2. That after the enjoyment thereof it may be weakened and intermitted;
the reasons whereof are assigned, _viz._ bodily distempers, sins,
temptations, and divine desertions; yet it is farther added, that they
are never left without the support of the Spirit of God; whereby they
are kept from sinking into utter despair.
I. As to the thing supposed in this answer, _viz._ that assurance of
grace and salvation is not of the essence of faith. There are many who,
in other respects, explain the nature of faith, in such a way as is
unexceptionable, who, notwithstanding, assert that assurance is of the
essence thereof; in which we cannot but think they express themselves
very unwarily, at least, they ought to have more clearly discovered what
they mean by faith, and what by assurance, being of the essence of
faith; if they mean that no one has saving faith but he who has an
assurance of his own salvation; they not only assert what is contrary to
the experience of many believers, but lay a stumbling-block in the way
of weak Christians, who will be induced from hence to conclude, that
because they cannot tell whether they are true believers or no,
therefore they are destitute of saving faith; upon which account it is
necessary for us to enquire how far this supposition is to be allowed
of, and in what respect denied.
It is certain, that there are many excellent divines, in our own and
foreign nations, who have defined faith by assurance; which they have
supposed so essential to it, that without it no one can be reckoned a
believer. It may be they might be inclined thus to express themselves by
the sense in which they understood several texts of scripture, in which
assurance seems to be considered as a necessary ingredient in faith; as
it is said, _Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of
faith_, Heb. x. 22. and when the apostle speaks of assurance, as a
privilege that belonged to the church to which he wrote, _We know that
if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens_,
2 Cor. v. 1. and elsewhere, he so far blames their not knowing
themselves, or being destitute of this assurance, that he will hardly
allow them to have any faith, who were without it; _Know ye not your
ownselves, how that Jesus, Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates_,
chap. xiii. 5. From such like expressions as these, they who plead for
assurance being of the essence of faith, are ready to conclude, that
they who are destitute of it, can hardly be called believers.
But, that this matter may be set in a true light, we must distinguish
between assurance of the object, _viz._ the great and important
doctrines of the gospel, being of the essence of faith; and assurance of
our interest in Christ being so. The former of these we will not deny;
for no one can come to Christ, who is not assured that he will receive
him, nor trust in him till he is fully assured that he is able to save
him: but the latter we must take leave to deny; for if no one is a
believer but he that knows himself to be so, then he that doubts of his
salvation, must be concluded to be no believer; which is certainly a
very discouraging doctrine to weak Christians. And also, when we lose
the comfortable persuasion we once had, of our interest in Christ, we
are bound to question all our former experiences, and to determine
ourselves to be in a state of unregeneracy, which is, in effect to deny
to give God the glory of that powerful work which was formerly wrought
in us, which we then thought to be a work of grace.
If they, indeed, mean by assurance, being of the essence of faith, that
an assurance of our interest in Christ is essential to the highest or
most comfortable acts of faith, designing thereby to put us upon
pressing after it, if we have not attained to it; and that hereby God is
very much glorified, and a foundation laid for our offering praise to
him, for the experience we have had of his grace, which a doubting
Christian cannot be said to do; we have nothing to say against it. Or,
if they should assert, that doubting is no ingredient in faith, nor a
commendable excellency in a Christian; this we do not deny. All that we
are contending for is, that there may be a direct act of faith, or a
faith of reliance, in those who are destitute of assurance that they are
in a state of grace; which is the thing supposed in this answer, when it
is said, that assurance is not of the essence of faith. That this may be
better understood, and we be led into the sense of those scriptures that
describe believers as having assurance, such as those but now mentioned,
and others to the like purpose, let it be considered, that there are
many scriptures, in which believers are said to have such an assurance,
as only respects the objects of faith, _viz._ the person, offices, and
glory of Christ, the truth of the gospel, and the promises thereof;
which we do not deny to be of the essence of faith. Thus, when the
apostle prays for the church, _That their hearts might be comforted,
being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance
of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of
the Father, and of Christ_, Col. ii. 2. and when elsewhere he says, _Our
gospel came to you in much assurance_, 1 Thess, i. 5. and when he
exhorts persons to _draw near_ to God, _with a true heart, in full
assurance of faith_, Heb. x. 22. it is probable, that he means in these,
and several other scriptures of the like import, no more than an
assurance of the object of faith. And as for that scripture but now
mentioned, in 2 Cor. xiii. 5. where he seems to assert, that all who are
destitute of this privilege are reprobates; some understand the word,
which we translate _reprobates_, as only signifying injudicious
Christians; and if so, this is not inconsistent with the character of
believers: but others, with an equal degree of probability, render it
_disapproved_;[107] and so the meaning is, that if you know not your
ownselves, to wit, that Christ is in you, you are greatly to be blamed,
or disapproved; especially because this proceeds from your neglect of
the duty of self-examination; by which means you have no proof of
Christ’s being in you, who are so ready to demand a proof of his
speaking in his ministers, as in verse 3. Therefore it does not appear
from this text, that every one who endeavours to know that he is in a
state of grace, by diligent self-examination, but cannot conclude that
he is so, must be determined to be destitute of faith; which would
necessarily follow from our asserting that assurance of our interest in
Christ, is of the essence of saving faith.
There are other scriptures which speak of assurance as a distinguishing
character of Christians in general; which are usually brought to prove,
that assurance is of the essence of faith, _viz._ 2 Cor. v. 1. _We know
that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens_;
and, 1 John v. 19. _we know that we are of God_: and in several places
in the New Testament, in which the apostle addresses his discourse to
whole churches, as having assurance, as well as the grace of faith: thus
the apostle Peter, 1 Pet. i. 8, 9. speaks of them as _loving Christ,
believing in him, rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and
receiving the end of their faith, even the salvation of their soul_;
which could hardly be said of them, if they were destitute of assurance
of their own salvation. All that I would infer from these and such-like
scriptures is, that it seems probable that assurance was a privilege
more commonly experienced in that age of the church than it is in our
day; and there may be two reasons assigned for this,
(1.) Because the change that passed upon them, when they were converted,
was so apparent, that it was hardly possible for it not to be discerned.
They turned from dead idols, and the practice of the vilest
abominations, to serve the living God; which two extremes are so
opposite, that their being brought from one to the other could not but
be remarked by, and consequently more visible to themselves, than if it
had been otherwise; but,
(2.) That which may be assigned as the principal reason of this is,
because the church was called, at this time, to bear a public testimony
to the gospel, by enduring persecutions of various kinds; and some of
them were to resist unto blood. Therefore, that God might prepare them
for these sufferings, and that he might encourage others to embrace the
faith of the gospel, which was then in its infant state, he was pleased
to favour them with this great privilege. And it may be hereafter, if
God should call the church to endure like trials, he may in mercy grant
them a greater degree of assurance than is ordinarily experienced.
