Chapter 49: The happiness of the Saints in their fruition of God, and their perfect rest in him

THe fifth thing in the Saints having God to be their portion, is fruition of God, enjoyment of God: Gods people shall not only be in his presence, and see him, and have union with him, and communion with him, but they shall have fruition and enjoyment of him: The fruition of God consists in these four things.

The first is, The reflect act of the soul, whereby it comes to know what it has; it has a God, and it knows it, by a reflect act; and upon this it is, that there is no creature can be said to enjoy a thing properly, but the rational creature; the beasts and plants have many things communicated to them, but they have no reflect act to know what they have, this is proper to the rational creature. If one have never so great a good, if he were ignorant of it, and did not know it, he could not be said to enjoy it: As one that has an inheritance given him, if he knows not of it, he is far enough from the enjoyment of it. This will adde much to the happiness of Gods people, they shall be filled with happiness and glory, filled with God, and they shall know all their happiness: There are many excellencies that other creatures have, but they know not of their excellency; and many of Gods people have abundance of mercy from God, God communicates much to them here, but they cannot be said properly to enjoy it, because they do not know it; but time will come, though God lets out himself fully, yet he shall let out himself no further then we shall know him.

Secondly, there is in fruition the having use of all ; if a man be never so rich, and have never so great possessions, if he have not the actual use of what he has, he cannot be said to enjoy them; a man may have right to a thing, and yet for the present not enjoy the use of it. But now the people of God, as they shall have God to be their portion, so they shall enjoy God fully, to have what use they will of all the Attributes of God, and all that is in God: And this is an infinite good and happiness to the people of God, that they shall have as much use of Gods infinite wisdom, of the infinite power of God, and of the infinite mercy of God as they will; and they cannot will it so soon, but they shall have it, nor so easily, as they may enjoy it: Then we do enjoy the benefit of friendship, when one friend says to another, Make use of all I have as your own, as you will: So God shall come to his people, and bid them make use of all his riches, and glory, and excellency as they will: Hence it is, that God is not only the happiness of his Saints, causally or effectually, but he is formally the happiness of the Saints: He is not causally the happiness of the Saints; that is, That he should cause some good to come from him to the Saints; but he is formally the happiness of the Saints, because they have God himself to enjoy, and have the use of himself. The Sun is causally great good to the world, it causes the herbs and plants to grow; but it is not formally the good of the creature here below: But God is not only causually good to the Saints, but formally: God is theirs, to be used unto the utmost that they are capable of.

The third thing in fruition, is to have the sweet and comfort of all that we do use, or else we do not enjoy that we have. If a man should have the use of his estate, and meat, and drink, if he have not the sweet and comfort of it, he cannot be said to enjoy it; but when the comfort is let out, that the soul is sensible of it, then he may be said to enjoy it: And hence it is that God is said to give all things to us richly to enjoy, 1 Tim. 6:17 There is no creature can give us to enjoy another; another may give a man such and such things in which may be comfort, but he cannot give him comfort in the thing, it must be God that must give to enjoy; no creature can properly give the enjoyment of another, because though it gives the thing, it cannot give the comfort with it, but God gives the thing, and he gives the comfort with it, and so a man is said to enjoy it.

Fourthly, it is such an enjoyment, as the having of it does perfect that which does enjoy it, and by that we shall understand the difference between other creatures attaining to their end, and the rational creature attaining his end; the other creatures, when they attain their end they perish, so as they cannot be said to enjoy their end; the plants and beasts that God has made for the use of man, when man comes to have the use of them, then they come to have their end, but they do not enjoy their end, because in having their end, they are destroyed; but the rational creature, when he comes to have his end, then he comes to have the highest perfection; and so he may be said to enjoy it, because when he comes to have his end, he is made the more perfect; so take these four together, and you may know what I mean by fruition of God: and that is the fifth particular.

