Chapter 56: Christians should live and die as becomes heirs of such a glorious estate

SEcondly, learn, if there be such a glorious reward, to live and dye as becomes such glorious heirs: this is the Exhortation of the holy Ghost unto us by St. Paul, in his Epistle unto the Thessalonians, As you know how we exhorted, andcomforted, and charged every one of you that ye would walk worthy of God that has called you unto his kingdom and glory: here is an exhortation, and in the name of God a charge upon every soul that does expect to have the portion of it in these great things, that they would walk worthy of God, who has called them unto his kingdom and glory: it is a great charge to walk worthy of God, but to walk worthy of God who has called us to his kingdom and glory, this is great, but the life of a Christian must be thus. Now consider, what life have I? Is my life such as may be said to be worthy of God, and that God that has called me unto his kingdom and glory? Surely great things must be in the lives of Gods people: people talk much of strictness, and preciseness, that they may be too precise; what do you think must this life be that must be worthy of God who has called us to his kingdom and glory?

It must not be a dead-hearted life, go on with a holy and heavenly chearfulness and courage in Gods ways: It becomes the children of the Bride-chamber to be joyful: see that in any case you rejoice before the Lord; comfort yourselves and one another by these sayings. We belye the truth of God, if we do not walk joyfully: Rejoyce in this, that your names are written in the Book of life; says Christ, they rejoiced that the Devils fell down before them: If there were any thing in the world to be rejoiced in, one would think they might rejoice in that, but Christ would not have them rejoice in that, in comparison of this. Caesar when he was sad, he said to himself, Think you art Caesar, that that might take away his sadness; and so say I to a Christian, Think of your Crown and glory, let your lives be such as may make it appear you have your portion in these things. I may say to some, as Jonadab said to Amnon, Why art you lean from day to day, being the Kings Son? So may I say to every childe of God, Why is your heart so troubled, and Why walkest you so dumpishly in the ways of God, being the King of Heavens Son? Possibilities of heaven is enough to take away the sting of afflictions, but having comfortable hope of these things, this should take away even the sense of them, at least, so far as that they be no way disturbing to us; Seneca says, That vertue does notconsider what it suffers, but whither it tends. It beseems them well enough, but not you, it beseems Swine to follow the trough, but not the heirs of a Kingdom. Plutarch tells of Themistocles, that he accounted it not to stand with his state to stoop down to take up the spoyls the enemy had scattered in flight, but says to one of his followers, You may, for you are not Themistocles. Thus may it be said to worldly spirits, You may be greedy of these things, for here is your portion, your names are written in the earth, you are not the heirs of the kingdom.

Secondly, walk above the world, above all things that are here below, take heed of ensnarling your hearts, & of too much mixing yourselves with them. There is a generation whose names are written in the earth, Ier. 17:13 and it beseems them to look after the things of the earth, because their portion is there, it is their All: but Gods people have their names written in heaven, and therefore they should not regard the things below as they do. Whoever was free of the city of Rome, might not accept of any other freedom in any other city; they counted it a dishonor to the freedom of Rome, to take freedom any where else: So those that are free of the kingdom of Heaven, should not seek to be free here, but they should be satisfied with a mean condition here, and take heed they do not entangle themselves too much in the things below.

Besides, those that have hopes of Heaven, they should labor to have their lives like to Heaven: It is that we pray for, that the will of God may be done in earth as it is done in heaven: How is it done in heaven? The Saints and Angels there do it fervently, universally, readily, constantly, and therefore the Angels are called by the name of Seraphims, it notes burning, because they burn with zeal for God; labor to conform your life to the life of Heaven.

Again, labor to be much trading for heaven in this world, let there be much intercourse between you and Heaven, let your conversation be in heaven, Phil. 3:20 If a man intend to live in another Countrey, he will have much traffique in that Countrey before he goes; and if we believe we shall come to Heaven, let there be much trading that way. Our conversations should be so in Heaven, as all the mercies we enjoy here should raise our hearts to heaven. We read Exod. 25. that upon the Table of Shewbread there was set a crown of gold. In those provisions that we have here for souls and bodies, our hearts must be raised to that Crown of glory reserved for us; for the Show-bread set before the Lord was to signifie Gods provision for us, and the dedication of our bread of all our provision to God.

Again, let us labor to increase heaven in our hearts, and to bring as much of heaven into them as possibly we can.