Nevertheless, it may be questioned; whether those scriptures which speak
of assurance, as though it were a privilege common to the whole church,
are not to be understood as applicable to the greater part of them,
rather than to every individual believer among them. For though the
apostle, in one of the scriptures before-mentioned, considers the church
at Corinth, as enjoying this privilege, and concluding that it should go
well with them in another world, when this earthly tabernacle was
dissolved; yet he speaks of some of them, in the same epistle, as not
knowing their ownselves, how that Jesus Christ was in them. And the
apostle John, notwithstanding what he says to the church, _We knew that
we are of God_, in 1 John v. 19. which argues that many of them had
assurance, plainly intimates that all had it not, from what he says,
ver. 13. _These things have I written unto you, that believe on the name
of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life_: and
though in another scripture, but now mentioned, the apostle Peter speaks
to the church to which he writes, as having _joy unspeakable and full of
glory_ consequent upon their faith, which argues that they had
assurance; yet he exhorts others of them _to give diligence to make
their calling and election sure_, 2 Pet. i. 10. these therefore are
supposed, at that time, not to have it: from all which it may be
concluded, that assurance of grace and salvation, is not of the essence
of saving faith; which is the thing supposed in this answer.[108]
II. We proceed to consider those things that are inferred from this
supposition, viz.
1. That a believer may wait long before he attains it: this appears from
what is matter of daily experience and observation. The sovereignty of
God discovers itself herein, as much as it does when he makes the
ordinances effectual to salvation, in giving converting grace unto those
who attend upon them. Some are called early to be made partakers of that
salvation that is in Christ, others late. The same may be said with
respect to God’s giving assurance. Some are favoured with this privilege
soon after, or when first they believe; others are like those whom the
apostle speaks of, _who, through fear of death, are all their life-time
subject to bondage_, Heb. ii. 15. Many have often enquired into the
state of their souls, that cannot discern any marks or evidences of
grace in themselves; whose conversation is such, that others cannot but
conclude them to be true believers; their spirits are deprest, doubts
and fears prevail, and tend to make their lives very uncomfortable; they
wait and pray for the evidence and sense of God’s love to them, but
cannot immediately find it: this the Psalmist speaks of, either in his
own person, or thereby represents the case of many who had the truth of
grace, but not the assurance thereof, when he says, _O Lord God of my
salvation, I have cried day and night before thee; I am afflicted and
ready to die from my youth up; while I suffer thy terrors I am
distracted_, Psal. lxxxviii. compared with the xv. God suffers it to be
thus with them for wise ends. Hereby he lets them know, that assurance
of his love is a special gift and work of the Spirit; without which they
remain destitute of it, and cannot take comfort, either from their
former or present experiences.
2. They who once enjoyed assurance, may have it weakened and
intermitted; whether it may be entirely lost will be considered under a
following head, when we speak concerning the supports that believers
have, and how far they are kept hereby from sinking into utter despair:
it is one thing to fall from the truth of grace, another thing to lose
the comfortable sense thereof. The joy of faith may be suspended, when
the acts and habits of faith remain firm and unshaken. The brightest
morning may afterwards be followed with clouds and tempests; even so our
clearest discoveries of our interest in the love of God may be followed
with the withdrawment of the light of his countenance, and we be left
under many discouraging circumstances concerning our state, having lost
the assurance we once had.
If it be inquired, what reason may be assigned for this? I answer, that
it must, in a great measure, be resolved into the sovereignty of God,
who will bring his people which way he pleases, to heaven; and may take
those comforts which had their first rise from himself; and, at the same
time, none must say, why dost thou thus? However, we may observe some
particular reasons, which the providence of God points out to us, to
which we may in other respects, ascribe our want of assurance; and these
may be reduced to four heads, particularly mentioned in this answer.
(1.) It is sometimes occasioned by manifold distempers, or bodily
diseases: the soul and body are so closely joined to, and dependant on
each other, that the one can hardly suffer without the other. Hence it
is that bodily distempers affect the mind, excite and give disturbance
to the passions; which is a great addition to the uneasiness that ensues
hereupon. When the spirits are deprest, and we are under the prevalency
of a melancholy disposition, we are oftentimes inclined to think that we
are not in a state of grace; and though we were before this disposed to
comfort others in like cases, we are at this time unable to take the
least encouragement ourselves. All things look black and dismal; our
former hope is reckoned no other than delusive, and we brought to the
very brink of despair. And it may be observed, that these sad and
melancholy apprehensions concerning our state, increase or abate, as the
distemper that gives occasion thereunto more or less prevails.
Now that we may be able to determine whether our want of assurance
proceeds from some natural cause or bodily distemper, we must enquire;
whether, before this, we have endeavoured to walk in all good conscience
in the sight of God? to hate every false way, and make religion the
great business of life, so that we cannot assign any reigning sin as the
cause of our present desponding frame? And also, whether we have been
diligent in performing the duty of self-examination, and have been
sensible that we stood in need of the Spirit’s witness with ours, in
order to our arriving to a comfortable persuasion that we are in a state
of grace? And if, as the result of these enquiries, we cannot see any
cause leading to this dejection of spirit, but the unavoidable
infirmities, which we are daily liable to, then we may probably
conclude, that it arises from a distemper of body. And, in order to our
determining this matter, we must farther inquire; whether some
afflictive providence has not had an influence upon us, to bring us into
a melancholy temper? and whether this does not appear in what relates to
our secular, as well as our spiritual concerns? and if this be the case,
though it be very afflictive, it is not attended with that guilt as it
would be, had it been occasioned by some presumptuous sin; and there are
other medicines to be used when it arises from this cause, besides those
which are of a spiritual nature, that are contained in the gospel; but
what they are, it is not our business, in this place, to determine.
(2.) There are many sins which are the occasion of a person’s being
destitute of assurance. As all the troubles of life are brought upon us
by sin; so are all our doubts and fears, arising from the want of a
comfortable sense of, or interest in, the love of God. It pleases God,
in the method of his providence, thus to deal with his people, that he
may humble them for presumptuous sins; more especially those that are
committed against light and conviction of conscience, that he may bring
to remembrance their sins of omission, or neglect to exercise those
graces in which the life of faith consists, that hereby they may feel
the effect of their stupidity, indifferency, and carnal security, or
their engaging in religious duties, in their own strength, without
dependence on the Spirit and grace of God, or a due sense of their
inability to perform any duty in a right way. Or, sometimes, as has been
before observed, they want assurance, because they do not examine
themselves, which is God’s ordinance for the attaining this privilege;
or, if they do, they neglect to give that glory to the Holy Spirit which
is due to him, by depending on his enlightening influence, whereby they
may arrive to a comfortable persuasion of their interest in Christ.
(3.) Assurance is oftentimes weakened and intermitted through manifold
temptations. Satan is very active in this matter, and shews his enmity
against the interest of Christ in the souls of his people, as much as
lies in his power, with this intent, that though it is impossible for
him to ruin the soul, by rooting out that grace that is implanted in it;
yet he may disturb its peace, and weaken its assurance, and, if not
prevented, hurry it into despair. In this case the general design of his
temptations is to represent God as a sin-revenging Judge, a consuming
fire, and to present to our view, the threatenings whereby his wrath is
revealed against sinners; and to endeavour to set aside the promises of
the gospel, from which alone relief may be had.
