Chapter 40: How far we may aim at the recompense of reward in what we do
IT is true, will some say, there are glorious things prepared for some of the children of men; but whether may we look after them? may we have a respect to the reward? Is not this a mercenary thing, and hypocrisie? we are not to serve God for reward, but for himself: and therefore how is this that Moses had a respect unto the recompence of reward, and how is this a thing that should help us on in our way?
First, this is granted, that we are bound to serve the Lord, and to walk with him, and obey him; if there were no reward to be expected hereafter, God is infinitely worthy of himself, of all our services, of all that we are able to do in this world; and whatever we have, the Lord has more interest in it, then we have in it ourselves; and therefore we owe all that we are, or have, unto him, and righteousness it self is sufficient to cause us to perform the works of it: In the keeping of your Commandments there is great reward, Psalm 19:11 Not only for keeping them, but in keeping them there is great reward, and the excellency of our work would be sufficient reward for our work; though there were no reward that were to come hereafter, we are bound to do all we do.
But yet secondly, notwithstanding this, God is pleased to give leave unto us his poor creatures, to help and encourage ourselves in the expectation of that reward that is to come; yea, to make it our aim (though I will not say the highest aim) for so the word signifies in 2 Cor. 4:18 While we look not at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; the word signifies, While we make things thatare not seen our scope and aim, so that God gives us leave to have such respect unto them, as to make them our aim: and so the people of God have looked at the recompence of reward, as a great encouragement to them in their way, Psalm 119:112 I have enclined my heart to perform your statutes alway, even to the end: the same word that signifies end, signifies reward also, because reward is to come at the end of all our works, and therefore the same word is translated reward in Psalm 19:11 and so the word seems to carry more, then to the end: as if David should say, I have enclined my heart to perform your Statutes alway, looking unto the reward. In Heb. 12:3 it is said of Christ himself, That for the joy that was set before him, he endured the Cross, and despised the shame: Now if Christ made use of the joy that was set before him, and that was a help to him to endure the Cross, and despise the shame, much more may we make use of it, and it may be a help to us; so that we have leave to look at it.
Yea thirdly, we have not only leave to look at it, but it is our duty to seek to help ourselves in eying the reward; we sin against God if we do it not: and the reason is, because we are bound to make use of the word, in that way that God has revealed it to us: now God has revealed the glorious things of the recompence of the reward in a way of encouragement; and therefore we sin against God if we do not encourage ourselves in it. Some think, why should we look at the reward, we must look to the rule, and see that our obedience be accordingly: but know, if you do not look to the reward, you do not only hinder yourselves of the good you might have, but do sin against God in it. Here you deceive yourselves, as Ahaz did deceive himself in Isaiah 7:11 where God bid him ask a sign; he was modest, and bashful, and would not ask a sign, he would not tempt God, he would believe the Lord without a sign, see how the Lord is angry: Is it a small thing to weary man, but will you weary God also? When as the Lord in favor towards you will vouchsafe you a sign, and you refuse it, as if you had no need, why will you weary God? so as when God for the help of our weakness, will grant us an argument to help us in our way, and we think it is modesty, or what you will to leave it, in this we sin against the Lord our God.
Fourthly, I never finde that the Scripture does accuse any of Hypocrisie, of unsoundness, and not to have truth of grace meerly for this, because that they did aim at the reward which is in Heaven, for that they did; you shall finde in Scripture many are discovered for hypocrites, for looking at the glory of the world as their aim, for seeking of riches and credit; but give me an instance where any is accused for unsoundness, for seeking of immortallity, and eternity, and happiness; this is that which troubles many Christians, that which they do is out of self-love, and they aim at themselves; God did never discover any to be unsound upon this ground, and therefore we should be cautious in accusing ourselves of this, as many do, because, for the present they cannot see how they go further then seeking of themselves, though we cannot see how we do go further, yet it is an argument we do go further, if we get up to this. Paul made it a mighty work of grace in him, that he could have his heart taken off from all temporal things that are seen, and to look at eternal things that were not seen.
Fifthly, yet we ought to look at God, and to lift up God beyond ourselves, or any thing that concerns ourselves, and not to aim at God more then any worldly thing only; but to aim at God more then at the glory of Heaven.
But yet further, though we are to aim at God beyond our own good any way, yet it is the will of God that he would not have us to part with any of our spiritual good, no not for any glory to his own name: if you look at your reward in Heaven as spiritual, you may so far look at it, as not to be willing to part with it, for any glory that you conceive may come to God: by spiritual good, I mean grace. Now if it could be supposed that God should have never so much glory by my abating the least degree in grace, yet I am so bound to the work of grace, as I must not abate the least degree for the highest glory that can come to God; yea, though it is true I am to desire the glory of God, and that others should glorifie God: yet I should more desire the furtherance of grace in my own soul, so as I should not be willing to part with the least degree of grace, though thereby all the world should glorifie God.
But here lies one objection: Paul seems to go otherwise; for he wished himself accursed, or anathamized from Christ for his brethren, his kinsmen after the flesh, so that it seems St. Paul did wish the glory of God in others, more then any grace in himself.
To this I answer, That separation from Christ we must understand rightly; we are not to understand by separation, that he should be separated from the Spirit and grace of Christ, but that he might be separated from the comforts of Christ, that he might not have that comfort and that happiness that comes in by Christ: If he had desired to be separated from the grace of Christ, he should have sinned in it; Gods glory and our good are so annexed together, that though we may suffer much for the good of others, yet we are not to desire to be in any sinful condition, though it could save all the world: If it could be conceived, unless I sin the least sin in thought, all the men of the world should be damned, I should suffer them all to be damned, rather then to sin the least sin. I remember St. Augustine has a tractate about an officious lye, to tell a lye for no hurt, but for good; says he, We are not to tell such a lye, though it were to save all the world: Christ had rather all the world should have been damned, then that he should have committed the least sin.