6. The sixth particular, in having God to be their portion, is the Rest that the foul has in God: The term of all motion is rest, every thing that moves, moves that it may have rest: Now here in this world the creature is altogether in motion, and especially man, because he is not here in his proper place; every thing moves to its center, till it comes to its place, Psalm 38:10 My heart panteth; the word in the Original signifies, such a kinde of motion, running up and down, as Merchants run up and down, from one Countrey to another; and it is observable, there is the two last radical letters double; and that is to note, That it is more then an ordinary stirring and motion of the spirit, because it is not come to its rest; but when the foul comes to the term unto which it moves, then it comes to have rest. God has let out good things to other creatures, and they never return back again directly to him; but the good that God lets out to mankinde, and to his people, it returns back again to God: The Saints are made by God, and they come and return to the first fountain from whence they came, whereas other creatures do not: As the wicked, they come from God, but do not return to God again as their rest: And therefore it is an expression of Jeremy, Those that seek only after the satisfying of their senses, they go out from God like unto rivers that run from the fountain, but there is no regress of them, they do not return back again; but the godly come from God, and have their returns back again unto God, unto their fountain, there to rest, and to have their happiness, Psalm 12:9 The wicked walk on every side; the wicked move up and down in a circle, but never unto the center, only keep their round from one creature to another, but never have any direct motion unto God, to come to him as their center, and so to finde true rest in him: Return, O my soul, unto your rest, Psalm 116:7 The word translated Rest, is in the plural number, Return, O my soul, unto your rests: God is the rest of the souls of the Saints. Rest and glory seldom meets in this world; they who are in glory have not the quietest life, and they who have most rest, are furthest off from being glorious: Issachars condition likes some, Gen. 49:14 Rest was good to him, though under burthens; and if a man will have a name amongst the great ones of the earth, farewel rest; but in heaven rest and glory do both happily and perfectly meet together.

The Rabbies have a note from the name Jehovah, that all the letters of that name are quiescentes, and they say, There is a mystery in it, to show that all our rest is in God. Some creatures God has made so, as there is no other good they are capable of, but to continue in their beings; and therefore they only seek for their place, and no more, and there they rest; as the Fire, and Ayr, and the Earth, these creatures have no other good, but to continue in their beings: and you shall observe, if they be out of their places, with what violence will they move to their proper place: As if there be fire or ayr got into the earth, it causes earthquakes, it moves there with that violence, that it shakes the whole earth, that it may come to its proper place, because it has no other good but that. Then I would reason thus; If those creatures that have no other good, but only to be in their proper place, if they be out, to get that good shall move with such violence; then considering what a good mans soul is capable of, if he have not obtained that good, with what violence should he move? how should the kingdom of heaven suffer violence? how should we work toward God, who is our proper place and center, in whom is so much good? But there are other creatures that have an higher good then being in their place; as the plants have a Vegetative place, and therefore they grow to it, and if they have attained that there, they rest; then the sensitive creature has an higher good, and that moves till it has got its end; namely, to all things that are agreeable to sense, and they go no further. The rational creature looks to that which is suitable to reason. And where there is grace, grace looks to attain that which is the proper perfection of the life of grace, and there it rests, and never else: Therefore it is the expression of an Ancient: O Lord, you hast made us for you, and our hearts are unquiet till they come to enjoy you; and when the soul comes to rest in God, that is glorious, and that is the Saints happiness to attain the end of their motion, and the more glorious is the rest, when the end is attained: and the glory of the end may be discovered much, by the glory of the means that tend to it: As if a man will bestow a great deal of Cost and Charges to get his Health, then he accounts health worth all those charges; and the greater charges are laid out for health, argues his greater esteem of it; and so if a man be at great charge about a Voyage, it is because he accounts much of the excellency of the end of his Voyage: and if this be so, how excellent is the end of Gods people, if we consider the most glorious means that are used to attain this end and rest? as namely, the work of God in sending the second person in the Trinity to take mans nature upon him; and all the works of God in Election, in Redemption, in Adoption, in Justification, in Sanctification; yea, all the works of God in creation, in providence, the designing the Holy Ghost to that office he is designed to, and all the Ordinances of God; look what preciousness is in all these works of God and means, it sets out unto us the preciousness, and excellency, and glory that there is in the last end, to which Gods people shall attain, and that rest they shall have.

The seventh and last thing in having God to be their portion, is the enjoyment of themselves in God: as they shall enjoy God, and God in themselves; so they shall enjoy themselves in God, living in God continually: the fish does not more truly live in the water, and move in the water, then the souls of the Saints shall live in God, and move in God: Col. 3:3 Your life is hid with Christ in God: the life of Saints here is an hidden life, and it is hidden in God, but then it shall be a revealed life, and revealed in God, and enjoyed in God. Hence is that Phrase, Enter into your masters joy; that enters not into you, but you must enter into it: it is your masters joy, not only that joy that your master gives, but the same joy your master has, that you shall enter into and live in. It is said of Saint John, in Rev. 1. that he was on the Lords day in the Spirit; it is not said that the Spirit was in him, but it is said, he was in the Spirit; that was as a beginning of the glorious condition of the Saints of God, that they shall be in the Spirit of God, not only God in them, but they in God, as a drop of water in the Sea, swallowed up in it. Put a drop of wine into the Sea, it is changed into the nature of the Sea; and so though we cannot be changed into the Divine Nature, yet we shall be swallowed up in God, so as we shal not any further mind ourselves, our own good as a created thing, nor ourselves as creatures, but altogether God: our mindes shall be so wholly upon God, as if they were wholly emptyed of any created good, and had nothing to do but with an increated good; it shall not will any thing to it self, nor to any other creature, but all to God, and so wholly taken upon with God, and upon that ground, because they have that likeness unto God, and partake of the Divine Nature: Here we do good to others, because of their likeness to ourselves; But the Saints shall will all good to God, not because God is like them, but because they are like to God, so that they shall love themselves for God.