Moreover, he puts us upon considering sin, not only as heinously
aggravated, (which may, for the most part be done with justice) but also
as altogether unpardonable; and, at the same time pretends to insinuate
to us that we are not elected, or that Christ did not die for us; and
therefore, what he has done and suffered will not redound to our
advantage. Now there is apparently the hand of Satan in this matter;
inasmuch as he attempts, by false methods of reasoning, to persuade us
that we are not in a state of grace, or that God is an enemy to us; and
therefore our condition is desperate; in which he uses the arts of the
old serpent, that he may deceive us by drawing conclusions against
ourselves from false premises, _e. g._ because we daily experience the
internal workings of corrupt nature, which inclines us to many sins,
both of omission and commission; therefore there is no room for us to
expect mercy and forgiveness from God. And from our barrenness and
unprofitableness under the means of grace, our improvements not being
proportioned to the obligations we have been laid under. Or because we
have had great reason to charge ourselves with many declensions and
backslidings, which afford matter for deep humiliation, and should put
us upon sincere repentance, he endeavours to persuade us that we are
altogether destitute of special grace. And whenever we are unprepared or
indisposed for the right performance of holy duties, and our affections
are not suitably raised, but grow stupid, remiss, and careless therein;
he puts us upon concluding that it is a vain thing for us to draw nigh
to God, and that he has utterly rejected, both our persons and services.
Or, if we are not favoured with immediate returns of prayer, and
sensible communion with God therein; he tempts us to infer, that we
shall never obtain the blessing we are pressing after; and therefore we
may as well lay aside this duty, and say, why should I wait on the Lord
any longer? And if by this method he cannot discourage us from engaging
in holy duties, he sometimes injects blasphemous thoughts or unbecoming
conceptions of the divine Majesty, which fills the soul with the
greatest grief and uneasiness, that hereby he might give us occasion to
conclude that we sin in persisting therein; and by all these temptations
he endeavours to plunge us into the depths of despair.
As to what concerns the purpose of God relating to the event of things:
when we are led to determine that we are not elected, this is alleged
without sufficient ground, and therein he deceives us, by pursuing the
same false methods of reasoning, and puts us upon presuming to enter
into those secret things which do not belong to us, because we deserve
to be cast off by him for our sins, instead of giving diligence to make
our calling and election sure. It is one thing not to be able to
conclude that we are elected; and another thing to say that we are not
so: the former of these is the consequence of our present doubts and
desponding apprehensions concerning our state; the latter is plainly a
temptation of Satan: this we are often subject to, when we have lost
that assurance of our interest in Christ that we once enjoyed,
(4.) A believer’s want of assurance is, for the most part, attended
with, and arises from divine desertion; not that we are to suppose that
God will cast off his people, whom he has foreknown, effectually called
and preserved hitherto, so as to forsake them utterly; for that is
inconsistent with his everlasting love, and the promises of the covenant
of grace, which respect their salvation. But that which we understand by
divine desertions, is God’s withdrawing his comforting presence, and
withholding the witness of his Spirit to the work of grace in the soul,
from whence arises those doubts and fears which attend the want thereof;
as God says to his people, _For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but
with great mercies will I gather thee_, Isa. liv. 7. In this respect
they are destitute of God’s comforting presence; though at the same time
they may be favoured with his supporting presence, and those powerful
influences which are necessary to maintain the work of grace; which, at
present, appears to be very weak and languishing.
And this leads us to consider the last thing mentioned in this answer,
_viz._ That though they are thus described, they are not left without
such a presence and support of the Spirit of God, as keeps them from
sinking into utter despair. This observation ought to be explained and
considered, with certain limitations, lest while on the one hand, we
assert that which affords matter of encouragement to believers, when
they have some degree of hope, we should, on the other hand, throw
discouragements in the way of others, who will be apt to imagine, when
they are ready to sink into despair, that this is wholly inconsistent
with any direct act of faith. I dare not say that no believer was ever
so far deserted as to be left to despair of his interest in Christ:
inasmuch as scripture and daily experience give us instances of some,
whose conversation in many respects discovers them to have had the truth
of grace; whom God has been pleased for wise ends, to leave to the
terror of their own thoughts, and they have remained for some time, in
the depths of despair; and others have gone out of the world under a
cloud, concerning whom there has been ground to hope their state was
safe. Therefore it is somewhat difficult to determine what is meant in
this answer, by a believer’s being kept from sinking into utter despair:
if the meaning is, that they have the supports of the Spirit of God, so
as to be kept from relapsing into a state of unregeneracy, in their
despairing condition, that may be easily accounted for; or, if we are to
understand by it, that believers are not generally given up to the
greatest degree of despair; especially such as is inconsistent with the
exercise of any grace, that is not to be denied. But I would rather say,
that though a believer may have despairing apprehensions concerning his
state, and the guilt of sin lie upon him like a great weight, so as to
depress his spirits, yet he shall not sink into endless misery; for
though darkness may continue for a night, light and joy shall come in
the morning; and accordingly we may consider,
[1.] That though there are many who are far from having assurance, yet
they are at some times, favoured with a small glimmering of hope, which
keeps them from utter despair.
[2.] If they are in deep despair, yet they are not so far left as not to
desire grace, though they conclude themselves to be destitute of it, or
not to lament the loss of those comforts, and their being unable to
exercise those graces which once they thought themselves possessed of.
[3.] A believer, when in a despairing way, is notwithstanding enabled,
by a direct act of faith, to give up himself to Christ, though he cannot
see his interest in him, and so, long for those experiences and comforts
which he once enjoyed; and when he is at the worst, he can say with Job,
_Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him_, Job xiii. 15.
[4.] In this case a person has generally such a degree of the presence
of God, as that he is enabled to justify him in all his dealings with
him, and lay the blame of all the troubles that he is under, on himself;
and this is attended with shame and confusion of face, self-abhorrence,
and godly sorrow.
[5.] Despairing believers have, notwithstanding, such a presence of God
with them, as keeps them from abandoning his interest, or running, with
sinners, into all excess of riot, which would give occasion to others to
conclude that they never had the truth of grace.
From what has been said concerning true believers being destitute of
assurance, and yet having some degree of the presence of God with them
at the same time, we may infer,
_1st_, That this is not inconsistent with what has been said concerning
a believer’s perseverance in grace; yet it must be considered with this
limitation, that though the truth of grace shall not be lost, yet the
comforts and evidences thereof may, and often are.
_2dly_, This should put us upon circumspect walking and watchfulness
against presumptuous sins, which, as has been before observed, are often
the occasion of the loss of assurance; and also on the exercise of a
faith of reliance on Christ, for the maintaining the acts of grace, as
well as restoring the comforts thereof.
_3dly_, This should instruct believers what to do when destitute of this
privilege of assurance. We have observed that this is attended with
divine desertion, which is generally occasioned by sins committed.
