds from the world and fix them upon himself to keep us from evil and to enable us to doe or suffer any thing we can for his sake It is he who calls upon us continually by the ministery of his Word to repent and believe the Gospel and gives us grace to doe it In a word It is he who hath sent me the unworthiest of all his ministers at this time to acquaint you in his Name how ye may be meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light and it is he alone can make you so And therefore all who are so made may well join with the Choire of Heaven in those Seraphick Anthems we find them singing in the Revelations Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb. Amen Blessing and glory and wisedom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be unto our God for ever and ever Amen FINIS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 4â— Psâ—l 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 12. 10. 2 Pet. 1. 4. Isa 6. 3. Rev. 4. 8. Ephes 4. 24. 1 Pet. 1. 15. 〈◊〉 â—hess 4. 7. P 〈…〉 1◠〈◊〉 1 C 〈…〉 1â— 58. Rom. 8. 17. Heb. 1. 2. Rev. 21. 7. 1 Cor. 3. 21 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aâ—t 26. 1â— 1 Thess 5. 5. 1 Pet. 2. 9. 2 Reg. 6. 17. Aâ—t 7. 55 56. Heb. 11. 17. Exod. 33. 20. Job 31. 23. Rev. 21. 23. Isa 60. 19. Jon. 17. â—4 Matt. 17. 4. 〈…〉 〈◊〉 2. 14. 1 Cor. 1. 〈◊〉 Joh. 15. 5. Phil. 4. 13. Act 26. 18. Ephes 2. 8. Joh. 3. 16. Rom. 8. 32. Act. 3. 26. 2 Cor. 5. 21. Act. 5. 31. Revel 7. 10 12.