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 th