Therefore let us say with Job, _Shew me wherefore thou contendest with
me_, chap. x. 2. let me know what are those secret sins by which I have
provoked thee to leave me destitute of thy comforting presence; enable
me to be affected with, humbled for, and unfeignedly repent of them; and
exercise that faith in Christ which may be a means of my recovering that
hope or assurance which I am, at present, destitute of.
_4thly_, What has been said concerning a believer’s being destitute of
assurance, should put us upon sympathizing with those who are in a
despairing way, and using endeavours to administer comfort to them,
rather than censure them, or conclude them to be in an unregenerate
state; as Job’s friends did him, because the hand of God had touched
him, and he was destitute of his comforting presence.
_5thly_, From what has been said concerning that degree of the presence
of God which believers enjoy, which has a tendency to keep them from
utter despair, at least, from sinking into perdition, how disconsolate
soever their case may be at present; we may be induced to admire the
goodness and faithfulness of God in his dealings with his people, who
will not lay more on them than he will enable them to bear; though they
are comfortless and hopeless, yet they shall not be destroyed; and, in
the end, they shall be satisfied with God’s loving kindness; and when
the clouds are all dispersed, they shall have a bright and glorious day
in his immediate presence, where _there is fulness of joy_, and at his
_right hand_ where _there are pleasures for evermore_, Psal. xvi. 11.
Footnote 107:
_The word_ αδοκιμοι, _though it be sometimes used to signify such as
are rejected as objects of God’s hatred, as in Heb._ vi. 8. _and
consequently is inconsistent with the character of believers; yet, in
other places it may be taken according to the grammatical construction
thereof, as opposed to_ δοκιμοι; _which signifies persons approved_, 2
Tim. ii. 15. _and so it signifies a person whose conduct is
blame-worthy, or whose actions are not to be approved of; and this may
be applied to some who are not altogether destitute of faith_, _though
they are not able to vindicate themselves in all respects as
blameless. That the apostle uses the word in this sense here, seems
probable from the application he makes of it to himself; it is said,
ver. 3._ Ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, δοκιμην ζητειτε;
_and verse 6. he says_, I trust that ye shall know that we are not
reprobates; _so we render the words_ ελπιζω δε οτι γνωσεθε oτι hμεις
ουκ εσμεν αδοκιμοι; _but it would be more agreeable to what is said in
verse 4. if we should render them, I trust that ye shall know that we
are not disapproved, or that ye shall find a proof of Christ speaking
in us: and in verse 7. he farther says_, I pray to God, not that we
should appear approved. ουχ iνα hμεις δοκιμοι φανωμεν, _that is, I am
not so much concerned about your finding a proof of Christ speaking in
us_; but that ye should do that which is honest, _q. d._ _I am more
concerned for you than myself, though we be as reprobates_, hμεις δε
wς αδοκιμοι ωμεν _that is, whether you think we have a proof of
Christ’s speaking in us or no, or his approving us in the course of
our ministry, my great concern is, that you may be approved; so that
it is plain the apostle uses the word_ αδοκιμοι, _as signifying
disapproved; and therefore as it is applied to those he speaks of in
verse 5. the meaning is this; you seek to know whether we are approved
of God as ministers; therefore I would advise you to examine
yourselves, whether you be in the faith, and to prove your ownselves:
and if you know not yourselves, you are in this respect blame-worthy,
or to be disapproved; especially because you seem to have been
negligent as to the duty of self-examination. Whether he who is
diligent in the exercise of this duty, and yet cannot apprehend that
he is in a state of grace, be, in this respect to be disapproved or
no, it is certain, that he who is a stranger to himself, because of
the neglect hereof, is disapproved._
Footnote 108:
Vide Bellamy’s Works, 3 Vol. p. 81-83.
Quest. LXXXII.
QUEST. LXXXII. _What is the communion in glory, which the members of
the invisible church have with Christ?_
ANSW. The communion in glory, which the members of the invisible
church have with Christ, is, in this life, immediately after death;
and at last perfected at the resurrection and day of judgment.
After having considered believers, or the members of the invisible
church, as enjoying this privilege of union with Christ, and, as the
immediate consequence hereof, communion with him. It has been farther
observed, that this communion with him, is either in grace, or glory.
Their communion with him in grace consists in their partaking of the
virtue of his mediation, in their justification, adoption, and
sanctification; which have been particularly considered, together with
other graces and comforts that accompany or flow from them. We are now
led to speak concerning the communion which they have with him in glory;
which contains the highest privilege they are capable of receiving;
consisting in his giving them some right discoveries of the glory which
they behold and enjoy by faith, in this life, and also of that which
shall be immediate, and, in some respects, complete, after death; and,
at the resurrection and day of judgment, be brought, in all respects, to
the utmost degree of perfection; when their joy, as well as their
happiness, shall be full, and continued throughout all the ages of
eternity. These are the subjects insisted on in several following
answers, which remain to be considered in this first part of the
Catechism.
Quest. LXXXIII.
QUEST. LXXXIII. _What is the communion in glory, with Christ, which
the members of the invisible church enjoy in this life?_
ANSW. The members of the invisible church have communicated to them
in this life, the first-fruits of glory with Christ, as they are
members of him their head, and so, in him, are interested in that
glory which he is fully possessed of; and as an earnest thereof,
enjoy the sense of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy
Ghost, and hope of glory; as, on the contrary, the sense of God’s
revenging wrath, horror of conscience, and a fearful expectation of
judgment, are, to the wicked, the beginning of their torments which
they shall endure after death.
There are two sorts of persons mentioned in this answer, namely, the
righteous and the wicked, and the different condition of each of them
considered,
I. With respect to the righteous, who are here styled the members of the
invisible church. There are several invaluable privileges which they are
made partakers of in this life, in which they are said to have a degree
of communion in glory with Christ; particularly as they enjoy the
first-fruits or earnest of that glory which they shall have with him
hereafter: And that,
1. As they are members of him, their head; and accordingly may be said,
in some respects, to be interested in that glory which he is fully
possessed of.
2. As they have a comfortable sense of his love to them, attended with
peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, and an hope of glory.
II. We have an account, on the other hand, of the dreadful condition of
impenitent sinners, when God sets their iniquities in order before them;
which is represented in a very moving way. Thus they are said to be
filled with a sense of God’s revenging wrath, horror of conscience, and
a fearful expectation of judgment; which is considered as the beginning
of those torments which they shall endure after death.