There are three degrees of love to God, loving of God for ourselves, and loving God for himself, and loving ourselves for God: the one is but a natural love, the second is a gracious love, the third is a love of the glorified Saints: First, to love God for ourselves, so an hypocrite may love God, because he has gifts and many blessings from God, this is but a natural love. But grace goes further then nature, that is to love God for himself; though we should never have any thing, yet if we be gracious, we love God for himself: but the glorified Saints go further then grace, and that is to love themselves for God, whereas heretofore we did only love God for ourselves, or for himself, now we come to love ourselves for God: and in this kinde of love of God, and enjoyment of ourselves in him, the soul shall be ravished with God, and be in a kinde of extasie eternally.

Now there is a twofold extasie, one that is through the weakness of the inferior faculties of the soul; when the mind of a man is taken up about an high object seriously, the other faculties being weak they fail, and so men come to be in a trance and extasie; many have had great joy, that they have even dyed with it; the heart has so dilated it self, as the vital spirits have flown out. But there is an extasie comes from the excellency of the object, that the mind is busied about, but without any weariness of any inferior faculty. If then we put all together, that has been said about God, and the enjoyment of God, and having God to be the portion of the Saints, you see the principal part of Heaven, and the spiritual part of the glory of the Saints. Here is faith called for, and why should not our faith go beyond reason to rectifie reason, as reason rectifies sense? these things be high, and great mysteries. When as reason says, How can this be? as when Christ was speaking of the new birth, says Nicodemus, How can this be? let but faith get as far above reason, as reason has got above sense, and we may easily see how they can be by sense.

If a man look up to the Firmament, and see the Sun shine, he would think it were little bigger then a Bushel, or the like, now reason will tell men otherwise; reason that tells men that this creature, that appears to be but in this bigness, it is many hundred times bigger then the Earth; now if reason can rectifie sense so far, Why should not faith go beyond reason as far? Now reason will tell us of much happiness that may be had: We may conceive by reason, by understanding, that the rational creature is capable of abundance of glory: but when you hear things delivered by the word, which are more then reason can conceive, let us get faith to rectifie reason, and we shall not call those truths into question, and yet know that our glory will be beyond our faith, as our faith is beyond our reason.

Here you may see that most people in the world mistake Heaven, and look at Heaven in a sensual manner: when we speak of Heaven, where have we a man or woman that looks at Heaven, in these spiritual excellencies, about enjoying God in this manner? As the Jews looked for a carnal Messiah, whose Kingdom should be in the earth, and whose glory should be external, not considering the Spiritual Kingdom of Christ: so most in the world look but for a carnal Heaven. It is a good evidence of the truth of grace, if you can look to Heaven with a right eye, in a right manner, to look at the spiritual part, and spiritual excellency in Heaven. But that which makes people to call these things in question, is; first, because they are not acquainted with God, but are sensual, their hearts are acquainted with nothing but sensual and earthly things, and therefore their hearts are not raised to these things, but they look at them as notions; but that soul that is acquainted with God, and the counsels of God, and knows the mind of God, that soul can know how to savor these things, and know the reality of them. Again, another reason why these things are above the reach of most people, is, because they are not acquainted with the mysteries of the Gospel, and what in them is revealed concerning mankinde: If we were acquainted with the mysteries of the Gospel, we would not think these things strange that are revealed. Thirdly, because mens hearts are not enlarged with Gods image for the present, therefore they cannot savor any thing, but that which has some savor of the creature. Fourthly, because they are not acquainted with the first-fruits of Heaven; whereas those that are godly, have some beginnings of eternal life wrought in them here, and upon that, these things are not so strange to them, their hearts can close with them, and suck out abundance of comfort from them. And thus we have finished the fourth thing of the reward, namely, To have God for their portion.