In the next place, whoever does understand what the true reward is that is in heaven, it is impossible, if he desire heaven aright, but he must desire the glory of God above himself: What is the heighth and top of heaven? it is not any carnal good, any carnal content that is the heighth and top of the glory of heaven? It is that our souls being in the perfection of them, might live to the praise of God for ever: Now if this be the end of all, we shall receive from God in heaven that we might live for ever, to reflect the glory upon God again in our praise; then it is impossible to desire heaven, but in our desires of heaven, we do desire God above ourselves: Surely we may freely aim at our reward in heaven, for if we aim at our reward, and know it aright, it is such as we cannot but aim at God above ourselves; yea further, so near is Gods glory and our reward joined together, that we cannot aim at God above ourselves, but we shall by that means in the best manner provide for ourselves; and the more we strive to aim at God above ourselves, we come in the best manner, that possibly can be, to provide for ourselves.
And yet lastly, there is a great difference between a gracious heart looking to the reward, and a carnal heart looking to the reward: As
First, the difference lies here, a gracious heart does love the reward for the works sake; a carnal heart does only love the work for the rewards sake: As a gracious heart loves heaven, and loves the glory of heaven; but it loves heaven, and the glory of heaven the better, because there is such a blessed way to it. If a man were to go home, and had an ill way, he would love his home; but if he have a fair smooth way home, he loves his home the better for the ways sake; therefore many men are at great cost to have a fair going to their houses: And so a gracious heart loves the way, that God does reveal to come to heaven by, and loves heaven the better because of the way: A carnal heart may love heaven, but he does not love heaven the better for the way, but wishes the way to heaven were otherwise; he looks upon the way to heaven as a necessary burden to him: As a man that is going out a journey, and must go through a dirty lane, he goes through it, but complaining; and so, though they desire heaven, yet all the while they are complaining of the way: Certainly there is a great deal of difference between the desires of heaven in a carnal heart, and the desires of it in a gracious heart.
Secondly, the eye that a gracious heaat has to the recompence of reward, is another manner of eye then any carnal heart can have. What kinde of eye is it? First, the eye that a gracious heart has to the reward, it is a clear discerning eye; he does not take the things of heaven as guesses, and imaginary things, but looks upon them as certain substantial realties: For my own part, I much doubt whether any man in the world be able to see the glorious things in heaven, as certain substantial things, that has not the truth of grace: The truth of grace it is partly in this thing, in having that principle in the soul, that makes the soul able to look at the things of heaven as the only real, substantial, excellent things, so as to darken all the glory of the things of the world; so that when you come thus far, whereas before you heard something of heaven, and they were but imaginary things; and now there is such a light set up in your souls, as you see the things of heaven as the only real, substantial, glorious things; certainly there is the work of grace: The ground of it is that of Heb. 11:1 Faith is the evidence of things not seen, so that the work of faith is there seen: Whoever speaks of the reward that is in heaven, if the glory of the world be not darkned in their eyes, it argues there is no true saving faith.
A second difference is, a gracious heart looks upon the reward by some experimental sweet, and good that he findes in himself, as the beginning of that eternal good he expects; whereas others look upon the reward as a thing only to come unto them hereafter: He reads in the word, and hears Preachers say so, and so he can speak of them, but it is not from any experimental sweetness that he findes of the beginning of eternal life wrought in him: That place is very remarkable for this, in Heb. 10:34 Knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and enduring substance: Other men may know in others, in books, that there is a reward; but a gracious heart knows in himself, by that experimental sweetness of the beginning of eternal life that he findes in himself.
A third difference is, The eye that a gracious heart has unto the recompence of reward, is a fixed eye, a setled constant eye: Another man that is an hypocrite may have a flash of lightning, even from heaven it self, that may discover something unto him of the glorious condition of the people of God; as Balaam, Let me dye the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his: This was more then natural, I may call it a supernatural work that was upon Balaam, yet not saving and gracious: It appeared not to be saving, because it had not a saving power went with it, and it was not constant; and so many hypocrites that are unfound, when they have enlargement in prayer, they may have some flashes of lightning let into their hearts, they may have some glimmerings of the glorious things of heaven; and as the Holy Ghost speaks in Heb. 6:5 they may have a taste of the powers of the world to come; but a gracious heart has it not as a flash of lightning, but as a constant light that is set up in his soul, and as that light which does transform his spirit into light, and makes him to be a childe of light.
Fourthly, there is a great deal of difference in this, the eye that a gracious heart has is truly spiritual, the other is but carnal. A spiritual eye, what is that? that is, he looks at the reward as a spiritual thing, a carnal heart looks at it carnally: O the flashes of joy to have a crown and a kingdom! but a spiritual heart looks at the reward spiritually; time is coming when I shall be wholly free from the body of sin and death; time is coming, when as the image of God shall be made perfect in my soul; time is coming, when I shall behold the blessed face of God, and live to the praise of that blessed God, without any intermission, joining with those blessed creatures that are eternally blessing God: Now the heart that looks at it thus spiritually, and looks at the top of it to be a spiritual good; such an one sees the reward after another manner then any carnal heart does.
The last difference is, the eye of the gracious heart is a believing eye, such an eye, as he looks upon the glorious and blessed things of heaven, as the things that his soul has an interest in, as the things in which his riches and happiness does consist; another may look upon them as glorious things that may be desired; but for an eye to be fixed upon the promise, so as to be content to venture all upon the bare word of God for such great things, so as to count his riches to consist in these things that he has but a bare word for; such a believing eye as this is not the eye of a carnal heart.