I. There are several invaluable privileges which the righteous enjoy in
this life, that are styled the first-fruits or earnest of glory. Though
Christ has reserved the fulness of glory for his people hereafter, when
he brings them to heaven; yet there are some small degrees thereof,
which they enjoy in their way to it. The _crown of righteousness_, as
the apostle speaks, is _laid up for them, which the righteous Judge
shall give them at that day_, 2 Tim. iv. 8. to wit, when we shall come
to judgment; then their joy shall be full; they shall be satisfied in
his likeness, and made compleatly blessed: Nevertheless there are some
prelibations, or foretastes, which they have hereof, for their support
and encouragement, while they are in this imperfect state. For the
understanding of this it may be premised,
1. That we are not to suppose that the present enjoyments which
believers experience in the highest degree, do fully come up to those
that are reserved for them. There is a great difference as to the degree
thereof. As a child that is newly born has something in common with what
he shall have when arrived at a state of manhood; but there are several
degrees, and other circumstances, in which he falls short of it: or, as
a few drops are of the same nature with the whole collection of water in
the ocean; yet there is a very small proportion between one and the
other: so the brightest discovery of the glory of God, which we are
capable of enjoying in this world; or the comfortable foretastes that
believers have of heaven, fall very much short of that which they shall
be possessed of, when they are received into it. And there are very
great allays, and many things that tend to interrupt and abate their
happiness, agreeably to the imperfection of this present state. Whatever
grace they are enabled to act, though in an uncommon degree, is attended
with a mixture of corruption; and as their graces are imperfect, so are
the comforts that arise from thence, which are interwoven with many
things very afflictive; so that they are not what they shall be, but are
travelling through this wilderness to a better country, and exposed to
many evils in their way thither.
2. All believers do not enjoy these delights and pleasures that some are
favoured with in their way to heaven; the comforts, as well as the
graces, of the Holy Spirit, are bestowed in a way of sovereignty, to
some more, and to others less: Some have reason to say with the apostle,
_Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ_, 2
Cor. ii. 14. others are filled with doubts concerning their interest in
him, and go mourning after him all the day; and if they have, at some
times a small glimpse of his glory, by which they conclude themselves to
be, as it were, in the suburbs of heaven, they soon lose it, and find
themselves to be in the valley of the shadow of death, as the disciples,
when they were with Christ at his transfiguration, which was an emblem
of the heavenly blessedness, when his _face did shine as the sun, and
his raiment was white as the light_; which occasioned them to say, _it
is good for us to be here_; before they had done speaking, or had time
to reflect on their present enjoyment they were deprived of it when _the
cloud overshadowed them_, Matt. xvii. 2,-5. so the believer is not to
expect uninterrupted communion with God, or perfect fruition with him
here. However, that which we are at present to consider, is that degree
thereof which some enjoy; which is here called the first-fruits and
earnest of glory. The scripture sets it forth under both these
expressions.
(1.) They are said to receive the first-fruits thereof; or as the
apostle styles it, _The first-fruits of the Spirit_, Rom. viii. 23. that
is, the graces and comforts of the Holy Ghost, which are the
first-fruits of that blessedness, that they are said to wait for; which
is called _the adoption_, viz. those privileges which God’s children
shall be made partakers of; or, _the glorious liberty_ which they shall
hereafter enjoy. This is styled, the _first-fruits_, as alluding to the
cluster of grapes, which they who were sent to spy out the land of
Canaan, were ordered to bring to the Israelites in the wilderness, that
hereby they might be encouraged in their expectation of the great plenty
that was to be enjoyed when they were brought to it. Or, it has
reference to the feast of ingathering, before the harvest, when they
were to bring the sheaf which was first to be cut down, and _wave it
before the Lord_, Lev. xxiii. 10, 11. compared with Deut. xxvi. 10, 11.
with thankfulness and joy, in expectation of the full harvest, which
would be the reward of the industry and labour of the husbandman. Thus
believers are given not only to expect, but to rejoice in hope of the
glory of God.
(2.) This is also called an earnest of glory. Thus believers are said to
be _sealed with that holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of
their inheritance_, Eph. i. 13, 14. and elsewhere it is said, _God hath
given us the earnest of his Spirit_, 2 Cor. i. 5. An earnest is a small
sum, given in part of payment; whereby they who receive it, are
encouraged hereafter to expect the whole: So a believer may conclude,
that as sure as he now enjoys those spiritual privileges that accompany
salvation, he shall not fail of that glory which they are an earnest of.
In this respect God is pleased to give his people a wonderful instance
of his condescending love, that they may hereby be led to know what the
happiness of the heavenly state is, in a greater degree than can be
learned from all the descriptions that are given of it, by those who are
destitute of this privilege. Heaven is the port to which every believer
is bound, the reward of all those labours and difficulties which he
sustains in his way to it; and to quicken him to the greater diligence
in pursuing after it, it is necessary that he should have his thoughts,
meditation, and conversation there. The reason why God is pleased to
give his people some foretastes thereof, is, that they may love and long
for Christ’s appearing, when they shall reap the full harvest of glory.
Now this earnest, prelibation, or first-fruits of the heavenly
blessedness which believers enjoy in this life, is considered in this
answer.
[1.] As it is included in that glory which Christ is possessed of as
their head and Mediator.
[2.] As they have those graces wrought in them, and comforts flowing
from thence, which bear some small resemblance to what they shall
hereafter be made partakers of.
[1.] Christ’s being possessed of the heavenly blessedness, as the head
of his people, is an earnest of their salvation. For the understanding
of which, let it be considered, that our Lord Jesus sustained this
character, not only in what he suffered for them, that he might redeem
them from the curse of the law; but in the glory which he was afterwards
advanced to: _Thus it is said, that he is risen from the dead, and
become the first-fruits of them that slept_, 1 Cor. xv. 20. and
accordingly they are said to be _risen with him_, Col. iii. 1. as
respecting that communion which they have with him herein; and when,
after this, he ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of
the Majesty on high, his people are said _to sit together in heavenly
places in him_, Eph. ii. 6. not that we are to suppose that they are
made partakers of any branch of his mediatorial glory, or joined with
him in the work which he there performs, as their exalted head: But his
being considered as their representative, appearing in the presence of
God for them, is a foundation of their hope that they shall be brought
hither at last; and therefore, when he is about to depart out of this
world, he gave an intimation to his people, whom he left behind him in
it, that he went _to prepare a place for them_, John xiv. 3. and assures
them, that _because he lives they shall live also_, ver. 19.
[2.] The graces and comforts of the Holy Spirit, which believers are
made partakers of, may also be said to be a pledge and earnest of
eternal life. Heaven is a state in which grace is brought to perfection,
which, at present, is only begun in the soul: nevertheless, the
beginning thereof affords ground of hope that it shall be compleated. As
a curious artist, when he draws the first lines of a picture, does not
design to leave it unfinished; or he that lays the foundation of a
building, determines to carry it on gradually, till he has laid the
top-stone of it; so the work of grace, when begun by the Spirit, is a
ground of hope that it shall not be left unfinished. As God would never
have brought his people out of Egypt with an high hand and an
outstretched arm, and divided the red sea before them, if he had not
designed to bring them into the promised land; so we may conclude, that
when God has magnified his grace in delivering his people from the
dominion of darkness, and translating them into the kingdom of his dear
Son; when he has helped them hitherto, and given them a fair and
beautiful prospect of the good land to which they are going, he will not
leave his work imperfect, nor suffer them to fall and perish in the way
to it. Christ, in believers, is said to be _the hope of glory_, Col. i.