And keep yourselves in a continual readiness whensoever God shall call you to such a glorious recompence of reward as this is. It is said of Daniel, though he was in Babylon, he opened his windows towards Jerusalem, he kept his heart in a readiness to go: So you should do, keep your hearts in a heavenly frame ready for heaven, waiting upon the Bridegroom with your lamps burning, that when he comes you may open immediately to him. There is a difference between a wife that has been faithful to her husband, and waits for his coming home, and another that has been unfaithful to her husband, and has other lovers in the house when her husband knocks; if her husband knocks, she does not go immediately, but there is shuffling up and down, and she delays the time, till she have got the other out of the house; but a faithful wife, she immediately opens; it is true, though the wife be not unfaithful, yet if the house be not handsom, and things be not prepared, she is loth to open: So Christians they have been dallying with their lusts, and their hearts are out of frame, and they are loth to open to Christ; but we should keep our hearts in such a readiness, as immediately to open to Christ, and to be willing to dye.

And when we dye, to dye as heirs of such things, not to respect things below, house or lands, or any thing here. We read of Pope Adrian, when he was to dye, he laments his condition, because he was to leave all his delights and pompous vanities, and cryes out, O my soul, whither goest you? you shall never be merry more; he was loth to leave these things, because he did not know whither he went; but a soul that knows what inheritance it shall have hereafter, it is not loth to go hence: Many are loth to dye, because they have treasures in the world, as those ten men said, in Isa. 41:8 Slay us not, for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oyl; but a godly man is willing to dye, because he has treasures in Heaven. Keep open the eye of faith, exercise faith to see God that is now sending for his childe home: And look upon Christ as having that prayer granted, Father, I will that those whom you hast given me be where I am: by faith you shall see Heaven opened, and the crown prepared, and see God in his glory, that you may express chearfulness of heart in going to take possession of that glorious recompence of reward; behold the Angels of God coming to take you up into Heaven. It was an expression of the honor of one Hugh Bishop of Lincoln, that King John and his Nobles would carry him to the grave; more honor shall the Saints have, for God to send his Angels to convey them to that place of glory.

And further, let you spirits work mightily after Heaven; now when they draw near to it, as the nearer any thing is to the center, the more strongly and swiftly it moves; As a stone that falls down from a high place, it moves more swiftly when it is nearer the ground, then when it was higher; so at death, the soul is nearer its center, grace is changing to glory, and when grace and glory is to meet, there must need be a mighty working of heart, and mighty shouts: As it is reported of the Duke of Bulloin and his company, when they went to Jerusalem, as soon as his company saw the high Turrets, they gave a mighty shout, that the earthrang: and so when the soul sees the turrets of this heavenly Jerusalem, and when you see yourselves ready to go and possess it, what mighty workings and shoutings of your heart will there be?

And when you are to dye, speak well of God, and of the ways of godliness to all that are about you. Christians should now labor so to live, as there may appear a mighty difference between their deaths, and the death of others; whereas ordinarily such is the vanity and drossiness of the hearts of Christians in their lives, as when they come to dye, they are so heavy and sad, as if no such things were prepared for them. In 2 Pet. 1:11 the Apostle having exhorted them before to adde one grace to another, and to give all diligence to make their calling and election sure, says he, So an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Christians should labor so to live, as when they come to dye, they may not only have an entrance into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord administred unto them, but that they may have an entrance administred unto them abundantly: Many make shift to get to heaven, but they have not an entrance administred abundantly. As a Ship may make shift to get into harbor, but with the Anchors lost, and Cables rent, and Sayls torn, and the Masts broke; another Ship comes in with the Sayls up, and the Flags up, and Trumpets sounding, and comes bravely into Haven; so much difference is sometime between true Christians; some through carelesness, and unbelief, and sadness, and sullenness of Spirit, although they make shift with much ado to get into Heaven, yet so as their anchor of hope was even gone, and they had little or no comfort at all; but those that have added one vertue to another, and have been diligent to make their calling and election sure, they come to Heaven with much glory and joy, and that should be our care so to live in adding one grace to another, that when we dye our deaths may be glorious.

Yet further, from the consideration of this glory revealed, which God has prepared for his Saints, we are to draw this meditation, If Heaven be so glorious, then we had need fill up the comfort of our lives by doing and getting as much good as we can while we live here, that we may as much as possibly we can recompence that which we suffer in the staying from the possession of such glorious things reserved for us; when we hear of such things as these are, we cannot but think in ourselves, it were better for us many ways to be in Heaven, this life is but a bondage to us while we are absent from such things, and therefore we had need have something to recompence this bondage; we had need do much good, and get much good, while we live, to pay the charges of our lives; what a tedious thing is it to us to live so much to sense as we must necessarily do here, when we are heirs of such glorious things? if we do not do much good, and get much good here, what have we to sweeten and recompence this tediousness? If a man be from home, and by his absence suffers much loss of what he might have had at home, he is the more diligent and careful in his journey to get something that may recompence this loss; so it should be with us: It costs us dear (as I may so speak) to live in the world, for it costs us the forbearance of such glorious things; if we fill not up our lives with service for God, what have we to pay our charges to countervail this that our lives here cost us?