27. and the joy which they have in believing, is said not only to be
_unspeakable_, but _full of glory_, 1 Pet. i. 8. that is, it bears a
small resemblance to that joy which they shall be filled with, when
brought to glory, and therefore may well be styled the earnest or
first-fruits of it.
Now, that this may farther appear, let it be considered, that the
happiness of heaven consists in the immediate vision and fruition of
God, where the saints behold his face in light and glory[109], and enjoy
all those comfortable fruits and effects that arise from thence, which
tend to make them compleatly happy. Thus it is said, _They shall see him
as he is_, 1 John iii. 2. and they are said to _enter into the joy of
their Lord_, Matt. xxv. 21. Believers, it is true, are not in all
respects, said to be partakers of this blessedness here; and their
highest enjoyments bear but a very small proportion to it: Yet, when we
speak of some as having the foretastes of it, we must consider, that
there is something in the lively exercise of faith, and the joy that
arises from it, when believers have attained the full assurance of the
love of God, and have those sensible manifestations of his comfortable
presence with them, that bears some small resemblance to a life of
glory.
That which in some respects resembles the beatific vision, is a sight of
God’s reconciled face, and of their interest in all the blessings of the
covenant of grace, by faith. It is true, the views which they have of
the glory of God here, are not immediate, but at a distance; and
therefore they are said to _behold_, _as in a glass, the glory of the
Lord_, 2 Cor. iii. 18. Thus we see things at a distance, as through a
perspective glass, which enlarges the object[110], and brings it, as it
were, near to the eye, though in reality, it be at a great distance from
it; and so gives us a clear discerning of that which could otherwise
hardly be discovered: So faith gives us clearer views of this glory than
we could have any other way. Hereby we are said _to see him that is
invisible_, Heb. xi. 27. Thus, when God bade Moses go up to the top of
Pisgah, and strengthened his sight, he took a view of the whole land of
Canaan, though without this he could only have beheld a small part
thereof: So when God not only gives an eye of faith, but strengthens it
in proportion to the views he designs it shall take of the heavenly
state, that lies at so great a distance, the soul is enabled to see it,
and herein has a faint emblem of the beatific vision.
Moreover, as heaven is a state, in which the saints have the perfect
fruition of those blessings which tend to make them compleatly happy;
the view which a believer is enabled, by faith, to take of his interest
in Christ, and the glory he shall be made partaker of with him, is
sometimes attended with such an extasy of joy and triumph, as is a kind
of anticipation of that glory which he is not yet fully possessed of.
Such an one is like an heir who wants but a few days of being of age;
who does not look upon his estate with that distant view which he before
did, but with the satisfaction and pleasure that arises from his being
ready to enter into the possession of it; or like one who after a long
and tedious voyage, is within sight of his harbour, which he cannot but
behold with a pleasure, which very much resembles that which he shall
have when he enters into it; this is more than a bare hope of heaven; it
is a full assurance, attended with a kind of sensation of those joys
which are inexpressible, which render the believer a wonder to himself,
and afford the most convincing proof to others, that there is something
real and substantial in the heavenly glory, whereof God is pleased to
favour some of his people with the prelibations. That some have enjoyed
such-like manifestations of the divine love to them, and been filled
with those raptures of joy, accompanying that assurance which they have
had of their salvation, is evident from the experience which they have
had of it in some extraordinary and memorable occurrences in life; and
others at the approach of death.
Of this there are multitudes of instances transmitted to us in history:
I shall content myself with a brief extract of some passages which we
meet with in the life and death of some who appear to have had as
comfortable a foretaste of the joys of heaven, as it is possible for any
one to have in this world. And the first that I shall mention is that
eminently learned and pious Dr. Rivet; who, in his last sickness seemed
to be in the very suburbs of heaven, signifying to all about him, what
intimate communion he had with God, and fore-views of the heavenly
state; his assurance of being admitted into it; and how earnestly he
longed to be there: and, in the very close of life, one who stood by him
could not forbear expressing himself to this purpose; I cannot but think
that he is now enjoying the vision of God, which gave him occasion to
signify that it was so, as well as he was able to express himself, which
account, and much more to the same purpose, is not only mentioned by the
author of his last hours, but is taken notice of in a public funeral
oration, occasioned by his death.[111]
And what a very worthy writer observes,[112] concerning that excellent
servant of Christ, Mr. Rutherford, who recites some of his last words to
this purpose, is very remarkable, who says, “I shall shine, I shall see
him as he is, and all the fair company with him, and shall have my large
share. It is no easy thing to be a Christian; but as for me, I have got
the victory; and Christ is holding forth his arms to embrace me. I have
had my fears and faintings, as another sinful man, to be carried through
creditably; but as sure as ever he spake to me in his word, his Spirit
witnessed to my heart, saying, Fear not; he had accepted my suffering,
and the outgate should not be matter of prayer, but of praise.” And a
little before his death, after some fainting, he said, “Now I feel, I
believe, I enjoy, I rejoice, I feed on manna, I have angels’ food, my
eyes shall see my Redeemer; I know that he shall stand, at the latter
day, on the earth, and I shall be caught up in the clouds to meet him in
the air. I sleep in Christ; and when I awake I shall be satisfied with
his likeness; O for arms to embrace him!” And to one speaking concerning
his painfulness in the ministry, he cried out, “I disdain all; the port
I would be in at, is redemption and forgiveness of sins through his
blood.” And thus, full of the Spirit; yea, as it were overcome with
sensible enjoyment, he breathes out his soul, his last words being
these; “Glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel’s land.”
To this I may add the account given of that great man Dr. Goodwin, in
some memoirs of his life, composed out of his own papers published by
his son,[113] who intimates that he rejoiced in the thoughts that he was
dying, and going to have a full and uninterrupted communion with God; “I
am going, said he, to the three Persons with whom I have had communion;
they have taken me, I did not take them; I shall be changed in the
twinkling of an eye; all my lusts and corruptions I shall be rid of,
which I could not be here; those croaking toads will fall off in a
moment.” And mentioning those great examples of faith, Heb. xi. said he,
“All these died in faith. I could not have imagined I should ever had
such a measure of faith in this hour; no, I could never have imagined
it. My bow abides in strength. Is Christ divided? No, I have the whole
of his righteousness; I am found in him, not in my own righteousness,
which is of the law; but in the righteousness which is of God, which is
by faith of Jesus Christ, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Christ
cannot love me better than he doth; I think I cannot love Christ better
than I do; I am swallowed up in God:” and then he says, “Now shall I
ever be with the Lord.” With this assurance of faith, and fulness of joy
his soul left this world, and went to see and enjoy the reality of that
blessed state of glory.
There is also an account, in the life and death of Mr. John Janeway, of
the great assurance and joy which he had in his last sickness, in which
he expresses himself to this purpose; “I am, through mercy, quite above
the fears of death, and am going unto him whom I love above life. O that
I could let you know what I now feel! O that I could shew you what I
see! O that I could express the thousandth part of that sweetness which
now I find in Christ! you would all then think it worth the while to
make it your business to be religious. O my dear friends, you little
think what a Christ is worth upon a death-bed! I would not, for a world,
nay, for millions of worlds, be now without Christ and a pardon. O the
glory! the unspeakable glory that I behold! My heart is full, my heart
is full; Christ smiles and I cannot choose but smile. Can you find in
your heart to stop me, who am now going to the complete and eternal
enjoyment of Christ? Would you keep me from my crown? The arms of my
blessed Saviour are open to embrace me; the angels stand ready to carry
my soul into his bosom. O did you but see what I see, you would all cry
out with me, How long dear Lord, come Lord Jesus, come quickly? Or why
are his chariot-wheels so long a coming?” Much more to the same purpose
may be found in the life of that excellent man, which is exceedingly
affecting.
And there is another who does not come short of him in his death-bed
triumphs;[114] who says concerning himself, “Death is not terrible, it
is unstinged; the curse of the fiery law is done away: I bless his name
I found him; I am taken up in blessing him; I am dying rejoicing in the
Lord; I long to be in the promised land; I wait for thy salvation; how
long! Come sweet Lord Jesus, take me by the hand; I wait for thy
salvation, as the watchman watcheth for the morning; I am weary with
delays; I faint for thy salvation: Why are his chariot-wheels so long a
coming? What means he to stay so long? I am like to faint with delays.”
After that he said, “O Sirs, I could not believe that I could have born,
and born cheerfully this rod so long: This is a miracle, pain without
pain. And this is not a fancy of a man disordered in his brain, but of
one lying in full composure: O blessed be God that ever I was born; O if
I were where he is! And yet, for all this, God’s withdrawing from me
would make me as weak as water: all this I enjoy, though it be a miracle
upon miracle, would not make me stand without new supply from God; the
thing I rejoice in is, that God is altogether full; and that in the
Mediator Christ Jesus, there is all the fulness of the Godhead, and it
will never run out. I am wonderfully helped beyond the power of nature,
though my body be sufficiently teazed, yet my spirit is untouched.” Much
more to this purpose we have in the latter part of his life, which I
shall close with one thing that is very remarkable. When he was
apprehensive that he was very near his death, he said, “When I fall so
low that I am not able to speak, I’ll shew you a sign of triumph, when I
am near glory, if I be able;” which accordingly he did, by lifting up
his hands, and clapping them together, when he was speechless, and in
the agonies of death.
Many more instances might have been given to illustrate this argument,
whereby it will evidently appear, that God is pleased, sometimes, to
deal familiarly with men, by giving them extraordinary manifestations of
his presence, before he brings them into the immediate enjoyment of
himself in heaven; which may be well called an earnest or prelibation
thereof.[115] And it may serve as a farther illustration of an argument
before insisted on,[116] to prove that assurance of God’s love is
attainable in this life, from the various instances of those who have
been favoured with it. This assurance, as it may be observed, is
accompanied with the lively acts of faith, by which it appears to be
well grounded; so that, as the apostle says, _The God of hope_ is
pleased to _fill them with all joy and peace in believing_; whereby they
_abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost_, Rom. xv. 13. in
which respect it may be said, to use the prophet’s words, that _they joy
before thee, according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when
they divide the spoil_, Isa. ix. 3. This is like the appearing of the
morning-star, which ushers in a bright and glorious day, and gives a
full discovery to themselves and others, that there is much of heaven
enjoyed in the way to it, by those whom God delights to honour. Thus
concerning the communion in glory, which the members of the invisible
church sometimes enjoy in this life; which leads us to consider,
II. The miserable condition of the wicked in this life, when God is
provoked, as a sin-revenging Judge, to fill them with a sense of his
wrath; from whence arises horror of conscience, and a fearful
expectation of judgment; which is the beginning of those torments which
they shall endure after death, as it is observed in the latter part of
this answer. We have many instances in scripture, of the punishment of
sin in this world, in whom God is said _to reprove and set_ their
iniquities _in order before their eyes_, Psal. l. 21. which fills them
with horror of conscience,[117] and leaves them in utter despair. They
who once thought themselves in a prosperous condition, concerning whom
it is said, _Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than
heart could wish_, Psal. lxxiii. 7. yet their end was terrible, when it
appears that they were _set in slippery places_, being _cast down into
destruction, brought into desolation as in a moment, and utterly
consumed with terrors_, ver. 18, 19.
We have a sad instance of this in Cain, after he had slain his brother,
and fell under the curse of God, whereby he was sentenced to be a
fugitive and vagabond in the earth. He separated himself indeed from the
presence of the Lord, and the place in which he was worshipped; but
could not fly from the terrors of his own thoughts, or get any relief
under the uneasiness of a guilty conscience; which made him fear that he
should be slain by the hand of every one that met him; and complain, _My
punishment is greater than I can bear_, Gen. iv. 13.
And some understand that expression of Lamech in the same sense, when he
says, _I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. If
Cain shall be avenged seven-fold, truly Lamech seventy and seven-fold_,
Gen. iv. 23, 24. The wrath of God was also denounced against Pashur; as
it is said, the _Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but
Magor-missabib; for thus saith the Lord, I will make thee a terror to
thyself, and to all thy friends_, Jer. xx. 3, 4.
And Judas, after he had betrayed our Saviour, was filled with the
terrors of an accusing conscience, which forced him to confess, not as a
believing penitent, but a despairing criminal; _I have sinned in that I
have betrayed the innocent blood_; after which it is said, _He departed,
and went and hanged himself_, Matt, xxvii. 4, 5. Nothing is more
terrible than this remorse of conscience, which renders sinners
inexpressibly miserable. This is a punishment inflicted on those who sin
wilfully, presumptuously, and obstinately against the checks of
conscience and rebukes of providence, and various warnings to the
contrary, who treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath;
who are _contentious, and do not obey the truth_; that is, they are so
far from obeying it, that they persecute and oppose it; and, on the
other hand, _obey unrighteousness_: to these belong, as the apostle
says, _indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish_, Rom. ii. 5, 8,
9. This not only waits for them, as _laid up in store, and sealed up
among God’s treasures, to whom vengeance belongeth_, Deut. xxxii. 34,
35. but they are made to taste the bitterness of that cup, which shall
afterwards be poured forth without mixture. In this world _their eyes
shall see their destruction, and_ afterwards _they shall drink of the
wrath of the Almighty_, Job xxi. 20. This is a most affecting subject;
how awful a thing is it to see a person surrounded with miseries, and,
at the same time, shut up in darkness, and left destitute of hope! With
what horror and anguish was the soul of Saul filled, when he uttered
that doleful complaint; _I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make
war against me, and God is departed from me_, 1 Sam. xxviii. 15. much
more for a person to apprehend himself fallen into the hands of the
living God, who is a consuming fire; and having nothing left but the
fearful expectation of future judgment, and an abyss of woes that will
ensue hereupon. These are the evils that some endure in this life; which
is no less terrible to them than the comfortable foretastes of the love
of God are joyful to the saints.
From the different view of the end of the wicked, and the righteous,
many useful instructions may be learned.
1. When we consider the wicked as distressed with the afflicting sense
of what they feel, and with the dread of that wrath which they would
fain flee from, but cannot, we may infer,
(1.) That a state of unregeneracy, whatever advantages may attend it, as
to the outward blessings of common providence, is a very sad and
deplorable condition, far from being the object of choice to those who
duly consider the consequences hereof. The present amusements that arise
from the enjoyment of sensual pleasures, from whence the sinner
concludes himself to be happy, is the most miserable instance of
self-deceit, and will appear to be so, if we consider the end thereof,
or that _the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the
hypocrite but for a moment_, Job xx. 5. and after that, nothing shall
remain but what wounds his spirit, and makes his misery intolerable.
(2.) When we meet with instances of persons sunk in the depths of
despair, and tormenting themselves with the fore views of hell and
destruction, let this be a warning to others to flee from the wrath to
come. I would not be peremptory in passing a judgment on the state of
those who apprehend themselves to be irretrievably lost, and feel those
terrors in their consciences which no tongue can express. A person can
hardly read the account of the despair of poor Spira, soon after the
reformation; and how much his sentiments concerning himself, resembled
the punishment of sin in hell, without trembling: he was, indeed, a sad
instance, of the wrath of God breaking in upon conscience; and is set up
as a monument to warn others, to take heed of apostacy; and in this, and
suchlike instances, we have a convincing proof of the reality of a
future state of misery; or, that the punishment of sin in hell is not an
ungrounded fancy: nevertheless, it is not for us to enter into those
secrets which belong not to us, or to reckon him among the damned in
another world, because he reckoned himself among them in this. And as
for any others that we may see in the like circumstances, we are not so
much to pass a judgment concerning their future state, as to infer the
desperate estate of sinners, when left of God, and to bless him that it
is not our case. And on the other hand, let not unregenerate sinners
think that they are safe, merely because their consciences are quiet, or
rather stupid, since that false peace, which they have, is no better
than _the hope of the hypocrite_, which _shall perish_, and be _cut
off_; and his _trust shall be as a spider’s web_, if he continue in his
present condition.
From what has been said concerning the happiness of the righteous, in
the enjoyment they have of the first fruits of the heavenly glory, we
may learn,
(1.) That this may afford farther conviction to us, that there is a
state of complete blessedness reserved for the saints in another world;
since, besides the arguments we have to prove this taken from scripture,
we have others founded in experience, so far as it is possible for any
to attain to the joys of heaven before they come there. Though the
instances we have here given thereof are uncommon, yet this inference
from them is just, and may afford matter of conviction to those who are
wholly taken up with earthly things, and have no taste of, nor delight
in things spiritual, that religion has its own rewards attending it, and
consequently that a believer is the only happy man in the world.
(2.) This may serve as an encouraging motive to induce Christians to
hold on their way. Whatever difficulties or distressing providences they
may meet with in this life, if they have the earnest and foretastes of
heaven at any time, this will make their afflictions seem light;
inasmuch as they work for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory. And if they are rather waiting and hoping for them, than
actually enjoying them, let them adore and depend on the sovereignty of
God, who dispenses these comforts when he pleases: and if they are
destitute of the joy of faith, let them endeavour to be found in the
lively exercise of the direct acts thereof, trusting in Christ, though
they have not such sensible communion with him as others have; and let
them bless God, (though they have not those foretastes of the heavenly
glory, which accompany a full assurance thereof,) if they have a quiet,
composed frame of spirit, and are not given up to desponding thoughts,
or unbelieving fears, and have ground to conclude, that though their
state be not so comfortable as that of others; yet it is no less safe,
and shall, at last, issue into the fruition of that felicity of which
others have the first-fruits here on earth.
(3.) Let them who are at any time favoured with this privilege of
assurance, and the joy that arises from it, walk very humbly with God,
as being sensible that this frame of spirit is not owing to themselves,
but to the quickening and sealing influences of the Holy Ghost; and if,
by neglecting to depend on him for the continuance thereof, we provoke
him to leave us to ourselves, we shall soon lose this desirable frame,
and be left in darkness: since as without him we can do nothing, so
without his continued presence we can enjoy none of those privileges
which tend to make our lives comfortable, and give us an anticipation of
future glory.
Footnote 109:
_See Quest._ lxxxvi. xc.
Footnote 110:
Reflecting as mirrors, or beholding as by mirrors.
Footnote 111:
_Vid. Dauberi orat. Funeb. ad front. & Hor. Noviss. ad calc. Tom. 3.
Riveti operum: in which he is represented as saying, Nolite mei causa
dolere, ultima hæc momenta nihil habent funesti; corpus languet
quidem, at anima robore & consolatione plena est, nec impedit paries
iste intergerinus, nebula ista exigua, quo minus lucem Dei videam.
Atq; exinde magis magisque optavit dissolvi & cum Christo esse.
Sufficit mi Deus exclamabat subinde, sufficit, suscipe animam meam:
Non tamen moram impatienter fero. Expecto, credo, persevero, dimoveri
nequeo, Dei Spiritus meo spiritui testatur, me ex filiis suis esse. O
amorem ineffabilem! id quod sentio, omnem expressionem alte
transcendit. Veni Domine Jesu, veni, etenim deficio, nan quidem
impatiens Domine, sed anima mea respicit te ut terra sicca. Preces &
votum, ut Deus Paradisum aperiret, & huic fideli servo suo faciem suam
ostenderet; his verbis supplevit; cum animabus justorem sanctificatis;
Amen, Amen. Exinde lingua præpedita verbo affirmare; mox ad vocem
adstantium, ipsum jam visione Dei frui, annuere; paulo post sub mediam
decimam matutinam placide in Domino obdormiit._
Footnote 112:
_See Fleming’s Fulfilling of the Scripture, in fol. Part 1. page 287._
Footnote 113:
_See Dr. Goodwin’s Works, Vol. 5. in his life, page 19._
Footnote 114:
_See the Memoirs of the Life of Mr. Halyburton, Cap. 6._
Footnote 115:
_See this argument improved by Mr. Fleming_, _in his Fulfilling of the
Scripture_, _Edit. in Fol. page 394_, & seq. _in which he takes
several remarkable passages out of Melchoir Adam’s Lives, and gives
several instances of that extraordinary communion which some have had
with God, both in life and death; whose conversation was well known in
Scotland; so that he mentions it as what is a matter undeniably true:
and he relates other things concerning the assurance and joy which
some have had; which has afforded them the sweetest comforts in
prisons and dungeons, and given them a foretaste of heaven, when they
have been called to suffer death for Christ’s sake._
Footnote 116:
_See Page 252, ante._
Footnote 117:
_See Vol. II. page 151._
Quest. LXXXIV., LXXXV.